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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan on Friday said it was investigating whether a mouse bite may have been responsible for a worker at a high-security laboratory testing positive for the coronavirus, the island’s first local infection in weeks. Health officials are scrambling to work out how a female employee at Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top research institute, contracted the virus last month. Thanks to largely closed borders and strict quarantines, Taiwan has managed to stay […]
by Claire DOYEN JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Access to the laboratory is strictly limited, for the risk of accidental infection is just too high. Here, technicians at whirring machines analyze 18,000 PCR tests a day, looking for signatures of coronavirus. Their work is so precise that just a handful of samples helped the team to discover Omicron — the new virus variant that has triggered global fears of yet another surge in the […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader has discussed regional security with Qatar during his first visit since the kingdom ended a four-year blockade, official media said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived late on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, nearly a year after relations were restored in January. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha over allegations it supported extremists and was too close […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will dispatch virus specialists to South Africa to establish a Covid-19 lab there after the discovery of the new variant Omicron. Russia’s leader made the pledge during a telephone call with his counterpart from South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, who thanked Russia for its cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement. “An agreement was reached to send a group of Russian virologists, epidemiologists, researchers and […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s drug authority has granted emergency approval for the country’s first specialized treatment against Covid-19, found in clinical trials to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk patients. The move comes as regulators around the world give the green light to treatments — particularly for high-risk groups — amid worries over the new Omicron variant. China is also grappling with a growing number of studies that show its vaccines have lower […]
by Anastasia CLARK BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — A Japanese billionaire arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking Russia’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from the United States. Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier on Wednesday. They docked with the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the ISS at 1340 GMT, […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Qatar on Wednesday as part of a Gulf tour, marking his first visit to the country after the two sides severed ties four years ago. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar in June 2017, alleging it backed radical Islamist groups and was too close to Riyadh’s rival Tehran — allegations Doha denied. But relations […]
COONOOR, India (AFP) — Indian defense chief General Bipin Rawat was among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, raising questions over the future of military reforms he was leading. Rawat was India’s first chief of defense staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and was seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 63-year-old was traveling with his wife and other senior officers in the Russian-made Mi-17 chopper, which […]
by Jalees Andrabi Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — A helicopter carrying India’s defence chief General Bipin Rawat crashed on Wednesday, the air force said, with a government minister at the scene saying at least seven people were dead. Rawat is India’s first chief of defence staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and is seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 63-year-old was travelling with his wife […]
by Anastasia CLARK Agence France-Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) – A Russian rocket lifted off on Wednesday carrying a Japanese billionaire to the International Space Station, marking the country’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from privately held US companies. Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his production assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0738 GMT, an AFP correspondent at the […]
by Haeril Halim Agence France Presse CURAH KOBOKAN, Indonesia (AFP) — The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano rose to 34 on Tuesday, the national disaster agency said, as aid was rushed to the affected region. The mountain on the island of Java had thundered to life on Saturday, ejecting volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud on villages as thousands of panicked people fled their homes. […]
Myanmar’s junta jailed ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday for four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid rules, a government spokesman told AFP, the first of a series of possible sentences that could see the Nobel laureate imprisoned for decades. Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the generals staged a coup and ousted her government on February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country’s brief period of democracy. She has […]
