Asia

World’s second-largest hydropower dam goes online in China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China began operating the world’s second-largest hydropower station on Monday in what officials hailed as a milestone towards Beijing’s carbon neutrality goals, despite warnings of environmental damage. The 289-meter (948 feet) high Baihetan Hydropower Station in southwest China, second in the world only to the country’s Three Gorges Dam in terms of power generation, began partial operation Monday morning, state media reported. Baihetan was built with a total installed capacity of […]

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Turkey’s Erdogan launches work on controversial Black Sea canal

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday launched the start of construction on a controversial canal aimed at easing congestion on the Bosphorus but which critics say courts environmental disaster. The “Canal Istanbul” is a gigantic waterway running parallel to the Bosphorus Strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean. “Today we are opening a new page in the history of Turkish development,” Erdogan said during […]

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Indonesia hits record of over 21,000 daily virus infections

Total COVID-19 cases at over 2.1M, while total deaths reach 57,138   JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia set a new record for daily coronavirus cases on Sunday with more than 21,000, as hospitals are flooded with patients in Jakarta and other Covid-19 hotspots across Southeast Asia’s hardest-hit nation. The figure brings the country’s tally for the pandemic to more than 2.1 million coronavirus cases with 57,138 deaths. But the real number is believed to be […]

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North Korean leader Kim ’emaciated’, citizens heartbroken: state TV

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean state television has aired a citizen’s comment about Kim Jong Un’s “emaciated” condition, a highly unusual broadcast in a country where public discussion of the leader’s health and personal life has always been off-limits. Analysts say the remarks showed authorities were seeking to use the change to Kim’s weight to reinforce loyalty to the regime in desparate times. The impoverished, nuclear-armed country is more isolated than ever behind […]

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Myanmar violence escalates with rise of ‘self-defence’ groups: report

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Violence in post-coup Myanmar has escalated as anti-junta “self-defense” forces step up to take on the military, a report said Monday, warning of an “enormous” human cost if the regime uses its full power in subsequent crackdowns. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, with more than 880 killed in a junta crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group. In […]

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Over a dozen vaccinated doctors dead as Indonesia’s virus cases surge

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Over a dozen fully vaccinated doctors have died of Covid-19 in Indonesia, a medical association said Friday, as the Southeast Asian country battles a rash of severe cases in inoculated medical workers and highly infectious new virus strains. Infections have surged in the nation of 270 million people in the past week, passing two million cases on Monday as hospital occupancy rates soared to over 75 percent in Jakarta and other […]

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Iran says it has drone that can travel 7,000 km

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran has drones capable of flying 7,000 kilometres (more than 4,000 miles), the commander of its Revolutionary Guard force said Sunday. “We have drones which can fly 7,000 kilometres, without a pilot, and land back at the same spot or anywhere else,” General Hossein Salami said in a speech broadcast by state television. He gave no other details but the new drone would give it a range of 3,500 kilometres, compared […]

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Seven dead, 50 hurt in Bangladesh blast likely caused by gas line

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — At least seven people were killed and another 50 people were injured after a powerful explosion ripped apart a three-storey building in central Dhaka on Sunday, Bangladeshi officials said, citing a gas pipeline as the likely cause. Police said the explosion was so forceful that it broke the windows of at least four moving buses, injuring dozens of passengers on board. Dhaka police chief Shafiqur Rahman said at least seven people […]

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Israel resumes indoor mask requirement amid virus spike

  TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — The Israeli health ministry reimposed a requirement Friday for masks to be worn in enclosed public places following a surge in Covid cases since it was dropped 10 days ago. The spike in new infections is a blow for a country which has prided itself on one of the world’s most successful vaccine rollouts. The head of Israel’s pandemic response taskforce, Nachman Ash, told public radio the requirement came […]

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18 killed, 16 injured in fire at China martial arts school

  by Laurie CHEN Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 18 people were killed and 16 injured when a fire broke out at a martial arts school in central China in the early hours of Friday, according to the local government. Local media reported that most of the victims were boarding pupils aged between seven and 16. The fire had been extinguished and authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze, a […]

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Israel holds up tourist entries as Delta variant spreads

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel announced Wednesday a delay to the renewed entry of individual tourists and said it could take other steps to counter the spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus despite the country’s high vaccination rate. “Due to concern over the potential spread of the Delta variant, the government has postponed the entry of individual tourists by one month to August 1,” the tourism ministry said. Israel will however continue to allow […]

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Russia warns of ‘explosive’ virus surge

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia warned on Wednesday of an “explosive” spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in the country that was made worse by a sluggish vaccination campaign leading to rapidly rising infections and deaths. Citing increases in cases of coronavirus in all Russian regions, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova called for stronger restrictive measures and speeding up of inoculations. “Last week the death rate linked to Covid increased by 21.3 percent compared to […]

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