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December
Taliban release decree saying women must consent to marriage
Written by Nur Yasmin
Afghanistan's Taliban government on Friday released a decree on women's rights which said women should not be considered "property" and must consent to marriage but failed to mention female access to education or work outside the home.
The Taliban has been under pressure from the international community, who have mostly frozen funds for Afghanistan, to commit to upholding women's rights since the hardline Islamist group took over the country on Aug. 15.
"A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace...or to end animosity," the Taliban decree, released by spokesman Zabihillah Muhajid, said.
It set out the rules governing marriage and property for women, stating women should not be forced into marriage and widows should have share in their late husband's property.
Courts should take into account the rules when making decisions, and religious affairs and information ministries should promote these rights, the decree said.
However, it made no mention of women being able to work or access facilities outside the home or education, which have been major concerns from the international community.
During its previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned women from leaving the house without a male relative and full face and head covering and girls from receiving education.
The Taliban say they have changed and high schools for girls in some provinces have been allowed to open. But many women and rights advocates remain sceptical.
The international community, which has frozen billions in central bank funds and development spending, has made women's rights a key element of any future engagement with Afghanistan.
The country, which is also suffering from a banking liquidity crisis as the cash flow dries up due to sanctions, is facing the risk of economic collapse since the Taliban took over. (Reuters)
December
Australia records first Omicron community case, authorities hold nerve for now
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia on Friday reported its first community transmission of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, but authorities held steady on a plan to reopen the economy amid hopes it would prove to be milder than previous strains.
The new case, a school student from Sydney, was the first confirmed Omicron infection of a person who had not travelled overseas, a sign the variant was now in the community, authorities in New South Wales state said.
"Transmission is always a concern but we again need to keep it in perspective," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters, explaining why Australia's most populous state was not reversing its staged reopening from strict lockdowns imposed in July due to the Delta variant.
"Worldwide there is no clarity around whether this particular variant is going to cause us anywhere near the problems that the earlier variants caused us."
Australia now has nine confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, eight in NSW, where a third of the country's 25 million people live. Although some states have tightened domestic border controls, the federal government is hoping to avoid a return to stop-start lockdowns.
Even so, it has postponed by two weeks a plan to let foreign students and skilled migrants into the country, and Australians returning from southern Africa must complete two weeks of hotel quarantine.
Asked if the federal government would stop targeting arrivals from southern Africa, now that the new variant was no longer limited to people who had been there, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said "we will continue to review the medical advice, but we follow it because it has kept Australia safe."
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, the government's top health adviser, said Australia would not recommend bringing forward vaccine booster shots, as other countries have done, as there was "no evidence" this would improve protection against Omicron.
Australia's aggressive COVID-19 response has helped it avoid the high numbers of COVID-19 deaths recorded in many other countries, with about 212,000 cases and 2,000 deaths.
The country's remote Northern Territory, which is home to most of its indigenous population, recorded its first COVID-19 death, an indigenous woman in her 70s. (Reuters)
December
Croatia's tourism sector short of one-third of workforce for next year
Written by Nur Yasmin
Croatia's tourist facilities face a shortage of up to one-third of their workforce next year, head of the national association of biggest tourist firms Veljko Ostojic said on Friday.
Croatia's tourist industry, largely focused on the summer months on the popular Adriatic coast, accounts to almost 20% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and many seasonal workers can earn more in other countries.
"Some 100,000 people work in the tourist sector and we are missing some 30,000 to 35,000 people. The tourist businesses have no time to wait and many have kicked off campaigns to seek skilled people," Ostojic told Reuters.
Besides at local job market, the hoteliers and restaurant and bar owners seek skilled workers in other Balkan countries like Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia or Montenegro, but also in some more distant areas like Ukraine or the Philippines.
They compete with better paid jobs in more affluent European Union countries, like Austria or Germany. From January Switzerland opens its job market for Croats which puts additional pressure on tourist businesses.
