Livestream
Special Interview
Video Streaming
International News (6785)
May
Australia's most populous state extends COVID-19 restrictions in hunt for outbreak source
Written by nuke
A medical worker swabs a member of the public at the Bondi Beach drive-through coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing centre as the city experiences an outbreak in Sydney, Australia, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Australia's most populous state of New South Wales recorded no new COVID-19 infections for a third straight day on Sunday (May 9), but extended raised social distancing and mask-wearing rules by a week as the authorities hunted for the source of a small outbreak.
After a Sydney couple tested positive for the coronavirus last week, ending a long run without community transmission, the authorities reinstated some social distancing measures until May 10, and a campaign to get more people tested, as they scrambled to determine the source of infection.
"As the 'missing link' case hasn't been identified we're keen to prevent a super-spreading event," said New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian in a tweet.
"All safeguards/restrictions will be in place for an extra week, except for shoppers in retail who will no longer be required to wear a mask."
That means the more than 5 million people living in and around Sydney must wear masks on public transport and in most public venues, while households are limited to 20 guests at any one time until May 17.
Australia has largely eliminated the virus, with 79 days in 2021 without a locally acquired case, according to the government, as a result of a strategy of closing international and domestic borders, as well as social distancing measures.
As the country awaits vaccine shipments and watches infection spikes in other countries, top lawmakers have said borders now appear likely to reopen in 2022, not 2021 as previously envisaged.
In an interview with News Corp newspapers published on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was unlikely Australia would reopen its borders soon, although he did not offer a timeline.
"I don't see an appetite for that at the moment," he said, referring to border reopening.
"What we're seeing at the moment is the appreciation of the people that the pandemic isn't going anywhere. We have to be careful not to exchange that way of life for what everyone else has."//CNA
May
Labour's Sadiq Khan speaks after he was reelected and declared as the next Mayor of London at City Hall, in London, Saturday, May 8, 2021. (Photo: AP/Victoria Jones/PA) -
Labour politician Sadiq Khan won re-election as London mayor on Saturday (May 8) in a narrower than expected victory over Conservative rival Shaun Bailey.
Khan became the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected in 2016.
He won a second term with just over 1.2 million votes, who gained 977,601 votes in Thursday's poll. Turnout was lower than at the previous election, at 42 per cent.
The 50-year-old politician's victory was one of the bright spots for the main opposition Labour party after a largely desultory showing in local elections on Thursday.
In his victory speech Khan said that during his second term he would be focusing on "building bridges between the different communities" and between city hall and the government.
He said he wanted "to ensure London can play its part in a national recovery" and to "build a brighter greener and more equal future" for the capital.
Khan campaigned on a promise of "jobs, jobs, jobs", bidding to keep London on its perch as a top world city while tackling the crisis and the fallout from Brexit, which could threaten the capital's vital financial sector.
Khan has made a name for himself as a vocal critic of Brexit and of successive Conservative prime ministers, including his mayoral predecessor Boris Johnson - as well as for a feud with former US president Donald Trump.
The pair became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words after Khan criticised Trump's controversial travel ban on people from certain Muslim countries.
In a series of bizarre attacks, Trump accused Khan of doing a "very bad job on terrorism" and called him a "stone cold loser" and a "national disgrace".
Entering his first term, Khan vowed to focus on providing affordable homes for Londoners and freezing transport fares, but saw his agenda engulfed by the pandemic.
He is London's third mayor after Labour's Ken Livingstone (2000-2008) and Johnson (2008-2016), and there is widespread speculation he could try to follow in his predecessor's footsteps to Downing Street.
In his previous role as a human rights lawyer, Khan spent three years chairing the civil liberties campaign group Liberty.
In his victory speech, Khan referred to his humble origins, growing up in public housing in an ethnically mixed residential area in south London.
"I grew up on a council estate, a working class boy, a child of immigrants, but I'm now the Mayor of London," he said, describing himself as "a Londoner through and through"//CNA
May
Malaysia to ban all interstate, inter-district movement for 4 weeks
Written by nuke
A woman wearing a face mask walks in front of the Twin Towers during the first day of the third movement control order (MCO) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 7, 2021. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian) -
Malaysia will ban all interstate and inter-district movement without permission from the police starting from Monday (May 10).
The nationwide ban will last four weeks until Jun 6. It covers all states regardless if they are under the movement control order (MCO), or recovery, conditional or enhanced MCO, said Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Any social or official face-to-face events, whether in the public or private sector, will also not be allowed.
Mr Ismail Sabri said the restrictions will be reviewed after two weeks.
Amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Malaysia has put in place tighter measures in parts of the country.
Kuala Lumpur is under MCO until May 20. Several districts in Selangor and Johor have also been placed under renewed restrictions.
