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May
Chinese embassy in U.S. says politicising COVID-19 origins hampers investigations
Written by Nur Yasmin
Politicising the origins of COVID-19 would hamper further investigations and undermine global efforts to curb the pandemic, China’s U.S. embassy said after President Joe Biden ordered a review of intelligence about where the virus emerged.
The embassy in Washington said in a statement on its website on Wednesday evening "some political forces have been fixated on political manipulation and (the) blame game".
As the World Health Organization (WHO) prepares to begin a second phase of studies into the origins of COVID-19, China has been under pressure to give investigators more access amid allegations that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a laboratory specialising in coronavirus research in the city of Wuhan.
China has repeatedly denied the lab was responsible, saying the United States and other countries were trying to distract from their own failures to contain the virus.
Biden said on Wednesday that U.S. intelligence agencies were divided about whether COVID-19 “emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident”.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health with the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said China's lack of openness was a major factor behind the resurgence of the lab leak theory.
"There's nothing really new there to prove the hypothesis," he said. "In the investigation of the origins of the pandemic it is really important to have transparency in order to build trust in the investigation results."
"A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY"
The Chinese embassy said it supports "a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 found worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive bases and biological laboratories all over the world."
The Global Times tabloid, part of the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper group, said late on Wednesday that if the "lab leak theory" is to be further investigated, the United States should also allow investigators into its own facilities, including the lab at Fort Detrick.
"Very clearly they are trying to internationalise their way out of the jam they are in," said Jamie Metzl, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, who has been campaigning for a new independent investigation.
A joint China-WHO study published in March said that it was highly improbable that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from the lab, adding that it most likely spread from bats to humans via an as yet unidentified intermediary species.
China has also continued to point to the possibility that COVID-19 originated in another country and entered via infected frozen food or through southeast Asian wildlife trade networks.
"The pandemic started in China," Metzl said. "Let's start with a full investigation there and expand as necessary. In short, this (statement from the embassy) is an outrageous insult to every person who has died from this terrible tragedy and their families."
Huang of CFR said further investigations into the origins of COVID-19 were at an "impasse".
“Ideally you want China to be more cooperative and more transparent,” Huang said. “But now the issue has become so politicised, with the stakes of the investigation so high.” (Reuters)
May
India's coronavirus infections ebb but states struggle for vaccines
Written by Nur Yasmin
India's official tally of daily infections of coronavirus fell to the lowest in nearly six weeks in the past 24 hours, offering hope that a devastating second wave is ebbing, but government leaders said shortages of vaccines were a big concern.
Barely 3% of the country's 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated, the lowest rate among the 10 countries with the most COVID-19 cases, leaving India and its ill-equipped healthcare system vulnerable to a potential third wave, experts say.
The Serum Institute of India, which is supplying the AstraZeneca vaccine, and local firm Bharat Biotech which is providing Covaxin, have both said they are ramping up production but the supply remains way short of the millions of doses India needs.
On Tuesday, the country posted 196,427 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, its lowest daily rise in infections since April 14, and less than half the 414,188 peak reported on May 7. The country's overall officially recorded case load since the start of the pandemic now stands at 26.95 million.
There are serious concerns that many new infections are not being reported, due to a dearth of testing in the countryside, where the virus has spread to from the cities.
Deaths due to COVID-19 amounted to 3,511 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total since the pandemic first stuck over a year ago to 307,231, according to health ministry data.
Experts believe that grossly underestimates the actual toll as only people who have tested positive are counted, whereas many victims were never tested.
The Economist magazine’s excess-deaths model estimates that around a million people have died of COVID-19 in India so far, way above the 590,240 in the United States, which is the worst hit country based on official counts.
DRUGMAKERS REBUFF STATES
In desperation, several Indian state governments and even cities such as Mumbai have launched global tenders or sought expressions of interest from firms such as Pfizer (PFE.N) , Moderna (MRNA.O) and Johnson and Johnson for urgent supplies.
But Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the three firms told them they were in touch with the federal Indian government and that they will not be dealing with state level authorities.
Sisodia blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for mishandling vaccine procurement and not moving fast enough to secure supplies for the country.
