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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A Taiwanese woman faces the death penalty for allegedly starting the island’s deadliest fire in decades in an attempt to get back at a boyfriend she suspected was cheating on her. October’s inferno in the southern city of Kaohsiung raged through multiple floors of a dilapidated 13-storey apartment block for hours, killing 46 people. Authorities had said the blaze started when a resident, identified by her family name Huang, left […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Friday reported a record number of new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours, a government tally showed, with officials warning of surging cases driven by the Omicron variant. A government website reported 49,513 new infections in Russia, which is already one the world’s worst-hit countries by caseload, surpassing the previous record set in November of 41,335. The number of cases across Russia has risen sharply in recent […]
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — At least two people were killed and 22 wounded on Thursday by a bomb blast in a busy shopping district of the Pakistani megacity of Lahore, police and officials said. “Initial investigations show that it was a time-controlled device on a motorbike which was the cause of the blast,” Rana Arif, spokesman for Lahore police, told AFP. Hospital sources and police said two people were killed — including a child — […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US warship sailed through the South China Sea on Thursday, sparking a warning from China’s military as tensions between the superpowers remain high. The American navy said the USS Benfold “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law”. The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said the US ship had “illegally” entered what Beijing regards as its waters. […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand will resume its quarantine-free travel scheme from February 1, officials said Thursday, after the programme was suspended due to the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant. Pandemic travel curbs have hammered the kingdom’s tourism-dominated economy, sending visitor numbers dwindling to a trickle. Fully vaccinated travellers will now be able to enter under the “test and go” scheme as long as they take Covid tests on the first and fifth days after arriving, […]
by Cat BARTON SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea hinted Thursday it could resume nuclear and long-range weapons tests as it prepares for “confrontation” with Washington, its latest threat after a string of sanctions-busting missile launches. Pyongyang has not tested inter-continental ballistic missiles or nukes since 2017, putting launches on hold as leader Kim Jong Un embarked on a blitz of high-level diplomacy, meeting then-US president Donald Trump three times before talks collapsed two […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government approved new coronavirus restrictions on a large part of the country, including Tokyo, on Wednesday as it battles record infections fuelled by the Omicron variant. The restrictions in 13 regions, which mainly target nightlife and are far less strict than a blanket lockdown, will be in place from Friday until mid-February. The move allows each region to decide what specific measures to implement, with most places urging bars and […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan said Wednesday its deputy leader will go to the inauguration of Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro as the island faces the potential loss of yet another diplomatic ally in Latin America. Castro said during campaigning that she would “immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with mainland China” if she won. Last month, neighbouring Nicaragua switched its allegiance to Beijing, leaving Honduras as one of just 14 countries that still diplomatically recognize […]
SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — The Saudi-led coalition killed 14 people in air strikes on Yemen’s rebel-held capital, a medical source said Tuesday, after an attack by Huthi insurgents on the United Arab Emirates sent regional tensions soaring. Sanaa residents were combing the rubble for survivors of the strikes that levelled two houses, hours after the Huthis had killed three people Monday in a drone and missile attack on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi. Huthi Brigadier […]
DOHA, Qatarr (AFP) — A three-week-old baby has died from Covid-19 in Qatar, the health ministry said on Sunday, reporting a rare child fatality from the illness in the Gulf country. “A three-week-old baby has sadly died as a result of severe infection from Covid-19,” the emirate’s public health ministry said in a statement. “The baby had no other known medical or hereditary conditions”, and was the second child to have died in the country […]
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — Rescue workers on Tuesday searched for survivors after an earthquake in a remote western region of Afghanistan killed at least 26 people and damaged hundreds of houses, officials said. Monday’s 5.3-magnitude shallow quake jolted the province of Badghis and wrecked houses, mostly in Qadis district — a rural area not easily accessible by road. “The earthquake caused massive damage to houses, about 700 to 1,000 have been damaged,” Badghis provincial spokesman […]
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 26 people were killed after an earthquake hit western Afghanistan on Monday, an official said. The victims died when roofs of their houses collapsed in Qadis district in the western province of Badghis, spokesman for the province Baz Mohammad Sarwary told AFP. The shallow quake was magnitude 5.3, according to the US Geological Survey. “Five women and four children are among the 26 people killed in the earthquake,” said […]
