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June
Hawaii sets vaccine thresholds for lifting travel quarantine
Written by nuke
Visitors line a corridor in the Daniel K Inouye International Airport as they enter the state on Oct 15, 2020, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) -
Hawaii Gov David Ige said Friday (Jun 4) that the state will drop its quarantine and COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers once 70 per cent of the state's population has been vaccinated against the disease.
Hawaii will also lift its requirement that people wear masks indoors once that level has been reached, he said.
The state Department of Health website said 59 per cent of Hawaii's population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 52 per cent finished their dosing regimen.
The state is using its figures, and not those provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to calculate thresholds for lifting restrictions.
Health Department Director Dr Libby Char said that's because Hawaii's numbers are more accurate. She said it appears the CDC has been counting some of Hawaii's doses twice.
Right now, travelers arriving from out of state must spend 10 days in quarantine or, to bypass that quarantine, they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken before departure for the islands.
Once 60 per cent of Hawaii's population is vaccinated, Ige said, the state will allow travelers to bypass a quarantine requirement as long as they can prove they were vaccinated in the US.
Restrictions on travel between the islands will open up before that.
To encourage more people to get vaccinated, the state announced it launched a website HIGotVaccinated.com where vaccinated people can enter to win prizes and learn about discounts at local retailers and restaurants.
Among the deals: A US$3 bag of Zippy's chili for those who show their vaccination card. Among the prizes are 100,000 frequent flyer miles from Hawaiian Airlines.
So many people went to the website after the state announced its existence that the site crashed. Health Department spokesman Brooks Baehr said 500 people signed up for prizes in the first hour//CNA
June
China blasts US and EU consulates in Hong Kong for Tiananmen candles
Written by nuke
Candles are seen lit in the windows of the US consulate in Hong Kong to mark the 32nd anniversary of Beijing's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 AFP/Peter PARKS -
China on Saturday (Jun 5) berated the US and EU consulates in Hong Kong for displaying candles to commemorate the June Tiananmen crackdown, slamming it as a "clumsy political show" to destabilise the city.
Candles were seen lit in the windows of the US consulate building, which is next to the residence of Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed leader Carrie Lam, and the European Union's office on Friday night.
The missions also posted photographs of their candlelit Tiananmen memorials on social media.
"Any attempt to exploit Hong Kong to carry out infiltration or sabotage activities against the mainland crosses the red line ... is absolutely intolerable," a spokesperson for the Hong Kong office of China's foreign ministry said.
"We again urge the organs of relevant countries in Hong Kong to immediately ... stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs at large, and avoid playing with fire."
For three decades in Hong Kong, huge crowds, often tens of thousands strong, have held candlelit vigils on Jun 4 for those killed in 1989 when tanks and troops crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing.
Crowds have swelled in recent years as Hong Kongers chafe under Beijing's increasingly assertive rule.
However this year's vigil was banned at a time when Hong Kong authorities are carrying out a sweeping clampdown on dissent following huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago.
Flashes of defiance still flickered across the city Friday night as residents simultaneously turned their mobile phone lights or lit candles in multiple districts across the city to mark the date.
Public commemorations of Jun 4 are forbidden in mainland China and, until recently, semi-autonomous Hong Kong was the one place in China where large scale remembrance was still tolerated//CNA
June
World leading experts commit to building vaccine confidence at UK hosted Global Vaccine Confidence Summit
Written by nuke
UK hosted Global Vaccine Confidence Summit -
As part of its G7 Presidency, the UK Government convened the ‘Global Vaccine Confidence Summit’ on 3 June, a first-of-its-kind event, bringing together global experts from across the public and private sector to build and maintain confidence in vaccines.
During the Summit, world leading experts at the forefront of efforts to build vaccine confidence and tackle misinformation about vaccines offered their perspectives on the critical global actions that governments and partners from across sectors can take to address the issue.
It was acknowledged that increased levels of vaccine confidence, accessibility and availability are needed globally in order to end the pandemic. One of the biggest threats to confidence in vaccines is misinformation, which can damage public perceptions of vaccine safety and efficacy.
Speaking at the Summit Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, UK Government:
"Vaccine confidence is an international challenge and one that needs international action. At the G7 Health Ministers meeting this week, we’ll be talking about how to beat this pandemic worldwide and also how to beat the worldwide pandemic of misinformation and mistrust that can hamper the responses.
"We’re launching, leading and championing a Global Vaccine Confidence Campaign led by the G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Working Group with a mission to promote confidence and trust in vaccines globally."
