Still wreaking havoc on jobs (UN)

The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on jobs around the world and a return to pre-health crisis levels could take years, the UN said on Monday.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) now forecasts a global deficit in hours worked equivalent to 52 million full-time jobs compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. This is twice what it still forecast in May. 2021.

China: new cases at the highest

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in China rose to its highest level since March 2020 on Monday, as Beijing tries to eradicate the Omicron variant three weeks from the Winter Olympics.

Athletes have already started arriving in the capital ahead of the Games, immediately entering a tightly controlled bubble that separates them entirely from the rest of the population.

China has also confirmed the reopening of its border with North Korea to the transport of goods, after two years of interruption due to a pandemic.

France: mandatory vaccine for foreign athletes

A woman wearing a mask walks in the snow on January 17, 2022 Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP

Any athlete, including a professional, who comes for a competition in France, as soon for the Six Nations tournament, will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter a sports arena, AFP learned on Monday from government sources.

The day after the expulsion from Australia of world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, unvaccinated, the French government clarified that the vaccination pass would also apply to foreign athletes who come for competitions.

The pandemic has benefited billionaires

The fortunes of the ten richest men in the world have doubled since the start of the pandemic while the incomes of 99% of humanity have melted, according to an Oxfam report published on the edge of the Davos Forum on Monday. .

The cumulative wealth of all billionaires experienced “its largest increase ever”, from 5,000 billion dollars, to reach its highest level” at 13,800 billion.

The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP

New strike in French schools

Several French education unions and the first organization of parents of students have launched a new strike call for Thursday January 20 in schools, colleges and high schools after a large-scale movement last Thursday, to demand "responses strong" in the face of the "chaos" caused by the health crisis, and massive investments in education.

Credit Suisse chairman resigns

Credit Suisse Chairman Antonio Horta-Osório, splashed by revelations around quarantine rules he broke during a brief stay in Switzerland, has resigned from his post, the bank announced, choosing Axel Lehmann for him succeed.

More than 5.53 million dead

The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 5,537,051 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources on Monday at 11:00 GMT.

In absolute terms, the countries that have recorded the most deaths since January 2020 are the United States (850,605 deaths), Brazil (621,045), India (486,451) and Russia (321,990 deaths).

The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially recorded.

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© 2022 AFP