ISIL claims beheading Japanese journalist

February 1, 2015

Amman (Jordan), Feb 1: The ISIL claims to have beheaded Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto held captive by the Takfiri group.

ISIL claims

The group released a video on Saturday purportedly showing Goto's decapitation.

The footage shows Goto kneeling, dressed in an orange outfit. A masked man standing beside him with a knife blames the Japanese government for his "slaughter."

It ends with a still photo of the body with the head resting on the back.

The executioner speaks directly to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying, "Because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So let the nightmare for Japan begin."

Grief beyond words

Goto's mother Junko Ishido said, "I can't find the words to describe how I feel about my son's very sad death." "It's deplorable, but Kenji is gone," she said.

Goto's brother Junichi Goto said he had been holding out hope, "But that's not possible anymore."

Japan outraged

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced outrage over the apparent execution, saying, "I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists."

He added that he was "at a loss for words about the pain that (Goto's) family must feel." "We will cooperate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes."

Reactions

A spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the "barbaric murder," and said the death "underscores the violence that so many have been subjected to in Iraq and Syria."

US President Barack Obama said in a statement, "The United States condemns the heinous murder of Japanese citizen and journalist Kenji Goto by the terrorist group ISIL."

"Through his reporting, Mr. Goto courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world," he noted.

"Our thoughts are with Mr. Goto's family and loved ones, and we stand today in solidarity with Prime Minister Abe and the Japanese people in denouncing this barbaric act."

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said earlier that the United States was working to confirm the video's authenticity.

Moreover, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "I utterly condemn what appears to be the despicable and appalling murder of Kenji Goto," "It is a further reminder that ISIL is the embodiment of evil, with no regard for human life."

French President Francois Hollande also said he "resolutely condemned the brutal murder of Japanese citizen Kenji Goto by Daesh," using an alternative acronym for the group.

Previous footage

In a recent video posted online, ISIL militants showed the Japanese captive saying he would be killed unless Jordan released a female militant Sajida al-Rishawi, who is thought to be behind an attack on a hotel in Jordan in 2005.

It showed Goto holding the photo of a dead body allegedly belonging to Haruna Yukawa, another Japanese hostage that had been captured by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

Goto said in the online footage that if al-Rishawi was not ready for exchange for his life at the Turkish border by Thursday sunset, 29th of January, Mosul time, the pilot Muath al-Kassasbeh would be killed immediately.

However, the beheading footage of Goto included no mention of the Jordanian hostage.

The ISIL extremists have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control in Iraq and Syria. They have terrorized and killed people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

The 47-year-old journalist and filmmaker went to Syria in October reportedly to try to secure Yukawa's release. Yukawa was apparently beheaded after a 72-hour deadline for a USD 200-million ransom passed without payment.

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Agencies
April 17,2020

Beijing/Wuhan, Apr 17: China's coronavirus death toll mounted to 4,632 on Friday as the country revised figures in its epicentre Wuhan with 1,290 additional fatalities amid international criticism of under-reporting of COVID-19 data.

The Wuhan municipal headquarters on Friday revised the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths due to the disease, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

As of April 16, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wuhan was increased by 325 to 50,333 and the number of fatalities up by 1,290 to 3,869.

The revised figure raised China's overall COVID-19 death toll to 4,632. The total number of cases also increased to 82,692.

The Wuhan municipal headquarters in a notification said the revisions were made in accordance with related laws and regulations as well as the principle of being responsible for history, the people and the deceased.

The revision of figures came amid sharp criticism of China by the US and other nations for its alleged under-reporting of the coronavirus cases and cover-up of the origin of the viral strain, which emerged in Wuhan in December last, reportedly from the local Hunan sea food market.

Explaining the reason for the figure revision, the Wuhan municipality said it was done to ensure that the information on the city's COVID-19 epidemic is open and transparent, and that the data are accurate.

Listing the reasons for the data discrepancies, it said the surging number of patients at the early stage of the epidemic overwhelmed medical resources and the admission capacity of medical institutions. Some patients died at home without having been treated in hospitals.

