SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An ex-rugby league player is suspected of killing his three children and estranged wife by setting fire to their car, in what Australian police described as one of the most horrific incidents they have encountered. Police said a 31-year-old woman, named by local media as Hannah Baxter, died in a Brisbane hospital on Wednesday just hours after her three children aged three, four and six were found dead in the burned […]
International
Coronavirus death toll in China hits 2,112; Hubei province reports 108 more virus deaths
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 2,112 on Thursday after 108 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. Most of the deaths were in the provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December, according to the daily update from the Hubei health commission. More than 74,500 people have now been infected with the new coronavirus nationwide. Hubei health officials said […]
UPDATED: At least nine killed in shootings in Germany: police
HANAU, Germany (AFP) — At least nine people were killed in shootings targeting shisha bars in Germany that sparked a huge manhunt overnight before the suspected gunman was found dead in his home early Thursday. The attacks occurred at two bars in Hanau, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Frankfurt, where armed police quickly fanned out and police helicopters roamed the sky looking for those responsible for the bloodshed. Police in the central state […]
Coronavirus kills two Iranians, first Mideast deaths
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Two people have died in Iran after testing positive on Wednesday for the new coronavirus, the health ministry said, in the Islamic republic’s first cases of the disease. According to YJC news agency, a branch of state television, the pair who died were Iranian citizens and residents of the holy city of Qom. They are also the first deaths from the COVID-19 virus in the Middle East and only the […]
Hong Kong reports second coronavirus fatality
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — An elderly Hong Kong man who contracted the new coronavirus died on Wednesday, authorities announced, the second fatality from the outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. “A 70-year-old male patient who was infected with the novel coronavirus deteriorated and succumbed in Princess Margaret Hospital this morning,” the Hospital Authority said in a statement. Officials said the man was taken to hospital on 12 February after a fall at home. […]
Locust swarms arrive in South Sudan, threatening more misery
JUBA, South Sudan (AFP) — Swarms of locusts which are wreaking havoc across East Africa have now arrived in South Sudan, the government said Tuesday, threatening more misery in one of the world’s most vulnerable nations. Billions of desert locusts, some in swarms the size of Moscow, have already chomped their way through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. Their breeding has been spurred by one of the wettest rainy seasons in […]
Passengers leave Japan virus ship after testing negative for COVID-19
by Miwa Suzuki and Hiroshi Hiyama Agence France Presse YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Relieved passengers began leaving a coronavirus-wracked cruise ship in Japan on Wednesday after testing negative for the disease that has now claimed more than 2,000 lives in China. The Diamond Princess has proved a fertile breeding ground for the virus with at least 542 positive cases, and Japan has faced mounting criticism for its quarantine arrangements as the passengers disperse. “I’m relieved… […]
China virus death toll surges past 2,000, but new cases fall for 2nd straight day
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 2,000 on Wednesday after 136 more people died, with the number of new cases falling for a second straight day, according to the National Health Commission. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 74,185. The death toll rose to 2,004, with most of the deaths in central Hubei province, where the virus first emerged in […]
WHO urges calm as China virus death toll reaches 2,000
by Laurent THOMET Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak surged to 2,000 on Wednesday, as Chinese and international health officials warned against excessive measures to contain the epidemic. More than 74,000 people have now been infected by the virus in China, with hundreds more cases in some 25 countries. The situation remains serious at the epicentre, with the director of a hospital in the central […]
Virus-hit province rewards doctors’ children with extra exam points
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Children of China’s frontline medical workers battling the deadly coronavirus will be awarded extra exam points when applying for schools and higher education, local officials said Tuesday. Doctors and nurses in Hubei province — where the outbreak originated and which has reported the majority of deaths — have been lionized online and by state media. China’s schooling system places a major emphasis on exams, and even younger children face extreme competition […]
At least 14 dead in apparent toxic gas leak in Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) — An apparent gas leak killed at least 14 people near the Pakistani port city of Karachi, officials said Tuesday, as investigators worked to determine the source of the deadly emission. Residents of Keamari, a commercial and residential area, began falling sick Sunday, officials said. A doctor at one hospital, who asked not to be named, said 250 people had been admitted for treatment, after complaining of breathing difficulties and burning eyes. […]
Coronavirus cases top 500 on cruise ship off Japan
by Harumi OZAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Another 88 people from a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, as those free of the disease hoped they were spending their last night on board before disembarking. The new cases take the total from the Diamond Princess to 542 — easily the biggest cluster outside the epicenter in China — as the cruise ship has proved an especially virulent breeding […]