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Security guards and medical workers in protective suits walk at a street that has been sealed off, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China, Apr 7, 2022. (Reuters/Tingshu Wang) - 

Shanghai's unusually high proportion of asymptomatic cases among its reported COVID-19 infections compared with the rest of China, could be partly explained by blurred lines between "mildly symptomatic" and asymptomatic cases.

Shanghai's unusually high share of asymptomatic COVID-19 infections has raised suspicions that the city is classifying mildly symptomatic cases, a different counting method compared to the rest of the country, with comments from a local health adviser adding to the doubts.

Authorities in China's financial centre ordered a lockdown in response to the worst outbreak in the country since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.

Shanghai counted more than 20,000 new cases on Apr 7, but the asymptomatic rate has stood at around 97 per cent, far higher than anywhere else in the world, where it has been closer to 50 per cent.

Fu Chen, head of the municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a written reply to Reuters' questions that Shanghai's rapid surveillance testing was contributing to the big asymptomatic numbers by catching infections earlier.

He also said high vaccination rates were also having an impact, as vaccinated people are less likely to show symptoms.

Fu did not say directly that Shanghai was using less strict diagnostic criteria, but he did suggest the numbers in the rest of China would be comparable if "mildly symptomatic" cases were included in the asymptomatic tally.

"Recently, a press conference of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism also said that the proportion of mildly symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in hospitals across the country exceeds 95 per cent," Fu noted.

The city government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Shanghai uses different diagnostic standards compared to elsewhere.

Asymptomatic cases in China are defined as those that test positive for coronavirus but have no "relevant" clinical manifestations, Fu said.

The national guidelines define asymptomatic cases as those testing positive but showing no clinical symptoms like fever, and no signs of COVID-19 in their lungs, as determined by a CT scan.

Asymptomatic cases are reclassified if symptoms appear later.

"Mildly symptomatic" cases are those that show light symptoms but no signs of pneumonia after a chest scan.

The national standards say that determining an asymptomatic case requires a chest scan, which would put Shanghai's medical system under immense pressure given the scale of the current outbreak. It is unclear how many asymptomatic cases in Shanghai or elsewhere underwent lung CT scans.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told Reuters it would be "absolutely crazy" for anywhere to scan everybody who tested positive.

In Jilin province in China's northeast, site of another major outbreak, asymptomatic cases have accounted for less than half of reported infections, though the figure has been increasing steadily to around 60 per cent in recent days.

But according to Reuters calculations, if Jilin's mildly symptomatic cases are added to the asymptomatic tally, the share would rise to more than 96 per cent - similar to Shanghai's asymptomatic numbers//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Coal piles are seen at JERA's Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, central Japan Oct 18, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Yuka Obayashi) - 

Japan, the world's third-largest coal importer, said on Friday (Apr 8) it will ban coal imports from Russia and impose a wide range of additional sanctions, including freezing the assets of two major banks and broadening sanctions against individuals.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement, which follows similar steps taken by the United States and European Union nations, at a news conference shortly after Japan announced it was expelling eight Russian diplomats and trade officials.

This marks a reversal for Japan, which earlier had said it would reduce imports gradually while looking for alternative suppliers in the wake of sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24.

The move also highlights a potential shift in Japan's energy procurement policy.

Russia accounted for 11 per cent of Japan's total coal imports in 2021, according to the government data. Russia was Japan's fifth-biggest supplier of crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2021.

Japan imports nearly all of the coal it consumes, making it the third-largest importer after India and China, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

"We would need to find alternative suppliers or we would face difficulties securing domestic coal which could lead to power outages and such. We need to avoid such a situation," industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said earlier on Friday.

"We will cooperate with Russian sanctions without inflicting a burden on domestic industry".

Japan will coordinate its moves with the United States and European countries, after the Group of Seven (G7) allies issued a statement pledging additional sanctions on Russia in response to its alleged mass killings of civilians in Ukraine.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special operation", Japan has stepped up sanctions ranging from removing Moscow from international payment network SWIFT, to freezing central bank assets.

It also froze assets of Russian officials, oligarchs, banks and other institutions, keeping in step with G7 economies, and banned high-tech exports to Russia//CNA

FILE PHOTO: French President and centrist La Republique en Marche (LREM) party candidate for re-election Emmanu takes part in the show "10 Minutes pour Convaincre" (10 Minutes to Convince) on French TV channel TF1 in Boulogne-Bi on April 6, 2022. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo - 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (Apr 8) appealed to younger, progressive-leaning voters in his last scheduled interview before Sunday's first-round presidential vote while his forecast lead over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen further evaporated.

