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July
Malaysia PM in stable condition, to be discharged from hospital soon
Written by nuke
File photo of Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at a news conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Mar 11, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Lim Huey Teng) -
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is in stable condition and is expected to be discharged from hospital soon after receiving treatment for a digestive system infection, his office said on Sunday (Jul 4).
Following advice from a team of doctors, Muhyiddin, who was hospitalised for diarrhoea on Wednesday, will remain in hospital for intravenous antibiotic treatment and is expected to be discharged "in a few more days", his office said in a statement.
"His condition is stable and improving and he is allowed to work while receiving treatment," it said. A thorough health screening found no evidence that Muhyiddin was experiencing a recurrence of cancer, his office said. In 2018, Muhyiddin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was declared cancer-free last June//CNA
July
First astronauts at China's new space station conduct spacewalk
Written by nuke
Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng (centre), Liu Boming (right) and Tang Hongbo (left) blasted off in June 2021. (Photo: AFP/GREG BAKER) -
Astronauts at China's new space station conducted their first spacewalk on Sunday (Jul 4), state media reported, as Beijing presses on with its extraterrestrial ambitions.
It was only the second time the country's astronauts have stepped out of their craft while in space.
Three Chinese spacemen blasted off in June, docking at the Tiangong station where they are to remain for three months in China's longest crewed mission to date.
On Sunday morning, two of them exited the core cabin, said state broadcaster CCTV.
The first, Liu Boming, was transported via mechanical arm to a work site and the other, Tang Hongbo, moved by climbing on the outside of the cabin.
Their mission involves elevating the panoramic camera outside the Tianhe core module, as well as verifying the robotic arm's transfer capability, state media said.
Television footage showed the astronauts preparing for the spacewalk by donning gear and conducting health checks while exercising in the cabin.
The astronauts were later shown opening the cabin door and exiting the module, in the first of two spacewalks planned for the mission - both expected to last six or seven hours.
The launch of China's first crewed mission in nearly five years is a matter of huge prestige for the country, as Beijing marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party this month with a massive propaganda campaign.
To prepare, the crew underwent more than 6,000 hours of training.
The Chinese space agency is planning a total of 11 launches through to the end of next year, including three more manned missions that will deliver two lab modules to expand the 70-tonne station, along with supplies and crew members.
In addition to Liu and Tang, the mission's commander is Nie Haisheng, a decorated air force pilot in the People's Liberation Army who has already participated in two space missions//CNA
July
Australian state reports drop in new COVID-19 cases; lockdowns ease in some areas
Written by nuke
A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past light rail platforms devoid of waiting passengers in the city centre at morning commute hour during a lockdown to curb the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, Australia on Jun 30, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Loren Elliott) -
Australia's New South Wales state reported a fall in new daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday (Jul 4), following two days of record 2021 infections, as officials implored Sydney residents to follow rules so they could end a lockdown next week.
Australia's most populous state recorded 16 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, data showed on Sunday, of which 13 were already in isolation.
"Whilst the numbers overnight are very encouraging, we know they have potential to bounce around. The next few days are absolutely critical," NSW state premier Gladys Berejiklian told a press conference.
Australia has managed the coronavirus pandemic better than many other nations due to strict lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules.
But an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant over the past few weeks has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive, and sent three state capitals into lockdown last week.
Sydney, the capital of New South Wales state and home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million population, has been particularly hard hit by the latest outbreaks of the Delta variant. Residents are halfway through a two-week lockdown.
"If people do the right thing, we have a greater chance of getting out of this in a timely manner," she said.
Three of the New South Wales cases were detected in SummitCare nursing home in Sydney's Baulkham Hills, but residents were fully vaccinated and showing only mild symptoms, the home said in a statement released to local press.
Elsewhere in Australia, residents of Queensland state capital Brisbane emerged from nearly a week of lockdown, as the state recorded only one new locally acquired case.
"This is excellent news," state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told a media briefing.
"It appears that everything is under control at this time so we are very, very relieved about that."
