Tag Archives: coronavirus

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Across Africa, obscure or forgotten health and government officials have been propelled into the public eye because of their role in fighting coronavirus. Some are unsung veterans of previous efforts to stop epidemics, such as Ebola or AIDS. Others are from a younger generation, making a …

Washington, United States | AFP | The growing use of export restrictions by governments can be “dangerously counterproductive” as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF and WTO warned Friday. The two institutions called on global leaders to commit to refrain from imposing or tightening controls on product sales, as they did at …

Steinebrunn, Austria | AFP |  As in many Western countries, one of the shocks of the coronavirus crisis in Austria was how vulnerable farms were when suddenly deprived of foreign labour — but the country is having some success in getting Austrians to plug the gap. The Schreiber family farm in …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  Elena Milashina had received death threats before. But they were never so direct or brazen. The erratic and iron-fisted leader of Chechnya in southern Russia, unhappy with her journalism about the coronavirus, put out an unambiguous call for violence against the reporter on social media this …

Paris, France | AFP |  The coronavirus pandemic blindsided international organisations, prompted individual states to unilaterally strike out alone and heralded a new chapter in the 21st century’s chief geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. In the post-COVID-19 era, will multilateralism be dead? Regional and international organisations from the …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The new coronavirus is quickly destroyed by sunlight, according to new research announced by a senior US official on Thursday, though the study has not yet been made public and awaits external evaluation. William Bryan, science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Real Madrid star Gareth Bale says there should be no rush to restart La Liga during the coronavirus lockdown as the Spanish football federation plans tests and a return to training. Testing players is being discussed with a view to completing the Liga season and thereby …

Havana, Cuba | AFP |  Yadira types out a message to her WhatsApp group, with the name of a Havana store where a supply of chicken has just arrived. Cuba already suffered from food shortages, but the coronavirus crisis has made finding food for the dinner table a veritable scavenger hunt, …

Paris, France | AFP | Qualification for the next Champions League should be “on sporting merit” if domestic leagues cannot be completed but countries should “explore all possible options” to finish seasons suspended because of the coronavirus crisis, UEFA said on Thursday. “If a domestic competition is prematurely terminated for legitimate …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Unarmed Madagascar soldiers went door-to-door in the capital Antananarivo, doling out sachets of a local herbal tea touted by President Andry Rajoelina as a powerful remedy against the novel coronavirus. Baptised Covid-Organics, the tonic is derived from artemisia — a plant with proven efficacy in treating …