ASEAN IN FOCUS

WHO says, ‘aggressive’ action needed in SEAsia to stop virus

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — The World Health Organization called for “aggressive” action in Southeast Asia to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus, warning Tuesday that some countries were heading towards community transmission of the deadly disease. Infections have soared across the region in recent weeks, forcing several countries to introduce drastic measures ranging from closing their borders to foreign arrivals and imposing nighttime curfews to closing schools and cancelling sports events. There are concerns that weaker […]

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British woman dies in Bali from coronavirus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A British woman has died in Bali from coronavirus, authorities said Wednesday, marking Indonesia’s first confirmed death from the rapidly spreading illness. The 53-year-old died early Wednesday in a hospital on the Indonesian holiday island, but it was unclear if she contracted the virus before or after arriving in Bali late last month, local officials said. She was taken to hospital last week. Indonesian health authorities said Wednesday the woman had […]

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Thai immigration officers at Bangkok airport diagnosed with COVID-19

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Two immigration officers at Bangkok’s main airport have coronavirus and may have handled the passports of visitors to Thailand, a health official said Wednesday. The men, both working at Suvarnabhumi airport, fell ill on March 7 and 8 respectively and potentially came into contact with arriving passengers in the days before their diagnosis. One of the officers was among a team-leading health screening of Thai returnees from South Korea — which […]

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No compulsory quarantine of visitors to Thailand: health ministry

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP ) — Thai health authorities on Friday said they would not order the compulsory quarantine of visitors from four countries hit hard by a coronavirus, as the kingdom struggles to balance health fears with the needs of its flatlining economy. The holidays of possibly tens of thousands of people were cast into doubt on Tuesday when the health minister insisted a quarantine of all entrants from nine countries including China — its […]

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Thai man dies from coronavirus infection complications

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A Thai man has died from complications doctors say were due to the deadly coronavirus, though health officials were reluctant Monday to conclusively confirm the cause of his death. The 35-year-old was diagnosed with dengue fever in January before doctors detected the virus two weeks later and transferred him to Bamrasnaradura Hospital, where many confirmed coronavirus patients are being treated. He tested negative for COVID-19 by February 16 but the […]

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Erupting Indonesian volcano spews massive ash cloud

SOLO, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted Tuesday, shooting a massive ash cloud some 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) in the air which coated nearby communities with grey dust and forced an airport closure. Ash mixed with sand rained down on towns as far as 10 kilometers (six miles) from the belching crater near Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta. “There was a thundering noise for at least five minutes and I could see […]

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Thai man dies from coronavirus infection complications

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A Thai man has died from complications doctors say were due to the deadly coronavirus, though health officials were reluctant Monday to conclusively confirm the cause of his death. The 35-year-old was diagnosed with dengue fever in January before doctors detected the virus two weeks later and transferred him to Bamrasnaradura Hospital, where many confirmed coronavirus patients are being treated. He tested negative for COVID-19 by February 16 but the lung […]

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Indonesia confirms first coronavirus cases

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia on Monday reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, after health officials in the world’s fourth-most populous country, hit back at questions over its apparent lack of infected patients. A 64-year-old woman and her daughter, 31, tested positive for the virus at a Jakarta hospital, said health minister Terawan Agus Putranto. “This morning I received the test results and they were positive,” he told reporters in the capital. “Both are […]

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New Malaysia PM sworn in as Mahathir fights on

by Sam Reeves / Patrick Lee KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — A staunch Muslim nationalist backed by a scandal-mired party was sworn in as Malaysia’s premier Sunday after a reformist government’s collapse, but ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 94, slammed the move as illegal. The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into turmoil after Mahathir’s “Pact of Hope” alliance, which stormed to a historic victory in 2018, collapsed amid bitter infighting. Mahathir, who was the world’s oldest leader, […]

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Malaysia’s next PM Muhyiddin: low-profile political insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Muhyiddin Yassin, who is set to become Malaysia’s next prime minister, is a low-profile political insider and former stalwart of the establishment Muslim party that led the country for decades. As Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim engaged in a power struggle following the collapse of their two-year-old coalition, the unassuming 72-year-old emerged as an unexpected compromise candidate. He managed to outmanoeuvre them both by forming an alliance of parties dominated […]

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Malaysia’s Mahathir loses PM race, scandal-plagued party returns

  by Sam Reeves / M. Jegathesan Agence France Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad lost a power struggle Saturday with a little-known ex-interior minister to be the country’s new leader in a shock twist that will return a scandal-plagued party to power. Muhyiddin Yassin’s surprise victory not only sidelines Mahathir, who had been the world’s oldest premier at 94, but also dashes the hopes of Anwar Ibrahim of becoming leader any […]

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US postpones ASEAN regional summit due to coronavirus: US official

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has delayed a regional ASEAN summit scheduled to take place in Las Vegas next month due to fears of the coronavirus, a senior administration official said Friday. “As the international community works together to defeat the novel coronavirus, the United States, in consultation with ASEAN partners, has made the difficult decision to postpone the ASEAN leaders meeting,” said the official on condition of not being named. […]

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