SEOUL: North Korea said Wednesday more than a million people have already recovered from suspected COVID-19 just a week after disclosing an outbreak it appears to be trying to manage in isolation as global experts express deep concern about the public health threat.
The country’s anti-virus headquarters announced 232,880 new cases of fever and another six deaths in state media Wednesday. Those figures raise its totals to 62 deaths and more than 1.7 million fever cases since late April. It said at least 691,170 remain in quarantine.
Outside experts believe most of the fevers are COVID-19 but North Korea lacks tests to confirm so many. The outbreak is almost certainly larger than the fever tally, since some virus carriers may not develop fevers or other symptoms.
It’s also unclear how more than a million people recovered so quickly when limited medicine, medical equipment and health facilities exist to treat the country’s impoverished, unvaccinated population of 26 million. Some experts say the North could be simply releasing people from quarantine after their fevers subside.
Globally, COVID-19 has killed about 6.3 million people with the true toll believed to be much higher. Countries with outbreaks of a similar size to North Korea’s official fever tally have confirmed thousands of deaths each.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that North Korea has not responded to its request for more data about its outbreak.
Before acknowledging COVID-19 infections for the first time last week, North Korea had held to a widely doubted claim of keeping out the virus. It also shunned millions of vaccine shots offered by the UN-backed COVAX distribution program, likely because of international monitoring requirements attached to them.
North Korea and Eritrea are the only sovereign UN-member countries not to have rolled out vaccines, but Tedros said neither country has responded to WHO’s offers of vaccines, medicines, tests and technical support.
“WHO is deeply concerned at the risk of further spread in (North Korea),” Tedros said, also noting the country has worrying numbers of people with underlying conditions that make them more likely to get severe COVID-19.
WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said unchecked transmission of the virus could lead to new variants but that WHO was powerless to act unless countries accepted its help.
The North has so far ignored rival South Korea’s offer to provide vaccines, medicine and health personnel, but experts say the North may be more willing to accept help from its main ally China. South Korea’s government said it couldn’t confirm media reports that North Korea flew multiple planes to bring back emergency supplies from China on Tuesday.
North Korean officials during a ruling party Politburo meeting Tuesday continued to express confidence that the country could overcome the crisis on its own, with the Politburo members discussing ways for “continuously maintaining the good chance in the overall epidemic prevention front,” the official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday.
There’s suspicion that North Korea is underreporting deaths to soften the blow for Kim, who already was navigating the toughest moment of his decade in power. The pandemic has further damaged an economy already broken by mismanagement and US-led sanctions over Kim’s nuclear weapons and missiles development.
At the Politburo meeting, Kim criticized officials over their early pandemic response, which he said underscored “immaturity in the state capacity for coping with the crisis” and he blamed the country’s vulnerability on their “non-positive attitude, slackness and non-activity,” KCNA said.
He urged officials to strengthen virus controls at workplaces and redouble efforts to improve the supply of daily necessities and stabilize living conditions, the report said.
North Korea has also deployed nearly 3,000 military medical officers to help deliver medicine to pharmacies and deployed public health officials, teachers and students studying health care to identify people with fevers so they could be quarantined. The country has been relying on finding people with symptoms and isolating them at shelters since it lacks vaccines, high-tech medicine and equipment, and intensive care units that lowered hospitalizations and deaths in other nations.
While raising alarm over the outbreak, Kim has also stressed that his economic goals should be met. State media reports show large groups of workers are continuing to gather at farms, mining facilities, power stations and construction sites, being driven to ensure their works are “propelled as scheduled.”
North Korea’s COVID-19 outbreak came amid a provocative run in weapons demonstrations, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in nearly five years, in a brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
US and South Korean officials also believe North Korea could conduct its seventh nuclear test explosion this month.
The North Korean nuclear threat is expected to top agenda when US President Joe Biden meets South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a visit to Seoul this week. Kim Tae-hyo, Yoon’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters Wednesday that North Korea probably won’t conduct a nuclear test this week but that its preparations for another ICBM test appeared imminent.
