North Korea declares COVID “victory”, lifts restrictions and drops mask mandates

Umamah Bakharia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared Covid victory after the country announces no new cases since late July.

Kim presided over a COVID meeting on Wednesday announced “victory … in the war against the malignant pandemic disease.”

His sister Kim Yo Jong also spoke at the Pyongyang meeting as she blamed the outbreak on anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown across the border by activists from South Korea.

“We must counter it toughly,” she said. Adding that, “We have already considered various counteraction plans, but our countermeasure must be a deadly retaliatory one.”

Since the Covid outbreak in 2020, North Korea for the most part kept its borders close. However in May, the isolated country revealed that it was battling an outbreak of the omicron variant and imposed a “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system”.

The nation has since reported no new cases of the virus since 29 July.

Community heroes rally to rescue 1000 endangered Knysna seahorses in Plettenberg Bay

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za 2 October 2023 | 14:00 SAST 1-min read Around 1,000 Knysna seahorses found themselves in a precarious situation recently, but thanks to the efforts of over 100 residents from Plettenberg Bay, these endangered marine creatures...

Dan Mafora’s book examines attacks on the judiciary and constitution in South Africa

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za 2 October 2023 | 13:22 SAST 2-min read In an interview on Radio Islam International, senior researcher at CASAC (Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution) Dan Mafora discussed his new book, Capture in the...

Palestine Report

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za 2 October 2023 | 10:40am SAST 2-min read The focus during this week’s Palestine Report with Moulana Ebrahim Moosa on Radio Islam International was on the current situation at Masjid al-Aqsa. In addition, Saudi-Israeli...

SA is running out of money, analyst say

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 30 September 2023 | 19:25 CAT Earlier this month, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana made a startling claim that "South Africa has run out of money". National Treasury data showed that the budget moved to a deficit...

Eswatini, one of the last absolute monarchies, holds an election without political parties

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 30 September 2023 | 14:41 CAT Eswatini, the country formally known as Swaziland, held elections Friday to decide part of the makeup of its Parliament, even as its extremely wealthy King retains absolute power,...

Faith communities welcome Eskom’s release of crucial information about safety at Koeberg

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 30 September 2023 | 12:07 CAT The Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute, or SAFCEI, says they are satisfied with the news that Eskom has finally bowed to legal pressure from Koeberg nuclear...