World
UN won’t vote electronically in Security Council election
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly will cast ballots in-person for five new non-permanent Security Council seats, its president said Thursday, effectively ruling out electronic voting despite the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to UN members obtained by AFP, President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said that voting members would be “invited to visit the venue at the designated time slot communicated to them in advance” in order to cast their ballot. Mexico and India are guaranteed a spot on the Council as the only countries in the running to represent Latin America and Asia respectively. Ireland, Norway, and Canada will compete among themselves for two more seats. Meanwhile, Kenya and Djibouti will vie for the only spot reserved for Africa. The vote is planned for June 17, but the letter s...
Coronavirus: We have tested over 3 million since April – Wuhan
The epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, Wuhan says over 3 million residents have been tested for the pathogen since April. The State Media stated that tests will continue and this time will be focused on the rest of its 11 million population. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the test, upon completion, is to help give the authorities a clear indication of the number of asymptomatic cases as businesses and schools reopen. Priority will be given to residents who have not been tested before, people living in residential compounds that had previous cases of infection, as well as old or densely populated estates, Xinhua said, citing a Wuhan government meeting. Fears of a second wave of infections flared over the weekend after Wuhan reported a cluster of infections, t...
Taiwan rejects China’s main condition for WHO participation
Taiwan’s health minister, on Friday, rejected China’s main condition for the island to be able to take part in the World Health Organisation (WHO) – that it accepts it is part of China – ahead of a key meeting of the body during a pandemic, Reuters reported. Non-WHO member Taiwan has lobbied to take part as an observer in next week’s World Health Assembly (WHA), drawing strong objections from Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces. Taiwan says the coronavirus pandemic has made it more urgent than ever that it be allowed proper access to the WHO. China says Taiwan can only participate under the “one China” principle, in which it accepts it is a part of China. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party refused to do this, a...
Donald Trump threatens to cut China ties over coronavirus spread
US President Donald Trump threatened to cut ties with China over its role in the spread of the coronavirus, as the global death toll from the disease topped 300,000. Despite fears of a second wave of infections, national and local governments around the world are easing lockdown orders as they try to get stalled economies moving again. But there were warnings Friday that some of the world’s poorest people remain the most vulnerable, with predictions that a quarter of a billion Africans could be infected without urgent action. The nexus of poverty and risk was highlighted by the discovery of cases in the world’s biggest refugee camp, where upwards of a million Rohingya live in squalor. “We are looking at the very real prospect that thousands of people may die from COVID-19” in these camps, ...
Rory McIlroy to play first three PGA Tour events when season resumes
World number one Rory McIlroy says he is planning to play in the PGA Tour’s first three tournaments when the season resumes next month after the COVID-19 disruption. The golf calendar has been severely impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 291,000 people around the world, with three of the sport’s four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled. The Tour’s schedule restarts with the Charles Schwab Challenge (June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas) followed by the RBC Heritage (June 18-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina) and the Travelers Championship (June 25-28 in Cromwell, Connecticut). “Right now, I’m planning to play the first three events,” McIlroy, who is also set to play in a $3 million charity skins match on May 17, told reporters. “I miss the competition...
WHO warns virus may be here to stay as toll nears 300,000
The coronavirus may never go away and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they have HIV, the World Health Organization has warned, as the global death toll from the disease nears 300,000. There were also gloomy forecasts from the US Federal Reserve, which said prolonged shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in America. Washington ratcheted up tensions over the pandemic by accusing China of trying to steal research into a vaccine, while US President Donald Trump upped the rhetoric with a colourful phrase that could anger Beijing. “We just made a great Trade Deal, the ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference — and all those innocent lives lost!” Trump tweeted....
WHO: Coronavirus may never go away
The new coronavirus may never go away and populations around the world will have to learn to live with it, the World Health Organization warned Wednesday. As some countries around the world begin gradually easing lockdown restrictions imposed in a bid to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading, the WHO said it may never be wiped out entirely. The virus first emerged in Wuhan in China late last year and has since infected more than 4.2 million people and killed nearly 300,000 worldwide. “We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very hard to predict when we will prevail over it,” said Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies director. “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away,” he told a ...
Gunmen attack Afghan hospital, kill two babies, 11 others
Thirteen people, including two babies, were killed on Tuesday when gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul, an interior ministry spokesman said. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” spokesman Tareq Arian said. Three gunmen held siege the Barchi National Hospital in Kabul for hours after the early-morning attack before security forces killed them in a clearance operation, the interior ministry said. Heavily armed security forces were seen carrying infants away from the scene — at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said. Some 15 people were wounded and more than 100 — including three foreign nationals — were rescued, he said. The hospital is located in the ...
New Zealand further relaxes coronavirus lockdown measures
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has announced a gradual easing of the country’s lockdown measures. However, the government said the country’s border will remain closed. At a news conference on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the easing will begin starting on Thursday, meaning most businesses and public spaces could reopen. “But everyone would need to play it safe. We must continue to behave as if the virus is still amongst us,’’ Ardern cautioned. According to her, schools will re-open from May 18, while bars will be able to re-open on May 21. “We may have won a few battles, but we have not won the war,’’ the prime minister said. She said that gatherings at home for weddings, funerals and tangihanga (Maori funeral rites) would be capped at 10 people, while all other social events, ...
Australian anti-lockdown protesters receive backlash
Australia Medical community representatives on Monday, accused protesters who broke the law of social distancing restrictions, of jeopardising an early relaxing of restrictions. Hundreds of demonstrators hit the streets in the state of Victoria on Sunday, calling for an end to the lockdown. However, Head of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Tony Bartone, told ‘The Today Show’ that the protesters, in fact, risked prolonging social distancing laws by potentially spreading the disease, describing it as an “incredibly disappointing”, and “bizarre” incident. “By that grouping of those protests over the weekend, we just need one person to be positive and spread the virus, and then we’re on the backward step already,’’ Bartone said. “If we have to isolate again and (implement) those measures...
19 dead as Iran warship hit by ‘friendly fire’ in tense Gulf
An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors, state media and the army said Monday, amid tensions with the US in Gulf waters. The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic, state television said on its website. “The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target,” said the channel. The armed forces said in a statement that 19 crewmen were killed and 15 injured. It said the Konarak had been involved in an “accident” during the exercises, without elaborating. The vessel had been towed ashore for “technical investigations”, it added, calling on people to “avoid speculatio...
China’s Wuhan reports first coronavirus infection in over a month
China on Sunday reported the first case of coronavirus in over a month in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak first started in December last year. China’s National Health Commission also reported the first double-digit increase in countrywide cases in nearly 10 days, saying 14 new infections had been confirmed. Two of the cases were imported into the country from overseas, the commission said. The coronavirus first emerged in China’s Wuhan, a major industrial and transport city in central China, in December. It has since infected nearly four million people worldwide — claiming more than 270,000 lives — and crippled the global economy. The total number infected in China is 82,901, with an official death toll of 4,633. No new deaths have been reported for nearly a month. China’s ruling Commun...
