ASIA – KMAUPDATES

Sep62020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Thailand urges Foreigners to renew visas before Sept 26

INTERNATIONAL

The Immigration Bureau has urged foreigners to renew their visas before the end of an exemption which falls on Sept 26. Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau Sompong Chingduang said foreigners in the kingdom should contact immigration offices early to avoid overcrowding close to the deadline. Thailand earlier announced an exemption for foreigners whose visas expired so they could legally stay in the country until Sept 26, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Short-term and long-term visa holders must contact immigration offices. When the visas are renewed by Sept 26, the validity of the renewed visa would start from Sept 27, he said. Pol Lt Gen Sompong said all short-term visa holders must leave the country by Sept 26. For those who cannot leave, due to flight unavailability or C...

Sep32020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

New reports suggest that Alexei Navalnyan, an opposition strong hold in Russia was poisoned

INTERNATIONAL

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the same type of Soviet-era nerve agent that British authorities identified in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy, the German government said Wednesday, citing new test results. The Berlin hospital treating Navalny said he remains in serious condition, though his condition is improving. The facility said that it expects a long recovery, and it still can't rule out long-term consequences from the poisoning. The government said that testing by a special German military laboratory at the hospital's request showed "proof without doubt of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group." "With this, it is certain that Alexei Navalny is the victim of a crime," Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "He was meant to be silenced a...

Aug282020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Japan’s Longest-Serving Leader, to Resign Because of Illness

INTERNATIONAL

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan will resign because of ill health, the country’s national broadcaster, NHK, reported on Friday, just four days after he exceeded the record for the longest consecutive run as leader in Japanese history. Mr. Abe, 65, had been prime minister for nearly eight years, a significant feat in a country accustomed to high turnover in the top job. During his tenure, he oversaw Japan’s recovery from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, restored a semblance of economic health and curried favor with an unpredictable American president, Donald J. Trump. Yet despite his long hold on power — his second stint as prime minister, having held the post in 2006-7 — Mr. Abe failed to reach some of his signature goals. He was unable to revise th...

Aug72020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Hiroshima still chooses reconciliation and hope after 75 years after the bomb

INTERNATIONAL

Hiroshima, Japan --- “Seventy-five years ago, a single nuclear weapon visited unspeakable death and destruction upon this city”, he said in his address. “The effects linger to this day”. However, he noted that Hiroshima and its people have chosen not to be characterized by calamity, but instead by “resilience, reconciliation and hope”. As “unmatched advocates for nuclear disarmament”, the survivors, known as hibakusha, have turned their tragedy into “a rallying voice for the safety and well-being of all humanity”, he said. The birth of the UN in that same year, is inextricably intertwined with the destruction wrought by the nuclear bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Since its earliest days and resolutions, the Organization has recognized the need to tota...

Jul202020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Thailand: protesters demand for dissolution of Parliament

INTERNATIONAL

BANGKOK - Around 2,500 Thai protesters on Saturday evening demanded the resignation of the government and the dissolution of parliament, defying a coronavirus ban on gatherings in one of the largest street demonstrations since a 2014 military coup. People at the student-led rally near Bangkok's Democracy Monument cited a litany of complaints against the year-old civilian government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former army chief who ousted an elected government six years ago. Organisers issued three demands: the dissolution of parliament, an end to harassment of government critics, and amendments to the military-written constitution that critics say virtually guaranteed victory for Prayuth's party in elections last year. "How can we be OK with the lack of democracy li...

Jul202020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Kuwait’s ruler, 91, admitted to hospital for medical checkup

INTERNATIONAL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait's 91-year-old ruler was admitted to the hospital Saturday for a medical checkup and the country's crown prince temporarily took some of his powers in his absence, the oil-rich nation's state-run news agency reported. Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was in “good health,” the KUNA news agency said, citing a statement from the country's royal court minister. The brief report did not elaborate. A later statement said Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah had assumed some of Sheikh Sabah's powers temporarily, without explaining why that was necessary. However, the visit comes as the tiny nation fights the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen over 58,000 cases and 400 deaths in the country of 4.1 million. Its Health Ministry says over 49,000 p...

Jul202020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Iran executes man convicted of spying on US-slain general

INTERNATIONAL

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran executed a man convicted of providing information to the United States and Israel about a prominent Revolutionary Guard general later killed by a U.S. drone strike, state TV reported on Monday. The report said the death sentence was carried out against Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, without elaborating. The country’s judiciary had said in June that Majd was “linked to the CIA and the Mossad,” the Israeli intelligence agency, and alleged that Majd shared security information on the Guard and its expeditionary unit, called the Quds, or Jerusalem Force, which Qassem Soleimani commanded. Soleimani was killed in an American drone strike in Baghdad in January. The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popu...

