Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
October
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Adem ALTAN/AFP) -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday (Oct 23) told his foreign minister to expel the ambassadors of 10 countries, including Germany and the United States, who had appealed for the release of a jailed civil society leader.
The envoys issued a highly unusual joint statement on Monday, saying the continued detention of Parisian-born philanthropist and activist Osman Kavala "cast a shadow" over Turkey.
The escalating row with the Western countries - most of which are also NATO allies - caps a torrid week for Turkey in which it was added to a global money-laundering and terrorism-financing blacklist and its currency plunged over fears of economic mismanagement and the risk of hyperinflation.
"I have ordered our foreign minister to declare these 10 ambassadors as persona non grata as soon as possible," Erdogan said, using a diplomatic term meaning the first step before expulsion.
"They must leave here the day they no longer know Turkey," he said, accusing them of "indecency".
Several European countries said late on Saturday they had received no official notification from Turkey.
"We are currently in intensive consultation with the nine other countries concerned," the German Foreign Ministry said.
"Our ambassador has not done anything that would justify the expulsion," Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman Trude Maseide told media in her home country.
She vowed to continue pressing Turkey on human rights and democracy - comments echoed by Danish and Dutch officials.
The United States was aware of the reports and was seeking clarity from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a State Department spokesperson said.
Erdogan faces multiple challenges at home and abroad, with global financial misconduct watchdog FATF placing Turkey under surveillance for failing to properly combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
Erdogan passed anti-terror laws but they failed to impress FATF and critics said the new rules mostly targeted Turkish NGOs that promote pro-Kurdish causes and human rights.
The president's attacks on Kavala this week caused jitters in the markets with fears of a deepening confrontation with the West sending the lira slumping even further against the dollar.
Erdogan is in danger of "dragging the Turkish economy into a president-made crisis", Eurasia Group said//CNA
October
COP26 climate deal harder than Paris: Summit president
Written by nuke
President of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, Alok Sharma answers reporters' questions at the end of a meeting at the Vatican, Monday, Oct 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) -
Success at the upcoming COP26 climate summit is "definitely harder" than the 2015 Paris talks which resulted in a landmark accord, the British minister presiding over the gathering warned Saturday (Oct 23).
The Oct 31 to Nov 12 gathering in Glasgow is the biggest climate conference since the Paris summit and is seen as crucial in setting worldwide emission targets to slow global warming.
Alok Sharma, the British minister in charge of the talks, told the Guardian newspaper that getting nearly 200 countries to commit to the emission targets to limit global temperature rises to less than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels was a daunting task.
"What we're trying to do here in Glasgow is actually really tough," he said.
"It was brilliant what they did in Paris" but "a lot of the detailed rules were left for the future", he added.
"It's like, we've got to the end of the exam paper and the most difficult questions are left and you're running out of time
"This is definitely harder than Paris on lots of levels."
The task will be made all the more difficult as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are not attending but sending delegations.
More than 120 world leaders and around 25,000 delegates are expected in Glasgow.
The Paris accord saw 197 nations agree to limit global heating to below 2 degrees but their "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs) - national plans drawn up to implement the deal - have been deemed inadequate.
Strengthening those plans will be a key part of negotiations.
"What we're potentially saying to countries is that if your NDC isn't good enough, you're going to have to come back to the table," said Sharma.
He called on the world's biggest emitter China, whose fractious relationship with the West is another obstacle to agreement, to present its NDC.
"They signed up to the communique in July that we negotiated in Naples, that all the G20 would come up with enhanced NDCs before COP - I reminded them they needed to deliver on that," he said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the current climate situation was "a one-way ticket for disaster" as he stressed the need to "avoid a failure" at COP26//CNA
October
Romania tightens COVID-19 restrictions as cases surge
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Ambulance medical staff transport a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient to the emergency room of Bucharest University Hospital, in Bucharest, Romania, October 7, 2021. Picture taken October 7, 2021. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS -
The Romanian government will reintroduce a night curfew and make health passes mandatory for entry to most public venues from Monday (Oct 25), as well as sending school children on vacation for two weeks, as it seeks to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The measures, expanding nationwide measures that had mostly already been taken in towns with high case numbers, were approved by the interim government late on Friday.
Romania has reported record numbers of daily coronavirus deaths and infections this month and the hospital system is stretched to breaking point. The country has the second-lowest coronavirus vaccination rate in the European Union.