Mr Ismail Sabri said on Saturday there are no plans to implement a nationwide MCO. A targeted MCO can be enforced by identifying areas with large COVID-19 outbreaks, he said.
Under the movement curbs, social events such as weddings, reunions and retreats are prohibited.
For areas under conditional or recovery MCO, visiting will be allowed for the first three days of Aidilfitri, subject to a maximum of 20 or 25 visitors.
For enhanced MCO areas, no visiting is allowed during Hari Raya.
As of Saturday, Malaysia has reported 436,944 COVID-19 infections and 1,657 deaths//CNA
May
7 community cases among 20 new COVID-19 infections in Singapore
Written by nuke
7 community cases among 20 new COVID-19 infections in Singapore -
Seven community cases were among the 20 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Saturday (May 8), said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Of these, two cases were linked to previous infections and had already been placed on quarantine.
Among them, nine are Singaporeans or permanent residents.
No new cases were reported in migrant workers' dormitories.
Details of the new cases will be released on Saturday night, said MOH.
On Friday, the Ministry of Manpower said Singapore would stop accepting new entry applications for work pass holders from higher-risk countries and regions.
This excludes workers needed for key strategic projects and infrastructural works.
Higher-risk countries and regions refer to all places except Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Work pass holders from higher-risk places who earlier received approval to enter Singapore before Jul 5 will no longer be allowed to do so - except for migrant domestic workers and those in the construction, marine shipyard and process industry.
As of Saturday, Singapore has reported a total of 61,331 COVID-19 cases//CNA
May
New Zealand to resume Australia travel bubble as Sydney COVID-19 threat eases
Written by nuke
An Air New Zealand plane at Wellington airport. (File photo: AFP/Marty Melville) -
New Zealand will lift its partial suspension of a travel bubble with Australia from midnight on Sunday (May 9) as fears of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney eased.
New Zealand had blocked travel to and from New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, on Thursday after a couple in Sydney with no links to high-risk professions or people tested positive for COVID-19.
However, state health officials on Saturday reported a second straight day without a new case, allaying concerns about a wider outbreak in the city.
New Zealand COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said travel to and from NSW, home to one-third of Australia's 25 million population, would resume after health officials determined the risk to New Zealand was low.
"New Zealand has consistently taken a precautionary approach to keeping COVID-19 out," Hipkins said in a statement.Australia and New Zealand began allowing quarantine-free travel less than a month ago, after a protracted run of zero locally-acquired cases in the neighbouring countries."Border controls are a key tool for stopping the introduction and spread of new cases from overseas and remain central to our elimination strategy," Hipkins said.Australia has meanwhile barred travel from India due to high infection rates, but it has said it would begin chartering repatriation flights on May 15//CNA
May
Maldives steps up hunt for suspects after bomb attack on ex-president
Written by nuke
Former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed is in intensive care after the Male bombing AFP/Ahmed SHURAU -
Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed remained in intensive care on Saturday (May 8) as security services stepped up the hunt for the attackers, who allegedly used a remote control bomb on the democracy pioneer and climate activist.
The 53-year-old, who remains the Indian Ocean country's number two leader, is recovering from 16 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from his lungs, liver, chest, abdomen and limbs after the attack on Thursday night.
"The improvised explosive device was triggered using a remote control," an MNDF official told reporters in the capital Male.
Police say they have identified four suspects seen close to the attack, but no arrests had been made.The Maldives is expecting Australian Federal Police officers to join the investigation on Saturday in addition to two experts from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih thanked Nasheed's medical team and said he prayed for his "quick recovery and return - stronger and steadier than ever".
Nasheed is a democracy pioneer in the Maldives who ended decades of one-party rule in the archipelago and became its first democratically elected president in 2008.
He is also known internationally as a champion for battling climate change and rising sea levels that he says threaten to submerge the nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands.
Nasheed was barred from contesting a 2018 presidential election because of a terrorism conviction after he was toppled in a military-backed coup in February 2012.
There has been no claim of responsibility, but his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) officials alleged political interests may have been involved.
Nasheed had been vocal on the need to bring to justice some 72 suspects in a US$90 million theft case dating from the tenure of former strongman president Abdulla Yameen//CNA
May
Beijing downplays fears as Chinese rocket set to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry
Written by nuke
China's Long March 5B rocket took off from the southern island of Hainan. (File photo: AFP) -
A large segment of a Chinese rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on the weekend, but Beijing has downplayed fears and said there is a very low risk of any damage.
A Long March 5B rocket launched the first module of China's new space station into Earth's orbit on Apr 29. Its 18-tonne main segment is now in free fall and experts have said it is difficult to say precisely where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere.
Re-entry is expected to be around 11pm GMT on Saturday (7am on Sunday, Singapore time), according to the Pentagon, with a window of plus or minus nine hours either side.
