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September
France to double COVID-19 vaccine doses for poorer countries
Written by nuke
Macron's announcement came in a video broadcast during the Paris leg of the Global Citizen Live concer -
France will double the number of vaccine doses it will send to poorer countries to 120 million, President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Saturday (Sep 25), in a video broadcast during the Global Citizen concert in Paris.
"The injustice is that in other continents, obviously, vaccination is very late," he said. "We have to go faster, stronger.
"France pledges to double the number of doses it is giving," he added. "We will pass from 60 million to 120 million doses offered."
That amounted to more than the doses so far administered in France, he said.
On Wednesday, the United States announced that it would be doubling its donation of vaccine doses, bringing its total contribution to 1.1 billion.
President Joe Biden described the pandemic as an "all-hands-on-deck crisis," adding "we need other high-income countries to deliver on their own ambitions".
The European Union has committed to distributing 500 million doses.
And China's President Xi Jinping, in a video message broadcast to the UN on Tuesday, pledged a total of two billion doses by the end of the year, repeating a figure already given by the Chinese authorities.
It was not made clear how many of those would be sold and how many donated.
In his statement, Macron also said that France would work with the UN's children's organisation UNICEF in their efforts to help African countries organise their vaccination roll-out.
France would also redirect 20 per cent of the special funding it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards projects designed to restart the economies of African countries, said Macron.
"If all the major powers do the same as France, we will reach 100 billion dollars for Africa," he added.
Finally, Macron pledged that France would spend 330 million euros to promote education in France.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, has repeatedly denounced the injustice of the massive imbalance in the distribution of vaccine doses in rich and poor countries.
"I will not stay silent when the companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world's poor should be satisfied with leftovers," he said earlier this month.
African leaders pleaded for the chance to buy vaccine doses for their people during a meeting of the African Union earlier this month.
According to an AFP tally drawn from official sources, Africa's 53 countries, with a population of more than 1.3 billion people, has had a total of 10 vaccine doses per 100 people.
In contrast, the United States and Canada, with a population of just over 368 million people, has had 120 doses per hundred people//CNA
September
UK warned visa plan to fix truck driver shortage will not solve crunch
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Lorries are seen at an HGV parking, at Cobham services on the M25 motorway, Cobham, Britain, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo -
Britain’s decision to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers is a short-term fix that will not solve an acute labour shortage that risks major disruption for retailers in the run-up to Christmas, business leaders have warned.
Long lines of vehicles formed at petrol stations for a second day on Saturday as motorists waited in line, some for hours, to fill up with fuel after oil firms reported a lack of drivers was causing transport problems from refineries to forecourts, leading some operators to ration supplies and others to close gas stations.
The fuel supply issues come on the back of warnings from the retail industry that unless the driver shortage was sorted out there would be major problems ahead of the busy festive shopping period.
"After a very difficult 18 months, I know how important this Christmas is for all of us and that's why we're taking these steps at the earliest opportunity to ensure preparations remain on track," Transport Minister Grant Shapps said in a statement.
The UK's Road Haulage Association (RHA) says Britain is facing a shortage of some 100,000 drivers, a result of workers leaving the industry, Brexit and the pandemic, which put a stop to driver training and testing for about a year.
Under the government's plans, 5,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers would be able to come to Britain under temporary visas, while another 5,500 visas would be issued to poultry workers "to avoid any potential further pressures on the food industry".
These short-term visas, which the government had previously rejected introducing despite calls from retail and logistics companies, will expire on Dec 24.
Additionally, up to 4,000 people will be trained as new truck drivers, letters will be sent out to nearly a million drivers with HGV licences to entice them back to the industry, and ministry of defence examiners will be drafted in to speed up the testing process.
The government said the visas were not a long-term solution and the long-term solution was to hire more British drivers with better pay and conditions.
"We are acting now but the industries must also play their part with working conditions continuing to improve and the deserved salary increases continuing to be maintained in order for companies to retain new drivers," Shapps said.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, who warned on Friday the government had just 10 days to solve the driver shortage issue, said the plans were insufficient.
"The limit of 5,000 visas will do little to alleviate the current shortfall," he said. "Supermarkets alone have estimated they need at least 15,000 HGV drivers for their businesses to be able to operate at full capacity ahead of Christmas and avoid disruption or availability issues."
