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September
'S.Korea's Bernie Sanders' tops presidential polls with talk of universal basic income
Written by Nur Yasmin
A South Korean politician who once said he aspired to be a "successful Bernie Sanders" is leading the field to replace Moon Jae-in as president after rising to prominence with an aggressive pandemic response and a populist economic agenda.
Lee Jae-myung, the governor of Gyeonggi province, has led in many recent national polls and dominated the early rounds of the ruling liberal Democratic Party primary, including the latest voting over the weekend.
As governor, Lee advocated for universal basic income and instituted cash payments to all 24-year-old people for a year. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all province residents also received regular payments.
Under Lee, Gyeonggi also took aggressive steps to combat the pandemic, introducing restrictions on gatherings that were later adopted by the national government, raiding a church at the centre of a large outbreak, and imposing a controversial requirement that all foreign residents be tested.
His outsider image was once seen as a liability in the face of establishment competitors with closer ties to the outgoing Moon.
But with many South Koreans disillusioned by runaway housing prices, a poor employment outlook for young people and a string of corruption scandals, that populist message has driven him to the head of the pack as he looks to blunt conservatives' efforts to capitalise on voter discontent.
Lee no longer compares himself to Sanders, the progressive senator who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. president, and has expressed willingness to adjust his policies to avoid strife while embracing "compromise and consensus".
But he still casts himself as someone who will take on the establishment - which at the moment is largely his own party.
"Only politicians who have the courage and driving force to put up with the resistance and backlash from the establishment can keep and fulfil promises and achieve results," Lee said during a primary in the eastern province of Gangwon on Sunday. "And I have never made a promise that I could not keep."
EXPANDING WELFARE STATE
Born to an impoverished farming family in a remote mountain village in the country's southeast, Lee, 56, attributes his focus on economic equality to an early life as a child labourer in chemical factories that left him with impaired hearing and a wrist deformity.
When elected mayor of Seongnam, one of the largest cities in Gyeonggi, in 2010, he initiated a plan to establish a new, larger public hospital with unprecedented numbers of negative pressure rooms and intensive care beds. The facility now serves as a national COVID-19 centre and has treated more than 3,000 patients.
"Keeping people from disasters and infectious diseases by providing public medical service is one of the government's most fundamental duties, and my political career began from there," Lee told Reuters in December.
A longtime advocate of universal basic income, Lee vowed to provide 1 million won ($850) to all citizens and another 1 million to people aged 19-29 every year if he takes office.
He also pledged to boost housing supply by building more than 2.5 million homes, including 1 million to be distributed under a "basic home" scheme, aimed at allowing non-homeowners to live in high-quality public housing at low prices for up to 30 years.
To bankroll the programmes, Lee proposed a carbon tax and a national land tax scheme to increase taxes for all property holders and cut transaction costs.
"I will adopt universal basic income as a national policy to pave the way for a grand transition from a low burden, low welfare state to a medium burden, medium welfare state, while minimising tax resistance," he told a news conference in late July.
FROM OUTSIDER TO FRONTRUNNER
Lee, who came in third during the Democratic Party's last presidential primary in 2017, has been dogged by personal controversy while in office, including allegations of an affair with an actress, which he has denied.
As proof of their alleged relationship, the actress said the governor had a large mole on his body. In 2018, Lee publicly undertook an examination to refute that claim, with doctors concluding he had no such mark.
A lawsuit by the actress demanding 300 million won ($255,000) in compensation from Lee is pending in court.
Lee's rise has been driven chiefly by young and politically independent South Koreans who propelled Moon to victory in 2017 but have since grown disillusioned.
This year Lee has pulled past party bigwigs such as former prime minister Lee Nak-yon, who were seen as favourites of insiders seeking a trusted nominee who can protect Moon's political legacy.
The conservative opposition, meanwhile, remains in disarray with no one emerging as a potent contender yet.
"Despite mainstream Democrats' efforts to keep him at bay, Lee's experience and outsider image cater to many voters' craving for a candidate who can get the job done," said Kim Hyung-joon, a political science professor at Myongji University in Seoul. (Reuters)
September
Philippines' Duterte accused of stifling scrutiny in senate probes
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered members of his cabinet to get his consent before appearing at senate investigations, fuelling accusations from activists and some politicians of an attempt to stifle scrutiny.
