BEIJING: China on Sunday announced its first new death from COVID-19 in nearly half a year as strict new measures are imposed in Beijing and across the country to ward against new outbreaks.
The death of the 87-year-old Beijing man was the first reported by the National Health Commission since May 26, bringing the total death toll to 5,227. The previous death was reported in Shanghai, which underwent a major surge in cases over the summer.
While China has an overall vaccination rate of more than 92 percent having received at least one dose, that number is considerably lower among the elderly, particularly those over age 80. The commission did not give details on the vaccination status of the deceased.
That vulnerability is considered one reason why China has mostly kept its borders closed and is sticking with its rigid “zero-COVID” policy that seeks to wipe out infections through lockdowns, quarantines, case tracing and mass testing, despite the impact on normal life and the economy and rising public anger at the authorities.
In a partial response, the central city of Zhengzhou said Sunday it will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test from infants under age 3 and other “special groups” seeking health care.
The announcement by the Zhengzhou city government came after a second child’s death was blamed on overzealous anti-virus enforcement. The 4-month-old girl died after suffering vomiting and diarrhea while in quarantine at a hotel in Zhengzhou.
Reports said it took her father 11 hours to get help after health care workers refused to provide assistance and she finally was sent to a hospital 100 kilometers (60 miles) away. Internet users expressed anger at “zero COVID” and demanded officials in Zhengzhou be punished for failing to help the public.
That follows an earlier outcry over a 3-year-old boy’s death from carbon monoxide poisoning in the northwest. His father blamed health workers in the city of Lanzhou, who he said tried to stop him from taking his son to a hospital.
Other cases include a pregnant woman who miscarried after she was refused entry to a hospital in the northwestern city of Xi’an and forced to sit outside in the cold for hours.
Each such case brings promises from the ruling Communist Party — most recently last week — that people in quarantine or who can’t show negative test results wouldn’t be blocked from getting emergency help.
Yet, the party has often found itself unable to rein in stringent and often unauthorized measures imposed by local officials who fear losing their jobs or facing prosecution if outbreaks occur in areas under their jurisdiction.
Nearly three years into the pandemic, while the rest of the world has largely opened up and the impact on the Chinese economy rises, Beijing has mostly kept its borders closed and discouraged travel even within the country.
In the capital Beijing, residents were told not to travel between city districts, and large numbers of restaurants, shops, malls, office buildings and apartment blocks have been closed or isolated.
China on Sunday announced 24,215 new cases, the vast majority of them asymptomatic.
China announces first COVID-19 death in almost 6 months
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China announces first COVID-19 death in almost 6 months
- Death of 87-year-old Beijing man was the first reported by the National Health Commission since May 26
- Beijing has mostly kept its borders closed and discouraged travel even within the country
Pickup truck driver killed by police after driving through Texas mall and injuring 5
- The truck crashed into the department store in Killeen, 109 kilometers north of the state capital Austin
- Emergency medical services transported four victims to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital separately
The truck crashed into the department store in Killeen, about 68 miles (109 kilometers) north of the state capital Austin, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and continued into the building, striking people as it went, Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an evening news briefing.
Emergency medical services transported four victims from the mall to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital separately. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 years old and their conditions were not immediately known, he said.
The chase began around 5 p.m. on Interstate 14 in Belton, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Killeen, after authorities received calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup, Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department said.
The driver then pulled off the road and drove into the parking lot of the mall.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Washko said. “The trooper and the Killeen police officer continued on foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store, actively running people over. He traveled several hundred yards.”
Officers from the state public safety department, Killeen and three other law enforcement agencies “engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat,” Washko said.
One of the officers who traded gunfire with the suspect was working as a security guard at the mall and others were off duty, he said.
Washko did not have information about the suspect’s identity at the time of the briefing.
Witnesses interviewed by local news outlets outside the mall said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people fleeing through the mall.
India child marriage crackdown reaches nearly 5,000 arrests
- India is home to more than 220 million child brides, according to the United Nations
- The legal marriage age in India is 18 but millions of children are forced to tie the knot when they are younger
GUWAHATI, India: A crackdown on illegal child marriages in India’s northeast has resulted in nearly 5,000 arrests, after 416 people were detained in the latest police sweep, a minister said Sunday.
“We will continue to take bold steps to end this social evil,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam state, said in a statement.
“Assam continues its fight against child marriage,” he added, saying raids have been carried out overnight and that those arrested would be produced in court on Sunday.
India is home to more than 220 million child brides, according to the United Nations, but the number of child weddings has fallen dramatically this century.
