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HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam locked down eight million people in Hanoi on Saturday, the latest attempt to curb a serious coronavirus outbreak that has already forced a third of the country to stay home. Authorities reported more than 7,000 new infections across the nation on Friday — the third record number of daily infections in a week. The centre of the normally bustling capital was empty and shops were shuttered as the lockdown […]
by Agnes Anya, with AFP bureaus JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia, Iran and France were suffering alarming surges in coronavirus cases Tuesday, as governments raced to vaccinate populations in a bid to outpace the highly-contagious Delta variant wreaking havoc across the globe. The new cases come as the head of the Olympics admitted Tuesday he suffered “sleepless” nights leading up to the Tokyo Games, due to open Friday and already marred by outbreaks. Nearly 3.7 […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesians prayed outside mosques and slaughtered goats to commemorate a sombre Eid al-Adha festival on Tuesday despite efforts to stop mass gatherings as coronavirus deaths skyrocket. This week marks the second time during the pandemic that the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation has celebrated the Feast of Sacrifice, which signals the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities have banned large crowds, including at traditional events that feature the sacrifice […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A confidante of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and stalwart democracy campaigner died Tuesday after becoming infected with Covid-19 in prison, authorities said. Nyan Win, a veteran senior member and former spokesperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party — led by Suu Kyi — was 78. He had been arrested after the February 1 coup removed the NLD from power and was held in Yangon’s notorious Insein […]
Indonesia overtaking India as Asia’s COVID-19 epicenter Skyrocketing Covid-19 infections and deaths are hammering hospitals in Indonesia which is overtaking India as Asia’s coronavirus epicentre. Desperate patients lining up at hospitals for days before getting proper treatment, as the government has advised infected people with mild symptomps to self quarantine. Many, however, ended up dying at homes. Workers from local community health centers and volunteers have taken the job to go house to house […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Dozens of children have been killed and hundreds arbitrarily detained in Myanmar since a coup more than five months ago, UN rights experts warned Friday. The UN child rights committee said it had received “credible information” that 75 children had been killed and around 1,000 arrested in Myanmar since February 1. “Children in Myanmar are under siege and facing catastrophic loss of life because of the military coup,” committee chair […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Virus-wracked Indonesia posted record daily infections topping 54,000 on Wednesday as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the archipelago, catapulting it ahead of India as Asia’s Covid-19 epicentre. The Southeast Asian nation has been battered by a virus explosion that overwhelmed hospitals, leaving scores to die at home, while desperate relatives hunt for oxygen tanks to treat the sick. On Wednesday, Indonesia’s health ministry posted its highest-ever 54,517 new […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore Wednesday unveiled one of the world’s biggest floating solar power farms, covering an area the size of 45 football pitches, as part of the city-state’s push to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The project is the country’s most ambitious yet, comprising 122,000 panels on Tengeh Reservoir that will produce enough electricity to run its five water treatment plants. Singapore is among the biggest per capita carbon dioxide emitters in Asia and […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US has “deep concerns” about the situation in Myanmar following February’s coup, urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take action, the State Department said Tuesday. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralyzed since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government earlier this year, accusing it of fraud during 2020 elections. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “called on ASEAN to take joint action to […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — An ocean liner on a “cruise to nowhere” was forced to make an earlier-than-scheduled return to Singapore Wednesday after a coronavirus case was detected on board, reports said. The cruises — starting and ending in Singapore, with no stops — were launched last year as part of the travel industry’s attempt to bounce back from a pandemic-induced crunch. They have proved popular among those seeking an escape from the tiny city-state, […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand on Tuesday defended mixing two different Covid-19 vaccines to battle a surge in infections, after the WHO’s top scientist warned it was a “dangerous trend” not backed by evidence. The kingdom is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, with cases and deaths skyrocketing and the healthcare system stretched thin. Authorities said they will mix a first dose of the Chinese-made Sinovac jab with […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Over ten million people were placed under fresh Covid-19 restrictions and a curfew in the Thai capital Monday, as the kingdom battles a surge of cases worsened by the highly infectious Alpha and Delta variants. Thailand has so far recorded more than 345,000 cases and 2,791 deaths — with the bulk of them coming in this latest wave that kicked off in April. First detected in clubs frequented by the Thai […]