Duterte gave the directive in a recorded televised address aired on Tuesday after he said senators probing hisgovernment's use of more than $1 billion in pandemicfunds were using the hearings to further their political ambitions. read more
"I will require every cabinet member to clear with me any invitation, and if I think he will be called...to be harassed, berated...I will not allow (them to attend)," Duterte said.
This was not the first time Duterte has challenged the investigative powers of Congress. In January, he directed the head of his military detail to ignore legislative summons issued by the senate, which was probing his guards for inoculating themselves with an unauthorised COVID-19 vaccine.
"I will limit you to what you can do with the executive department," Duterte told the senators, but added if the invitation was reasonable and "in pursuant of the truth" then he would not stand in the way.
In a post on Twitter, activist Renato Reyes of the left-wing alliance Bayan (Nation), labelled the order as "tyrannical" and accused Duterte of trying to cover up corruption.
Duterte has told senators to stop probing ongoing programmes after they zeroed in on a multi-billion peso medical supplies contract his government awarded to a small-capitalised firm with links to public officials during the hearing. read more
Duterte, whose government is facing growing criticism over its handling of the pandemic, has said the deal was above-board, and accused the senators of "stretching the hearing because it is good for elections".
Former congressman and activist Neri Colmenares urged cabinet members to keep attending the senate hearings because otherwise it breached the "wish of the people" to scrutinise such transactions.
Senate President Vicente Sotto has defended the senate's record, saying last month, the upper chamber's investigations have led to the removal of government officials and the filing of cases against them. (Reuters)
September
Sydney COVID-19 infections ease, but unclear if they have peaked
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sydney's COVID-19 cases rose at the slowest pace in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, but officials said they needed to see a steady drop in daily cases before deciding whether infections had peaked after 12 weeks in lockdown.
New South Wales (NSW) state reported 1,127 new local cases, the majority in state capital Sydney, down from 1,257 on Monday. Two deaths were reported.
"It's too early to know if we're flattening the curve, but we're seeing, pleasingly so far, that cases haven't been increasing as fast as they have been," Jeremy McAnulty, NSW Executive Director of Public Health Response, told reporters in Sydney.
"We'll look to see what's happening throughout the rest of this week to know how we're going."
Nearly half of Australia's 25 million population is in lockdown, including people in Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities, and the capital Canberra, as the country grapples with a third wave of infections from the fast-moving Delta variant.
Still, its coronavirus numbers are far lower than comparable countries, with around 77,000 cases and 1,102 deaths, and the mortality rate in the latest outbreak is lower than last year.
Sydney and Melbourne hope to come out of their extended lockdown around the middle of next month through higher vaccination rates. Officials hope to ease some tough curbs once two-dose vaccination rates in the adult population reach 70%, and then relax more curbs at 80%. Currently only 42% of Australia's adult population is fully vaccinated.
The lockdowns are expected to cause a sharp contraction in Australia's economy this quarter, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said on Tuesday, but he was confident activity would rebound quickly once restrictions were eased.
"We expect the economy to be growing again in the December quarter, with the recovery continuing into 2022," Lowe said in a speech. read more
Victoria state reported two new deaths and detected 445 new local cases, down from the year's high of 473 hit a day earlier, as it looks to accelerate the vaccination rollout in Melbourne's hardest-hit suburbs, the state capital.
The federal government plans to move an additional 417,000 vaccine doses over the next three weeks for residents in Melbourne's north and west, where most new infections are being detected. Pop-up hubs will be set up in schools, community centres and places of worship.
Authorities on Tuesday extended the lockdown in Canberra for four weeks until Oct. 15 as it reported 22 new local cases, up from 13 a day earlier. (Reuters)
September
Grateful for vaccines, Taiwan minister to lead Europe investment delegation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Grateful for COVID-19 vaccine gifts and other support, Taiwan will send a senior minister to head an investment delegation to three central and eastern European countries next month to boost business ties, Taiwan's foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.
