Indonesia’s air force evacuates citizens from Afghanistan
JAKARTA, Aug 20 — The air force of Indonesia has evacuated 26 of its citizens from Afghanistan, its foreign minister said on Friday, amid chaos and uncertainty in the country after the hardline Islamist Taliban seized power. More than 18,000 people have been evacuated in recent days from Kabul airport, the site of mayhem and […]
Japan to ramp up Covid-19 tests as it battles worst wave of infections
TOKYO, Aug 20 — Japan plans to dramatically ramp up daily Covid-19 tests, borrowing from anti-contagion measures used in the recent Tokyo Olympics, as it battles its worst wave of infections, driven by the Delta variant. New infections exceeded 25,000 on Thursday for the first time, a tally by national broadcaster NHK showed, with the […]
Sydney extends lockdown, imposes partial curfew
SYDNEY: Sydney extended its two-month-old lockdown for another month and introduced a partial curfew Friday, as Australia’s largest city struggled to contain a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the “difficult” decision, telling the city’s population of five million it was time to “bunker down”. “Unfortunately the case numbers continue to […]
Past disaster failures haunt quake-ravaged Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Five days after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 2,200 people in Haiti, aid was arriving but officials were eager to not repeat the mistakes that followed a 2010 quake that devastated the Caribbean nation. With almost 53,000 homes completely destroyed and more than 77,000 others damaged in Saturday’s tremor, authorities have a massive group […]
New Zealand’s Ardern extends lockdown as virus outbreak widens
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a nationwide lockdown on Friday as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country jumped and the outbreak widened beyond its largest city, Auckland, to the capital, Wellington. New Zealanders had been living virus-free and without curbs until Ardern on Tuesday ordered a snap 3-day nationwide […]
Kedah flood victims to receive RM500 assistance
ALOR SETAR: The Kedah government will channel cash assistance of RM500 to each family affected by the flash floods due to the water surge phenomenon in the Gunung Jerai area last Wednesday. In a statement on his social media site, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor, in a statement on his social media site, […]
Agong is expected to name new PM after rulers’ meet today
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 ― Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah is expected to announce the appointment of the country’s new prime minister following a meeting with other royal rulers today. The conference of royals, comprising the Southeast Asian nation’s nine sultans, including the king, will meet at 2.30pm local time (0630 GMT). Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri […]
Malaysia receives 200,000 doses of CanSino vaccines
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia received 200,000 doses of CanSino vaccines on Friday (August 20) – the first shipment of 3.5 million doses ordered from China’s CanSino Biologics. The vaccine shipment arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7.50am in a MASKargo flight from Beijing. Present to witness the arrival of the vaccines were Science, Technology and […]
Rumah Bonda founder charged with neglect of 13-year-old girl with Down Syndrome
KUALA LUMPUR: Rumah Bonda welfare home founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali has been charged at the Sessions Court here with child neglect involving a 13-year-old girl with Down Syndrome. The 29-year-old pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to her before Sessions Court judge Izralizam Sanusi here on Friday (Aug 20). According to […]
