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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since early March on Sunday as authorities warned the country was “on the brink of a nationwide pandemic” and tightened social distancing rules. The majority of the 397 new infections were in the greater Seoul region — home to half the country’s 51 million people, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Authorities warned of tougher social […]
SEOUL, SOuth Korea (AFP) — South Korea has announced it will ramp up coronavirus restrictions across the country starting Sunday to try and control a growing outbreak. The move came as South Korea — which had largely brought its earlier outbreak under control — reported 332 cases on Saturday, the highest daily figure since early March. Virus curbs were tightened in the Seoul region last week but with more than 300 cases reported two […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A 6.9-magnitude quake struck eastern Indonesia on Friday, the US Geological Survey reported, but there was no tsunami warning issued and no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. In Kupang city, far south of the quake’s epicentre in the Banda Sea, frightened residents ran outside as buildings and streetlights swayed. “I was in the shopping centre when the quake hit,” said resident Engky Nussi. “Many people ran outside as stuff […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Heavy monsoon rains lashed New Delhi Wednesday, inundating roads and piling on misery for commuters in the chaotic Indian capital, as the death toll from the annual deluge across South Asia rose to nearly 1,300. The monsoon is vital to the densely populated region, revitalizing land and waterways amid scorching summers. But it also causes widespread death and destruction. In New Delhi, commuters battled through knee-deep waters and cars and […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Floods in mountainous southwest China have washed away roads and forced tens of thousands from their homes, with authorities warning Wednesday the giant Three Gorges Dam was facing the largest flood peak in its history. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed murky water lapping at the feet of the Leshan Giant Buddha — a 71m-tall figure carved into a cliffside in Sichuan province. CCTV said floods had not reached the Buddha’s […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Coronavirus cases in Asia-Pacific countries are now being driven by people under the age of 50 who may not know they are infected, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, warning of a “new phase” in the pandemic. Many have mild or no COVID-19 symptoms and risk infecting the elderly and other vulnerable populations, the WHO’s Western Pacific regional director Takeshi Kasai told a virtual briefing. “The epidemic is changing. People […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Two large and shallow earthquakes struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra island early Wednesday, the US Geological Survey reported. The quakes, of magnitude 6.8 and 6.9, struck within six minutes of one another from 5:23 am (22:23 GMT Tuesday). The US agency said there was a “low likelihood of casualties and damage”. © Agence France-Presse
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday ordered nightclubs, museums and buffet restaurants closed and banned large gatherings in and around the capital as a burst of new coronavirus cases sparked fears of a major second wave. The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach to curbing the virus has been held up as a global model, but it is now battling several clusters mostly linked to Protestant churches. Authorities reported 246 new infections […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The number of COVID-19 deaths among medical personnel in government-held parts of Syria has shot up in recent weeks amid a rise in infections, several sources told AFP. The capital Damascus has been especially hard hit, with doctors warning of a deteriorating situation in overcrowded hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients. The Syndicate of Doctors in Damascus on July 25 started to publish lists of doctors it said […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose first term in office ended in part for health reasons, sparked fresh speculation Monday about his well-being with an unexpected, hours-long hospital visit. Abe emerged from the Tokyo hospital where he was previously treated for ulcerative colitis more than seven hours after he entered, and left by car without saying anything, according to TV footage of local media. His previously unannounced arrival on Monday morning […]
by Bhuvan BAGGA gence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s death toll from the coronavirus hit 50,000 on Monday, with more than 900 new fatalities reported in 24 hours, health ministry data showed. The country last week overtook Britain with the world’s fourth-highest number of deaths, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico, and has recorded 2.6 million infections. India’s death toll from the pandemic now stands at 50,921, an increase of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Thousands of Protestant church members in Seoul have been asked to quarantine, South Korean authorities said Monday, as the country battles virus clusters linked to religious groups. The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus. But over the weekend the capital and neighbouring Gyeonggi province — between them home to nearly half the population — banned […]
