Tag: #COVID_19
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Nine dead on migrant boats heading for Canaries
Arguineguin, Spain, Nov 26 (AFP/APP):Nine migrants have been found dead in the last 24 hours around the Canary Islands, emergency services said on Wednesday, amid a surge in new arrivals at the Spanish territories off the northwest coast of Africa. Spain is in the process of setting up emergency camps for up to 7,000 people…
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France to ease lockdown as world ramps up vaccine preparations
Paris, Nov 24 (AFP/APP):France on Tuesday was set to become the latest country to ease coronavirus restrictions in the run-up to Christmas, as Russia joined in a flurry of encouraging announcements about possible vaccines. In an evening television address, French President Emmanuel Macron was also expected to announce a strategy for procuring vaccines as world…
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Amazon offers up to $3,000 signing bonus for new holiday hires
New York, Nov 24 (AFP/APP):E-commerce giant Amazon is offering signing bonuses of up to $3,000 at certain facilities in the United States as it ramps up hiring for the busy holiday season. The company — which has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic, with more and more shoppers happy to stay home — expects to hire…
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World’s poorest must not be ‘trampled’ in coronavirus vaccine race: WHO
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 24 (APP):The world’s poorest and most vulnerable must not be “trampled in the stampede” for coronavirus vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency, has warned. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said successful vaccines must be distributed equitably, and that $4.3 billion was needed to help…
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Global warming likely to raise disease risk for animals
ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (APP):Changes in climate can increase infectious disease risk in animals, with the possibility that these diseases could spread to humans, warn researchers. The study, published in the journal ‘Science’, supports a phenomenon known as “thermal mismatch hypothesis,” which is the idea that the greatest risk for infectious disease in cold climate-adapted animals…
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World renews aid for Afghanistan with strings attached
Geneva, Nov 24 (AFP/APP):The international community on Tuesday pledged another four years of aid for Afghanistan, despite the Covid-19 crisis, but tied its money to rights being upheld in stuttering peace talks with the Taliban. At a global donor conference in Geneva, countries began reaffirming their commitment to propping up a country beset by violence…
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Virus crisis to cut airline 2020 revenues by 60%: IATA
Paris, Nov 24 (AFP/APP):Airline revenues this year will plunge by 60 percent as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which threatens the survival of the industry, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday. “The Covid-19 crisis threatens the survival of the air transport industry,” with 2020 likely to go down in history as its “worst”…
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‘Half-measure’ virus vaccine intrigues experts
Paris, Nov 23 (AFP/APP):Evidence suggesting an initial half dose of the vaccine being developed by drugs firm AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is more effective than a full dose is counterintuitive, and even took the researchers by surprise. Why would less be better than more when it comes to triggering an immune response?…
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US stocks gain after latest upbeat vaccine news
New York, Nov 23 (AFP/APP):Wall Street stocks rose early Monday after another upbeat coronavirus vaccine announcement offset worries about rising virus cases. British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said they will seek regulatory approval for their coronavirus vaccine after it showed up to 90 percent effectiveness. The news comes on the heels…
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Athens hospitals preparing ‘for the worst’ with virus second wave
Athens, Nov 23 (AFP/APP):Athens hospitals are monitoring a surge in virus cases in Greece’s second city Thessaloniki and preparing “for the worst” as they expect an overflow of cases, director of a top Athens hospital told AFP. In Thessaloniki, only four percent of beds remain vacant in intensive care units and that figure is just…