Asia

Death toll in central China floods rises to 302, dozens still missing

by Beiyi SEOW BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from floods in central China last month is at least 302 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Monday, after record downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain on a city in just three days. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province and the epicentre of the record flooding, was hardest hit with 292 people dead and 47 missing, the local government said at a […]

Iran hits record for new Covid cases, deaths at 3-month high

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s daily Covid caseload crossed 37,000 mark for the first time on Monday, the health ministry said, as the Islamic republic also recorded its highest daily fatalities in three months. In the past 24 hours, Iran registered a record 37,189 positive cases, bringing the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 3,940,708. The record caseload is Iran’s fourth in two weeks as positive cases surge in what […]

Malaysia’s Mahathir, Anwar shelve rivalry to protest PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian political heavyweights Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim put aside long-running animosity and joined an opposition protest Monday against the shutdown of parliament and demand the country’s embattled premier resign. The final day of a parliament session, due to take place Monday, has been cancelled after the discovery of several coronavirus cases in the legislature. But rivals accused Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of using Covid-19 as an excuse to dodge […]

Millions under virus lockdown as China battles Delta outbreak

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Millions of people were confined to their homes in China Monday as the country tried to contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months with mass testing and travel curbs. China on Monday reported 55 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases, as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached over 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces. Local governments in major cities including Beijing have now tested millions of residents, while […]

5.9 magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia’s Papua: USGS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 5.9 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning or immediate reports of damage. The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), about 180 kilometers northeast of Tual city. Shallow quakes tend to do more damage than deep tremors. Indonesia experiences frequent quakes due to its position on the […]

Thailand tightens curbs in 16 more provinces as outbreak sets record

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand has extended a night-time curfew and other virus restrictions to 16 more provinces beginning Tuesday as the kingdom’s Covid-19 death toll soared to a new record. The Southeast Asian country is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fuelled by the Delta variant, with infections and deaths skyrocketing and the healthcare system stretched thin. Severe curbs on daily life including a seven-hour night-time curfew have already hit residents in a dozen […]

Kim Jong Un’s sister slams planned US-S. Korea drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Sunday that a planned military exercise between Seoul and Washington would “becloud” relations, state-run media reported. The warning comes amid a surprise thaw on the Korean peninsula, prompted by a series of personal letters between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two sides on Tuesday restored cross-border communications that were severed more than a year ago, announcing […]

Cambodia begins Covid-19 vaccinations for teenagers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia began a roll out of Covid-19 vaccinations for teenagers in its capital Phnom Penh and three provinces Sunday, with Premier Hun Sen’s grandchildren among the first to get the jab. Several countries in Southeast Asia are currently experiencing a deadly Covid-19 resurgence largely driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, which has set back the region’s successes last year in curbing pandemic tolls. While Cambodia appeared to have escaped […]

20 dead, 300,000 stranded in flood-hit Bangladesh region

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Monsoon floods and landslides have cut off more than 300,000 people in villages across southeast Bangladesh and killed at least 20 people including six Rohingya refugees, officials said Friday. The region along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border where nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are in camps has been battered by torrential rain since Monday. “The floods have stranded some 306,000 people in Cox’s Bazar district. At least 70 villages have […]

Chinese cities test millions as virus cases surge

Chinese cities rolled out mass testing of millions of people and imposed fresh travel restrictions as health authorities battled Sunday to contain the country’s most widespread coronavirus outbreak in months. China on Sunday reported 75 new coronavirus cases with 53 local transmissions, with a cluster linked to an eastern airport now reported to have spread to over 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces. The outbreak is geographically the largest to hit China in […]

China’s Su blasts into Olympic 100m final, Bromell out

China’s Su Bingtian ran an Asian record of 9.83 seconds to qualify for the men’s Olympic 100m final on Sunday, while US medal hope Trayvon Bromell missed the cut. Su, 31, shattered his previous best of 9.91 to storm to an impressive semi-final win over American Ronnie Baker in a photo-finish. Italy’s Lamont Jacobs finished third in a European record of 9.84 and fourth-placed South African Akani Simbine in 9.90, the pair taking the two […]

Czechs Krejcikova, Siniakova take women’s Olympic doubles gold

Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova added the Olympic women’s doubles title to their French Open crown by beating Swiss singles champion Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic in Sunday’s final. The top seeds edged a tight opening set before racing through the second to win 7-5, 6-1 on their fifth match point. Krejcikova, who also won the Roland Garros singles trophy earlier this year, and Siniakova had needed deciding tie-breaks in their last three […]