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December
Japan aims to put a person on the moon by late 2020s
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa reacts as he speaks with his family after donning space suits shortly before the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, December 8, 2021. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov -
Japan revised the schedule of its space exploration plans on Tuesday (Dec 28), aiming to put a Japanese person on the moon by the latter half of the 2020s.
"Not only is space a frontier that gives people hopes and dreams but it also provides a crucial foundation to our economic society with respect to our economic security," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a meeting to finalise the plan.
According to the draft schedule of the plan, Japan aims to put the first non-American on the moon as part of the Artemis programme, a US-led initiative that aims to return astronauts to the moon.
The plan also spells out Japan's aspirations to launch a probe to explore Mars in 2024, as well as to find ways to generate solar electricity in space.
Neighbouring China also aims to become a major spacefaring power by 2030, and it too plans to put astronauts on the moon, raising the prospect of an Asian space race.
In May, China became the second country to put a rover on Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
Japan's announcement of its space exploration targets comes a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to earth after spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station, becoming the first space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade//CNA
December
North Korea's Kim convenes major party meeting with 2021 policy on agenda: KCNA
Written by nuke
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Eighth Conference of Military Educationists of the Korean People's Army at the Apr 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, North Korea in this undated photo released on Dec 7, 2021. (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS) -
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week opened a key ruling party meeting, state media reported on Tuesday (Dec 28), a forum he has previously used to make major New Year policy announcements.
The 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday, state news agency KCNA reported.
The gathering of party and government officials comes as North Korea grapples with compounding economic crises caused by an anti-pandemic lockdown, international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme, and natural disasters.
It also comes as North Korea marks the 10th anniversary of Kim assuming supreme command of the military after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.
"The plenary meeting is to review the implementation of main Party and state policies for the year 2021," the report said.
The meeting would also discuss and decide on strategic and tactical policies and practical steps for "dynamically guiding the struggle of our Party and people to usher in a new period of the development of socialist construction to the next stage of victory," KCNA said.
Around the new year, Kim has often made major policy announcements, including in 2018 when he announced his interest to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and in 2019, when he discussed his desire to continue talks with US President Donald Trump.
"Kim has used speeches around the new year holiday in the past to make friendly overtures to the US and South Korea, but also to reveal nuclear weapon developments and other military plans," NK News, a Seoul-based website that monitors North Korea, said in a report on Monday.
North Korea has said it is open to resuming talks with the United States and the South, but only if Washington and Seoul take steps to end "hostile policies" such as sanctions and military drills//CNA
December
CDC cuts isolation time for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases to 5 days
Written by nuke
People queue for a COVID-19 test on Broadway in SoHo as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City, on Dec 27, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly) -
US health authorities on Monday (Dec 27) shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said the asymptomatic people after isolation should follow five days of wearing a mask when around others.
It also recommended a five-day quarantine for those exposed to the virus who are unvaccinated or are over six months out from their second mRNA dose or more than two months after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and not yet boosted. The quarantine period should be followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.
According to the CDC, isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick, while quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
"CDC's updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.
Omicron accounts for 73 per cent of US coronavirus infections, the federal CDC had said last week.
Breakthrough infections are rising among the fully vaccinated population, including those who have had a third booster shot. However, Omicron appears to be causing milder symptoms in those people, some of whom have no symptoms at all.
Reducing the CDC's 10-day quarantine recommendation would help asymptomatic people return to work or school, with proper precautions, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci had told CNN last week.
Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure, but should wear a mask for 10 days, the CDC said//CNA
December
Senegal's new commuter train makes first journey from capital Dakar
Written by nuke
Workers stand at a platform next to Senegal's new commuter trains at a train station during the launch ceremony of th Dakar, Senegal, December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Elodie Toto -
A new US$1.3 billion commuter railway in Senegal meant to ease traffic gridlock and modernise a crumbling public transport system made its inaugural journey from the capital Dakar on Monday.
The Regional Express will connect Dakar with Diamniadio, an industrial city being built on a dusty plain about 40 kilometres away.
