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by Brian KNOWLTON Agence France Presse Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday stepped up a US campaign to hold China accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus, asserting there is “enormous evidence” the virus originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. The high-security bio-containment facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called such claims “impossible”. Pompeo, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” did not elaborate on what he also described as “significant […]
by Anna SMOLCHENKO Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Sunday reported a new record daily rise in coronavirus infections as the number of confirmed cases surged past 130,000. As some European countries were looking to gradually lift restrictions, officials in Moscow — the epicentre of the contagion in Russia — urged residents to stay home despite glorious weather. With the number of cases rising by several thousand each day, Russia is […]
by Claire LEE Agence France Presse North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks, state media reported Saturday, following intense speculation that the leader of the nuclear-armed nation was seriously ill or possibly dead. State television showed Kim walking, smiling broadly and smoking a cigarette at what the North said was the opening of a fertiliser factory on Friday in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang. Rumours about Kim’s […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean troops fired multiple gunshots towards the South in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula on Sunday, prompting South Korean forces to fire back, Seoul said. The rare exchange of gunfire comes a day after North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un had made his first public appearance in nearly three weeks following an absence that triggered intense speculation about his health and fears about […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea Thursday reported no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the first time since the disease was detected in the country more than two months ago. Health authorities said, however, there was an additional death — taking the toll to 247. “For the first time in 72 days, we have zero new domestic cases,” President Moon Jae-in posted on his Facebook account. The country has seen 10,765 cases […]
by Kang Jin-kyu with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea, once one of the hardest-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, reported no new cases on Thursday, boosting hopes of an eventual return to normality as US scientists hailed the results of a major drug trial. The good medical news caused equities to rally, despite mounting deaths worldwide and abysmal economic figures caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Data showed the […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to extend a nationwide state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus, possibly by another month, local media reported on Thursday. The measure was initially declared on April 7 across seven regions experiencing a spike in infections, but was later expanded to cover the entire country. With the initial month-long period coming to an end next week after the country’s annual Golden Week holidays, local […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported zero new locally transmitted coronavirus cases Thursday, the first time no infections have been recorded since the disease was detected in the country more than 70 days ago. Health authorities reported one new death, taking the toll to 247. The country has seen 10,765 cases since its first infection was reported on February 18. For a time it had the world’s second-largest outbreak before the spread was […]
by Patrick BAERT Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — A researcher in a lab coat in Beijing holds up the hopes of humanity in his fingers: “Coronavac”, an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus that has upended the world. Sinovac Biotech, which is conducting one of the four clinical trials that have been authorized in China, has claimed great progress in its research and promising results among monkeys. While human trials have just started, the […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A fire at a warehouse in South Korea killed 38 people and left another 10 injured on Wednesday, according to reports. The blaze at the unfinished four-storey building in Icheon, 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Seoul, spread “extremely quickly” and rendered those inside “unable to evacuate”, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported citing fire officials. Eight of the injured are in a serious condition, local officials said. Suh Seung-hyun, […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that Russia had not yet reached the peak of coronavirus infections but said a “phased exit” from the country’s lockdown measures could begin in two weeks. With the number of cases rising by several thousand daily, Putin extended a non-working period across the country until May 11, telling officials to plan for a gradual lifting of quarantines after that. “We have managed to slow the spread […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Tuesday announced 71 deaths from the novel coronavirus and said there were also more than 1,000 new cases of infection in the Islamic republic. The fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours brought to 5,877 the overall death toll from the illness in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,112 people tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. That took to 92,584 the […]
