Livestream
Special Interview
Video Streaming
International News (6785)
June
Japan finmin says G7 clinches 'historic' deal on minimum global tax
Written by Nur YasminThe Group of Seven (G7) advanced countries has struck a "historic" agreement for a minimum global corporate tax of at least 15%, raising momentum for a wider deal among the G20 major economies, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said.
He was speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, responding to questions about the G7 tax deal hammered out at the grouping's weekend meeting in London.
Aso said the G7 tax deal was achieved because countries realised they could no longer rely on the race to the bottom on corporate tax cuts to spur growth.
The major factor was that the United States faced falling tax revenue and massive coronavirus spending, both of which called for the need to restore fiscal health, paving the way for a G7 deal, Aso said.
"Now that the course of direction has been shown, the possibility (of a tax deal) will rise at G20. It had a big impact on raising the momentum," Aso said.
The G7 comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.
Aso went on to say that he could not tell how the tax deal might affect corporate behaviour.
"Some of the small countries must have benefitted (from lower tax rates in attracting businesses) so we must take time in working out the details, as we aim to build a consensus through an inclusive framework." (Reuters)
June
New Zealand PM Ardern to take first dose of COVID-19 vaccine next week
Written by Nur YasminNew Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday that she would get her first COVID-19 shot at the end of next week, as the country prepared to receive another 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
"For me, it's been important that I allow those in the most at risk group... to be prioritised," Ardern said in a news conference.
"I'm choosing to be vaccinated at this point in order to play my role in demonstrating that I consider it to be absolutely safe and also really critical to keep others safe," she said.
Pfizer has scheduled delivery of an estimated 1 million doses of vaccine to New Zealand in July, Ardern said.
The Pacific island nation, which has been among the most successful in the world in containing the spread of COVID-19, has so far fully vaccinated about 250,000 of its 5 million population.
About 20,000 doses a day are being administered, and the Pfizer deliveries will enable that pace to increase significantly, Ardern said. At the peak of the programme in August and September, 50,000 doses will be administered each day, she said.
New Zealand has had 2,336 confirmed cases and 26 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic so far. (Reuters)
June
Hundreds of former leaders urge G7 to vaccinate poor against COVID-19
Written by Nur Yasmin
One hundred former presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have urged the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations to pay for global coronavirus vaccinations to help stop the virus mutating and returning as a worldwide threat.
The leaders made their appeal ahead of a G7 summit in England which begins on Friday, when U.S. President Joe Biden will meet the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
In their letter to the G7, the former world leaders said global cooperation had failed in 2020, but that 2021 could usher in a new era.
"Support from the G7 and G20 that makes vaccines readily accessible to low- and middle-income countries is not an act of charity, but rather is in every country's strategic interest," the letter said.
Among the signatories were ex-British premiers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, former U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and 15 former African leaders.
They said the G7 and other leaders invited to the summit should guarantee to pay what would amount to about $30 billion a year over two years towards fighting the pandemic worldwide.
"For the G7 to pay is not charity, it is self-protection to stop the disease spreading, mutating and returning to threaten all of us," Brown said.
"Costing just 30 pence ($0.43) per person per week in the UK, is a small price to pay a for the best insurance policy in the world," he added in a statement.
Their plea coincided with a poll by the Save the Children charity which found strong public support in the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Canada for the G7 paying towards the $66 billion needed for COVID-19 vaccines globally.
In Britain, 79% were in favour of such a policy, while 79% of Americans backed the proposal, the poll showed. Support was lowest in France, where 63% were in favour. (Reuters)
June
India re-opens major cities as new COVID-19 infections hit 2-mth low
Written by Nur Yasmin
Key Indian cities re-opened for business on Monday, with long queues for buses in the financial hub of Mumbai while traffic returned to the roads of New Delhi after a devastating second wave of coronavirus that killed hundreds of thousands.