"The salaries for waiters or cooks are twice higher in Austria, for example, but we could compete with attractive accommodation conditions, quicker paperwork for working permits, lack of language barrier and proximity to home for the Balkan workers," Ostojic said.
Aminess, a northern Adriatic hotelier, is seeking 1,000 seasonal workers for next summer and has just kicked off a campaign to attract workers for positions like cooks, waiters, butchers, entertainers and cleaning staff.
"We seek workers with experience or adequate education, but it is not a must as we also invest in education of future employees. We will invest one million kuna ($150,102) next year," said Marina Peric, head of human resources in Aminess.
Ostojic said that tourist sector is urging digitalisation of paperwork for obtaining work permits for those coming from outside the EU.
"Without a workforce some facilities will remain closed or must shorten working hours," he said. (Reuters)
December
As global costs soar, Japan's 'shrinkflation' gets harder to swallow
Written by Nur Yasmin
It was a chocolate biscuit that turned Masayuki Iwasa, a self-professed penny-pincher with a sweet tooth, into one of Japan's most scrupulous chroniclers of "shrinkflation".
Having sworn off his favourite Chocoliere tartlets for a decade after Bourbon Corp (2208.T) reduced the package size, the newspaper delivery man and part-time stock trader was spurred to action around two years ago after he noticed the biscuits had also gotten smaller.
"I was annoyed they were shrinking and shrinking," said the 45-year-old Iwasa, whose website, www.neage.jp (price increases), documents surreptitious price hikes.
Today he tracks prices of some 400 goods and services - everything from washing powder to day passes at Tokyo Disneyland. The bulk of his website is devoted to so-called shrinkflation, when a product gets smaller but the price stays the same.
"In Japan, the impact of deflation means it is difficult to raise prices directly, so shrinkflation is a kind of a measure of last resort," Iwasa said. "But basically it's sneaky and it bothers me."
While the practice is hardly unique to Japan - Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ.O) sparked a global outcry when it reduced the size of the Toblerone chocolate bar in 2016 - its prevalence in the world's No.3 economy is a notable legacy of years of deflation.
Because consumer prices and wages barely budged for the last two decades, companies have become reluctant to increase prices for fear of losing customers.
That's a headache for policymakers, who ultimately want to see higher prices that are an essential component to a virtuous spending cycle that drives economic growth, especially as the population ages and declines.
There are now signs that even Japan Inc may be nearing a tipping point, as soaring raw material costs and a weak yen drive up what companies pay for fuel, coffee beans and beef.
While only 14% of Japanese firms have so far passed on higher costs to customers, another 40% say they plan to, a recent Reuters poll showed.
Yet food companies are among the least willing to pass on costs, the survey showed, reflecting their fear of alienating shoppers.
"As the price of raw materials increases, food manufacturers would like to raise prices but it is difficult for them to do that," said Tsutomu Watanabe, an economics professor at the University of Tokyo.
Watanabe said many companies will balk at outright price increases, just as they did in 2008 during another commodities surge and in 2013-2014 when the yen weakened sharply, leaving shrinkflation as one of the few ways to protect margins.
CONSUMER BACKLASH
In 2008, Bourbon cut the number of Chocoliere biscuits in a 150 yen ($1.30) packet to 14 from 16, citing higher costs, according to Iwasa's website, which uses company announcements, internet archives and other public information to track prices.
Bourbon later shaved just under a gram off each of the confections, reducing the packet size to 110.6 grams from 122.5 grams.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Kameda Seika Co (2220.T) was hit with criticism this year after it reduced the contents of packages of its "kaki pi" rice cracker and peanut mix by 5% to 190 grams.
The size was cut because Kameda could no longer offset rising commodity and transport costs with belt-tightening elsewhere, a spokesperson told Reuters.
Calbee Inc (2229.T) said it will reduce the contents of some of its potato chips and Jagarico potato sticks by about 5% from next month. Separately, it will raise prices of more than a dozen potato chip products by up to 10%.
The snack maker received more negative feedback from customers over the shrinkage than the price hikes, said spokesperson Satoshi Yoshida.
