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March
US and allies launch COVID-19 vaccine plan in Biden's first summit with Japan, India, Australia
Written by nuke
President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, from the State Dining Room of the White House on Mar 12, 2021, in Washington. (Photo: AP/Alex Brandon)
The United States, India, Japan and Australia on Friday (Mar 12) announced a joint drive to ramp up the COVID-19 vaccine supply in Asia, mounting a challenge to China in the first-ever summit of the four like-minded powers.
US President Joe Biden, who has vowed to reinvigorate alliances in the face of growing worries about China, met virtually with the three nations' prime ministers and told them that the so-called Quad format would become a "vital arena" for cooperation.
"We're renewing our commitment to ensure that our region is governed by international law, committed to upholding universal values and free from coercion," said Biden, who like the others made no explicit, but plenty of implicit, mentions of China."A free and open Indo-Pacific is essential," he said, a message reinforced by the other leaders as concerns mount about China's assertion of power around the region.
Pledging that the Quad should bring "practical solutions and concrete results," Biden said, "We're launching an ambitious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing for the global benefit and strengthen vaccinations to benefit the entire Indo-Pacific."
US officials said the initiative would produce up to one billion vaccine doses by 2022 as the world seeks to turn the page on the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan would see pharmaceutical hub India manufacturing the single-dose vaccine from US-based Johnson & Johnson, backed by financial support from Japan, with Australia taking charge of shipments.
US officials said the focus would be Southeast Asia at a time when China, where the deadly virus was first detected in late 2019, works to transform its image into that of a global healer.China has shipped vaccines as far afield as the Dominican Republic and provided doses to international partners such as Pakistan and Zimbabwe//CNA
March
APEC accelerates regional response to COVID-19, boost recovery
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Senior officials from 21 APEC member economies are convening virtually to speed up regional response to the protracted impacts of COVID-19 in order to drive the recovery process.
The two-day Senior Officials’ Meeting comes in close heels to a comprehensive discussion on how APEC will carry forward the commitments made by leaders in 2020 and the development of a 20-year implementation plan by taking into account the challenges and risks posed by the pandemic, according to a written statement issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Friday.
"We are facing quite a serious challenge this year, driven in part by the health catastrophe that we all face across our region. However, serious economic challenges now also confront our economies as we look to find a way through this crisis," Vangelis Vitalis, chair of the APEC 2021 Senior Officials, affirmed.
In the wake of wider risk of inequality and rising protectionism against a backdrop of looming uncertainty, Vitalis highlighted the significance of capturing and featuring all the challenges, as senior officials deliberate on policy measures and make concerted regional efforts to drive recovery.
"There is rising protectionism across the world, which challenges us all to re-think the fundamentals of regional economic integration. On top of that, the social licence for trade policy and for economic integration is increasingly under strain, as we witness the unequal impact of COVID-19 on women, small businesses, and indigenous people," Vitalis stressed.
"As a region, we need to work together to ensure APEC effectively responds, not just to the immediate crisis but also to the longer-term need to build a sustainable and resilient regional economy that benefits everyone," he added.
During the dialog, APEC senior officials will seek to realize the need for APEC to become more sustainable and inclusive for all people, including for women and indigenous people. The focus will be to support their full participation in the region’s economy, so it can help to drive new thinking and unlock novel ways to address the global pandemic.
Officials will also hold discussions on measures to respond to the pandemic through economic and trade policies that strengthen the recovery year. This comprises policies that encourage openness and connectivity as well as lessen friction at the border, with the objective of reducing barriers and making it easier for companies to trade throughout the APEC region, especially on COVID-19 essential goods.
Advancing digital inclusion, infrastructure, and green technology will also be a key focus for APEC this year. This encompasses promoting digitally-enabled business and trade, striving for regulatory coherence, and resolving issues pertaining to data and digital trade tools.
"APEC, as a regional forum, needs to seize the moment and rise to the occasion by putting together a concrete response that will benefit all," APEC Secretariat’s Executive Director, Rebecca Sta Maria, noted.
"We want to see the policy that continues to make trade and investment across markets easier, cheaper, faster, and more sustainable to avoid undermining the significant progress that has been achieved in the region in these areas," Sta Maria remarked.
