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by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US said Friday it was declaring a public health emergency and temporarily banning the entry of foreign nationals who had traveled to China over the past two weeks to contain the spread of a deadly new virus. Sweeping new restrictions will also be imposed on American citizens, with those returning from the province at the disease’s epicenter placed in facilities for mandatory […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus outbreak has risen to 259 and the tally of confirmed infections has surged to nearly 12,000, the government said on Saturday. The National Health Commission said in its daily update that 46 more people had succumbed to the respiratory disease. All but one of the new deaths came in hardest-hit Hubei province, the epicentre of an outbreak that has spread around the […]
by James PHEBY and Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Union Jack-waving Brexit backers danced in the London rain on Friday as the hours wound down to Britain’s split from the European Union after years of epic drama — but for others there were only fears and tears. After 47 years in the European fold, the country leaves the EU at 11:00pm (2300 GMT) on Friday, with a handful of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A total of 18 South Korean evacuees who arrived from the Chinese city of Wuhan have been hospitalised after showing symptoms, Seoul’s health authorities said Friday, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak of the SARS-like virus. A chartered plane carrying a total of 368 South Korean citizens arrived in the South from Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have emerged from an animal and seafood market, on […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China sent two planes to Malaysia and Thailand on Friday to bring “stranded” Hubei province residents back to the virus-stricken city of Wuhan, authorities said. The Xiamen Airlines flights will pick up the Chinese nationals from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and the Thai capital Bangkok, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). There are 117 nationals from Hubei province in Bangkok and 100 in Kota Kinabalu who are “willing […]
by Sébastien RICCI WUHAN, China (AFP) — France is preparing to airlift hundreds of its citizens from the Chinese city at the center of a deadly coronavirus outbreak, but one Frenchman is staying put. Philippe Klein is head of the International SOS Hospital in Wuhan, the first city to be locked down by Chinese authorities as they battle the spread of the virus. “It’s not an act of heroism. It’s been well thought out, it’s […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Prominent figures in Chinese communities in Italy warned Thursday of episodes of “latent racism” against their compatriots by Italians fearful of catching a deadly viral outbreak. Tensions increased after some 7,000 people were held on a cruise ship in an Italian port following the isolation of two Chinese passengers over fears they could be carrying the coronavirus, despite preliminary tests coming up negative. Italian newspapers have reported cases of bullying or […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese government is to send charter planes to bring citizens from virus-hit Hubei province who are overseas back “as soon as possible”, the foreign ministry said Friday. This is in view of “practical difficulties that Hubei citizens, especially those from Wuhan, have faced overseas”, said the ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying. The ministry’s comments come as a number of airlines announced they were halting or reducing flights to […]
by Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US senators wrapped up two days of exhaustive questioning of House prosecutors and White House lawyers at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, setting the stage for a showdown vote on Friday on Democratic demands for new witnesses. Chief Democratic prosecutor Adam Schiff, in a last-ditch bid to win over Republican senators wary of a drawn-out process, proposed a one-week time frame to secure new witness testimony. “Let’s […]
by Sonia Logre with Ella Ide in Rome CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy (AFP) — Thousands of stranded tourists were free to disembark from a cruise ship at an Italian port after authorities said two Chinese passengers feared to have the coronavirus tested negative Thursday. Italy’s Institute for infectious diseases examined samples taken from a Chinese woman ill with a fever, as well as her traveling companion, and both were negative for coronavirus, the health ministry said. Italian […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Authorities in Canberra on Friday declared the first state of emergency in almost two decades as a bushfire bore down on the Australian capital. Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory Andrew Barr said the measure was “effective now and will be in place for as long as Canberra is at risk”. The measures come ahead of heatwave conditions expected over the coming days and as forecasts predicted fires could hit […]
by Sébastien RICCI Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections. The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks. “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries […]
