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May
Moscow Mayor decries low demand for COVID-19 vaccines
Written by Nur Yasmin
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Friday lamented how few residents had chosen to get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite free and easy access to shots since January, a rare admission by a Russian politician of the extent of the problem.
Hospitals in the Russian capital continue to be packed with sick and dying people, Sobyanin said, despite vaccines against the disease being widely available for almost six months.
"It is remarkable...People are getting sick, they continue to get sick, they continue to die. And yet they still don't want to get vaccinated," Sobyanin said in comments made at a meeting with activists last week but published in a blog post on Friday.
Russia was the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for domestic use, prior to the start of large-scale trials. Roll-out of the Sputnik V shot began in December and in the capital was rapidly opened up to all.
Since the start of this year, all that a Moscow resident needed to do to get a vaccine was show up at a clinic with their ID.
"We were the first major city in the world to announce the start of mass vaccination. And what?" Sobyanin said. "The percentage of vaccinated people in Moscow is less than in any European city. In some cases, several times over."
Walk-in vaccination centres were opened up in Moscow's shopping malls and parks. Pensioners were offered indirect payouts as an additional incentive, he said.
Yet just 1.3 million people in Moscow have received a shot so far, Sobyanin said, out of 12 million residents. That number could have been double by now, he added.
He blamed fear of vaccination for the problem.
Of seven passers-by interviewed by Reuters in Moscow, only one said they had been vaccinated. Many said they did not feel the need as they had already been sick with COVID-19, and had protective antibodies.
An independent poll conducted in early March showed that 62% of Russians were not willing to receive the Sputnik V vaccine, with 18 to 24-year-olds most reluctant. Most gave side effects - which can include fever and fatigue - as the main reason. (Reuters)
May
Biden "restoring the soul" of America -South Korean president
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered praise for U.S. President Joe Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery on Friday before the two leaders meet during his visit to Washington.
"My congratulations on how the Biden-Harris administration is building back better with the world's most successful vaccine deployment and fastest economic recovery and blazing a trail for inclusiveness and unity by restoring the soul of America,” Moon said during an appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Moon's words echoed those used by Democrat Biden, who described the 2020 presidential campaign against Republican incumbent Donald Trump as a battle for the soul of the nation. (Reuters)
May
UK's Johnson tells China: We believe in rule of the sea
Written by Nur Yasmin
The first operational deployment of Britain's flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to Asia will show countries such as China that Britain believes in the international law of the sea, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.
Johnson said the Carrier Strike Group, which will interact with more than 40 nations on the deployment through the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and South China Sea to Japan, would project Britain's values as well as its military capabilities.
"One of the things we'll be doing clearly is showing to our friends in China that we believe in the international law of the sea, and in a confident but not a confrontational way, we will be vindicating that point," he told broadcasters on board the carrier in Portsmouth Naval Base, south England.
"We don't want to antagonise anybody, but we do think that the United Kingdom plays a very important role, with friends and partners, the Americans, the Dutch, the Australians, the Indians many, many others, in upholding the rule of law, the international rules-based system on which we all depend." (Reuters)
May
Iran displays long-range combat drone, names it "Gaza"
Written by Nur YasminIran on Friday displayed a home-built combat drone that it said had a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), naming it "Gaza" in honour of the Palestinians' struggle against Israel, state media reported.
Iran has a large missile and drone programme, regarding such weapons as an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the United States and other adversaries in the event of war.
The West sees Iran's missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. Iran denies trying to build nuclear arms.
The Revolutionary Guards said the new drone was capable of flying for 35 hours and carrying 13 bombs and 500 kg (1,100 lbs)of electronics equipment, the state news agency IRNA reported.
The head of the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said the new drone was named "Gaza" in honor "of those in that land who stand today against the invasion and aggression of the Zionists (Israel", the Guards' website reported.
Although leaders of Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have frequently praised Iran’s financial and military support, Tehran has usually not given public confirmation of its weapons supply.
But Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year hailed Tehran's supply of arms to Palestinians.
A truce between Israel and Hamas took hold on Friday after the worst violence in years. (Reuters)
May
'No time to be tired' - German clinic fights severe COVID-19 cases
Written by Nur Yasmin
"We're not overbooked, but there are still too many coming in," a young nurse says as she arms herself with protective equipment: bonnet, gown, goggles, a fine particle mask and two pairs of gloves over her arms.
The 18A intensive care unit (ICU) at the Klinikum Darmstadt hospital in Germany is the last hope for many patients with severe cases of COVID-19.
"They are getting younger and younger," nurse Erik tells Reuters on his way to the "farewell room", where relatives can say goodbye to their loved ones. Medical staff who for days or weeks fought for their patients' survival are often the ones who close the final doors to the cold storage room.
"There's not much time to be tired," nurse Doro says as she hands medication to a doctor. Next door, a colleague is shaving a man hooked up to a ventilator and another prepares a tracheotomy - a cut in a patient's windpipe to make it easier for him to breathe on his own.
