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August
First Hong Kong election under revamped system to be largely uncontested
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pro-Beijing candidates are running uncontested for most seats in a Hong Kong election committee tasked with choosing the city's leader, with the pro-democracy camp almost absent, government announcements showed on Friday.
The Sept. 19 vote for the committee is the first election since China overhauled Hong Kong's electoral system in May to ensure the former British colony is run by "patriots" loyal to Beijing. read more
After the one-week nomination period ended on Thursday, the government said it had received just 1,056 nominations for the 980 seats open to competition.
A new committee which can disqualify candidates is tasked by law to work closely with Chinese security authorities to vet contenders for the election committee as well as the leadership election in 2022.
The composition of the election committee is the latest blow to the opposition movement which has seen scores of members arrested, jailed or flee Hong Kong since Beijing imposed a national security law on the city last year.
Membership of the committee for 117 community-level district councillors dominated by democrats was scrapped and more than 500 seats designated for Chinese business, political and interest groups were added.
Representation from professional subsectors that traditionally had a bigger pro-democracy presence, including legal, education, social welfare, medical and health services, was diluted by the addition of ex-officio members which reduced the number of elected seats.
Twenty-three of the 36 subsectors that are open for contest, totalling about 600 seats, will not see any competition because the number of candidates matched the number of seats, suggesting coordination of nominations.
CHANGE OF GUARD
About 70% of the nominees were new faces who did not feature in the last two polls for the committee, which will have 1,500 members instead of the previous 1,200, Reuters calculations based on the election committee website showed.
China had promised universal suffrage as an ultimate goal for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which also states the city has wide-ranging autonomy from Beijing.
Democracy campaigners and Western countries say the political overhaul moves the city in the opposite direction, leaving the democratic opposition with the most limited space it has had since the handover in 1997.
Many of the city's prominent tycoons, including Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, will not be on the election committee for the first time, as Beijing seeks to rebalance power from big conglomerates to small businesses.
Li, of Cheung Kong Holdings, together with other property moguls, Lee Shau-kee of Henderson Land, both 93, and Henry Cheng, 74, of New World Development, withdrew from the race, although their sons will retain the seats they already hold.
The election committee will elect 40 seats in the revamped Legislative Council in December, and choose a Hong Kong chief executive in March, 2022. (Reuters)
August
Malaysia c.bank slashes 2021 growth outlook on COVID-19 surge, lockdowns
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia's economy expanded more quickly than expected on an annual basis in the second quarter, but the central bank slashed its 2021 growth forecast as rising COVID-19 cases and new lockdown measures weighed on the outlook.
Gross domestic product rose 16.1% from a COVID-induced slump a year ago, helped by an improvement in domestic demand and robust exports, and beating expectations for 14.3% growth in a Reuters poll of economists.
The economy bounced back from its worst contraction in over two decades in the second-quarter of 2020.
But gross domestic product shrank on a quarterly basis while the central bank cut its full-year growth forecast to 3.0%-4.0% from 6-7.5% previously.
Malaysia has seen a resurgence of COVID-19 infections due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus, reporting record-high cases and deaths in recent days, and has grappled with some form of lockdown since May. read more
But the central bank is optimistic that the country's vaccination drive will allow for a gradual reopening of the economy and a rebound in the second half of the year.
"Malaysia's growth recovery is expected to broadly resume in the later part of the second half of 2021 and improve going into 2022," Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said in a statement.
Capital Economics economist Alex Holmes said that while Malaysia's immediate outlook has deteriorated, its ramped up inoculation program should offer some hope.
About 50% of the total population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"While we expect weakness to continue this quarter, we have a strong bounce back pencilled in for Q4 and are sticking with our full-year GDP growth estimate of 5%," Holmes said in a research note.
On a quarterly basis, the economy shrank 2% in the second quarter of 2021, after growing 2.7% in the first three months of the year.
