Asia / Pacific
Farmers back at protest camp after deep challenge to PM Modi
NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of farmers who stormed the historic Red Fort on India’s Republic Day were again camped outside the capital Wednesday after the most volatile day of their two-month standoff left one protester dead and more than 300 police officers injured. The protests demanding the repeal of new agricultural laws …
WHO health regulations need tweaks but not major change – panel
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse GENEVA (Reuters) – The International Health Regulations remain a cornerstone of public health security and need improving in some areas, but not major changes, the chair of a World Health Organization (WHO) panel …
WHO team arrives in Wuhan to investigate pandemic origins
WUHAN, China (AP) — A global team of researchers arrived Thursday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty about whether Beijing might try to prevent embarrassing discoveries. The 10-member team sent to Wuhan by the World Health Organization was approved …
At COVID ‘breaking point’ Malaysia imposes ’emergency’, lockdown | Coronavirus pandemic News
Malaysia announced a state of emergency on Tuesday morning, suspending parliament and state legislatures, hours before millions of Malaysians were set to go back into lockdown following a surge in coronavirus cases that threatened to overwhelm the country’s public health system. A statement from the royal palace said the king had agreed to a declaration …
WHO experts arriving Thursday for virus origins probe
BEIJING (AP) — Experts from the World Health Organization are due to arrive in China this week for a long-anticipated investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Monday. The experts will arrive on Thursday and meet with Chinese counterparts, the National Health Commission said in a one-sentence statement that gave no …
Wuhan citizen journalist jailed for four years in China’s Christmas crackdown | World news
Zhang Zhan, a 37-year-old former lawyer and citizen journalist who was arrested in May while reporting from Wuhan, has been sentenced to four years in jail. Zhang was arrested for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – an accusation commonly used against dissidents, activists and journalists – with her video and blog reports from the Wuhan …
China launches antitrust probe into technology giant Alibaba | E-Commerce News
China has launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba Group and will summon the technology giant’s Ant Group affiliate to meet in the coming days, regulators said on Thursday, in the latest blow for Jack Ma’s e-commerce and financial technology empire. The probe is part of an accelerating crackdown on monopolistic behaviour in China’s booming internet …
No need to panic over new UK coronavirus strain, says India’s health minister
Men walk past a mural of frontline workers amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s health authorities remain vigilant and prepared to deal with a new more transmissible strain of the coronavirus identified in Britain, the country’s health minister said on Monday, …
COVID-19 clusters break out in Japan’s coldest city as winter closes in
By Rocky Swift, Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) – The emergence of Japan’s coldest city as a COVID-19 hotspot has raised fears among health experts that it could be a sign of what the rest of the nation may face as winter sets in and more people stay indoors, raising airborne transmission risks. FILE PHOTO: Passersby …
First Rohingya refugees arrive at isolated Bangladesh island
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip to Bhashan Char, according …