Kim Jong Un during Tuesday’s Politburo meeting affirmed he would “arouse the whole party like (an) active volcano once again under the state emergency situation” to prove its leadership before history and time and “defend the wellbeing of the country and the people without fail and demonstrate to the whole world the strength and the spirit of heroic Korea once again,” KCNA said. The report did not make a direct reference to a major weapons test.
Recent commercial satellite images of the nuclear testing ground in Punggye-ri indicate refurbishment work and preparations at a yet unused tunnel on the southern part of the site, which is presumably nearing completion to host a nuclear test, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Beyond Parallel, a website run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
North Korea hails COVID-19 recovery as WHO worries over missing data
https://arab.news/r3sz7
North Korea hails COVID-19 recovery as WHO worries over missing data
- Country’s anti-virus headquarters announced 232,880 new cases of fever and another six deaths
- Outside experts believe most of the fevers are COVID-19 but North Korea lacks tests to confirm so many
Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike
- Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city of Dnipro last week
- Use of IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles
Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
Ukraine’s SBU security service displayed metal fragments, ranging from bulky to tiny, on fake grass in front of camouflage netting at an undisclosed location Sunday, AFP journalists saw.
The SBU did not name the missile used but said it was a type they had not seen before.
Oleg, one of its investigators, told journalists that “this is the first time the debris of such a missile has been found on the territory of Ukraine.
“This item had not been documented by security investigators before,” he added.
Oleg said that investigators are examining the fragments and will later “provide answers” on the characteristics of the missile.
He said that the missile was ballistic and had caused damage to civilian and “other infrastructure” in Dnipro.
In a televised address Thursday, Putin said Russia used the IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, after the Kyiv allies lifted a ban on it using long-range weaponry to fire into Russia.
Putin said the missile flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defenses.
The president said it hit a defense industry production facility in Dnipro “which still produces missile equipment and other weapons.”
A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman was heard answering a phone call about a strike on Yuzhmash during a press briefing. Yuzhmash is the Russian name of an aerospace manufacturer in Dnipro now called Pivdenmash.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed whether this was the target.
Putin has promised more combat testing of the Oreshnik missile and said it will go into serial production.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the strike “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed for updated air-defense systems to meet the new threat.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence has said Kyiv knew several prototypes of the missile had been produced before it was fired.
Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts
- Indonesia’s new leader also visited Abu Dhabi in May as president-elect
- Indonesia, UAE signed new agreements covering energy, tech, healthcare
Jakarta: Indonesia’s new leader, President Prabowo Subianto, is seeking closer cooperation with the UAE on Jakarta’s industrialization efforts as he made his first official trip to Abu Dhabi since taking office last month.
Indonesia’s relations with the UAE grew under former President Joko Widodo, who in 2021 secured a more than $46 billion investment commitment from the Gulf state. The two countries signed a free trade deal a year later, which came into force last September.
The UAE was Prabowo’s last stop in his first foreign trip since becoming Indonesia’s new leader in October.
“Now that I have earned the trust from my people to lead Indonesia, I want to continue our good relations,” Prabowo told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during their first official meeting in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Jakarta’s priorities are focused on defense, food security and energy security, he said, adding that the government also wants to implement a downstream policy that includes domestic processing of raw materials.
“This means we want to perform a massive industrialization,” Prabowo said. “In this context, we see that the UAE and Indonesia have similar priorities. We can work together across different sectors and we want to invite the UAE to actively participate in our economy.”
The two leaders also presided over the signing of several agreements as part of their meeting, covering areas such as technology, renewable energy, infrastructure and health.
“They agreed to increase trade between the two countries, specifically by optimizing the utilization of Indonesia-UAE CEPA,” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat told Arab News on Sunday.
“President Prabowo welcomed the UAE president’s invitation to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure and collaboration in international forums to resolve global issues, including peaceful conflict resolution.”
Prabowo’s visit to Abu Dhabi was his second this year, following a trip in May as president-elect.
He was concluding his first overseas trip as president, which also included stops in China, the US, and the UK.
Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet
- President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general
- He also nominated Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration
CHICAGO: President-elect Donald Trump has named two Arab Americans to serve in his Cabinet once he is sworn into office in January.
Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general and Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration.
The appointments were applauded by Dr. Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, who helped the former president to win nearly half of the Arab American vote in the Nov. 5 election against US Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We are delighted with President Trump’s nomination of the first two Arab Americans to be part of his administration,” Bahbah said in a message to Arab News on Saturday.
“This is a testament to the hard work of Arab Americans for Trump and recognition of President Donald J. Trump of the role Arab Americans played in his election as the 47th president of the United States. AAFT looks forward to additional Arab American appointments in President Trump’s administration, particularly in the political field.”
Dr. Makary is a British American surgeon of Lebanese background. He is a public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University serving as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor, by courtesy, at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
His current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease, public policy, health care costs, and relationship-based medicine. Dr. Makary previously served in leadership at the World Health Organization patient safety program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, “Unaccountable” and “The Price We Pay.”
Dr. Makary is also an anti-vaxxer who refused vaccination for COVID-19, a view shared by many of President-elect Trump’s conservative and Republican supporters.
Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified medical doctor described on her website as “bringing a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you — and your family — healthy at all times.” She is also the author of “Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine.”
A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS, Dr. Nesheiwat has been “shaped by her faith and her upbringing.”
Born in Carmel, New York, she is the daughter of Christian Jordanian immigrants and one of five children raised by her widowed mother, Hayat Nesheiwat. Her siblings are Julia Nesheiwat, Jaclyn Stapp, Dina Nesheiwat and Daniel Nesheiwat.
Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand
- Robolife Technologies says the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move
- The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone
DHAKA: Squeezing rubber-covered robotic prosthetic hands, Bangladesh protesters wounded during the deadly revolution to topple autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina test out replacement arms for their lost limbs.
“I’ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,” said student Hafeez Mohammad Hossain, 19, whose right hand was ripped off in gunfire on August 5.
It was the same day protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she fled to India by helicopter.
In the middle of the chaos, Hossain said a police officer levelled a shotgun at him and fired. He described searing pain as gun pellets lacerated his back and leg.
Surgeons picked out the gunshot, but were unable to save his hand.
“I can’t write anymore,” Hossain said. “I’m struggling to learn how to write with my left hand.”
On Thursday he was fitted with a prosthetic limb, alongside four other students who also lost their hands during the months-long protests in which at least 700 people were killed during a police crackdown.
Robolife Technologies, a Bangladeshi organization manufacturing artificial hands, said the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move.
The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone.
“If you ask me whether they work like organic hands, I’d say no,” said Antu Karim, who is working on the government-backed project to fit the limbs.
“But these hands allow the boys to hold a glass if thirsty, or a spoon to eat,” he added. “At least, they won’t be looked down upon for not having hands.”
Hasina’s 15-year tenure saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Limbless protesters held a rally earlier this month demanding the interim government who took over after Hasina’s fall support those injured in the protests.
Many say they have not received the aid they need.
The four other former protesters who had arms fitted on Thursday included Mohammad Mamun Mia, 32, a father of two, whose hand was hacked off by a gang he said was loyal to Hasina’s Awami League party.
The new arm is far from perfect, but it has made a huge difference.
“I’ll be able to do some regular tasks with this hand,” he said, saying that while he cannot work driving a tractor in the fields again, he hopes now to open a small business.
Arif Hossain Sagar, 19, had his hand amputated after it failed to heal from an injury he sustained during the protests, and doctors worried about gangrene.
“I can’t do any regular activities now,” Sagar said. “I rely on others for eating or bathing.”
The new hand will return a degree of normality to his life, he said.
Nayeem Hasan, wounded when attackers pounced on him as he went to donate blood to help those injured after a fire, broke into tears.
The new arm would help him fulfil his simple dream.
“I have a one-year-old daughter who wants me to hold her,” Hasan said.
Ukraine needs better air defenses, Zelensky says after Russian drone attack
- Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defenses to protect people after its air defense units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over many regions.
“An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week,” Zelensky said on Telegram messenger.
Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types, Zelensky said.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Sunday that air defense units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack, Kyiv’s military administration posted on Telegram.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defense units in operation.
“The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions toward Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.
