- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
China's Xi says 'light of hope in front of us' on Covid
President Xi Jinping said Saturday the "light of hope is right in front of us" as China faces an explosion of Covid-19 cases after an abrupt lifting of restrictions.
Three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Beijing this month began ditching its hardline containment policy known as "zero-Covid".
Chinese hospitals have since been hit by a flood of mostly elderly patients, crematoriums have been overloaded and many pharmacies have run out of fever medications.
"Epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase... Everyone is working resolutely, and the light of hope is right in front of us," Xi said in a televised address for the New Year.
It was the Chinese president's second time commenting on the outbreak this week. On Monday, he called for measures to "effectively protect people's lives".
China on Saturday reported more than 7,000 new infections and one death linked to Covid out of its population of 1.4 billion -- but the figures appear to be out of step with the reality on the ground.
Authorities have announced they will end mandatory quarantine on arrival for people entering China from January 8 and allow Chinese people to travel abroad, after three years of frustration.
In response, several European countries including France and Italy, as well as the United States and Japan, have announced they will require negative tests from passengers arriving from China.
- 'Understandable' -
The precautionary measures taken by several states are "understandable" in view of a lack of information provided on the outbreak by Beijing, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.
"In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations," he said.
Beijing says its Covid statistics have been transparent since the start of the pandemic.
The WHO announced on Friday evening that it had met with Chinese officials to discuss the outbreak.
"The WHO again asked for regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation -- including more genetic sequencing data, data on disease impact including hospitalisations, intensive care unit admissions and deaths," the UN health agency said in a statement.
It also called for data on vaccinations, in particular among vulnerable people including those over 60.
The "zero-Covid" policy had largely protected the Chinese population since 2020 through mass testing, strict monitoring of movement and quarantine orders.
But the strategy isolated the country from the rest of the world and dealt a severe blow to the world's second-largest economy.
The draconian measures sparked nationwide protests last month in a rare display of dissent against the ruling Communist Party.
D.Cunningha--AMWN