"It is a global blunder," said Sisodia, whose Aam Aadmi Party is bitterly opposed to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The northern state of Punjab also said over the weekend its efforts to directly source supplies had been rebuffed by the foreign vaccine manufacturers. The hill state of Uttarakhand extended its global tender till the end of the month after failing to get any bid, local media reported on Tuesday.
"The vaccination drive is in shambles and people are suffering and despairing," Anand Sharma, a leader of the main opposition Congress said, urging Modi to put aside politics and work with state governments to help them procure vaccines.
Pfizer said it was in talks with the Indian government to supply its vaccine, which has still to be cleared by India's drug regulator.
"Pfizer remains committed to continuing our engagement with the government of India towards making the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine available for use in the country," a spokeswoman told Reuters, declining to provide details of the ongoing discussions. (Reuters)
May
Millions of COVID vaccine doses on way to Taiwan, alert level extended
Written by Nur Yasmin
Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses are on their way to Taiwan, the health minister said on Tuesday, as he extended virus-related restrictions until the middle of June even though the trend in new infections is falling.
Having spent months keeping the virus at bay with life relatively normal compared with many other places, Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic infections, exacerbated by a low vaccination rate of only about 1% of its population.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said two million vaccine doses would arrive by the end of June and 10 million by the end of August, though he did not give details, only saying that the numbers included domestically developed vaccines.
Taiwan has ordered more than 20 million doses from AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and is also developing its own vaccines.
Chen, however, made no mention of China's offer on Monday to urgently send vaccines and medical staff, which has already drawn an angry response from Taiwan's government. read more
The minister said that while infection numbers had continued to fall since last Monday, positive rates remained high.
While current measures were effective, Chen said he was concerned about "hidden spreaders" in the community, which the authorities were not able to detect due to a time lag in getting test results.
"There has been no sudden deterioration," he said.
His ministry has been criticised by the opposition for a logjam with recording positive COVID-19 tests due to reporting delays following the surge in cases. read more
Chen said that was a concern for the virus to spread further.
"The worry is that...we are not able to control the hidden cases during this time period, which could lead to a worsening pandemic," Chen said.
Authorities are also scrambling to track the whereabouts of 300 people who were tested positive for COVID-19 in the capital Taipei and neighbouring New Taipei City, Chen said, urging local governments to work with the police to find those patients.
Taiwan's level-three measures, one rung below its highest alert level, would be extended until June 14, with schools and entertainment venues remaining closed and personal gatherings restricted, Chen added.
Taiwan has reported 5,456 infections since the pandemic began, with 35 deaths. (Reuters)
May
Singapore sees uneven recovery after Q1 GDP tops forecasts
Written by Nur Yasmin
Singapore's economy expanded more than first thought in the first quarter and the government maintained its growth forecast for the year, but struck a cautious note about recovery due to uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday, higher than the 0.2% growth seen in the government's advance estimate.
Manufacturing, finance and insurance and wholesale trade supported the expansion over the quarter. Analysts had expected a 0.9% increase, according to a Reuters poll.
MTI maintained its GDP growth forecast for 2021 at 4% to 6% for now but warned of a larger-than-usual degree of uncertainty caused by the pandemic as well as new domestic curbs against the virus. The outlook will be reviewed in August.
Authorities had last month said growth could exceed the upper end of the forecast range, recovering from the recession induced by the pandemic in 2020, its worst on record.
While it is possible that the Singapore economy will outperform the growth forecast for 2021 if external demand exceeds expectations, there are also significant downside risks, said Gabriel Lim, permanent secretary for trade and industry.
"The pace of recovery of the various sectors of the economy is likely to be more uneven than earlier expected," he said.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded 3.1% in the first quarter.
Separate data showed April factory output rose 2.1% year-on-year for the sixth straight month of growth, but it was the slowest gain since October and missed analysts' forecasts.
The city-state is often seen as a bellwether for global growth as international trade dwarfs its domestic economy.
The government has pumped more than S$100 billion ($75.34 billion) into the economy to cope with the fallout. The central bank maintained its accommodative monetary policy at its last meeting in April.