The 100,636 new infections of the past 24 hours were the lowest in the world's second most populous nation since April 6, and well off last month's peaks of more than 400,000, allowing authorities to re-open parts of the economy.
"We have to save ourselves from infection but also bring the economy back on track," Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Twitter.
He ordered half the capital's shops to open on odd and even numbered days of the month respectively, in a bid to limit crowds, but allowed offices and the Delhi underground rail network to run at 50% of capacity.
But some curbs were retained, such as the ban on dining in restaurants and the use of theatres and gyms in a city still slowly recovering from a surge in the months of April and May that overwhelmed hospitals.
They ran short of beds and medical oxygen, and people died in hospital parking lots and homes, while crematoriums and morgues struggled to cope with an incessant flow of corpses.
India added 2,427 deaths overnight for a toll of 349,186, the health ministry said, down from more than 4,000 each day at the height of the crisis, while its tally of infections now stands at 28.9 million.
But experts believe that both figures have been severely undercounted and could be a few times higher than the official number.
Authorities in the western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, allowed businesses to run until late afternoon, staffed with half their employees, and opened gyms, salons and spas though cinemas and malls are to stay shut.
The re-opening efforts come as authorities struggle to vaccinate the population of nearly 1.4 billion in a strategy officials say is the only way to limiting any third wave of infections.
But tight supplies have meant that fewer than 5% of 950 million adult Indians have received the mandatory two vaccine doses.
The pressure to resume some economic activity has grown as millions depend on daily wages to pay for food and rent.
"I have opened my shop after 40 days," a tea vendor, Monu Yadav, told Reuters partner ANI in the northern city of Varanasi, adding that only a fraction of his customers had returned.
Last week, the central bank cut its forecast for economic growth to 9.5% from 10.5% for the fiscal year 2021/22.
The second wave had “impaired the nascent recovery that was underway,” but “not snuffed it out”, said Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). (Reuters)
June
Taiwan says U.S. vaccines coming, extends COVID-19 curbs
Written by Nur Yasmin
The 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses the United States has promised Taiwan will be flown in soon, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Monday, as measures to tackle an outbreak that has not yet stabilised on the island were extended.
After months of relative safety, Taiwan has been dealing with a spike in domestic infections and is at its second-highest alert level, with gatherings restricted, entertainment venues shut and students shifted to on-line learning.
Taiwan has been trying to ensure that the millions of vaccines it has on order will arrive sooner, and on Sunday visiting U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said the U.S. government would send the island 750,000 doses as part of a broader global donation plan. read more
"Follow up coordination work for shipping the 750,000 doses of vaccines provided by the United States has already begun, and they will soon be sent to Taiwan by air," Tsai said in a live broadcast from her office, without giving details.
"I promise that the government will do everything in its power to strive for a more stable supply of vaccines," she added.
The brief visit of Duckworth and two other senators angered China, which views Taiwan as its own territory. China's foreign ministry said it had lodged "stern representations" with the United States about the trip.
China has offered Taiwan vaccines, but the government in Taipei has expressed concerns about their safety.
Speaking earlier at his daily news conference, Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the government was still awaiting further details on the U.S. vaccines, but that relevant paperwork should be completed soon.
Around 3% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have received at least one vaccine shot so far. The government is preparing to ramp up vaccinations, depending on when its orders arrive.
"We didn't buy the vaccines late - we started signing (contracts) from September. The problem at the moment is supplies," Chen said.
The government announced on Monday it would extend its COVID-19 restrictions until June 28 and schools would remain shut until the summer vacation.
"At present the pandemic has not yet stabilised," the Cabinet said.
The extension of the restrictions had been widely expected.
Taiwan will this week start distributing 1.24 million AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) vaccines donated by Japan on Friday, while the first of 150,000 doses received of the Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) vaccine will start being given on Wednesday.
Chen announced 211 new infections on Monday, down from 343 the day before. The drop, however, could be due to a lower number of tests at the weekend, he said.