Others have cautioned European drivers may not want to work in Britain again anyway.
"I expect many drivers will not return to the UK even if the UK government allows them to," said Marco Digioia, general secretary of the European Road Haulers Association, told the i newspaper//CNA
September
Russia calls on US to 'be more active' to revive Iran nuclear deal
Written by nuke
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi remotely addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly via video-link on September 21, 2021 in New York. (Photo: Pool/Getty Images via AFP) -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Saturday (Sep 25) on the United States to take a more active approach to help resume stalled talks aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal.
"It seems evident they should be more active" in "resolving all issues related" to the accord, Lavrov told reporters at the United Nations in New York.
Lavrov added that he hoped negotiations in Vienna among Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany would resume "as soon as possible".
The talks, brokered by the Europeans, seek the return of the United States to the 2015 agreement trashed by former president Donald Trump - as well as Iran's return to full compliance.
Trump pulled America out in 2018, reinstating sanctions on Iran that Washington had lifted as part of the agreement.
Since then, Tehran has also retreated from many of its commitments.
Lavrov said Iran no longer meets elements of the agreement "simply because the United States has left it".
He added that sanctions reimposed on Iran also affected countries who "trade legally" with Tehran.
"These sanctions should be lifted as part of the restoration of the nuclear deal," he said, adding that Iran'"should not suffer from unilateral US measures".
Trump's successor Joe Biden has indicated he wants to return to the deal, but his administration has expressed impatience at the stalled talks.
Discussions between Iran and the remaining five parties aimed at reviving the deal began in Vienna in April but have been suspended since June, when ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi was elected president.
Hopes of reviving the deal were kept alive earlier this month when Iran agreed to a new compromise with the UN nuclear agency on the monitoring of its nuclear facilities.
Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said Friday the talks would resume "very soon", but the United States said Tehran had not been specific about the timeframe//CNA
September
US administers 389.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC
Written by nuke
A registered nurse applies a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Sarasota Hospital patient technician Carol Garcia at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida, U.S., September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton -
The United States has administered 389,372,689 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday (Sep 25) morning and distributed 471,821,155 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Those totals are up from the 388,567,109 vaccine doses the CDC said had been administered by Sep 24, out of 470,630,875 doses delivered.
The agency said 213,177,462 people had received at least one dose, while 183,353,326 people were fully vaccinated as of 6:00am ET on Saturday.
The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, as well as Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine.
Over 2.5 million people received an additional dose of either Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine since Aug 13, when US authorities authorised a third dose of the vaccines for people with compromised immune systems who are likely to have weaker protection despite the two-dose regimens//CNA
September
Two Canadians detained by China for more than 1,000 days return home: Local media
Written by nuke
People hold placards calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig outside a court hearing for Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, Canada on Mar 6, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Lindsey Wasson) -
The two Canadians who were detained by Beijing for more than 1,000 days returned home on Saturday (Sep 25), local media reported, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received them.
Footage from TV channel CTV showed Trudeau welcoming businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig when they arrived in the western Canadian city of Calgary.
The Prime Minister's Office did not offer an immediate comment.
Late on Friday, Trudeau told reporters the two Canadians had left Chinese airspace, shortly after Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou flew out of Canada after reaching an agreement with US prosecutors, ending her extradition hearing//CNA
September
Dutch protest against COVID-19 vaccine pass to enter bars, restaurants
Written by nuke
People take part in a protest on the day the Dutch authorities introduce a mandatory "corona pass" on Sep 25, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Eva Plevier) -
Hundreds of protesters marched against the introduction of a "corona pass" in the Netherlands on Saturday (Sep 25), as proof of COVID-19 vaccination became compulsory to get into bars, restaurants, theatres and other venues.
The new requirement to show the pass or a recent negative coronavirus test came into force on Saturday, coinciding with the lifting of almost all social distancing measures in the country, where 72 per cent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose.
While face masks will still be mandatory on public transport, students and teachers will no longer have to wear masks in schools, and a rule for 1.5m distancing in public places was also scrapped.
A crowd of several hundred people weaved through the streets of the Dutch government capital, The Hague, with techno music playing over mobile loudspeakers.
