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by Jalees ANDRABI RISHIKESH, India (AFP) — Fourteen people were confirmed dead on Monday and at least 170 others were still missing after a chunk of glacier broke off and unleashed a devastating flash flood in India, officials said. The wall of water barrelled down a valley in India’s Himalayan north on Sunday morning, destroying bridges, roads and two hydroelectric power plants. “There was a cloud of dust as the water went by. The ground […]
by Jalees ANDRABI RISHIKESH, India (AFP) — At least 200 people are missing in northern India after a piece of Himalayan glacier fell into a river, causing a torrent that tore through two power plants and swept away roads and bridges, police said on Sunday. Three bodies have been found and a desperate operation has been launched to rescue about 20 people trapped in a tunnel, the Uttarakhand state police chief said. The massive surge […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Three people were confirmed dead and at least 150 were missing in northern India after a broken glacier caused a major river surge that swept away bridges and roads on Sunday, police said. The massive burst of water tore through the Dhauliganga river valley, destroying everything in its path, videos taken by terrified residents showed. Three bodies had been found and a desperate search was underway for more, police said, […]
by Glenda Kwek, with Abhaya Srivastava and Nishant Saxena Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — With its 1.3 billion population, India has the world’s second-highest number of coronavirus infections — more than 10.8 million — but new cases and deaths have fallen sharply in recent weeks. This week, new daily infections were the lowest in eight months, while deaths fell below 100 — the smallest single-day total since May. AFP looks at how […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has requested Covid-19 vaccines and is expected to receive nearly two million doses, according to the Gavi vaccine alliance, part of the WHO-backed Covax programme, although the isolated country has insisted it is virus-free. It is the first official confirmation that the North has asked for international help, with the country’s medical infrastructure is seen as woefully inadequate for dealing with any large-scale outbreak. The Covax scheme, co-led […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Myanmar’s military to “relinquish power” in the Southeast Asian nation and release the government officials and activists detained in this week’s coup. “There can be no doubt: in a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election,” Biden said in his first major foreign policy speech as president. […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the American navy said, in the first such voyage since the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer conducted a routine transit through the waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement. US warships periodically conduct navigation exercises in the strait, often triggering angry responses from China which claims self-ruled, […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan passed a new law strengthening enforcement of its virus restrictions on Wednesday, allowing authorities to fine bars and restaurants that defy closure requests. People can also be fined up to 500,000 yen ($4,800) if they test positive for Covid-19 but refuse hospitalisation, although lawmakers scrapped plans to introduce prison sentences as punishment. With just six months until the pandemic-postponed Summer Olympics, Tokyo and other regions are currently under a state […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China plans to provide 10 million doses of Covid-19 jabs to the WHO-backed international vaccine distribution programme Covax, Beijing said Wednesday as it seeks to reframe perceptions of its role in the pandemic. The Covax programme, which aims to provide two billion doses of vaccine, pools funding from richer countries with the intention of ensuring poorer nations can inoculate their health workers and most vulnerable citizens, on the basis that […]
by Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — There will be no quick answers into the origins of the coronavirus, one of the World Health Organization experts on a mission to the Covid-19 ground zero in central China told AFP. Hung Nguyen-Viet, who is visiting various virus-linked sites in the city of Wuhan with the team, said starting the investigation more than one year after the pandemic began was not ideal, but added that the mission […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Nearly 11,000 Hong Kongers moved to Taiwan in 2020 — almost double the number of a year earlier — after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the city. Democratic Taiwan has long attracted Hong Kong people seeking an alternative to their city’s frenetic pace and sky-high rents. But a new security law has accelerated an exodus, and the number of Hong Kongers granted short-term residency soared to 10,813 from 5,858 […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday suspended entry from 20 countries, ranging from some neighbouring states to the United States, in a bid to curb a jump in coronavirus infections. The interior ministry announced the “temporary suspension” would be effective from 9.00 pm (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The ban applies to neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and in the wider region, to […]
