Cambodia reports first COVID-19 death, 1 year into pandemic
PHNOM PENH โ Cambodia on Thursday confirmed its first death from COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than a year ago as it battles a new local outbreak that has infected hundreds of people. The 50-year-old man was confirmed infected last month while working as a driver for a Chinese company in coastal Sihanoukville and died at the Khmer-Soviet friendship hospital Thursday morning, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Cambodia has confirmed only 1,163 cases of infection with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, but it is battling a new local outbreak that has infected several hundred people. According to the Health Ministry, the new outbreak was traced to a foreign resident who broke quarantine in a hotel and went to a nightclub in early February. On Thursday, the Health Ministry said 39 cases were reported from local transmission.
Vaccinations start without rush in Australia, parts of Asia
Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand, which has seen only 83 virus deaths, has yet to start vaccinations. That is part of the Thai governmentโs plan that has so far secured 2 million doses from Sinovac and 61 million doses from AstraZeneca. AdVietnam, which has recorded 35 deaths, announced last week that it will receive 5 million vaccine doses by the end of February and hopes to start inoculations as early as the beginning of March. Cambodia, which has yet to report any virus deaths, received its first shipment of 600,000 vaccine doses from China on Feb. 7, part of 1 million doses Beijing donated. In Singapore, which has reported 29 virus deaths, some 250,000 residents, including healthcare workers and other front-line workers, had been vaccinated as of last week, according to health officials.
The Latest: China's northeast outbreaks appear under control
Cambodia on Sunday received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine, a donation of 600,000 doses from China, the country's biggest ally. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)BEIJING โ China appears to have stamped out its latest coronavirus outbreaks centered on the northeast, reporting no new cases of local infection in its latest daily report. ___TEHRAN, Iran โ Iran has unveiled its second homemade coronavirus vaccine and says it has begun human trials, state TV reported Sunday. ___JAKARTA, Indonesia โ Indonesiaโs Food and Drug Authority has announced an emergency use authorization to give the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinaโs Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to people over 60. ___KABUL, Afghanistan โ Some 500,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived Sunday in Afghanistan from the government in India.
'Worldโs loneliest elephant' arrives safely in Cambodia
The container holding Kaavan the elephant is blessed by monks during its arrival from Pakistan at the Siem Reap International Airport, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. Kaavan, dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo, has arrived in Cambodia where a sanctuary with the much-needed company of other elephants awaits him. Like other travelers during these times, Kaavan needed to be tested for COVID-19 before his flight. Once his large metal crate was safely on board, Kaavan was provided with in-flight snacks โ 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of them โ for the seven-hour journey. The flight was uneventful, which is all you can ask for when you transfer an elephant,โ Khalil said.
'World's loneliest elephant' Kaavan starts trip to Cambodia
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)ISLAMABAD โ Kaavan, dubbed the "worldโs loneliest elephant" after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo, was readied Sunday for his flight to a sanctuary in Cambodia and the much-needed company of other elephants. "In the sanctuary in Cambodia ... waiting for him is three ladies, three Asian female elephants," he said. Elephants are social animals that thrive on the company of other elephants, Bauer explained. The floor irritated his feet and toenails, which are badly damaged and will require years of treatment in Cambodia, said Bauer. While Kaavan is the most celebrated rescue at the zoo, Bauer said Four Paws has already relocated about 30 animals from there.
Cher in Pakistan for resettlement of 'loneliest elephant'
An elephant named "Kaavan," who waiting to be transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia, walks at the Maragzar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Iconic singer and actress Cher was set to visit Pakistan on Friday to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the worlds loneliest elephant, who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)ISLAMABAD โ Iconic singer and actress Cher is in Pakistan to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the โworldโs loneliest elephant,โ who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. Activists dubbed Kaavan the โworldโs loneliest elephant" after his plight gained international attention and the unhappy elephant was diagnosed as emotionally as well as physically damaged. Now, the โworld's loneliest elephantโ comes lumbering over when he hears Khalil's voice.'
'World's loneliest elephant' okayed to quit zoo for new life
Dubbed the worlds loneliest elephant' by his supporters, Kaavan has languished at a zoo in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad for more than 35 years. The overweight elephant Kaavan underwent a full medical examination at the zoo on Friday, said Bauer. In May, Pakistans High Court ordered the Marghazar Zoo closed because of its abysmal conditions blamed on systemic negligence. He said Four Paws was invited by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to safely transfer the remaining animals in the zoo. Friday's medical examination showed the elephant was overweight, even as he showed signs of malnutrition.
Drug-resistant malaria is spreading across Southeast Asia, study warns
James Gathany/CDC via CNNAMSTERDAM - Drug-resistant strains of malaria are spreading across Southeast Asia, raising fears of a "potential global health emergency," two new studies have found. The evolution of the resistant strains in Southeast Asia has had "disastrous consequences," researchers said -- they have rendered a widely-used drug essentially ineffective, leading to treatment failures at "alarmingly high rates." The original strain of resistant malaria first spread across western Cambodia in 2008. This problem is both new, and not -- malaria strains have developed resistance to treatment drugs many times over the years, and often in Southeast Asia. It was in this region that malaria became resistant to chloroquine in the late 1950s, and to artemisinin in recent years.