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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Monday they had reached production agreements in key European countries as the EU’s medical agency deliberates official approval for the jab. The head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement that his organization had secured agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Dmitriev said the deals would allow for the supply of Sputnik to the […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing was cloaked by a thick yellow smog on Monday with pollution surging to hazardous levels as a sandstorm swept across China’s capital. City residents used goggles, masks and hair nets to protect themselves from the choking air, with landmarks including the Forbidden City and the distinctive headquarters of state broadcaster CCTV partly obscured behind an apocalyptic-looking pall of smog. The city government ordered all schools to cancel outside sport and […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday’s violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — At least three people were killed when demonstrators took to the streets again across Myanmar Saturday, after a deadly overnight crackdown as hundreds defied a curfew to hold vigils in honour of those killed since the military seized power. The junta has deployed increasing force against daily protests since the February 1 coup, with more than 70 people killed according to the UN’s top rights expert on the country. But hundreds […]
AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — The director and four other officials of a Jordanian hospital treating coronavirus patients were detained on Sunday over deaths at the facility after it ran out of oxygen, judicial sources said. A prosecutor decided to place them in custody for a week for questioning after seven patients died Saturday in the hospital in Salt, near the capital Amman, they said. Public anger over the deaths led to the resignation of health […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India will carry out a deeper review of post-vaccination side effects from the AstraZeneca shot next week although no cases of blood clots have been reported so far, an official told AFP Saturday. New Delhi decided to conduct the review after several countries suspended rollout over blood clot fears even as the World Health Organization said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 jab. Denmark, Norway and […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s military is likely committing “crimes against humanity” in its attempt to stay in power, a UN expert said Thursday, as the junta claimed that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi accepted illegal payments of cash and gold. At least 70 people have reportedly been “murdered” since the February 1 coup, said Thomas Andrews, the UN’s top expert on rights in Myanmar. The country is “controlled by a murderous, […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand abruptly delayed its roll-out of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, stopping Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha from getting the first jab as several European nations suspended their programmes over blood clot fears. The kingdom was scheduled to start administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday, with Prayut expected to be filmed receiving the first injection. But by 8:30 am (0130 GMT) the gruff former general was nowhere to be seen, the […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said Friday Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet President Joe Biden in the United States next month, becoming the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with him. “If various circumstances allow, Prime Minister Suga will visit the US as early as the first half of April,” top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters at a daily briefing. “With this visit, Prime Minister Suga is expected to be the first […]
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia reported its first coronavirus death on Thursday as the country battles its worst outbreak since the pandemic began one year ago. A driver died in a hospital on Thursday morning in Phnom Penh after testing positive for the virus late last month, the health ministry said. Cambodia has largely escaped the brunt of the pandemic, registering just 1,163 cases, but a community cluster among Chinese expatriates has brought the […]
by Harumi Ozawa with Sara Hussein in Tokyo HISANOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Thursday marks 10 years since the worst natural disaster in the country’s living memory: a powerful earthquake, deadly tsunami and nuclear meltdown that traumatized a nation. Around 18,500 people were killed or left missing in the disaster, most of them claimed by the towering waves that swept across swathes of the northeast coast after one of the strongest quakes ever recorded. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The makers of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine Tuesday demanded an apology from the EU’s medicines regulator after a senior official warned member states against hastily authorizing the jab, comparing emergency rollouts to “Russian roulette”. Several EU countries have already begun distributing Sputnik V ahead of approval in the bloc, a move criticized by board chair of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Christa Wirthumer-Hoche Monday. “We demand a public apology from EMA’s […]
