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Virus-hit Hong Kong invokes emergency powers to allow in China medics
Hong Kong's government invoked emergency powers on Thursday to allow doctors and nurses from the Chinese mainland to work in the territory to help combat a spiralling coronavirus outbreak.
US authorizes first condom for use in anal sex
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized the first condom for use during anal intercourse, in what was hailed as a victory for sexual health by experts.
UN expert urges vaccines to help North Korea end Covid isolation
The world should provide millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines to North Korea, where "draconian" anti-pandemic measures are worsening an already-severe food crisis, a UN human rights expert said Wednesday.
US maternal mortality soars amid widening racial disparities
The US maternal mortality rate -- already the worst in the industrialized world -- rose in 2020 to its highest level in half a century, with Black women three times more likely to die than white women, data showed Wednesday.
In conservative Singapore, plus-size actors take centre stage
"I dare you, watch me as I undress," sings actor Ross Nasir in a Singapore musical comedy about dating as a plus-size woman, highlighting a nascent fat acceptance movement in a city-state that once forced children to join weight loss programmes.
Queen Elizabeth II cancels engagements over Covid symptoms
Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled her planned virtual engagements for Tuesday due to "mild" coronavirus symptoms, Buckingham Palace said.
Hong Kong to see three rounds of compulsory virus tests
Hong Kong's population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city's leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed that mainland Chinese officials were now coordinating the response to the financial hub's worst outbreak.
Ajax agree 7.85 mn euros compensation for Nouri
Ajax said on Monday they will pay 7.85 million euros ($8.91 million) to the family of former player Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered brain damage after a cardiac arrest during a friendly match more than four years ago.
England scraps compulsory self-isolation period for Covid cases
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday all pandemic legal curbs in England would end later this week, urging a shift from government intervention to personal responsibility.
Trudeau: Canada blockades lifted, but 'emergency is not over'
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday defended his use of emergency powers to end weeks-long trucker-led protests and argued that lingering threats require the measures to remain in force for now.
Hong Kong to launch vaccine pass as Omicron outbreak rages
Hong Kong will launch a vaccine pass scheme this week, officials said Monday, as hospitals struggle under an Omicron-fuelled outbreak and the finance hub sees record-high departures.
Footballers' union call for temporary concussion substitutes
Temporary concussion substitutes are needed to safeguard players because of the pressure on medical teams to make quick assessments, the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said Monday.
UK's Johnson to scrap all Covid legal curbs as criticism mounts
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set Monday to announce an end to all pandemic legal curbs in England, insisting it is time to move on despite political opposition and unease from the UN's health agency.
Queen catches 'mild' Covid soon after 70th anniversary
Queen Elizabeth II tested positive on Sunday for Covid-19 but aides said her symptoms were "mild", as politicians wished Britain's longest-serving monarch a rapid recovery in her 70th year on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth catches 'mild' Covid
Britain's 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, a fortnight after marking 70 years on the throne, but aides said her symptoms were "mild".
UK's PM denies end to Covid law is reckless
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied throwing "caution to the wind" as he prepares to end all pandemic-related legal restrictions in England, amid a political backlash and scientific unease.
China helps virus-ravaged Hong Kong build isolation units
Construction crews from mainland China were helping Hong Kong build two temporary isolation facilities to house thousands of coronavirus patients on Sunday as a senior official declared the city "in full combat mode".
Police move to clear last demonstrators in Canada's trucker-led protests
Police in Canada moved Friday to dislodge the final truckers and protesters from downtown Ottawa, in a mostly peaceful operation aimed at bringing an end to three weeks of demonstrations over Covid-19 health rules.
Police move to clear trucker-led protests in Canada capital
Canadian police moved Friday to clear a trucker-led demonstration against Covid rules, arresting 70 people and towing away dozens of vehicles that have been choking streets of the Canadian capital for three weeks.
Police start to clear trucker-led protests in Canada capital
Canadian police on Thursday began a massive operation to clear the trucker-led protests against Covid health rules clogging the capital for three weeks, with several arrests made.
Hong Kong foreign domestic workers 'abandoned' in virus crisis
Hong Kong's foreign domestic workers are being "abandoned" in the current coronavirus wave sweeping the city, with some forced to sleep rough or being denied treatment after testing positive, charities warned Friday.
New Zealand police reject calls to clear anti-vax camp
New Zealand police ruled out forcibly clearing anti-vaccination protesters camped around parliament in Wellington on Friday, saying they did not want to provoke violence on the streets of the capital.
Police arrest Canadian protest leaders
Canadian police on Thursday began arresting leaders of the trucker-led protest that has choked the capital's streets for three weeks and provoked the government into calling on rarely used emergency powers.
Canada police set for 'imminent' action to clear trucker protests
Canadian police were poised Thursday to move against a trucker-led protest that has choked the national capital's streets for three weeks and finally provoked the government into calling on rarely used emergency powers.
US ships 5 mln Covid vaccine doses to Egypt, Nigeria
The United States on Thursday shipped nearly 5.2 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Egypt and Nigeria, a White House official told AFP.
Canada police ready to move in to clear trucker-led protests
Canadian police massed in the capital Thursday, readying to clear a trucker-led protest that has choked Ottawa's streets and provoked the government to call on rarely-used emergency powers.
Djokovic eager for Dubai comeback after vaccine controversy
World number one Novak Djokovic said he has missed playing tennis on Thursday as he prepares for his comeback in Dubai after the coronavirus vaccine row that kept him from defending his Australian Open title.
Aussie tennis star de Minaur investigated over false Covid pass purchase scheme
Australian tennis player Alex de Minaur is among those being investigated over the purchase of false Covid passes, Spanish police sources told AFP on Thursday.
Japan eases virus border rules for visaholders, tourists still banned
Japan will ease its strict virus border rules to allow students and businesspeople into the country from March, but tourists will still be barred, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
Japan eases virus border rules for workers, students
Japan will ease its strict virus border rules to allow students and businesspeople into the country from March, but tourists will still be barred, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
'Battlefield mode': Hong Kong hospitals buckle under Omicron wave
Huddled under blankets and thermal shields, dozens of elderly patients shivered on gurneys outside a hospital serving one of Hong Kong's poorest communities -- a grim tableau for the city as its health system buckles under an Omicron-fuelled coronavirus wave.
Police issue ultimatum to protesters to leave Canada capital
Canadian police issued an ultimatum Wednesday to protesters who've been choking Ottawa streets for 20 days to leave the capital, as state and provincial leaders called for an end to the cross-border vaccine requirement that sparked the trucker-led movement.