Delivering a keynote speech at the Summit, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General at World Health Organization (WHO) showed his support stating:
"A key driver of vaccination is public trust. Trust must be earned. To succeed in vaccinating the whole world, governments will have to deploy a range of strategies and tailor them to each country.”
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark and former CEO of Save the Children International, and Co-Chair of Facebook’s Oversight Board, who spoke at the Summit said:
"We know a lot about vaccine hesitancy which means we should know what to do and do it fast. A debate in one country impacts trust and hesitancy in others. The world is a small place. As a global community we have to understand that no one is safe until everyone is safe."
Wendy Morton MP, the UK’s Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas, expressed the UK and its G7 partner’s on-going commitment to support efforts to ensure vaccines are accessible, available and trusted globally. Caroline Dinenage MP, the UK’s Minister for Digital and Culture, called for greater international and cross-sector collaboration to tackle the threat of misinformation.
At the Summit, the UK Government announced ambitions for its G7 vaccine confidence activity designed to support global cooperation and more effective responses on vaccine confidence and addressing misinformation globally//Release - VOI
June
Myanmar junta opponents say no faith in ASEAN as envoys visit
Written by Nur Yasmin
Opponents of Myanmar's junta said on Friday they had lost faith in Southeast Asian efforts to end the crisis in the country, as two regional envoys met the military ruler Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the main international diplomatic effort to find a way out of the crisis in Myanmar, a country in turmoil since the military's Feb. 1 overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government.
"We have little confidence in ASEAN's efforts. All of our hopes are gone," said Moe Zaw Oo, a deputy foreign minister in a parallel government that the junta has declared treasonous.
"I don't think they have a solid plan for their credibility," he said of ASEAN.
Moe Zaw Oo was speaking in a streamed news conference that was disrupted across Myanmar by internet outages.
Two sources briefed on the outage, who declined to be identified for security reasons, told Reuters authorities had ordered the shutdown.
The junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met on Friday with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Erywan Yusof, the second minister for foreign affairs for ASEAN chair Brunei, army-run Myawaddy TV reported.
It said the meeting discussed Myanmar cooperating on humanitarian issues, holding an election once the country was stable, and what it said were irregularities in last year's election, which led to the military intervention.
The military, which ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2011, had promised to return democracy within two years.
The visit was part of a five-point consensus reached at a meeting in Jakarta of the bloc's leaders late in April, which was attended by Min Aung Hlaing and celebrated by ASEAN as a breakthrough.
ASEAN has yet to announce the visit and it was not immediately clear if the envoys planned to meet opponents of the military or other stakeholders.
COUNTRY IN CHAOS
Myanmar has sunk into chaos since the coup, with countrywide strikes, boycotts and protests paralysing the economy and tens of thousands of people displaced by heavy fighting between the military and ethnic minority insurgents and newly formed militias.
At least 845 people have been killed by security forces and more than 4,500 jailed, according to an activist group. The junta disputes those figures.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, 75, is among those held, charged in two different courts with offences ranging from breaching coronavirus curbs and illegally importing walkie-talkies to a violation of the Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Her lawyer voiced concern on Friday that she had no legal representative in the most serious of the cases, which also includes her Australian economic adviser, Sean Turnell, but had listed all of them as representing themselves. read more
"We have concerns that they won't have any legal representatives and there won't be any transparency," Khin Maung Zaw told Reuters.
The National Unity Government (NUG), comprised of pro-democracy groups and supporters of Suu Kyi's ruling party, on Friday said it would end conflicts in Myanmar and write a new federal constitution but would first need to defeat the junta.
Its defence minister Khin Ma Ma Myo said militias called People's Defence Forces had been formed nationwide, but must work together with existing armed groups.
"The NUG government will call for a war at some point. When that time comes, we must work together to defeat the junta," he said.
"At the moment, it is not important who the leader is, it is important to defeat the common enemy - the terrorist regime."
Min Aung Hlaing's meeting with the ASEAN envoys came a day after he met the head of the International Red Cross. read more
The United Nations, Western countries and China have all backed ASEAN's mediating role, but some Western powers have also imposed increasing sanctions to target junta members and their economic interests.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, a group of independent international experts, said it was crucial that the ASEAN envoys meet all parties in the country, including protest leaders, the NUG, elected lawmakers and Suu Kyi's party.
"Failure to meet with all relevant parties risks lending legitimacy to the junta and undermines the enormous effort and sacrifice made by the people of Myanmar to resist the junta’s violent and unlawful attempt to seize power," it said. (Reuters)
June
Rich states haven't done enough for the environment, Pakistan PM says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The world's richest countries have not done enough to combat global warming, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday, adding his country had done more than any other in the world to combat rising emissions relative to its economic means.