"The accommodative, supportive impulse from both fiscal and monetary policy continues to flow through the system," said Edward Robinson, deputy managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
He said the policy stance remained appropriate and the MAS would review it in October, as scheduled.
The central bank will consider factors that may affect "inflation dynamics, as well as considerations of growth," he said.
Singapore this month re-imposed some restrictions on social gatherings, the toughest since exiting a lockdown last year, to combat a recent spike in local COVID-19 infections. read more
"A lot of the exuberance we had in the first quarter, that's kind of being rolled back a little bit," said Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank. (Reuters)
May
Pressure to accept China vaccines intensifies as Taiwan battles COVID surge
Written by Nur Yasmin
A surge in domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan after months of relative safety is intensifying pressure on the government to accept vaccines from China, as the island has vaccinated just 1% of the population with no immediate sign of new shots arriving.
The Chinese-claimed island and Beijing have repeatedly sparred over the pandemic since it began.
Taipei accuses Beijing of spreading fake news and preventing its full participation at the World Health Organization, while Beijing says Taipei is playing political games with its people's lives by refusing Chinese vaccines.
Taiwan has only received about 700,000 vaccine doses to date, all from AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L), which are rapidly running out. It has millions more on order, including from Moderna Inc (MRNA.O).
Over the weekend, Hung Hsiu-chu, a former head of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), said the government should allow in Chinese vaccines as soon as possible, saying that they are internationally accepted and that Taiwan cannot wait.
"At this moment, lives are at stake, and we respectfully tell the Tsai government: the real enemy is the virus, not the mainland," she said, referring to President Tsai Ing-wen.
The KMT, always wary of being painted as pro-China, has not explicitly backed or rejected the idea, but has called on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) not to tar as Communist Party sympathisers those who are trying to obtain more vaccines.
Pressure is growing from industry too to address the issue, especially after China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (600196.SS) said on Saturday it was willing to provide Taiwan with BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccines.
A source familiar with the situation said major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) was exploring directly approaching Fosun for the shots to vaccinate its employees and their families, though the company had not formally started discussions with the Chinese firm or Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre.
Fosun has 10 million shots that are expiring in August and is anxious to offload them, the source added. Fosun did not respond to requests for comment.
Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (2317.TW), told Reuters that information on vaccines should come from the command centre.
"If we can do what we can to prevent the epidemic in Taiwan, then our company is willing to assist," it added.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Sunday that if companies wanted to buy vaccines they had to talk to his ministry.
Chen has said that China has not provided enough evidence that its vaccines are safe, and that most Taiwanese would not want to take them anyway. Chen has also said the law prohibiting the imports of any Chinese vaccine would need to be revised.
Beijing has called on Taiwan to cast aside political prejudices.
"Most Taiwanese compatriots are eagerly anticipating the use of mainland vaccines," China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement to Reuters, without offering evidence. "The pressing task is to remove artificial political obstacles on the island."
Taiwan's government has kept vaccine purchase details under close wraps, but has promised more are on the way.
Chen met virtually with his U.S. counterpart, Xavier Becerra, last week and discussed vaccines, but no announcements of any U.S. help have come yet, even after President Joe Biden said the country would release stocks to other parts of the world.
However, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the United States was trying to help speed up deliveries of the vaccines Taiwan has already ordered. (Reuters)
May
Vaccine hesitancy grows ahead of Thailand's mass inoculation rollout
Written by Nur Yasmin
Vaccine hesitancy has risen sharply in Thailand opinion polls show, just weeks away from the start of a mass inoculation programme and as the country fights its deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.
Reasons for the rise in vaccine hesitancy were unclear in the polls, but there are widespread complaints at government disorganisation, delays in getting vaccines and reliance on Sinovac (SVA.O) and locally made AstraZeneca (AZN.L) doses.
Thailand has reported 135,439 infections and 832 deaths since the pandemic began last year.
In January, 83% of Thais surveyed by polling firm YouGov were willing to be vaccinated, but by May that dropped to 63% in the same poll, lower than Vietnam and the Philippines at 83% and 66% willingness, respectively.