Besides, during the height of their treating efforts, hospitals were operating beyond their capacities and medical staff were preoccupied with saving and treating patients, resulting in belated, missed and mistaken reporting.

Also, due to a rapid increase of designated hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients -- including those administered by ministries, Hubei Province, Wuhan city and its districts, those affiliated to companies, as well as private hospitals and makeshift hospitals -- a few medical institutions were not linked to the epidemic information network and failed to report their data in time.

The registered information of some of the deceased patients was incomplete, and there were repetitions and mistakes in the reporting, the Wuhan authorities noted.

Citing an official of the Wuhan municipal headquarters, Xinhua reported that a group for epidemic-related big data and epidemiological investigations was established in late March.

The group used information from online systems and collected full information from all epidemic-related locations to ensure that facts about every case are accurate and every figure is objective and correct.

"What lie behind the epidemic data are the lives and health of the general public, as well as the credibility of the government," the official was quoted by the report.

The timely revision of the figures, among other things, shows respect for every single life, the official said.

Meanwhile, the revised cases were not included in the overall national figures released by China's National Commission (NHC) in its daily report on Friday as it reports previous day's cases.

As per NHC data, as of Thursday the overall confirmed cases of coronavirus was 82,367, including 3,342 deaths.

As many as 1,081 patients are being treated and 77,944 people discharged after recovery, it said.

NHC said it received reports of 26 new confirmed COVID-19 cases from the mainland on Thursday, of which 15 were imported.

The other 11 new cases were domestically transmitted, it said, noting that five cases were reported in Guangdong Province, three in Heilongjiang Province, two in Shandong Province and one in Liaoning Province.

No death was reported on Thursday on the mainland.

As of Thursday, China has a total of 1,549 imported cases, NHC said, adding that 879 were undergoing treatment with 45 in severe condition. Besides, there were 66 new asymptomatic cases, taking the tally to 1,038.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

New York, Aug 3: The number of coronavirus cases confirmed all over the world has surpassed 18 million, while the global COVID-19 death toll stands at over 687,000 according to data from the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center.

As of 06:00 Moscow time on Monday (03:00 GMT), there are 18,017,556 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world. The global death toll from COVID-19 stands at 687,930. The number of recovered individuals stands at 10,649,108.

The United States remains the country with the largest number of cases (4,665,932) and the highest COVID-19 death toll (154,841), according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Beijing, May 18: China has reported 25 new COVID-19 patients, the health authorities said on Monday, as 14 asymptomatic cases were detected in Wuhan, the first epicentre of the coronavirus where officials are doing mass testing of the city's entire 11 million population, taking the number of such cases in the city to 337, the highest in the country.

The death toll in China remained at 4,634 on Sunday with no new fatalities reported.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 asymptomatic cases on Sunday.

Jilin province where the government has implemented strict control measures in the last few days following reports of clusters of cases in Jilin city reported two cases on Sunday, while Shanghai city has reported one.

As of Sunday, the overall confirmed cases in China had reached 82,954, including 82 patients who are still being treated, and 78,238 people who have been discharged after recovery.

Also on Sunday, 18 new asymptomatic cases including two from abroad were reported in China, taking the total number under medical observation to 448, the NHC said.

Asymptomatic cases pose a problem as the patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.

Wuhan which is undergoing mass testing of the city's entire over 11 million population to determine the prevalence of the virus has reported no new confirmed cases, but 14 new asymptomatic infections, taking the number of such cases in the city to 337, the highest in the country, according to the figures released by the local health commission on Sunday.

The death toll in Hubei province stood at 4,512, including 3,869 in Wuhan.

The province so far has reported 68,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,339 in Wuhan, according to the officials figures.

As the cases dropped, China on Sunday exempted people in Beijing from wearing masks, signalling that the virus is under control in the national capital.

As the virus is abating in the country, China is opening up all its business including entertainment centres like Shanghai Disneyl and to show that it has managed to control the dreaded virus while the world is struggling with it with lockdowns and massive casualties.

The novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan in December last year has claimed 315,185 lives and infected over 4.7 million people globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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