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March
Clash over Myanmar representation at U.N. averted for now
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 5 - A clash over who represents Myanmar at the United Nations in New York after a Feb. 1 military coup was averted - for now - after the junta’s replacement quit and the Myanmar U.N. mission confirmed that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun remained in the job.
Kyaw Moe Tun was fired by the junta on Saturday, a day after he urged countries at the 193-member U.N. General Assembly to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup that ousted the nation’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In Washington, Myanmar’s embassy also signaled a break with the junta on Thursday, issuing a statement decrying the deaths of civilians protesting the coup and calling on authorities to “fully exercise utmost restraint.”
Police in Myanmar broke up demonstrations in several places with tear gas and gunfire on Thursday as protesters took to the streets again, undeterred by the rising death toll in a crackdown on coup opponents.
“Instead of demonstrating respect for the rule of law, pursuing dialogue and refraining from violence, the military has dramatically accelerated violence against the people of Burma,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday. “This is simply unacceptable.”
On Sunday, the Myanmar U.N. mission said Kyaw Moe Tun’s deputy, Tin Maung Naing, would become the acting U.N. envoy. On Monday, Kyaw Moe Tun formally staked his claim to remain the country’s legitimate representative - a job he has held since October - in a letter to the United Nations.
The rival claims raised the prospect of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly having to address the issue.
On Wednesday, the Myanmar U.N. mission told the United Nations that Tin Maung Naing had resigned and Kyaw Moe Tun remained the country’s ambassador. It said the note it sent on Sunday “shall be ignored.”
Myanmar’s representation at the United Nations could become an issue again if the junta tries to appoint a new ambassador.
The U.N. special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, has warned that no country should recognize or legitimize the Myanmar junta.
The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss Myanmar on Friday in a closed meeting, diplomats said. The 15-member council has voiced concern over the state of emergency, but stopped short of condemning the coup due to opposition from Russia and China.
“The people of Burma have stood firm for democracy, our voices need to be equally firm, and they must be united in supporting the people of Burma,” Thomas-Greenfield said. (Reuters)
March
Tsunami warnings as third strong earthquake strikes off New Zealand
Written by Nur YasminMar. 5 - Evacuation orders were issued for New Zealanders living in some areas on the east coast on the North Island after a third earthquake struck in the area on Friday.
The latest was a magnitude 8.0 quake that struck the Kermadec Islands, northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. This came shortly after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in the same region.
Earlier, another large 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck about 900 kilometres away on the east of the North Island and was felt by tens of thousands, causing its own tsunami warning. This warning was later lifted.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a tsunami warning saying areas under threat were from the Bay of Islands to Whangarei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay including Whakatane and Opotiki, and the Great Barrier Island.
“People near the coast in the following areas must move immediately to the nearest high ground, out of all tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as possible. DO NOT STAY AT HOME,” NEMA said on Twitter.
“The earthquake may not have been felt in some of these areas, but evacuation should be immediate as a damaging tsunami is possible,” it added.
There was no tsunami threat to other areas of New Zealand.
Earlier the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck off the east of New Zealand’s North Island was felt by more than 60,000 people across the country with many describing the shaking as “severe”. Aftershocks were still being recorded in the area.
There were no immediate reports of damage from either earthquake.
“Hope everyone is ok out there - especially on the East Coast who would have felt the full force of that earthquake,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern posted on Instagram. (Reuters)
March
Obesity a driving factor in COVID-19 deaths, global report finds
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 5 - The majority of global COVID-19 deaths have been in countries where many people are obese, with coronavirus fatality rates 10 times higher in nations where at least 50% of adults are overweight, a global study found on Thursday.
The report, which described a “dramatic” correlation between countries’ COVID-19 death and obesity rates, found that 90% or 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from the pandemic disease so far were in countries with high levels of obesity.
The study analysed the COVID-19 death figures from Johns Hopkins University in the United States and the World Health Organization’s Global Health Observatory data on obesity.
Strikingly, the authors said, there is no example of a country where people are generally not overweight or obese having high COVID-19 death rates.
“Look at countries like Japan and South Korea, where they have very low levels of COVID-19 deaths as well as very low levels of adult obesity,” said Tim Lobstein, an expert advisor to the World Obesity Federation and visiting professor at Australia’s Sydney University who co-led the report.