Perth, capital of Western Australia state, ended its lockdown on Friday night but restrictions remain in place until Tuesday. Melbourne, Victoria state capital, has recorded zero cases for nearly a week following a three-week lockdown in June//CNA
July
Australian officials report biggest daily COVID-19 caseload for 2021
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past light rail platforms devoid of waiting passengers in the city centre at morning commute hour during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Australia's New South Wales state recorded its biggest daily rise in COVID-19 infections this year, even as residents in several major cities across the country were released from snap lockdowns on Saturday (Jul 3).
Sydney, the New South Wales state capital and home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million population, has been hit hardest in a flurry of outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant around the country over the past two weeks.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian reported 35 new cases, 29 of which were linked to previous cases. That eclipsed the 31 cases reported a day earlier, taking total infections under the current outbreak to more than 250.
"While the number of cases are going up, we are seeing a greater proportion of those in isolation which is what we want to see," Berejiklian told a press conference.
"We haven't seen a huge surge in cases ... (but) we know the next few days are critical."
Sydney is halfway through a two-week lockdown. Berejiklian said it was still too early to make a decision on whether to extend the lockdown.
"Health experts are giving myself and my colleagues advice on a daily basis," she said. "I anticipate that obviously some time next week we'll be in a position to tell the community where things are at."
Elsewhere in the country, residents enjoyed a taste of freedom as the weekend got underway after lockdowns in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and some areas of Queensland state were lifted on Friday night.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed that a lockdown in Brisbane would be lifted later on Saturday as she reported five new COVID-19 cases in the state.
Lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules have helped Australia to suppress prior outbreaks, but the fast-moving Delta strain has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive//CNA
July
Military put on standby to evacuate fire-threatened towns in western Canada
Written by nuke
This handout photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service shows the Sparks Lake wildfire, British Columbia, seen from the air on Jun 29, 2021(Photo: AFP) -
Ottawa prepared on Friday (Jul 2) to send military aircraft and other help to evacuate towns and fight more than 100 wildfires in western Canada fueled by a record-smashing heat wave.
According to wildfire officials, at least 143 fires were active in British Columbia, 77 of them sparked in the last two days. Most were caused by lightning strikes.
"We will be there to help," he told a news conference.
That will include military helicopters and possibly Hercules turboprop transport planes, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan earlier told public broadcaster CBC.
"Canadian Forces are ready to support residents," he said in a Twitter message.
About 1,000 people have already fled the wildfires in British Columbia, and authorities are searching for many who have gone missing.
The village of Lytton, 250km northeast of Vancouver, was evacuated Wednesday night because of a fire that flared up suddenly and spread quickly.
The fire came a day after the village set a Canadian record-high temperature on Tuesday of 49.6 degrees Celsius.
"Today our thoughts are mostly with families that are grieving, that are facing terrible loss," said Trudeau.
"But of course, we also have to reflect on the fact that extreme weather events are getting more frequent and climate change has a significant role to play in that."
Lytton resident Jeff Chapman told the CBC he witnessed his parents die in the fire that engulfed the town.
With only minutes to react, the elderly couple sought shelter from the smoke and flames in a trench in their backyard, as Chapman ran for safety at nearby rail tracks.
From that vantage, he said he saw the fires sweep across and destroy most of the town.
His distressed voice could be heard pleading for help over the crackling flames in a video on CBC. The ground, he said, was too hot to go back for his parents.
Meanwhile, a heat wave that stretched at the beginning of the week from the US state of Oregon to Canada's Arctic territories has started moving eastward, late Thursday touching parts of Ontario in central Canada.
British Columbia also warned Friday of flooding from melting mountain snow caps and glaciers under the heat dome, which occurs when hot air is trapped by high pressure fronts, heating the ground//CNA
July
US hits Myanmar with new sanctions, revokes ICC penalties
Written by nuke
Protesters holding National League for Democracy (NLD) flags raise three-finger salutes during flash protests against the military coup at Bahan township in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, June 25, 2021. (AP Photo) -
The Biden administration on Friday (Jul 3) hit 22 senior Myanmar officials and family members with sanctions over the government’s crackdown on democracy protests after the coup.
