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Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky on Wednesday in a drill simulating a war scenario, showing its combat readiness amid heightened military tensions with China, which claims the island as its own.

Before takeoff, flight crews at a base in the southern city of Chiayi - home to U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that are frequently scrambled to intercept Chinese warplanes - rushed to ready aircraft as an alarm sounded.

The exercises were part of a three-day drill to show Taiwan's battle readiness ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of this month.

Tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait have been rising in the past few years, with Taiwan complaining of repeated missions by China's air force near the democratic island.

Chinese military aircraft frequently fly into the southwestern part of its air defence identification zone (ADIZ), airspace around the island that Taiwan monitors and patrols.

"With the very high frequency of Communist planes entering our ADIZ, pilots from our wing are very experienced and have dealt with almost all types of their aircraft," Major Yen Hsiang-sheng told reporters, recalling a mission in which he was dispatched to intercept Chinese J-16 fighters late last year.

China has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Taiwan has termed China's activities as "grey zone" warfare, designed to both wear out Taiwan's forces by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test its responses.

In a new year message for China last week, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said military conflict is not the answer. Beijing responded with a stern warning that if Taiwan crossed any red line it would lead to "profound catastrophe".  (Reuters)

New COVID-19 cases in India surged to 58,097 on Wednesday, a doubling of the daily tally over the past four days, as health experts called for preparations to ensure hospitals are not overwhelmed by a new wave of patients.

While doctors fretted, politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appeared less concerned by the rising case numbers with many of them holding rallies ahead of assembly elections in several states.

Infections have been increasing sharply in cities, with the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus becoming dominant in places like New Delhi, authorities said.

India has confirmed nearly 2,000 cases of the variant with many more expected, lending an urgency to calls for hospitals to get ready.

"With infections expected to be skyrocketing we need: clear communication about self-care to prevent panic-driven trips to the hospitals," Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan, wrote on Twitter.

"Scale up hospital capacity and optimise care to those who really need it," she said.

New Delhi's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences cancelled a winter holiday for staff between Jan. 5 and 10. Many doctors and nurses have contracted the virus in recent days.

"Ensure maximum preparedness against a possible surge in cases," the health ministry told state authorities on Tuesday.

Authorities, especially in Delhi, have repeatedly said only those who actually need round-the-clock monitoring should go to hospital while others should recover at home.

Delhi tightened up virus mitigation measures on Tuesday, ordering people to stay home on the weekends, in addition to a night curfew.

Many other cities have announced curfews but politicians have not called off their election rallies, at which few people wear masks.

Such gatherings last March and April helped the Delta coronavirus variant infect millions of people in India, killing tens of thousands of them.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday he had tested positive a day after attending an election rally where none of the people on a dais, including him, could be seen wearing a mask.

Modi will on Wednesday attend the inauguration of various projects in Punjab state, his latest visit to several states holding elections in coming weeks.

Health ministry officials have said COVID-safety measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing apply to all, including politicians, though few seem to heed the advice.

India has had more than 35 million cases, the second highest tally after the United States

The health ministry reported 534 new deaths on Wednesday, taking that toll to 482,551. (Reuters)

 Australia's daily COVID-19 cases hit a record high for a third day on Wednesday, further straining hospital resources and testing facilities as public anger grew over the handling of the fast-moving outbreak of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Many Australians, already unhappy about long queues at public testing centres and a shortage of at-home tests, were further incensed when news broke that tennis world number one Novak Djokovic had been given a medical exemption to enter the country.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure at the start of an election year, announced a further relaxing of testing requirements to shorten long lines, and provided access to free rapid antigen tests for pensioners, the poor and veterans.

The rapid surge in cases in recent weeks has led to long lines at publicly-funded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing centres. That prompted authorities to ask people to only seek PCR tests if symptomatic, which in turn led to a shortage of rapid antigen tests, which can be used at home.

Morrison said supply would remain tight over the next few weeks, with 200 million in new supplies coming in over the next two months.