The government has reported 11,491 cases and 286 deaths since the pandemic began. (Reuters)
June
Regional envoys urged Myanmar junta to free prisoners, follow agreement
Written by Nur Yasmin
Envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called on Myanmar's junta to free all political prisoners and discussed implementing a regional "consensus" to end turmoil since the Feb. 1 coup, the regional bloc said.
Myanmar's junta has shown little sign of heeding April's five-point agreement among the 10 ASEAN countries, including Myanmar, which calls for an end to violence, political talks and the naming of a regional special envoy.
The ASEAN envoys met junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, on Friday.
The ASEAN statement dated June 5 said the objective of the visit was to discuss how Myanmar would reach "a peaceful solution in the interests of its people" by implementing the five points.
It said they had also "called for the release of all political prisoners, including women and children and foreigners" - an appeal that was not on the consensus but is supported by many ASEAN members.
Reuters was unable to reach a junta spokesman for comment.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said the meeting covered "implementation of the recommendation of initial survey of ASEAN" and "terror acts" by junta opponents and the army's plan to hold elections.
The junta has failed to impose control since seizing power from elected leader Aug San Suu Kyi, who is among more than 4,500 people detained since the coup. At least 849 have been killed, a rights group says. The army disputes that figure.
Opponents of the junta have voiced frustration at the lack of tough action by ASEAN.
Myanmar's crisis is also expected to be a topic at a special ASEAN-Chinese foreign ministers meeting in Chongqing this week. The junta's foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, will also attend.
China's ambassador met army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday.
China's state-run Global Times newspaper quoted the junta leader as saying Myanmar was willing to coordinate implementation of the consensus. It reported that the ambassador had said China was ready to support implementing the consensus.
Opponents of the junta have been wary of the role of China, which unlike Western countries has not been vocal in criticising the coup.
The army said it seized power after election authorities rejected its accusations of fraud in a November 2020 ballot swept by Suu Kyi's party. She now faces several charges and is due to appear in court again on Monday. (Reuters)
June
From vaccines to climate, G7 hopes to show the West is not over yet
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Group of Seven rich democracies will try to show the world at a summit this week that the West can still act in concert to tackle major crises by donating hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries and pledging to slow climate change.
U.S. President Joe Biden, on his first foreign trip since winning power, will try to use the summit in the English seaside village of Carbis Bay to burnish his multilateral credentials after the tumult of Donald Trump's presidency.
Whether on COVID-19 or climate change, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States want to illustrate that the West can compete with the power of China and the assertiveness of Russia.
"This is a defining question of our time: Can democracies come together to deliver real results for our people in a rapidly changing world?" Biden, 78, asked in a June 5 opinion piece in The Washington Post.
"Will the democratic alliances and institutions that shaped so much of the last century prove their capacity against modern-day threats and adversaries? I believe the answer is yes."
At the weekend, the G7′s finance ministers agreed a deal on a minimum corporate tax rate, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said reflected a desire to work together.
“It shows that multilateral collaboration can be successful,” she said.
Biden meets British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, chair of the summit, on Thursday, the day before the start of the leaders' three-day meeting. On Sunday, Biden will become the 13th serving U.S. President to meet Queen Elizabeth II, 95, who will receive him at Windsor Castle.
He then travels to Brussels for a NATO summit and a European Union summit before he meets Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16.
The G7 was founded in 1975 as a forum for the richest nations to discuss crises such as the OPEC oil embargo. Its countries have a combined annual GDP of $40 trillion, or just under half of the global economy.
The West, though, feels insecure. The coronavirus ravaged the United States and Europe and climate change has challenged the assumptions of many of its economic models. It faces a truculent Kremlin in Moscow and the spectacular re-emergence of China as a great power.
The G7 summit in Carbis Bay, 300 miles west of London, will be the first for Biden, Italy's Mario Draghi and Japan's Yoshihide Suga, and the first post-Brexit G7 for Johnson.
