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October
New Zealand's Auckland logs more Delta cases ahead of key decision on restrictions
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand logged 19 more cases of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant on Friday - all in Auckland, making it highly likely that the country's biggest city will continue to be sealed off even if some restrictions are eased next week.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern enforced what was meant to be a "short and sharp" nationwide lockdown nationwide in mid-August after the Delta outbreak. But while the rest of the country has largely returned to normal life, Auckland's population of 1.7 million has now been in lockdown for about seven weeks.
Ardern will decide on Monday whether she will ease the restrictions in Auckland but has warned that border rules preventing travel to and from the city are likely to remain in place.
Recent daily case numbers have ranged between 8 and 45 and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson described the relatively stable numbers as encouraging.
"But we must not be complacent," he said, urging more Aucklanders to get tested over the weekend. Health authorities have said more cases are expected in the coming days.
While New Zealand was among just a handful of countries to bring COVID-19 cases down to zero last year and largely stayed virus-free until the latest outbreak in August, difficulties in quashing the Delta variant have put Ardern's elimination strategy in question.
Amid mounting pressure, Ardern has said her strategy was never to have zero cases, but to aggressively stamp out the virus. She said strict lockdowns can end if 90% of the eligible population is vaccinated.
Some 46% of New Zealand's eligible population is fully vaccinated. (Reuters)
October
Taiwan jets scramble again as China air force enters air defence zone
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan's air force scrambled again on Friday to warn away 25 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defence zone, Taiwan's defence ministry said, the latest uptick in tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait. (Reuters)
September
Rohingya community leader shot dead in Bangladesh refugee camp
Written by Nur Yasmin
Gunmen shot and killed a prominent Rohingya Muslim leader in a refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Wednesday, a United Nations spokesperson and a local police official said, following months of worsening violence in the world's largest refugee settlement.
Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s, led one of the largest of several community groups to emerge since more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar after a military crackdown in August 2017.
Invited to the White House and to speak to the United Nations Human Rights Council, he was one of the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that has faced persecution for generations.
Rafiqul Islam, a deputy police superintendent in the nearby town of Cox's Bazar, told Reuters by phone that Mohib Ullah had been shot dead but had no additional details.
A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the agency was "deeply saddened" by the killing of Mohib Ullah. "We are in continuous contact with law enforcement authorities in charge of maintaining peace and security in the camps," the spokesperson said.
Mohib Ullah's group, the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, made its name documenting atrocities the Rohingya suffered during the Myanmar crackdown, which the U.N. has said was carried out with genocidal intent.
At the Bangladesh refugee camps, Mohib Ullah went from hut to hut to build a tally of killings, rape and arson that was shared with international investigators.
His organization worked to give refugees more of a voice inside the camps and internationally. Speaking to the U.N. Human Rights Council, he said the Rohingya wanted more of a say over their own future.
But his high profile made him a target of hardliners and he received death threats, he told Reuters in 2019. "If I die, I'm fine. I will give my life," he said at the time.
The sprawling camps in Bangladesh have become increasingly violent, residents say, with armed men vying for power, kidnapping critics, and warning women against breaking conservative Islamic norms.
Aung Kyaw Moe, a Rohingya civil society activist and an adviser to Myanmar's National Unity Government, the parallel civilian government established after February's coup, said Mohib Ullah's death was a "big loss for the Rohingya community."
"He was always aware there is a threat, but he thinks that despite the threat if he is not doing the work he is doing, no one else would," he said. (Reuters)
September
New Zealand outlaws terror attack planning after IS-linked stabbing
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand passed a new security law on Thursday that outlaws preparations for terror attacks, closing a loophole exposed after seven people were stabbed and wounded this month in a supermarket in the most populous city of Auckland.
Amid heightened fears of "lone wolf" terror attacks, New Zealand has worked to beef up its laws, but rushed the new law through parliament after the Auckland attack, unleashed by an assailant authorities said had been inspired by Islamic State. read more
"The nature of terrorism has changed," Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said in an email. "Across the world there are more lone actors, rather than larger organised groups."
The measure pulls New Zealand's security laws in line with most other countries, he added.
It gives police the power of entry, search and surveillance without warrants in their efforts to prevent planning and preparation of terroristic acts and criminalises training in weapons or combat for such purposes.
The Auckland attacker was Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, a 32-year-old Sri Lankan national, who was shot dead by police just moments afterwards. He had been released in July after spending about three years in jail. read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Samsudeen had been inspired by militant group Islamic State to launch the attack.