Vitalis concurred by highlighting the importance of APEC economies working in unison to end subsidies on fossil fuels and reducing tariffs on environmental goods and exploring similar work in services.
"APEC needs to show leadership in this area, as is expected from the world’s most dynamic regional economy," he remarked.
"The trade policy should be inclusive, beneficial for all, and be an enabler of solutions to some of the most pressing sustainability issues we all face. Identifying environmental goods and services and addressing barriers to their uptake, for instance, can contribute to our collective climate change mitigation efforts," he explained.
This year will hold significance for APEC and New Zealand. With the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 agreed upon by leaders last year, member economies are mandated to formulate a detailed plan of action to realize the new vision that will expand on the three economic drivers of growth: trade and investment; innovation and digitalization; and strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth.
"The key is for APEC to not only be responsive to the immediate crisis but also relevant to the challenges we are all going to confront over the next 20 years," Vitalis expounded.
"We are looking to work together with all APEC member economies to develop this implementation plan in the spirit of what the Putrajaya Vision talks about in terms of equal partnership. Large or small, we were all equal in this important process," he stated. (Reuters)
March
Global stocks, oil edge away from highs as stimulus rally ebbs
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Global shares were flat on Friday but within sight of a record high while oil edged lower as benchmark debt yields climbed, helping to curb the latest stimulus-driven rally.
Gains in Asian stock markets proved tough to match for most of European peers, after they hit a 1-year high in the prior session. U.S. stock futures also suggested a lower start for Wall Street later in the day.
The note of caution followed the signing of a $1.9 trillion U.S. stimulus bill into law on Thursday and a further dovish tilt from the European Central Bank that had prompted a retreat in bond yields and eased global concerns about rising inflation.
The burst of market optimism from those events had helped Asian shares rise - Japan’s Nikkei added 1.7% - but this faded out as Europe opened for business, with Britain’s FTSE 100 and the STOXX Europe 600 down around 0.5%.
That in turn weighed on the MSCI World Index, taking it into the red, down 0.1%, albeit less than 1.5% away from the record high hit last month.
Biden had signed the stimulus legislation ahead of a televised address in which he pledged aggressive action to speed vaccinations and move the country closer to normality by July 4.
The signing of the American Rescue Plan provided a further boost to market sentiment after the European Central Bank said it was ready to accelerate money-printing to keep a lid on borrowing costs, using its 1.85 trillion euro Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program more generously over the coming months to stop any unwarranted rise in debt financing costs.
Against that backdrop of super-loose monetary policy, analysts largely expect inflation to pick up as vaccine rollouts lead to a reopening, leading to worries that Biden’s stimulus package could overheat the economy.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose again on Friday, back above 1.6% and on track to rise for the seventh straight week.
In currency markets, the dollar gained 0.56% against the yen and 0.4% against the euro and pound, although the latter was helped by news the economy had contracted less than expected in January.
The dollar index, meanwhile, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, rose 0.4%.
Markets will likely remain volatile in the second quarter, particularly for the dollar, which was much stronger than expectations at the start of the year, said Cliff Zhao, chief strategist at China Construction Bank International.
“So I think the strong U.S. dollar may weigh on some liquidity conditions in the emerging markets,” he added.
Oil prices retreated from sharp gains as the dollar firmed, with U.S. crude dipping 0.3% to $65.8 a barrel. Brent crude lost 0.1% to $69.54 per barrel.
Spot gold prices fell 0.8% to $1,707.7 an ounce. (Reuters)
March
Malaysia defends coronavirus fake news law amid outcry
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Malaysia’s government on Friday defended a new law aimed at tackling rampant fake news related to COVID-19 and an ongoing state of emergency, as critics warned it could be used to silence dissent and curtail free speech.
The emergency ordinance, which took effect on Friday, will make it an offence to publish or reproduce any “wholly or partly false” content related to the pandemic or the emergency declaration, prescribing hefty fines and jail terms of up to six years.
Emergency laws do not need parliamentary approval.
Communications Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the ordinance would help expedite enforcement, investigation and prosecution by authorities, who would otherwise be hampered by old laws that are ill equipped to deal with the rapid expansion of social media.