ACCOMMODATIVE MONETARY POLICY
While the central bank expected GDP to return to pre-pandemic levels by the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Governor Nor Shamsiah said the bank's monetary policy will remain accommodative and that it has the policy space to respond further if necessary.
The central bank cut its policy rate by 125 basis points in 2020 to help the economy withstand the fallout of the pandemic while the government has also rolled out over 340 billion ringgit ($80.28 billion) in stimulus and aid measures since last year.
OCBC economist Wellian Wiranto said the "severe slashing" of the 2021 outlook may be a prelude to an interest rate cut next month.
"Even as it pointed out a gradual recovery to come in Q4 and growth acceleration into next year, the bodily blows that the economy is suffering through now, as reflected in the new downbeat forecast, necessitates a response in the form of easing," he said.
The central bank also said it will ensure that financial markets remain orderly, in response to a question about political instability in the country.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has faced infighting in his governing coalition for months. The premier last week rejected fresh calls to quit and said he will face a confidence vote in parliament next month to test his majority. read more
"Political stability will certainly provide policy certainty," said Nor Shamsiah. (Reuters)
August
U.S. mobilizes 3,000 troops to Kabul for embassy staff drawdown
Written by Nur Yasmin
Faced with unexpectedly rapid military gains by the Taliban, the United States decided on Thursday to dramatically scale down its embassy in Kabul and send about 3,000 troops temporarily to aid the evacuation of staff.
News of the drawdown, which was first reported by Reuters, underscored Washington's rapidly deteriorating hopes that diplomacy will halt the Taliban's advance and keep the capital in the Afghan government's hands. The Taliban could isolate Kabul within 30 days and take it over in 90, U.S. intelligence assessments concluded this week. read more
"We've been evaluating the security situation every day to determine how best to keep those serving at the embassy safe," said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
"We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in the coming weeks," he said, adding the embassy was not closed. A person familiar with the matter said there were no guarantees the embassy would remain open.
The State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday and told him the United States "remains invested in the security and stability of Afghanistan" in the face of Taliban violence.
They said Washington was reducing its "civilian footprint" in Kabul given the "evolving security situation" and would increase the tempo of Special Immigration Visa flights for Afghans who helped the U.S. effort in the country, a State Department statement said.
The officials also said Washington remained committed to maintaining a strong diplomatic and security relationship with the Afghan government and "Secretary Blinken affirmed that the United States remained committed to support a political solution to the conflict," it added.
President Joe Biden ordered the embassy drawdown during a meeting on Thursday with top security advisers and accepted their recommendation to do so, according to a source familiar with the situation.
A decision to stay in the country might have required the commitment of many more U.S. troops there to fight a civil war, the source said, as the United States looks to end its 20-year presence prompted by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Still, the decision cast new doubt on Washington's strategy to influence Afghanistan's peace process by maintaining aid and diplomatic personnel even after the troop withdrawal.
Administration officials did not adjust that timetable even as Biden ordered additional troops to Afghanistan to help secure the exit of civilian personnel. The first deployment to the airport in Kabul is expected within 24 to 48 hours, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
About 3,500 additional U.S. troops would be sent to the region from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to be on standby if the situation worsened, as well as 1,000 personnel to help process Afghans going through a special immigration process. It is common for the U.S. military to send in troops to evacuate personnel in combat zones.
"I don't know that we have many choices left," said Ronald Neumann, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007, about the decision to downsize the embassy. "What's left between Kabul and the Taliban?"
STAFF REDUCTION TO BE 'SIGNIFICANT'
Some Republican lawmakers who opposed Biden's decision to withdraw troops said they thought it was a good idea to add them now to support the embassy drawdown.
"The Biden administration must move as swiftly as possible to get both American civilians and Afghans who have aided us out of the country as quickly as possible," said Senator Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.
There are thought to be about 1,400 staff remaining at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Officials said the reduction in staff would be "significant."
The military mission in Afghanistan is set to end on Aug. 31, with roughly 650 troops remaining in the country to protect the airport and embassy.