“They have prioritised public health across a range of measures, including population weight, and it has paid off in the pandemic.”
By contrast, the report found that in the United States and Britain, for example, both COVID-19 death rates and obesity levels were among the highest.
The United Kingdom has the world’s third-highest coronavirus death rate and the fourth-highest obesity rate - 184 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and 63.7% of adults overweight, according to WHO data - followed by the United States, with 152.49 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and 67.9% of adults overweight.
John Wilding, a professor of medicine at Britain’s University of Liverpool and president of the World Obesity Federation, said obesity should be recognised as a key COVID-19 health risk and taken into account in vaccination plans.
“It’s really important that we recognise that obesity ... increases the risk,” he said in a statement about the report’s findings. “Therefore, like other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, people with obesity should be considered for early priority in vaccination programmes across the world.” (Reuters)
March
U.N. rights investigator calls for tough sanctions on Myanmar
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 5 - The United Nations human rights investigator on Myanmar said on Thursday the military there has murdered, beaten and unlawfully arrested protesters since its illegal Feb. 1 coup and he called for wide-ranging punitive sanctions.
Thomas Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council - which meets on Myanmar on Friday - to impose a global arms embargo and targeted economic sanctions on the junta and refer alleged atrocities to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
States should impose sanctions on the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, now controlled by the military and its largest source of revenue, he said in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. (Reuters)
March
Hong Kong dropped from Economic Freedom Index as policies 'controlled from Beijing'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - Hong Kong has been excluded from the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom because its economic policies are controlled from Beijing, the Washington-based think tank said, removing Hong Kong from a list it topped for 25 years up to 2019.
The title of the world’s freest economy for 2021 was retained by Singapore for the second year, the Heritage Foundation said, with Hong Kong’s investment freedom hurt by political and social unrest dating back to 2019.
In the 2021 index published on Thursday, the foundation said Hong Kong and Macau, both special administrative regions of China, were no longer included because even though citizens enjoy more economic freedom than the average resident of China, “developments in recent years have demonstrated unambiguously that those policies are ultimately controlled from Beijing”.
Developments in Hong Kong or Macau that are relevant to economic freedom would be considered in the context of China’s evaluation in the index, it added. China slipped to 107 from 103, among the list of 178 countries.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong government’s financial secretary expressed “deep disappointment” at the decision.
“The decision is neither warranted nor justified. It does not do justice to (Hong Kong),” the spokesman said, adding that the claim that the city’s economic policies are controlled by Beijing is “ill-conceived and simply not true”.
He added that the assessment was “politically biased” and that Hong Kong’s core economic competitiveness, including free flow of capital, remains under the “one country, two systems” formula of governance put in place in 1997 when the city reverted from British to Chinese rule.
The U.S. suspended Hong Kong’s preferential tariff rates for exports to the country and imposed sanctions on Hong Kong and Beijing officials last year in response to China’s imposition of a national security law on the former British colony, saying it undermined the city’s high autonomy.
Critics of the law say it is aimed at crushing dissent, while authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong say it was necessary to restore stability after anti-government and anti-China unrest.
Earlier this week, London-based non-governmental organisation Hong Kong Watch said in a report that “red capital” - money originating from mainland China - had fundamentally shaped Hong Kong’s politics, media and the city’s status as a business hub.
In 2019, 82% of IPOs in Hong Kong were by mainland companies, while in October 2020, mainland equities comprised 57.3% of the Hang Seng Index by weighting, the group said. (Reuters)
March
EU suspends development funds in Myanmar after coup
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - The European Union has suspended its support for development projects in Myanmar to avoid providing financial assistance to the military who seized power last month, officials said on Thursday.
The 27-nation bloc informed a committee of the World Trade Organization on Thursday that it had put on hold all development cooperation that would support the military authorities, a Geneva-based trade official said.
The European Commission, the EU executive, confirmed it had put on hold the budgetary support, which has typically gone to schools, elections and rural development and is worth hundreds of millions of euros over several years. (Reuters)
March
U.N. rights chief seeks access to Ethiopia's Tigray to probe war crimes
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Ethiopia on Thursday to grant U.N. monitors access to the Tigray region to investigate reports of continuing killings and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes.
