International

US passes 6 million Covid-19 cases: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday passed six million coronavirus cases, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, adding one million new infections in less than a month. The country remains by far the most impacted in the world by the pandemic in absolute terms, with nearly a quarter of global infections and 183,203 deaths from Covid-19, the Baltimore-based university’s tracker showed. The number of new daily cases has […]

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to undergo surgery for kidney stone

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Monday he had been diagnosed with a kidney stone and would undergo surgery in September to remove it. The far-right leader, 65, has had a series of health issues, including four surgeries stemming from an attack in which he was stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 presidential campaign. “I felt a little pain, so I went for a checkup. But I’m fine. It’s […]

India accuses China of new ‘provocative’ border action

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) –The Indian military on Monday accused China of carrying out “provocative” movements on their contested Himalayan border near where 20 Indian troops were killed in a battle in June. A defence ministry statement said the incidents happened in eastern Ladakh on Saturday night but did not indicate whether there was a new clash. Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” at the border, […]

Tens of thousands march in Belarus capital despite crackdown

  by Tatiana Kalinovskaya Agence France Presse MINSK, Belarus (AFP) — Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched through Minsk Sunday, calling for an end to strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s rule amid a heavy security presence and despite dozens of arrests. Belarus protests have entered a third week since the disputed presidential election on August 9 in which Lukashenko claimed victory. Opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says she was the true winner, meanwhile. An AFP journalist and […]

US protesters rally against mandatory flu shots for students

  BOSTON, United States (AFP) — Hundreds of people demonstrated Sunday in the US city of Boston against a new state rule mandating flu shots for students, a measure intended to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The northeastern state of Massachusetts became on August 19 the first in the United States to add seasonal flu shots to a list of mandatory vaccines for students, though exemptions are granted for religious or health reasons. […]

US floats idea of early approval for eventual COVID-19 vaccine

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The head of the US Food and Drug Administration raised the possibility in an interview published Sunday that a future vaccine against the coronavirus might be given emergency approval before the end of trials designed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. A request for such extraordinary approval would have to come from the vaccine developer, Stephen Hahn told the Financial Times. “If they do that before the end of […]

Global virus cases cross 25 million as India sets grim record of

  by Glenda Kwek, with AFP Bureaus Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Global coronavirus infections soared past 25 million on Sunday, as countries around the world further tightened restrictions to try to stop the rampaging pandemic. A million additional cases have been detected globally roughly every four days since mid-July, according to an AFP tally, with India on Sunday setting the record for the highest single-day rise in cases with 78,761. The […]

Brazil surpasses 120,000 COVID deaths

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Just over six months after registering its first case of the new coronavirus, Brazil crossed the grim threshold of 120,000 people killed by Covid-19 Saturday, with no end in sight to the crisis. The country of 212 million people has now registered 120,262 deaths from the virus and 3,846,153 infections, the health ministry said in its daily update. Brazil is just the second country to surpass a death toll […]

Nigerians attack medics at Rome coronavirus centre

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — Three Nigerian migrants attacked staff in a military hospital in Rome after testing positive for the new coronavirus, the defence ministry said Saturday. The incident at the Celio military hospital, now turned into a COVID-19 treatment centre, occurred when they saw a Bangladeshi migrant walking out after testing negative and then tried to flee but were stopped. They are accused of violence, resistance and causing bodily harm. “The attacks at […]

At least 17 dead in China restaurant collapse

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 17 people died on Saturday when a restaurant in northern China collapsed, state media said, with rescuers pulling dozens of survivors from the rubble and searching for others believed to be trapped. The two-storey building used for banquets came down in the morning in Xiangfen county, in Shanxi province, according to broadcaster CGTN. Xinhua news agency reported that “45 people have been brought out, of which 17 were […]

Race for new Japan PM starts after shock resignation

  by Shingo ITO / Sara HUSSEIN Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The race to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kicked off informally on Saturday, with several contenders announcing their plans to stand, a day after Japan’s longest-serving leader announced his resignation. Abe said he was suffering a recurrence of ulcerative colitis, the condition that forced him to cut short his first term in office, but that he would stay on until his […]

Trump pays ‘highest respect’ to resigning Japanese PM Abe

  MANCHESTER, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Friday paid his “highest respect” to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and voiced concern over his “great friend” resigning for health reasons. “I want to pay my highest respect to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a very great friend of mine,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a campaign rally in New Hampshire. “We’ve had a great relationship and I […]