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Despite a sluggish start, the European Union’s COVID-19 vaccination drive has caught up to that of the United States, where the slowdown of the country’s once-vaunted campaign has contributed to the virus’s deadly comeback. In mid-February, less than 4 per cent of people living in the 27-nation EU were at least partially vaccinated against the coronavirus, compared with nearly 12 per cent in the US, according to Our World in Data, an online science publication connected to the University of Oxford. Now the EU has surpassed the US by that…

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Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has warned that more people will come down with COVID-19 as the trade and financial hub opens up its economy and moves towards treating the virus as an endemic. “Our companies cannot grow if businessmen and managers cannot travel overseas to meet clients and partners. MNCs (multinational corporations) will find it hard to invest here if their people are not able to travel in and out of Singapore,” the minister stressed. “And if this continues, our ability to create jobs, earn a living will…

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Thousands of residents fled to safety from a wildfire that burned for a fourth day north of Athens early Friday, during an overnight battle to stop the flames reaching populated areas, electricity installations and historic sites. In heat wave conditions, the blaze tore through forest areas 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of the capital, destroying more homes. Ground crews of several hundred firefighters dug fire breaks and hosed the flames. Traffic was halted on the country’s main highway connecting Athens to northern Greece, as crews tried to use the road…

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