In 2020, authorities unsuccessfully sought to charge him with terrorism offences after he bought a hunting knife and was found in possession of Islamic State videos.
However, a judge ruled Samsudeen did not contravene New Zealand's terror laws at the time. He was released and placed under 24-hour police surveillance. (Reuters)
September
Melbourne cases hit record despite two months of lockdown
Written by Nur Yasmin
Melbourne's COVID-19 cases surged to record levels on Thursday with officials blaming illegal home gatherings to watch a key sporting event for the spike as a hard lockdown to combat the spread of the Delta variant neared two months.
Authorities in Victoria, home to Melbourne, estimated nearly a third of Thursday's 1,438 new infections could be traced back to home parties last weekend to watch the Australian Rules Football Grand Final on television.
"Many of these cases were completely avoidable ... I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm simply trying to explain because a lot of people will be scratching their heads - how could it have gone up by so much, so fast," state Premier Daniel Andrews said during a media briefing.
Officials admitted Thursday's numbers, a 50% jump to Wednesday's 950 cases, is a "major setback" in managing the flare-up, as they race to vaccinate the state's 5.5 million adult population.
Half of the state's population above 16 have received their first dose, below the national average of 53%, as officials halved the intervals between Pfizer (PFE.N) shots in state-run vaccine hubs to three weeks after supplies rose.
Australia's largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and the capital Canberra are in a weeks-long lockdown to combat a third wave of infections fuelled by the fast-moving Delta variant. Authorities have ditched a COVID-zero strategy and are looking at higher vaccination as their exit strategy from lockdowns.
A total of 941 new cases were reported in New South Wales on Thursday, the majority in state capital Sydney, while Queensland recorded six and the Australian Capital Territory 31 infections.
EASING FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The record cases in Victoria come as the federal government on Thursday decided to phase out its emergency financial support for businesses impacted by the lockdowns, in line with its plan to end support to virus-impacted employees. read more
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the temporary payments will stop once 80% of the adult population in states and territories becomes fully vaccinated.
But Victoria's businesses will receive a fresh A$2.27 billion ($1.65 billion) support from the federal government through the next six weeks at which point the state should hit that dosage target, from around 50% now.
"We can't eliminate the virus, we need to learn to live with it in a COVID-safe way", Frydenberg said in a statement.
The federal government decision to wind down support payments, shared equally between states and Canberra, will put pressure on virus-free states to keep their economies open and avoid lockdowns to fight future outbreaks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been pressing all states and territories to begin living with the virus once full inoculations reach 70%-80% but Queensland and Western Australia, largely COVID-free, flagged they may delay their reopening.
Despite the latest Delta outbreaks, total cases in Australia stand at around 105,000 and deaths at 1,291, well below other comparable nations. Eleven new deaths were recorded in the country. (Reuters)
September
At event with U.N. envoy, U.S. says committed to Taiwan's international participation
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States remains committed to expanding Taiwan's space for international participation, a senior U.S. diplomat said at an event with Taiwan's foreign minister that was also attended by the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, blocks the island from taking part in most global bodies such as the United Nations, saying it is a Chinese province with no right to the trappings of a state.
Speaking at a virtual panel on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals on Wednesday, Jeremy Cornforth, deputy director of the de facto U.S. embassy the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), said tech heavyweight Taiwan was committed to using its technological prowess "for the common good".
Cornforth noted Taiwan was prevented from meaningful participation in bodies including the World Health Assembly, but said the event would highlight how Taiwan is using its technological prowess to help the international community solve shared challenges.
"The United States remains committed to expanding Taiwan's international space," he added, in comments released by AIT on Thursday.
AIT said Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeffrey Prescott gave closing remarks, though gave no details.
Washington has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer and routinely denounces Chinese pressure against the island.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told the same event that Taiwan was an "indispensable" member of the international community.
"It is now the time for the United Nations to take action to resolve Taiwan's improper exclusion from the United Nations system," his ministry cited him as saying.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Republic of China - Taiwan's formal name - being replaced at the United Nations by the People's Republic of China in Beijing, which continues to claim the right to represent Taiwan globally.
The democratically elected government of Taiwan says only its people have the right to speak for it on the world stage. (Reuters)
September
Japan expected to announce wedding of Princess Mako as soon as Friday –media
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's Imperial Household Agency (IHA) is expected to formally announce Princess Mako's marriage to a former college classmate as soon as Friday, media said, following years of intense scrutiny that cast her engagement in an unflattering light.
