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April
Olympic president Bach to visit Japan in May, meet PM Suga
Written by nuke
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will visit Japan in May, the Kyodo News agency said on Saturday, as the nation struggles to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases before the start of the Games.
Bach will attend a torch relay ceremony in the western city of Hiroshima on May 17 and meet with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga the next day, Kyodo said, citing sources close to the matter. Bach is expected to back Japan's commitment to safely hosting the Summer Games, Kyodo reported.
Representatives for the Tokyo Olympics could not be reached when called for comment outside regular business hours.With fewer than 100 days until the Olympics are due to start in Tokyo, Japan expanded quasi-emergency measures to 10 regions on Friday as a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases spread.Suga, who is on a state visit to the United States, said at a press conference on Friday that he told President Joe Biden he was committed to moving forward with the Games and that Biden offered his support//Reuters
April
Australia to continue review of COVID vaccinations - health minister
Written by nuke
Australia to continue review of COVID vaccinations - health minister
Australia will continue its review of coronavirus vaccines after a 48-year-old woman's death was likely linked to the inoculation, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday.
On Friday, Australia reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 shot. It was the third case of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in the country.
"The government will ask ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) to ensure continuous review of all of the vaccines in terms of their safety and their efficacy," Hunt said at a televised briefing.
He said there will be no immediate change to further limit the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and reiterated that the Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccine remains the preferred option for people under the age of 50.
There had been at least 885,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines administered in Australia so far, equating to a frequency of instance of blood clot in every 295,000 cases, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said earlier this week.
Hunt also said that a decision on whether to prioritise athletes and support staff in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout with the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching will be taken in the coming week.
"We shall want to see our olympians get to the Olympics and we want to see that they are safe," he said.
Australia has been one of the world's most successful countries in curbing the pandemic, with snap lockdowns, border closures and swift tracking limiting coronavirus infections to just under 29,500 infections, with 910 COVID-19 deaths//Reuters
April
US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russia on Friday (Apr 16) banned top officials from US President Joe Biden's administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals.
The Russian action comes a day after Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for what it says was interference by the Kremlin in US elections, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.
Moscow in a forceful response said top US officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden's chief domestic policy advisor Susan Rice, and FBI chief Christopher Wray would be banned from entering Russia.
Lists of officials banned from entry are usually kept secret, but Russia's foreign ministry said it was revealing the names due to the "unprecedented nature" of the current tensions with Washington.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia was responding to US sanctions in "a tit-for-tat manner" by asking 10 US diplomats in Russia to leave the country while also expelling five Polish diplomats in response to a similar move by Warsaw.
Lavrov also said that Putin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that US envoy John Sullivan leave for Washington to conduct "serious consultations".
Sullivan said he had only seen a message on the Russian foreign ministry's website and was consulting with Washington.
"We have not received any official diplomatic correspondence providing details of the Russian government actions against the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Russia," Sullivan said in a statement.
"It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States," a spokesperson said in Washington.
Biden's suggestion earlier this week had amounted to a peace offering at a time when tensions between Russia and the West have escalated over the conflict in Ukraine.
The US penalties announced Thursday widened restrictions on US banks trading in Russian government debt and sanctioned 32 individuals accused of meddling in the 2020 US presidential vote//CNA
April
Queen Elizabeth and Britain to bid farewell to Prince Philip
Written by nuke
Queen Elizabeth and Britain bid farewell to Prince Philip
Queen Elizabeth bid a final farewell to Prince Philip, her husband of more than seven decades, at a ceremonial funeral on Saturday (Apr 17), with the nation set to fall silent to mark the passing of a pivotal figure in the British monarchy.
While the ceremony include some of the traditional grandeur of a significant royal event, there are just 30 mourners inside St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the funeral service because of COVID-19 restrictions.
There are no public procession, all the congregation wear masks, and the queen, who says the death has left a "huge void", sit alone.
"She's the queen, she behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. And at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to who she was married for 73 years," said Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who help officiate at the service.
