Asia

Japan rescuers battle to reach thousands trapped by floods

by Charly Triballeau in Kumamura and Quentin Tyberghien in Takayama, Japan TAKAYAMA, Japan (AFP) — Japanese emergency services and troops were scrambling on Thursday to reach thousands of homes cut off by devastating flooding and landslides that have killed dozens and caused widespread damage. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Thursday more than 3,000 households were isolated, either by rising floodwater or roads destroyed by landslides, mostly in the hardest-hit southwestern region of Kumamoto […]

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Six injured in huge blast at China fireworks factory

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Powerful explosions rocked a fireworks factory in southwest China on Wednesday night, leaving at least six people injured, authorities said. A billowing yellow cloud rose over the factory in the city of Guanghan in Sichuan province after the first blast, and then thick, black smoke poured from the plant, according to images broadcast by state channel CCTV. This was followed by a second explosion. Six people were injured, including two with […]

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UPDATED: Rain pounds central Japan, 55 feared dead in south

by Charly TRIBALLEAU KURUME, Japan (AFP) — Torrential rain pounded the center of Japan on Wednesday as authorities said 55 people were feared dead in days of heavy downpours that have triggered devastating landslides and terrifying floods. Rains that began early Saturday on the island of Kyushu have already caused widespread damage across a swathe of the southwestern portion of the country, causing rivers to burst their banks and hillsides to collapse. The weather front […]

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Russia urges against marmot hunt over plague fears

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian authorities have warned residents of regions near Mongolia against hunting marmots but stressed there was no risk of bubonic plague spreading across the country. Russian public health authorities appealed to residents of the mountainous Tuva and Altai regions following last week’s confirmation of two bubonic plague cases in Mongolia. The cases involve brothers who had eaten marmot meat. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said it was also monitoring a […]

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52 dead in Japan floods as more troops join rescue

by Charly TRIBALLEAU TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will deploy more troops to search for survivors of devastating floods and landslides that have killed at least 52 people in the southwest of the country, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday. Even as rescue operations continued, with 80,000 personnel already involved and more expected to join, authorities warned that more torrential rain was expected. Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued its second-highest emergency warning for heavy rain and […]

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Dubai field hospital bids farewell to last virus patient

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai on Tuesday closed its only field hospital set up at a convention centre to treat coronavirus cases after the last patient, a Japanese national, walked out in good health. Doctors and nurses, still wearing protective gear, lined up clapping for Hiroaki Fujita as he left the Dubai World Trade Centre which was converted to a 3,000-bed field hospital in April to treat virus patients. “I ask everyone to […]

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Dubai reopens doors to tourists after long shutdown

by Mohamad Ali Harissi DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — With a “welcome” passport sticker and coronavirus tests on arrival, Dubai reopens its doors to international visitors Tuesday in the hope of reviving its tourism industry after a nearly four-month closure. But businesses are mainly betting on those already living in the gleaming desert city to energise its ailing economy and serve as a test run before wary foreign holidaymakers return. “A warm welcome to […]

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Taiwan warns of counter measures if new Hong Kong law causes ‘damage’

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-gwen on Tuesday warned of “counter measures” should a sweeping security law China imposed on Hong Kong “damage” the island. The new law has sent chills through self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize, by force if necessary. Beijing has taken an especially hardline towards Taiwan ever since the 2016 election of Tsai because she regards the island as […]

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TikTok pulls out of Hong Kong after new security law

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — The wildly popular video-sharing app TikTok will no longer work in Hong Kong, its makers said, after a new security law imposed by China gave authorities sweeping powers to police local users. The new security law has sparked fears for freedom of expression, and internet giants Google, Facebook and Twitter have put a hold on requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities since it came into force. “In […]

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Bus plunges into lake in southwest China, killing 21

BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 21 people were killed when a bus carrying students preparing to sit their annual college entrance exam plunged into a lake in southwest China on Tuesday. The bus crashed into a guardrail and veered into Hongshan Lake in Guizhou province, leaving 15 others injured, the local emergency management department said in a statement. The incident took place around noon in Anshun city and eyewitnesses said the passengers on the […]

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Beijing reports zero virus cases for first time since new outbreak

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday reported zero new coronavirus cases for the first time since the emergence of a cluster in the Chinese capital in June that prompted fears of a domestic second wave. A total of 335 people have been infected since a cluster emerged at the city’s massive Xinfadi wholesale market in early June. Beijing’s health commission said on Tuesday it detected only one asymptomatic case the previous day, which China […]

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50 dead in Japan floods as rescuers ‘race against time’

by Charly TRIBALLEAU YATSUSHIRO, Japan (AFP) — Emergency services in western Japan were “racing against time” on Tuesday to rescue people stranded by devastating floods and landslides that have killed at least 50 people, with more torrential rain forecast. Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its second-highest emergency warning for heavy rain and landslides over vast swathes of the country’s southwest and said “risks are rising” nationwide. At least 50 deaths have been confirmed in the […]

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