| schema:articleBody
| - Duty Editor: Frankie Taggart Email: frankie.taggart@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Coronavirus deaths surge in US, Europe + Biden emerges as 2020 Trump challenger + Ground-zero Wuhan opens after lockdown + Watchdog blames Syria over gas attacks + Pandemic may spark world condom crunch Health-virus,WRAP PARIS France moves to extend a lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as the death toll soars across Europe and the US -- and experts warn of a potentially crippling global recession. 850 words 2100 GMT by Herve Bar with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic. US-politics-Democrats-Sanders-vote,WRAP WASHINGTON Leftist US Senator Bernie Sanders ends his presidential campaign, clearing the way for rival Joe Biden to secure the Democratic nomination and challenge Donald Trump in November. 650 words 2000 GMT by Michael Mathes. Picture Health-virus-China-Wuhan,WRAP WUHAN, China Voicing joy and excitement from behind face masks, tens of thousands of people flee Wuhan after a 76-day travel ban is lifted on the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic first emerged. 800 words moved by Jing Xuan Teng. Picture. Video. Live video Syria-conflict-chemical-arms-OPCW,WRAP THE HAGUE The global chemical weapons watchdog for the first time explicitly blames Syria for toxic attacks, saying President Bashar al-Assad's air force used the nerve gas sarin and chlorine three times in 2017. 750 words moved by Jan Hennop and Charlotte van Ouwerkerk. File picture Health-virus-condoms-Malaysia,FOCUS KUALA LUMPUR A global condom shortage is looming as the coronavirus pandemic shutters factories and disrupts supply chains, the world's top maker of the contraceptives said, with the United Nations warning of "devastating" consequences. 700 words moved by Sam Reeves with Beiyi Seow in Beijing. Picture. Video -- AMERICAS -- US-vote-politics-Biden,PROFILE WASHINGTON He has been scarred by tragedy and failed presidential runs, stumbles while speaking and is 77. But those same frailties, coupled with unmatched Washington experience, are exactly what Joe Biden bets will win over Americans tired of his polar opposite -- Donald Trump. 900 words moved by Sebastian Smith. File picture US-politics-vote-Sanders,PROFILE WASHINGTON Bernie Sanders' socialist ideals and calls for universal health care and higher wages have long been mocked in US politics, but he tapped a vein of youth discontent that made him a serious contender for the White House. 750 words moved by Paul Handley US-politics-vote-Sanders,POINTS WASHINGTON Early this year Bernie Sanders was installed as frontrunner as Joe Biden lagged way behind in the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. In a flash, it was over. 700 words 2100 GMT by Michael Mathes. Picture Health-virus-US-NewYork-Judaism-Passover,SCENE NEW YORK Matzah, wine and bitter herbs still fly off the shelves but hours before Passover the normally bustling streets of Brooklyn's Hasidic neighborhoods are eerily quiet -- save for a somber funeral procession and the persistent wail of sirens. 750 words 2000 GMT by Maggy Donaldson. Picture. Video Health-virus-US-Texas-Louisiana,SCENE ORANGE, Texas Texas is usually known for its friendliness but the Lone Star State is making things extra lonely for its neighbors to the east -- requiring visitors from coronavirus-stricken Louisiana to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the state. 450 words moved by Julia Bennarous. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Britain-Johnson LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "responding to treatment" as he spends a third day in intensive care battling the coronavirus that has claimed over 6,000 lives nationwide. 800 words moved by Alice Ritchie and Joe Jackson. Picture. Video Health-virus-Europe,FOCUS PARIS Even with the death toll still climbing, Europe's home confinement measures appear to be bearing fruit with an initial flood of hospital admissions starting to slow. But experts say dropping the guard now risks undoing all the sacrifices made and unleashing a second infection wave. 700 words moved by Juliette Collen Also moving: Health-virus-Europe-confinement,FACTS Health-virus-WHO-US-China,FOCUS GENEVA The World Health Organization pleads for global unity in fighting the coronavirus, following US President Donald Trump's stinging attack on its handling of the pandemic. 700 words 1930 GMT by Robin Millard. Video Health-virus-Russia,lead MOSCOW Russia will pay bonuses to doctors, nurses and other medical staff on the "frontline" against the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin says, as the country sees a surge in confirmed cases. 500 words moved. Picture. Video Also moved: Health-virus-Russia-medecine-telecommunication,SCENE -- AFRICA -- Health-virus-SAfrica-AIDS-TB,FOCUS JOHANNESBURG With the world's highest HIV-positive population, South Africa is moving to protect this particularly vulnerable group from coronavirus. 700 words moved by Beatrice Debut. Video Also moved: Health-virus-SAfrica-wildlife,FOCUS -- MIDEAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Sudan-Bashir-trial-corruption KHARTOUM Sudan's ousted president Omar al-Bashir loses an appeal against a sentence of two years in detention for corruption, his lawyer says. 300 words moved Health-virus-Israel-government-Judaism,FOCUS JERUSALEM To some, Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman is guilty of a "catastrophic failure" of leadership for not urgently conveying the coronavirus threat to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community that elected him. 800 words moved by Ben Simon Health-virus-Lebanon-poverty BEIRUT Millions in Lebanon risk food insecurity due to a lockdown to stem the novel coronavirus unless the government steps in to provide urgent assistance, Human Rights Watch warns. 450 words moved -- ASIA -- SKorea-NKorea-politics-vote-diplomacy,INTERVIEW SEOUL For decades, Thae Yong Ho served the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the North is officially known, rising to become its deputy ambassador to London before defecting. Now he is standing for election in the South's multi-party democracy. 700 words moved by Sunghee Hwang. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS/ECONOMY -- Health-virus-EU-economy,WRAP BRUSSELS EU finance ministers fail to agree on a rescue plan to help hard-hit member states face the coronavirus outbreak, after the Netherlands blocked the deal over bailout conditions. 650 words moved by Alex Pigman. Picture Also moved: Health-virus-EU-politics-economy-climate-energy,FOCUS Health-virus-Iran-IMF,2ndlead TEHRAN Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urges the International Monetary Fund to give the sanctions-hit country a $5 billion emergency loan to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak. 500 words moved by Amir Havasi. Picture. Video afp
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)