"We are in a disaster situation," deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said on Friday. "We have seen other countries go through this when there wasn't a weapon available, namely the vaccine."
"We are in this situation while having the vaccine, because the majority of us refused to get inoculated. This situation could have been avoided."
The new measures will be in force for 30 days and include restrictions on the movement of people from 10 p.m. and shutting down shops and restaurants from 9 p.m.
Only people who have been vaccinated or who have recovered from the virus will be allowed access to most non-essential public venues except food shops and pharmacies. Religious services can also operate without a pass.
Wearing facemasks in public places will become mandatory from Monday, while weddings and other private events are banned.
The government is also urging employers to send half their staff to work from home.
Just over a third of the adult population is fully vaccinated in Romania, amid distrust in state institutions and misinformation campaigns.
But inoculations were on the rise this week, with people apparently responding to dramatic news images of overcrowded hospitals and people dying. On Friday, more than 86,000 people got their first vaccine dose, a record for a single day in the country.
Six Romanian COVID-19 patients have been transported to the central Polish city of Lodz for treatment, Polish authorities said on Saturday.
"They are all in a serious condition on ventilators," said Dagmara Zalewska, spokesperson for the Lodzkie region//CNA
October
Russian, Chinese warships hold first joint patrols in the Pacific
Written by nuke
A group of naval vessels from Russia and China conduct a joint maritime military patrol in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, in this still image taken from video released on October 23, 2021. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS -
Russian and Chinese warships held their first joint patrols in the Western part of the Pacific ocean from Oct 17 to 23, Russia's defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 23).
Moscow and Beijing, which staged naval cooperation drills in the Sea of Japan earlier in October, have cultivated closer military and diplomatic ties in recent years at a time when their relations with the West have soured.
The naval manoeuvres have been closely watched by Japan which said earlier this week that a group of 10 vessels from China and Russia sailed through the Tsugaru Strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido.
"The group of ships passed through the Tsugaru Strait for the first time as part of the patrol," Russia's defence ministry said in the statement. The strait is regarded as international waters.
"The tasks of the patrols were the demonstration of the Russian and Chinese state flags, maintaining of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and guardianship of the subjects of maritime economic activities of the two countries," the ministry added//CNA
October
South Korea reaches goal of 70% vaccinations for COVID-19
Written by nuke
A social distancing sign on precautions against the coronavirus is displayed at the entrance of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2021 at the Seoul Military Airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) -
South Korea said on Saturday (Oct 23) that it has achieved its goal of vaccinating 70 per cent of its 52 million people, paving the way for a planned return to normal next month.
The target, set a month before the country kicked off its inoculation campaign in late February, was reached by 2pm local time, with about 36 million vaccinated, said the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The goal was earlier met with scepticism as the government grappled with global COVID-19 vaccine shortages and shipment delays. But despite its rough start, South Korea quickly ramped up its vaccination drive, thanks chiefly to expanded supplies and relatively high public acceptance, surpassing the United States and other early starters.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said last week that the government will begin a phased return to normal activities starting Nov 1, putting forward the shift initially scheduled for mid-November.
"It's impossible to put an end to the pandemic by reaching herd immunity due to the spread of highly transmissible Delta variant," the KDCA said in a statement.
"But meeting the vaccination goal has significant meaning in reducing severe cases and fatality, and as an important precondition for a transition to a phased recovery of our daily lives."
South Korea has largely successfully managed to cope with the pandemic without imposing lockdowns seen in many other parts of the world, on the back of intensive testing and tracing.
But it has struggled to suppress its fourth COVID-19 wave since last summer, with new daily cases topping 3,000 for the first time last month, although they brought fewer critical cases and deaths.
The KDCA reported 1,508 new cases for Friday//CNA
October
US nuclear envoy visits South Korea amid North Korea missile tension, stalled talks
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Sung Kim, the US Special Envoy for North Korea, speaks during trilateral meeting to discuss North Korea, in Tokyo, Japan, on Sep 14, 2021. (Photo: David Mareuil/Pool via REUTERS) -
The US envoy for North Korea arrived in South Korea on Saturday (Oct 23) amid stalled denuclearisation talks and tension over Pyongyang's recent missile tests.
Special Representative Sung Kim's visit came days after North Korea fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which prompted criticism from Washington and calls for a return to talks aimed at denuclearising the North in return for US sanctions relief.
