Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — A Malaysian journalist was charged Wednesday with causing public alarm with Facebook posts about the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, as authorities warned against online “rumor-mongering”. The virus has so far killed almost 500 people and infected 24,000 others in China, and spread to more than 20 countries including Malaysia, which has 12 cases. It has also unleashed a flood of misinformation online, from misleading death tolls to vaccine conspiracies, […]
by Benoît PELEGRIN LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Fears of an economic slowdown, fuelled by the coronavirus slashing output in China, has shone the spotlight on OPEC, whose oil is heavily bought by the world’s second-biggest economy. “China has become increasingly important for OPEC countries in recent years,” research group JBC Energy told AFP. In total, more than two-thirds of China’s crude imports come from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia. Following a […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
by Dan Martin BEIJING, China (AFP) — Authorities in China warned Wednesday they faced a severe shortage of hospital beds and equipment needed to treat a growing number of patients stricken by the new coronavirus, as cities far from the epicenter tightened their defenses. Central Hubei province reported 3,156 new infections, its biggest single-day jump in the outbreak that has spiraled into a global health emergency with cases reported in over 20 countries. Among those […]