Remus Chen, head of the ministry's Europe department, told reporters the 65-person group would travel by chartered flight to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, who have together pledged a total of 60,000 shots to Taiwan, from Oct. 20-30.
It will be led by Kung Ming-hsin, who runs the National Development Council which is in charge of Taiwan's industrial development policy, Chen added.
Taiwan's relations with the three countries have continued to improve, he said, pointing to not only the vaccine donations but also last year's visit of the head of the Czech Senate and Lithuania's decision to allow Taiwan to set up a de facto embassy, with Lithuania planning the same in Taipei.
"This shows the unity of international democratic partners and friendship," Chen said.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has been angered by these interactions, with Lithuania most recently feeling the brunt of Beijing's displeasure.
Chen said the delegation would include representatives of tech firms in particular, including electric vehicle makers, though he did not say which companies would participate.
"Taiwan has many great industries and companies. The government must be a firm backer to help them go out into the world," he added.
Major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) already has plants in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Taiwan has been heartened by the support of the three European Union members, as well as Poland which donated 400,000 vaccines doses earlier this month, though the bloc has not moved on Taiwan's request to push forward with a stalled proposal for a bilateral investment agreement.
The EU has however been trying to boost cooperation on semiconductor production, tight supplies of which have especially affected global auto makers, including in Europe.
Taiwan is one of the world's most important chip makers. (Reuters)
September
Singapore's health ministry reported 607 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest since August last year.
The country's COVID-19 cases have hit a one-year high in the recent days as it entered a phased reopening after more than 80% of its population was fully vaccinated. (Reuters)
September
New Zealand looks to boost COVID-19 vaccinations as new cases ease
Written by Nur Yasmin
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asked New Zealanders on Tuesday to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it was the only way to beat the spread of coronavirus and see curbs lifted in the biggest city of Auckland.
Tuesday's 15 new infections in New Zealand were a drop from Monday's figure of 33, but about 1.7 million people will stay in lockdown in Auckland until next week, as the government battles to hold down a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant.
"The vaccine is the best tool we have in our toolbox and our ticket to greater freedom," Ardern told a news conference. "The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer restrictions you have to have."
Auckland's lockdown has shut schools, offices and public places, with people allowed to leave home only for exercise or to buy essential items. In the rest of the country, the lockdown was lifted last week.
New Zealand had been largely virus-free for months until a Delta outbreak forced a snap lockdown on Aug. 17. It has infected 970 people so far, most of them in Auckland.
The lockdowns and international border closure since March 2020 have been credited with holding down COVID-19, but a slow vaccination effort has spurred criticism for Ardern. Just 34% of the population of 5.1 million have been fully vaccinated.
To boost the programme, New Zealand has bought doses of Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N) vaccine from Spain and Denmark.
"There is nothing holding us back in Auckland when it comes to vaccines," Ardern added. "There's capacity to administer 220,000 doses of vaccine in the region this week."
Vaccine buses will begin plying this week to reach more people, she said. (Reuters)
September
Qatar's foreign minister visits premier of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
Written by Nur Yasmin
Qatar's foreign minister held talks with the prime minister of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan on Sunday, in the highest-level foreign visit to Kabul since the militant group seized the capital last month.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called upon the country's new rulers to "involve all Afghan parties in national reconciliation" when he met Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund, Qatar's foreign ministry said.
Qatar is considered one of the countries with the most influence over the Taliban and played a pivotal role in the massive U.S.-led airlift of its own citizens, other Western nationals and Afghans who helped Western countries.
The Qatari capital Doha also hosted the Taliban's political office, which oversaw the negotiations with the United States that eventually led to the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
Sheikh Mohammed and new premier Akhund also discussed "concerted efforts to combat terrorist organizations that threaten the stability of Afghanistan", ways to enhance peace in the country and the safe passage of people, according to the Qatar ministry.
Sheikh Mohammed met the prime minister and a number of other senior ministers, a Taliban spokesman said.
"The meeting focused on bilateral relations, humanitarian assistance, economic development and interaction with the world," according to the Taliban.
Sunday's meeting in the presidential palace was attended by a number of other Afghan ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq.
