SEOUL: Six people have died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread “explosively” across North Korea, state media said Friday, a day after acknowledging a COVID-19 outbreak for the first time in the pandemic.
North Korea likely doesn’t have sufficient COVID-19 tests and other medical equipment and said it didn’t know the cause of the mass fevers. But a big COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said of the 350,000 people who developed fevers since late April, 162,200 have recovered. It said 18,000 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Thursday alone, and 187,800 people are being isolated for treatment.
One of the six people who died was confirmed infected with the omicron variant, KCNA said, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many of the total illnesses were COVID-19.
North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown Thursday after acknowledging its first COVID-19 cases. Those reports said tests from an unspecified number of people came back positive for the omicron variant.
It’s unusual for isolated North Korea to admit to the outbreak of any infectious disease, let alone one as menacing as COVID-19, as the country is intensely proud and sensitive to outside perception about its self-described “socialist utopia.”
While Kim had occasionally been candid about his worsening economy and other problems in recent years, he had repeatedly expressed confidence about North Korea’s pandemic response and wasn’t seen wearing a mask in public until a ruling party meeting on Thursday where the North announced the COVID-19 infections.
It’s possible that the spread of the virus was accelerated by a massive military parade in Pyongyang on April 25, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took center stage and showcased the most powerful missiles of his military nuclear program in front of tens of thousands.
Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said the pace of the fever’s spread suggests the crisis could last months and possibly into 2023, causing major disruption in the poorly equipped country.
Some experts say the North’s initial announcement communicates a willingness to receive outside aid.
The North last year shunned millions of shots offered by the UN-backed COVAX distribution program, including doses of AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac vaccines, possibly because of questions about their effectiveness and unwillingness to accept monitoring requirements. The country lacks the extreme-cold storage systems that are required for mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.
The office of South Korea’s new conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who began his single five-year term on Tuesday, said his government is willing to provide vaccines and other medical supplies to North Korea and hopes to hold discussions with the North over specific plans.
Boo Seung-chan, a spokesperson in South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said Seoul doesn’t immediately have an estimate on the number of vaccine doses it could offer to North Korea if Pyongyang requests help.
Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated over the past three years amid a stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, which derailed over disagreements about exchanging the release of crippling US-led sanctions against the North and the North’s disarmament steps.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Thursday that Beijing was offering North Korea help in dealing with the outbreak.
“As its comrade, neighbor and friend, China stands ready to provide full support and assistance to the DPRK in the fight against the epidemic,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing, using the initials for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
KCNA said Kim was briefed about the fever outbreak when he visited the emergency epidemic prevention headquarters on Thursday and criticized officials for failing to prevent “a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system.”
He said the spread of the fever has been centered around the capital, Pyongyang, and underscored the importance of isolating all work and residential units from one another while providing residents with every convenience during the lockdown.
“It is the most important challenge and supreme tasks facing our party to reverse the immediate public health crisis situation at an early date, restore the stability of epidemic prevention and protect the health and wellbeing of our people,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea’s claim of a perfect record in keeping out the virus for two and a half years was widely doubted. But it was believed to have avoided a huge outbreak until now, in part because it instituted strict virus controls almost from the start of the pandemic.
The strict border closures and other measures further battered an economy already damaged by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, pushing Kim to perhaps the toughest moment of his rule.
Hours after confirming the COVID-19 outbreak Thursday, North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea in what possibly was meant to be a display of its strength. It was the North’s 16th round of missile launches this year.
Citing North Korea’s shunning of the COVAX vaccines, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the United States supported international aid efforts but doesn’t plan to share its vaccine supplies with the North.
“We do continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable North Koreans, and this is, of course, a broader part of the DPRK continuing to exploit its own citizens by not accepting this type of aid,” Psaki said Thursday in Washington.
“It’s not just vaccines. It’s also a range of humanitarian assistance that could very much help the people and the country and instead they divert resources to build their unlawful nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.”
North Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak
https://arab.news/g7abx
North Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak
- Some experts say the North’s initial announcement communicates a willingness to receive outside aid
- North Korea’s claim of a perfect record in keeping out the virus for two and a half years was widely doubted
Bangladesh’s ailing former premier Khaleda Zia leaves country for treatment in London
- Her ailments include liver cirrhosis, cardiac disease and kidney problems, her physician says
- Khaleda Zia was sentenced to 17 years in jail under Hasina’s rule following two corruption cases
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia left the nation’s capital for London on Tuesday for medical treatment, said one of her advisers.
Zahiruddin Swapan, an adviser to Zia, told The Associated Press by phone that the three-time former premier and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport late Tuesday on an air ambulance.
“Our senior leaders left the airport seeing her off,” Swapan said.
Her ailments include liver cirrhosis, cardiac disease and kidney problems, according to her physician.
Zia left behind a South Asian nation grappling with uncertainty over its political future after her archrival, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was ousted in a student-led mass uprising in August. Zia and Hasina are the most influential political leaders in Bangladesh.