Pakistan, this year's host of the United Nations' annual World Environment Day on June 5, is among the countries worst affected by climate change, having been regularly hit by devastating floods in recent years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying swathes of agricultural land.
"Has the developed world done enough: The answer is no," Khan said in an interview with Reuters at his official residence in Islamabad. "Emissions are from the rich countries. And I think they know they haven’t done enough."
This year's World Environment Day will serve as the launch of the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, calling for urgent action to revive damaged ecosystems.
Under Khan, Pakistan has undertaken a number of restoration projects, including a 10 billion tree-planting drive. This week Khan planted the billionth tree in that drive.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report released on Friday that over the last five years Pakistan had experienced an environmental turnaround after years of decline in its natural capital, but added more needed to be done.
Khan said developing countries like Pakistan had done "more than enough" to combat global warming and climate change despite having limited budgets and an array of problems to deal with such as in education and health.
"To take so much money out as we did – proportionate to our GDP and available income – I think Pakistan has done more than any country in the world," he said.
Aside from ecological restoration projects, Pakistan has also recently become active on the global green finance market, looking to access finance for environmentally friendly projects and decrease its reliance on fossil fuels. read more
Pakistan said the World Bank estimated the country's new plantation projects would be worth $500 million, and that the valuation could go up to $2.5 billion if carbon pricing estimates went up.
Khan said global green financing and the valuation of natural assets provided good incentives to the developing world to protect the environment.
"If you can prove to the people that by protecting your environment you can actually gain something as well, that means you have more buy-in from the people," he said. "Remember: hungry people do not really care for the environment." (Reuters)
June
APEC senior officials press bold trade agenda before ministers meeting
Written by Nur Yasmin
Senior officials from 21 APEC members deliberated on an array of proposals for bold and concrete trade initiatives on vaccines and related goods and services, structural reforms, digital innovation, as well as inclusion and sustainability.
The discussion on a range of agendas is a part of the preparations for the New Zealand-hosted 2021 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting on Saturday (June 5), according to a release issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Friday.
"There was a clear and strong sense among senior officials that APEC should be responsive to the crisis and find practical ways to support recovery through trade and that our work should complement and support the work of the World Trade Organization," the 2021 New Zealand Chair of APEC Senior Officials Vangelis Vitalis emphasized.
Senior officials are encouraged by the strong progress made this year to implement the 2020 Ministers’ Responsible for Trade Declaration on Facilitating the Movement of Essential Goods, including work on vaccines, related goods, and services and pushed for high-level commitment ahead of the Ministers’ meeting on Saturday.
According to a recent APEC report, eliminating tariffs on vaccines and related goods and easing export restrictions will help expedite vaccine distribution and production, thereby resulting in wider availability and affordability and contribute to a healthier recovery.
At the two-day meeting, Chair of APEC Business Advisory Council, Rachel Taulelei, briefed senior officials by reiterating the need to ensure open and unrestricted trade in vaccines and associated goods and services "as there is no solution to this crisis unless as many as possible are vaccinated."
Taulelei affirmed that widespread vaccination was a prerequisite for the safe reopening of borders, which is critical to economic recovery.
Furthermore, APEC senior officials concurred on continuing consultations on the resumption of safe and seamless cross-border travel, noting that border restrictions, while necessary to protect populations from COVID-19, are having a significant economic impact.
"Member economies are united in supporting the region’s micro, small, and medium enterprises; women; and others, with untapped potential, given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on these groups," Vitalis remarked.
"APEC is also progressing work on trade and sustainability issues, including the indigenous economy – a New Zealand priority," he stated.
APEC member economies continue to consider further work on the environmental goods and services initiative, as well as carrying on the work for building APEC’s capacity to address harmful subsidies, such as those on fisheries, as part of implementing the APEC Roadmap on Combatting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.
A New Zealand priority is to increase emphasis on inclusion and sustainability policies to help drive recovery, including through structural reform, in particular, by stimulating growth and removing undue burden on investors and traders.
The 2021 APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on June 16, with priority being accorded to promoting macro-economic and structural policy responses to the pandemic.
APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade is set to meet this Saturday (June 5), with focus on trade’s vital role in battling the pandemic and preparing for and driving recovery. (Antaranews)
June
EU to impose new sanctions on Myanmar junta, companies -top envoy
Written by Nur Yasmin
The European Union will impose a new round of sanctions on Myanmar's military junta and its economic interests in the coming days, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday.