He said he expected the funeral to resonate with the millions of people around the world who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.
"I think there will be tears in many homes because other names will be on their minds, faces they've lost that they don't see again, funerals they couldn't go to as many haven't been able to go to this one because it is limited to 30 in the congregation," he said. "That will break many a heart."He called on the British public to pray for the monarch.
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had been by his wife's side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died peacefully at the age of 99 last week at the castle where the royal couple had been staying during a recent lockdown.
A decorated Royal Navy veteran of World War Two, his funeral, much of which was planned in meticulous detail by the prince himself, has a strong military feel, with personnel from across the armed forces playing prominent roles.
At 1400 GMT, before the service starts, there will be a minute's silence.
The congregation will be limited to members of the royal family and Philip's family, with no place for political figures such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will watch the event on television where it will be broadcast live.
The entire event will be held within the walls of Windsor Castle and the public have been asked not to congregate outside or at any other royal residences to show their respects//CNA
April
Biden to welcome Japan’s Suga as first guest and key ally in China strategy
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday became the first foreign leader to be hosted at the White House since President Joe Biden took office, underscoring Tokyo's central role in U.S. efforts to counter China's growing assertiveness.
The one-day summit offers the Democratic president a chance to work further on his pledge to revitalize U.S. alliances that frayed under his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
The meeting is expected to yield steps diversifying supply chains seen as over-reliant on China and a $2 billion commitment from Japan to work with the United States on alternatives to the 5G network of Chinese firm Huawei, a senior U.S. official said.
Biden and Suga also plan to discuss human rights issues related to China, including the situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the official said.
The summit, Biden's first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, is expected to produce a formal statement on Taiwan, a Chinese-claimed, self-ruled island under increasing military pressure from Beijing, said the official, who did not want to be identified. Taiwan is China's most sensitive territorial issue.
It would be the first joint statement on Taiwan by U.S. and Japanese leaders since 1969. However, it appears likely to fall short of what Washington has been hoping from Suga, who inherited a China policy that sought to balance security concerns with economic ties when he took over as premier last September.
In a statement after a March meeting of U.S.-Japan officials, the two sides "underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and shared "serious concerns" about human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
The U.S. official said that both countries, while not wanting to raise tensions or provoke China, were trying to send a clear signal that Beijing's dispatch of warplanes into Taiwan's air defense zone was incompatible with maintaining peace and stability.
A Japanese foreign ministry official said this week it had not been decided whether there would be a joint statement and two Japanese ruling party lawmakers familiar with the discussions said officials have been divided over whether Suga should endorse a strong statement on Taiwan.
The U.S. official said Washington would not "insist on Japan somehow signing on to every dimension of our approach" and added: "We also recognize the deep economic and commercial ties between Japan and China and Prime Minister Suga wants to walk a careful course, and we respect that."
China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday that China has expressed solemn concern about what he called "collusion" between Japan and the United States, and the countries should take China's concerns seriously.
SUGA MEETS HARRIS
Suga met first with Vice President Kamala Harris and was then due to sit down with Biden in the Oval Office before holding a joint news conference. Earlier, Suga participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Japan highly praises and appreciates that the Biden-Harris administration puts high importance on cooperating with its allies and partners," Suga told reporters as he began talks with Harris.
"There is no other time than today when the Japan-U.S. alliance needs to be strong," he added, citing "a wide range of challenges."
Harris said they would discuss "our mutual commitment in the Indo-Pacific."
With his in-person summit with Suga, and another planned with South Korea in May, Biden - who took office on Jan. 20 - is working to focus on the Indo-Pacific region to deal with China’s rising power, which he sees as the critical foreign policy issue of the era.
He hopes to energize joint efforts with Australia, India and Japan, in a grouping known as the Quad, as well as with South Korea, to counter both China and longtime U.S. foe North Korea, and its increasingly threatening nuclear weapons program.
It requires a delicate balancing act given Japan and South Korea's economic ties with China and currently frosty relations between Seoul and Tokyo.