The Taliban said the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, the term used by the group to describe the new order in Afghanistan, thanked the Qatar government for supporting the Afghan people.
The Doha agreement, signed by the United States and the Taliban, was a "landmark achievement, all sides should adhere to its implementation", the Taliban added.
Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed also met Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the previous Afghan government, and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the foreign ministry said. (Reuters)
September
U.N. seeks $600 million to avert Afghanistan humanitarian crisis
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations is convening an aid conference in Geneva on Monday in an effort to raise more than $600 million for Afghanistan, warning of a humanitarian crisis there following the Taliban takeover.
Even before the Taliban's seizure of Kabul last month, half the population - or 18 million people - was dependent on aid. That figure looks set to increase due to drought and shortages of cash and food, U.N. officials and aid groups warn.
An abrupt end to billions of dollars in foreign donations following the collapse of Afghanistan's Western-backed government and the ensuing victory of the Taliban has heaped more pressure on U.N. programmes.
Yet U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says his organisation is struggling financially: "At the present moment the U.N. is not even able to pay its salaries to its own workers," he told reporters on Friday.
The Geneva conference, due to begin on Monday afternoon, will be attended by top U.N. officials including Guterres, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, as well as dozens of government representatives including German foreign minister Heiko Maas.
About a third of the $606 million being sought would be used by the U.N. World Food Programme which found that 93% of the 1,600 Afghans it surveyed in August and September were not consuming sufficient foods, mostly because they could not get access to cash to pay for it.
"It's now a race against time and the snow to deliver life-saving assistance to the Afghan people who need it most," said WFP deputy regional director Anthea Webb. "We are quite literally begging and borrowing to avoid food stocks running out."
The World Health Organization, another U.N. agency that's part of the appeal, is seeking to shore up hundreds of health facilities at risk of closure after donors backed out. (Reuters)
September
New Zealand buys further 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines as cluster grows
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand has purchased 500,000 doses of Pfizer's (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine from Denmark, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday, as the country struggles with a cluster of infections in its largest city.
New Zealand, which reported 20 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in Auckland on Sunday, said the vaccines will arrive within days. The latest outbreak now totals 599 infections since the first case was detected in late August.
"There is now more than enough vaccine in the country to vaccinate at the world leading rates we were hitting earlier in the month, and I strongly encourage every New Zealander not yet vaccinated to do so as soon as possible," Ardern said in an e-mailed statement.
New Zealand, which until last month had largely reined in COVID-19, has struggled to stamp out the last cluster despite a weeks-long lockdown of Auckland.
About 1.7 million people in Auckland remain in a strict level four lockdown but curbs have been eased in the rest of the country.
About a third of New Zealand's 5.1 million people have been fully vaccinated, one of the slowest paces among the wealthy nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development grouping. (Reuters)
September
Australia buys additional 1 mln doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia has purchased an additional 1 million doses of Moderna's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine from the European Union, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as the country accelerates its inoculation programme to fight record high infections.
The purchase is a boost for Australia's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy, which is at risk of slipping into its second recession in as many years as a result of lockdowns of the country's two most populous cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
These lockdowns will remain until 70% of the country's near 26 million population are fully vaccinated, which is not expected until late October.
But Morrison said the million doses will arrive later this week. Australia has ordered 25 million vaccines from Moderna.
"Some good news today. A family sized dose of hope for our vaccination programme," Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
The purchase comes as Australia struggles to contain an outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant, with daily infections on Saturday topping 2,000 cases for the first time.
Australia has recorded 73,610 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic begun. The death toll rose by 7 to 1,091.
Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported on Sunday 1,262 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from 1,599 infections recorded a day earlier.
Neighbouring Victoria reported 392 COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, down slightly from the 450 cases recorded in the state the day before.
Meanwhile, Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, said on Sunday it does not need to order a lockdown after it detected zero COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours.
The state on Saturday reported five cases of COVID-19, with state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warning that a lockdown could be needed to stop the spread of the virus.
However, the state said testing had yet to detect any further cases, avoiding the need for such a measure.
"We're not out of the woods yet, but this is the best result we could have hoped for at this point in the outbreak," Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles told reporters in Brisbane. (Reuters)