“Our interest is in fighting COVID-19 and we will do whatever it takes ... we take cognisance of the fact that we have to be fair, we have to be just in carrying out our duties,” Saifuddin told a news conference.
But opposition lawmakers and civil society groups said the new law was too sweeping and could be used to instill fear among the public about criticising the government.
Earlier on Friday, the prime minister’s department on Twitter posted a government circular prohibiting civil servants from making negative public statements, or sharing or distributing any content deemed detrimental to government policies or its image.
In January, parliament was suspended after King Al-Sultan Abdullah declared a state of emergency to curb the spread of COVID-19, a move that the opposition decried as an attempt by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to retain control amid a power struggle.
Malaysia has reported 320,939 COVID-19 infections as of Friday, with 1,203 deaths, the third highest caseload in the region behind Indonesia and the Philippines. (Reuters)
March
COVID-19 outbreak at Hong Kong gym sends shivers through expat community
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Hong Kong recorded 60 coronavirus cases on Friday, the city’s government said, as it scrambled to contain transmissions mainly amongst its expatriate community after a cluster at a gym spilled into the financial sector and international schools.
Hong Kong’s health department told a briefing that around 47 cases were related to the outbreak at Ursus Fitness, a gym in the city’s trendy Sai Ying Pun district, which is popular with expatriate lawyers, bankers and hedge fund executives.
Over 240 people were sent to government quarantine due to the gym cluster, authorities said on Thursday. Many of the clients did not wear masks during their workout, they said.
A whole class of primary school students aged around 9 years old at Kellett school, a prestigious British school, were also sent to quarantine, after confirmed cases were found.
One parent will be allowed to accompany them for the 14-day period, the school said.
At least nine schools have temporarily closed as a precautionary measure, schools and teachers said on Thursday. Schools had in recent weeks begun to resume face to face teaching after conducting only online classes since November last year.
Prior to the gym outbreak, daily cases in Hong Kong had fallen to low double digit and single digit levels.
“I don’t want to say this is the beginning of the fifth wave,” Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, from the city’s health department, told a press briefing. She added that she hoped the outbreak could be controlled soon.
Gym goers are now required to wear masks during their workout while fitness centre staff must get a COVID-19 test every 14 days, the government said on Friday.
Hong Kong has recorded around 11,000 total coronavirus cases, far lower than other developed cities. The city of 7.5 million people launched its vaccination programme in February but only 145,800 people have received their first shot so far. (Reuters)
March
Turkey plans to host Afghan peace talks in April
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Turkey plans to host Afghanistan peace talks in Istanbul in April, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, and Ankara will appoint an Afghanistan special envoy.
Cavusoglu’s comments come after the United States shared a draft peace plan calling for replacing Afghanistan’s government with a power-sharing interim administration pending elections under a new constitution.
The U.S. proposal is intended to jump-start stalled talks in Doha between the Taliban and a team including Afghan officials on a political settlement to decades of conflict.
Cavusoglu said Turkey had previously been asked by Afghan officials, the Taliban and the negotiation team to host talks, and this week’s decision came after a U.S. proposal for Turkey to host a meeting.
“This is not a meeting that is an alternative to the Qatar process, it is a complement to that,” state-owned Anadolu news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying. We will carry this out in coordination with brotherly Qatar, but it will be in Turkey.”
He said the aim was for talks between the Taliban and the government to continue in a “goal-oriented” way. The exact date in April, and the content of the talks, were being discussed.
Cavusoglu also said Turkey had been sending messages to the Taliban and the negotiating team, calling for violence in the country to stop for talks to yield results.
The Taliban and the Afghan government have been negotiating in Qatar to reach a peace deal. Those talks resumed in January after an almost month-long break, but negotiators and diplomats say there has been little progress since then.
Russia also plans to hold a conference on Afghanistan in Moscow later this month, the TASS news agency said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
March
Philippines reports highest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in almost six months
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - The Philippines’ health ministry on Friday reported 4,578 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase in cases in nearly six months.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases had risen to 611,618, while deaths had reached 12,694, with 87 fatalities added on Friday.
