Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care before COVID-19 outbreak disclosed — WSJ
WASHINGTON — Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, months before China disclosed the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report.
Taiwan slams WHO’s ‘indifference’ after failing to get into key meeting
TAIPEI — Taiwan’s government slammed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “indifference” to the health rights of Taiwanese people and for capitulating to China on Monday after failing to...
Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds, UN to launch Gaza aid appeal
JERUSALEM/GAZA — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held into a third day on Sunday as mediators spoke to all sides about extending the period of...
Israel’s Gaza challenge: Stopping metal tubes turning into rockets
THE ISRAEL-HAMAS conflict that ended with a cease-fire on Friday showed the Palestinian group’s ability to build an arsenal of home-made rockets largely with civilian materials and Iranian expertise, analysts and officials said, a feat it could likely replicate.
Indians turn to illegal clinics as coronavirus spreads to rural areas
AN INDIAN former hospital worker with no medical education is running a small unlicensed clinic, tending to patients with breathing difficulties and checking their oxygen levels as they lie on cots on the mud floor.
TikTok and geopolitics: how ‘digital nationalism’ threatens to entrench big tech
The massive digital platform market has until recently been dominated by a handful of US-based companies such as Facebook and Google. However, as foreign...
Fretting about COVID, most Japan firms say Olympics should be canceled or postponed
TOKYO — Nearly 70% of Japanese firms want the Tokyo Olympics either canceled or postponed, a Reuters survey found, underscoring concerns that the Games...
COVID fight could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaccines alarm
LONDON — India’s export ban on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic “back to square one” unless wealthy nations step in to plug a...
Israel-Hamas truce takes hold after 11 days of fighting
GAZA/JERUSALEM — An Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, but Hamas warned it still had its “hands on the trigger” and demanded Israel end the...
Vaccine hesitancy makes citizens ‘sitting ducks,’ doctors’ group says
SYDNEY — Australia’s peak medical body on Thursday warned the country’s residents were “sitting ducks” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as business leaders call for the international border to be reopened faster despite a sluggish national vaccination drive.
China says US warship illegally enters its territory in S. China Sea
BEIJING — China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway.
US weighs changes to COVID-19 travel restrictions
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has been weighing changes to sweeping travel restrictions that bar much of the world’s population from coming to the United States, but has reached no decisions, government and industry officials told Reuters.