Issued on: 06/05/2020 – 16:04Modified: 06/05/2020 – 16:04 China will not invite international experts to investigate the source of Covid-19 until after securing the “final victory” over the virus, Beijing’s UN ambassador in Geneva said Wednesday despite mounting calls for an independent probe into China’s handling of the outbreak. China’s priority is first beating the […]
Japan extends state of emergency until May 31
Issued on: 04/05/2020 – 12:02Modified: 04/05/2020 – 12:02 Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he had decided to extend the country’s national state of emergency to May 31. Abe will consider lifting the state of emergency without waiting for its May 31 expiration if expert advisors decide that is possible based on detailed […]
Can the unmasking of China’s Covid-19 ‘mask diplomacy’ stem Beijing’s global power grab?
The Covid-19 outbreak found China uniquely positioned for a global soft power grab with its “mask diplomacy” supply of medical equipment. But then a drip of anti-Beijing headlines followed by an aggressive diplomatic onslaught unravelled the gains. The race for world power dominance is now up for grabs. On April 14, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves […]
World should follow South Korea’s example on Covid-19 fight, UN chief says
Issued on: 01/05/2020 – 07:22Modified: 01/05/2020 – 07:32 The United Nations chief said he hopes many countries in the world will follow the “remarkable example” of South Korea, which he said has been “extremely successful” in addressing the coronavirus pandemic and is planning to tackle climate change in its recovery from COVID-19. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres […]
If pandemic persists next year, Tokyo Olympics will be ‘cancelled’
Issued on: 28/04/2020 – 11:10Modified: 28/04/2020 – 11:10 The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t brought under control by next year, the organising committee’s president warned, ruling out further delays. The comments, in an interview with a Japanese sports daily published Tuesday, come as medical experts doubted […]
In Australia, misuse of data from tracing app will be a crime
Issued on: 24/04/2020 – 07:43Modified: 24/04/2020 – 07:43 Australia will make it illegal for non-health officials to access data collected on smartphone software to trace the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, amid privacy concerns raised by the measure. Australia has so far avoided the high death toll of other countries, with only 78 deaths, […]
Dozens die in clashes across Afghanistan as US struggles to broker Taliban cease-fire
Issued on: 23/04/2020 – 00:01Modified: 23/04/2020 – 00:02 Clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban militants killed dozens nationwide over the past 24 hours, authorities said on Wednesday, even as the United States tries to broker peace talks between the warring sides. Eight security force members were killed in a Taliban attack on a checkpoint at […]
Wuhan’s wet markets: Blame for Covid-19 casts shadow over future
Issued on: 17/04/2020 – 18:01Modified: 17/04/2020 – 18:01 Wuhan’s wet markets, closed for months during the coronavirus lockdown, have now re-opened. But as the suspected source of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the markets have become the subject of international scrutiny, with some calling for them to be banned, and traders say customers are staying away […]
China revises Wuhan’s Covid-19 death toll with a 50 percent rise
Issued on: 17/04/2020 – 08:07Modified: 17/04/2020 – 08:09 Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the epicentre of the global pandemic, raised its number of Covid-19 fatalities by 1,290 to 3,869 deaths, state media said Friday. The revision was due to insufficient admission and treatment capabilities at the virus’s peak, according to authorities. Wuhan’s revised death toll of 3,869 is […]
North Korea: Is the country really coronavirus free?
Issued on: 16/04/2020 – 13:13Modified: 16/04/2020 – 13:13 More than 2 million coronavirus cases have been reported across the world, affecting 185 countries. But North Korea says it is completely free of the virus, a claim that has been met with scepticism in some quarters. France 24 spoke to Daniel Wertz, program manager at the […]
Scare tactics: Indonesian town deploys ‘ghosts’ to battle coronavirus
Issued on: 14/04/2020 – 15:25Modified: 14/04/2020 – 15:25 Volunteers in one Indonesian village are helping to encourage people to stay at home and curb the spread of coronavirus by dressing up as ghosts and scaring anyone out on the street at night. The phantoms have been patrolling the streets of Kepuh village, Indonesia, since early […]
Indonesia’s Ramadan exodus risks spreading Covid-19 across the country
Issued on: 08/04/2020 – 12:01Modified: 08/04/2020 – 12:01 Indonesia’s annual mudik (exodus), which begins with Ramadan, risks undermining the country’s efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19 as tens of millions cross the densely populated archipelago to return home. Despite an already overburdened healthcare system and the second-highest death toll in Asia after China, Indonesia […]
Japan declares month-long state of emergency over coronavirus
Issued on: 07/04/2020 – 11:17Modified: 07/04/2020 – 11:17 Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency Tuesday for Tokyo and six other prefectures to ramp up defenses against the spread of the coronavirus. Abe said Tuesday that there would be no European-style lockdowns. The state of emergency will only permit Tokyo Gov. […]
Taliban breaks off talks with Afghanistan, putting US-led peace deal at risk
Issued on: 07/04/2020 – 08:03Modified: 07/04/2020 – 08:03 The Taliban on Tuesday broke off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgent group’s political office in Qatar, […]
Japan’s Abe announces coronavirus stimulus package and state of emergency
Issued on: 06/04/2020 – 11:53Modified: 06/04/2020 – 11:54 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday the government plans to declare a state of emergency and proposed a stimulus package worth $1 trillion as new coronavirus infections spike in Tokyo and elsewhere. “We hope to declare a state of emergency as early as tomorrow after listening […]