In a statement, she said that multiple parties to the conflict had been identified as possible perpetrators, including the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Eritrean armed forces, and Amhara regional forces and allied militia. (Reuters)
March
World food price index rises in Feb for ninth month running: FAO
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - World food prices rose for a ninth consecutive month in February, hitting their highest level since July 2014, led by jumps in sugar and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 116.0 points last month versus a slightly revised 113.2 in January.
The January figure was previously given as 113.3.
The Rome-based FAO also said in a statement that worldwide cereal harvests remained on course to hit an annual record in 2020, adding that early indications pointed to a further increase in production this year. (Reuters)
March
Digitization of APEC business travel card offers plethora of benefits
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - Officials from APEC member economies finalized their work toward modernizing and increasing the security and efficiency of business travel through the unveiling of the virtual or digital APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC).
The virtual ABTC showcased a digital version of the APEC Business Travel Card on a mobile application, thereby facilitating cardholders to present their virtual card to enter an APEC economy, according to a written statement issued by the APEC Business Mobility Group and received here on Thursday.
"Our objective is to make traveling under the APEC Business Travel Card scheme more secure, efficient, convenient, and user-friendly, particularly as APEC members are looking for safe and effective measures to open up borders and resume international travel," Kimberlee Stamatis, convenor of the APEC Business Mobility Group, overseeing the scheme, stated.
The Virtual ABTC encompasses security features, such as user verification, the use of holographic watermarks, and disabling of screenshots within the mobile application to ensure authenticity of the cardholder.
It also offers real-time connectivity to the internet, providing speedy updates of pre-clearance information required for entry into APEC economies.
"Each APEC economy will determine its own timeline to transition to the virtual ABTC for its cardholders. Cardholders from transitional members will not have access to the digital service for now. However, the existing processes will remain unchanged," Stamatis stated.
Stamatis, concurrently the director at Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, noted that Australia will be the first economy to transition to the digital service for all Australian cardholders from March 2021.
"We really look forward to seeing other economies transition as soon as possible thereafter," she affirmed.
In order to support member economies’ transition to the new digital service, the process for issuing Virtual ABTCs has been streamlined to align with existing operations with as little alteration as necessary.
Some 19 APEC economies are fully participating members of the ABTC scheme: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Chile; China, Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; South Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Canada and the United States are transitional members.
The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) scheme facilitates short-term business travel within the APEC economies by streamlining the entry process at ports of entry within the region. Approved applicants are issued a card that functions as the entry authority to fully participating economies.
The scheme lowers travel costs between APEC economies by 38 percent for cardholders and businesses pay 27 percent less in application fees and 52 percent less in immigration processing. (Antaranews)
March
Malaysia police investigating spouse of ex-central bank boss over 1MDB funds
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mar. 4 - Malaysian police said on Wednesday it was investigating the husband of the country’s former central bank head for allegedly receiving funds linked to 1MDB, a state fund at the centre of a massive corruption scandal.
Malaysian and U.S authorities have said around $4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), in a globe-spanning scandal that has implicated the country’s former prime minister, U.S. investment firm Goldman Sachs, and others.
Tawfiq Ayman, the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, is facing a money laundering investigation over the alleged transfer of 1MDB-linked funds into a bank account he owns in Singapore, Malaysian police said on Wednesday.
“Given that the case investigation involves evidence in Malaysia and other countries, the Royal Malaysian Police is taking further action by seeking mutual legal assistance... to obtain statements from abroad,” commercial crime investigations director Zainuddin Yaacob said in a statement.
A representative for Zeti and Tawfiq did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When asked about the police probe, BNM referred to a statement that it disclosed all information received from foreign financial intelligence units to the relevant domestic law enforcement agencies.
Malaysian financial daily The Edge reported on Saturday that BNM had been alerted in 2015 and 2016 during Zeti’s tenure as governor about suspicious transactions involving a company owned by Tawfiq and the couple’s son.
The funds came from accounts linked to fugitive financier Jho Low, The Edge reported, citing official documents it had sighted. Reuters has not independently verified the report.
Low, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, is wanted in the United States and Malaysia over his alleged central role in the 1MDB theft.
Malaysia said on Wednesday audit firm Deloitte will pay the government $80 million to resolve claims related to its auditing of 1MDB’s accounts between 2011 and 2014. (Reuters)