WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s government has extended a strict nationwide lockdown through Tuesday as it tries to quash its first outbreak of the coronavirus in six months. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday the government expects to keep Auckland, where most of the cases have been found, in full lockdown for at least two more weeks. But she…
SYDNEY — Authorities in Australia’s New South Wales state say they will ease pandemic restrictions for vaccinated adults next month even as they are reporting a record 1,029 coronavirus infections and three deaths from COVID-19. The record reported Thursday surpassed the previous high for a 24-hour period of 919 infections just a day earlier. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the…
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 2,155 new coronavirus cases, nearly matching a record daily increase set earlier this month amid an alarming spread of infections. With Wednesday’s report, the country has tallied more than 1,000 new cases for 50 consecutive days, including a record 2,221 on Aug. 11. The virus has shown no signs of slowing despite…
MEXICO CITY — Mexico has accepted its first group of refugees from Afghanistan. The five women and one man arrived Tuesday in Mexico City, where they were welcomed by Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. Ebrard told the group, “Welcome to your home.” The refugees belong to a group involved in the field of robotics. They had to travel through six…
A news conference held by doctors in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to urge the public to get vaccinated amid a statewide surge of COVID-19 was undermined online as false reports claimed the physicians had walked off the job. Doctors who participated in Monday’s event told The Associated Press that they did not walk off the job or refuse to treat…
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s governor is urging residents and potential visitors to limit travel to the islands to essential business while the state struggles to control outbreaks of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Gov. David Ige wants to curtail travel to Hawaii through the end of October. In his words, “It is a risky time to be traveling right now.”…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister says Australian and New Zealand officials evacuated more than 650 people from Kabul Airport over Monday night. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Tuesday five flights had left the airport in the busiest day of Australian involvement in evacuations since the Taliban took control of the country. Morrison told Nine Network television that the…