Two floors below, in the emergency room (ER), there is even more activity as senior physician Christine Hidas' team of about 10 specialists and nurses looks after 50 patients at once.
There is so much work that for five hours nobody gets around to eating the pizza that was delivered in the early afternoon.
Cihan Celik, a senior physician on the hospital's non-intensive ward, knows many people underestimate the disease. On this day, he explains to a man in his 40s - who says he is fine - that his blood analysis shows he will go through a severe course of the disease.
However, the most striking thing is that none of the staff complain.
And in the meantime, the numbers are getting better. The hospital has treated almost 900 COVID-19 patients since March 2020, nearly a quarter of them in the ICU, and recorded around 60 patient deaths. At the moment, there are 14 in the ICU and nine on the non-intensive ward. (Reuters)
May
U.S. minimizes prospect of new North Korea initiative at Moon summit
Written by Nur Yasmin
In their meeting on Friday, Biden is set to prioritize boosting cooperation with Seoul on regional security more broadly - notably in response to the challenge posed by China - in high-tech industries such as microchips, the coronavirus pandemic and advancing policy on climate change.
South Korean officials were heartened by Biden's North Korea policy review, which called for a focus on practical diplomatic steps to reduce tensions while maintaining a final goal of persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. read more
But the pandemic, economic and political challenges, and crises elsewhere have shifted the North Korea issue towards a rear burner, complicating Moon's hopes of cementing a peacemaker legacy before leaving office next year.
In a move analysts say appeared a sop to Moon, Biden's Asia policy coordinator Kurt Campbell spoke in an interview with South Korea's Yonhap news agency this week of building on past agreements with North Korea, including one reached in Singapore by Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
That agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged joint efforts to build a peace regime to end seven decades of hostility on the Korean peninsula, something Moon has energetically pursued.
But the White House has declined to offer specifics of incentives it might offer to entice North Korea back to talks.
“At this juncture, it's really not in our interest to preview or comment on specific issues like an end-of-war declaration in hopes of spurring dialogue," a senior administration official told reporters in a Wednesday evening briefing.
"But you can expect that a significant amount of the upcoming visit will be spent discussing the challenges of (North Korea) and how our two countries can move forward together in dialogue."
The official said Moon, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening, was accompanied by CEOs bringing investments in technology and batteries, high-tech semiconductors, issues associated with 5G and new-age logic chips.
Asked if he expected Moon to agree to a joint statement of concern about Chinese activity towards Taiwan, he replied: "I believe there will be a reference to regional security generally and to issues in the maintenance of peace and stability, specifically, yes."
The two governments "see eye-to-eye" on many of the challenges in the Indo-Pacific, the official said.
Biden and Moon are to hold a joint news conference late on Friday afternoon after their talks.
South Korea has set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 24.4% from the 2017 level by 2030 as part of its commitment under the Paris Agreement, but White House global climate policy official John Kerry has been pushing Seoul to double the target.
The senior administration official said Washington was working with allies like South Korea to decarbonize their power and transportation sectors and seek shared enhanced commitments and ambitions for 2030. "I think we'll have more to report on this on Friday," he said.
Moon, facing dwindling domestic popularity over the pandemic, is under pressure to secure more and faster deliveries of U.S.-made vaccines. He has promised to secure a vaccine partnership at the summit by harnessing South Korea's biotech production capacity.Campbell told Yonhap Moon and Biden would discuss how the United States supports Seoul's fight against COVID-19 and ways to jointly boost global vaccine production.
He said summit outcomes would include "tangible partnerships related to addressing supply-chain security and enhancing public and private cooperation on advanced technology."
Ahead of the summit, Ford Motor Co (F.N) and South Korean battery maker SK Innovation (096770.KS) are set to launch a battery joint venture in the United States to support the ramp-up of the U.S. automaker's electric vehicle rollout, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
And South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) could begin construction of a planned $17 billion U.S. chip plant in the third quarter of this year, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday. (Reuters)
May
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has tested negative for COVID-19, after a worker at her residence tested positive, the presidential office said on Thursday.
"The president is healthy and safe," it added.
Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic COVID-19 infections. (Reuters)
May
Malaysia's AirAsia X posts record quarterly loss, eighth in a row
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysian long-haul budget airline AirAsia X Bhd (AIRX.KL) reported a record loss for the first three months of the year and its eighth quarterly loss in a row as the coronavirus pandemic devastated demand for air travel.
The airline, an affiliate of AirAsia Group Bhd (AIRA.KL), on Thursday reported a net loss of 5.67 billion ringgit ($1.37 billion) in January-March, more than 10 times the loss of 549.7 million ringgit seen in the same period last year.
The loss was primarily attributable to the impairment of assets, it said in a statement.
Revenue for the quarter fell 95.8% to 38.5 million ringgit.
AirAsia said it has assessed the recoverability of its assets in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its restructuring process, and impaired those assets by 5.28 billion ringgit.
