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BEIJING, China (AFP) — Thousands of prefabricated rooms fill a vast field on the outskirts of China’s Shijiazhuang city as construction crews work around the clock to erect a large quarantine facility to curb the city’s growing Covid-19 outbreak. China has largely brought the virus under control even as the rest of the world struggles with mounting deaths and overburdened hospitals. But a spate of small, localised outbreaks has prompted Chinese officials to order […]
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Four UNICEF schools for Rohingya children in refugee camps in Bangladesh have been destroyed in a fire, officials said Tuesday, with the UN children’s agency calling it arson. It was unclear who might attack the schools, which were empty at the time, but the security situation in the camps housing around a million people has worsened in recent months. Last week a blaze thought to have been started by a […]
AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) — An out-of-control dumper truck crushed fifteen people to death as they slept by the roadside early Tuesday in western India, authorities said. The dead included a baby girl, eight women and six men, said police official Usha Rada in the Suraj district of Gujarat state. Six others were injured. The truck collided with a tractor carrying sugarcane just after midnight at a crossroads. “The dumper driver… lost control of the vehicle […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President-elect Joe Biden’s spokeswoman quickly dismissed Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that a Covid-19 ban on travelers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted, underlining the fractious transition of power. “On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26,” tweeted Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary. “In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in […]
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — China and the World Health Organization could have acted faster to avert catastrophe during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, a panel of independent experts has concluded. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said its evaluation of the start of the crisis in China “suggests that there was potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly”. Containment measures should have been implemented […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged Monday to tackle surging coronavirus cases and restore normal life “as soon as possible” as polls showed plunging support for his government. Suga, who was speaking at the opening of a new parliament session, has only been in office since September, but has seen approval ratings nosedive over his government’s handling of a third wave of infections. The latest wave in Japan and abroad has […]
by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The de facto chief of South Korea’s Samsung business empire was convicted Monday over a huge corruption scandal and jailed for two and a half years, in a ruling that deprives the tech giant of its top decision-maker. Lee Jae-yong, vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, was found guilty of bribery and embezzlement in connection with the scandal that brought down […]
by Shatha Yaish Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — As much of the world tightens lockdowns to stem coronavirus, Dubai has flung its doors open, branding itself as a sunny, quarantine-free escape — despite a sharp rise in cases. While mask-wearing and social distancing are strictly enforced, life in the tourism-reliant emirate looks much like normal, with its restaurants, hotels and mega-malls open for business. Images of sports stars and television personalities […]
by Jalees ANDRABI Agence France Presse BHOPAL, India (AFP) — A homegrown coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in India from Saturday even though clinical trials haven’t been completed. But the government insists it will be safe and effective. The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), an independent watchdog, led a chorus of concern from experts saying it was “shocked” and “baffled” by the emergency approval of Covaxin. India has been hit hard by the […]
by Haeril HALIM / Agnes ANYA Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island early Friday, killing at least 34 people, levelling a hospital and severely damaging other buildings, authorities said. Hundreds more were injured when the 6.2-magnitude quake struck in the early hours, triggering panic among the terrified residents of the island, which was hit by a huge quake and tsunami two and a half years ago […]
by Sebastien BERGER SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Nuclear-armed North Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade in Pyongyang, state media reported Friday, in a show of strength days before Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president. The display came after the five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, where leader Kim Jong Un decried the US as his country’s “foremost principal enemy”. A grinning Kim oversaw the parade on Thursday evening, […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 26 people have been killed in an earthquake that rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island early Friday, levelling a hospital and severely damaging other buildings, authorities said. “The latest information we have is that 26 people are dead, all in Mamuju city,” said Ali Rahman, head of the local disaster mitigation agency. “That number could grow but we hope it won’t… Many of the dead are buried under rubble.” © Agence […]