Jul142020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Breaking news: Southern District confirms First COVID death

Uncategorized

KOTTOYAM, INDIA --- Kottayam on Monday recorded its first COVID-19 related death as a 72-year-old Parathodu native died at the Government Medical College (GMC) here. The person, who had contracted the virus from an unknown source, had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the GMC in Kottayam with severe fever and viral pneumonia on July 6 and was tested positive three days later. His condition remained critical since the admission and the hospital authorities declared his death on Monday morning. The deceased, an autorickshaw driver, had first approached Government Taluk hospital in Kanjirappally late last month with fever and visited the hospital again for follow-up consultations on July 2 and 4. With no travel history and no known contacts with COVID patients or peo...

Jul122020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Philippines President vows not to ease the world’s longest lockdown

Uncategorized

Jeepneys, with their cheerfully gaudy exteriors and packed-in seats, are a national symbol of the Philippines, a form of public transport known affectionately as 'kings of the road'. But almost all of them have been forced off the roads by possibly the world's longest and strictest coronavirus lockdown. The situation has left many of the drivers destitute and desperate, with fellow citizens stepping in to raise money for them via Facebook groups. Jowel Palaña, 41, a jeepney driver in Manila, told the Telegraph: "Every single day has been a struggle." He has not been able to work as a driver since March 15, when the lockdown began. Instead, he swept the streets in exchange for food from his local district leaders. He was unable to travel to see his wife, three ...

Jul72020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Exams begin at China’s university after virus delay

INTERNATIONAL

BEIJING — Almost 11 million students began taking China’s university entrance exam Tuesday after a delay as the country worked to bring down coronavirus infections. The grueling two-day university entrance exam can be a key determinant of a student’s future and was pushed back weeks from its scheduled date. The exam is believed to be the first mass gathering event since the virus outbreak and administrators are enforcing strict rules to prevent infections, including proof of wellness, social distancing and the wearing of masks. All of the new infections China reported Tuesday were people returning from overseas. Shanghai authorities say the two cases confirmed there in the past 24 hours were students who had returned from schools in Britain and the United States. The student who...

Jul62020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Israel successfully launch a new spy satellite in orbit

TECHNOLOGY

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Defense Ministry announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite early on Monday that would help the country monitor Iran’s nuclear activity as its foreign minister hinted that Israel may have been behind a fire that damaged an Iranian nuclear site last week. The “Ofek 16” satellite gives Israel what officials described as an additional tool in keeping tabs on many threats from across the region, joining a fleet of Israeli spy satellites that have been launched over the past two decades. While officials did not identify specific threats, arch-enemy Iran, which Israel accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons, is first among them. The launch came a day after Iran finally acknowledged that a mysterious fire last week damaged a new centrifuge assembly ce...

Jul52020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Tokyo governor on the verge of winning reelection for handling virus

INTERNATIONAL

TOKYO — Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is poised to be reelected in Sunday’s polls, buoyed by public support for her coronavirus handling despite a recent rise in infections that has raised concerns of a resurgence of the disease. The first woman to head the Japanese capital, Koike. 67, is also viewed as a potential candidate to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when his term ends in September 2021. For now, she says she’s focused on protecting the lives of the 14 million people in Tokyo, a megacity with a $1 trillion economy. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike “Fighting against the coronavirus for the residents of Tokyo is my first and foremost responsibility,” she said on the eve of the election. In her campaign message online, Koike pledged to balance disease prevention and the economy under To...

Jul52020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

India: Eight policemen killed in clash with gang members

INTERNATIONAL

Eight Indian policemen have been killed, and seven more injured, in an encounter with gang members, reports say. The officers were fired upon during a raid in search of a notorious local gangster in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The gangster, Vikas Dubey, is accused in 60 criminal cases for various offences, including attempted murder. At least one of the injured police officers is believed to be critical. The incident took place early on Friday morning in a village in Kanpur district. Police told ANI news agency that the gang members escaped, but two of the men were killed in a separate shootout when officers pursued them. Two policemen were also injured in the second incident. A deputy superintendent, three sub-inspectors and four constables were among the offic...

