International

4 injured in suspected Jerusalem ‘terror attack’

  JERUSALEM (AFP) — Fourteen people were injured at a popular night spot in central Jerusalem after being struck by a vehicle on Thursday, in an incident Israeli police are investigating as a terror attack. The driver “fled the scene” following the early morning attack at Jerusalem’s First Station, an historic rail stop that now hosts bars, shops and restaurants, police spokesman Micky Rosenfled said. “Police are searching for the vehicle,” he added. “The incident […]

Viral hysteria: Hong Kong panic buying sparks run on toilet paper

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Panic buyers in Hong Kong have descended on supermarkets to snap up toilet rolls as the government warned that online rumors of shortages were hampering the city’s fight against a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Videos obtained by AFP showed long queues of frantic shoppers packing trolleys with multiple packets of toilet rolls, with some arguments breaking out. Rice and pasta have also become a popular target for panic buying. The footage […]

Thousands quarantined on Asian cruise ships in virus fight

by Harumi OZAWA YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Thousands of people were stranded aboard two cruise ships in Asia on Thursday, quarantined by officials desperate to stem the spread of a deadly virus that has killed hundreds in China and spread panic worldwide. At least 20 people on board one ocean liner off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the new coronavirus, with thousands more staring at two-week sea-borne isolation. The outbreak on the vessel, […]

China scrambles to find beds for virus patients

by Helen ROXBURGH BEIJING, China (AFP) — China scrambled to find bed space for thousands of newly infected patients on Thursday, as the toll from a deadly new virus jumped again. More than 28,000 people are now known to be infected nationwide in an outbreak that has killed 563 and spiraled into a global health emergency. Two dozen countries now have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus that emerged from a market selling exotic animals […]

Gates Foundation announces $100 million for coronavirus response

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged Wednesday to commit up to $100 million for the global response to the novel coronavirus epidemic that has claimed nearly 500 lives. The funding will be used to strengthen detection, isolation and treatment efforts, the foundation said, including protecting at-risk populations and developing vaccines and diagnostics. “Multilateral organizations, national governments, the private sector, and philanthropies must work together to slow the pace of […]

Avalanches kill nearly 40 in eastern Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — At least 33 people were killed in eastern Turkey Wednesday by a second avalanche which buried a team of rescuers searching for people hit by the first the day before. The bodies of 33 rescue workers and civilians were discovered in Van province, where they had been helping dig out a minibus buried by snow late Tuesday, the government’s disaster agency AFAD said. Five people aboard the vehicle were killed, taking […]

Equatorial Guinea offers China $2 million for virus fight

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AFP) — The tiny central African state of Equatorial Guinea said Wednesday it would give $2 million (1.8 million euros) to China to help it tackle coronavirus. The government, which has developed close ties with Beijing, said the donation was a mark of “support and solidarity.” The new coronavirus has claimed nearly 500 lives, infected more than 24,000 people in mainland China and spread to more than 20 countries since it appeared […]

Baby tests positive for China virus just 30 hours after birth

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A baby in China’s epidemic-hit Wuhan city has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus just 30 hours after being born, Chinese state media reported Wednesday. The infant is the youngest person recorded as being infected by the virus, which has killed nearly 500 people since emerging late last year. CCTV quoted experts as saying it may be a case of “vertical transmission”, referring to infections passed from mother to child during […]

In political triumph, Trump acquitted of all impeachment charges

  by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump drew on staunch Republican support to defeat the gravest threat yet to his three-year-old presidency on Wednesday, winning acquittal in the Senate on impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Only the third US leader ever placed on trial, Trump readily defeated the Democratic-led effort to expel him from office for having illicitly sought help from […]

JUST IN: Coronavirus cases in China pass 28,000: govt

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of confirmed infections in China’s coronavirus outbreak has reached 28,018 nationwide with 3,694 new cases reported, the National Health Commission said Thursday. In its daily update, the commission said there had been 73 new deaths from the virus — most of them in hardest-hit Hubei province, with three in other regions — bringing the national toll to 563. © Agence France-Presse

Ten more on cruise ship off Japan have new coronavirus: local media

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Ten more people on a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, local media said Thursday, raising the number of infections detected on the boat to 20. Japanese authorities have tested 273 people among the approximately 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship after a man who got off the boat last month in Hong Kong tested positive for the new strain. The new cases were reported […]

China’s France envoy slams ‘shameful’ Hong Kong medical strike

PARIS, France (AFP) — China’s ambassador to France on Wednesday slammed as “shameful” the decision by Hong Kong medical workers to strike, accusing them of putting lives at risk in the midst of a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Hundreds of medical staff in Hong Kong walked off the job on Monday, demanding that the semi-autonomous territory completely seal its border with mainland China to stop the spread of the virus, which has claimed nearly 500 lives […]