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Around 60,000 people have died of Covid since early December in China.  Nearly 60,000 people have died of the coronavirus in China since December, a National Health Commission (NHC) medical official said Saturday at a press conference in Beijing.  Jiao Yahui, the head of the NHC's medical affairs department said that China recorded 59,938 Covid-related deaths between December 8 and January 12. Of these deaths, 5,503 were from respiratory failure caused by Covid infections and 54,435 were people infected with Covid as well as underlying illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.  On Saturday, WHO Director-General - Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke to Chinese Health Minister - Ma Xiaowei about the surge. Chinese officials shared information including the latest numbers on outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths, the WHO said in a statement. The NHC medical official - Jiao Yahui said fever clinic

Flight with 72-onboard crashes on runway at Pokhara International Airport, 36 dead  An ATR 72 aircraft of the Yeti Airlines crashed today in Pokhara in Nepal. According to the initial reports, the aircraft flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday morning and the accident took place while landing at the Pokhara airport. There were a total of 68 passengers and four crew members.  Of the passengers, 53 are said to be Nepalese. There were five Indian, four Russians, and two Koreans on the plane. There was also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France among others.  Hundreds of Nepali emergency responders - army, police, and fire services are involved in the operation at the accident site in the gorge of the Seti river, just one and a half kilometers from the airport. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency meeting of his cabinet and urged state agencies to work on rescue operations.  WK News, Kathmandu.

Government of Canada has imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankan state officials, including former presidents   The Government of Canada has imposed sanctions on four Sri Lankan government officials, including former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.   According to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the sanctions are over human rights violations committed during the armed conflict from 1983 to 2009. Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa oversaw the forces that were accused of targeting Tamil civilians. The Sri Lankan government has taken “limited meaningful and concrete action” to uphold its human rights obligations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada said on Tuesday in a press release. In addition to former presidents, sanctions have also been imposed on Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lt Commander Chandana P Hettiarachchithe, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.   Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resigned last July, and hi

The United States and Japan have unveiled plans to strengthen security cooperation | US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting 2023    The United States and Japan unveiled plans Wednesday to strengthen their alliance. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hold a joint news conference with Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada as part of the 2023 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting in Washington, DC, January 11, 2023.  US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said - "It is hard to overstate the importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance.  For more than seven decades, it’s been the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific – ensuring the security, the liberty, the prosperity of our people and people across the region. One of the Alliance’s enduring sources of strength is our ability to adapt it to meet the evolving challenges as well as the opportunities before us."  In the join