Category Archives: Asia Pacific

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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Coronavirus: China death toll reaches 213 after WHO declares global emergency – live news

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More than 9,320 people infected globally, as WHO director says decision comes amid concern for countries with weaker health systems

Press Association is reporting that Virgin Atlantic has suspended its flights between Britain and China due to fears about the spread of the coronavirus.

The airline said in a statement it would suspend its daily operations between the UK and Shanghai for two weeks from Saturday, PA said.

We are now hearing from the premier of the state of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is calling for national co-ordination of the response to the virus. Australia is a federal system made up of states and territories and so far each state seems to have had a slightly different response to the virus.

“There is no reason why the Federal government can’t be on a phone hook-up today or over this weekend, talking to all of the (state) Premiers giving them the most up to date information. This is a serious national issue,” Palaszczuk said.

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Coronavirus: returning Britons could be kept in quarantine for 14 days

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About 200 UK nationals will be barred from boarding plane from China if they do not agree

Hundreds of British nationals brought home from China because of the coronavirus outbreak are expected to be quarantined at a secure NHS facility for a fortnight, it has emerged.

As the last British Airways flights from Beijing and Shanghai returned to the UK after the airline suspended operations in China, about 200 Britons in the vicinity of Wuhan were preparing to leave on an emergency chartered plane.

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What is coronavirus and how worried should we be?

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What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how is it transmitted from one person to another, and at what point should you see a doctor?

It is a novel coronavirus – that is to say, a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city, which also sold live and newly slaughtered animals. New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are examples.

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This election is do or die for NZ First and the fight could get dirty | Bryce Edwards

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Winston Peters has been a kingmaker for years but faces a National backlash after helping Labour into office

Winston Peters is a colossus of New Zealand politics, and his New Zealand First party is, once again, poised to be the lynchpin in this year’s election campaign. But so much hinges on whether his party makes it over the electoral system’s all-important 5% threshold.

Being the only centre party in parliament has made NZ First incredibly powerful. It can, and does, pivot between the left and right blocs of Labour-Greens and National-Act. Since 1996 when New Zealand adopted the mixed-member proportional electoral system, NZ First has decided the government three times – throwing its lot in with National once and Labour twice.

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