Asia

Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine 78% effective in final stage clinical trials in Brazil, says officials

  SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac showed at least 78-percent effectiveness in final-stage clinical trials in Brazil, officials announced Thursday, saying they would apply for emergency approval from the Brazilian regulatory agency to begin a vaccination campaign. “This is a historic day, a day of hope,” Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria told a news conference announcing the results. He said his state’s vaccination campaign would begin on January 25, though […]

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Japan says working to isolate, analyse new virus variant

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is working to isolate and analyze a new variant of the coronavirus detected in four people who arrived from Brazil, a health ministry official said Tuesday. Japan announced the detection of the new variant on Sunday, but officials have been at pains to emphasize there is no evidence yet that it is any more transmissible or dangerous than others. “In order to further analyze the variant, we need to isolate […]

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Malaysian king declares state of emergency to fight virus

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s king Tuesday declared a nationwide state of emergency to fight a surge in coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm the country’s healthcare system. Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah “is of the opinion that the Covid-19 outbreak in the country is at a very critical stage and that there was a need for the emergency,” said a statement from the national palace. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had requested an emergency […]

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Strong quake hits Mongolia-Russia border: USGS

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck early Tuesday in northern Mongolia not far from the border with Russia, the US Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), was located 33 kilometers south-southwest of Turt, US seismologists said. The epicenter appeared to be located under Lake Khovsgol, the largest fresh water lake in Mongolia by volume. It was located about […]

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Over half a million under lockdown as Beijing outbreak spreads

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — More than half a million people were placed under lockdown in Beijing on Monday as the government imposed strict measures to stamp out a handful of Covid-19 cases. China has largely brought the virus under control, but is tackling a number of local infections with lockdowns and mass testing. Authorities are keen to stem any outbreak in the capital — home to over 20 million people — particularly ahead of […]

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Malaysia imposes virus curbs, warns hospitals at ‘breaking point’

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia will impose strict new curbs in over half the country to fight a coronavirus surge, the prime minister said Monday, warning the country’s healthcare system was at “breaking point”. It joins other Asian nations, from Japan to Australia, which kept their outbreaks under control in the early stages but have been forced to introduce new measures in recent days. Malaysia had relaxed restrictions as infections fell to almost zero […]

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China says WHO coronavirus experts to visit from Thursday

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Ten World Health Organization scientists will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of Covid-19, authorities said, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations, Beijing delayed the investigation. The WHO team “will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of covid 19 with Chinese scientists,” the National Health Commission said in a statement. The long-awaited mission — which has been under discussion since last year — […]

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Saudi king gets coronavirus jab

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Thursday received a Covid-19 vaccine jab, more than three weeks after the kingdom kicked off a three-phase inoculation program, official media said. King Salman, 85, “received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine,” in the futuristic Red Sea city of Neom, the Saudi Press Agency said. Official media published pictures and videos showing the king receiving the injection. Saudi Arabia launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign […]

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South Korean court orders Japan to compensate former sex slaves

  by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean court on Friday ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to 12 World War II sex slaves or their families, in an unprecedented ruling that prompted an immediate denunciation by Tokyo. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Japan should pay the victims 100 million won ($91,000) each. It is the first civilian legal case in South Korea against Tokyo […]

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Bali bombing-linked cleric Bashir freed from prison

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Abu Bakar Bashir, a radical cleric linked to the deadly Bali bombings, was freed from a prison near the Indonesian capital Jakarta early Friday, prison authorities said. “He was handed over to his family and a team of lawyers who came to pick him up at the penitentiary,” national prisons spokeswoman Rika Aprianti said in a statement. Bashir, 82, had completed his jail term for helping fund militant training in conservative […]

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Beijing freezes as temperature hits five decade lows

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Temperatures in the Chinese capital plunged to their lowest for more than five decades on Thursday, as Beijing was hit by gale-force winds and bitter conditions. On Thursday morning the mercury dropped to minus 19.6 degrees Celsius (minus 3.3 Fahrenheit), breaking a previous cold weather record set in 1969. The cold reading was the lowest since 1966, when temperatures in the city fell to minus 27.4 degrees Celsius (minus 17.3 Fahrenheit). […]

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China reports highest Covid-19 figures since July

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China reported 63 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday — the highest single-day tally since July — as authorities try to stamp out an outbreak of the virus in a city of 11 million near Beijing. The virus first emerged in central China in late 2019, but since then authorities have largely brought the situation under control through travel restrictions, strict lockdowns and mass testing. But a recent outbreak in northern Hebei […]

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