VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

FILE PHOTO: Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference after the last of three two-hour debates ahead of the September 20 election, at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Blair Gable - 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing potential defeat in a snap Sep 20 election, defended on Friday (Sep 10) his decision to go to the polls early and said his main rival would undermine the country's fight against COVID-19.

Trudeau, who heads a minority Liberal government that depends on the opposition to pass legislation, called the election in the hope that Canadians would reward his handling of the coronavirus pandemic with a clear majority of the seats in the House of Commons.

But polls show voters are unhappy that Trudeau, 49, who has held power for six years, called the vote during a fourth wave of the pandemic. Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, 48, holds a slight lead over the Liberal leader, surveys show.

Asked whether he regretted the election call, Trudeau told reporters in Hamilton, Ontario: "Absolutely not ... What we see is a very clear contrast between all the different parties on how we need to move forward as a country."

Attacked daily by rivals for taking Canadians to the polls this month, Trudeau has struggled to turn the campaign toward policy issues, and he is running out of time.

On Friday, a day after an inconclusive leaders' debate, Trudeau blasted O'Toole for arguing that COVID-19 vaccinations are a personal choice and should not be mandated.

Unlike the Conservative leader, Trudeau requires his fellow Liberal candidates be inoculated against the virus and last month his center-left government introduced vaccine mandates for domestic travel.

"He's better and quicker to stand up for the rights of those who choose not to get vaccinated than he is for your wife and your kids' rights to be safe from COVID-19," Trudeau said as children played behind him on an indoor soccer field.

O'Toole also was campaigning in Ontario, which has the most parliamentary seats of all Canada's 10 provinces.

"Last night in the debate, I reminded Canadians that nobody asked for this election," O'Toole said in Mississauga. "Justin Trudeau forced an election in the middle of a pandemic. Once again he put himself ahead of others."

The final stretch of the campaign kicked off after Statistics Canada reported that the national unemployment rate fell to 7.1 per cent in August, its lowest point since the onset of the pandemic.

"We have now recovered 95 per cent of the jobs lost during the COVID recession," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said, speaking alongside Trudeau.

"Prices are rising. Our debt is rising, and our economy is shrinking," O'Toole said, referring to an unexpected economic contraction in the second quarter. (See brief profiles of all candidates:)

A rolling Nanos Research poll of 1,200 voters on Thursday showed the Conservatives with 33.3 per cent support and the Liberals at 31.3 per cent. The left-leaning New Democrats had 19.2 per cent//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels are seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration - 

Three US studies suggest COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection against hospitalization and death, even in the face of the highly transmissible Delta variant, but vaccine protection appears to be waning among older populations, especially among those 75 and older.

US data on hospitalisation from nine states during the period when the Delta variant was dominant also suggests that the Moderna vaccine was more effective at preventing hospitalisations among individuals of all ages than vaccines from BioNTech-Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson.

In that study of more than 32,000 visits to urgent care centers, emergency rooms and hospitals, Moderna's vaccine was 95 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation compared with 80 per cent for Pfizer and 60 per cent for J&J.

Overall, the findings, released on Friday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on death and disease show that vaccines continue to offer strong protection from COVID-19//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Paris mayoral candidate Agnes Buzyn delivers a speech after the forecasts for the results of the municipal elections at her campaign headquarters in Paris, France, March 15, 2020. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS - 

Former French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn has been put under formal investigation over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported BFM TV and Agence France Presse on Friday (Sep 10).

The development marks one of first cases worldwide where a leading public sector official has been held legally accountable for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buzyn, health minister from May 2017 to February 2020, had to step down at the start of the pandemic under pressure from President Emmanuel Macron to replace Benjamin Griveaux, the LREM party candidate for Mayor of Paris who was forced to withdraw after a sex-tape scandal.

She lost her bid for the Paris city hall and ended up being appointed in January to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, in charge of monitoring multilateral issues//CNA

President Joko Widodo meeting Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and Yogyakarta Regional Leadership Coordination Forum at the Kepatihan Office, Yogyakarta on Friday. (ANTARA FOTO/Luqman Hakim/my) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination rate in his region.

"There is no set target. (The president) only requests to speed up the vaccination rate, so we must increase it," the Yogyakarta governor remarked after meeting President Jokowi at Gedhong Pracimasana, Kepatihan Complex, here on Friday.

The governor called to accelerate inoculation by pushing mass vaccination programs in Yogyakarta, covering at least 20 thousand people per day. Currently, they only administer vaccines to some 11 thousand residents per day.

"As long as it cannot be done like that (targeting 20 thousand people per day), it will not necessarily be accomplished by the end of this year, if it is only 11 thousand (per day)," he remarked.

Hamengku Buwono X targets an 80-percent vaccination rate in the region by October 2021. However, currently, the vaccination rate in Yogyakarta has only reached 66 percent.

"In October 2021, administration of the first dose was completed, and there will only be the second (dose). However, the important aspect is that after the first dose (of the vaccine), the community already has immunity," Hamengku Buwono X remarked.

He revealed that vaccination in Yogyakarta was not constrained by stocks, but rather, realization at the district level.

"Provinces are just stockpiles. District and cities are doing it. The important aspect is that districts and cities are diligently (administering) vaccines," he added.

Based on the Yogyakarta Regional Government's data, the vaccination rate in Yogyakarta as per September 9, 2021, indicates that 66.42 percent of the total targeted 2,879,699 had received the first vaccination dose, while the second dose was only given to 29.71 percent.

In addition to pressing for expedited vaccinations, President Jokowi reminded the heads of districts and mayors that the opening of community activities in Yogyakarta should be conducted in stages, so that the number of COVID-19 cases do not spike again, the Yogyakarta governor noted.

"Do not open it up and then let (the cases) increase up again. Be careful because it is steep enough, so you will open it gradually and carefully. However, vaccinations must be conducted as much as possible despite only being the first dose," the governor noted.

President Jokowi met with the Yogyakarta governor and the Yogyakarta Regional Leadership Coordination Forum at the Kepatihan Office after observing the mass vaccination at the Jogja Expo Center (JEC) and COVID-19 vaccinations for students at special schools in Bantul District.

According to Secretary of Yogyakarta, Kadarmanta Baskara Aji, after meeting with the Yogyakarta Forkopimda, President Jokowi was scheduled to hold Friday prayers at Gedung Agung and then visit the Muhammadiyah Muallimin Madrasah, Bantul District//ANT