Details have not yet been confirmed, but the couple will opt out of a one-off payment of a million dollars to which the princess is entitled upon giving up her royal status, broadcaster NHK has said. read more
The engagement of the 29-year-old grand-daughter of then Emperor Akihito and former classmate Kei Komuro was announced in 2017. But the marriage was put off after reports of a financial dispute between Komuro's mother and her former fiance.
The couple will register their marriage at a local government office, with records of the imperial family adjusted to reflect that Princess Mako has left it, the report added.
The IHA, which has not made an official announcement on the marriage or on the one-off payment, has no comment, an agency spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.
The fiancé, who is enrolled in a New York law school, flew into Tokyo on Monday for the first time in three years, wearing long hair tied in a pony tail, a style that stirred comment on mid-day television shows and from tabloids.
The controversy over the marriage plan started when a tabloid reported claims by a former fiance of Komuro's mother that the mother and son had failed to repay a debt of about 35,000 dollars.
Komuro has said his mother's former fiancé provided the money as a gift, not a loan.
The IHA postponed multiple engagement ceremonies following the scandal and has made no plans since to hold them.
The issue gained momentum after the tabloid coverage grew into a national concern that spilled into broadsheet newspapers, said Akinori Takamori, an expert on the imperial family who is a lecturer at Kokugakuin University in the capital.
It swelled further when members of the imperial family felt impelled to speak out and secure public understanding.
"Even the most minuscule details – like his hair – became fodder for day-time television," Takamori said, adding that he felt the extent of media coverage of Komuro's family life could even amount to "a human rights violation".
A recent poll by the daily Mainichi showed 38% of respondents supported the marriage, while 35% opposed it, and 26% expressed no interest.
"It's not desirable to have the people split over this matter when the imperial family should be a symbol of unity for the country," Takamori said. (Reuters)
September
Investors see Japan's Kishida as "safe-pair-of-hands" but reforms in question
Written by Nur Yasmin
Investors see Japan's new leader, Fumio Kishida, as a steady consensus-builder who can lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner to victory in a general election due in November.
But while the elimination of some political uncertainties is seen as benefiting Japanese stock prices in the near term, investors are not sure if he can push ahead with the tough measures seen as necessary to boost economic health.
Kishida, 64, won a ruling party leadership vote on Wednesday and is due to become prime minister next week.
He inherits an economy that is picking up steam thanks to falling coronavirus cases, increasing vaccinations and an improving earnings outlook, all of which should support Japanese stocks. read more
Japanese shares (.MIJP00000PUS) have risen 1.6% this month, outperforming a fall of more than 3% in the United States (.MIUS00000PUS) and Europe (.MIEU000000PUS).
Investors agree Kishida is more predictable than his rivals for the top job, such as vaccine minister Taro Kono, with his anti-nuclear streak, and Sanae Takaichi, a diplomatic hawk and a social conservative.
"Kishida can been seen as a safe pair of hands, particularly on the diplomatic front," said George Boubouras, head of research at K2 Asset Management in Melbourne.
"His long tenure as foreign affairs minister under Abe is an obvious good, positive market signal.".
Kishida held key posts under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and had been seen as an heir to Japan's longest-serving prime minister, who retains a lot of influence in the ruling party.
But Kishida's reserved style has also raised questions about whether he can push through reforms to boost competitiveness.
"The pandemic laid bare how old-fashioned Japan's bureaucracy is. Japan is also falling behind on environment technologies. These are some of the issues the government needs to tackle," said an investment manager at a major Japanese insurance firm.
"Markets probably view the outcome as a decision by the LDP to avoid changes. If you put it nicely, Kishida represents stability. But if you put it badly, the ship will continue sinking slowly and that won't change."
Abe's promise almost a decade ago to carry out structural reforms, energised investors but many think he fell short when it came to delivering results.
"If Kishida can project an inclination toward structural reform, that would likely be appreciated by offshore investors and result in flows into Japan's stock market," said Yunosuke Ikeda, chief equity strategist at Nomura Securities.
In the near term, there are unlikely to be big policy initiatives as an election for the lower house must be held by Nov. 28.
"Kishida will immediately have to deal with an election campaign. It will be hard to talk about any painful reforms before that," said Shinichi Ichikawa, senior fellow at Pictet Asset Management.
"I don't think investors will build large positions ahead of the election without knowing what kind of policies will be implemented." (Reuters)
September
Flight carrying Americans from Kabul departs UAE bound for US
Written by Nur Yasmin
A group of American citizens and lawful permanent residents evacuated to the United Arab Emirates from Afghanistan flew out of the Gulf state bound for the United States on Thursday, the country's foreign ministry said, after being temporarily held up for vetting.