They carried banners denouncing vaccines and some compared the COVID-19 restrictions to measures imposed by repressive governments. "Medical Apartheid. Stop vaccine passports," one sign read.
Most Dutch people support the corona pass, which also faced opposition when introduced in other European countries such as Italy and France. The move has mainly drawn criticism from the hospitality sector in the Netherlands.
More than 40 per cent of bar and restaurant owners do not plan to ask customers for a certificate, the country's Horeca Nederland hospitality industry association said, citing a survey of its members.
It said many businesses saw the requirement as a "political tool" aimed at boosting vaccination take-up.
"It is not only impossible to enforce, but will financially damage a sector that is just starting to recover," the association added in a statement.
The decision to introduce the pass also drew criticism from within the government of caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
"If we end up in a society where we have to be afraid of each other unless we can show proof, then you really have to scratch your head and ask yourself: Is this the direction we want to go?" Deputy Economic Affairs Minister Mona Keijzer said in a newspaper interview//CNA
September
Merkel makes final push for successor in Germany's knife-edge polls
Written by nuke
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Governor Armin Laschet, top candidate for the upcoming election, wave to supporters at the final election campaign event of the Christian Democratic Party, CDU, ahead of the German general election in Aachen, Germany on Sep 25, 2021. (Photo: AP/Martin Meissner) -
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday (Sep 25) urged Germans to give her would-be successor Armin Laschet the vote to shape Germany's future, in a last-ditch push to shore up his beleaguered campaign 24 hours before Germans vote.
Laschet, 60, has been trailing his Social Democrat challenger Olaf Scholz in the race for the chancellery, although final polls put the gap between them within the margin of error, making the vote one of the most unpredictable in recent years.
Merkel had planned to keep a low profile in the election battle as she prepares to bow out of politics after 16 years in power. But she has found herself dragged into the frantic campaign schedule of the unpopular chairman of her party, Laschet.
In the last week of the campaign, Merkel took Laschet to her constituency by the Baltic coast and on Friday headlined the closing rally gathering the conservatives' bigwigs in Munich.
Merkel tugged at the heartstrings of Germany's predominantly older electorate on Friday, calling on them to keep her conservatives in power for the sake of stability - a trademark of Germany.
"To keep Germany stable, Armin Laschet must become chancellor, and the CDU and CSU must be the strongest force," she said.
A day before the vote, she travelled to Laschet's hometown and constituency Aachen, a spa city near Germany's western border with Belgium and the Netherlands, where he was born and still lives.
"It is about your future, the future of your children and the future of your parents," she said, urging strong mobilisation for her conservative alliance.
She underlined that climate protection will be a key challenge of the next government, but said this would not be achieved "simply through rules and regulations".
"For that we need new technological developments, new procedures, researchers, interested people who think about how that can be done, and people who participate," she said.
Laschet is a "bridge-builder who will get people on board" in shaping Germany to meet those challenges, she said.
Hundreds of thousands of people had descended on the streets on Friday urging change and greater climate protection, with a leading activist calling Sunday's election the vote "of a century".
With the clock ticking down to the election, Scholz was also staying close to home at the other end of the country to chase down last votes.
Scholz will be holding "dialogues on the future" with voters in his constituency of Potsdam - a city on the outskirts of Berlin famous for its palaces that once housed Prussian kings.
Scholz, currently finance minister in Merkel's coalition government, has avoided making mistakes on the campaign trail, and largely won backing as he sold himself as the "continuity candidate" after Merkel in place of Laschet.
Also on the campaign trail on Friday, Scholz demanded a "fresh start for Germany" and "a change of government" after 16 years under Merkel.
Described as capable but boring, Scholz has consistently beaten Laschet by wide margins when it comes to popularity.
As election day loomed, Laschet's conservatives were closing the gap, with one poll even putting them just one percentage point behind the SPD's 26 per cent.
Laschet went into the race for the chancellery badly bruised by a tough battle for the conservatives' chancellor candidate nomination.
Nevertheless, his party enjoyed a substantial lead ahead of the SPD heading into the summer.
But Laschet was seen chuckling behind President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as he paid tribute to victims of deadly floods in July, an image that would drastically turn the mood against him and his party.
