Hong Kong to bar non-resident arrivals from S.Korea over virus

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong will bar non-residents arriving from South Korea from Tuesday morning in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak, the city's security chief said late Monday. "Considering the development of the epidemic in South Korea, the Security Bureau will issue a red travel alert," John Lee told reporters. "We also urge Hong Kong residents not to travel there unless necessary," he added. (AFP)

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

Iraq confirms first novel coronavirus case

NAJAF-- Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the c

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

Kuwait, Bahrain announce first COVID-19 cases

DUBAI (AFP) -- Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran. Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic. (AFP)

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

The global spread of the new coronavirus: Where is it?

PARIS (AFP) -- The new coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year has now killed more than 2,400 people and spread around the world. Outside mainland China there have been 26 deaths and more than 1,500 infections reported, with cases concentrated in South Korea and the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Here is a roundup of the areas where cases of COVID-19, the virus's official designation, have been confirmed: CHINA  ===== As of Sunday some 77

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

Coronavirus puts 'fragile' global recovery at risk: IMF to G20

RIYADH (AFP) -- The deadly coronavirus epidemic could put an already fragile global economic recovery at risk, the IMF warned Sunday, as G20 financial chiefs voiced "real concern" over its economic ripple effects. Global growth was poised for a modest rebound to 3.3 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent last year, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said after a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh. But the projected recov

World BusinessFeb. 24, 2020

Xi says China facing 'big test' with virus, global impact spreads

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country's largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak's relentless global march. Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown in Hubei province, the outbreak's epicentre. Italy reported a third death while cases spiked and

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

Italy announces three deaths linked to coronavirus

ROME (AFP) -- An elderly cancer patient became the third person known to be infected with the coronavirus to die in Italy, health officials said on Sunday, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount. The death of the woman in a hospital in the small city of Crema in Lombardy, the centre of Italy's coronavirus scare, followed that of a 77-year-old woman on Saturday and a 78-year-old man on Friday, the first victim of coronavirus in Europe. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte u

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

China's Hubei province reports 96 new virus deaths

BEIJING (AFP) -- The death toll in China from the coronavirus epidemic rose past 2,400 on Sunday after 96 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. The vast majority of the deaths were in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December, according to the daily update from the Hubei health commission. The province also reported 630 new confirmed cases, bringing the total within China to around 77,000. The coronavirus has spread to mo

World NewsFeb. 23, 2020

Two Australian evacuees from Japan ship have coronavirus

SYDNEY (AFP) -- Two Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said Friday, raising questions about Japan's policy of allowing evacuees to return home after testing negative. "We have two people who are positive for the COVID-19 virus. Those two people have mild illness," said Dianne Stephens, acting chief health officer for the Northern Territories. Hundreds of people have been allowed to leave the ship after testin

World NewsFeb. 21, 2020

New threats emerge in outbreak while China voices optimism

BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese health officials expressed new optimism Thursday over the deadly virus outbreak while authorities in South Korea's fourth-largest city urged residents to hunker down as fears nagged communities far from the illness' epicenter. The confidence voiced by China's government came as it reported a reduced number of new infections. But doubts remained about the true trajectory of the epidemic as China again changed its method of counting and new threats emerged outside the cou

World NewsFeb. 21, 2020

Iran announces 3 new cases of new virus after 2 deaths

TEHRAN (AP) -- Iran said Thursday that three more people have been infected with the new virus that originated in central China, following an announcement the day before that two people had died of the illness caused by the virus in the Iranian city of Qom. All schools and universities, including religious Shiite seminaries, were shut down in the holy city of Qom, according to the official IRNA news agency. Other news reports said Iran had recently evacuated 60 Iranian students from Wuhan, th

World NewsFeb. 21, 2020

Two former Japan cruise ship passengers die: media

TOKYO (AFP) -- Two former passengers of the coronavirus-wracked Diamond Princess have died, local media reported Thursday, as fears mount about those who have left the ship after testing negative for the virus. A man and a woman in their 80s who had been infected have died, public broadcaster NHK and others reported, which would be the first fatal cases among the more than 600 on board the cruise ship. Both had underlying conditions and had been taken off the ship on February 11 and 12 before

World NewsFeb. 20, 2020

China revokes 3 Wall Street Journal reporters' credentials

BEIJING (AP) -- China revoked the press credentials of three reporters for The Wall Street Journal over a headline for an opinion column the government said Wednesday was racist. The expulsions come after the Trump administration on Tuesday designated five state-run Chinese news outlets that operate in the United States as "foreign missions," requiring them to register their properties and employees in the US China said it reserves the right to respond to what it called a mistaken p

World NewsFeb. 20, 2020

At least eight killed in shootings in Germany: police

HANAU (AFP) -- At least eight people were killed in two shootings at shisha bars in Germany, with an unknown number of attackers still at large, police and media said. The shootings late Wednesday targeted bars in Hanau, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Frankfurt, according to local media, where police launched a huge manhunt for the gunmen. The first attack occurred at the "Midnight" bar in the centre of the city around 10pm (2100 GMT), police and reports said. Witnesses reporte

World NewsFeb. 20, 2020

WHO warns against novel coronavirus 'blanket measures'

GENEVA (AFP) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned against "blanket measures" over the novel coronavirus outbreak, pointing out the epidemic outside of China was only affecting a "tiny" proportion of the population. WHO also said that -- with a mortality rate of around 2 percent -- COVID-19 was "less deadly" than other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). WHO officials rejecte

World NewsFeb. 18, 2020

China virus death toll passes 1,800: govt.

BEIJING (AFP) -- The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. In its daily update, the province's health commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a smaller number of infections compared to those declared on Monday. The new cases mean more than 72,300 people have now been affected across the country. Most of the cases are in Hubei, where the virus first emerged in Decembe

World NewsFeb. 18, 2020

Japan confirms 99 more cases of new virus on cruise ship

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese officials have confirmed 99 more people infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454, the Health Ministry said Monday . The ministry has been carrying out tests on passengers and crew on the ship, docked in Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo. The 14-day quarantine for those on the ship was due to end Wednesday. Outside China, the ship has had the largest number of cases of the COVID-19 illness caused by the vi

World NewsFeb. 17, 2020

Automakers in China gradually reopen after virus shutdown

BEIJING (AP) -- Automakers are reopening factories in China that were idled by anti-virus controls as they try to reverse a sales slump in their biggest market. Local officials have orders from the ruling Communist Party to get businesses functioning again while still enforcing anti-disease curbs that shut down much of the world's second-largest economy. "Local governments are putting their full weight behind helping businesses open,'' the president of the American Chamber of Commerce i

World BusinessFeb. 17, 2020

UK consumers hit by post-Brexit customs: retailers

LONDON (AFP) -- British consumers will face higher prices and limited ranges of goods in the event of a return to customs controls after the Brexit transition period, an industry body warned Monday. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) issued the gloomy warning in a report entitled A Fair Deal for Consumers: EU Trade Roadmap -- which outlined its priorities for London's trade talks with Brussels. Britain left the European Union on January 31 but remains bound by its r

World NewsFeb. 17, 2020

China virus toll reaches 1,765: govt.

BEIJING (AFP) -- The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,700 on Monday after 100 more people died in hard-hit Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak. In its daily update, the province's health commission also reported 1,933 new cases. At least 70,400 people have now been infected nationwide. Most are in Hubei, where the virus first emerged in December before spiralling into a nationwide epidemic. The number of new cases in the province had been declining si

World NewsFeb. 17, 2020