Washington is not counting on a power-sharing agreement being reached between the Kabul government and the Taliban but is seeking one to halt the fighting, according to one source. The United States has told the Taliban directly that they will face consequences if Americans are not safe, the source said.
"While the security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, our strategy in the region must continue to evolve," said Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "The safety and security of United States personnel must always come first." (Reuters)
August
S.Korea signs new Pfizer vaccine deal; asks people to cut travel
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea on Friday signed a deal to buy 30 million doses of Pfizer's (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine for 2022, and the government urged people to cut holiday travel amid a worsening fourth wave of infections and a slow inoculation campaign.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum asked companies to be flexible about allowing people to work from home and urged those returning from holiday to get tested, especially before clocking in for work.
The government's efforts to curb fresh cases have been stymied by the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, which has made contact tracing hard in the peak summer travel season. Supply bottlenecks at vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.O) have added to its problems.
South Korea has secured a total of 193 million doses of vaccines, including from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Novavax (NVAX.O). It has fully vaccinated 17.4% of its 52 million population.
Under an existing contract with Pfizer for 66 million doses this year, the country has received 17.88 million.
Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing on Friday that the doses under the new Pfizer contract would start to arrive in the first quarter of 2022, and South Korea had the option to buy another 30 million doses.
Separately, on Friday morning, a government delegation left for Boston for talks with Moderna over the U.S. vaccine maker's repeated shipment delays, health ministry official Son Young-rae told a briefing.
Moderna told Seoul on Monday it would only be able to deliver less than half the 8.5 million doses it was due to ship this month. The country has a contract for 40 million doses from Moderna, and has received around 2.5 million so far. read more
The KDCA reported 1,990 new COVID-19 infections for Thursday, after a record daily count of 2,223 on Wednesday.
Total cases stand at 220,182, with 2,144 deaths, and the government has said the current wave of infections has not peaked yet.
Kim said the government would secure at least 5% of hospital beds for serious COVID-19 cases in 26 general hospitals in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas.
"There have been many workplace clusters recently," Kim told a televised speech. "Please make sure the employees returning to work to check for symptoms like fever."
Under the current distancing rules, employers are advised to increase flexible staffing, with 30% of staff working remotely. (Reuters)
August
Afghanistan spiralling into failed state where al Qaeda will thrive - UK says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Afghanistan is spiralling into a failed state and a civil war in which militant groups such as al Qaeda will thrive and likely pose a threat again to the West, Britain's defence minister said on Friday.
After a 20-year war in Afghanistan, the United States has withdrawn most of its troops, allowing Taliban forces to sweep across the country in what diplomats have cast as a humiliation for the world's preeminent superpower.
"I'm absolutely worried that failed states are breeding grounds for those types of people," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky when asked about Afghanistan. "al Qaeda will probably come back."
"Britain found that out in the 1830s, that it is a country led by warlords and led by different provinces and tribes, and you end up, if you're not very careful in a civil war, and I think we are heading towards a civil war," he told the BBC.
Wallace cautioned that the Taliban was not a single entity but rather a title that encompassed "all sorts of different interests."
The speed of the Taliban advance has shocked the Afghan government and its Western allies.
The Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when it was ousted for harbouring al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Wallace said the West had to understand that it could not instantly fix countries such as Afghanistan but should manage situations.
He said that if the Taliban started to harbour al Qaeda, then "we could be back".
Wallace said that Afghanistan's second biggest city of Kandahar and the town of Lashkar Gah was "pretty much now in the hands of the Taliban." (Reuters)
August
Japan issues highest risk alerts in Hiroshima due to torrential rains
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan on Friday issued the most serious level 5 risk alerts in the western prefecture of Hiroshima, citing unprecedented rains in the region and imminent risk of floods and other disasters.
Japan Meteorological Agency issued the warning, adding in a statement that the rain front could stay over the country for about a week.
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of residents of Nagasaki and other parts of Kyushu island in southwest Japan were asked to evacuate to avoid floods and the risk of landslides caused by torrential rain. read more
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's office set up a disaster control centre on Friday to handle potential disasters.
