International

Virus-hit Singapore plunges into recession as economy shrinks 41%

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore plunged into recession in the second quarter as growth fell 41.2 percent quarter-on-quarter with the trade-dependent economy hammered by the coronavirus, preliminary data showed Tuesday. Year-on-year, the economy shrank 12.6 percent between April and June, according to the data from the trade ministry, as strict curbs were imposed to fight the virus. It marks the second consecutive quarter of contraction, meaning that the city state — which has one of the […]

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California rolls back reopening as nations battle resurgent coronavirus

by Andrew MARSZAL and AFP bureaus Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California drastically rolled back its reopening plans Monday as coronavirus cases surged across dozens of US states and the World Health Organization warned that too many nations are mismanaging their pandemic response. Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all indoor restaurants, bars and movie theaters to close again across California — by far America’s richest and most populous state, with a larger […]

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Second virus wave in UK could see 120,000 deaths: study

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A second coronavirus wave in Britain this winter could see 120,000 deaths in hospitals alone in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”, scientists warned on Tuesday. The Academy of Medical Sciences report, commissioned by the government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, urged immediate action to mitigate a second wave. With hospitals also battling seasonal flu cases, a second wave could eclipse the current outbreak resulting in up to 120,000 deaths between September […]

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Hong Kong patient received blood from donor with coronavirus

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong authorities on Monday said that a patient had received blood from a donor who later tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials were scrambling to trace what happened to the blood after it emerged a man who donated on July 5 was later found to be carrying the virus. “The blood transfusion service has been tracing the blood he donated and for now found that a patient in […]

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US bases on Okinawa locked down over virus spike

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Two US Marine bases in Japan’s Okinawa have been put into lockdown after dozens of coronavirus infections, with local officials criticising the American military’s containment efforts. Additional restrictions are also in place at the seven other Marine bases in the region after the spike in cases, a spokesman confirmed. There are tens of thousands of US servicemen stationed on the southern Japanese island, which has recorded roughly 150 civilian COVID-19 […]

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Argentina passes 100,000 COVID-19 cases

    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina has registered more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases, its Ministry of Health said Sunday, despite the Buenos Aires area — the country’s coronavirus hot spot — being under extended shutdown. The country now has recorded 1,845 deaths from the pandemic with 100,153 positive cases and almost 43,000 people recovered. The shutdown in the Buenos Aires area, the most populated region of the country, is due to end on […]

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US records another 60,000 new virus cases in 24 hours

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Sunday recorded 59,747 new cases over the last 24-hour period, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The number of cases in the US has rocketed in recent weeks, hitting a record of 66,528 in 24 hours on Saturday. The country has now registered a total of 3,301,820 infections, the Baltimore-based university said in its latest […]

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Panama hospitals on verge of collapse as virus cases surge

  by Juan José Rodríguez Agence France Presse PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — Hospitals in Panama are on the brink of collapse as coronavirus cases spike in the Central American country worst hit by the pandemic, where doctors are already exhausted. With a population of four million, Panama has gone from 200 cases a day to 1,100 over the last few weeks. “Our daily number of infected patients has been increasing in a sustained way […]

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Bolivia leader catches virus as US cases soar higher

  by Raul BURGOA with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Bolivia’s interim president became the latest world leader to test positive for the coronavirus Thursday, as the United States notched yet another record-breaking surge of cases while global infections and fatalities continued their relentless rise. COVID-19 has now claimed more than 550,000 lives across the planet, and infected more than 12 million people since it first emerged in China in […]

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France uncovers ‘massive fraud’ of coronavirus wage payouts

  PARIS, France (AFP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office said Friday that it was investigating “massive fraud” across France by people falsely claiming temporary wage assistance for employees laid off during the coronavirus lockdown. As the crisis hit, the government quickly introduced a system to pay around 84 percent of net salary for people no longer able to work. Thousands of firms applied for the payments, allowing millions of people to avoid a sudden drop […]

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Australia locks down second city as global cases top 12 million

by Ryan Smith with Robin Millard in Geneva and AFP bureaus MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Millions of people in Australia’s second-biggest city went into lockdown on Thursday to battle another coronavirus outbreak, as the number of infections worldwide surged past 12 million. Caseloads and death tolls have risen relentlessly in many of the world’s biggest nations, with the virus now claiming over 550,000 lives across the planet. In Melbourne, five million people began a new […]

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US approves sale of 105 F-35 stealth fighters to Japan

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced Thursday that it has approved the sale of 105 F-35 stealth aircraft to Japan for an estimated $23.11 billion. Japan had asked to buy 63 F-35A, the traditional version of the electronics-laden fighter aircraft, and 42 F-35B, the short-takeoff and vertical-landing version for aircraft carriers, the State Department said in a statement. Washington gave its green light to the transaction, which will improve “the security of […]

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