"There may be customers who have had such a negative experience in which they felt deceived and have a bad memory of it," he said.
Lotte Co was criticised when it announced a renewal of its Bacchus chocolates in Japan last year, without mentioning it had cut the package to 10 pieces from 12, according to posts online.
Spokesperson Yuichi Nitanai confirmed the reduction but declined to comment further.
The government's official consumer price index takes into account reduced package sizes, said an official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which compiles the index.
But the impact of shrinkflation may still not be fully reflected in that data because the government index tends to use leading brands, whereas shrinkflation is more prevalent at lesser known companies, said University of Tokyo's Watanabe.
"Top firms have a certain amount of pride and don't want to be seen doing something that looks unattractive such as shrinkflation," he said. (Reuters)
December
WHO urges Asia-Pacific to ready for Omicron-driven surge in infections
Written by Nur Yasmin
Asia-Pacific countries should boost their healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
First detected in southern Africa last month and dubbed a "variant of concern" by the WHO, scientists are still gathering data to establish how contagious Omicron is, and the severity of the illness it causes.
It has been reported in at least two dozen countries, and started gaining a foothold in Asia this week, with cases reported from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Many governments have responded by tightening travel rules. read more
"Border controls can buy time but every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases," Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the western Pacific, told a virtual media briefing.
"People should not only rely on border measures. What is most important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far the information available suggests we don't have to change our approach," Kasai said.
Kasai said countries must utilise lessons learned from dealing with the Delta variant and urged them to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and implement preventive measures such as mask wearing and social distancing rules.
Despite restrictions on international visitors, Australia became the latest country on Friday to report community transmission of Omicron, a day after it was found locally in five U.S. states. (Reuters)
December
WHO says vaccination, not travel curbs, key to battling Omicron
Written by Nur Yasmin
The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to boost healthcare capacity and vaccinate their people to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant, and said travel curbs could buy time but alone were not the answer.
Despite shutting its borders to travel from high-risk southern African countries, Australia became the latest country to report community transmission of the new variant, a day after it was found in five U.S. states.
Omicron has gained a foothold in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe and has reached seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, where it was first identified. read more Many governments have tightened travel rules to keep the variant out.
"Border controls can buy time but every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases," Takeshi Kasai, the WHO's western Pacific director, told a media briefing.
"People should not only rely on border measures. What is most important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far the information available suggests we don't have to change our approach."
Kasai urged countries to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and stick to preventive measures such as mask wearing and social distancing.
Omicron has been listed as a "variant of concern" by the WHO and scientists are still gathering data to establish how severe and contagious it is just as parts of Europe have been hit by surges of winter infections by the more familiar Delta variant.
Michelle Groome, a scientist with South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said the country was facing an unprecedented rise in infections due to Omicron.
Almost 264 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus since it was first detected in central China in late 2019 and 5.48 million people have died, according to a Reuters tally. read more
'SCIENCE AND SPEED'
Vaccination rates vary from country to country but there are worrying gaps in poorer countries. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and once Asia's COVID-19 epicentre, has fully inoculated only about 35% of its population.
Australia's chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said Omicron was likely to become the dominant variant globally within months, but at this stage there was no evidence it was any more dangerous than Delta.
In the United States, the Biden administration announced measures to guard against the virus spreading. From Monday, international air travellersarriving in the United States will have to have obtained a negative COVID-19 test within a day of travel. read more
"We're going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion," President Joe Biden said.
Fewer than 60% of the U.S. population have been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates among wealthy nations.
Global travel curbs have accelerated with Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway and Russia, among others, announcing new measures on Thursday.
Aside from wreaking havoc in the travel industry, the clampdown has pounded financial markets and undermined major economies just as they were beginning to recover from the lockdowns triggered by Delta.
Germany said it would bar the unvaccinated from all but essential businesses, and legislation to make vaccination mandatory would be drafted for early next year. read more
Several countries, including Britain and the United States, were bringing forward plans to offer booster shots, but, like travel bans, they are controversial.