"Torrential rains could continue in regions around western Japan," Suga said. (Reuters)
August
Philippines extends travel ban for 10 countries over Delta concerns
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines will extend a ban on travellers from India and nine other countries to the end of August because of concerns posed by the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, the presidential spokesperson said on Friday.
Authorities in the Philippines are scrambling to contain a jump in coronavirus cases to a four-month high, with infections staying above the 12,000 mark for a second straight day on Thursday, and hospitals in some areas nearing capacity.
The travel ban, which was first imposed on April 27, has been rolled over several times and expanded to include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the coronavirus task force to extend the travel restrictions from Aug. 16 to Aug. 31, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
The Manila capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to 13 million people, remains under a strict lockdown to contain the spread of Delta, while the government ramps up its vaccination drive. read more
With about 11% of the country's 110 million people fully immunised, millions still remain highly vulnerable to COVID-19, which has killed more than 29,500 in the Southeast Asian country.
As cases surge, more hospitals in the capital region have reported intensive care units, isolation beds and wards were nearing full capacity, and some have had to refuse new patients because of a lack of beds and ventilators. (Reuters)
August
More Syrians and Afghans entering EU via Western Balkans
Written by Nur Yasmin
The number of migrants illegally entering the European Union by crossing the Western Balkans has almost doubled this year, EU border agency Frontex said on Thursday, with the majority coming from Syria and Afghanistan.
Frontex said 22,600 migrants were detected illegally entering the EU via the Western Balkan route from January to July, an increase of 90% compared with the same period in 2020.
In July, the number was up 67% compared with the same month a year ago, Frontex said in a statement.
Many EU member states are nervous that developments in Afghanistan, where the militant Taliban are rapidly capturing territory and forcing people to flee, could trigger a replay of Europe's 2015/16 migration crisis.
At the time, the chaotic arrival of more than a million people from the Middle East and Afghanistan stretched security and welfare systems and fuelled support for far-right political groups.
In total, the number of illegal border crossings into the EU since the start of the year reached over 82,000, 59% more than in the same period last year, according to Frontex.
At a crisis meeting on Wednesday, EU home affairs ministers will discuss an increase in migrants at the border between Belarus and Lithuania.
The EU has accused Belarus of using illegal migrants, largely Iraqis, as a political weapon in response to EU sanctions imposed on Minsk.
Lithuania registered around 3,700 illegal entries from Belarus from January to July, more than 3,000 of which were in July alone, Frontex said.
Poland detected around 180 illegal border crossings in July and Latvia around 200, according to Frontex. (Reuters)
August
N.Korean envoy calls for cooperation with Russia to counter United States
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea intends to strengthen cooperation with Russia to counter the United States, and peace on the Korean peninsula will not be possible until American troops are withdrawn, Pyongyang's ambassador to Russia told TASS news agency.
Ambassador Sin Hong-chol's comments come after senior North Korean leaders warned this week that South Korea and the United States would face repercussions for their decision to go ahead with annual joint military drills.
The drills are a "rehearsal for war" and prove the United States is responsible for destabilising the situation, he told TASS in an interview published on Wednesday.
"We will also boost cooperation between North Korea and Russia with the view to counter the U.S., a common threat," Sin told TASS.
Around 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which left the peninsula in a technical state of war when fighting ended with an armistice rather than a peace agreement. (Reuters)
August
Germany won't give money to Afghanistan if Sharia law introduced -foreign minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
Germany will not provide any financial support to Afghanistan if the Taliban takes over power in the country and introduces Sharia law, its foreign minister told broadcaster ZDF on Thursday.
"We provide 430 million euros ($505 million) every year, we will not give another cent if the Taliban takes over the country and introduces Sharia law," Heiko Maas said.
Afghan government forces battled Taliban fighters in and around several cities on Thursday, according to officials, as the militants pressed on with their offensive that U.S. intelligence believes could see them take over the capital, Kabul, within 90 days. (Reuters)