The first new railway since independence from France in 1960 is a cornerstone of President Macky Sall's Senegal Emergent plan, which includes a new airport, roads, sports arenas and a sleek conference centre.
The projects have burnished Senegal's image as one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. And the air-conditioned trains are expected to reduce pollution in Dakar, where banged-up old buses and taxis hurl clouds of black smoke as they inch towards the capital each morning.
"Senegalese people deserve to travel in comfort and safety, while controlling their time, with a mass transport system that meets the best international standards," the government said in a statement on Monday.
The 45-minute ride with built-in Wi-Fi will cost nearly US$3 in a country where half the population lives in poverty, though shorter trips will be cheaper.
About 115,000 passengers are expected to commute daily on the train between Dakar and Diamniadio, the government said. Further extensions will connect the main airport and eventually other cities and towns in the coming years//CNA
December
Yemen's Houthis say allowed temporary resumption of UN flights to Sanaa airport
Written by nuke
A police trooper walks on the rubble of a building destroyed by Saudi-led air strikes at Sanaa Airport in Sanaa, Yemen, on Dec 21, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah) -
The aviation authority run by the Houthi administration in Yemen has allowed temporary resumption of flights by the United Nations and other organisations to Sanaa international airport on Monday, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.
The Iran-aligned Houthi movement said earlier this month that the capital's airport had been put out of operation after air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
The coalition said it only attacked military targets at the airport, from where drone strikes have been launched against Saudi targets.
The airport has been closed to civilian flights since 2015, after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from Sanaa, although UN planes have been permitted to land there.
The Houthi-run aviation authority said in a statement on Monday it allowed the resumption of the UN flights "after the malfunctions in communications and navigational devices were temporarily fixed," the agency report said.
The authority complained that it could not guarantee the long-term continuity of these old devices, and urged the UN to help the entry of new devices that it had purchased, it added.
The coalition said that the strikes it had carried would have no effect on operational capacity, airspace management, air traffic, or ground handling operations//CNA
December
People queue to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after the Christmas holiday break, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at Doce de Octubre Hospital in Madrid, Spain, on Dec 27, 2021. (Phoot: REUTERS/Javier Barbancho) -
Spain's coronavirus infection rate exceeded 1,000 cases per 100,000 people for the first time on Monday (Dec 27), stoked by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, although hospitals were under much less strain than in previous waves of the pandemic.
The rate, measured over the preceding 14 days, rose to 1,206 cases following the Christmas weekend, according to health ministry data. That compares with 911 reported on Thursday, when it first topped the previous record of 900 cases set in late January.
The tally had not been updated since Thursday and has added 214,619 new cases to the 5,932,626 recorded since the start of the pandemic.
The ministry added 120 deaths to its coronavirus death toll since Thursday, bringing the total to 89,139. Daily deaths have been hovering below 100, sharply lower than some 1,000 at the peak of the first wave last year or about 600 last January, when vaccination against COVID-19 had only just begun.
Hospital occupancy with coronavirus patients rose to 7.69 per cent from Thursday's 6.4 per cent, remaining much below 24 per cent registered in late January. Intensive-care occupancy reached 18.26 per cent, after January's 43 per cent.
"We are obviously going to see high numbers of infections, but not hospitalisations and ICU admissions compared to previous waves," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters earlier on Monday, citing Spain's high vaccination rate and urging Spaniards to keep taking the recommended shots.
With nearly 80 per cent of its population fully vaccinated and a booster programme gathering pace, Spain was largely spared the rampant wave of infections that led several Northern European countries to toughen curbs in the autumn//CNA
December
US administers 503.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC
Written by nuke
A nurse administers a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to a patient at Sparrow Laboratories Drive-Thru Services in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin -
The United States has administered 503,480,667 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning and distributed 609,589,955 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The agency said 242,433,620 people had received at least one dose, while 205,196,973 people are fully vaccinated as of 6am ET on Monday.
The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, as well as Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine.
