Coronavirus: death toll passes 3,000 worldwide as second person dies in US
South Korea reports 599 new cases and Indonesia confirms its first infections
The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak exceeded 3,000 on Monday as South Korea reported almost 500 new cases of the disease and a second person died in the US.
Covid-19 has now infected more than 88,000 people and spread to more than 60 countries after first emerging in China late last year. Indonesia, which has so far claimed to be virus-free, registered its first two cases on Monday.
More than two months on, most cases and deaths are still confined to China, whose health commission reported 202 new infections on Monday – the lowest daily rise since late January – and 42 new deaths. Hubei province, where the outbreak has been concentrated, recorded 196 of the 202 new cases and all of the new deaths.
North Korea launches first two projectiles since ending suspension of long-range missile tests
Japanese and South Korean militaries analysing launches, which come after a months-long pause that could have been caused by coronavirus outbreak
Adam WithnallAsia Editor
North Korea has fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the first such launches since the expiration of a self-imposed ban on nuclear and long-range missile tests.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries said they were analysing the launches, from an area near Wonsan, but it was not immediately clear how far the projectiles flew or whether they were ballistic or rocket artillery.
It comes two days after Kim Jong-un oversaw an artillery drill which, according to a report in North Korean media, was aimed at improving the combat readiness of the country’s front-line troops.
Israeli elections: Netanyahu vs Gantz — take 3
Israelis cast their ballots for the third time within a year on Monday. But polls suggested there will also be no clear winner this time around, so talk has turned to the possibility of a fourth election.
Instead of being abuzz with election campaigning, Israeli news has increasingly focused on the global coronavirus threat. What has become an epic battle between Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu and Benny Gantz — now in its third edition — has at times, slipped down the news agenda. Israel has enacted strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus and Israelis have been advised to abstain from non-necessary overseas travel. Authorities have also restricted entry for visitors from several Asian countries and Italy. Israelis returning from countries with a coronavirus outbreak have been told to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
Turkey targets Syrian planes, airports in escalating Idlib fight
Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on Sunday and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers last week.
Ankara has ramped up its attacks, including drone strikes, against the Russian-backed Syrian forces since Thursday, when 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike by Damascus.
It has already deployed thousands of troops and military vehicles in northwest Syria's Idlib province in the last month to stem advances by Syrian government forces which have displaced 1 million people close to Turkey's southern border.
Gunman holding about 30 people hostage inside Philippines shopping mall
Updated 0949 GMT (1749 HKT) March 2, 2020
A disgruntled former security guard is holding about 30 people hostage inside a shopping mall near the Philippines capital Manila, an official said.
The incident is still unfolding at Virra Mall, in the Greenhills shopping complex in San Juan city, police told CNN.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said the gunman entered the mall at around 10 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET), and shot and wounded an employee. That person is in a stable condition, Zamora said.
China Uighurs 'moved into factory forced labour' for foreign brands
Thousands of Muslims from China's Uighur minority group are working under coercive conditions at factories that supply some of the world's biggest brands, a new report says.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said this was the next phase in China's re-education of Uighurs.
China has already detained about a million Uighurs at internment camps, punishing and indoctrinating them.
Officials say the camps are aimed at countering extremism.
The ASPI report comes after a senior Chinese official told reporters in December that members of the minority group being held in the camps had now "graduated".
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