Many scientists say the way to stop the virus spreading is to make sure poorer countries have access to vaccines, not to give blanket booster shots to people in richer countries. (Reuters)
December
ASEAN appoints ten sports ambassadors to promote gender equality
Written by nuke
ASEAN and Japan Logo -
ASEAN and Japan established the ASEAN-Japan Cooperation on Sports at the first ASEAN Plus Japan Ministerial Meeting on Sports (1st AMMS+Japan) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in 2017. Sharing the same concerns on gender equality in sports, the ASEAN-Japan Cooperation agreed on developing the ASEAN-Japan Actions on Sports. The project’s main purpose is to promote women’s and girls’ participation in sports, including female athletes, coaches, and female leaders in sports organisations.
The first activity, “ASEAN-Japan Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports,” took place on 10 -13 August 2021. It was hosted by the Japanese Centre for Research on Women in Sport of Juntendo University, through collaboration with Japan Sports Agency, ASEAN Secretariat and UN Women. The four-day online workshop featured 60 sports professionals and youth from 10 ASEAN Member States, Japan and ASEAN Secretariat.
Through this event, ASEAN and Japan hope to strengthen their cooperation by promoting gender equality in and through sports, as well as to empower women and girls in ASEAN Member States through life skills and leadership training in sports.
Building on the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games, ASEAN appointed ten prominent athletes and sports officials as ASEAN Women in Sports Ambassadors. The ambassadors will use their influence to promote gender equality and women empowerment through sports, across the region and spread encouraging messages to the ASEAN Community. This initiative is part of the Japan-funded ASEAN #WeScore Campaign.
The appointed ASEAN Women in Sports Ambassadors are HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni'matul Bolkiah (polo athlete from Brunei Darussalam), Sokha Pov (traditional martial arts athlete from Cambodia), Leani Ratri Oktila (Indonesian para-badminton athlete), Soulamphone Kerdla (head coach of Lao PDR’s national swimming team), Farah Ann Abdul Hadi (Malaysian gymnast), Soe Soe Myar (Myanmar taekwondo athlete and referee), Hidilyn Diaz (Filipino weightlifter), Amita Berthier (Singaporean fencer), Panikpak Wongpattanakit (Thailand’s taekwondo athlete) and Tuyet Van Chau (Vietnamese taekwondo athlete).
They will share their views on women empowerment in an upcoming talk show to be held at the ASEAN Secretariat on December 3, which coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence annual campaign. The talk show will touch on issues such as gender equality and women’s leadership, safeguarding of women and girls in sports, promoting the rights of persons with disabilities through sports, as well as the impacts of COVID-19 on sports and how to address it.
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Ekkaphab Phanthavong, along with Director Tomohiko Arai (International Affairs Division Japan Sports Agency SOMS Leader), Assistant Professor Aya Noguchi (Juntendo University's Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences), and Jamshed M. Kazi (UN Women Country Representative, Indonesia and Liaison to ASEAN) will take part in the event.
ASEAN #WeScore campaign forms part of the ASEAN-Japan Actions on Sports, a project under the ASEAN Plus Japan Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS+Japan) funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund. Prior to the talk show, the ASEAN Secretariat will hold a Tribute to Tokyo 2020 ASEAN Olympic and Paralympic Medallists.
ASEAN #WeScore Campaign contributes to the implementation of ASEAN Work Plan on Sports 2021-2025 and is in line with ASEAN Vision 2025 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering All Women and Girls//VOI-NK
December
U.S. has rock solid commitment to help Taiwan defend itself -official
Written by Nur Yasmin
Threats and coercion by China towards Taiwan increase the need for the United States to help Taiwan maintain a credible self-defense, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Thursday.
Assistant Secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, speaking in Singapore during a visit to Southeast Asia, said the U.S. has a rock solid commitment to assist Taiwan.
