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NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York will put up checkpoints at key entry points to the city to ensure that travelers are complying with the state’s quarantine requirements, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. Visitors from 35 US states, including Florida and Texas, are currently required to quarantine for two weeks after entering New York in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus. De Blasio said law enforcement agencies will operate “traveler […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada announced Wednesday it has signed two agreements with American pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Moderna for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. Millions of doses will be supplied, but the vaccines are still in development while negotiations continue with other potential suppliers, Procurement Minister Anita Anand told a news conference. They will also still need to obtain Health Canada regulatory approvals before being distributed to Canadians, she said. The agreement […]
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — More than 50,000 people have been affected by flooding across Sudan over the past week, the United Nations said Wednesday. “Torrential rains continued in several parts of Sudan… leading to flooding, landslides, damages to houses and infrastructure in at least 14 of the (country’s) 18 states,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. “More than 50,000 people have been affected,” it said in a statement. “The numbers […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government Wednesday announced a new $1 billion investment in a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson, guaranteeing 100 million doses. J&J, via its subsidiary Janssen, had already received $456 million in March. The new money will allow the company to ramp up production so that doses are ready for shipping if and when the drug receives regulatory approval. The government also has the option to acquire […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Florida, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the southeastern US, has surpassed half a million cases and now has a death toll of more than 7,600, state health authorities said Wednesday. The Florida Health Department reported only 5,409 new daily cases in its latest count, a considerable drop after recent figures of around 10,000 new infections per day in recent weeks. The number of cases however may have […]
by Rouba el Husseini and Tony Gamal-Gabriel BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Anger mounted in Lebanon on Wednesday as rescuers searched for survivors of a cataclysmic explosion at Beirut port that wreaked destruction across the city, killing at least 113 people, wounding thousands and plunging crisis-striken Lebanon further into the abyss. The blast on Tuesday, apparently triggered by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer left unsecured in a warehouse of Beirut port, was […]
AL WAKRAH, Qatar (AFP ) — Qatar began flying field hospitals and medical aid to Beirut Wednesday, AFP correspondents saw, to ease pressure on Lebanon’s strained medical system after the previous day’s devastating explosions. Crews at Qatar’s Al-Udeid airbase loaded collapsible beds, generators and burn sheets onto an Emiri Air Force C17 cargo plane, which subsequently took off for Lebanon. It was one of four due to fly from the Gulf to the Mediterranean country […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Some 24,000 health workers in South Africa have contracted the coronavirus, 181 of whom have died, since the pandemic hit the country in March, the health minister announced on Wednesday. South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa with at least 521,318 infections diagnosed so far, accounting for more than half the continent’s cases. Health Minister Zweli Mkwize told a news conference that the numbers of health workers who […]
by Tony Gamal-Gabriel and Layal Abou Rahal Agence France Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut Wednesday after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis. The blast, which appeared to have been caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse, was felt as far away as Cyprus, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Wednesday a visit by a top US cabinet member to Taiwan was endangering peace and stability in the region, with relations between the two powers at historic lows. Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei said US health secretary Alex Azar would lead a delegation to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of China and has vowed to one day seize. “China firmly opposes official exchanges between the […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — A huge blast at Beirut port that devastated entire neighborhoods of the city has killed more than 100 people and injured over 4,000, the Lebanese Red Cross said Wednesday. “Until now over 4,000 people have been injured and over 100 have lost their lives. Our teams are still conducting search and rescue operations in the surrounding areas,” a statement said. © Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday announced its “highest level” visit in decades to Taiwan, a move sure to infuriate China at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing are at historic lows. Washington’s trade office in Taipei confirmed that health chief Alex Azar would lead an upcoming delegation to the self-ruled island, which China’s communist leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. “This marks… the first Cabinet member […]
