Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
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Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)

A Chinese naval formation led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed through waters northeast of Taiwan on Wednesday and continued towards the southeast of Japan's Yonaguni Island, Taipei's government said.

"During this period, the armed forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

The voyage came after the Chinese military tailed a US aircraft that flew through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Beijing's army said, vowing to "resolutely defend national sovereignty".

"On September 17, a US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait," Li Xi, a senior captain and spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said in a statement.

"Theater troops are on constant high alert to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability."

Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and claims jurisdiction over the waterway that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have sailed through the Taiwan Strait several times in recent years as Beijing intensified military and political pressure on the island.

Taiwan's military has reported near daily sightings of Chinese warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island.

On Wednesday, the defense ministry said nine Chinese military aircraft, 13 naval vessels and one official ship were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday).

It said in a second statement that a further 15 Chinese warplanes were detected on Wednesday, of which 12 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait "in conducting air-sea joint training" with Chinese naval vessels.

"The People's Liberation Army also fired multiple launched rockets in the inland Gansu area," it added.



WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
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WHO Says Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills 8 in Tanzania

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses a press conference on the Marburg virus outbreak at the Kigali Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo

The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.
“We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.
Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg.
WHO said its risk assessment for the suspected outbreak in Tanzania is high at national and regional levels but low globally. There was no immediate comment from Tanzanian health authorities.
An outbreak of Marburg in Rwanda, first reported on Sept. 27, was declared over on Dec. 20. Rwandan officials reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients.