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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a personal letter to “comfort” South Koreans fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic just a day after his sister condemned Seoul as a “frightened dog barking”, the South’s presidential office said Thursday. Pyongyang has imposed strict restrictions and closed its borders to try to prevent an outbreak and insists it has not had a single case of the novel coronavirus which emerged in the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka(AFP) — Two foreign trawlers packed with over $33 million worth of heroin and crystal methamphetamine were seized in Sri Lanka’s biggest-ever drugs bust at sea, a navy spokesman said Thursday. Troops found 400 kilograms (about 880 pounds) of heroin and 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of the drug “ice” on board the two vessels, spokesman Isuru Sooriyabandara said. The street value of the seized narcotics was estimated by officials to be 6,000 […]
THIMPHU, Bhutan (AFP) — The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has reported its first case of the coronavirus after a US tourist tested positive, the prime minister said Friday. The tiny, land-locked country, famous for measuring Gross National Happiness has emerged as a popular tourist destination in recent years. But the government immediately shut borders to foreign visitors for two weeks in an effort to limit the impact of a disease that has wreaked havoc […]
by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Travel restrictions around the world on arrivals from virus-hit South Korea are plunging its Olympic preparations into turmoil, with some athletes considering self-imposed exile and some at risk of missing the Games altogether. South Korea is a country that takes the Olympics seriously, coming eighth in the medal table at Rio 2016 with nine golds, and fifth at London 2012 with 13. But it also has the […]
by Rona Lacap EBC Correspondent in South Korea (Eagle News) — As cases of the novel coronavirus continues to spread, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism encouraged churches in South Korea to halt church services and gatherings. Culture Minister Park Yang-woo asked the Head of the United Christian Churches of Korea to actively participate in the battle against the novel coronavirus as he visited the central office of the organization on Tuesday in Jongno, […]
by Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — One month after makeshift hospitals opened to chaos and confusion at the epicenter of China’s coronavirus epidemic, frontline doctor Ma Yonggang is finally seeing more empty beds as fewer patients arrive. When 43-year-old Ma was first summoned to a sports stadium converted into a medical facility on February 4, it was a virtual construction site with electrical wiring and beds still being installed. Separated from his wife and […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s total number of novel coronavirus cases — the largest outside China, where the disease first emerged — approached 6,000 on Thursday as authorities reported 145 new infections. The total stood at 5,766, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with 35 deaths. So far 36 countries and regions have imposed a blanket entry ban on people who have recently been in the South, according to the […]
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi health authorities announced on Wednesday the country’s first two deaths from the new coronavirus, one in the capital Baghdad and the other in the autonomous Kurdish region. A 70-year-old Muslim cleric died on Wednesday from the virus, the first death from the outbreak in a country where 31 people have been infected. The Iraqi preacher had been quarantined in the northeastern city of Sulaimaniyah before his death, a spokesman for […]
by Amir Havasi TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Coronavirus has killed 92 people in Iran, officials said Wednesday, as the world’s deadliest outbreak outside China spread to all but one of the country’s provinces. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile dismissed a US offer to help it fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, charging that Washington hides behind a “mask of sympathy” while sanctions are depriving the country of medicine. The Islamic republic reported 15 new deaths from […]
by Ammu KANNAMPILLY / with Hakim HASAS in Kunduz Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The US launched an airstrike against Taliban fighters to defend Afghan forces Wednesday, an American military spokesman said, as violence spirals after a string of deadly attacks by the insurgents, throwing the country’s nascent peace process into grave doubt. News of the airstrike in southern Helmand province — the first in 11 days — came hours after US […]
by Hakim HASAS Agence France Presse KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AFP) — Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a string of overnight attacks, government officials told AFP Wednesday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” chat with their political chief. The militants have ramped up violence against Afghan security forces in recent days, ending a partial truce put in place during the run-up to a landmark […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported 142 more novel coronavirus cases Wednesday, a significantly lower increase than the day before, taking its total to 5,328 — the largest in the world outside China. Seoul had reported 851 new cases on Tuesday, its biggest daily case increase to date, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in declaring “war” against the deadly virus. Four more people had died, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