In an interview in Jakarta after meetings with Southeast Asian diplomats, Borrell said the fresh sanctions from the EU would be the third batch introduced since the military ousted Myanmar's democratically-elected government on Feb. 1.
"There is a third row of sanctions in preparation that will be approved (in) the coming days (targeting) personnel of the military junta and also the entity that represents the economic interests of the military," he said.
Since the coup, EU sanctions have frozen assets or applied travel bans on 21 military and civilian members of Myanmar's junta. European citizens and companies are also forbidden from making funds available to those sanctioned.
The bloc's last round of sanctions in April targeted military-owned conglomerates Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), barring EU investors and banks from doing business with them.
The EU sanctions, along with those of other Western powers, have yet to persuade the junta to cede to their demands to restore democracy, release political detainees or begin dialogue with members of the ousted government, many of whom are imprisoned.
The coup plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps toward democracy. Mass demonstrations have met with a deadly crackdown by security forces and the economy has collapsed. A refugee crisis is growing and some of Myanmar's many ethnic armed groups are taking up arms against the junta.
While in Jakarta, Borrell met with envoys from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday. The headquarters of ASEAN, which includes Myanmar as one of its 10 members, is based in the Indonesian capital.
Borrell said he told the Myanmar representative to ASEAN: to "end repression and go back to normal political behaviour through free and fair elections".
He said he wanted ASEAN to continue to lead the global diplomatic effort to restore stability and democracy to Myanmar, even though the group has been criticised by human rights groups, opponents of the junta and experts for being too slow and too meek in responding to the coup.
"They are doing the best possible job," said Borrell.
As first reported by Reuters, two senior ASEAN officials are heading to Myanmar this week to meet with the junta, the first visit by the bloc's representatives since the coup was launched.
ASEAN has also said it opposed a non-binding United Nations resolution for an arms embargo on Myanmar. The EU already has a freeze on the sale and transfer of weapons to the country.
A further 14 high-ranking Myanmar military officials were sanctioned by the EU for serious human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority after some 700,000 of the Muslim ethnic group were violently expelled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar by security forces in 2017. (Reuters)
June
APEC trade ministers' meeting to prioritize vaccines, essential goods
Written by Nur Yasmin
The upcoming APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting on June 5 will focus on trade's vital role in enabling access to vaccines and essential goods and ensuring that the global trading system flows smoothly.
New Zealand's Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor will chair the Virtual APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting, according to a release issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Thursday.
"The Asia-Pacific is confronted by the greatest health and economic crisis of our lifetimes and unprecedented uncertainty, as economies continue to struggle to bounce back from COVID-19," Minister O’Connor remarked.
The minister noted that these problems demand APEC’s cooperative response.
"We know nobody is safe until everybody is safe from COVID-19, and we know that trade has a vital role to ensure our region prospers economically by keeping our markets open to one another rather than closing ourselves off," O'Connor noted.
"Responsibility falls on New Zealand, as this year’s host economy to lead an APEC 2021 agenda that responds to these challenges as well as our responsibility for ensuring sustainable recovery," he affirmed.
"I will be urging APEC trade ministers to accelerate access to vaccines and other goods essential in fighting the pandemic by streamlining and speeding up related trade procedures," he emphasized.
The APEC Ministers Responsible Trade meeting will focus on two key priorities: trade’s role in responding to COVID-19 and supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) that offers predictable trade rules for business.
Minister O’Connor drew attention to the worrisome trends of vaccine protectionism and increasingly restricted supply chains affecting the flow of goods and services across the world.
The latest report by the APEC Policy Support Unit showed that while the average tariff on vaccines is very low within APEC, at only 0.8 percent, levies are much steeper for several goods that are crucial in the vaccine supply chain.
Hence, New Zealand will be seeking cooperation of member economies on ways to eliminate barriers to trade in essential goods and services that are important to sustainable recovery.
Ministers will hold discussions on ways to revivify the WTO to offer consistent and transparent trade rules as well as on what contribution the trade policy can make to respond to environmental issues, such as climate change and overfishing.
A day before the meeting, APEC trade ministers will also join business leaders to tackle major trade challenges at such a critical time.
"The choices we make right now matter. I hope we can look back at this time and know that the APEC trade ministers took the opportunity to join, work, and grow together to provide vital support for our region’s recovery and to lay the foundations for a better future," Minister O’Connor stated. (Antaranews)
June
Myanmar diplomacy intensifies, EU threatens more sanctions
Written by Nur Yasmin
Diplomacy intensified with Myanmar's junta on Thursday as the head of the International Red Cross met with army ruler Min Aung Hlaing and two Southeast Asian envoys arrived for talks on ending the turmoil since the Feb. 1 coup.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, meanwhile, told Reuters the bloc planned to impose a new round of sanctions on the ruling generals and their economic interests in the coming days.
