Group left Papua New Guinea in canoe before Christmas and survivors were rescued almost 2,000km away a month later
Four people have been rescued after spending 32 days adrift in the South Pacific, after a tragic voyage that resulted in the deaths of eight of their fellow travellers, including a baby.
The group left Bougainville island, east of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, on 22 December to travel the Carteret Islands 100km away for Christmas celebrations.
Continue reading...Thae Yong-ho was deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in London when he defected in 2016
The most senior diplomat to have defected from North Korea will run for parliament in South Korea to “give hope” to tens of thousands of others who have fled the regime, media reports said on Tuesday.
Thae Yong-ho was deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in London when he defected with his wife and two sons in August 2016, and has since become one of the regime’s most vocal critics.
Continue reading...Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam tells people to stay at home as nervous global investors turn to safe havens like gold. Follow updates live
Chinese state media is reporting that party secretary of Health Commission of Hubei Province, Zhang Jin, and the director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, Liu Yingzi, have been fired.
Party Secretary of Health Commission of Hubei Province Zhang Jin and director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission Liu Yingzi were removed from their posts. The two posts will be taken over by Wang Hesheng, a Standing Committee member of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee. pic.twitter.com/AnGOVOvDOw
The BBC’s correspondent in China, Stephen McDonell, has tweeted about the China’s national health commission changing the way it counts confirmed cases of the virus.
I have seen a lot of this on social media today.
There does however seem to be a suggestion that a change in definition from #China’s National Health Commission re “confirmed case” could’ve soaked up some of the reduction. Patients with no #coronavirus symptoms not counted as “confirmed” any more even if they test positive.
Continue reading...Australian victim Lisa Dallow awake in a serious but stable condition two months after New Zealand volcano erupted
An Australian woman has come out of her coma, two months after the volcano eruption on New Zealand’s White Island, to be told the blast killed her husband and daughter.
Adelaide woman Lisa Dallow has woken from her coma in Melbourne’s Alfred hospital and is in a serious but stable condition.
Continue reading...South Korean film Parasite dominated the Academy Awards with its haul including best picture and director for Bong Joon-ho. The comedy-crime-drama also won the original screenplay and international feature film awards.
The moment Parasite was awarded best picture – a first for any non-English language film in the Oscars’ 92-year-history – prompted outpourings of joy in Bong’s native country. Many were glad the film propelled South Korea - and reflection on its gaping wealth gap - into the global spotlight
Continue reading...President greets workers in Beijing as WHO chief warns cases could be ‘tip of iceberg’
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has made his first public appearance in weeks, as some people began to return to work following the lunar new year holiday, which was extended as authorities grappled with the coronavirus outbreak.
Xi, who has been absent from public view as the crisis worsened, visited a neighbourhood in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. The president had his temperature taken and greeted residents and workers, according to a brief video posted by the state broadcaster CCTV.
Continue reading...Bong Joon-ho’s South Korean satire wins top prize after taking best director, international film and original screenplay
After an awards season marked by its predictability, the Oscars delivered a spectacular final-reel twist on Sunday evening, naming capitalist satire Parasite best picture.
Bong Joon-ho’s comedy-drama about an impoverished family who infiltrate the household of a wealthier one is the first film not in the English language to take the top prize. It also took best director, best original screenplay and best international film.
Continue reading...Death toll inside China rises to 908 as the WHO dispatches a team of experts to Beijing
A memorial for whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang has been held in New York. Li’s death sparked an outpouring of anger inside China. Li was silenced by the government for trying to warn people over the threat of the new virus, and later died after contracting it.
The memorial for Doctor #LiWenliang at Central Park, NYC. The crowd repeated his famous line three times: “一个健康的社会不应该只有一种声音 There should be more than one voice in a healthy society,” followed by a long whistle. pic.twitter.com/fIERhUowH0
Some welcome news for the 3,700 people onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is quarantined in Yokohama harbour after several cases of coronavirus among passengers.
The quarantine period of the #DiamondPrincess will come to an end on 19 February.
The period will be extended beyond the 19 Feb as appropriate only for close contacts of newly confirmed cases. They need to remain in quarantine for 14 days from last contact with a confirmed case pic.twitter.com/SlaPaKFfwE
A soldier shot dead 26 people and injured at least 52 before he was killed by police at a Thai shopping mall. Eight people were held hostage by the gunman in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, according to sources quoted by Reuters. Dozens more were trapped for hours on Saturday night as police attempted to regain control of the seven-floor building
• Rogue soldier shot dead after Thai shopping mall massacre
Rogue soldier stole weapons from base and opened fire at mall, leaving at least 29 dead
Thailand’s prime minister has denied suggestions that arms were not properly secured at a military base where a rogue soldier stole multiple weapons before killing at least 29 people in a mass shooting.
