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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a personal letter to “comfort” South Koreans fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic just a day after his sister condemned Seoul as a “frightened dog barking”, the South’s presidential office said Thursday. Pyongyang has imposed strict restrictions and closed its borders to try to prevent an outbreak and insists it has not had a single case of the novel coronavirus which emerged in the […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka(AFP) — Two foreign trawlers packed with over $33 million worth of heroin and crystal methamphetamine were seized in Sri Lanka’s biggest-ever drugs bust at sea, a navy spokesman said Thursday. Troops found 400 kilograms (about 880 pounds) of heroin and 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of the drug “ice” on board the two vessels, spokesman Isuru Sooriyabandara said. The street value of the seized narcotics was estimated by officials to be 6,000 […]
THIMPHU, Bhutan (AFP) — The isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has reported its first case of the coronavirus after a US tourist tested positive, the prime minister said Friday. The tiny, land-locked country, famous for measuring Gross National Happiness has emerged as a popular tourist destination in recent years. But the government immediately shut borders to foreign visitors for two weeks in an effort to limit the impact of a disease that has wreaked havoc […]
by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Travel restrictions around the world on arrivals from virus-hit South Korea are plunging its Olympic preparations into turmoil, with some athletes considering self-imposed exile and some at risk of missing the Games altogether. South Korea is a country that takes the Olympics seriously, coming eighth in the medal table at Rio 2016 with nine golds, and fifth at London 2012 with 13. But it also has the […]
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP )– American daredevil Nik Wallenda walked a tightrope across the crater of an active volcano in Nicaragua Wednesday, taking half an hour to traverse the boiling lake of lava spewing toxic gases. Masaya, 635 meters (2,083 feet) high and 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Managua, is one of only eight volcanoes in the world with an active lava lake. Wallenda started his 550 meters (1,800 feet) walk across the crater known as […]
by Marie JULIEN INGENHEIM, France (AFP) — A French high-speed TGV train derailed early Thursday after an embankment collapsed into the tracks in eastern France, seriously injuring the driver and hurting 21 others. The bullet train was heading to Paris at around 270 km/h (170 mph) when the locomotive ran off the tracks near Ingenheim, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Strasbourg. The driver sustained a crushed chest and was evacuated by helicopter in […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Thursday reported 41 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, its highest single-day total to date, bringing the number of fatalities in Europe’s most affected country to 148. The number of cases also jumped by a new high of 769, reaching 3,858 over the past two weeks. The latest figures mean Italy has the second-most deaths behind China, where the new virus was first detected at the end of last […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Thursday announced its first death from coronavirus within the country, as the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 115. “I am very sorry to report a patient in England who tested positive for COVID-19 has sadly died,” England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said in a statement. The patient, being treated in the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, west of London, was elderly and had “underlying health […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — US lawmakers passed an emergency $8.3 billion spending bill to combat the coronavirus on Thursday as the number of cases surged in the country’s northwest and deaths reached 11. The Senate gave sweeping bipartisan support to the funding one day after the House passed the bill so that it could be quickly sent to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. “The American people are looking for leadership, […]
by Rona Lacap EBC Correspondent in South Korea (Eagle News) — As cases of the novel coronavirus continues to spread, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism encouraged churches in South Korea to halt church services and gatherings. Culture Minister Park Yang-woo asked the Head of the United Christian Churches of Korea to actively participate in the battle against the novel coronavirus as he visited the central office of the organization on Tuesday in Jongno, […]
by Dmitry Zaks, with Laurent Thomet in Beijing Agence France Presse Almost 300 million students worldwide faced weeks at home on Thursday with Italy the latest country to shut schools over the deadly new coronavirus, as the IMF urged an all-out global offensive against the epidemic. More than 95,000 people have been infected and over 3,200 have died worldwide from the virus, which has now reached some 80 countries and territories. In California, Governor […]
by Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — One month after makeshift hospitals opened to chaos and confusion at the epicenter of China’s coronavirus epidemic, frontline doctor Ma Yonggang is finally seeing more empty beds as fewer patients arrive. When 43-year-old Ma was first summoned to a sports stadium converted into a medical facility on February 4, it was a virtual construction site with electrical wiring and beds still being installed. Separated from his wife and […]
