North Dakota governor changes tack and issues mask mandate

After months of resisting ordering the people of North Dakota to wear masks and limit the size of gatherings, the state's Republican governor relented in an effort to stem a coronavirus surge that is among the worst in the U.S. and that threatens to overwhelm the state's hospitals.

Trust in vaccines vital to halting pandemic: WHO

As the world celebrates advances in vaccines against the novel coronavirus, a top WHO expert warned in an interview with AFP that public distrust risked rendering even the most effective treatments useless against the pandemic.

'Don't give up': German hospital in for virus long haul

No matter if a viable vaccine is coming on the market soon or not, Germany's Aachen hospital already knows there will still be a marathon to run when it comes to treating patients worst hit by the coronavirus.

Amid virus surge, Paris hospitals begin to see signs of hope

Dry-coughing as he pedals—a hack, hack, hack after-effect of his own personal battle with COVID-19—the doctor cycles through the dark of pre-dawn Paris, speeding to a crisis meeting at his hospital where, way back in February, the disease carried away the first of what has now become more than a quarter-million dead in Europe.

Poland reports record rise in coronavirus deaths

Poland on Saturday reported a record 548 new coronavirus deaths over a 24-hour period, just days after the government decided against introducing nationwide quarantine.

Belgium announces measures for bird flu outbreak

Belgium has detected an outbreak of bird flu, leading authorities to order all poultry farmers and individual bird owners to keep the animals confined, the country's food safety agency AFSCA said Saturday.

Egypt unveils ancient coffins, statues found in Saqqara

Egyptian antiquities officials on Saturday announced the discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins, some with mummies inside, and around 40 gilded statues in a vast Pharaonic necropolis south of Cairo.

Turkey's COVID-19 deaths returns to April levels

Turkish health ministry statistics show 93 people died in one day of COVID-19 amid a surge in infections, bringing the daily death toll to numbers last seen in April.

Mexico City closes bars, limits eateries as virus cases rise

Mexico City announced Friday it will order bars closed for two weeks after the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 rose to levels not seen since August.

SpaceX crew flight delayed; Musk gets mixed COVID-19 results

SpaceX delayed its second astronaut flight by a day because of high wind and weather conditions that could jeopardize the recovery and recycling of the rocket booster, pushing the launch to Sunday.

Austria shuts schools, most stores, to curb spread of virus

Austria announced Saturday that it is tightening its partial lockdown, including by closing non-essential stores and shifting schools to online teaching, amid galloping coronavirus infection rates in the Alpine nation.

Most type 2 diabetes patients are at high risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke

Preventing heart attacks and strokes in type 2 diabetes patients managed in primary care should be an urgent priority. That's the conclusion of a study published on World Diabetes Day in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).