Thai-based Suan Dusit Poll on Sunday echoed the YouGov findings of rising vaccine hesitancy, with 64% of respondents willing to be vaccinated, compared with 66% in January.
Dissatisfaction with the military-backed government's vaccine strategy has been building for months.
"People are worried about the vaccines that the government procured. It's not that we don't want to get shots, but there is hesitancy," Facebook user Than Tongkum wrote under a government announcement encouraging vaccinations.
Asked by Suan Dusit poll for their views on Thai vaccinations, only 57% of respondents believed they would help develop immunity and reduce the virus impact, while 59% worried about side-effects.
With Thailand's main vaccination drive, which is due to start June 7, relying heavily on AstraZeneca, respondents had 66% confidence in the shot, fourth behind U.S.-developed vaccines, with Pfizer (PFE.N) top at 75%.
Thailand aims to inoculate 70% of its population by year-end, a level its tourist hotspots must also reach locally before reopening to vaccinated foreign visitors.
Registration is ongoing for the first 16 million people including those over 60 or with health conditions.
So far, 7.8 million people have registered.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said he believes the vaccines will be embraced once the inoculation programme starts.
"As Thailand receives more doses, there will be more vaccine sites, which will help create awareness among the public after they see large numbers of vaccinations do not lead to serious side effects," he told Reuters.
Actress Araya "Chompoo" Hargate sparked controversy after she posted to her 10.5 million followers on Instagram saying she chose Sinovac.
"Can't help but think this is government PR," wrote user iloveurdadmaybe.
Among the concerns is perception that Sinovac has a low efficacy rate.
"Just hearing that it's Sinovac that's only 50% safe and 50% effective," wrote Facebook user Dang Juntawan.
"Injections are on chance. If you're unlucky you'll die." (Reuters)
May
Samoa resumes leadership battle as United Nations offers to help
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations has urged political leaders in Samoa to resolve a political crisis through dialogue after contested election results left the South Pacific nation with two leaders claiming to run the country.
FAST party leader Fiame Naomi Mataafa was set to become Samoa’s first female prime minister with a court-approved one-seat parliamentary majority before the incumbent prime minister refused to cede power and accused the judiciary of bias.
A U.N. spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday the agency would provide support if requested by the parties.
"[Guterres] urges the leaders in Samoa to find solutions to the current political situation through dialogue in the best interest of the people and institutions of Samoa," the statement said.
The results of the leadership struggle could reframe the island nation’s relations with China after Fiame told Reuters last week she would shelve a Beijing-backed port development, calling it excessive for a small country already heavily indebted to China.
Incumbent leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who has governed for more than two decades, is one of Beijing's closest allies in the South Pacific. He has previously said South Pacific countries only have themselves to blame if they fall into unsustainable debt.
While a series of judicial rulings back Fiame's claim to be prime minister, Tuilaepa retains the support of Samoa's head of state, who has suspended parliamentary hearings which has frustrated plans to confirm the new government.
The opposition party members held a ceremony to form government outside a locked parliament on Monday in proceedings that Tuilaepa has described as “treason”.
The political crisis in the small country of 200,000 has drawn in the wider South Pacific community, with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) the first nation to recognise the Fiame-led government.
"As the FSM is itself a democracy that both upholds and promotes democratic values, it is imperative that we show our friends - especially during their darkest hours - that we stand with them," FSM President David Panuelo said in a statement.
Australia and New Zealand have not formally recognised the new government, although both have said democratic processes and the judiciary should be respected.
The Pacific Conference of Churches appealed to the political leaders to act justly and consider the wishes of the people above all else. (Reuters)
May
More than 200 injured when two trains collide in Malaysian capital
Written by Nur Yasmin
More than 200 people were injured in Malaysia on Monday when two metro light rail trains collided in an underground tunnel close to the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital Kuala Lumpur, officials said.
The incident occurred at around 8.45 p.m. (1245 GMT) when one of the trains, which was empty after being repaired, collided head-on with another train carrying 213 passengers travelling in the opposite direction on the same track, district police chief Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said.
Forty-seven people were severely hurt and 166 others sustained minor injuries, he told reporters. The crash occurred in a section of tunnel about 100 metres (330 feet) away from the KLCC station outside the Petronas towers.
