UN asks 9 countries to delay peacekeeper rotations due to coronavirus
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations on Friday (Mar 6) asked nine countries, including China, South Korea and France, to delay by three months the rotations of their UN peacekeeping forces due to the coronavirus outbreak. The request was made to the countries “to maintain operational strength and execute their mandated tasks”, diplomatic sources at the UN
Kabul victims describe scenes of carnage after attack
KABUL: Kabul was reeling Saturday (Mar 7) after Islamic State extremists killed 32 people and wounded dozens more, with injured survivors describing scenes of terror as gunmen opened fire in the deadliest attack to hit Afghanistan since a US-Taliban deal. The attack at a crowded gathering in the capital has raised questions about Afghanistan’s abysmal
Nine Singapore footballers who broke curfew during SEA Games fined: SNOC
SINGAPORE: The nine Singapore footballers who broke curfew at last year’s SEA Games in the Philippines have been fined by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), a spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday (Mar 7). “On 31 January 2020, the SNOC Disciplinary Committee met with the nine athletes who were involved with two incidents of
North Korea slams European nations for ‘illogical thinking’ over missile launches
SEOUL: North Korea accused European nations of “illogical thinking” on Saturday (Mar 7) after they called a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting to condemn missile launches by the reclusive state earlier this week. Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Belgium raised North Korea’s latest missile firings at the UN Security Council on Thursday, calling them
Italy calls in retired doctors to help fight virus
ROME: Italy on Saturday (Mar 7) began recruiting retired doctors as part of urgent efforts to bolster the healthcare system with 20,000 additional staff and fight the escalating viral epidemic. The measure was one of several adopted by the government during an all-night cabinet meeting that came after the Mediterranean country reported 49 more deaths.
Coronavirus cases rise in UAE, Kuwait and Qatar: Ministries
DUBAI: The number of coronavirus cases in the United Arab Emirates has risen to 45 from 30, the Health Ministry said on Saturday (Mar 7). Kuwait recorded three new cases of coronavirus, bringing its infection tally to 61, while Qatar reported its 12th case, the health ministries in the two countries said on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement
South Korea’s coronavirus cases climb above 7,000, most cases traced to church
SEOUL: South Korea’s coronavirus cases jumped above 7,000 on Saturday (Mar 7), up by 448 from the previous day, with more than half of the total number linked to a secretive church at the centre of the country’s outbreak, health authorities said. The death toll rose by two to 46, according to the Korea Centers for
Americans quarantined in Bethlehem hotel in coronavirus scare: Palestinian official
BETHLEHEM, West Bank: Fifteen Americans have been quarantined in a hotel in Bethlehem as part of precautions against the coronavirus, a Palestinian government spokesman said on Saturday (Mar 7). The city in the occupied West Bank has been in lock down since cases of the virus were recorded there on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement READ: Friday prayers
China reports 28 COVID-19 deaths, rise in new infections originating from abroad
BEIJING: China on Saturday (Mar 7) reported 28 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the nationwide toll to 3,070. The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 28 new deaths. In the provincial capital of Wuhan, 21 people died. Advertisement Advertisement Mainland China had 99 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on
Philippines records first community transmission of coronavirus, now has 6 cases
MANILA: The Philippines said on Saturday (Mar 7) it had confirmed its first case of community transmission for the new coronavirus, prompting health ministry officials to call on the president to declare a public health emergency to contain its spread. The case involves a 62-year-old male Filipino who had not travelled abroad recently. Advertisement Advertisement READ: 2
Sea of meth as Myanmar army smashes three drug labs
KAWANGHKA, Myanmar: Sacks of heroin and methamphetamine are laid out in endless rows in a remote Myanmar border zone during a rare raid in the heart of Southeast Asia’s infamous “Golden Triangle”. The seizure in one of the world’s biggest narcotics-producing regions put three major laboratories out of business this week and hauled in 43 million
Two apartment buildings in South Korea quarantined over COVID-19
SEOUL: Two South Korean apartment buildings heavily occupied by members of a sect linked to most of the country’s coronavirus cases have been quarantined after dozens of residents tested positive for the disease, an official said Saturday (Mar 7). The move comes as the country, which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in
‘Evolving like Pokemon’, Hong Kong women step up to protest frontlines
HONG KONG: University student, “A”, says she used to be a “typical girl” who liked to shop, drink bubble tea and watch Korean soap operas but all that changed as Hong Kong’s anti-government protests gained momentum and she stepped up to take a place in the frontlines. She is now charged with rioting, an offence which
Cancer patient aboard coronavirus-stalled cruise faces possible chemotherapy delay
LOS ANGELES: Among the 2,400 passengers stranded off the California coast on a cruise ship carrying at least 21 people infected with coronavirus, few people aboard likely have more to lose than Kari Kolstoe, a retiree from North Dakota with stage-4 cancer. Kolstoe, 60, said she and her husband, Paul, 61, had looked forward to