Kim, after talks in Washington with South Korean and Japanese counterparts on Tuesday, urged North Korea "to refrain from further provocations and engage in sustained and substantive dialogue".
Pyongyang so far has rejected US overtures, accusing the United States and South Korea of talking diplomacy while ratcheting up tensions with their own military activities.
On Thursday, the North said the United States was overreacting to its self-defensive SLBM test and questioned the sincerity of Washington's offers of talks, warning of consequences.
Arriving in South Korea, Kim said he looks forward to having "productive follow up discussions" with his counterpart, without elaborating//CNA
October
Only fully vaccinated employees can return to workplaces from Jan 1; others must test negative
Written by nuke
Office workers at Raffles Place on Jul 22, 2021. (File photo: Marcus Mark Ramos) -
From Jan 1, only employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease within the past 270 days will be allowed to return to workplaces, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Oct 23).
Unvaccinated employees will not be allowed to return to their workplaces unless they have tested negative for COVID-19. These employees will bear the costs of testing.
The tests should be administered at MOH-approved providers and must be valid for the duration that the employees are required to be at their workplaces. Negative antigen rapid test results are valid for 24 hours.
The testing requirement will also apply to employees who are pregnant or medically ineligible for vaccination.
“Tripartite partners have agreed on special considerations that employers should grant to these groups, such as allowing work from home without affecting performance and coming to a reasonable agreement on cost-sharing of the tests,” MOH said.
On Saturday, MOH also announced an exemption from vaccination-differentiated safe management measures for people who are medically ineligible for all vaccines under the national vaccination programme.
The exemption will apply from next month, said co-chair of the COVID-19 task force Gan Kim Yong.
“For individuals who are medically ineligible for the national vaccination programme, we will give special concession for them to enter premises or participate in activities where the vaccination-differentiated safe management systems are required, such as shopping malls, attractions, hawker centres and coffee shops, starting from Nov 1, 2021,” Mr Gan said at a news conference on Saturday.
“For those who are medically ineligible for mRNA vaccines but are eligible for Sinovac, they will need to be vaccinated with Sinovac to be considered to be fully vaccinated.”
Mr Gan added that such individuals will be given a grace period until Dec 31 to get their Sinovac shots.
It was announced earlier in the briefing that the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will be included in Singapore’s national vaccination programme.
Fully vaccinated seniors can look forward to participating in “safe and healthy activities” that will help them maintain their physical and mental wellness, MOH said on Saturday.
“Over the past months, the options for seniors to be socially engaged in wellness activities have been limited, as a result of safe management measures which had to be imposed to curb transmission of COVID-19,” MOH said.
“Keeping active is important for our seniors to maintain good physical and mental health. Hence, the People’s Association will organise activities for fully vaccinated seniors according to prevailing safe management measures.”
Mr Gan said that activities may include physical exercises like qigong, outings and learning journeys//CNA
October
Australia's Melbourne enjoys weekend of eased COVID-19 curbs after long lockdown
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Diners eat outside St Kilda's Rococo restaurant on the second day of eased COVID-19 regulations, following a lockdown to curb an outbreak, in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct 23, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Sandra Sanders) -
Melbourne, Australia's second-biggest city, began its first weekend out of the world's longest string of COVID-19 lockdowns with spontaneous street parties, live music and packed pubs, bars and restaurants.
Home to about 5 million people, Melbourne endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six lockdowns since March 2020, longer than the 234-day continuous lockdown in Buenos Aires.
Despite rain on Saturday morning, people queued for barbers and breakfast restaurants, all of which are open only to the fully vaccinated.
Late on Friday, people broke into a spontaneous street party in Melbourne's southeast and many rejoiced with their first drink in months in a pub with friends, social media footage showed.
Although the Delta outbreak continues to spread, with 1,750 new cases and nine deaths reported on Saturday in Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, the ease in restrictions came the state's full-vaccination rate reached 70 per cent.
While most retail outlets remained closed, authorities said further easing will come once 80 per cent of Victorians are fully inoculated, estimated by next weekend.
"Let's not slack off, let's increase the pace as we get to the 80 per cent milestone - but also the 90 per cent vaccination milestone," Jeroen Weimar, Victoria's COVID-19 response commander, said on Saturday.
While small but violent anti-vaccinations protests have taken place in Melbourne and other cities this year, Australians overwhelmingly support vaccinations, with polls showing the percentage decisively opposed in single digits.
