BEIJING (Reuters) – The northwestern Chinese city of Xian suspended all international passenger flights from Jan. 5 at its airport until further notice, the official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. The Xian Xianyang International Airport has also halted all domestic passenger flights, Xinhua reported. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) – China’s foreign minister began a visit to Kenya on Wednesday, where the government has relied on Chinese loans to develop infrastructure but faces criticism over the resulting debt burden. The Kenyan foreign ministry described the visit by Wang Yi, who is also state councillor, as “historic”. It said security, …
China’s foreign minister visits Kenya amid unease over rising debt Read More »
By Alistair Smout and Maayan Lubell LONDON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Britain and Israel are overhauling their COVID-19 testing policies as governments seek to reduce the burden on laboratories and struggle with tight supplies of kits amid soaring infection rates fuelled by the Omicron variant. This time last year, vaccines offered hope that the pandemic could be over …
COVID testing policy put under the microscope as Omicron sweeps world Read More »
By Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast on Wednesday, just hours before South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a rail line he hopes will eventually connect the divided Korean peninsula. North Korea’s first launch since October underscored leader …
North Korea fires suspected missile as South Korea breaks ground for ‘peace’ railway Read More »
By Twinnie Siu and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries, including the United States and Britain, and tightened restrictions on Wednesday as authorities feared a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. The restrictions were announced as health authorities scoured the city for the contacts …
Hong Kong bans some inbound flights, tightens COVID-19 curbs Read More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand is considering measures such as limiting large gatherings and banning alcohol sales in restaurants to discourage customers to avert a wave of coronavirus infections, a health official said on Wednesday. The country reported 3,899 cases on Wednesday, up from an average of 2,600 daily cases towards the end of last year, …
Thailand fears “tens of thousands” of new COVID-19 cases, weighs curbs Read More »
TOKYO (Reuters) -The southern Japanese island chain of Okinawa emerged on Wednesday as the epicentre of a new coronavirus surge, with cases more than doubling from the previous day and officials were considering imposing emergency curbs. New infections in the prefecture jumped to 623 from 225 on Tuesday, the highest since August when Japan was …
Japan’s Okinawa sees doubling of COVID-19 cases, considers emergency steps Read More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore expects the Omicron coronavirus variant to cause a bigger wave of infections than Delta, the health ministry said on Wednesday, adding a booster dose will soon be required for adults to be considered fully vaccinated. From Feb. 14, eligible persons aged 18 years and above should have received a booster dose …
Singapore sees Omicron coronavirus wave outpacing Delta Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – More than 42,000 people in the Chinese city of Xian were in centralised COVID-19 quarantine facilities as of Tuesday, a city official said on Wednesday. Xu Mingfei, vice mayor of Xian, told a news briefing that residents should continue to avoid going out or leaving the city for non-essential reasons. In Xian, …
Over 42,000 in central COVID quarantine in China’s Xian Read More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine authorities have cancelled an annual procession, which normally draws millions of Catholic devotees accompanying a black wooden statue of Jesus Christ through the streets of Manila, for a second straight year due to coronavirus concerns. The government’s coronavirus task force cancelled the “Black Nazerene” procession, which is one of the country’s …
Philippines cancels ‘Black Nazarene’ parade again on COVID-19 concerns Read More »