Suga said before leaving Japan for Washington he hoped to show U.S.-Japan leadership in creating a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and build a relationship of trust with Biden.
The emphasis on Japan's key status could boost Suga ahead of an election this year, but some politicians are pushing him for a tougher stance towards Beijing as it increases maritime activities in the East and South China Seas and near Taiwan.
The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have all imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged abuses in Xinjiang and some Japanese lawmakers think Tokyo should adopt its own law allowing it to do the same, even as Japanese executives worry about a Chinese backlash. (Reuters)
April
Singapore blogger crowdfunds over $100,000 to pay PM defamation damages
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. A Singaporean activist said on Friday he had raised S$144,389 ($108,200) through social media to cover defamation damages he had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the second such crowdfunding case involving a blogger this month.
The prime minister sued Roy Ngerng for a blog post in 2014 in which Ngerng allegedly implicated Lee in impropriety in connection with how funds in Singapore’s mandatory retirement savings scheme, the Central Provident Fund(CPF), are managed.
In 2015, the Singapore High Court ordered Ngerng to pay the prime minister S$150,000 in damages in addition to S$29,000 in legal fees.
Ngerng said he had revived his fundraising campaign after Leong Sze Hian, a financial adviser, raised S$133,000 this month to cover damages that he was ordered to pay the prime minister in a separate defamation case.
Ngerng said had been making the payments in installments over the last five years.
"We have made it," Ngerng said in a post on Friday, announcing the completion of the funding.
As the head of a government that has pledged zero tolerance of corruption, Lee, 69, is no stranger to seeking to protect his reputation via legal channels.
Senior figures in the ruling People's Action Party, including Lee's late father and the founder of modern-day Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, have previously sued foreign media and political opponents for defamation. (Reuters)
April
Japan's March exports likely grew at fastest pace in more than 3 years
Written by Nur YasminJakarta. Japan's exports likely posted their strongest growth in more than three years in March as overseas demand recovered, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, but more disruptions from the coronavirus crisis threatened to slow the growth of shipments.
The recovery in the world's third-largest economy has been led by improving output and exports, but slow vaccine rollouts and a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases are clouding the outlook for consumption.
Next week's key data includes core consumer inflation, which is expected to fall for the eight consecutive month as price pressures remained low due to weak consumer demand.
Exports likely rose 11.6% in March from a year earlier, which would mark the sharpest rise since January 2018, the poll of 16 economists showed.
Imports were forecast to have grown 4.7% in March from a year earlier, which would result in a trade surplus of 490.0 billion yen ($4.5 billion).
Japan's economy suffered greatly from a shakeout in global trade due to the pandemic in the first quarter of last year, when it entered a recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years.
"Exports are again expected to turn positive compared to a year earlier, as they started to decline greatly in March last year due to the impact of the coronavirus," said Kenta Maruyama, an economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.
"While the rising trend that is driven by strong demand for capital and information-related goods continues, it is slowing down slightly."
The finance ministry announces trade data at 8:50 a.m. on Monday (2350 GMT Sunday).
The core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, is expected to have fallen 0.1% in March compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the Reuters poll.
The pace of decline, however, was expected to remain moderate as rising energy prices increasingly offset the downward pressure from lacklustre consumer spending due to the pandemic.
The government releases core CPI at 8:30 a.m. on Friday (2330 GMT Thursday). (Reuters)
April
Thailand uses hotels for COVID patients as cases surge
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Thailand reported on Friday its fifth record daily tally of coronavirus cases this week, as authorities set up thousands of field hospitals to cope with an influx of patients and lined up hotels to provide extra beds for those without symptoms.
All positive cases have to be admitted into care under Thai rules, and with 10,461 patients being treated the medical sector could be put under additional strain.
Authorities also announced the closure of bars, massage parlours and schools starting on Sunday for at least two weeks to curb the outbreak.
Alcohol sales in restaurants are banned and activities involving more than 50 people are also prohibited, coronavirus taskforce spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin said.