Nearly 72 per cent of adults in Australia are now fully vaccinated and nearly 87 per cent have received one shot. According to a national strategy, lockdowns will be unlikely once 80 per cent of Australians are fully inoculated.
Sydney, Australia's largest city, celebrated its reopening two weeks ago, after reaching the vaccination threshold of 70 per cent. On Saturday, New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, recorded 332 COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
Weekend newspapers were filled with travel advertising for the coming months, as international border restrictions start to ease from November. Flag carrier Qantas Airways is speeding up plans to restart flights to many destinations and upsize some planes amid "massive demand"//CNA
October
Japan to focus on supply chain chokepoints in security push: Official
Written by nuke
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Akira Amari (C) attends the lower house of parliament to select the new prime minister in Tokyo on Oct 4, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi) -
Japan's economic security strategy will focus on two pillars of "strategic autonomy and indispensability", a top ruling party official said on Saturday (Oct 23), as the nation faces an increasingly assertive China.
Akira Amari, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has in recent years driven a policy push for Japan's economy to be less reliant on other countries, while investing in areas that are indispensable to other countries.
"'Autonomy' means understanding our chokepoints and rectifying them," Amari said in a video message to the Mt Fuji Dialogue, a meeting of experts on the US-Japan alliance "'Indispensability' means securing the chokepoints of others."
Amari's economic security agenda encompasses a broad portfolio of issues, from protecting sensitive technologies to communications, energy, transportation, maritime logistics, finance and healthcare.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office this month, created the post of minister for economic security, which went to an Amari protege. Amari said the government would submit a Bill promoting the economic security agenda next year.
Facing a tough battle in his home district ahead of an Oct 31 general election, Amari is focusing his campaign not only on recovery from the pandemic but also on national security, given growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan.
"We need to check whether our supply chains are able to provide a stable supply of critical goods," said Amari. "If we have supply chains in risky countries, we should shift them to our allies or produce at home even if it's more expensive."
Amari, who did not name China in his remarks, said his economic strategy included sensitive technologies as well as "low-tech items" such as medical masks and gloves, whose production cannot be covered by Japan alone.
Japan experienced an acute shortage of medical equipment when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
The LDP's election platform vows to "reconsider" how to respond to an increase in China's military activity around the Taiwan strait and islets in the western Pacific controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.
It would aim to raise the defence budget "with an eye to bringing it even above 2 per cent of GDP, the party said, in a marked departure from Japan's decades-long policy of spending less than 1 per cent of GDP on defence//CNA
October
G7 countries reach breakthrough on digital trade and data
Written by nuke
British International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Japan's Head of delegation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Kuroda Junichiro, Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier, France's Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Canada's Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng meet during a G7 trade summit at Mansion House, in London, Britain October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Pool -
The Group of Seven wealthy nations agreed on principles to govern cross-border data use and digital trade, Britain said in what was described as a breakthrough that could liberalise hundreds of billions of dollars of international commerce.
Trade ministers from the G7 reached agreement at a meeting in London on Friday (Oct 22).
The deal sets out a middle ground between highly regulated data protection regimes used in European countries and the more open approach of the United States.
"We oppose digital protectionism and authoritarianism and today we have adopted the G7 Digital Trade Principles that will guide the G7's approach to digital trade," the communique published by Britain said.
Digital trade is broadly defined as trade in goods and services that is either enabled or delivered digitally, encompassing activities from the distribution of films and TV to professional services.
For Britain alone, remotely delivered trade was worth 326 billion pounds (US$448.09 billion) in 2019, or a quarter of all its trade, according to a government study of official data.
But differing rules governing the use of customer data can create significant barriers, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses for whom compliance is complicated and costly.
The deal agreed on Friday is a first step in reducing those barriers, and could lead to a common rulebook of digital trade.
The principles covered open digital markets; cross border data flows; safeguards for workers, consumers, and businesses; digital trading systems; and fair and inclusive global governance, the communique said .
"We should address unjustified obstacles to cross-border data flows, while continuing to address privacy, data protection, the protection of intellectual property rights, and security," an annex to the document said.
A British official with knowledge of the deal said: "This agreement is a genuine breakthrough that is the result of hard diplomatic graft.
"All of us rely on digital trade every day, but for years the global rules of the game have been a wild west that have made it difficult for businesses to seize the immense opportunities on offer."
The G7 comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada//CNA