Assam state had already arrested thousands in earlier abolition drives that began in February 2023, including parents of married couples and registrars who signed off on underage betrothals.
It takes the total now arrested to more than 4,800 people.
Sarma has campaigned on a platform of stamping out child marriages completely in his state by 2026.
The legal marriage age in India is 18 but millions of children are forced to tie the knot when they are younger, particularly in poorer rural areas.
Many parents marry off their children in the hope of improving their financial security.
The results can be devastating, with girls dropping out of school to cook and clean for their husbands, and suffering health problems from giving birth at a young age.
In a landmark 2017 judgment, India’s top court said that sex with an underage wife constituted rape, a ruling cheered by activists.
Russian defense ministry says it downed 42 Ukrainian drones overnight
- The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks
MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday its air defense systems destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions during the night.
Twenty drones were shot down over the Oryol region, eight drones each were destroyed in the Rostov and Bryansk regions, five in the Kursk region and one over Krasnodar Krai, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
One attack triggered a fire at a fuel infrastructure facility in the village of Stalnoi Kon, said Andrei Klychkov, the governor of Oryol.
“Fortunately, thanks to the quick response, the consequences of the attack were avoided — the fire was promptly localized and is now fully extinguished. There were no casualties or significant damage,” he said.
It was the second week in a row where fuel infrastructure facilities in Oryol have been attacked.
The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.
China says US is ‘playing with fire’ after latest military aid for Taiwan
- US President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million for Taiwan
- Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved
BEIJING: The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.”
US President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged the US to stop arming Taiwan and stop what it called “dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Taiwan is a democratic island of 23 million people that the Chinese government claims as its territory and says must come under its control. US military sales and assistance aim to help Taiwan defend itself and deter China from launching an attack.
The $571 million in military assistance comes on top of Biden’s authorization of $567 million for the same purposes in late September. The military sales include $265 million for about 300 tactical radio systems and $30 million for 16 gun mounts.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the approval of the two sales, saying in a social media post on X that it reaffirmed the US government’s “commitment to our defense.”
New hope for flight MH370 families as Malaysia agrees to resume search
- Plane carrying 239 people went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014
- Families say they hope new search operation will offer ‘long-awaited answers and closure’
KUALA LUMPUR: The families of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers have welcomed with renewed hope the announcement of a new search for the aircraft, which disappeared more than 10 years ago in one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014.
The search became the most expensive operation in aviation history but ended inconclusively in 2018, leaving the families of those on board still haunted by the tragedy.
On Friday, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that he hoped to “give closure to the families” as the government agreed to allow private contractor Ocean Infinity, which was the last to try to locate the plane, to resume search efforts.
He told reporters that the operation would focus on a new area spanning 15,000 sq. km in the southern Indian Ocean — a development raising hope among relatives of passengers and crew aboard flight MH370.
“The significance of this renewed search cannot be overstated. For the families of passengers, the scientific community and global civil aviation safety, it offers renewed hope for long-awaited answers and closure,” Voice 370, the association representing them, said in a statement.
“We, the next of kin, have endured over a decade of uncertainty, and we hope that the terms of the renewed search are finalized at the earliest and the decks are cleared for the search to begin.
“We continue to hope that our wait for answers is met.”
Ocean Infinity, the private underwater exploration firm that will undertake the $70 million search, was briefly involved in the 2018 efforts after a three-year operation covering 120,000 sq. km of the Indian Ocean failed to locate the aircraft and was suspended in 2017.
The new agreement was met on a no-find, no-fee basis, meaning that Ocean Infinity will be paid only when the wreckage is found.
“We are encouraged by Ocean Infinity’s readiness to deploy their advanced fleet, including sophisticated vessels, AUVs and cutting-edge imaging technologies,” Voice 370 said.
“We gather that the company has followed this up with thorough due diligence, analyzing all available data, and alternative scenarios proposed by independent researchers and recommendations on potential search areas.”
Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8, 2014 and lost communication with air traffic control less than an hour later. Military radar showed the aircraft had deviated from its planned path. It remains unclear why that happened.
Many conspiracy theories have emerged to explain the aircraft’s disappearance, ranging from suspicions of the captain’s suicide to concerns over the 221 kg of lithium-ion batteries in the plane’s cargo, as well as the involvement of passengers, two of whom were found traveling on stolen passports.
When the probe was suspended, Kok Soo Chon, head of the MH370 safety investigation team, told reporters in July 2018 that his team was “unable to determine the real cause for disappearance of MH370” and “the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found.”
