LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Passengers on a cruise ship stranded off the coast of San Francisco were confined to their cabins Thursday as tests were conducted to determine if any of the nearly 3,500 guests and crew had contracted the new coronavirus. Authorities said the Grand Princess, which had been scheduled to dock on Wednesday, would remain at sea until the test results of those who had shown symptoms of the virus are known. The California National Guard said it had flown test kits to the ship

  PARIS (AFP) -- The International Olympic Committee insist that a potential cancellation or postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics due to the global spread of the deadly coronavirus were "not mentioned" at a meeting of their Executive Board on Wednesday. However, the virus, which has killed 3,200 people while infecting 90,000 in more than 60 countries worldwide, is having a major impact on world sport. AFP Sport looks at the latest effects on Wednesday: TOKYO OLYMPICS Int

BUDAPEST (AFP) -- Hungary and Slovenia reported their first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday in two Iranian students and a third patient who recently travelled back from Morocco via Italy. "Two patients have been taken into medical care due to coronavirus infections," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook video message. "Two foreigners, students studying in Hungary, Iranians, they are currently symptom-free it seems, but confirmed as inf

  NEW YORK (AFP) -- US media tycoon Michael Bloomberg quit the Democratic presidential race and endorsed frontrunner Joe Biden on Wednesday, after blowing more than half a billion dollars on a gamble that failed to inspire voters. The billionaire had bet his White House run on Super Tuesday but failed to win any of the 14 states up for grabs on the most important day in the primary season. A lack of charisma, limping debate performances, controversy over "stop and frisk" policie

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The World Bank unveiled a $12 billion aid package on Tuesday that will provide fast-track funds to help countries combat the coronavirus outbreak. "The goal is to provide fast, effective action that responds to country needs," World Bank President David Malpass told reporters. He said it is critical to "recognize the extra burden on poor countries" least equipped in the struggle to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The funds, some of whic

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday led the global charge in response to the growing economic risk posed by the new coronavirus, announcing an emergency interest rate cut after the UN health agency said the world has entered "uncharted territory." But the Fed's stimulus, which came hours after the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers pledged to take action using "all appropriate policy tools," wasn't enough to prevent Wall Street stocks fr

  TAIPEI (AFP) -- Taiwanese tech giant and iPhone assembler Foxconn said Tuesday its Chinese factories are operating at 50 percent of seasonal capacity and are expecting to take a hit for the current quarter due to the coronavirus outbreak. Also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn is the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer and makes Apple's iPhones as well as gadgets for other international brands. Foxconn employs more than one million workers acr

TOKYO (AFP) -- Tokyo risks losing the Olympics if they're postponed later than this year over the new coronavirus, a government minister said on Tuesday, adding that May looks like the deadline for the decision. The contract for the Games says the International Olympic Committee can withdraw hosting rights if they're not held in 2020, Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto told parliament. Japan's government, Tokyo organisers and the IOC have all pledged to hold the Games on schedule from July 2

PARIS (AFP) -- Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank chiefs were set to hold coronavirus talks Tuesday as concerns grew that the epidemic could imperil the health of the global economy. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell "will lead a call with their G7 counterparts" on Tuesday, the Treasury department confirmed in a statement. In addition to scrambling to respond to the outbreak which has now killed more than 3,100 people and

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Infections drop dramatically in China but surge abroad, the US death toll rises to six and the World Health Organization (WHO) warns we are in "uncharted territory". Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis. World spread To date, more than 3,100 have died from the new virus, while more than 90,000 have been infected in 73 countries and territories around the world, according to AFP's latest toll based on official sources at 0600 GMT Tuesday. M

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The death toll from the new coronavirus in the United States climbed to six on Monday as the contagion took root in the country's Pacific Northwest and continued its march across the globe. Worldwide, close to 3,100 people have succumbed to the illness even as a clear shift in the crisis was emerging, with nine times as many cases recorded outside China as inside, according to the UN health agency. Andorra, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Jordan, Latvia, Portugal, Tunisia a

BEIJING (AFP) -- The global death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic surpassed 3,000 on Monday after dozens more died at its epicentre in China and cases soared around the world with a second fatality on US soil. The virus has now infected more than 88,000 people and spread to over 60 countries after first emerging in China late last year. South Korea, the biggest nest of infections outside China, reported nearly 500 new cases on Monday, bringing its total past 4,000. A second person die

PARIS (AFP) -- France's famed Louvre museum closed Sunday as coronavirus cases mounted across Europe and beyond, with the global death toll nearing 3,000 and Italy reporting a near doubling of cases in 48 hours. The virus has now infected more than 88,000 people and spread to more than 60 countries around the world, well beyond the epicentre in China where it first emerged late last year. It has rattled global markets and prompted unprecedented measures from governments scrambling to contain

DUBLIN (AFP) -- Ireland on Saturday confirmed its first case of coronavirus after a man who had returned from northern Italy tested positive, the government said. Health officials said the man, from the east of Ireland, was "receiving appropriate medical care" after they followed "established protocols" in testing and diagnosing him with COVID-19. "The case is associated with travel from an affected area in northern Italy, rather than contact with another confirm

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) -- Luxembourg on Saturday announced its first case of infection by the new coronavirus: a man who recently returned from Italy, Health Minister Paulette Lenert told reporters. The man in his 40s returned to Luxembourg "at the beginning of the week" and, after "more recently" exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, had a test that confirmed the disease, she said. A second test is being carried out in the Netherlands and the results should be known on Sunday, she adde

DOHA (AFP) -- After nearly two decades of conflict that has ravaged Afghanistan's impoverished population, the United States and the Taliban signed an accord Saturday that Washington hopes will mark the beginning of the end of its longest war. The pact signed in Doha would see the United States and foreign partner forces pull all their troops from Afghanistan within 14 months, provided the Taliban stick to pledges to open a dialogue with the Western-backed Kabul government and push back agains

SEATTLE (AFP) -- The first fatality from the novel coronavirus has been confirmed on US soil, as President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Americans not to panic. Health officials said the man who died in Washington state was one of a handful with no known links to global hot zones to have contracted the virus -- indicating that the pathogen was now likely spreading in communities. The death occurred in King County, the most populous in the state and home to Seattle, a city of more than 700,00

PARIS (AFP) -- The situation improves in China while the list of countries hit globally grows, with a first case in Latin America. The WHO warns the world is "simply not ready". Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis. More than 45 countries hit There have been more than 82,100 infections and 2,800 deaths worldwide, according to the latest toll from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The number of deaths in China -- where the virus was first detected --

COPENHAGEN (AFP) -- Denmark reported its first coronavirus case Thursday, a man who had returned from a skiing holiday in northern Italy which has become a hotspot for the disease. "The man who came back from a skiing trip with his wife and son on February 24 has been suffering since then from a cough and a temperature," Denmark's public health agency said in a statement. "The man tested positive, but the results of his wife and son are negative," it said. The man is rela

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it was not inevitable that the novel coronavirus would continue to spread in the United States, as he said he is considering travel restrictions on Italy and South Korea and appointed his vice president to lead the response. His optimism about containing the pathogen contradicted a senior health official in his own administration and came as authorities said they had identified the first case in the US that was of unknown origin. &q