Chinese authorities have said most of the rocket components would likely be destroyed on re-entry."The probability of causing harm ... on the ground is extremely low," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Friday.
Although there has been fevered speculation over exactly where the rocket - or parts of it - will land, there is a good chance any debris that does not burn up will just splash down into the ocean on a planet made up of 70 per cent water.
"We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone," said Pentagon spokesman Mike Howard.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier said that the US military had no plans to shoot it down, and suggested that China had been negligent in letting it fall out of orbit.
"Given the size of the object, there will necessarily be big pieces left over," said Florent Delefie, an astronomer at the Paris-PSL Observatory.
"The chances of debris landing on an inhabited zone are tiny, probably one in a million."
In 2020, debris from another Long March rocket fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths//CNA
May
EU and India relaunch trade quest at coronavirus-hit summit
Written by nuke
The devastating wave of COVID-19 infections sweeping India has already impacted the meeting with the European Union, forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap plans to fly to Portugal. (File photo: AFP/Prakash SINGH) -
The European Union (EU) and India are expected to further bolster warming ties on Saturday (May 8) by relaunching long-stalled trade talks and agreeing to work together against the pandemic battering the South Asian giant.
The devastating wave of COVID-19 infections sweeping India has already impacted the meeting by forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap plans to fly to Portugal for in-person talks.
But the 27-nation bloc and the world's largest democracy remain determined to capitalise on growing momentum for tighter relations fuelled by shared concerns over the rising might of China.
"There is a positive dynamic because there is a convergence of interests," a European diplomat told AFP.
EU countries have sent medical equipment and drugs worth an estimated €100 million (US$120 million) to India as part of international efforts to help it fight against the flood of COVID-19 cases.
The focus on the virus at the summit will be on making sure the two vaccine-producing powerhouses can maintain global supplies - as well as on trying to plan together to tackle future pandemics.
"We obviously need together to continue our efforts to ramp up production, secure the necessary raw materials, and keep supply chains open," a senior EU official said.
"Leaders are going to commit to work together to better prepare for and respond to global health emergencies - and this clearly includes strengthening and reforming the World Health Organization."But Europe's main economic power Germany has already poured cold water on the efforts by insisting patent protection must remain in place while drug firms ramp up production.
While the pandemic casts a long shadow over the summit, the key announcement expected is the restarting of talks on a free trade agreement that have been suspended since 2013.
Negotiations were halted eight years ago after getting stuck on issues including cutting tariffs and access for Indian workers to Europe.
It remains to be seen if India is now willing to drop an approach viewed as deeply protectionist by the EU to seal a deal this time round//CNA
May
New Zealand wants a mature relationship with China, foreign minister says
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand wants a more mature relationship with China that goes beyond trade ties and gives room for disagreement, particularly on issues of human rights, the Pacific nation's foreign minister said on Friday.
Nanaia Mahuta's comments come after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this week that differences with its top trading partner were getting harder to reconcile, and the country's parliament unanimously declared human rights abuses were taking place against Uyghur people in China's Xinjiang region, angering Beijing. read more
"It's important for us to ensure we are respectful, consistent and predictable in the way we convey issues we agree on, but also on issues we don't agree on. And it's part of our maturing relationship," Mahuta said in an interview with Reuters.
New Zealand has major trade ties to China and has long been touted by Beijing as a model of its relations with Western countries.
But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's government, which won a second term in office in October, has criticized China over the issue of Uyghurs, the human rights violations in Hong Kong and backed Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Organization despite a warning from Beijing.
Mahuta and Ardern have said they are focused on an independent foreign policy that is not loyal to any major bloc, a position that's popular domestically and followed by previous Labour Party-led governments including the nine-year administration until 2008 of Helen Clark.
Mahuta said last month that she was uncomfortable expanding the role of the Five Eyes, a post-war intelligence grouping that also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.
China has accused the Five Eyes of ganging up by issuing statements on Hong Kong and the treatment of Uyghurs.
Mahuta's comments were questioned by New Zealand's Western allies who asked if the Pacific nation feared criticising Beijing on its human rights records.
Mahuta said she stood by her comments.
"It (Five Eyes) doesn't have to be the first port of call all the time on every issue in the human rights space," Mahuta said.
"And I have consistently said that it's important that we build a broader base of support for the issues on the human rights front."
Foreign policy commentators, however, say the mixed messaging is confusing.
"There is clearly a need for a coherent foreign policy line coming out from New Zealand," said Anna Powles, senior lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University.
"This doesn't help our allies and partners. It's about our relationship with our closest ally, which is Australia, and our strategic partnerships," she said.
A diplomatic dispute between China and Australia worsened in 2020 after Canberra lobbied for an international inquiry into the source of the coronavirus pandemic.