It will be Angela Merkel’s last G7 before she steps down as German Chancellor after an election in September, and Emmanuel Macron's last before a 2022 election in France. The leaders of Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa were invited, though Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to miss the meeting due to the COVID-19 situation at home.
Behind the public pronouncements, diplomats say, G7 leaders will talk about how to deal with China and Russia, how to win back the trillions of dollars in wealth wiped out by COVID-19 and how to ensure free trade in a world tilting towards China.
China, the world's second largest economy, has never been a member of the G7. Russia, admitted as a G8 member six years after the fall of the Soviet Union, was suspended in 2014 after it annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
Moscow and Beijing have both told the G7 to stop meddling in their affairs.
After many rich powers hoarded COVID-19 vaccines, Johnson wants the G7 to donate hundreds of millions of doses to poorer countries, many of which are far behind the West in vaccinating their populations.
"Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history," Johnson said.
Beyond the security that will cocoon world leaders, thousands of protesters will try to disrupt the summit over concerns ranging from climate change to a draft bill that would give British police more powers to curb demonstrations.
“Our rights weren’t won through quiet polite protest. Our rights were won through being noisy, disruptive and annoying,” said the Kill The Bill group - one of about 20 activist organisations to have joined a ‘Resist G7 Coalition’. (Reuters)
June
Philippines to open COVID-19 vaccinations to include more workers
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines will open up its vaccination drive this week to include around 35 million people working outside their homes, such as public transport staff, in a bid to help curb COVID-19 transmission and to open up the economy, officials said.
The next phase in the rollout that started in March comes after vaccines were initially targeted at health care workers, senior citizens and people with existing health conditions.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said those eligible to join the new phase, which includes workers in the informal sector, will be able to register from Wednesday, with the country expecting more vaccines to arrive in the second half.
The Philippines has so far received more than nine million doses, mostly supplied by China's Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O), but has a long way to go to meet its goal of immunising 70 million people this year out of a population of 110 million.
The country is also lagging some neighbours, with only 4.4 million people having received their first dose and more than 1.5 million two shots so far.
Opening the vaccination campaign to more people will allow the "process of reopening (the economy) to continue," Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told the same media briefing.
"This is a shot in the arm needed by our economic frontliners and our economy so the signs of recovery will continue."
In order to help shore up confidence in the vaccine programme and tackle vaccine hesitancy, local celebrities were among 50 people vaccinated in an inoculation ceremony on Monday.
The Philippines, which is battling one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, has reported 1.27 million infections and almost 22,000 deaths, with some provinces outside the capital region emerging as new hotspots for COVID-19. (Reuters)
June
Thailand starts long awaited COVID-19 vaccination drive
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand kicked off a long-awaited mass vaccination campaign on Monday as the country battles its third and worst wave of the coronavirus epidemic.
The government aims to administer 6 million doses this month, hoping to ease worries over the highly anticipated roll-out and concerns about supply shortages.
"The government will ensure that everyone is vaccinated," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in televised comments after he visited an inoculation centre in Bangkok.
There were, however, early hiccups as some vaccine centres registered more than their quota, leading to postponements, senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong told a news conference.
"We apologise if your vaccination appointment was postponed, but will make sure you are registered at the earliest," Opas said.
Hospitals last week delayed vaccinations for nearly 40,000 people, citing a limited supply. read more
Thailand escaped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic as it hit other countries hard last year, but is now grappling with its deadliest outbreak. Officials have scrambled to source more vaccines amid the third wave, which so far accounts for more than 80% of its 179,886 total infections and 1,269 fatalities.
Authorities on Monday said 235 cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, which ravaged India, had spread to nine provinces since it was first detected in Bangkok last month.
The outbreaks has highlighted criticisms of the country's vaccine programme for an over-reliance on AstraZeneca shots produced by royal-owned Siam Bioscience, a slow roll-out and a confusing registration system.
