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Maoula Jan, 52, who is British and originally from Afghanistan receives his second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine from volunteer vaccinator Steve Kriss, at a vaccine centre in the Swaminarayan School in Neasden, north London, Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Photo: AP/Matt Dunham) - 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday (May 14) Britain would accelerate its COVID-19 vaccination programme, to try to contain a fast-spreading variant first identified in India that could knock a re-opening of the economy off track.

The United Kingdom has delivered one of the world's fastest inoculation campaigns, giving a first shot to almost 70 per cent of the adult population and a second to 36 per cent, helping to reduce infection rates and deaths.

But the emergence of the B16172 variant in parts of northern England and London has prompted some scientists to call for the reopening to be delayed, and a rethink on the speed of the vaccine rollout.

"I believe we should trust in our vaccines to protect the public whilst monitoring the situation very closely because the race between our vaccination programme and the virus may be about to become a great deal tighter," Johnson told a news conference.

He said the government would accelerate remaining second doses to the over 50s and those clinically vulnerable to just eight weeks after the first dose, and would prioritise first doses for those eligible who had not yet come forward.

Even so, the spread of the variant could disrupt Britain's progress out of lockdown, making it more difficult to move to the final stage of a staggered reopening of the economy in June, he said.

Johnson had aimed to lift all restrictions on Jun 21, after allowing people in England from Monday to hug again, meet in small groups indoors and travel abroad.

Chris Whitty, England chief medical officer, said there was now confidence that B16172 was more transmissible than the "Kent" variant that fuelled England's second wave of infections. He said B16172 could come to dominate in Britain.

Whitty said so far there had not been a significant increase in hospitalisations from the variant, which may be because more people had been vaccinated.

But both Johnson and Whitty said it was still early days, and scientists would need to scrutinise data over the next two or three weeks to truly see the impact of the variant.

Britain put India on a travel "red list" in April, meaning all arrivals from India - now suffering the world's worst wave of COVID-19 - would have to pay to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

Media reports at the time suggested that, because the quarantine requirement was announced four days in advance, many people had sought to fly beforehand. Britain has a large South Asian community.

Even with new variants, the government is likely to want to avoid repeating the regional curbs used last year, which ultimately failed to prevent two further national lockdowns.

At the national level, infections are still low, and fell for a fifth consecutive week in England, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed on Friday//CNA

A number of tenants of a high-end office block in Myanmar that the United Nations said is built on military-owned land have moved out or are reviewing their leases, including McKinsey, Coca-Cola and Reuters, the companies said.

Activist group Justice for Myanmar last month called on commercial tenants of the Sule Square complex of offices and shops in the heart of Myanmar's commercial hub of Yangon to stop indirectly supporting the army.

"Sule Square has big-name tenants that continue to lease office space in the building, indirectly supporting the army," Justice for Myanmar said in a report in which it identified 18 of the tenants.

Reuters approached all of the companies named in the report. Of the six that said they had moved or were reviewing office plans, only one cited the military link. Others cited various reasons including business prospects.

Business has collapsed in the Southeast Asian country since a Feb. 1 coup that prompted widespread protests and strikes, during which the army has killed hundreds of civilians and arrested thousands.

Opened in 2017 near the historic Sule Pagoda, Sule Square was developed by a local affiliate of Hong Kong listed Shangri-La Asia (0069.HK), which also manages the building and an adjacent hotel.

The site was leased from the military, according to a 2019 fact-finding mission established by the United Nations to investigate the army's economic interests, media and human rights groups.

As the basis for its conclusion that the land is owned by the military, the mission in its report cited what it called digital records. One of the authors of the report, human rights consultant Chris Sidoti, said the material had been archived and was not immediately available.

On Tuesday, Reuters made a request to the United Nations to get access to the records.

Shangri-La, which said in 2017 it had invested $125 million in the development, declined to comment on Reuters' questions about land ownership.

A spokesman for Myanmar's junta did not answer calls seeking comment. Reuters could not independently verify details of the land lease deal.

Myanmar's military, which directly ruled for almost 50 years after taking power in a 1962 coup, owns large tracts of land and controls conglomerates that span everything from mining to banking.

McKinsey & Company terminated its lease of serviced office space in Sule Square in early 2021, said Melissa Yeo, director of reputation and communications, Southeast Asia, at the consultancy, without elaborating.

In an emailed statement, Coca-Cola (KO.N) said it would not be renewing its lease when it ends in mid-June citing "changing business requirements".