This has not affected China's ties with New Zealand, however, as both nations upgraded a free trade agreement in January.
Mahuta, the first indigenous Maori woman to hold the post, was a surprise pick last year as foreign minister.
In her first six months in office, the 50-year-old has talked about a values based approach and bringing New Zealand's bi-culturalism to the centre of foreign policy.
"If there's anything new that I'm bringing to this picture it's a values based approach, which is drawing from our bi-cultural values...as we continue our strong bilateral and multilateral relationships across the region and the world." (Reuters)
May
Gandhi warns 'explosive' COVID wave threatens India and the world
Written by Nur Yasmin
India's main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi warned on Friday that unless the deadly second COVID-19 wave sweeping the country was brought under control it would decimate India as well as threaten the rest of the world.
In a letter, Gandhi implored Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prepare for another national lockdown, accelerate a country-wide vaccination programme and scientifically track the virus and its mutations.
Gandhi said the world's second-most populous nation had a responsibility in "a globalised and interconnected world" to stop the "explosive" growth of COVID-19 within its borders.
"India is home to one out of every six human beings on the planet. The pandemic has demonstrated that our size, genetic diversity and complexity make India fertile ground for the virus to rapidly mutate, transforming itself into a more contagious and more dangerous form," wrote Gandhi.
"Allowing the uncontrollable spread of the virus in our country will be devastating not only for our people but also for the rest of the world."
India's highly infectious COVID-19 variant B.1.617 has already spread to other countries such as Britain, forcing nations to cut or restrict movements from India.
In the past week, India has reported an extra 1.5 million new infections and record daily death tolls as its hospitals run out of beds and medical oxygen. Since the start of the pandemic, it has reported 21.49 million cases and 234,083 deaths. It currently has 3.6 million active cases.
Modi has been widely criticised for not acting sooner to suppress the second wave, after religious festivals and political rallies drew tens of thousands of people in recent weeks and became "super spreader" events.
His government has also been criticised for lifting social restrictions too soon following the first wave and for delays in the country's vaccination programme, which medical experts say is India's only hope of controlling the second COVID-19 wave.
While India is the world's biggest vaccine maker, it is struggling to produce and distribute enough doses to stem the wave of COVID-19.
Modi has stressed that Indian states must keep up vaccination rates. Although the country has administered at least 157 million vaccine doses, its rate of inoculation has fallen sharply in recent days.
"After having achieved a rate of around 4 million a day, we are now down to 2.5 million per day due to vaccine shortages," Amartya Lahiri, an economics professor at University of British Columbia was quoted as saying in the Mint newspaper.
"The 5 million a day target is the lower bound of what we have to aim for, since even at that rate, it will take a year for us to get everyone two doses. The situation unfortunately is very grim."
RECORD INFECTIONS
India reported another record daily rise in coronavirus cases, 414,188, on Friday, bringing total new cases for the week to 1.57 million. Deaths from COVID-19 rose by 3,915 to 234,083.
Medical experts say the real extent of COVID-19 in India is five to 10 times the official tallies.
India's healthcare system is crumbling under the weight of patients, with hospitals running out of beds and medical oxygen. Morgues and crematoriums can not handle the number of dead and makeshift funeral pyres burn in parks and carparks.
Prominent U.S. disease modeller Chris Murray, from the University of Washington, said the sheer magnitude of infections in India in a short period of time suggests an "escape variant" may be overpowering any prior immunity from natural infections.
Infections are now spreading from overcrowded cities to remote rural villages that are home to nearly 70% of the 1.3 billion population.
Although northern and western India bear the brunt of the disease, southern India now seems to be turning into the new epicentre. The share of the five southern states in the country's daily surge in infections rose from 28% to 33% in the first seven days of May, data shows.
In the southern city of Chennai, only one in a hundred oxygen supported beds and two in a hundred beds in intensive care units (ICUs) were vacant on Thursday, from a vacancy rate of over 20% each two weeks ago, government data showed.
In India's tech capital Bengaluru, also in the south, only 23 of the 590 beds in ICUs were vacant, and only 1 in 50 beds with a ventilator were vacant, a situation officials say points to an impending crisis.
The test-positivity rate — the percentage of people tested who are found to have the disease — in the city of 12.5 million has tripled to almost 39% as of Wednesday, from about 13% two weeks ago, data showed.
Bengaluru has 325,000 active COVID-19 cases, with demand for ICU and high-dependency unit (HDU) beds up more than 20 fold, said H. M. Prasanna, president of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association in Karnataka state, which includes Bengaluru.
"Every patient coming to the hospital needs a ICU or a HDU bed...that is why patients are running from one hospital to another searching for an ICU bed," he said.
"There is also short supply of medical oxygen...Most of the small hospitals now who can't procure oxygen on a daily basis are refusing to admit COVID patients." (Reuters)