On Monday morning, 986 vaccination centres reported a total of 143,116 people received shots. That adds to 2.8 million people deemed vulnerable, including frontline health and transport workers.
"My feeling is that no matter what, we will need to go outside of home for the littlest things, so getting the vaccine gives us a sense of relief," said Praepawee Lertpongkijja, 38, at a Bangkok vaccination centre.
VACCINE SUPPLIES
The 6 million doses to be administered this month will be a mix of AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and imported Sinovac (SVA.O) vaccines.
Concerns were raised last week over local production of the AstraZeneca vaccine by Siam Bioscience's after the Philippines said its order had been reduced and delayed. read more
The health ministry on Monday said it will receive an additional 3.42 million doses from AstraZeneca after mid-June said, did not specify how much would be locally made.
It received 1.8 million locally-produced AstraZeneca shots on Friday. Another 200,000 doses from South Korea, a health ministry source told Reuters.
The country expects to sign contracts this week for 20 million shots of the Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine and five million doses from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) read more
Private hospitals will offer two shots of the Moderna vaccine (MRNA.O) for 3,800 baht ($121.91) after October, an industry group said, adding 10 million doses had been ordered. (Reuters)
June
Tech giants and tax havens targeted by historic G7 deal
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States, Britain and other large, rich nations reached a landmark deal on Saturday to squeeze more money out of multinational companies such as Amazon and Google and reduce their incentive to shift profits to low-tax offshore havens.
Hundreds of billions of dollars could flow into the coffers of governments left cash-strapped by the COVID-19 pandemic after the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies agreed to back a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%.
Facebook (FB.O) said it expected it would have to pay more tax, in more countries, as a result of the deal, which comes after eight years of talks that gained fresh impetus in recent months after proposals from U.S. President Joe Biden's new administration.
"G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age," British finance minister Rishi Sunak said after chairing a two-day meeting in London.
The meeting, hosted at an ornate 19th-century mansion near Buckingham Palace in central London, was the first time finance ministers have met face-to-face since the start of the pandemic.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the "significant, unprecedented commitment" would end what she called a race to the bottom on global taxation.
German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the deal was "bad news for tax havens around the world".
Yellen also saw the G7 meeting as marking a return to multilateralism under Biden and a contrast to the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, who alienated many U.S. allies.
"What I've seen during my time at this G7 is deep collaboration and a desire to coordinate and address a much broader range of global problems," she said.
Ministers also agreed to move towards making companies declare their environmental impact in a more standard way so investors can decided more easily whether to fund them, a key goal for Britain.
TAXING TIMES
Current global tax rules date back to the 1920s and struggle with multinational tech giants that sell services remotely and attribute much of their profits to intellectual property held in low-tax jurisdictions.
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice-president for global affairs and a former British deputy prime minister, said: "We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognise this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places."
But Italy, which will seek wider international backing for the plans at a meeting of the G20 in Venice next month, said the proposals were not just aimed at U.S. firms.
Yellen said European countries would scrap existing digital services taxes which the United States says discriminate against U.S. businesses as the new global rules go into effect.
"There is broad agreement that these two things go hand in hand," she said.
Key details remain to be negotiated over the coming months. Saturday's agreement says only "the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises" would be affected.
European countries had been concerned that this could exclude Amazon (AMZN.O) - which has lower profit margins than most tech companies - but Yellen said she expected it would be included.
How tax revenues will be split is not finalised either, and any deal will also need to pass the U.S. Congress.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would push for a higher minimum tax, calling 15% "a starting point".
Some campaign groups also condemned what they saw as a lack of ambition. "They are setting the bar so low that companies can just step over it," Oxfam's head of inequality policy, Max Lawson, said.
But Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe, whose country is potentially affected because of its 12.5% tax rate, said any global deal also needed to take account of smaller nations.
The G7 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. (Reuters)