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BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing lifted several lockdowns imposed to control a fresh coronavirus outbreak and reported just three new cases in the city on Wednesday, raising hopes that the cluster had been brought under control. The Chinese capital had closed off dozens of residential compounds and carried out mass testing last month after hundreds of infections raised fears of a virus resurgence. But five residential communities that have had no new virus cases during […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada warned its citizens in Hong Kong on Wednesday that they faced a higher risk of arbitrary detention and extradition to mainland China after Beijing imposed a new security law on the city. The warning illustrates Western governments’ heightened concern for citizens under the new law that criminalizes subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces. “You may be at increased risk of arbitrary detention on national security grounds and possible […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The number of COVID-19 cases has exploded in one of California’s oldest prisons, San Quentin, as more than 1,000 inmates have tested positive for the virus, authorities in the US state announced Tuesday. “That is our deep area of focus and concern right now,” said Governor Gavin Newsom, noting that 42 percent of the some 3,500 inmates at San Quentin, near San Francisco, are considered “medically vulnerable.” Unlike other […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump has approved a plan to slash the US military presence in Germany by 9,500 troops, the Defense Department said Tuesday. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the move, which has sparked concerns in Berlin and in the NATO alliance, is to redeploy the troops and will “enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, (and) reassure allies,” as well as improving US strategic flexibility. The move will cut the current troop […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A powerful explosion at a clinic in northern Tehran killed at least 19 people on Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported. The blast at Sina At’har health center caused damage to buildings in the vicinity and sent a plume of thick black smoke into the night sky, state television reported. “An explosion was reported at 20:56 (1626 GMT) followed by a fire at Sina At’har clinic. Medical units were dispatched […]
by Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — TikTok denied Tuesday sharing Indian users’ data with the Chinese government, after New Delhi banned the wildly popular app in a sharp deterioration of relations with Beijing two weeks after a deadly border clash. “TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government,” […]
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan’s former president Almazbek Atambayev has been hospitalized with pneumonia but tested negative for the coronavirus, the Central Asian country’s security committee said Tuesday. Atambayev, 63, was last week sentenced to over 11 years in jail for his role in allowing a crime boss early release from incarceration and faces a host of other charges including murder. While noting that Atambayev’s coronavirus test had come back negative, the State National […]
by Jerome TAYLOR / Yan ZHAO HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday, a historic move that critics and many western governments fear will smother the finance hub’s freedoms and hollow out its autonomy. The legislation was unanimously approved by China’s rubber-stamp parliament, little more than six weeks after it was first unveiled, sending shockwaves through semi-autonomous Hong Kong and beyond. The United States, Britain, […]
WELLINGTON, United States (AFP) — The annual APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders will be virtual next year to avoid travel risks associated with the global coronavirus pandemic, 2021 hosts New Zealand said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said holding the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit online, instead of in Auckland, was a “pragmatic” response to the crisis. “COVID-19 has seriously impacted how we conduct international diplomacy,” he said in a statement. “Given the current global environment, […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States recorded at least 42,000 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tally showed Monday, as the country confronts a rapid surge in the disease. The new infections, concentrated in southern and western states, bring the total number of infections in the US to nearly 2.6 million, according to the Baltimore-based institution at 8:30pm (0030 GMT Tuesday). The number of daily US deaths […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Monday gave the head of the European Union mission in Caracas, Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, 72 hours to leave the country after the bloc announced sanctions against 11 Venezuelan officials. “Who are they to try to impose themselves with threats?” said Maduro. “We will sort it out in 72 hours… she will be given a plane to leave, but we will arrange our things with the European […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States recorded at least 42,000 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tally showed Monday, as the country confronts a rapid surge in the disease. The new infections, concentrated in southern and western states, bring the total number of infections in the US to nearly 2.6 million, according to the Baltimore-based institution at 8:30pm (0030 GMT Tuesday). The number of daily US deaths in […]
