International

Top coronavirus advisor warns US in ‘new phase’ of pandemic; says virus “extraordinarily widespread’

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has entered a “new phase” of the pandemic, White House coronavirus advisor Deborah Birx warned Sunday, with rural areas just as threatened as major cities. Birx, who heads the White House coronavirus task force, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that local virus mitigation procedures were starting to work, but added that “what we are seeing today is different from March and April”. “It is extraordinarily […]

Australian city begins curfew as global virus cases top 18 million

  by Carly Waters, with AFP Bureaus Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s second-largest city started a six-week curfew and the Philippine capital was ordered back into lockdown, as the number of global coronavirus cases on Monday topped 18 million. The spread of the virus is gathering pace with worldwide deaths nearing 700,000, and a White House adviser warning that it was “extraordinarily widespread” in the United States — the worst-hit nation. There […]

China’s young jobseekers struggle despite economic recovery

by Beiyi SEOW ZHENGZHOU, China (AFP ) — Biology student Ma Jingjing wandered the hall of a job fair in central China among other young Chinese hoping to find work in an economy crushed by the coronavirus pandemic. Ma, 26, is one of almost nine million people graduating and entering the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty, an issue that has the ruling Communist Party worried to the point that President […]

Dozens of police injured in Berlin protests against virus curbs

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Some 45 police officers were injured in a wave of weekend demonstrations in Berlin including protests against coronavirus restrictions, police said as protesters gathered again in smaller numbers on Sunday. The unruly protests, in which many demonstrators failed to wear masks or respect social distancing rules, have sparked a chorus of condemnation including calls for tougher penalties against those who violate restrictions aimed at curbing transmission of the deadly virus. A […]

Kosovo PM tests positive for coronavirus

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AFP) — Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said late Sunday he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and would self-isolate for the next two weeks. “Today I did the test for the COVID-19 and tested positive,” Hoti wrote on his Facebook account. The prime minister said he had started 14 days of self-isolation, during which he would perform his duties from home. “I have no signs (of the disease), except a very […]

Global virus cases top 18 million as Australian city imposes curfew

by AFP Bureaus MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — The number of coronavirus cases recorded worldwide topped 18 million on Monday with the illness continuing its march, after Australia’s second-largest city imposed a curfew to halt the spread. Six months after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency, the virus has killed more than 687,000 people since it first emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources. Fresh clusters […]

Threat to Florida eases as Isaias slated to remain tropical storm

by Leila MACOR MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Isaias roared closer to the Florida coast Sunday, threatening to bring strong winds, flash flooding and storm surges but no longer expected to regain hurricane strength. The tropical storm was packing sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour Sunday evening as it moved northwest off the state’s east coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Florida’s coast was experiencing heavy wind gusts. The NHC said […]

South Africa coronavirus cases top 500,000: government

  by Susan NJANJI Agence France Presse JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa has now registered more than 500,000 cases of coronavirus, the health ministry announced Saturday, making it by far the hardest-hit country in Africa. The country has become the epicentre of the deadly pandemic on the continent, accounting for more than half of Africa’s diagnosed infections. “Today South Africa has exceeded the half-a-million mark with a cumulative total of 503,290 confirmed COVID-19 […]

US counts 61,262 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States counted 61,262 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours leading up to 8:30 pm Saturday (0030 GMT Sunday), according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. It was the fifth consecutive day with more than 60,000 infections recorded, according to the Baltimore-based university. There were also 1,051 deaths in the 24-hour period. The US has now tallied more than 4.6 million cases and 154,319 deaths, making it […]

Virus wreaks economic havoc as global cases top 17 million

by Heather Scott with AFP Bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The scale of economic devastation from the pandemic was laid bare on Thursday as Western economies recorded historic slumps, just as resurgent caseloads forced many countries into agonising new trade-offs between health and financial stability. Six months after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 17 million people worldwide. The WHO warned Thursday that young people […]

Recovered from virus, Bolsonaro says nothing to fear

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Fresh off a bout of COVID-19, President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday nearly everyone will probably end up catching the new coronavirus, urging Brazilians to “face up to it” and saying there was nothing to fear. The far-right leader’s latest bid to downplay the pandemic came as Brazil closed in on the grim milestone of 100,000 people killed by the virus, the second-highest death toll in the world, after the […]

33 crew test positive for virus on Norwegian cruise ship

OSLO, Norway (AFP) — At least 33 crew members confined on a Norwegian cruise ship have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the company Hurtigruten said on Saturday. Arriving at the northern Norwegian port of Tromso from the archipelago of Svalbard, the crew of the MS Roald Amundsen was quarantined on board the ship on Friday after four staff members tested positive for the virus and were hospitalized. Of the 158 crew members on board, […]