"As the threat and coercion from the People's Republic of China increases, I think we need to respond as well in an appropriate way," Kritenbrink told reporters in Singapore, specifically citing support over self-defence and trade.
"We intend to live up to our obligations, our rock solid obligations and commitments," he added.
Kritenbrink also said he had spoken to counterparts in Malaysia about the country doing more to enforce laws it has in place to combat human trafficking and labour abuses.
"We believe Malaysia needs to do more ... to protect victims and crack down on traffickers," he said.
This year the U.S. State Department downgraded Malaysia to the worst ranking in its human trafficking watchlist. read more
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has banned six Malaysian firms, including rubber glove makers and palm oil producers, in the last two years from selling their products to the United States after finding evidence of forced labour.
Kritenbrink said he had also spoken to Southeast Asian leaders about putting more pressure on the military junta in Myanmar, without going into specifics. (Reuters)
December
Australia Omicron count edges higher, health authorities on edge
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's tally of people with the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 edged higher on Thursday, prompting state governments to bolster domestic border controls as health experts wait to learn more about the dangers posed by the strain.
The country's most populous state, New South Wales, reported its seventh case of the variant, a person who arrived on Nov. 23 from Doha, Qatar, and noted that the person had not been in southern Africa, suggesting they caught the virus on the flight.
While the Australian federal government has urged states to avoid a return to the stop-start lockdowns that have defined the country's virus response, health authorities urged caution until they knew more about Omicron's infectiousness and virulence.
"We know this virus is dangerous, it does come out in some different forms," New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters.
"Don't take it lightly."
The state's capital, Sydney, Australia's largest city, came out of nearly four months of lockdown to contain a Delta outbreak in early October and has been gradually easing curbs as vaccination rates have risen.
But other state governments have been upping their restrictions on interstate arrivals. South Australia, which has no recorded Omicron cases, said it would make all people arriving from New South Wales take a COVID test.
The tourism-friendly island state of Tasmania said this week it would ban most overseas arrivals, at odds with federal government moves to allow vaccinated Australians entry into the country if they undertake home quarantine.
Australia has also delayed by two weeks its plan to reopen borders to skilled migrants and foreign students, while citizens returning from southern African countries must undertake two weeks of hotel quarantine.
Australia's closed international border and tough restrictions on domestic movement helped it avoid the high numbers of COVID-19 deaths recorded in many other countries, with about 212,000 cases and 2,000 deaths. (Reuters)
December
Japan drops ban on inbound flight bookings after confusion
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan on Thursday reversed a ban on inbound flight reservations, revealing confusion between government agencies and the public over Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's strategy to keep out the Omicron coronavirus variant.
On Monday, Japan's aviation bureau told airlines not to accept new reservations for December because of Omicron, two cases of which have been found in the country, but the abrupt announcement provoked worries among those aiming to return for year-end holidays.
Kishida said the move caused confusion, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno added that the prime minister had asked the transport ministry, which oversees the airline industry, to keep in mind the needs of returning Japanese.
"I understand the transport ministry has cancelled its instruction for the blanket suspension of new reservations and asked airlines anew to give sufficient consideration to the needs of returning Japanese nationals," Matsuno told a regular news conference.
Airlines may take new reservations as long as the number of arrivals stays below a daily limit of 3,500, down from last month's figure of 5,000, a transport ministry official said.
On Monday, Kishida banned new foreign entrants to Japan, unwinding border opening measures that started last month. Later, the ban widened to foreign residents of Japan arriving from 10 nations in Africa, where Omicron was first identified.
The curbs on new flight reservations came to light on Wednesday.
On Thursday, transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters the aviation bureau had "responded speedily from the standpoint of emergency and prevention".
Later on Thursday, in a further tightening of rules, the Nikkei reported that the issuance of visas for special purposes, such as for athletes and musicians, was being temporarily suspended.
Earlier, the Japan Skating Federation said the prestigious figure skating Grand Prix final, a step on the road to the Winter Olympics that was scheduled for next week in the western city of Osaka, had been cancelled. (Reuters)