25 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast

13:49, May 08, 2020

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  Liaison office of China's central gov't in HKSAR condemns extreme radicals for restarting 'burn with us' violence

  HONG KONG, May 2 -- The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday condemned extreme radicals for their illegal activities including holding illegal assemblies, disrupting shops and throwing petrol bombs during the Internatio

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  Coronavirus takes a toll in Sweden’s immigrant community

  A young couple walks along a bridge in Rinkeby-Kista borough in Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. (Photo: AP)The flight from Italy was one of the last arrivals that day at the Stockholm airport. A Swedish couple in their 50s walked up and loaded their skis into Razzak Khalaf’s taxi.It was early March and concerns over the coronavirus were already present, but the couple, both coughing for the entire 45-minute journey, assured Khalaf they were healthy and just suffering from a change in the weather. Four days later, the Iraqi immigrant got seriously ill with COVID-19.Still not able to return to work, Khalaf is part of the growing evidence that those in immigrant communities in the Nordic nations are being hit harder by the pandemic than the general population.Sweden took a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus, one that attracted international attention. Large gatherings were banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have stayed open. The government has urged social distancing, and Swedes have largely complied.The country has paid a heavy price, with 3,175 fatalities from COVID-19. That’s more than 31 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with about 8 per 100,000 in neighboring Denmark, which imposed a strict lockdown early on that is only now being slowly lifted.Inside Sweden’s immigrant communities, anecdotal evidence emerged early in the outbreak that suggested that some — particularly those from Somalia and Iraq — were hit harder than others. Last month, data from Sweden’s Public Health Agency confirmed that Somali Swedes made up almost 5 percent of the country’s COVID-19 cases, yet represented less than 1 percent of its 10 million people.Many in these communities are more likely to live in crowded, multigeneration households and are unable to work remotely.“No one cares for taxi drivers in Sweden,” said Khalaf, who tested positive and was admitted to a hospital when his condition deteriorated. Despite difficulties breathi...

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  3,000 guards on China-Russia border block illegal entries

  Working staff wearing protective suits wait at the entrance to Suifenhe port. (Photo: Global Times)Northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province has assigned 2,850 guards to the 3,000-kilometer China-Russia border in the province to address the pressure of imported cases, especially illegal crossings, given the closure of all passenger channels between the two countries and the worsening of the epidemic in Russia.Heilongjiangs border inspection force recently beefed up controls, having investigated 36 cases and punished 45 people. About 2,400 ships were inspected and 2,850 border guards deployed, the National Immigration Administration said on its WeChat account on Tuesday.The province has established more than 100 temporary police checkpoints and inspection stations along the border to check waterways and land channels to crack down on illegal behavior. The hard-hit border city Suifenhe has seen its police force doubled.Besides, local authorities have established online chat groups to promote border regulations and policies, and encourage residents to protect the borders safety. Such activities have been conducted online, and about 30,000 police officers have also participated in on-the-ground promotions in the past month.Wu Yonghui, a deputy head of the School of Public Health of Harbin Medical University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that strict border management is a most direct and effective way to contain imported cases that enter via illegal crossings.The expert said that Suifenhe and other border cities are able to prevent a new wave of imported infections with such methods.Local health authorities said on Wednesday that there areno more overseas returnees under medical observation in Suifenhe, marking a temporary victory over the pressure from imported cases from Russia since late March.Suifenhe was categorized as a low-risk area starting on Wednesday. All 125 county-level regions in the province will be designated as l...