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Reuters (TRI.TO), which was not one of the companies named in the report, said it is not currently using its Sule Square office and was reviewing its tenancy. The spokesperson did not comment on the building's possible military ties.

BUSINESS IMPACT 

Singapore-based private equity firm Emerging Markets Investment Advisors said it had moved out of Sule Square after its lease ended in March, while Norwegian fertiliser firm Yara said it had started looking for alternative office space.

Of the companies that said they had moved or were reviewing office space, only Yara (YAR.OL) cited the military ownership.

"We have only recently been made aware that the landlord is owned by a company who pays land lease to the military," said Josiane Kremer, director, external relations at Yara.

She did not elaborate on how Yara became aware of the ownership details.

Norwegian state-owned telecoms firm Telenor (TEL.OL) said it had been aware of the military-owned land under Sule Square before it moved in but it had picked the location due to factors such as safety.

Telenor did not comment on its future office plans nor did it elaborate on how it became aware of the ownership.

The World Bank, which also has an office in Sule Square, said it was "assessing the situation in Myanmar, according to internal policies and procedures". It did not elaborate on its plans.

French container shipping firm CMA CGM said it was "conducting further investigations" and Canadian realtor Colliers International Group Inc (CIGI.TO) said its Myanmar business was run by an independent franchisee and declined to comment further.

Japan's Sony Corp (6758.T) said it previously had a representative in Myanmar but its office had closed "due to the local situation" and it now sold only through distributors.

Several other groups named in Justice for Myanmar's report, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar and British insurer Prudential either did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment.

The University of Reading and Mastercard were named in the Justice for Myanmar report but told Reuters they did not rent offices in Sule Square. Reuters could not independently confirm that. (Reuters)

Myanmar's army needs to cooperate to end the crisis since the Feb. 1 coup and Southeast Asian countries should keep pressing it to show restraint and start dialogue with its opponents, Singapore's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said after meeting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing last month they had reached consensus on five points including an end to violence, talks between Myanmar's rivals and a visit by an ASEAN envoy.

But the civilian death toll has continued to rise as the army tries to suppress protests. The junta has also said it will not agree to the envoy's visit before it restores stability and has branded its opponents as a terrorist group.

"This will not be an easy process. The cooperation of the Tatmadaw will be needed," said Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan in a response to parliamentary questions, using the widely used name for Myanmar's army.

"ASEAN will also have to continue to speak collectively to urge the Myanmar military authorities to uphold the consensus – particularly to exercise maximum restraint and begin meaningful dialogue with all parties concerned."

Balakrishnan's comments were one of the clearest public responses from an ASEAN country since Myanmar's army appeared to distance itself from the consensus at the meeting in Indonesia's capital.

A shadow National Unity Government set up by the junta's opponents has also voiced scepticism over the ASEAN deal and has said there can be no talks until thousands of political prisoners are freed - including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Balakrishnan said ASEAN should continue to call for the release of Suu Kyi and others.

Some of ASEAN's 10 countries have urged the junta in Myanmar - a member state - to free the political prisoners. But freeing prisoners was not part of the consensus agreed at last month's meeting.

The United Nations human rights body said on Tuesday that more than 780 people had been killed by the army since the coup. (Reuters)

The Philippines has detected its first two cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, its health ministry said on Tuesday, even as confirmed daily COVID-19 infections fell to a near eight-week low.

The World Health Organization has classified the coronavirus variant, known as B.1.617, as a variant of global concern with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily. read more

The variant had been confirmed in two Filipino seafarers who returned in April, Alethea De Guzman, director of the ministry's epidemiology bureau, told a news conference

"We need to continually monitor what other variants we may be able to detect locally, as well as monitor the spread of the variants we have already detected," De Guzman said, adding that the seafarers were isolated on their return and had both recovered.

Separately, the health ministry reported on Tuesday 4,734 new coronavirus infections, the lowest single-day tally since March 17, bringing total cases to more than 1.11 million.

The number of daily infections in the Philippines, which is battling one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, has fallen from a peak of 15,310 on April 2, but has stayed above the daily average of roughly 1,700 cases for 2020.

The drop in cases, if sustained, will buoy hopes that tougher restrictions imposed on March 29 will be relaxed to help the economy, which contracted 4.2% in the first quarter.

In a bid to prevent the entry of variants, the Philippines has temporarily barred travellers coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from entering the country.

Indonesia and Malaysia this month reported the first cases of the B.1.617 coronavirus variant. The Philippines has also previously recorded cases of a variant first detected in Britain and another first discovered in South Africa, as well as a homegrown P.3 variant.

The Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and casualties in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia. (Reuters)