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'Fortress Australia' reopens borders to tourists on February 21
Australia will reopen its borders to tourists from February 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday, ending some of the world's strictest and longest-running pandemic travel restrictions.

China locks down city of 3.5 million near Vietnam border
A Chinese city of 3.5 million near the border with Vietnam was on lockdown Monday after more than 70 coronavirus cases were discovered there over the past three days.
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'Global Dream' turns into nightmare for German port town
The unfinished "Global Dream" rests quietly in a dock as the Covid-19 pandemic has turned the cruise ship into a nightmare for the shipyard in Wismar along Germany's windswept Baltic coast.
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Canada protests against Covid measures gain steam
An occupation of Canada's capital by truckers opposed to vaccine mandates gained steam as it entered its second week on Saturday, with more demonstrators piling onto the clogged streets of Ottawa, while protests kicked off in several other cities.
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More protesters against Covid measures enter Canada capital
Protesters again poured into Canada's capital early Saturday to join a convoy of truckers whose occupation of Ottawa to denounce Covid vaccine mandates is now in its second week.
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Tuchel tests positive for coronavirus, doubt for Club World Cup trip
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel could miss his side's trip to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup after testing positive for Covid-19.
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New Covid infections in Hong Kong reach record high
Hong Kong's "zero-Covid" policy was on the ropes Saturday as authorities announced a record number of new infections, sending officials scrambling to ramp up testing capacity and warning that a tightening of virus-control measures could be needed.
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Canada protests against Covid measures set to ramp up
A week-long occupation of Canada's capital by truckers opposed to vaccine mandates was set to ramp up Saturday with thousands of demonstrators expected to pile into Ottawa while other cities also braced for protests.

US death toll from Covid-19 surpasses 900,000: tracker
The US death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic surpassed 900,000 on Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.

India's coronavirus death toll crosses 500,000
India's official death toll from Covid-19 passed 500,000 on Friday, although many experts believe the real figure is likely much higher.

Cyprus tourist arrivals rebound to half pre-Covid level
Tourist arrivals to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus rebounded last year but were still down roughly 50 percent from a pre-pandemic record, official data showed on Thursday.
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End of pandemic in sight for Europe: WHO
Two years after the outbreak of Covid-19, Europe could soon enter a "long period of tranquility" due to high vaccination rates, the milder Omicron variant and the end of winter, the WHO said Thursday.
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World's first malaria vaccine making inroads in western Kenya
Lucy Akinyi's three children were infected with malaria so often she would be at their local health clinic in western Kenya every other week getting them treated.
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Belgian Olympian 'safe' after tearful plea from Covid isolation
Skeleton racer Kim Meylemans said Thursday she was "safe" and back in the Beijing Olympic Village having been released from a Covid isolation facility following a tearful post on Instagram.
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New Zealand to start easing tough Covid border controls
New Zealand will start easing some of the world's toughest pandemic border restrictions this month but will not fully reopen until October, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday.
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US intelligence says directed energy could explain Havana syndrome
Intense directed energy from an external source could have caused some cases of the debilitating so-called "Havana syndrome" among US diplomats, US intelligence said Wednesday, supporting the possibility of deliberate attacks.
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Biden relaunches cancer 'moonshot' to halve death rate
President Joe Biden announced a relaunch of the government's cancer "moonshot" effort in a White House ceremony Wednesday, setting a goal of cutting the US death rate from the disease by half.

Australia says warship did not bring Covid to eruption-hit Tonga
Australian defence chiefs on Wednesday said a warship delivering aid to Tonga was not the source of an outbreak that has plunged the previously coronavirus-free Pacific kingdom into lockdown.

Eruption-hit Tonga enters lockdown as Covid detected
Tonga will go into Covid-19 lockdown Wednesday after the virus was detected in a fresh blow to the Pacific kingdom as it struggles to recover from last month's devastating volcanic eruption, officials said.
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Canadian province scraps tax on Covid unvaccinated
Canada's Quebec province announced Tuesday it was scrapping plans for a health tax on those who are not vaccinated against Covid-19, following a public backlash over the proposal.
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Swim world championships in Fukuoka moved to 2023 due to Covid: organisers
The swimming world championships scheduled to take place in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in May this year have been postponed until July 2023 because of Covid-19 risks, organisers said on Tuesday.

Beijing Olympics venues could be 50 percent full, official says
A senior Olympics official said Tuesday that venues at the Beijing Winter Games could be up to 50 percent full, countering fears that Covid-19 would lead to a second consecutive Games without spectators.
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Music industry wakes up to mental health crisis
It was a highly original way to drop a new track: live in the studio on France's evening news, Belgian star Stromae answered a question by launching into "L'enfer" ("Hell").
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Moderna Covid vaccine gets full US approval
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that it has granted full approval to Moderna's Covid-19 "Spikevax" vaccine, which had previously received an emergency use authorization in the United States.
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Long-awaited 'partygate' report handed to UK PM
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received a version of an eagerly-awaited report into claims of lockdown-breaking parties at his Downing Street office, the government said on Monday.
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Spotify to link virus content to Covid facts after misinformation row
Music streaming giant Spotify announced Sunday it would start guiding listeners of podcasts discussing Covid-19 to facts about the pandemic, after artists including Neil Young pulled their songs from the platform in anger at misinformation.
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Unvaccinated and undeterred: Austria holdouts dig in despite new law
Despite vaccination against Covid-19 becoming mandatory in Austria on Friday, musician Katharina Teufel-Lieli insists she won't bow to pressure to get the jab.
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Long haul Covid patients find hope in recovery clinics
When Stephanie Hedrick realized she was still suffering from shortness of breath, blurry vision and brain fog months after recovering from Covid-19, she knew she needed more help than her primary care doctor alone could provide.
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Portugal's Socialists re-elected with majority
Portugal's ruling Socialists unexpectedly won an outright majority to govern solo after snap elections on Sunday that also saw the far right make huge gains.
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Spotify to link virus content to Covid facts after disinformation row
Music streaming giant Spotify announced Sunday that it would start guiding listeners of podcasts discussing Covid-19 to more information about the pandemic, following a row that saw artist Neil Young remove his music from the platform.
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Sealed off: Inside the 'closed loop' at the Beijing Winter Olympics
The Beijing Olympics are taking place in a strict "closed loop" with 60,000 competitors, journalists and the Chinese workforce looking after them cut off from local people and tested for Covid-19 every day.
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'Felt like a bullet': Bhutan PM mourns rare Covid death
Bhutan's success in avoiding coronavirus is almost unrivalled but a rare patient death -- just the kingdom's fourth -- shows more work was needed to fight the pandemic there, its leader says.