The action was accompanied by the removal of sanctions on three Iranian industrial executives whom the Trump administration penalised for supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“The military’s suppression of democracy and campaign of brutal violence against the people of Burma are unacceptable,” it said.
"The United States will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma’s military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence, including by targeting sources of revenue for the military and its leaders.”
Among the officials targeted are Minister for Information Chit Naing, Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Aung Naing Oo, Minister for Labor, Immigration and Population Myint Kyaing, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Thet Thet Khine and three members of the State Administrative Council that the military set up after the coup.
The sanctions freeze any assets they or any companies they own may have in US jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them.Treasury offered no explanation for the lifting of sanctions on the three Iranians, but administration officials have said previous similar removals were based solely on the targets no longer meeting the criteria for the penalties and were unrelated to indirect negotiations on salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which that former President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.
Also Friday, Treasury issued a final rule revoking Trump-era sanctions against International Criminal Court prosecutors and staff. The rule, which will take effect on July 6 after its publication in the Federal Register, completes President Joe Biden's Apr 1 revocation of Trump's authorisation to impose sanctions on ICC officials involved in war crimes investigations into US citizens//CNA
July
Australia to halve arrivals from overseas, offers COVID-19 exit roadmap
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia will halve the number of arrivals from overseas as its coronavirus hotel quarantine system creaks under pressure from outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
The new restrictions on travel come as Australia fights outbreaks of the Delta variant simultaneously in three state capital cities, meaning nearly half of all Australians are currently under strict orders to stay at home. Most recent outbreaks have been traced to leaks in hotel quarantine.
Australia shut its international borders early last year largely to non-citizens. Permanent residents and returning Australian travellers, except those exiting New Zealand, have to quarantine in hotels for two weeks at their own expense.
Morrison said Australia will now only accept about 3,000 travellers from overseas per week. Lowering the cap will be finalised by July 14, he said, though some states can move earlier.
Speaking after a meeting of the country's national cabinet, Morrison also said a four-phase plan had been agreed to reopen Australia after lockdowns triggered by the latest outbreaks. He said this would be based on achieving vaccination levels aimed at suppressing COVID-19 to a stage where it would be managed like other infectious diseases like the flu.
"Our mind-set on managing COVID-19 has to change once you move from pre-vaccination to post-vaccination. That's the deal for Australians," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
The four-phased approach could give fully vaccinated people more freedoms, he said, including shorter quarantine period after arriving from overseas.
New South Wales (NSW) capital Sydney, Australia's largest city and home to a fifth of the country's 25 million population, is half-way through a two-week lockdown imposed in a bid to contain the Delta variant.
On Friday it warned residents to brace for an increase in COVID-19 infections over the next few days as it reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases recorded so far this year.
Thirty-one local cases were reported in NSW on Friday, so far the biggest daily rise in cases during the latest outbreak and for 2021. Total infections have grown to more than 200 since the first case was detected more than two weeks ago.
"We are anticipating there could be an increase in numbers over the next few days, then hopefully early next week we should see the impact of the lockdown really turning and having a positive impact," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
Queensland officials said lockdown rules will be eased in parts of Queensland from Friday, although they have been extended in state capital Brisbane and a neighbouring region for another day after three new cases were reported.
Lockdown in Darwin, the Northern Territory capital, will also be lifted on Friday. Restrictions in Perth will be reviewed later in the day.
Lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules have helped Australia to suppress prior outbreaks, but the fast-moving Delta strain has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive.
The rollout, mired in confusion and frustration due to frequent changes in medical advice for the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine, has become a flashpoint in relations between the federal government and state leaders. (Reuters)
July
Vietnam orders Netflix to remove Australian spy show over South China Sea map
Written by Nur Yasmin
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) has removed Australian spy drama "Pine Gap" from its services in Vietnam after a complaint from broadcast authorities in the Southeast Asian country about the appearance of a map which depicts Chinese claims in the South China Sea.
The map, which briefly features on the screens of a control room at a spy base in two episodes of the six-part show, depicts China's unilaterally declared "nine-dash line" and is displayed within the context of maritime claims in the region.
"Netflix's violations angered and hurt the feelings of the entire people of Vietnam," the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information said in a statement on its website.
"This is the third time in a row in the last 12 months that Netflix has been found to distribute movies and TV shows containing content which violate Vietnam's sovereignty," said the statement, which was dated July 1.
The "nine-dash line" is a U-shaped feature used on Chinese maps to illustrate its disputed claims over vast expanses of the resource-rich South China Sea, including large swathes of what Vietnam regards as its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.
Chinese and Vietnamese ships have in recent years been embroiled in months-long standoffs in the disputed waterways.
Netflix confirmed it had removed the show in Vietnam but said it remained available on the service in the rest of the world.
"Following a written legal demand from the Vietnamese regulator, we have removed the licensed series, Pine Gap, from Netflix in Vietnam, to comply with local law," a Netflix spokesperson said.
In October 2019, Vietnam pulled DreamWorks' animated film "Abominable" from cinemas over a scene featuring a similar map showing the "nine-dash line".
Vietnam's broadcasting authority said the other two shows which it had raised as issues with Netflix were "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", a 2019 Chinese rom-com, and the U.S. political drama "Madam Secretary".
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" was still visible on Netflix on Friday, although "Madam Secretary" was not. (Reuters)
July
Biden says U.S. troops drawdown in Afghanistan is on track
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is "on track" but it will not be completed within the next few days.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said that some U.S. forces will still be in Afghanistan in September as part of a "rational drawdown with our allies."
Biden in April set the deadine for completion of the pullout from America's longest conflict as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al Qaeda on the United States that prompted the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Biden's comments came hours after the last American troops left Bagram Air Field, which served as the main U.S. military base in the country, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center buried there two decades ago. read more
The departure of U.S.-led forces, fierce fighting that has seen Taliban advances around the country and stalled peace talks have fueled fears that Afghanistan is on a path to all-out civil war that could restore the insurgents to power.
Biden said he is concerned that President Ashraf Ghani's beleaguered government deal with "internal issues" in order to "generate the kind of support they need nationwide." (Reuters)
July
Forced labour main human trafficking crime in Malaysia, U.S. says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia's predominant human trafficking crime is forced labour, the U.S State Department said on Friday, after downgrading the Southeast Asian country to the worst tier in its annual report on human trafficking.
Malaysia fell to 'Tier 3' in this year's closely watched Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report as it continued to conflate human trafficking and migrant smuggling crimes, and did not adequately address or criminally pursue credible allegations on labour trafficking, the report said. read more
Malaysia's home ministry has not commented publicly on the report and did not immediately respond on Friday to a request from Reuters for comment.
In a teleconference with reporters, Acting Director of the State Department's trafficking office Kari Johnstone said the overwhelming majority of trafficking victims in Malaysia are migrant workers, of which there are an estimated 2 million who are documented, and a greater number undocumented.
"The sectors primarily where we see the greatest forced labour – which is the predominant form of the crime within Malaysia – includes on palm oil and agriculture plantations, in construction sites, in the electronics, garment and rubber product industries," said Johnstone.
The downgrade comes after a string of complaints by rights groups and U.S. authorities over alleged exploitation of migrant workers in plantations and factories. read more
Neighbouring Thailand was downgraded to 'Tier 2 Watchlist' in the report, which found a high number of trafficking victims subjected to forced labour in the fishing and agriculture industry.
"Trafficking victims are also subjected to sex trafficking in brothels, massage parlours, bars, karaoke lounges, hotels and private residences," Johnstone said.
Thailand's foreign ministry called the downgrade disappointing and said it does not fairly reflect significant efforts and progress it has made to combat human trafficking.
It said it has taken several measures, including granting workers from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar an extended period of stay during the coronavirus crisis.
"The TIP Report, after all, unilaterally makes an evaluation from the U.S' very own view and by no means represents any international standard," the ministry said in a statement.
Thailand has faced criticism from rights groups in recent months over a "bubble and seal" COVID-19 containment policy prohibiting migrant workers in factories and construction site from leaving their workplace during an outbreak. (Reuters)