Eighteen provinces including Bangkok had been labelled as red zones where restaurants and convenience stores close early, with the rest of the country categorised as orange zones.
More than 20,000 beds have been set up at field hospitals across the country at community centres and gyms. Hotels and hospitals are also partnering to set up "hospitels" to treat asymptomatic patients, the health ministry said.
Five thousand beds across 23 hotels had been readied, it said in a statement. About 2,000 beds are occupied and an additional 7,000 more could be added.
Hotels already hosting travellers to Thailand for quarantine were best positioned for this, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, told Reuters.
"They have all the processes in place such as preventing cross contamination, wearing PPE suits, cleaning, making sure floors are not carpeted," she said.
Hotels register through the health ministry and are matched with hospitals that require extra beds.
The hotels range from three- to five-star facilities and are mostly on the outskirts of Bangkok, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, which saw 312 new infections on Friday.
Thailand has so far managed to contain the number of cases relative to other countries, but the new outbreak comes as many have travelled during the country's Songkran new year holidays this week and as vaccination rates are still low.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government was in contact for the possible procurement of the Sputnik V and Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccines. So far, it has two million doses of China's Sinovac vaccine and 117,300 shots from AstraZeneca (AZN.L).
Thailand reported 1,582 new coronavirus cases on Friday, marking the highest number of daily infections since the start of the pandemic.
The new cases took the total number of infections to 39,038, with deaths remaining at 97. (Reuters)
April
Australia reports first blood clot death 'likely' linked to AstraZeneca vaccine
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Australia on Friday reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 shot, and its regulator said there was a likely link between the 48-year-old woman's death and the vaccine.
Hers was the third instance of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in Australia. The other two are recovering well, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) added.
It said it was "carefully reviewing" similar instances in Australia.
The New South Wales woman received the AstraZeneca vaccine on April 8, the day that the government announced that the Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccine would be given as a preference to patients under 50, delaying its inoculation timetable. read more
In the absence of an alternative cause for the clot that she developed, Australia's Vaccine Safety Investigation Group (VSIG) "believed that a causative link to vaccination should be assumed at this time," the TGA said.
The VSIG had held a meeting late on Friday following news of the woman's death.
The TGA said her case had been complicated by underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, "as well as some atypical features."
There had been at least 885,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines administered in Australia so far, equating to a frequency of instance of blood clot in every 295,000 cases, the TGA said.
"The overall number ...so far has been no higher than the expected background rate for the more common type of blood clots," it said.
The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, has concluded from its review of cases reported in the UK that the overall risk of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis - a rare blood clot in the brain - was approximately 1 in 250,000 who receive the vaccine.
Australia has reported over 22,000 COVID-19 cases of community transmission and 909 deaths. (Reuters)
April
Cambodia launches lockdown in capital as COVID-19 outbreak spreads
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Cambodia brought in a coronavirus lockdown in Phnom Penh and a satellite district of the capital on Thursday in a bid to contain a spike in coronavirus cases in a country that up until recently had largely managed to contain infections.
Under the lockdown, which Prime Minister Hun Sen announced late on Wednesday, most people are banned from leaving home except for going to work, to buy food or for medical treatment.
Police manning checkpoints on Thursday in Phnom Penh asked motorists to show work documents and identity cards in order to pass, television footage on local media showed.
In a voice message posted on his official Facebook page, Hun Sen warned Cambodia was on the brink of "death valley" and urged people to work together to avoid calamity.
"The purpose of the lockdown is to combat the spread of COVID-19 and this closure is not a way to make people die or suffer," he said.
The Southeast Asian country still has one of the world's smallest coronavirus caseloads, but an outbreak that started in late February saw cases spike almost ten-fold to 4,874 within two months and the first deaths recorded with 36 fatalities
Hours before the lockdown, Hun Sen's message was leaked on social media, prompted panic buying of food and other goods in shops by residents in Phnom Penh and the nearby Takhmau area, where a lockdown has also been imposed. (Reuters)