"There are no magic solutions, full stop. And so this virus will continue to challenge us, and it's important that we all remain calm," Morrison said after a National Cabinet meeting.

Officials reported a record 64,774 new cases, the majority in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, the country's two most populous states. That exceeded the previous day's tally of around 47,800. read more

Infections have surged from only around 1,200 a day since late November, when the first Omicron case was detected in the country.

Australia has recorded more than 612,000 cases and 2,290 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic began, with more than half of those infections reported over the past two weeks.

People admitted to hospitals in NSW and Victoria rose 10% over the previous day, and authorities warned those numbers would rise further over the next several weeks.

"We have got some challenging weeks ahead of us," NSW Deputy Health Secretary Susan Pearce told reporters.

Under eased rules announced on Wednesday, incoming travelers will no longer need a second rapid antigen test if they test negative in a first test on arrival. The government also removed the requirement for a PCR test to confirm a positive rapid antigen test.

'TAKEN FOR FOOLS'

Authorities also fielded sharp criticism about the decision to grant Djokovic, who has declined to reveal his vaccination status but has previously stated his objection to mandatory vaccines, a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam tournament. read more

The decision prompted an outcry on social media and criticism from other sports people, medical professionals and lawmakers.

Former Australian Rules player Kevin Bartlett tweeted that Australians "have been taken for fools," while another former player Corey McKernan tweeted: "People with loved ones who are dying/some needing urgent treatment cannot get into their own states. You tell people they can't go to Coles [supermarket] or a cafe without being vaxxed but if you're world number one you get a pass?"

Many Australians, and particularly those in Melbourne which hosts the year's first tennis major later this month, have been subjected to a series of lengthy lockdowns over the past two years.

Federal and state government heavily pushed the importance of vaccinations. As a result, 90% of people over 16 have been double dosed and a booster programme is rolling out. read more

Stephen Parnis, a former vice-president of the Australian Medical Association, said on Twitter that Djokovic's approval "sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce" the risk of COVID-19. "#Vaccination shows respect, Novak."

Tennis Australia and the Victorian state government said Djokovic did not receive any special treatment in a blind review process that involved a panel of health experts.

When asked his opinion, Morrison said Djokovic will have to provide acceptable proof that he cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

"My view is he should be treated no different to anyone else," Morrison told reporters. (Reuters)

The South Korean government said on Wednesday it will appeal against a court order to exclude private education facilities from a COVID-19 vaccine pass mandate, the first major legal tussle over vaccinations that have been widely accepted.

A Seoul administrative court ruled on Tuesday that private education facilities such as cram schools, reading rooms and study cafes should be temporarily exempted from the mandate, granting an injunction requested by coalitions of private education providers and parents' groups.

"We think it is necessary to expand the vaccine mandate to stabilise the current situation and expedite the recovery of our normal daily lives," health ministry spokesman Son Young-rae told a briefing.

"We will carry out the suit as rapidly and diligently as possible, and immediately appeal against the injunction."

South Korea has largely been one of Asia's coronavirus mitigation success stories even though it has suffered regular flare-ups in infections.

More than 90% of South Koreans aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.

The vaccine mandate, one of the most stringent in the region, requires proof of vaccination and a booster to gain access to most public facilities, including restaurants, bars, gyms, department stores and large supermarkets, as well as privately run educational centres.

It does not apply to public schools.

But it has triggered an uproar among some parents who refuse to vaccinate their children mainly due to concern about possible side effects. They have called the mandate "vaccine dictatorship."

The policy took effect on Monday for people aged 18 and older and will begin for teenagers in March, after a delay following the backlash.

Infections have been surging among teenagers since distancing curbs were eased in November, under a plan to "live with COVID-19", including the resumption of full-time in-person classes in schools.

The government reinstated the curbs after just six weeks as record-breaking daily tallies and serious cases put ever greater strains on the medical system. read more

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 4,444 new cases for Tuesday, bringing total infections to 649,669 with 5,838 deaths. (reuters)