The renewed surge in COVID-19 cases has prompted mayors in the capital Manila, an urban sprawl of 16 cities, to impose an evening curfew until the end of March and remind the public to practise physical distancing. (Reuters)
March
More protests held in Myanmar as South Korea suspends defence exchanges
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - Myanmar activists held more rallies against the junta on Friday as South Korea said it would suspend defence exchanges and reconsider development aid to the Southeast Asian nation because of the military’s harsh crackdown on the protests.
Friday’s rallies came a day after a rights group said security forces killed 12 protesters and as the lawyer of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi ridiculed new bribery allegations against her.
The deaths took to more than 70 the number of protesters killed since the coup, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group said.
“Despite repeated demands of the international community, including South Korea, there are an increasing number of victims in Myanmar due to violent acts of the military and police authorities,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
It said Seoul would suspend defence exchanges, ban arms exports, limit exports of other strategic items, reconsider development aid and grant humanitarian exemptions allowing Myanmar nationals to stay in South Korea until the situation improved.
Protests were held in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, and several other towns on Friday, social media photographs posted by witnesses and news organisations showed. There were no immediate reports of violence.
The country has been in crisis since the army ousted Suu Kyi’s elected government in a Feb. 1 coup, detained her and officials of her National League for Democracy party and set up a ruling junta of generals.
Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said on Thursday Suu Kyi had accepted illegal payments worth $600,000, as well as gold, while in government, according to a complaint by Phyo Mien Thein, a former chief minister of Yangon.
Adding corruption charges to the accusations facing Suu Kyi, 75, could bring her a harsher penalty. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate now faces four comparatively minor charges, such as illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and flouting coronavirus curbs.
“This accusation is the most hilarious joke,” Suu Kyi’s lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said in a statement posted on social media. “She might have other weaknesses but she doesn’t have weakness in moral principle.”
Thursday was one of the deadliest days since the military took power. Among the dead were eight people killed in the central town of Myaing when security forces fired on a protest, the AAPP said.
In Yangon, protester Chit Min Thu was killed in the North Dagon district. His wife, Aye Myat Thu, told Reuters he had insisted on joining the protests despite her appeals that he stay home for the sake of their son.
“He said it’s worth dying for,” she said through her tears. “He is worried about people not joining the protest. If so, democracy will not return to the country.”
The bloodshed also came hours after the U.N. Security Council had called for restraint from the army, which has been trying to put down daily anti-coup protests and paralysing strikes.
Pro-democracy activists urged people not to be cowed and in posts on social media called for night demonstrations on Friday and for strikes and civil disobedience campaigns that have paralysed swathes of the economy to continue.
Candlelight vigils by protesters in defiance of a curfew have been held more frequently in recent weeks.
‘CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY’
U.N. human rights investigator Thomas Andrews told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva the military may have committed crimes against humanity. He called for multilateral sanctions on the junta and the state energy firm, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The army did not respond to requests for comment on the latest deaths, but the junta spokesman said on Thursday the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary.
Rights group Amnesty International accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions.
Suu Kyi fought for decades to overturn military rule under previous juntas before the start of tentative democratic reforms in 2011. She had spent a total of about 15 years under house arrest.
The army has justified taking power by saying that a November election, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi’s party, was marred by fraud - an assertion rejected by the electoral commission.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun reiterated the military would only be in charge for a certain period before holding an election. The junta has said a state of emergency will last for a year, but has not set a date for the election. (Reuters)
March
China warns U.S. to stay out of Hong Kong affairs ahead of Alaska meet
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 12 - China again warned the United States to stop interfering in its affairs, including Hong Kong, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday, ahead of talks between diplomats of both countries which Washington has said would be “difficult”.
China hopes the meeting can focus on cooperation, the spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said.
The two countries diplomats are set to meet in Alaska on Thursday. (Reuters)
March
Western nations condemn Houthi attack on Yemeni city Marib
Written by Nur YasminMar. 12 - Western governments condemned on Thursday an attack by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group on the city of Marib, according to a statement released by Britain’s foreign ministry.
“We, the governments of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, condemn the sustained Houthi offensive on the Yemeni city of Marib and the major escalation of attacks the Houthis have conducted and claimed against Saudi Arabia,” the statement said.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and have been battling a Saudi-led coalition since it intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015, have recently pushed towards the gas-rich region of Marib, aiming to take the government’s last stronghold in the north of Yemen. (Reuters)