NEW YORK (AFP) -- Wall Street stocks suffered a second straight rout Tuesday, with losses picking up after US health officials warned the virus was likely to hit the world's biggest economy. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 27,083.46, down 3.1 percent and about 875 points. The broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.0 percent to 3,128.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.8 percent to 8,965.61. The losses were slightly more modest than Monday, when the Do

World News Feb. 26, 2020

ALGIERS (AFP) -- Algerian authorities on Tuesday announced the country's first case of the novel coronavirus, in an Italian citizen who arrived in the country on February 17. "One case was confirmed positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), out of two suspected cases (both) of Italian nationality," the North African country's health ministry said. State television said the infected person had been placed in isolation, without offering further details. The health ministry said it had rei

World News Feb. 26, 2020

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- American health authorities said Tuesday they ultimately expect the novel coronavirus to spread in the United States and are urging local governments, businesses, and schools to develop plans like canceling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking. Officials are also worried the outbreak poses a threat to the the security of the US drug supply chain because a high proportion of ingredients used to make medicine is made in China, where the virus was first identified. &qu

World News Feb. 26, 2020

BEIJING (AFP) -- The World Health Organization warned Monday that the new coronavirus might be around for months but said the measures China implemented have prevented the infections of hundreds of thousands of people. Bruce Aylward, leader of a joint WHO-China mission of experts, said the world can learn from the nation's approach to restraining the virus. "The single biggest lesson is speed. Speed is everything and what worries me most is, has the rest of the world learned the lesson o

World News Feb. 25, 2020

PARIS (AFP) -- Infections jump sharply outside China. Italy locks down several cities. Stocks tumble on world markets. Here are the latest developments in the new coronavirus crisis. 2,592 dead in China Mainland China's official death toll hits 2,592, with more than 77,000 people now reported infected. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution, China postpones its annual parliament session when Communist Party leaders including President Xi Jinping gather to rubber-stamp bills and bu

World News Feb. 25, 2020

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong will bar non-residents arriving from South Korea from Tuesday morning in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak, the city's security chief said late Monday. "Considering the development of the epidemic in South Korea, the Security Bureau will issue a red travel alert," John Lee told reporters. "We also urge Hong Kong residents not to travel there unless necessary," he added. (AFP)

World News Feb. 24, 2020

NAJAF-- Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the c

World News Feb. 24, 2020

DUBAI (AFP) -- Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran. Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic. (AFP)

World News Feb. 24, 2020

PARIS (AFP) -- The new coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year has now killed more than 2,400 people and spread around the world. Outside mainland China there have been 26 deaths and more than 1,500 infections reported, with cases concentrated in South Korea and the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Here is a roundup of the areas where cases of COVID-19, the virus's official designation, have been confirmed: CHINA  ===== As of Sunday some 77

World News Feb. 24, 2020

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country's largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak's relentless global march. Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown in Hubei province, the outbreak's epicentre. Italy reported a third death while cases spiked and

World News Feb. 24, 2020

ROME (AFP) -- An elderly cancer patient became the third person known to be infected with the coronavirus to die in Italy, health officials said on Sunday, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount. The death of the woman in a hospital in the small city of Crema in Lombardy, the centre of Italy's coronavirus scare, followed that of a 77-year-old woman on Saturday and a 78-year-old man on Friday, the first victim of coronavirus in Europe. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte u

World News Feb. 24, 2020

SYDNEY (AFP) -- Two Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said Friday, raising questions about Japan's policy of allowing evacuees to return home after testing negative. "We have two people who are positive for the COVID-19 virus. Those two people have mild illness," said Dianne Stephens, acting chief health officer for the Northern Territories. Hundreds of people have been allowed to leave the ship after testin

World News Feb. 21, 2020

COLORADO SPRINGS (AFP) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday scorned the best picture Oscar for South Korean film "Parasite," asking how a foreign movie could get the honor. "How bad was the Academy Awards this year?" Trump asked the crowd at a packed reelection campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "We got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year?" Trump asked in disbelief. "Parasite,&quo

Film Feb. 21, 2020

TOKYO (AFP) -- Two former passengers of the coronavirus-wracked Diamond Princess have died, local media reported Thursday, as fears mount about those who have left the ship after testing negative for the virus. A man and a woman in their 80s who had been infected have died, public broadcaster NHK and others reported, which would be the first fatal cases among the more than 600 on board the cruise ship. Both had underlying conditions and had been taken off the ship on February 11 and 12 before

World News Feb. 20, 2020

LONDON (AFP) -- Jose Mourinho fears his side's season is running out of gas after an injury-hit Spurs slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. Spurs could be without the talismanic duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min for the rest of the season through injury and looked toothless against the Bundesliga contenders.  "We are in a very difficult situation," said Mourinho. "What worries me is this is going to be the

Soccer Feb. 20, 2020