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SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 172 people across Yemen over the past month, damaging homes and UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, officials said. The destruction has dealt a new blow to a country already in the grips of what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis after years of war between a Saudi-backed government and Iran-allied rebels. In the mainly government-held province of Maarib […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea has opened a high-tech new front in the battle against coronavirus, fortifying bus shelters with temperature-checking doors and ultraviolet disinfection lamps. Ten advanced facilities have been installed in a northeastern district of Seoul, offering protection from monsoon rains, summer heat, and the novel coronavirus. To enter, passengers must stand in front of an automated thermal-imaging camera, and the door will only slide open if their temperature is below […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s worst-hit state of Victoria appears to be curbing a virus outbreak after a week of tougher restrictions, authorities said Wednesday, with new cases falling in recent days even as fatalities topped records. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews announced 410 new cases and 21 fatalities — marking Australia’s deadliest day so far — but said the state “certainly” seemed to be flattening the curve. “If you look at the average over […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden on Tuesday named California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential pick — the first black woman tapped for the role by a major US party. Here is how US politicians and celebrities have reacted to her nomination: – Barack Obama – Former president Barack Obama said that Biden had “nailed this decision” in a lengthy statement. “Now Joe has an ideal partner […]
by Michael Mathes, with Olivier Douliery in Wilmington Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Presidential hopeful Joe Biden named Senator Kamala Harris, a former rival in the White House race, as his running mate Tuesday, marking a historic first for American women of color. Biden’s announcement capped a months-long search for a Democratic partner to challenge President Donald Trump in November. Harris, who would become America’s first female and first black […]
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand locked down nursing homes nationwide Wednesday after a 102-day streak without the coronavirus ended, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the outbreak could force her to postpone next month’s general election. Ardern said authorities were scrambling to trace anyone who had been in contact with four Auckland residents who tested positive Tuesday, ending the dream run in which the virus had been contained at New Zealand’s borders. A […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The death toll from Beirut’s massive August 4 explosion has climbed to 171, a health ministry spokesman told AFP on Tuesday. The new figure, up from 160, came exactly one week since the mega-blast ravaged swathes of the Lebanese capital, wounding more than 6,000 and temporarily displacing 300,000 people from their homes. © Agence France-Presse
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A pair of pandas on loan from China to a Canadian zoo are facing a food shortage as their supply of fresh bamboo dries up, officials warned. And plans to send them back to China, where bamboo is abundant and easy to access, according to a Calgary Zoo statement, have been stalled by pandemic-era changes to import and quarantine regulations. Er Shun, a female, and Da Mao, a male, each require […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $1.5 billion contract with US biotech company Moderna for 100 million doses of an eventual coronavirus vaccine, the sixth such deal reached since May. “I’m pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Moderna to manufacture and deliver 100 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine candidate,” Trump said at a White House news conference. “The federal government will own these vaccine […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico said Tuesday it had signed deals with three pharmaceutical companies from the United States and China to carry out clinical trials of potential coronavirus vaccines in the hard-hit country. The Latin American nation, which has the world’s third-highest COVID-19 death toll, said that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of Johnson & Johnson, CanSino Biologics and Walvax Biotechnology, would begin Phase 3 trials from September. They will join French company Sanofi, which […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow has dubbed its new coronavirus vaccine “Sputnik V” after the Soviet satellite, the head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund said Tuesday, after Russia declared itself the first country to develop a vaccine. Kirill Dmitriyev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund which finances the vaccine project, said Phase 3 trials would start on Wednesday and industrial production was expected from September. “We’ve seen considerable interest in the Russian […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said any WHO stamp of approval on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review, after Russia announced Tuesday it had approved a vaccine. President Vladimir Putin said Russia had become the first country to approve a vaccine offering “sustainable immunity” against the new coronavirus. “We are in close contact with the Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO […]
