Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Europe and Australia Saturday as anger mounted over fresh COVID restrictions imposed against a resurgent pandemic.And Dutch police faced a second night of rioting – this time in The Hague – after the previous night's violence in the port city of Rotterdam.Clashes erupted after a day of mainly peaceful protests elsewhere in the Netherlands, with rioters throwing stones and fireworks at police and setting fire to bicycles.

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Half A Million A Day The number of new daily coronavirus cases increased sharply this week, by nine percent globally to 517,600, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.Merck Pill Gets EU Okay The European Union's (EU) drug watchdog backs Merck's anti-COVID pill for emergency use ahead of its formal authorisation and starts a review of Pfizer's antiviral treatment as cases soar across Europe.Israel Clear

The Philippines will soon welcome back foreign tourists, the government said Friday, as it prepares a partial re-opening to vaccinated travellers 20 months after closing its borders to contain the coronavirus.Tourism operators across the archipelago nation famed for its beaches and dive spots have been devastated by a plunge in international visitors and restrictions on domestic travel since the start of the pandemic.The government's COVID-19 taskforce has "approved in principle&quo

The United States (US) is set to become the latest country to widen COVID booster eligibility beyond the immunocompromised, elderly and high risk.  Many scientists tracking the data believe it's the right time for the move – though some have expressed misgivings, since the original vaccines are still holding up well against severe disease and death among the general population.Why Now?

The first case of COVID-19 identified in Wuhan, China and presented as such by the World Health Organization (WHO) was actually days later than previously believed and at an animal market, a top scientist said in the journal Science Thursday.Rather than the original patient being a man who had never been to the Wuhan market where wild and domestic animals were sold, the first known case of COVID-19 turns out to have been a woman who had worked in the market, virologist Michael Worobey wrote.F

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Germany Toughens Measures  German leaders agree tough new curbs on the unvaccinated, with plans to shut them out of restaurants, sporting events and cultural shows as the country battles to halt a record rise in COVID infections.'Europe Must Close Jab Gap' Europe must "close the gap" on vaccinations to stop its COVID-19 surge, with the un-jabbed driving a rise in hospitalisations, the European Uni

The virtual meeting between United States (US) President Joe Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping helped ease the growing tension between the two countries but did not make headway in resolving lingering US-China trade war disputes.The US-China trade war, which began in 2018 under former US President Donald Trump, has resulted in both nations paying higher taxes to bring in goods from the opposing country.Escalating import tariffs have caused supply chain disruptions that are affecting busines

The Philippines on Thursday accused Chinese Coast Guard vessels of firing water cannon at boats delivering supplies to Filipino marines in the disputed South China Sea, and ordered Beijing to "back off".Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said he had expressed "outrage, condemnation and protest" to Beijing over the incident, which he said happened Tuesday as the Philippine boats were travelling to Second Thomas Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands."Fortunately, no one

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called antibiotic resistance "one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development".It comes after experts warned for decades that excessive use of antibiotics makes it harder to tackle the bacteria the medicines were created to destroy.Here's a closer look at the problem.What Is Antibiotic Resistance? Antibiotics are medicines that either destroy bacteria or keep them from proliferating. Penicilli

Nearly two years into a pandemic that has seen China pursue some of the world's most stringent coronavirus measures, some grumbling has started to emerge over the strategy, particularly as other nations learn to live with the virus.The zero-COVID approach is unrelenting – with border closures, targeted lockdowns and mass testing triggered sometimes by just one case.The cost and pain of the strategy have been felt especially acutely by the 210,000 residents of Ruili, a Chinese city on the