MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday prolonged partial coronavirus curbs in the capital and nearby provinces until mid-June to contain infections that have been decreasing since hitting a peak in April.
Religious gathering remain capped at 30 percent of venue capacity while dining in restaurants can operate at 20 percent in the capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to at least 13 million people, and nearby provinces.
Non-essential travels will remain prohibited.
Daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines averaged roughly 6,300 for May, down by a third from April, after the government reduced operating capacity of businesses and limited the movement of people.
Duterte also extended a ban on inbound travel from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates until June 15, to prevent transmission of the coronavirus variant first discovered in India that is circulating widely in that country and the region.
Travelers coming directly from those countries, or with a history of travel to any of them within the last 14 days, will be denied entry. The Philippines has reported 13 COVID-19 cases tied to the more infectious Indian variant known as B.1.617.2.
The Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.
Philippines extends ban on inbound travel from several countries including Pakistan
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Philippines extends ban on inbound travel from several countries including Pakistan
- Philippines president has prolonged partial coronavirus curbs in the capital and nearby provinces until mid-June
- Extends ban on inbound travel from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman, UAE until June 15
Eight killed as protesters storm US Consulate in Karachi after Iran confirms Khamenei killed
- Protesters smashed doors, set fire to property as police used tear gas to disperse crowds
- Protests spread to Shiite-majority areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, UN office torched, curfew imposed
ISLAMABAD: At least eight people were killed in clashes near the US Consulate in Karachi on Sunday, the Edhi Foundation said, as protests erupted across parts of Pakistan following Iran’s confirmation that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US–Israeli strikes.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the consulate on Sunday afternoon, with some attempting to storm the compound and vandalizing property, according to footage circulating on social media and international news reports.
Videos showed protesters armed with sticks smashing doors and windows. Separate footage appeared to show property inside the consulate premises set on fire. International media outlets reported that police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd.
“The number of people killed during the firing and unrest near the American Consulate on Mai Kolachi Road has risen to eight,” the Edhi Foundation, a major charity and rescue organization, said in a statement.
Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar directed authorities to strengthen security around sensitive installations as unrest intensified.
“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” Lanjar said in a statement issued by his office.
He added that law enforcement agencies were fully alert and monitoring the situation, and vowed that action would be taken in accordance with the law against those disturbing public order.
The violence came hours after Iranian authorities confirmed Khamenei was killed in coordinated strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and triggering protests in several countries.
PROTESTS SPREAD
Demonstrations were also reported in Skardu, in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where hundreds of people staged a sit-in on a main road to protest Khamenei’s killing.
Shabbir Mir, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, told Arab News that a United Nations office in the district had been set on fire.
“The protesters have torched an UN office in Skardu,” Mir confirmed.
Gilgit-Baltistan Police announced on its official Facebook page that a curfew had been imposed in the predominantly Shiite district.
The unrest in Pakistan follows a sharp escalation in the Middle East after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes in Iran on Saturday.
According to US officials, the operation targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. The US military said it suffered no casualties and reported minimal damage to its bases despite what it described as “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”
Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Israeli ally UAE said its air defense systems intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones, but debris from the interceptions caused material damage in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and at least one civilian, including a Pakistani national, was killed.
The UAE government condemned the strikes as a “blatant violation of national sovereignty and international law,” and issued rare emergency alerts urging residents to seek shelter, underscoring how the conflict has rippled far beyond Iran’s borders.
The Israeli military said dozens of Iranian missiles were fired toward Israeli territory, many of which were intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in a missile strike.
