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GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — New COVID-19 variants that make the virus more contagious and could render vaccine and antibody protection less effective have spread rapidly across dozens of countries, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. In its latest epidemiological update, the UN health agency said the more contagious COVID-19 variant first spotted in Britain had by January 25 spread to 70 countries across all regions of the world. That variant, which is known as VOC 202012/01 and has proven to transmit more easily than previous variants of the virus, had thus spread to 10 more countries over the past week, it…

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted Wednesday with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) down its slopes. No casualties were reported. The sounds of the eruption could be heard 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, officials said. It was Mount Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised its danger level in November, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. She said the volcano’s lava dome is growing rapidly, causing hot lava and gas clouds to flow down its slopes. After morning rain, the ashfall…

China has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers to be at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV has reported. Officials took anal swabs from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing last week, according to the state broadcaster CCTV, while those in designated quarantine facilities have also had the tests. Small, localised outbreaks in recent weeks have resulted in multiple cities in northern China being sealed off from the rest of the country and prompted mass testing campaigns, which had mostly been conducted using throat and nose swabs. The anal swabs method “can increase…

Yaoundé, Cameroon- Fifty-three people are dead and 29 seriously injured following a collision Wednesday between a bus and a truck containing flammable liquid in West Cameroon. The accident occurred at around 3 a.m. at the Cliff of Dschang, near the city of the same name. “This unfortunate accident, which occurred during the night, highlights the problem of night trips favored by certain interurban passenger transport companies and the need for their supervision,” said Cameroon’s transport minister, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe. The bus belonged to Menoua voyages, he said, an interurban travel agency operating in the region. The injured, which…

The economy is set to take a hit as big as $25 million during the two-week lockdown that comes into effect a week from Wednesday, said Prime Minister Mia Mottley, declaring that she was not willing to sacrifice Barbadian lives to stabilise the economy. Mottley also said she expressed this sentiment to a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during a recent meeting with Government. She insisted that the 10 lives lost so far to COVID-19 were ten too many. She told the nation: “I can’t guarantee that we won’t lose others but we are going to guarantee that…

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated Wednesday that the coronavirus lockdown in England will remain in place until at least March 8 as he ruled out any imminent return to school for most students. In a statement to lawmakers, Johnson also confirmed new restrictions for travelers arriving in England from countries where the government thinks there is a risk of known variants of the coronavirus. He said the U.K. remains in a “perilous situation” with more than 37,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly double the number during the country’s previous peak in April. While dashing hopes that…

CMC- Former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson and former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) Corporation, in Guyana, Rawlston Adams, appeared in court Monday charged with conspiracy to defraud a government corporation of almost G$163 million (US$781,841). Patterson, who is also General Secretary of the Alliance For Change (AFC), and Adams jointly face the indictable charge that, between November 18, 2016, and February 1, 2018, they conspired with each other and with other persons unknown to defraud the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) Asphalt Plant of G$162,635,015 (US$780,091), for a project about a feasibility study and design…

Vincentians living in the Red Zone in addition to other parts of the island have been advised to keep some water handy as volcanic ash from any explosive eruption of La Soufriere could negatively affect the water supply. This possible scenario was highlighted during a virtual community meeting last night for Georgetown called ‘Eyeing La Soufriere.’ Geologist with the UWI Seismic Research Unit, professor Richard Robertson said one of the potentials of an explosive eruption is for ash to get into everything. He notes most water catchments in St Vincent are open and there are effects that ash could have…

The public is asked to note that the section of the Windward Highway from “Drop Off” in San Souci to Mount Grenan Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic this evening from 7:45pm. This is to facilitate the clearance of the overhanging rocks in that area. BRAGSA is therefore advising persons that vehicular traffic will be diverted through Diamond Village, exiting at the Mount Grenan Bridge back onto the Windward Highway. Access to that section of the Highway will be granted upon completion of the exercise. BRAGSA apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Tuesday night announced new measures to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Barbados. Restricted movement will go into effect from February 3 to 17 over a 15-day period during which she says the island needs to pause. A national curfew will be in effect from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. during that time, tightening up on the current 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. directive Even as she urged residents and visitors not to panic, Mottley said the Caribbean Public Health Laboratory, CARPHA, confirmed the UK variant of COVID-19 was in Barbados, with three…