THAILAND
Travel curbs announced
The government has said it would classify all travelers into three groups under intensified surveillance for the new coronavirus as officials try to prevent a wider outbreak in the tourism-reliant nation. People coming from China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Iran and Italy will be subject to mandatory 14-day self-quarantine, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said in a statement. They must apply for visas and present health forms at check-in certifying they are at no risk of developing COVID-19, or they will be denied boarding. Arrivals from another group of 11 countries with local transmission have to report symptoms to officials for at least 14 days. The country yesterday reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 in the largest daily jump in infections since the outbreak began, bringing its total tally to 114, health officials said.
SOUTH KOREA
Number of new cases fall
The country yesterday morning reported 76 additional cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in new infections since Feb. 21. The numbers raised the total for the country to 8,162. The death toll increased by three to 75, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It said 120 people had recovered and were released from quarantine over the past 24 hours, raising the number of recovered to 834. A majority of cases in the country has been reported in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas.
JAPAN
New virus cases rise by 64
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare yesterday announced 64 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours. The ministry said that the country has 780 cases plus 697 others from a cruise ship that was stranded in the country, for a combined total of 1,477. The ministry said the death toll has risen to 29, including seven former cruise ship passengers. The new cases come from 13 prefectures, including Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka.
IRAN
Death toll hits 724
Tehran yesterday said the COVID-19 outbreak has killed another 113 people, pushing the death toll in the country to 724. The country is suffering from the worst outbreak in the Middle East, with 13,938 cases and even senior government officials testing positive. There are concerns that the number of infections is much higher than the confirmed cases reported by the government, with some lawmakers having questioned the official toll. It is also unclear if local hospitals are able to cope with the influx of new cases, with at least 2,500 new infections announced in just the previous two days. State TV last week reported that hospitals in some areas were overwhelmed.
HONG KONG
Reports put on ‘Minecraft’
A virtual library housing censored articles from around the world has been created within the video game Minecraft by press freedom group Reporters Without Borders. The group said it had put work by banned, exiled or killed journalists in five countries — Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Vietnam — on an open server, making it available for players to view, despite local censorship laws. “In these countries, where Web sites, blogs and free press in general are strictly limited, Minecraft is still accessible by everyone,” the group said in a news release. “These articles are now available again within Minecraft, hidden from government surveillance technology.”
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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