Jul42020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Philippine President pleads for calm after police fatally shoot troops

INTERNATIONAL

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — The Philippine president flew to the country’s volatile south on Friday to plead with military forces not to retaliate following the fatal police shootings of four soldiers, including two officers, in violence the army chief called “a rubout.” President Rodrigo Duterte pledged an impartial government investigation of Monday’s violence in southern Jolo town and promised in a late-night address to military commanders, including army generals, that anyone found guilty will be punished. “Do you want to kill five to six policemen there in the station? What good will it do?” said the blunt-speaking Duterte, who wore a face mask to protect against the coronavirus. Duterte asked commanders to ensure their forces remain calm and added that police, like government...

Jul32020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Top Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan dies at 71

Entertainment

NEW DELHI — Saroj Khan, a top Bollywood choreographer, died of cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital early Friday, her family said. She was 71. The three-time National Award winner was hospitalized last Saturday after she complained of breathlessness. She tested negative for COVID-19, the Press Trust of India news agency said. Khan choreographed more than 2,000 songs in her career spanning more than 40 years. Leading actresses including Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi danced to some of the most popular songs Khan had produced. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar said she made dance look easy, almost like anybody can do it. “A huge loss for the industry,” Kumar tweeted. In this Sept. 19, 2019, file photo, Indian choreographer Saroj Khan is presented a special award during the 20th Internation...

Jul32020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

India opens vast railway network to private players

INTERNATIONAL

India has opened up its vast railway sector to private companies, allowing firms to operate trains on certain routes, in a bid to boost its stuttering, virus-hit economy. The 167-year-old train network carries 20 million passengers daily but is plagued by deadly accidents, rickety infrastructure, lack of modern amenities and poor investment. In an announcement late Wednesday, the railway ministry said it would now permit businesses to run trains along 109 routes, inviting bids from firms weeks after New Delhi opened up coal mining to the private sector. "This is the first initiative of private investment for running passenger trains over Indian Railways network," the ministry said in a statement. "The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock...

Jul12020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Iran journalist who fueled 2017 protests sentenced to death

INTERNATIONAL

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran sentenced a once-exiled journalist to death over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests that began at the end of 2017, authorities said Tuesday. Ruhollah Zam's website and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran's Shiite theocracy. Those demonstrations represented the biggest challenge to Iran since the 2009 Green Movement protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest last November. The details of his arrest still remain unclear. Though he was based in Paris, Zam somehow returned to Iran and found himself detained by intelligence officials. A series of a televised confessions have aired in recent mont...

Jul12020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Thailand eases lockdown, lets in some foreigners, opens schools

INTERNATIONAL

BANGKOK — Thailand has begun a fifth phase of relaxations of COVID-19 restrictions, allowing the reopening of schools and high-risk entertainment venues such as pubs and massage parlors that had been shut since mid-March. It also is allowing in foreign visitors on a controlled basis, limiting entry to those with existing family or work ties to the country, students, technical experts for businesses, investors and specially invited VIPs. Scheduled passenger flights to Thailand were suspended in early April. The number of foreign visitors allowed into the country each day is limited to 200, and they are supposed to travel on repatriation flights bringing Thai citizens home. All returnees, foreign and Thai, will be subject to varying degrees of quarantine. All confirmed coronavirus...

Jul12020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Police in Hong Kong make first arrest under new security law

INTERNATIONAL

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police made their first arrest under a new national security law imposed by China’s central government, arresting a protester Wednesday for carrying a flag calling for Hong Kong’s independence. The man was arrested after police had issued multiple warnings to the crowd at a protest in the city’s Causeway Bay shopping district that they might be in violation of the law, according to a police statement on Twitter. The law, imposed by China after last year’s anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory, took effect Tuesday at 11 p.m. (1500 GMT). The law makes secessionist, subversive, or terrorist activities illegal, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s internal affairs. Any person taking part in secessionist activities, such as shouti...

Jun292020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

HEALTH: New Agreements to Expand Access to 20 Lifesaving Cancer Medicines for Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia

AFRICA, HEALTH

Cancer Access Partnership is expected to result in a 59 percent savings on procured cancer medicinesBASEL, Switzerland, June 29, 2020/ -- The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) today announced agreements with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Novartis, and Mylan to expand access to 20 lifesaving cancer treatments in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Purchasers are expected to save an average of 59 percent for medicines procured through the agreements.“With the rapidly growing burden of cancer in Africa, it is crucial that we improve and expand access to high-quality, affordable treatment. These agreements build on those announced in 2017 that have already delivered substantial savings and increased treatment availability in several coun...