JAPANESE officials have confirmed 99 more people infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454. The Health Ministry has been carrying out tests on passengers and crew on the ship, docked in Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo. The 14-day quarantine for those on the ship was due to end tomorrow.
CAMBODIA The feel-good story of how Cambodia allowed a cruise ship to dock after it was turned away elsewhere in Asia for fear of spreading the deadly virus that began in China has taken an unfortunate turn after a passenger released from the ship tested positive for the virus. News over the weekend that an 83-year-old American woman who was on the ship and flew from Cambodia to Malaysia was found to be carrying the virus froze further movement of the passengers and crew of the MS Westerdam.
SOUTH KOREA Two people were killed and 38 were injured yesterday in a highway pileup in snowy weather in southwestern South Korea. Police said the pileup involved about 30 vehicles, including a chemical truck carrying nitric acid that flipped over and caught fire inside a tunnel.
PAKISTAN Hukam Khan isn’t sure how old he is, but his beard is long and white, and when he came to Pakistan 40 years ago fleeing an earlier war in Afghanistan, his children were small, stuffed onto the backs of donkeys and dragged across rugged mountains to the safety of northwestern Pakistan.
INDIA’s top court ordered the federal government to grant permanent commission and command positions to female officers in the army on par with men, asserting that the government’s arguments against the policy were based on gender stereotypes. Currently, female officers can serve for only 10 to 14 years in the army.
INDIA Officials denied a British lawmaker entry after she landed at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to an accompanying aide. Debbie Abrahams, a Labour Party Member of Parliament (pictured) who chairs a parliamentary group focused on the disputed region of Kashmir, was unable to clear customs after the Indian visa she presented was rejected, the aide, Harpreet Upal, told The Associated Press.
AUSTRALIA The Federal Court ruled yesterday that a police raid last year on the country’s national broadcaster was legal, prompting fears of increasing secrecy in institutions. The police raided the state-backed Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sydney headquarters last June over the leaking of classified documents. The raids sparked public outrage and were condemned as media intimidation.
PORTUGAL The president and the prime minister of Portugal added their voices to a national outcry yesterday over racist abuse aimed at a black FC Porto soccer player who walked off the field after hearing monkey chants. Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the incident was “unacceptable” and urged police and soccer authorities to make an example of those responsible by handing down tough punishment.
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