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BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from the collapse of a coronavirus quarantine hotel in east China rose to 26 on Wednesday, with three more people feared still trapped in the rubble, according to state media. Dozens of people were pulled alive from the wreckage of the six-storey Xinjian hotel in the coastal city of Quanzhou but 26 others were either found dead in the ruins or have since died of their injuries, the […]
by Jerome TAYLOR HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Cathay Pacific on Wednesday said profits plunged in 2019 as it reeled from political unrest in Hong Kong, while it warned financial losses lay ahead owing to the spread of the new coronavirus. The flagship carrier was battered throughout the second half of last year as violent pro-democracy protests raged for months in Hong Kong, sparked by widespread public anger at Beijing’s rule. The demonstrations, which saw […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Some companies in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the new coronavirus outbreak emerged late last year, are to be allowed to return to work, provincial officials said Wednesday. Businesses involved in providing daily necessities can resume work and production immediately, as can those that are key to “global industrial chains” after getting approval, said the Hubei provincial government. Other companies are expected to resume production only after March 20. Similar rules […]
by Sean Chang and Amber Wang TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Behind the barbed wire-topped fences of Taipei Prison, a small group of inmates are hunched over clacking sewing machines, working overtime to churn out face masks and help ward off the new coronavirus. Usually, the men would be making prison uniforms in the bright-lit sewing factory in the city of Taoyuan. But after the coronavirus spread to Taiwan they switched to making masks, putting together […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China reported an increase in imported coronavirus cases Wednesday, fuelling concerns that infections from overseas could undermine progress in halting the spread of the virus. There were 22 more deaths and 24 new cases nationwide, according to the National Health Commission. China has made massive progress in its battle against the virus, prompting President Xi Jinping to visit Wuhan, the central city at the heart of the global epidemic, on Tuesday […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea announced its first rise in new coronavirus cases for five days on Wednesday, following a run of declines that have raised hopes the outbreak is coming under control. The South was the first country to report significant coronavirus numbers outside China, where the disease first emerged and remains one of the world’s worst-affected countries despite being overtaken by both Italy and Iran in declared cases. A total of […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey announced Wednesday, March 11, its first coronavirus case, a man who had recently travelled to Europe and is in good health. “The test of a patient suspected of carrying the coronavirus returned positive,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a television broadcast. He added that the man was likely to have contracted COVID-19 while travelling in Europe, but declined to say which country or where in Turkey the patient […]
by Charlie Charalambous NICOSIA, Cyprus (AFP) — Cyprus said Tuesday it was closing schools in the capital, banning mass gatherings and locking down two major hospitals to combat novel coronavirus, after three people on the Mediterranean island tested positive for the illness. The Republic of Cyprus had on Monday reported its first two cases of the disease, including the chief heart surgeon at its biggest hospital. And on Tuesday, the Turkish-controlled north of the island […]
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AFP) — Mongolia on Tuesday barred anyone from entering or leaving its cities for six days after the country reported its first coronavirus case — a French energy company employee who flew in from Moscow. Mongolia had already sealed its border with neighbouring China and banned flights from South Korea in an effort to keep the deadly virus out of the landlocked country of three million people. “The capital Ulaanbaatar and all […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China has risen to 20, authorities said Tuesday, with 10 others still feared trapped in the rubble. Forty-one survivors pulled from the wreckage are injured, the Ministry of Emergency Management said at a press conference Tuesday. The building in the coastal city of Quanzhou had been repurposed to house people who had recently […]
by Noel CELIS / and Laurie Chen in Beijing Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan Tuesday for the first time since the city emerged as the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in January — a major sign that officials believe the outbreak is under control. Xi’s visit came as unprecedented quarantine measures that have sealed off Wuhan and the rest of central Hubei province since late January […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen another “long-range artillery” drill, state media reported on Tuesday, a day after Japan said the nuclear-armed country had fired what appeared to be ballistic missiles. It was the second-such “drill” in a week and comes as a prolonged hiatus in disarmament talks with the United States drags on. Kim “guided another firepower strike drill of long-range artillery” and “highly appreciated the […]