"We are still investigating the incident..., but we suspect that perhaps there was a miscommunication from the trains' operations control center," Mohamad Zainal said.
Videos and photos of the incident posted on social media showed several bleeding commuters and broken glass panels inside the trains, operated by Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (SYAR.UL).
Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the collision was the first major accident in the metro system's 23 years of operation, and he pledged a thorough investigation.
The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world. (Reuters)
May
Iran and IAEA extend monitoring deal, averting crisis in nuclear talks
Written by Nur Yasmin
Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog are extending a recently expired monitoring agreement by a month, both sides said on Monday, avoiding a collapse that could have pitched wider talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal into crisis.
The move gives breathing space to indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran that resume in Vienna this week. European diplomats had warned that failure to extend the monitoring pact would endanger those talks, which aim to bring the two countries back into full compliance with the 2015 pact.
The reprieve will only be brief, however, since the extension will expire soon after Iran's June 18 presidential election, which is likely to bring in new interlocutors for the International Atomic Energy Agency and major powers.
"The equipment and the verification and monitoring activities that we agreed (on) will continue as they are now for one month, expiring then on June 24," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told a news conference. read more
He spoke soon after Iran's ambassador to the agency, Kazem Gharibabadi, who urged major powers meeting in Vienna to make use of the window afforded by the extension.
"I recommend that they use this opportunity, which has been provided in good faith by Iran, and lift all the sanctions in a practical and verifiable manner," Gharibabadi said on Monday, according to state media.
The three-month agreement was struck in February to soften the blow of Iran restricting its cooperation with IAEA inspectors, and it allowed monitoring of some activities that would otherwise have been axed to continue.
It is a black box-type system in which the IAEA cannot check data collected until a later date.The IAEA will have no access to the data gathered over the past three months until at least June 24, Grossi said, adding that he should still be able to provide quarterly updates on Iran in roughly the same way. read more
The 2015 accord is designed to ensure Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons by restricting its uranium enrichment programme. Tehran says it has never wanted to build atomic bombs. read more
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration abandoned the nuclear accord three years ago and then reimposed harsh economic and trade sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iran responded by breaching the 2015 deal's restrictions on its nuclear activities. Its move to curb IAEA access arose from legislation widely seen as a means of pressuring President Joe Biden's administration to return to the nuclear pact and lift sanctions. (Reuters)
May
Biden and Putin to have summit in Geneva soon, Swiss daily says
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet in Switzerland for their first summit, newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Monday, citing "reliable sources".
An advance U.S. mission has already arrived in Geneva for that purpose, the newspaper added. Plane spotters reported on Twitter seeing an unusual U.S. cargo aircraft landing at the city's airport on Sunday.
The Tages-Anzeiger said the time and venue of a Biden-Putin meeting remains unclear though it would likely take place in Geneva in the next few weeks.
There was no immediate official comment from Washington or Moscow. Their relations have deteriorated amid tensions over a recent Russian military buildup near Ukraine and concerns about Moscow's treatment of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
But U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Russian Security Council secretary Nikolay Patrushev held talks in Geneva on Monday as part of preparations for a possible summit, the Russian news agency Tass quoted the Council as saying.
The Russian daily Kommersant last week mentioned Geneva as the most likely location for a summit.
Biden said earlier this month he expected to meet Putin soon, adding that ongoing differences between the two countries would not need to be resolved in advance of a summit.
The Biden administration would like to add a summit with Putin in a third country while the U.S. president is in Europe in mid-June for a Group of Seven meeting in Britain and talks with NATO allies in Brussels.
In the latest incident souring Western-Russian relations, a warplane dispatched by Kremlin ally Belarus intercepted a Ryanair flight between Greece and Lithuania and forced it down in Minsk, where a dissident journalist aboard was arrested. read more
The Swiss Foreign Ministry declined comment on the Tages-Anzeiger report but said Switzerland would be prepared to offer "its good offices when they are useful and desired", a ministry spokeswoman said.
Switzerland has hosted such summits before. In 1985, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva what became a turning point towards the end of the Cold War, leading to other summits in Iceland and Washington. (Reuters)