The airline has been looking to reconstitute 64.15 billion in debt, and said the asset impairment does not impact the restructuring.
"Appropriate accounting entries will be made on a successful restructuring that will reflect more appropriately the assets and liabilities based on the final agreed restructuring terms," it said.
It also said it remains committed to resuming commercial operations as soon as possible on the successful completion of the restructuring plan and the opening of international borders.
The airline has changed its financial year end from Dec. 31 to June 30, expecting the outcome of the restructuring to be known then. It said the basis of preparation for its audited financial statements will clear and be of more value to shareholders at that point. (Reuters)
May
Myanmar displaced shelter in camps in border state, France calls for aid
Written by Nur Yasmin
Children and the elderly make up a large proportion of people taking refuge in camps in northwest Myanmar to escape fighting between the army and insurgents, residents said on Thursday, as France called for an urgent delivery of humanitarian aid.
In the past week, Chin State bordering India has seen some of the most serious fighting since Myanmar's military seized power in a coup on Feb. 1 and removed the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
India said this week more than 15,000 people had crossed the border to seek refuge there but residents in Chin State said many of the most vulnerable were sheltering in camps around the town of Mindat after it was overrun by the army.
"Children and the elderly make up a big proportion of the groups. Some didn't have sandals. They trekked through the forest barefoot for days," said a 34-year-old resident helping look after the displaced who asked not to be identified.
He said that villages around Mindat were looking after about 2,000 displaced people in camps and churches, while access to the town that was once home to more than 40,000 people had been blocked.
"We will face food shortage after a week," said the resident, adding that petrol supplies were about to run out.
Pleading for international aid, another resident said the camp he was at had 13 bags of rice and would see shortages soon with the 140 people there now expected to swell to 300.
Those fleeing say thousands of people left Mindat after the army attacked to root out fighters of the Chinland Defence Force, who are aligned with a National Unity Government formed by the junta's opponents.
The French Embassy in Myanmar in a statement on its Facebook page blamed a "disproportionate use of force and war weapons against civilians by the military" for causing a loss of human life and the displacement of thousands in Chin State.
"The restoration of access to water and electricity as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid for population in need are an immediate necessity," the embassy said.
Fighting in the area was still going on and a citizens' administrative group said in a post on social media Chin militia had killed three soldiers on a rod out of Mindat on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment.
Since overthrowing and detaining Suu Kyi, the junta has struggled to impose its authority in the face of daily protests, paralysing strikes and an upsurge of fighting against old and new groups of ethnic minority fighters.
At least 10 people had been killed in Chin State in the past week, according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. It puts the countrywide death toll since the coup at 807, a figure disputed by the army.
The United Nations said nearly 10,000 people had been displaced in Kachin State in the north by renewed fighting since mid-March. Thousands have also been displaced by clashes in the east and northeast. (Reuters)
May
Japan’s exports jump most in decade as trade recovery perks up
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's exports grew the most since 2010 in April while capital spending perked up on surging global demand for cars and electronics, lifting hopes that an improvement in trade could help lead the world’s third-largest economy back to growth.
Also brightening the outlook, confidence among the nation's manufacturers hit a more than two-year high in May on the back of solid overseas orders, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.
While the stronger exports and imports are partly helped by the favourable statistical base effects from the major plunge in trade seen a year earlier, real demand is also on the mend.
Global appetite for cars and electronics has picked up since last year, driven by a recovery in the U.S. and Chinese economies -- Japan's key markets -- although global chip shortages put a drag on overseas shipments in recent months.
Exports rose 38.0% in April from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, compared with a 30.9% increase expected by economists and following a 16.1% rise in March. That was the fastest gain since April 2010, led by U.S.-bound shipments of cars and car parts and Chinese demand for chip-making equipment.
"The trade data confirmed that exports were recovering steadily. Particularly car exports, which fell a lot last year, are picking up," said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
"In Japan, capital spending tends to move in sync with external demand, so an export recovery is encouraging for machinery orders and capital expenditure."
By destination, exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, rose 33.9% year-on-year in April, led by shipments of chip-making equipment, hybrid cars and scrap copper.
U.S.-bound exports grew 45.1% in the year to April, the fastest gain since 2010, on the back of demand for automobiles, car parts and ship engines.
Separate data from the Cabinet Office showed Japan's core machinery orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, rose 3.7% in March from the previous month.
The rise in core orders, which exclude those of ships and electric utilities, compared with a 6.4% increase seen in a Reuters poll of economists, the data showed.
The Cabinet Office maintained its assessment on machinery orders, saying that a pick-up is stalling.
Japan's economy fell back into decline in the first quarter and economists have sharply revised down estimates for growth this quarter as emergency curbs hobble consumer spending that makes up more than half the economy.
"Export growth is welcome for the Japanese economy, but that doesn't mean the whole of Japan can benefit from it," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
"What's important now is a recovery in service-sector activity helped by a progress on coronavirus vaccination." (Reuters)