Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Coronavirus: China issues ‘urgent’ appeal for protective equipment – live news

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Follow the latest developments as dozens more die in the province at the centre of the outbreak

Sixty Italians evacuated from Wuhan arrived at a military base near Rome on Monday.

A passenger who was expected to be on board the flight remained in Wuhan after coming down with a fever, Italian media reported. The group will be quarantined for up to two weeks.

As researchers are racing to develop a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus, the British drugmaker GSK has teamed up with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to aid efforts to produce a vaccine.

GSK, one of the world’s biggest vaccine makers, says it will make its “adjuvant platform technology” available. An adjuvant is added to some vaccines to improve the immune response and means the amount of antigen required per dose can be reduced – allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and made available to more people, which is crucial in a pandemic.

Gaining access to GSK’s world-leading adjuvant technology is a huge step forward in developing a vaccine against the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Coupling GSK’s adjuvant systems with the pioneering platform technology we are funding has the potential to make more vaccine available more rapidly – by decreasing the dose of vaccine antigen required to protect each individual.”

Related: Researchers make strides in race to create coronavirus vaccine

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‘So many women were killed’: fighting sorcery-related violence in Papua New Guinea – video

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Parts of Papua New Guinea continue to grapple with violence related to sanguma, black magic or sorcery. Deaths in villages are often blamed on people accused of sorcery, who are tortured or murdered. Now an Oxfam-backed organisation is tackling the problem by providing support to survivors of violence and to the local police to prevent incidents

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Brazilians stranded in Wuhan issue plea to Bolsonaro for rescue

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Citizens post video appealing for evacuation from city at centre of coronavirus outbreak

Brazilian citizens trapped in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, have issued an urgent plea to their president, Jair Bolsonaro, for them to be evacuated.

In a six-minute YouTube video the Brazilians noted how other countries – including the US, the UK, France, Japan and Italy – had already taken steps to rescue their citizens from the city.

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Coronavirus: first death outside China recorded as total fatalities pass 300

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Man from Wuhan has died in a Philippines hospital, says WHO, as Xi Jinping orders 1,400 more medical workers into Wuhan

The Philippines has reported the first death from the coronavirus outside China, adding to fears about the spread of the virus as more countries imposed travel restrictions.

The outbreak of the respiratory illness has killed 304 people in China since it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year. Across China, there were 2,590 new confirmed infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 14,380, China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday. A study published on Saturday by scientists from the University of Hong Kong found that the virus may have infected as many as 75,815 people in Wuhan.

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Fury in China as footage appears to show officials taking doctors’ face masks

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Local and central government officials face growing wave of anger over handling of coronavirus outbreak

Footage of government officials in Wuhan appearing to take face masks intended for health workers battling the highly infectious coronavirus has fuelled a growing wave of anger over how Chinese authorities have handled the outbreak.

Images of medical staff making protective equipment out of rubbish bags, sleeping in hospitals, and crying in frustration and exhaustion have dominated Chinese social media over the last two weeks, inspiring an outpouring of sympathy and donations of supplies.

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We must dismantle our colonial system and rebuild it with Māori at the heart | Tina Ngata

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Waitangi 2020 is the year for us to prepare for a national discussion on power in Aotearoa, and rights for Māori on Māori land


This week, to mark Waitangi Day, the Guardian is publishing five pieces of commentary from Māori writers.

For many in Aotearoa, Waitangi Day is still a warm mid-summer holiday. A day to relax with friends, or perhaps to celebrate our nationhood.

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China’s reaction to the coronavirus violates human rights | Frances Eve

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The WHO has praised country’s response, but heavy-handed approach could make things worse

When the World Health Organization declared the 2019nCoV coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, it effusively praised China’s response to the outbreak. The WHO issued a statement welcoming the government’s “commitment to transparency”, and the WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, tweeted: “China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response.”

The WHO is ignoring Chinese government suppression of human rights regarding the outbreak, including severe restrictions on freedom of expression. In turn, Chinese state media are citing the WHO to defend its policies and try to silence criticism of its response to the outbreak, which has included rights violations that could make the situation worse.

