China’s zero-COVID rules spark violent protests in Guangzhou
Protesters have clashed with police in China’s industrial metropolis Guangzhou over strict COVID-19 measures, which have seen residents placed in lockdown.
Tensions have been building in the southern city, which has been experiencing one of its worst COVID outbreaks since the pandemic began, and on Monday they reached breaking point.
Dramatic footage shared online showed groups of people overturning a police vehicle and knocking over fences in the Haizhu district, while confronting blue-clad health personnel.
A police vehicle flipped over by protesters in Haizhu district in the city
Chinese-language media reported that protesters had gathered in the area to demonstrate against the city’s COVID measures.
The district has been placed under strict stay-at-home measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, with Guangzhou recording more than 5,000 new cases in one day.
People have been told to visit their nearest testing station, but otherwise to stay indoors, the district government announced on its social media account.
Across the area, residents have also been told only one member of each household is allowed out to buy food.
Read more:
Inhalable COVID vaccine tested
Were COVID rules changed too soon?
The COVID crackdown has seen communities confined to their homes and areas cordoned off
What is the zero-COVID policy?
China’s ruling party has called for strict adherence to the “zero-COVID” policy across the country.
The strategy has seen millions of residents confined to their homes, subject to mass testing programmes and enduring sudden lockdowns in areas where cases or their close contacts have been detected.
The number of COVID cases being recorded in the country remains low by global standards, but some are concerned the harsh restrictions are holding back the economy and putting China out of sync with the rest of the world.
Protests have taken place in Guangzhou, China
What is the situation across the country?
On Saturday, health officials announced they would modify anti-virus controls, but that did not mean they were ending.
Under the changes, some foreign businesspeople and athletes visiting China will be allowed to move within a contained area without quarantining, and rules on who counts as a contact of infected people are to be more focused, reducing the number affected.
Tensions have been building up for days over the country’s Zero-COVID policy
“This is not relaxation, nor ‘lying flat’, but more accurate and scientific prevention and treatment,” said the country’s National Health Commission deputy director, Lei Haichao, adding that the goal is to “prevent the epidemic and minimise the impact on economic and social development”.
Economists and public health experts say China’s capital Beijing might be able to start winding down the COVID rules in mid-2023, but needs to vaccinate tens of millions of elderly people before controls on foreign visitors end.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
Nationwide, people who want to enter supermarkets and other public buildings are required to show negative results of a virus test taken as often as once a day.
In the south-west, the industrial city of Chongqing closed schools in its Beibei district, which has 840,000 people.
Residents were also barred from leaving a series of apartment compounds in its Yubei district, but authorities gave no indication how many were affected.
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
March: ‘We are going to lose children’: Fears over USAID cuts in Kenya
USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Queer HIV activist on Trump and Musk’s USAID cuts
Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
Read more:
USAID explained
USAID ‘a bowl of worms’ – Musk
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.
The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.
Protesters gathered in Bangkok at the weekend. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.
Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.
Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.
Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.
The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.
Read more from Sky News:
Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week
Cannes bringing in ‘drastic regulation’ on cruise ships
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.
Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.
Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
Read more from Sky News:
Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite form of transport to be scrapped
How does sunscreen work?
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike