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August
Russian and Uzbek militaries begin joint Afghan border drills
Written by Nur YasminTroops from Russia and Uzbekistan began joint military drills on Monday near the Afghan border amid fears in both countries over a worsening security situation in Afghanistan that could spill over into Central Asia.
Russia said 1,500 Russian and Uzbek troops would take part in the five-day exercises that began at the Termez military site in Uzbekistan, the TASS news agency reported.
In a sign of how serious Moscow is taking the potential threat from Afghanistan, it said it would send a much bigger military contingent to Tajikistan for separate trilateral exercises due to begin there later this week.
Those separate drills are due to take place on Aug. 5-10 and involve Russian, Uzbek and Tajik forces.
Security has rapidly deteriorated in Afghanistan amid a U.S. troop withdrawal. Moscow fears that could destabilise its southern defensive flank and push refugees into its Central Asian backyard.
On Monday, Russia's defence ministry said that 1,800 of its soldiers would take part in the Tajik drills, instead of 1,000 as initially planned. More than 2,500 troops would be involved in total, it said.
Moscow will also use 420 units of military hardware for the drills, double the quantity originally planned, it said. (Reuters)
August
New Zealand to open one-way travel for workers from some Pacific nations
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand will open up one-way quarantine-free travel for seasonal workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu to address labour shortages in the horticulture industry, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
The quarantine-free arrangement is expected to start from September, Ardern said at a news conference. It will only be available to workers who qualify under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, which allows the horticulture sector to recruit labour from overseas for seasonal work when there are not enough New Zealand workers.
The scheme was suspended after the country shut its borders last year due to COVID-19.
"COVID has closed borders and New Zealand like many others experienced workforce shortages," Ardern said.
"We know our agriculture sector is experiencing challenges," she said.
Ardern is expected to reveal more details next week about how the country will gradually reopen its borders.
New Zealand has successfully contained the spread of coronavirus within its borders and has reported no community cases since February.
The Pacific island nation has reported about 2,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 26 related deaths. (Reuters)
August
N.Korean leader's sister warns Seoul against military drill with Washington
Written by Nur Yasmin
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Sunday that if South Korea carries out a planned joint military exercise with the United States it will damage the resolve of the two Koreas to rebuild relations, state media KCNA reported.
Kim Yo Jong also said a recent decision to restore hotlines between the two Koreas should not be seen as anything more than reconnecting "physical" ties, and that it would be "thoughtless" to assume that summits are around the corner. read more
Her comments come at a time when North and South Korea are in talks to hold a summit as part of efforts to restore relations. Washington and Seoul are due to hold a joint military drill later in August. read more
"Our government and military will keep a close eye on whether the South Koreans go ahead with the aggressive war exercises, or make a big decision. Hope or despair? That's not up to us," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by KCNA.
The two Koreas, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a ceasefire, on Tuesday reconnected hotlines the North severed in June last year. (Reuters)
August
Australia tightens COVID curbs as Brisbane extends lockdown, army patrols Sydney
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's Queensland state on Monday extended a COVID-19 lockdown in Brisbane, while soldiers began patrolling Sydney to enforce stay-at-home rules as Australia struggles to stop the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading.
Queensland said it had detected 13 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours - the biggest one-day rise the state has recorded in a year. The lockdown of Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city, was due to end on Tuesday but will now stay in place until late on Sunday.
"It's starting to become clear that the initial lockdown will be insufficient for the outbreak," Queensland state Deputy Premier Steven Miles told reporters in Brisbane.
Queensland has yet to establish how a school child acquired the virus, but has forced students at several schools and their families, including that of Australia's Defence Minister Peter Dutton, to stay home.
Dutton said on Monday he would miss two weeks of parliament after he was told he must quarantine at home for 14 days as his two sons attend a school linked to the outbreak.
The rising new case numbers in two of the country's biggest cities come as disquiet grows on how the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison is handling the pandemic. read more
Although Australia's vaccination drive has lagged many other developed economies, it has so far fared much better in keeping its coronavirus numbers relatively low, with just under 34,400 cases. The death toll rose to 925 after a man in his 90s died in Sydney.
Australia is going through a cycle of stop-start lockdowns in several cities after the emergence of the fast-moving Delta strain, and such restrictions are likely to persist until the country reaches a much higher level of vaccination coverage.
Prime Minister Morrison has promised lockdowns would be "less likely" once the country inoculates 70% of its population above 16 years of age - up from 19% now. Morrison expects to hit the 70% mark by the end of the year.
Meanwhile the lockdown of Brisbane and several surrounding areas comes as Sydney, the biggest city in the country, begins its sixth week under stay-at-home orders.
New South Wales state, home to Sydney, said on Monday it detected 207 COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours as daily new cases continue to linger near a 16-month high recorded late last week.
The state has recorded more than 3,500 infections since the outbreak begun in June, when a limousine driver contracted the virus while transporting an overseas airline crew, and has asked for military personnel to aid efforts to enforce the restrictions. read more
Some 300 army personnel, who will be unarmed and under police command, on Monday began door-to-door visits to ensure people who have tested positive are isolating at their homes. They also accompanied police officers patrolling the areas of Sydney where most COVID-19 cases have been recorded.
Footage published online showed police asking the few people encountered as to why they were out of their homes in the largely deserted streets in Sydney's south west.
Brigadier Mick Garraway, who is leading the military deployment, sought to downplay the army's presence on the streets of Sydney.
"I want to say right up front that we are not a law enforcement agency and that is not what we will be doing," Garraway told reporters in Sydney.
The military would help in delivering food and setting up vaccination stations, he said. (Reuters)
August
New Zealand's PM Ardern apologises for 1970s immigration raids on Pacific community
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern issued a sombre state apology on Sunday to the Pacific community for racially targeted immigration raids in the 1970s that resulted in deportations and prosecutions.
The "Dawn Raids", which often occurred early in the morning, took place from 1974 to 1976 when New Zealand's economy was in a downturn and the government clamped down on immigrant workers from the Pacific who overstayed their work visas.
Addressing hundreds of people in attendance for the formal apology, Ardern said members of the Pacific communities continue to "suffer and carry the scars" of the raids in which they were specifically targeted and racially profiled.
"Today, I stand on behalf of the New Zealand government to offer a formal and unreserved apology to Pacific communities for the discriminatory implementation of the immigration laws of the 1970s that led to the events of the Dawn Raids," Ardern said.
"The government expresses its sorrow, remorse, and regret that the Dawn Raids and random police checks occurred and that these actions were ever considered appropriate."
As part of its formal apology, Ardern said her government will provide NZ$2.1 million ($1.5 million) in academic and vocational scholarships for Pacific communities and $1 million in leadership scholarships for young people from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Tuvalu, among others.
Sunday's event included an Ifoga, a traditional Samoan ceremony in which people ask for forgiveness or receive forgiveness, where some ministers and members of parliament draped a mat over Ardern, which was then removed by members of the Pacific community.
"There were no reported raids on any homes of people who were not Pacific; no raids or random stops were exacted towards European people," Ardern said during her apology. (Reuters)
August
U.S. to begin new Afghan refugee program - sources
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will launch a new program to resettle certain Afghans as refugees in the United States, an administration official and two knowledgeable sources said on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department was expected to announce the setting-up of the so-called Priority Two refugee program on Monday, the three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The program comes as fighting surges in Afghanistan ahead of the formal completion of the U.S. troop withdrawal at the end of this month, with the Taliban pushing to capture key provincial capitals.
Biden has faced pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups to aid Afghans at risk of Taliban retaliation because of their association with the United States during the 20-year U.S. war.
The administration official said the new refugee program would cover Afghans who worked for U.S.-funded projects and for U.S.-based non-government bodies and media outlets.
Those Afghans do not qualify for the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program that covers interpreters and others who worked for the U.S. government, and their families.
About 200 SIV applicants whose visas are in the final stages of processing and family members flew into the United States last week at the start of an evacuation effort dubbed "Operation Allies Refuge" that could include as many as 50,000 people or more. read more
They were taken to stay at a military base in Virginia to complete their final formalities before being resettled around the country.
The administration official said the new program for Afghans would differ from a Prority Two refugee program for Iraqis that has been indefinitely suspended while U.S. officials pursue a sweeping fraud investigation. read more
The new Afghan program will require applicants to be referred by U.S. agencies, senior U.S. officials, non-government bodies or media outlets, the official added.
The referral requirement is a key difference between the new Afghan program and the Iraqi program, which allows Iraqis to apply directly without a referral, the official said. (Reuters)
August
Asian factory activity hit by rising costs, Delta variant
Written by Nur Yasmin
Asia's factories hit a rough patch in July as rising input costs and a new wave of coronavirus infections overshadowed solid global demand, highlighting the fragile nature of the region's recovery.
Manufacturing activity rose in export powerhouses Japan and South Korea, though firms suffered from supply chain disruptions and raw material shortages that pushed up costs.
China's factory activity growth slipped sharply in July as demand contracted for the first time in over a year, a private survey showed, broadly aligning with an official survey released on Saturday showing a slowdown in activity.
"Supply bottlenecks remain a constraint. But the PMIs suggest demand is cooling too, taking the heat out of price gains and weighing on activity in industry and construction," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia saw factory activity shrink in July due to a resurgence in infections and stricter COVID-19 restrictions, according to private surveys.
The surveys highlight the divergence emerging across the global economy on the pace of recovery from pandemic-induced strains, which led the International Monetary Fund to downgrade this year's growth forecast for emerging Asia.
"The risk is that growth scars linger for longer even if activity recovers in the coming months," said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economics Research at HSBC.
"Plus, cooling export momentum, far from a temporary blip, provides a hint of what to expect in quarters to come," he said, adding that such uncertainty over the outlook would prod Asian central banks to maintain loose monetary policy.
China's Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 50.3 in July from 51.3 in June, marking the lowest level in 15 months, as rising costs clouded the outlook for the world's manufacturing hub.
The final au Jibun Bank Japan PMI rose to 53.0 in July from 52.4 in the previous month, though manufacturers saw input prices rise at the fastest pace since 2008.
Japan also faces a surge in Delta variant cases that has forced the government to expand state of emergency curbs to wider areas through Aug. 31, casting a shadow over the Olympic Games and dashing hopes for a sharp rebound in July-September growth.
South Korea's PMI stood at 53.0 in July, holding above the 50 mark indicating an expansion in activity for the 10th straight month. But a sub-index on input prices rose at the second highest on record in a sign of the strain firms are feeling from rising raw material costs.
Underscoring the pandemic's strain on emerging Asia, Indonesia's PMI plunged to 40.1 in July from 53.5 in June.
Manufacturing activity also shrank in Vietnam and Malaysia, the PMI July surveys showed.
While still grappling with infections, easing restrictions helped India's factory activity bounced back in July as demand surged both at home and abroad.
Once seen as a driver of global growth, Asian's emerging economies are lagging their advanced peers in recovering from the pandemic's pain as delays in vaccine rollouts hurt domestic demand and countries reliant on tourism. (Reuters)
August
Europe's COVID-19 vaccine passes reveal some pockets of resistance
Written by nuke
People stage a protest against the COVID-19 vaccination pass in Rome on Jul 28, 2021. (Photo: AP/LaPresse/Cecilia Fabiano) -
Shouts of “Liberty!” have echoed through the streets and squares of Italy and France as thousands show their opposition to plans to require vaccination cards for normal social activities, such as dining indoors at restaurants, visiting museums or cheering in sports stadiums.
Leaders in both countries see the cards, dubbed the “Green Pass” in Italy and the “health pass” in France, as necessary to boost vaccination rates and persuade the undecided.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi likened the anti-vaccination message from some political leaders to “an appeal to die”.
The looming requirement is working, with vaccination requests booming in both countries.
Still, there are pockets of resistance by those who see it as a violation of civil liberties or have concerns about vaccine safety. About 80,000 people protested in cities across Italy last weekend, while thousands have marched in Paris for the past three weekends, at times clashing with police.
European nations in general have made strides in their vaccination rates in recent months, with or without incentives. No country has made the shots mandatory, and campaigns to persuade the undecided are a patchwork.
Denmark pioneered vaccine passes with little resistance. Belgium will require a vaccine certificate to attend outdoor events with more than 1,500 people by mid-August and indoor events by September. Germany and Britain have so far resisted a blanket approach, while vaccinations are so popular in Spain that incentives are not deemed necessary.
In France and Italy, demonstrations against vaccine passes or virus restrictions in general are bringing together otherwise unlikely allies, often from the political extremes. They include far-right parties, campaigners for economic justice, families with small children, those against vaccines and those who fear them.
“We are creating a great inequality between citizens," said one protester in Verona, who identified himself only as Simone because he said he feared for his livelihood. “We will have first-class citizens, who can access public services, the theatre, social life, and second-class citizens, who cannot. This thing has led to apartheid and the Holocaust."
In France and Italy, demonstrations against vaccine passes or virus restrictions in general are bringing together otherwise unlikely allies, often from the political extremes. They include far-right parties, campaigners for economic justice, families with small children, those against vaccines and those who fear them.
“We are creating a great inequality between citizens," said one protester in Verona, who identified himself only as Simone because he said he feared for his livelihood. “We will have first-class citizens, who can access public services, the theatre, social life, and second-class citizens, who cannot. This thing has led to apartheid and the Holocaust."
Some protesters in Italy and France have worn yellow Stars of David, like those the Nazis required Jews to wear during World War II.Holocaust survivors call the comparison a distortion of history.“They are madness, gestures in poor taste that intersect with ignorance," said Liliana Segre, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor and Italian senator for life.
“It is such a time of ignorance, of violence that is not even repressed any more, that has become ripe for these distortions.”The French health pass is required at museums, movie theatres and tourist sites, and comes into effect for restaurants and trains on Aug 9.
To get it, people must be fully vaccinated, have a recent negative test, or proof they recently recovered from COVID-19.Italy’s requirements are less stringent. Just one vaccine dose is required, and it applies to outdoor dining, cinemas, stadiums, museums and other gathering places from Aug 6.
Expanding the requirement to long-distance transport is being considered. A negative test within 48 hours or proof of having recovered from the virus in the last six months also provide access.
Vaccine demand in Italy increased by as much as 200 per cent in some regions after the government announced the Green Pass, according to the country's special commissioner for vaccinations//CNA
August
Japan's summer combines high temperatures and humidity, and there have been persistent concerns about conditions for athletes. (Photo: AFP/Behrouz Mehri) -
Japan's northern Hokkaido region was supposed to offer cooler climes for next week's Olympic marathons and race walks, but now the area is battling a heatwave.
Olympic organisers moved the two events from Tokyo in 2019, worried that even shifting the start times to dawn would not be enough to keep athletes safe from the heat.
The summer temperatures in Hokkaido's Sapporo were expected to be kinder - around five or six degrees Celsius cooler than Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee said.
But in the last week, temperatures in Sapporo hit over 34 degrees Celsius, and they are forecast to hover between maximums of 31 and 34 degrees over the next week, when the race walks and marathons will take place.
The mercury has surged even higher elsewhere in Hokkaido, with one town in the region becoming the first place in Japan this year to record temperatures over 38 degrees.
The men's 20km race walk takes place in the region on Thursday, followed by the women's race and the marathons for men and women over the next few days.
Temperatures in Tokyo over the coming week are forecast to range from maximums of 30 to 34 Celcius.
Heat has been a persistent concern for organisers, with a raft of counter-measures drawn up including misting stations and ice jackets.
In its bid for the Games, Tokyo argued that its summer included "many days of mild and sunny weather" and would offer "an ideal climate for athletes to perform their best", but many competitors and volunteers have struggled with the conditions.
Organisers on Sunday (Aug 1) defended their heat measures, but Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto admitted "this is something we need to be vigilant about".
He said 30 people involved with the Games have so far been treated for "heat illness", which organisers say is milder than heatstroke.
Those affected were mostly Games staff and volunteers, and none were in serious condition, he added
While the Games have been held in places that are hotter or more humid than Tokyo, including Athens and Beijing, Japan's sweaty summers offer both, in an unpleasant and sometimes deadly combination.
But, Muto added, "so far the counter-measures are going quite well, are successful."//CNA
August
The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet, second only to Antarctica AFP/SAUL LOEB -
Greenland's ice sheet has experienced a "massive melting event" during a heatwave that has seen temperatures more than 10 degrees above seasonal norms, according to Danish researchers.
Since Wednesday (Jul 29) the ice sheet covering the vast Arctic territory, has melted by around eight billion tonnes a day, twice its normal average rate during summer, reported the Polar Portal website, which is run by Danish researchers.
And Nerlerit Inaat airport in the northeast of the territory recorded 23.4 degrees on Thursday, the highest recorded there since records began.
With the heatwave affecting most of Greenland that day, the Polar Portal website reported a "massive melting event" involving enough water "to cover Florida with two inches (5cm) of water".
The largest melt of the Greenland ice sheet still dates back to the summer of 2019.
But the area where the melting took place this time is larger than two years ago, the website added.
The Greenland ice sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet with nearly 1.8 million square kilometres, second only to Antarctica.
The melting of the ice sheets started in 1990 and has accelerated since 2000. The mass loss in recent years is approximately four times greater than it was before 2000, say the researchers at Polar Portal.
The Greenland ice sheet, if completely melted, would raise the ocean levels by six to seven metres.
But with a relatively cool start to the Greenland summer, with snowfalls and rains, the retreat of the ice sheet so far for 2021 remains within the historical norm, according to Polar Portal. The melting period extends from June to early September//CNA