An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is running the country and plans to hold elections in December this year or in the first half of 2026.
Zia was sentenced to 17 years in jail under Hasina’s rule following two corruption cases stemming from 2001-2006 when she was prime minister. Her supporters say the charges against her were politically motivated, an allegation Hasina’s administration denied. Under Yunus, Zia was acquitted in one of the cases in November and an appeal in the second case was being heard on Tuesday.
Zia, 79, was freed from prison on bail under Hasina through a government order and had been undergoing medical treatment in Bangladesh. But Hasina’s administration did not allow her to travel abroad for treatment despite requests seeking approval.
The special air ambulance was sent by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Hundreds of her supporters gathered outside her residence in the city’s upscale Gulshan area to see her off.
Zia’s motorcade took nearly three hours to cross about a 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch of road to get to the airport from her residence in Dhaka’s Gulshan area as thousands of her desperate supporters greeted her on the way, creating traffic chaos. Her hours-long journey to the airport was broadcast live by television stations.
Enamul Haque Chowdhury, a close aide of Zia, told reporters that the air ambulance had arrived from Doha to take her to London, where her eldest son and heir apparent Tarique Rahman has been in exile since 2007. Rahman is the acting chairman of Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and is expected to lead the party toward the election. The country’s dynastic politics have long focused on the families of Hasina and Zia.
Zia is the wife of late President Ziaur Rahman, a former military chief who rose to prominence during years of tumultuous politics after Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence leader, was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup in 1975. Zia’s husband was also killed in 1981 in another military coup after he formed his political party and ruled the country as president for three years. Hasina’s father led Bangladesh’s independence war against Pakistan, aided by India, in 1971.
Zia’s personal physician, A.Z.M. Zahid Hossain, said Qatar’s emir arranged the special aircraft with medical facilities for the former prime minister, whose ailments include liver cirrhosis, cardiac disease and kidney problems.
Her departure follows dramatic political developments since last August, when Hasina’s 15-year rule ended. Hasina fled into exile in India as she and her close aides faced charges of killing hundreds of protesters during a mass protest movement that began in July.
Zia’s departure could create a symbolic vacuum in the country’s politics amid efforts by a student group that led the anti-Hasina protest to form a new political party. In the absence of Hasina and her secular Bangladesh Awami League party, the rise of Islamist political parties and other Islamist groups has been visible in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.
Zia’s party has been bargaining with the Yunus-led government for an election sometime this year. Yunus said his government wants to make some major reforms before the election.
Pakistan’s Punjab offers health, education, religious tourism incentives to Saudi investors
- Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz meets Prince Mansour, former governor of Hafr Al-Batin province
- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have sought closer business and economic ties in recent months
ISLAMABAD: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province has offered Saudi investors incentives as part of a “special package” to explore opportunities in religious tourism, health, education and infrastructure, state-run media reported this week.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, former governor of Saudi Arabia’s Hafr Al-Batin province, on Monday to discuss promoting bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Punjab, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The two nations enjoy cordial ties, with Riyadh frequently assisting cash-strapped Pakistan by supplying oil on deferred payment terms and financial support to stabilize its economy.
“During the discussions, the chief minister invited Saudi investors to explore opportunities in infrastructure, health, education and religious tourism in Punjab,” APP reported. “She assured Saudi investors of her government’s full cooperation and the provision of incentives under a special package.”
Sharif praised Saudi Arabia’s longstanding cooperation with Pakistan, saying Riyadh was like an older brother.
“The hearts of the people of both countries beat together,” she is quoted as saying.
“The Punjab government has ensured foolproof security and established a system based on merit to improve the business environment in the province.”
APP said Prince Mansour assured Pakistan of Saudi Arabia’s support.
“The relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is crucial for the stability and prosperity of the entire region,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will always stand by Pakistan.”
The Kingdom is home to over 2 million Pakistani expatriates and is the source of most overseas workers’ remittances for Pakistan.
The two countries have forged strong business and economic relations in recent months. In October 2024, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed several memorandums of understanding valued at $2.8 billion. In December, Sharif’s office confirmed that seven of 34 MoUs had been converted into agreements worth $560 million.
Indonesia joins BRICS, vows to strengthen Global South cooperation
- BRICS now accounts for about 48% of world’s population, over 37% of global economy
- Jakarta wants to attract more foreign investment, find alternatives to West-led order, expert says
JAKARTA: Indonesia announced on Tuesday its acceptance into the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, vowing to strengthen cooperation with countries of the Global South.
Initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the group expanded last year with the accession of Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE.
Morphing into the most powerful geopolitical forum outside of the Western world, BRICS now accounts for about 48 percent of the world’s population and more than 37 percent of the global economy.
Rolliansyah Soemirat, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Indonesia is committed to contributing to the agendas discussed by BRICS, which include economic resilience, tech cooperation and public health.