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Coronavirus: officials seek people with contact to UK cases as some airlines stop China flights – live news

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Death toll rises, with almost 12,000 confirmed cases of infection in China. Follow the latest developments

Public Health England said the University of York student did not come in contact with anyone on campus whilst having the coronavirus symptoms, Sky News is reporting.

Vietnam has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus epidemic and said it would stop all flights to and from China.

The government said it would also stop issuing visas for foreign visitors who had been in China in the past two weeks.

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Fukushima radioactive water should be released into ocean, say Japan experts

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Build-up of contaminated water from wrecked nuclear plant has been sticking point in clean-up likely to take decades

A panel of experts advising Japan’s government on a disposal method for radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant has recommended releasing it into the ocean, a move likely to alarm neighbouring countries.

Related: Fukushima fishermen concerned for future over release of radioactive water

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Coronavirus live updates: returning Britons arrive at Wirral for quarantine

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Cases also reported in Russia, as US advises against travel to China. Follow live updates and latest news

There is a press briefing going on at White House with members of the US taskforce. You can watch it here:

Six buses were led by a police escort to the rear of the hospital and on to a side road leading to the accommodation block, PA media reports.

A medic wearing a white specialist suit was sat next to the coach driver of each vehicle.

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Coronavirus: first human transmission in Thailand as Russia and UK confirm cases

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Suspected infection of taxi driver by traveller raises fears virus could reach tourist areas

Thailand has recorded its first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus after a taxi driver was apparently infected by a traveller, heightening concern over the virus’s potential to spread across the globe.

The taxi driver was among five new patients confirmed on Friday in the worst-hit country outside China, bringing the total number of cases in Thailand to 19.

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Help or hindrance? How Chinese politics affected coronavirus response

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Authoritarian bureaucracy has allowed dramatic response but also let virus fester

When Wuhan’s mayor took to live national television to discuss the rapidly escalating outbreak of coronavirus in his city, he came primed for a rare – and very prolonged – display of self criticism.

Over nearly an hour Zhou Xianwang said his work “wasn’t performed well enough”, that the city government had failed to provide timely information or act on what it knew, and offered his own resignation, although it is yet to be accepted.

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Coronavirus outbreak: Britons fly out of Wuhan as death toll passes 200

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Flight carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals will land in the UK on Friday as US tells citizens ‘don’t go to China’

A plane carrying more than 100 British and other EU nationals trapped in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, has left for the UK after Chinese spouses and partners were given permission to travel.

The chartered flight left Wuhan at 9:45am local time on Friday, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The plane was carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals, and was scheduled to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at 1 pm UK time.

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Hongkongers take no chances with deadly coronavirus – in pictures

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For Hong Kong people, the memories of the Sars outbreak are still fresh. In 2003 there were 1,755 Sars cases and 299 deaths (according to the World Health Organisation). With the threat of the coronavirus outbreak declared a global emergency, Hongkongers are taking all precautions. Most people are wearing masks, others goggles or double masks. Airports and the subways are screening passengers for high temperatures. People are buying masks, hand sanitiser and even food in bulk

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Poorer countries suffer most from global health crises, we need help to handle coronavirus | Dr Claude Posala

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Pacific nations, still reeling from a devastating measles outbreak, have watched news out of Wuhan in panic

As Pacific Islanders watched updates about the coronavirus outbreak over the past few weeks, unease soon gave way to panic.

Still reeling in shock from a measles outbreak in Samoa, Pacific Islanders’ fears were stoked as it became apparent that even large, well-developed countries were struggling to contain the outbreak. Low-resourced settings always suffer the greatest losses in global medical crises and people living in these island nations are not blind to that detail.

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Coronavirus: British family heads for exit flight after Chinese wife allowed to board – video

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Exclusive video: late U-turn from Chinese authorities meant that Matt Raw and his 75-year-old mother Hazel were given permission to fly along with Raw’s wife Ying, who holds a Chinese passport. Previously, restrictions imposed by China meant those with Chinese passports were not permitted to leave the country, and China does not recognise dual nationality.

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WHO declares coronavirus a global health emergency – video

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The World Health Organization director general on Thursday declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency but stressed that it was 'not a vote of no confidence in China'. Tedros Adhanom said that the declaration comes amid concern for countries with weaker health systems 

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