Asia

Young and infected: Covid-19’s new patients as India battles huge surge

by Glenda Kwek, with Nivrita Ganguly in Mumbai and Nishant Saxena in Lucknow NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Ajay Singh Yadav only managed a final video call with Raj Karan before his close friend became the latest of an alarming number of young Indians, including children, falling victim to the new coronavirus wave sweeping the country. Some doctors say the reason that under-45s are now vulnerable is that they go to work and eat out […]

Lebanon PM calls on Qatar to rescue nation facing ‘total collapse’

DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab called for wealthy Qatar’s help during a visit to the Gulf country on Monday as his nation sinks deeper into economic ruin.Diab has met with several prominent Qatari ministers and officials during the trip which Lebanese media has suggested has been mired in “secrecy”. “Lebanon has reached the brink of total collapse, as a result of decades of corruption and policies that have encouraged a […]

All adult Indians to be eligible for virus vaccine from May

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) –India said Monday it will open its Covid-19 vaccination drive to all adults from May 1, as the vast nation battles a massive spike in infections that has overwhelmed its healthcare system. “In a meeting chaired by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, an important decision of allowing vaccination to everyone above the age of 18 from 1st May has been taken,” the health ministry said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse

Japan urges release of journalist in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Japan urged Myanmar authorities on Monday to release from prison a Japanese journalist accused of spreading fake news, one of at least 65 reporters arrested during the junta’s crackdown on anti-coup protests. The military has ramped up its attempts to crush dissent following mass demonstrations against its ousting of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with at least 737 civilians killed and the press increasingly under attack. Yuki Kitazumi was detained […]

Putin will address international climate summit via video link: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russia(AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will on April 22 address an international climate summit hosted by the United States, the Kremlin said Monday, despite a sharp deterioration in ties between Moscow and Western capitals. “Vladimir Putin will outline Russia’s approaches within the context of establishing broad-ranging international cooperation aimed at overcoming the negative consequences of global climate change,” the Kremlin said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse

Iran hit by 5.9-magnitude quake, five injured

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake Sunday hit Iran’s southwestern Bushehr province, which houses a nuclear power plant, injuring five people but causing no major damage, state media said. The 10-kilometre (six mile) deep quake hit 27 kilometres northwest of the port city of Genaveh at 11:11 am local time (0641 GMT) and was felt in nearby provinces, Iran’s seismological agency said. State news agency IRNA reported that the quake and several aftershocks caused […]

Masks come off as Israel vaunts virus victory

  by Guillaume LAVALLÉE and Michael BLUM Agence France Presse JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israelis stepped into the streets without masks on Sunday for the first time in a year, a key milestone as the country vaccinates its way out of a coronavirus nightmare. “It’s very strange but it’s very nice,” said Eliana Gamulka, 26, after getting off a bus near the busy Jerusalem shopping boulevard of Jaffa Street and removing her face covering. “You can’t […]

Covid lockdown empties Delhi streets amid deadly surge

  by Bhuvan Bagga with Sailendra Sil in Kolkata Agence France Presse NEL DELHI, India (AFP) — New Delhi led major cities across India into a weekend lockdown Saturday as the country confronts a fierce new coronavirus wave, with more than 230,000 fresh daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds. Hopes that South Asia might have beaten the pandemic have been dashed with India seeing over two million new cases this month […]

US, Japan show united front on China in Biden’s first summit

  by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Friday welcomed Japan’s prime minister as his first guest, pledging a united front faced with a rising China and greater cooperation on 5G technology and climate change. Waiting nearly three months for his first summit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden told Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that Japan had “our iron-clad support” on security issues and beyond. “We’re […]

Russia bans top Biden officials as tensions soar

by Anastasia CLARK Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Friday banned top officials from US President Joe Biden’s administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals. The wave of Russian action comes a day after the Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for what it says was interference by the […]

Iran says production of 60% enriched uranium ‘underway’

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Friday it has begun producing uranium at 60 percent purity, in another breach of its commitments to the international community which is concerned about its nuclear programme. The Islamic republic had declared it would sharply ramp up its enrichment of uranium on Tuesday, two days after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that it blamed on arch-foe Israel. The incidents cast a shadow over talks in Vienna aimed […]

Vaccine giant Serum Institute of India tweets Biden to end US raw materials ’embargo’

  MUMBAI, India (AFP) — The head of the world’s largest vaccine maker directly tweeted US President Joe Biden on Friday urging him to lift an export ban on raw materials desperately needed to make more coronavirus shots. The unusual step by Serum Institute (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla underlined the crisis in providing vaccines to developing nations, many of which rely heavily on the firm for supplies. “Respected @POTUS, if we are to truly unite […]