Over 66 million people received an additional dose of either Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine since Aug 13, when the US authorised a third dose of the vaccines for people with compromised immune systems who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens//CNA
December
Japan to hold auction on Feb. 9 to sell 100,000 kl of oil from national reserve
Written by nuke
Japan oil auction -
Japan's industry ministry said on Monday it will hold an auction on Feb. 9 to sell about 100,000 kilolitres, or 628,980 barrels, of oil from its national reserve as a part of the U.S.-led coordinated release of oil reserve to cool rising crude prices.
The supply will become available to the winning bidder on March 20 or later, it said in a statement//CNA
December
A man looks at stock market monitors in Taipei, Jan 22, 2008. (File photo: Reuters/Nicky Loh) -
Asian stock markets were generally weaker with US crude in holiday-thinned trading on Monday (Dec 27), as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment.
US airlines have cancelled or delayed thousands of flights over the past three days due to COVID-19-related staff shortages, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on board.
In Asia, China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months over the weekend as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, the country's latest COVID-19 hot spot.
Japan's Nikkei lost 0.20 per cent while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.11 per cent.
Mainland Chinese shares, though, were mixed, with Shanghai's benchmark sliding 0.37 per cent but an index of blue chips edged 0.05 per cent higher.
Australia, Hong Kong and Britain are among markets closed Monday for holidays.
"There is concern over the widening spread of the Omicron variant, which is overall making people cautious about taking stocks higher" in Japan, said a market participant at a Japanese securities firm.
Wall Street trading resumes later in the global day following a holiday on Friday. US stocks closed at records on Thursday amid signs Omicron may cause a milder level of illness, even as the highly transmissible strain led to a surge in case numbers around the world.
Emini futures point to a 0.1 per cent rise for the S&P 500 when it reopens.
In the foreign exchange markets, the US dollar continued to languish near the bottom of its range of the past month against a basket of major peers, after hitting a 16-month high in November as Federal Reserve policymakers turned more hawkish.
The dollar index was about flat at 96.116, towards the bottom of the range from 95.544 to the 16-month peak at 96.938 reached on Nov 24.
In the crude market, US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 59 cents to US$73.20 a barrel. The contract did not trade on Friday because of the US market holiday.
Brent crude though rose 26 cents to US$76.40 a barrel, rebounding from Friday's 71 cent decline//CNA
December
Weather disasters cost US$20 billion more than last year: NGO
Written by nuke
The aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Des Allemands, Louisiana on Aug 31, 2021. (Photo: AP/Steve Helber) -
The ten most expensive weather disasters this year caused more than US$170 billion in damage, US$20 billion more than in 2020, a British aid group said Monday.
Each year, UK charity Christian Aid calculates the cost of weather incidents like flooding, fires and heat waves according to insurance claims and reports the results.
In 2020, it found the world's ten costliest weather disasters caused US$150 billion in damage, making this year's total an increase of 13 per cent.
Christian Aid said the upward trend reflects the effects of man-made climate change and added that the ten disasters in question also killed at least 1,075 people and displaced 1.3 million.
The most expensive disaster in 2021 was hurricane Ida, which lashed the eastern United States and caused around US$65 billion in damages. After crashing into Louisiana at the end of August, it made its way northward and caused extensive flooding in New York City and the surrounding area.
Spectacular and deadly flooding in Germany and Belgium in July was next on the list at US$43 billion in losses.
A cold snap and winter storm in Texas that took out the vast state's power grid cost US$23 billion, followed by flooding in China's Henan province in July that cost an estimated US$17.6 billion.
Other disasters costing several billion dollars include flooding in Canada, a late spring freeze in France that damaged vineyards, and a cyclone in India and Bangladesh in May.
The report acknowledged its evaluation mainly covers disasters in rich countries where infrastructure is better insured and that the financial toll of disasters on poor countries is often incalculable.
It gave the example of South Sudan where flooding affected around 800,000 people.
"Some of the most devastating extreme weather events in 2021 hit poorer nations, which have contributed little to causing climate change," the report's press release noted.
In mid-December, the world's biggest reinsurer, Swiss Re, estimated natural catastrophes and extreme weather events caused around US$250 billion in damage this year.
It said the total represented a 24 per cent increase over last year and that the cost to the insurance industry alone was the fourth highest since 1970//CNA