“BRICS is an important platform for Indonesia to strengthen South-South cooperation and to ensure that the voices and aspirations of Global South countries will be represented in the global decision-making process,” Soemirat said.
Indonesia’s accession had been approved by BRICS leaders in August 2023, but the world’s fourth-most populous country opted to formally join the bloc after the formation of the newly elected government following last year’s elections. Its accession was welcomed by the government of Brazil, which holds the group’s rotating presidency in 2025.
“As the largest economy and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other BRICS members the support for the reform of the global governance institutions and contributes significantly to the deepening of Global South cooperation,” Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Brazil holds the BRICS presidency this year under the theme “Enhancing Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance” and will host the annual leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro in July.
Indonesia’s interest in joining BRICS is likely a part of the government’s drive to attract more foreign investment, said Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
“The move is to do with seeking opportunities to expand sources of investment from a group of countries that do not force Indonesia to choose sides or leave traditional partnerships with the West,” Kharisma told Arab News.
“However, this outcome is not guaranteed,” he said. “The investment patterns of BRICS countries have not shown a clear tendency to prioritize or politically favor fellow members. There is no assurance that Indonesia’s investments will increase significantly.”
Joining BRICS may also be a way for Indonesia to showcase the look of a “new global order,” Kharisma added.
“Symbolically, it is a signal from a country like Indonesia, which has benefitted from the West-led order all this time but wants to integrate even more (into) the global order, that it is seeking ‘alternatives’ should the West-led orders become … less friendly to developing countries.”
Ukraine says conducting combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region
- Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region
- Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August
KYIV: Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a Russian military “command post” in Russia’s Kursk region during “combat operations,” while backtracking on a claim it had launched a fresh offensive in the border area.
Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region, where Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August.
In an English-language statement, Kyiv’s army said it had launched a “high precision” strike near the village of Belaya — south-east of Kyiv-controlled territory — without saying if it had used Western long-range weapons.
An original version of the statement, published by the Ukrainian General Staff on its Telegram account, said Ukraine had launched “new offensive operations” in the Kursk region.
The post was then edited and the reference to a “new offensive” removed.
“This strike is an integral part of the combat operations of units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which conduct combat operations” in the Kursk region, the updated statement said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers have reported a powerful new Ukrainian offensive, but Kyiv had not commented on those reports, only saying in regular daily briefings that fighting in the region was ongoing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had on Monday also alluded to fighting in the Kursk region in his evening address, stating that Kyiv was “maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory” and “actively destroying Russian military potential there.”
It is not clear if Ukraine had advanced much in the region, but the assault would come nearly three years into Moscow’s invasion and two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House.
Trump has vowed to begin talks to end the Ukraine war and Kyiv’s hold in Kursk could influence any negotiations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Ukraine’s “position in Kursk” would “factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year.”
Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the western border region in August 2024, before Russia repelled some attacks, including with the help of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French far-right leader known for fiery rhetoric against immigration, dies at 96
- A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence
- Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France”
PARIS: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France’s far-right National Front who was known for fiery rhetoric against immigration and multiculturalism that earned him both staunch supporters and widespread condemnation, died Tuesday. He was 96.
A polarizing figure in French politics, Le Pen was convicted numerous times of antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence. His statements — including Holocaust denial, racist denunciations of Muslims and immigrants and his 1987 proposal to forcibly isolate people with AIDS in special facilities — shocked his critics and strained his political alliances.
Le Pen routinely countered that he was simply a patriot protecting the identity of “eternal France.”
Le Pen, who once reached the second round of the 2002 presidential election, was eventually estranged from his daughter, Marine Le Pen, who renamed his National Front party, kicked him out and transformed it into one of France’s most powerful political forces while distancing herself from her father’s extremist image.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally as the party is now known, confirmed Le Pen’s death in a post on social media platform X. Bardella’s unusually warm tribute highlighted Le Pen’s polemical past, including his ties to the Algerian war, describing him as a “tribune of the people” who “always served France” and expressing condolences to his family, including Marine.
The post appeared to blur the distance the rebranded party had sought to establish between its firebrand founder and its more polished, modern direction under Marine Le Pen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, expressed “his condolences to (Le Pen's) family and friends,” in an uncharacteristically short statement issued by the presidential palace.
“A historic figure of the far right, he played a role in the public life of our country for almost 70 years, which is now a matter for history to judge,” the statement read.
Marine Le Pen, thousands of kilometers (miles) away in the French territory of Mayotte, was inspecting the aftermath of destructive Cyclone Chido at the time of her father’s death.
Despite his exclusion from the party in 2015, Le Pen’s divisive legacy endures, marking decades of French political history and shaping the trajectory of the far right.
His death came at a crucial time for his daughter. She now faces a potential prison term and a ban on running for political office if convicted in an embezzling trial.
As Le Pen’s health deteriorated in recent years, he was hospitalized several times, including after he suffered a stroke.
Le Pen is survived by his wife and three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine.
