International

UK govt minister quits in protest over Cummings lockdown trip

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was hit by its first resignation Tuesday over the controversy surrounding top aide Dominic Cummings’ cross-country trip during the coronavirus lockdown when Douglas Ross, a minister for Scotland, quit in protest. Undermining attempts by ministers to try and move on from the crisis which has dominated British politics for four days, Ross said he could not justify Cummings remaining in post to his constituents. […]

Saudi Arabia to end virus curfew from June 21

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia will end its nationwide coronavirus curfew from June 21, except in the holy city of Mecca, the interior ministry said Tuesday, after more than two months of stringent curbs. Prayers will also be allowed to resume in all mosques outside Mecca from May 31, the ministry said in a series of measures announced on the official Saudi Press Agency. The kingdom, which has reported the highest number of […]

Spain health workers protest at virus shortages

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spanish health workers on the front line of the fight against coronavirus gathered on Monday outside hospitals in the Madrid region to rally against shortages of protective equipment. Nurses, doctors and other workers protested in their uniforms, some in scrubs, under the slogan “health workers essential”. They stood silently for two minutes at the gates of several institutions in and around the capital, holding placards and homemade signs that read “we […]

Hong Kong leader tries to reassure investors rattled by China law

by Jerome TAYLOR / Yan ZHAO HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China’s plans to impose a new security law on Hong Kong will not erode freedoms, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as she tried to reassure international businesses and investors alarmed by the proposal. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the controversial law would “only target a handful of lawbreakers” but she would not be drawn on what actions and opinions would be deemed illegal once […]

UK PM defiant as political scandal rages over aide

  by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday failed to draw a line under a scandal over his top aide Dominic Cummings allegedly breaching coronavirus rules as pressure mounted on the Brexit mastermind to go. Johnson faces the threat of his government’s authority being undermined in the heat of a health crisis that has claimed nearly 37,000 lives in Britain and thrown one of […]

Japan lifts coronavirus emergency but urges caution

  by Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan lifted a nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus on Monday, gradually reopening the world’s third-largest economy as government officials warned caution was still necessary to prevent another wave. “We had very stringent criteria for lifting the state of emergency. We have judged that we have met this,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a nationally televised news conference. Compared with hard-hit areas in […]

New Zealand PM unruffled as quake hits mid-interview

  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand’s North Island early Monday but failed to crack Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trademark composure as she conducted a live television interview. The quake struck just off the coast before 8:00 am local time (2000 Sunday GMT) at a depth of about 52 kilometres (32 miles) near Levin, about 90 kilometres north of Wellington, the US Geological Survey said. St John Ambulance and […]

Thousands protest in Hong Kong over China security law proposal

  by Yan ZHAO / Xinqi SU Agence France Presse Police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters who gathered Sunday against a controversial security law proposed by China, in the most intense clashes for months. As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed “without the slightest delay”. The […]

Magnitude 5.8 shakes New Zealand’s north island

  (Eagle News) – A magnitude 5.8 quake shook New Zealand’s North Island at 7:53 a.m. local time in New Zealand (3:53 a.m. Manila time), according to GeoNet which provides geological hazard information for New Zealand. The quake was registered at 5.6  by the US Geological Survey (USGS)   GeoNet said that quake was located 30 kilometers northwest of Levin, which is the largest town and seat of the Horowhenua District, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region […]

Thousands rally against Spain virus response, urge PM to quit

  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Thousands of Spaniards answered a call on Saturday from far-right party Vox to protest against lockdown measures and the increasingly beleaguered government of leftist Pedro Sanchez. Motorists thronged the roads of central Madrid, tooting their horns as others held placards and shouted “Sanchez, resign” and “freedom”. Vox called demonstrations in dozens of cities with its leader Santiago Abascal alleging the government “has been incapable of protecting its people, its elderly […]

NYTimes marks grim US virus milestone with front page victim list

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — As the United States approached 100,000 coronavirus deaths, The New York Times on Sunday marked the grim milestone with a stark memorial on its front page — one-line obituaries for 1,000 victims. “The 1,000 people here reflect just one percent of the toll. None were mere numbers,” the newspaper said in a short introduction on the front page, which was entirely covered in text. The United States has […]

New York’s daily virus death toll falls below 100: governor

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The number of deaths in New York state caused by the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours was 84, the lowest one-day total since late March, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. “The news is good news,” Cuomo said in his daily televised briefing. Hospitalizations, intubations and new infections were all in decline, he added. “In my head, I was always looking to get under 100,” Cuomo said, speaking from […]