No new COVID-19 infections logged on March 9 morning Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on March 9, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. The country recorded 1,586 domestically-transmitted infections, including 893 cases since the latest outbreak began on January 27. As many as 45,219 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 506 in hospitals, 14,266 in other quarantine sites, and 30,446 at home. Among the patients under treatment, 65 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 57 twice, and 137 thrice. The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,920 patients have been declared to be clear of the coronavirus so far. Vietnam launched its COVID-19 vaccination programme on March 8, with healthcare workers being first in the queue. They received AstraZeneca vaccine shots, which was granted the Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged from 18. In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration)./. Dozens of illegal immigrants found in border provinces Police in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang have detected tens of Chinese citizens illegally entering Vietnam. The provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control said on March 8 that 34 illegal Chinese immigrants had been sent to concentrated quarantine facilities and tested for COVID-19. Further investigation and contact tracing are underway. Local authorities and residents were asked to stay vigilant and follow pandemic preventive measures. Earlier on March 4 and 7, police in Chau Doc city found automobiles carrying seven and 13 Chinese …
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Leicester turn up heat in top-four race
It moved Brendan Rodgers's side above Manchester United into second place with 53 points from 28 games with United away to runaway leaders Manchester City on Sunday. * Earlier Southampton ended a horrendous run of form as they beat bottom club Sheffield United 2-0. Burnley also secured an important point in their quest to stay clear of trouble as they drew 1-1 with Arsenal. * Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Romain Saiss provided a contender for miss of the season during a 0-0 Midlands derby stalemate away to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday. The draw left Villa in ninth place on 40 points from 26 games with Wolves in 12th spot on 35 points. * Paris St Germain geared up for their Champions League last-16 second leg against Barcelona with a no-nonsense 3-0 victory at Stade Brestois in the French Cup last 32 on Saturday. Elsewhere, RC Lens, who are fifth in Ligue 1, slumped to a 3-2 defeat at third division Red Star. Olympique Lyonnais advanced by beating Ligue 2 side Sochaux 5-2. * Barcelona continued their rampant run of domestic form to beat Osasuna 2-0 away from home on Saturday and move to within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, with Lionel Messi setting up goals scored by Jordi Alba and teenager Ilaix Moriba. The victory followed Barca's heroic second leg comeback win over Sevilla to reach the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday and notched a 13th league win in 16 games, while they are unbeaten since losing at Cadiz on Dec. 5. * Faced with a poor penalty record this season, Eibar again turned to goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic in Saturday's La Liga game at Cadiz but the move did not pay off as they suffered a 1-0 defeat. Eibar dropped to 18th in the standings and into the relegation zone having failed to win any of their last nine league games. * Two goals from Alvaro Morata helped Juventus come from behind to beat Lazio 3-1 in Serie A on Saturday, closing the gap on leaders Inter Milan to seven points. The win moved Juve on to 52 …
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Ten years after Fukushima, Japan remembers ‘man-made’ nuclear disaster
TOKYO -- When a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, devastating towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, a stunned world watched the chaotic struggle to contain the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. An onslaught of waves sparked by the 9.0-magnitude quake crashed into the northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. More than 160,000 residents fled as radiation spewed into the air. At the time, some - including Prime Minister Naoto Kan - feared Tokyo would need to be evacuated, or worse. “Fukushima is stamped for the rest of the history of nuclear energy,” said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, head of an investigation that concluded the disaster was “profoundly man-made”. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated Tohoku region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars. Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents. Energy policy was left in limbo after Shinzo Abe led his pro-nuclear energy Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) back to power the year after the disaster, ousting the novice Democratic Party of Japan, whose image was tainted by its handling of Fukushima. “They sort of left things adrift,” said Tobias Harris, senior vice president at consultancy Teneo and author of a book about Abe. 'Result of collusion' Kurokawa’s commission, appointed by parliament, concluded in 2012 that the Fukushima accident was “the result of collusion between the government, regulators and Tokyo Electric Power Co” and a lack of governance. Abe …
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