Beijing: Beijing city said individuals who recently visited overland ports of entry on China’s borders should avoid the Chinese capital, with national authorities concerned over the risk of Covid transmission from abroad as they battle a month-long outbreak.
The small northern administrative divisions of Heihe, Erenhot and Ejina, along China’s borders with Russia and Mongolia, were among the hardest-hit areas in a nationwide outbreak since mid-October that resulted in more than 1,200 domestically transmitted cases showing confirmed symptoms.
Although China’s infection numbers are lower than in many other countries and a dozen provincial regions have already brought the recent flare-up under control, it is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy against local clusters with stringent measures along international borders and other areas at higher risk for transmission.
People who have travelled in the previous two weeks to county-level administrative divisions with international overland ports of entry are advised not to enter China’s capital for non-essential purposes, effective from November 17, Beijing Daily reported on Saturday.
The report did not mention any specific measures that would be taken to curb unnecesarry entry to the area.
Those intending to enter the city should show proof of a negative Covid test result from the previous 48 hours, Beijing Daily said.
Saif Al-Islam, Son Of former Libyan Ruler Gaddafi, Runs For President
Tripoli: The son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi appeared for nearly the first time in a decade on Sunday to register as a presidential candidate for a December vote planned to help end the years of chaos since his father was toppled.
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, 49, appeared in an electoral commission video in traditional brown robe and turban, and with a grey beard and glasses, signing documents at the election centre in the southern town of Sebha.
Gaddafi is one of the most prominent – and controversial – figures expected to run for president, a list that also includes eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and parliament speaker Aguila Saleh.
However, while his name is one of the best known in Libya, and though he once played a major role in shaping policy before the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that destroyed his family’s regime, he has barely been seen for a decade.
His formal entry into an election whose rules are still contested by Libya’s squabbling factions may also cast new questions over a contest that features candidates viewed in some regions as unacceptable.
Despite the public backing of most Libyan factions and foreign powers for elections on Dec. 24, the vote remains in doubt as rival entities bicker over the rules and schedule.
A major conference in Paris on Friday agreed to sanction any who disrupt or prevent the vote, but with less than six weeks to go, there is still no agreement on rules to govern who should be able to run.
While Gaddafi is likely to play on nostalgia for the era before the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that swept his father from power and ushered in a decade of chaos and violence, analysts say he may not prove to be a front runner.