"When it comes to correcting social inequalities at their root, we have begun the work, but we are very far from having succeeded," he told online news outlet Brut in a long interview, pledging also to do more to fight climate change.

Less than 48 hours before the first-round vote, the race for the top job in the euro zone's second-largest economy appeared to be coming down again to the two finalists of the 2017 election.

But while Macron was still slightly ahead in opinion polls, his re-election no longer appeared to be a foregone conclusion on Friday with Le Pen climbing in surveys, some of them putting her within the margin of error.

A poll on Friday showed the tightest gap ever, with Le Pen seen winning 49 per cent of votes in a likely runoff against the president, her best polling score on record.

The poll, published on BFM TV's website, showed that Macron had lost a further two points at 26 per cent support and Le Pen had gained two points to 25 per cent.

Hours before candidates and their aides are required by French election law to refrain from making any political statements until election offices close on Sunday evening, there was a growing sense of discomfort among Macron supporters.

"I think we’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a hard one," one minister, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Campaign insiders say Macron urgently needs to appeal to the broadest possible voter base before the first round, because coming second behind Le Pen on Sunday would give her strong momentum ahead of the runoff.

Le Pen has centered her bid on purchasing power, softening her image and tapping into promising to cut taxes and hike some social benefits, worrying financial markets as she gains momentum in the polls.

Rival far-right candidate Eric Zemmour's radical, outspoken views have helped her look more mainstream and many left-leaning voters have told pollsters that, unlike in 2017, they would not vote in the second round to keep Le Pen out of power.

"They won't necessarily vote for Marine Le Pen, but they don't want to vote for Emmanuel Macron," said Jean-David Levy, the deputy director of polling institute Harris Interactive.

"Marine Le Pen has never been so capable of winning a presidential election."

As some in the president's camp complained about a lack of preparation, his team having spent the bulk of the last months dealing with the war in Ukraine, Macron on Friday voiced regrets about having joined the race much later than his competitors.

"So it is a fact that I entered (the campaign) even later than I wished," Macron said, adding that he retained a "spirit of conquest rather than of defeat."

"Who could have understood six weeks ago that all of a sudden I would start political rallies, that I would focus on domestic issues when the war started in Ukraine," Macron told RTL radio earlier on Friday.

Other than Macron and Le Pen, this trend is set to favour far-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon who - also on an upward trend - ranks third with around 17per cent of forecast votes.

Left-wing figure Christiane Taubira, a former minister who dropped out of the race after she failed in her attempt to rally the left behind her, on Friday endorsed Melenchon, saying he was now the left's best hope//CNA

A webinar was held as part of the Certified Independent Study Internship (MSIB) program, which is being offered by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in collaboration with Huawei. (ANTARA/HO/Huawei) - 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, in collaboration with a multinational tech company, is offering a Certified Independent Study Internship (MSIB) program to Indonesian students.

Students participating in the program will get practical experience, which is expected to hone their skills and prepare digital talents who can develop Indonesia further.

"We must improve the competence of our human resources in this era of digital technology. The development of digital talents in Indonesia has been accelerated through the MBKM (Freedom in Learning and Campus) Program," acting director general of higher education, research, and technology at the ministry, Nizam, said at a webinar, accessed from here on Friday.

Through the MBKM program, student participants can learn new knowledge and skills related to technology, he added.

According to Nizam, Indonesia needs to expedite its level of digital innovation and technology nationally in order to not only create users but also creators.

Knowledge of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, and metaverse will transform Indonesia into a more intelligent economy and society, he remarked.

"With that, I hope the whole community has a bright and prosperous future," he said.

Under the MSIB program, students will be able to convert the skills obtained during an internship to a maximum of 20 Semester Credit Units (SKS), Nizam informed. After the MSIB period ends, the interns will get a certificate as proof of their internship completion.

"I hope this collaboration can strengthen the digital economy in Indonesia as well as the development of Indonesian society to become part of the global society and economy," Nizam said.

The MSIB program, which is being offered in collaboration with Huawei, is planned to involve 64 universities across the country//ANT