The Department of Homeland Security had denied U.S. landing rights for a charter plane carrying more than 100 evacuees, said organisers of that earlier flight -- one of several that emerged from ad hoc networks that formed to bolster last month's chaotic evacuation operation from Afghanistan. read more
But the State Department said on Wednesday that more than 100 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents evacuated to Abu Dhabi from Afghanistan aboard the charter flight were expected to fly on to the United States on Thursday. read more
The State Department had said that U.S. officials were working to verify the accuracy of the list of passengers that had been evacuated to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
"The processing of those passengers has been completed and they have already departed for the United States on a commercial aircraft (Etihad) this morning," the UAE foreign ministry said in an emailed response to Reuters. read more
It did not say whether all the passengers had flown out.
Bryan Stern, a founder of nonprofit group Project Dynamo that chartered the flight, had said 28 U.S. citizens, 83 green card holders and six people with U.S. Special Immigration Visas granted to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war in Afghanistan were aboard the Kam Air flight from Kabul to Abu Dhabi.
President Joe Biden's administration has said its top priority is repatriating Americans and green card holders who were unable to leave Afghanistan in the U.S. evacuation operation last month. (Reuters)
September
N.Korea's Kim offers to reopen hotline with South; denounces 'hostile' U.S.
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is willing to restore severed inter-Korean hotlines next month but accused the United States of proposing talks without changing its "hostile policy", the North's KCNA state news agency reported on Thursday.
Kim made the remarks at the reclusive country's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, which gathered for a second day to discuss the government's political, economic and social agenda.
North Korea this week conducted its latest in a series of weapons tests, firing a previously unseen hypersonic missile and joining a race for the advanced weapons system led by major military powers. It again demanded that South Korea and the United States scrap "double standards" over weapons development. read more
The United States and ally South Korea have for years been trying to press North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for sanctions relief.
Kim has refused to abandon weapons he says North Korea needs for its defence and has at times tried to drive a wedge between the two allies.
In his latest comments, he expressed a willingness to reconnect inter-Korean hotlines but criticised South Korea's "delusion" over what it calls North Korean military provocations.
"We have neither aim nor reason to provoke South Korea and no idea to harm it," Kim said, according to KCNA.
North Korea severed the hotlines in early August in protest against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, just days after reopening them for the first time in a year. read more
The decision to restore the communication link was to help "realise the expectations and desire of the entire Korean nation" for recovery and durable peace, Kim said.
South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, welcomed Kim's offer on the hotlines but did not comment on his other remarks.
Kim took a tougher line on the United States, accusing President Joe Biden's administration of "employing more cunning ways and methods" in pursuing military threats while offering talks.
"The U.S. is touting 'diplomatic engagement' and 'dialogue without preconditions' but it is no more than a petty trick for deceiving the international community and hiding its hostile acts," Kim said.
The Biden administration has said it reached out to Pyongyang to break an impasse over denuclearisation talks. read more
'OPEN TO ENGAGEMENT'
Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, said on Thursday the North's missile tests posed a threat to neighbours, and he stressed that the United States had "no hostile intent" toward North Korea and was ready for "tangible progress" on the diplomatic front.
"We remain open to engagement ... to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues," the U.S. envoy said after meeting his South Korean counterpart in Indonesia, where he serves as U.S. ambassador.
The U.N. Security Council will meet on Thursday over the North's latest test following requests from the United States, Britain and France, diplomats said.
Analysts say the North's carrot-and-stick approach is aimed at securing international recognition as a nuclear weapons state and dividing the United States and South Korea, taking advantage of President Moon Jae-in's desire for a diplomatic legacy before his term ends in May.
"The North seems upset about the Biden administration having not made any concrete, tempting proposal to resume negotiations," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
North Korea was also attempting to foster a more positive mood towards it in the South ahead of its presidential election and to press Moon to help shift the U.S. stance, he said.
Kim Jong Un did not refer to the North's recent missile tests but touted "ultra-modern weapons which are being developed at an extremely fast speed" and capable of containing "hostile forces."
KCNA separately reported that Kim Yo Jong, the leader's powerful sister, was named a new member of the State Affairs Commission, a top body created in 2016 and chaired by Kim Jong Un, as part of a reshuffle unveiled on the sidelines of the parliament meeting.
Kim Yo Jong, 32, has risen rapidly since her brother took power in 2011, becoming a senior official on propaganda and ideological messaging in 2014 and later taking on diplomatic duties. (Reuters)