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Indonesia reported 54,517 new cases of Covid-19, authorities said Wednesday, a single-day national record and dire warning sign for the world’s fourth-most populous country. The island nation — home to about 270 million people — is now reporting more cases a day than hard-hit India, making Indonesia the new epicenter for the pandemic in Asia. If the spread continues unabated, experts say it could push Indonesia’s health care system to the brink of disaster.
More than 100 people have been killed and dozens are missing after catastrophic flooding across Germany and Belgium, which has left several villages cut off and sparked fears that a dam could burst. Officials have warned communities in both countries “are still in danger” following Thursday’s catastrophe, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel expecting “many” more deaths amid further rainstorm warnings for Friday.
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) has agreed to pay $345 million to resolve claims by consumers who claim they overpaid for EpiPens due to anticompetitive and unfair practices by the drugmaker and the company that markets the emergency allergy treatment, Mylan. The proposed class action settlement was disclosed in a filing in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas. The deal, which requires a judge’s approval, would not resolve claims against Mylan.
Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist who worked for Reuters news agency, has been killed in southern Afghanistan. Siddiqui was in the border town of Spin Boldak on assignment with Afghan security forces when he was caught in Taliban crossfire, an Afghan commander told the news agency. He had documented the intense pressure on Afghan commando units in a story published earlier this week.
Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions on Monday is a threat to the world and provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, international experts say. Britain’s position as a global transport hub would mean any new variant here would rapidly spread around the world, scientists and physicians warned at an emergency summit.