Putin extends Russia’s ‘stay off work’ order through April to curtail virus
Issued on: 02/04/2020 – 16:48Modified: 02/04/2020 – 16:49 President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of the month to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said he was extending the non-working policy he ordered earlier for this […]
‘Shoot them dead,’ Philippine’s Duterte warns coronavirus lockdown violators
Issued on: 02/04/2020 – 11:34Modified: 02/04/2020 – 11:34 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated. In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine […]
Pakistani court overturns Briton’s death sentence for Daniel Pearl murder
Issued on: 02/04/2020 – 08:55Modified: 02/04/2020 – 08:55 A Pakistani court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a British national convicted in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Three other co-accused serving life sentences were also acquitted. The Sindh High Court on Thursday announced its verdict on appeals by […]
Lack of compassion, more than resources, marks India’s deadly lockdown mismanagement
More than 20 migrant labourers have died trying to flee India’s coronavirus locked-down cities for their villages over the past few days. Critics blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hasty 21-day curfew call that, like many of his recent directives, was long on populist symbolism, but short on foresight or compassion. It was the biggest human lockdown ordered at the shortest […]
Rouhani warns of ‘new way of life’ in Iran as deaths from coronavirus spiral
Issued on: 29/03/2020 – 14:45Modified: 29/03/2020 – 14:45 President Hassan Rouhani warned Sunday that “the new way of life” in Iran was likely to be prolonged, as its declared death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to 2,640. The Islamic republic is one of the countries worst-hit by the virus, which first originated in China.Iran […]
North Korea fires missiles into sea amid coronavirus pandemic
Issued on: 29/03/2020 – 07:41Modified: 29/03/2020 – 07:45 North Korea on Sunday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea and Japan said, continuing a streak of weapons launches that suggests leader Kim Jong Un is trying to strengthen domestic support amid worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country. South Korea’s […]
Christchurch shooter changes plea to guilty on all charges of dual mosque attack
Issued on: 26/03/2020 – 00:34Modified: 26/03/2020 – 00:34 The Australian man accused of the attacks on two New Zealand mosques last year entered a surprise guilty plea in a Christchurch court on Thursday to 51 charges of murder, local media reported. Brenton Tarrant, who appeared by video link in a special High Court hearing, also […]
China: The slow return to normality
Issued on: 25/03/2020 – 19:08Modified: 25/03/2020 – 19:12 The Great Wall of China partially re-opened to visitors on Tuesday, two months after closing amid the coronavirus pandemic. It was the latest sign that life in China is slowly starting to return to normal. Beijing Zoo also re-opened its doors on Tuesday, while on the streets […]
PM Modi orders 21-day ‘total lockdown’ in India
Issued on: 24/03/2020 – 16:50Modified: 24/03/2020 – 16:50 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a 21-day lockdown of the world’s second most populous country on Tuesday, following China’s example to halt the spread of coronavirus that has infected tens of thousands across the world. On Tuesday, Modi, the powerful leader of the world’s biggest democracy […]
1.3 billion under curfew: India ramps up coronavirus response
Issued on: 23/03/2020 – 17:42Modified: 23/03/2020 – 17:43 The normally packed streets of India’s cities were virtually deserted Sunday as the government ordered a 14-hour curfew in its efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, asking the country’s population of some 1.3 billion to stay at home. Though not mandatory, images of empty cities suggest the […]
‘Elderly hour’: Australian supermarkets open just for older shoppers
Issued on: 17/03/2020 – 16:41Modified: 17/03/2020 – 16:42 Some supermarkets in Australia opened early on Tuesday. But for one hour, only the elderly and the disabled were allowed in, a way to give those most at risk a chance to shop away from the crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic. Following scenes of panic buying for […]
Rush on toilet paper: Coronavirus sparks panic buying in Australia
Issued on: 06/03/2020 – 18:07Modified: 06/03/2020 – 18:08 Fear of the spread of coronavirus has sparked panic buying in Australia, where supermarkets have had to limit the number of packs sold to each customer, and police have even had to break up a fight over the commodity. There have been 59 confirmed cases of the […]
Coronavirus: British man on quarantined cruise ship near Tokyo has died
Issued on: 28/02/2020 – 16:54Modified: 28/02/2020 – 16:54 A British man who was on board a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo has died, Japan’s health ministry said Friday. The unidentified man’s death is the latest linked to infections on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where more than 700 other people tested positive for the […]
Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang handed ‘unfair’ eight-year doping ban
Issued on: 28/02/2020 – 12:10Modified: 28/02/2020 – 12:10 China’s top swimmer Sun Yang has vowed to appeal after being handed an eight-year ban on Friday for a dope test violation that would rule him out of the Tokyo Games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) earlier accepted an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency […]
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested over pro-democracy march
Issued on: 28/02/2020 – 08:22Modified: 28/02/2020 – 08:23 Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a high profile critic of Beijing, was arrested Friday for taking part in last year’s pro-democracy protests that rocked the city for seven months. The 72-year-old owner of the Apple Daily newspaper is accused of joining a rally on August 31 […]