Myanmar has sunk into chaos since the coup overthrew elected leader Aung Suu Kyi. At least 845 people have been killed by security forces and more than 4,500 jailed, according to an activist group. Anti-junta protests flare daily, ethnic conflicts have resurged and the economy is paralysed by strikes.
ICRC President Peter Maurer was the most senior representative of an international organisation to travel to the capital Naypyidaw to meet Min Aung Hlaing, whose critics say he should be denied international recognition.
"People in Myanmar are in need of urgent assistance and protection," Maurer said, according to an ICRC statement.
He had brought up "the use of force during security operations" and had made the case for better humanitarian access to conflict areas and for the resumption of Red Cross prison visits. Suu Kyi, 75, is herself being tried on various charges.
Reuters was unable to reach the junta's spokesman for comment.
The junta chief was "noncommittal" but he had not refused Maurer's request, the Nikkei news service said, citing people familiar with the meeting.
The junta has said its measures are restrained against those it brands a threat to state security. It says the death toll is lower than those given by rights groups and the United Nations.
REGIONAL ENVOYS
The main international diplomatic effort has been led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
But there has been little sign of progress since the 10 member countries, Myanmar among them, said at the end of April they had reached a 'consensus' to try to end the crisis - which included political talks and putting a stop to bloodshed.
Killings have continued and instead of talking to a rival underground government, the junta has branded it a terrorist group.
Two ASEAN envoys had arrived and were expected to meet Min Aung Hlaing on Friday, the local Delta News Agency reported.
The envoys are Erywan Yusof, the second minister for foreign affairs for Brunei, ASEAN's chair this year, and the bloc's secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi, also from Brunei.
The United Nations, Western countries and China have all backed ASEAN's mediating role, but some Western powers have also imposed increasing sanctions to target the junta members and their economic interests.
"There is a third row of sanctions in preparation that will be approved (in) the coming days," European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday during a visit to Jakarta.
Neither sanctions nor diplomacy nor the increasing violence have had an obvious impact on the junta, which argues that the coup which ended 10 years of tentative democratic reforms will bring a "disciplined democracy".
The army took power after the former electoral commission rejected its accusations of fraud in a November election swept by Suu Kyi's party.
Around 400 pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of downtown Yangon on Thursday to stage one of the biggest recent demonstrations against military rule in Myanmar's commercial hub and largest city.
"We gathered at the protest today in order to show that we won't allow them to rule us," Zayar Lwin, an activist and former political prisoner who attended the rally, told Reuters. (Reuters)
June
Taiwan says in vaccine talks with Pfizer and J&J
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine makers like Pfizer (PFE.N) and Johnson and Johnson (JNJ.N) for more supplies, its foreign minister said on Thursday while expressing appreciation to Japan for considering donating much needed shots.
Taiwan has been a model for how to control the pandemic, but a recent spike in domestic infections has increased the need to inoculate people faster. read more
During a video call with international media in Japan, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu repeated complaints that China, which claims the island as its own territory, has hampered efforts to secure more vaccines, and kept Taiwan excluded from the World Health Organisation.
So far, Taiwan has received only the Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) vaccines. But Wu said his government was "negotiating with individual companies like Pfizer" and J&J, while expressing confidence in its domestic vaccine rollout.
"When and if our own vaccines are rolled out toward the end of July, I think this will become the most important supply for the vaccine demand here in Taiwan," Wu said.
Johnson & Johnson was not immediately available for comment.
Responding to Reuters request for comment, Pfizer said: "As Taiwan is outside the scope of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine collaboration agreement with BioNTech, we will have to refer you to BioNTech for any questions on this matter."
BioNTech did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wu did confirm, however, that the German government has helped with talks underway between Taiwan and BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), after a deal fell through earlier this year. read more
Taiwan had blamed China for blocking that deal. Beijing, which has offered to supply Chinese-made vaccines as well as BioNTech shots via the German firm's Chinese partner Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (600196.SS), has denied that accusation.
Wu also cited Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi as saying that Japan is "seriously and positively" considering donating vaccines to Taiwan. "Taiwan and Japan are always very good partners. And in times of difficulties, we always try to reach out to each other," Wu said.
Japan plans to donate about 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan, public broadcaster NHK reported.
About 3% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have been inoculated, and the government has been scrambling to ensure the millions of vaccines it has ordered arrive on time amid global shortages. (Reuters)