Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Saturday he is weighing placing a two-week quarantine on New York and nearby states, the US epicenter of coronavirus infections, to slow the spread of the disease to other parts of the country. The harshest measure yet by the US …
Read More »US lab unveils portable 5-minute COVID-19 test
Washington, United States | AFP | A US-based lab has unveiled a portable test that can tell if someone has COVID-19 in as little as five minutes, it said in a statement Friday. Abbott Laboratories said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given it emergency authorization to begin …
Read More »Fears of domestic violence rise as millions confined over virus
Berlin, Germany | AFP | With families across Europe confined to their homes to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, fears are rising of a surge in domestic violence. From Berlin to Paris, Madrid, Rome and Bratislava, associations that help victims of domestic violence have sounded the alarm after Europe …
Read More »Former La Liga winger dons white coat to take on coronavirus
Corunna, Spain | AFP | Journeyman footballer Toni Dovale put his football boots to one side and slipped into a pharmacist’s white coat in the front line struggle against coronavirus in Spain. The 29-year-old pharmacy graduate and former top-level sportsman had been playing football for a Thai club, but was visiting …
Read More »Hedge funds are pouncing on companies infected by coronavirus
New York, United States | AFP | Hedge funds have lost billions of dollars as coronavirus has stalled the economy and sent Wall Street into a tailspin. But the financial institutions favored by the world’s richest investors are plotting a recovery by betting on the markets’ slump. US-based hedge funds are …
Read More »Trump signs $2 trillion recovery plan as US virus cases skyrocket
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump signed into law Friday the $2 trillion rescue plan to salvage a US economy crippled by the novel coronavirus, on a day the nation recorded more than 100,000 confirmed cases of virus infections. Hours earlier, the House of Representatives passed the …
Read More »As rich nations battle COVID-19, anxiety grows for low-income states
Paris, France | AFP | As Europe and the United States struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, aid groups warn that without measures millions could die in low-income countries and war zones such as Syria and Yemen, where hygiene conditions are already dire. The outbreak has infected some 580,000 people …
Read More »International tourism to plunge up to 30% due to virus: UN
Madrid, Spain | AFP | International travel will likely fall by 20-30 percent in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, putting millions of jobs in the global tourism sector at risk, the World Tourism Organization said Friday. This revises sharply lower a forecast made on March 6 of a …
Read More »Xi tells Trump China and US must ‘unite to fight virus’
Beijing, China | AFP | China and the United States should “unite to fight” the deadly coronavirus pandemic, President Xi Jinping said in a call with Donald Trump on Friday, as he called for the US to improve relations. The two countries have clashed in recent weeks over the virus, and …
Read More »Boris Johnson tests positive for COVID-19
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday that he is self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. “Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus,” he said on Twitter, posting a video message. “I am now self-isolating, …
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