Prayuth Chan-ocha described the attack as unprecedented and responded abruptly when he was asked about details of the operation to stop the attack and about the theft of the weapons.
Continue reading...Woman, 38, who travelled with the only victim to die outside China and Hong Kong, is no longer infectious, says doctor
The first case of novel coronavirus in the Philippines – a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who had been travelling with a man who died of the virus – is no longer showing symptoms and may be discharged soon.
The last test on the 38-year-old woman, conducted on 6 February, showed she was negative for the virus, according to the health department. Two consecutive negative tests are required before a patient may be discharged.
Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern is doing a good job, but Waitangi reminds us of what we have lost
This week, to mark Waitangi Day, the Guardian is publishing five pieces of commentary from Māori writers.
I am ashamed to say this year was my first time at Waitangi.
Continue reading...Video shared on social media appears to capture sounds of gunshots heard from a car travelling in Nakhon Ratchasima in north-eastern Thailand. Police have said at least 20 people were killed when a soldier opened fire in different locations in the city
Continue reading...Country could have contained spread of disease if only it had learned lessons from Sars outbreak
The death of the whistleblower Chinese doctor Li Wenliang has aroused strong emotions across China. Social media is awash with posts mourning the death of a martyr who tried to raise alarm over the coronavirus but was taken into a police station instead for “spreading false rumours” and “disrupting social order”.
Grief quickly turned into angry demands for free speech. The trending topic “we want freedom of speech”, which attracted millions of views, and links to Do You Hear the People Sing, a song popularised in recent Hong Kong protests, were quickly censored by police.
Continue reading...Police say at least 10 shot dead and several wounded in north-east of country
A soldier has killed at least 10 people in a shooting rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima in the nort-east of Thailand and remains at large, police have said.
The soldier opened fire at different locations in the city, which is more than 155 miles (250km) from Bangkok, the police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said in a message to reporters.
Continue reading...Australia’s economy is unusually dependent on China, and a coronavirus-driven slowdown could mean billions in lost revenue
Australia could be one of the countries worst affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak as factories in China remain shuttered and millions of people are confined to their homes and banned from travelling.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday stuck to its forecast of strong growth this year thanks to a rising housing market, and the stock market – along with others around the world – has largely shrugged off concerns about the global impact of the virus to remain close to all-time highs.
Continue reading...News of Kaletra being tested as a possible treatment for the disease sparks panic buying
A drug used to treat people with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is being trialled in patients in China as a possible therapy against the coronavirus.
News that HIV drugs are being deployed in hospitals, however, has led to panic buying on the black market by people who fear they are ill or are going to get sick. They have been obtaining the drug, Kaletra, from generics companies in India and even from people with HIV in China willing to sell or donate their own stocks.
Continue reading...David Abel says in video update on Facebook that he had been dining with fellow Briton who tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship docked in Japan. He said Alan Steele was on honeymoon and would be separated from his wife as he was taken off the ship for treatment. Abel has been sharing videos on social media of life under quarantine on the Diamond Princess
Continue reading...Thousands of couples – many in face masks – wed in a mass Unification Church ceremony on Friday despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus
Continue reading...Li Wenliang’s death in Wuhan comes as Hong Kong prepares to impose quarantine on mainland travellers. Follow live updates
Toyota has extended the closure of its 12 factories in China by a week.
Officials at the Beijing press conference said they had confidence in the economic system and that the impact on the economy from the outbreak would be “temporary. It will be limited and will not affect the fundamentals, and the economy is sound and stable”.
They added:
The outbreak has taken place during the spring festival and the impact on services is notable. The holiday has been extended and the construction sector and other sectors will be affected. There will be an impact on economic performance in Q1 but the economy will return to productivity when the epidemic is over. Look at 2003 Sars outbreak. There was disrupted growth in Q2 but in Q3 it rebounded. When the epidemic is controlled, the economy will rebound and pent-up investment and consumption released. The Chinese econony will have a quick recovery. it is promising and resilient. The funadmentals will not change. There is ample room for macro regulation – China is one of the few major economies that have normal monetary policy so we have sufficient tools to repsond.
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