Asia

Turkey unveils deal for 50 million Sputnik V doses

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey announced on Wednesday it has signed a deal for the delivery of 50 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the first deliveries will arrive in May as Turkey tries to speed up the innoculation effort. The nation of 84 million has delivered one shot to more than 13.5 million people and the full two doses to nearly nine million since launching its vaccination […]

‘Impossible now’ – Japan’s Olympic host towns pull out over pandemic

by Hiroshi HIYAMA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Hundreds of Japanese towns and cities have been forced to rethink plans to host Olympic teams because the coronavirus will prevent public appearances and require costly safety measures. The western town of Okuizumo spent more than $5 million preparing to welcome India’s hockey team for a pre-Games training camp, only to scrap the visit because of Covid-19. After sinking money into upgrading sports facilities, Okuizomo balked when it […]

Myanmar junta launches fresh air raids in rebel territory

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Myanmar’s military launched air assaults for the second day in a row into rebel-held territory after gunfire was heard from neighbouring Thailand, a Thai official said Wednesday, as fighting escalates along the border. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the junta ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup, its power grab angering much of its population. The anti-junta movement has also garnered some support from some […]

Russia to deliver ’emergency’ virus aid to India

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia will deliver emergency aid to coronavirus-hit India, President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone call Wednesday, the Kremlin said. India has become the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, recording 360,000 new infections — a world record — and more than 3,000 deaths on Wednesday. “Vladimir Putin expressed words of support to Narendra Modi in this difficult period in the fight against the spread of the […]

In photos: Grounds become open crematoriums in India as thousands die daily due to COVID

India reports record-high 360k new infections, over 3,000 deaths on Wednesday   These aerial photos from Agence France Presse show burning pyres of victims who lost their lives due to COVID-19. The virus has now killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide, with India driving the latest surge, recording 360,000 new infections — a global record — and over 3,000 deaths on Wednesday. In the capital of New Delhi, carparks have been converted to crematoriums […]

Strong quake damages buildings in India’s Assam state

GUWAHATI, India (AFP) — A strong earthquake and nerve jangling aftershocks cracked walls and sent inhabitants pouring onto the streets in several towns across northeastern India on Wednesday. There have been no reports of casualties so far, with residents saying the main human toll was stress, minor cuts and bruises. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the 6.0 magnitude quake was in a hilly region in Assam state near India’s border with Bhutan. […]

India’s Covid death toll passes 200,000

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s coronavirus death toll passed 200,000 on Wednesday with more than 3,000 fatalities reported in 24 hours for the first time, official data showed. A total of 201,187 people have now died, 3,293 of them in the past day, according to health ministry data, although many experts suspect that the true toll is higher. India has now reported 18 million infections, an increase of 360,000 in 24 hours, which is […]

California sends oxygen supplies to India amid Covid surge

  California joins those reaching out to help India by sending over oxygen concentrators and cylinders.  It is sending out 275 oxygen concentrators and 440 oxygen cylinders. In Sacramento, Eagle News bureau chief Angel Membrere gives this report in this Eagle News America episode on April 28, 2021. (Eagle News Service)

Magnitude 6 quake hits northeast part of COVID-wracked India, damages buildings in Assam state

(Eagle News) — A magnitude 6 quake rocked northeastern India, with its epicenter located in the state of Assam where it caused some damage to buildings on Wednesday, April 28. There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries. “The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Dhekiajuli, Sonitpur, Assam, India, in the morning on Wednesday 28 April 2021 at 7:21 am local time,” according to the website volcano […]

Russia says Brazil refusal to import Sputnik V ‘political’

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday criticized Brazil’s refusal to import the jab as politically motivated. Brazilian health regulator Anvisa on Monday denied requests from several states to receive batches of Sputnik V, saying it did not have the data needed to verify the jab’s safety and efficacy. “Anvisa’s delays in approving Sputnik V are unfortunately of a political nature and have nothing to do with access […]

Bodies pile up as Covid overwhelms India

by AFP bureaux NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Bodies of Covid victims lay burning Tuesday in funeral pyres cramming New Delhi’s sidewalks and car parks amid an explosion of new cases, as foreign aid began arriving to surging hotspot India in efforts to keep the pandemic at bay. While rising vaccinations in the United States have allowed the country that was once the worst hit by coronavirus to relax its mask-wearing in some locations, India […]

First shipment of UK Covid medical aid arrives in India

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — The first shipment of Covid medical supplies from Britain to India, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived early Tuesday, the foreign ministry said. Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi tweeted photos of the equipment being unloaded from a German Lufthansa aircraft in New Delhi, calling it “international cooperation at work”. Britain, one of several countries to announce sending help as India’s health care system buckles under a huge surge […]