As polls showed the lead widening for the SPD, the conservatives turned to their greatest asset - the still widely popular Merkel.
Yet roping in the chancellor is not without risks, said political analyst Oskar Niedermayer of Berlin's Free University.
"Merkel is still the most well-liked politician. But the joint appearances can become a problem for Laschet because they are then immediately being compared to each other," he said.
"And it could therefore backfire because people could then think that Merkel is more suitable than Laschet."//CNA
September
Iceland Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir -
Icelanders began voting on Saturday (Sep 25) in an election that could see its unprecedented left-right coalition lose its majority, despite bringing four years of stability after a decade of crises.
With the political landscape more splintered than ever, the process of forming a new coalition could be more complicated than in the past.
Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, whose Left-Green Movement had never led a government before, is seeking a second mandate but the large number of parties could stand in her way.
Opinion polls suggest a record nine parties out of 10 are expected to win seats in the Althing, Iceland's almost 1,100-year-old parliament.
That makes it particularly tricky to predict which parties could end up forming a coalition.
First results were expected shortly after polling stations close at 10pm (2200 GMT), but a clear picture was not expected to emerge until Sunday.
Jon Sigurdsson, a 47-year-old entrepreneur, was among the first to cast his ballot in the capital Reykjavik.
"There are a lot of parties threatening to raise taxes and I think that is not the right thing to do. Enough already!" he told AFP, refusing to disclose who he voted for.
During her four-year term, Jakobsdottir has introduced a progressive income tax system, increased the social housing budget and extended parental leave for both parents.
She has also been hailed for her handling of the Covid crisis, with just 33 deaths in the country of 370,000.
But she has also had to make concessions to keep the peace in her coalition, including a promise to create a national park in central Iceland which is home to 32 active volcano systems and 400 glaciers.
This is only the second time since 2008 that a government has made it to the end of its four-year mandate on the sprawling island//CNA
September
Palm prices to stay firm from Oct to Feb, could ease from March – analyst Mistry
Written by nuke
A worker holds palm oil fruits while posing for a picture at an oil palm plantation in Slim River, Malaysia August 12, 2021. Picture taken August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/Files -
Malaysian crude palm oil prices, which have hovered near last month's record highs, will stay firm until February, and may start easing from March on rising output in the top two producer nations rise, leading industry analyst Dorab Mistry said.
Mistry, the director of Indian consumer goods company Godrej International, unveiled on Saturday a bullish outlook for the next five months, due to Indonesia's high export levy and a peak in supply tightness anticipated at the start of 2022.
He pegged palm oil prices in a range from 4,000 ringgit to 4,400 ringgit during October to February before they ease in March//CNA
September
South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday
Written by nuke
Commuters wearing masks to avoid contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walk on a zebra crossing in Seoul, South Korea, September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji -
South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections topped 3,000 for the first time as an outbreak fuelled by this week's three-day holiday spreads, authorities said on Saturday (Sep 25).
Friday's 3,273 coronavirus cases surpassed the previous high a day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, taking the nation's tally to 298,402 infections and 2,441 deaths.
Domestically transmitted cases accounted for 3,245 of the new infections, while 28 were imported.
More than 77 per cent of the former were in Seoul and areas neighbouring the capital, which is home to about half the population of 52 million.
"We estimate that the surge in travel during the Thanksgiving holiday, as well as the increase in person-to-person contact, could be major reasons for the sharp increase," said the agency's director, Jeong Eun-kyeong.
The current outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant has contributed to the jump in infections, she told a briefing.
Daily infections may continue to surge over the next one or two weeks, she added, urging people to delay or cancel private gatherings over the period.
The mortality rate and the number of severe cases remain relatively low and steady at 0.82 per cent and 339, respectively, helped by vaccinations that focused on older people at high risk of severe infection, the KDCA said.
The number of coronavirus tests jumped more than 50 per cent to 227,874 from a week earlier, it added.
Authorities have urged those returning from the holiday to get tested even for the mildest symptoms similar to COVID-19, especially before going back to work.
By Friday, 73.5 per cent of the population had received at least one dose of vaccine, with nearly 45 per cent fully inoculated//CNA