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March
Lebanon could sink like Titanic, parliament speaker says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Influential parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday that Lebanon would sink like the Titanic if it could not form a government as he opened a session to approve emergency funds to literally keep the lights on for two more months.
“The whole country is in danger, the whole country is the Titanic,” Berri said. “It’s time we all woke up because in the end, if the ship sinks, there’ll be no one left.”
Lebanon is in the throes of a financial crisis that poses the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 civil war. Without a new government, it cannot implement the reforms required to unlock desperately needed foreign aid.
But prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri and President Michel Aoun have been at loggerheads for months over the makeup of a new cabinet.
Parliament approved a loan of $200 million to pay for fuel for Lebanon’s electricity company after a warning by the energy ministry that cash had run out for electricity generation beyond the end of the month.
“This should be enough for electricity for around two months or two-and-a-half,” Cesar Abi Khalil, a member of parliament and former energy minister, told Reuters.
The Zahrani power plant, one of Lebanon’s four main electricity producers, has already had to shut down for lack of fuel.
“Any shutdown in one of these big plants affects power generation negatively,” Abi Khalil said. “This means Lebanese make up for it with generators that run on diesel that’s 30% more expensive than the fuel that’s bought by the electricity company.”
Lebanon already lacks power generation capacity and homes and businesses have to cope with power cuts for several hours a day, forcing many to turn to private generators. (Reuters)
March
WHO says COVID likely passed from bats to humans through another animal: AP
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely”, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered, and the team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis, the report bit.ly/3waktXl added, citing a draft copy obtained by the Associated Press. (Reuters)
March
India's coronavirus cases peak over 12 million for first time
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. India has reported on Monday its worst single-day increase in COVID-19 cases since October, taking the tally to more than 12 million for the first time ever.
A total of 68,020 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said. It was the highest daily rise since Oct. 11, according to a Reuters tally.
India’s overall caseload of 12.04 million - the world’s biggest outside the United States and Brazil - had been falling steadily since a peak in late September, but increased public gatherings and travel are causing a spurt at a time when a majority of Indians are yet to be vaccinated.
India has been reporting a spike in cases - above the 60,000 mark - for three consecutive days, though Monday’s rise was still below September’s peak of more than 90,000 cases a day.
India’s worst affected state, Maharashtra, is considering imposing a strict lockdown this week and has already tightened travel restrictions and imposed night curfew in a bid to put a lid on rising cases of infections.
Daily deaths rose by 291 on Monday and the virus has so far killed 161,843 people in the country. (Reuters)
March
Myanmar army launches air strikes in Karen state, group says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Myanmar army fighter jets launched air strikes on Saturday on a village near the Thai border in territory controlled by an armed ethnic group, the group said, as fears grow of civil war following last month’s military coup.
The Karen National Union (KNU), the armed ethnic group that controls the southeastern region, said fighter jets attacked Day Pu No in Papun district, an area held by its Brigade 5 forces, at around 8 p.m., forcing villagers to flee.
“They bombed the area... The villagers from that area said two dead and two injured,” a spokesperson for civil society group Karen Peace Support Network said, adding that communication was difficult in the remote region and there could be more casualties.
A spokesman for the junta did not answer phone calls seeking comment.
The reported air assault is the most significant attack for years in the region. The KNU had signed a ceasefire agreement in 2015 but tensions surged after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government on Feb.1.
Earlier on Saturday, the KNU said Brigade 5 forces overran an army base, killing 10 soldiers including a lieutenant-colonel, as the junta celebrated its annual Armed Forces Day with a parade in the capital, Naypyitaw.
The KNU says it has been sheltering hundreds of people who have fled central Myanmar amid mounting violence in recent weeks. The junta’s troops killed dozens of people on Saturday, including children, in one of the bloodiest days of protests since the coup, news reports and witnesses said. (Reuters)
March
Killing of youths sparks protests in northwest Pakistan
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Thousands of protesters broke through a police blockade in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday as they tried to march on the city of Bannu and then on to Islamabad to demand a government probe into the deaths of four young men who they allege were tortured and killed by security forces.
Police fired tear gas in an attempt to keep them from entering the city of Bannu, which lies on the way to Islamabad, on Sunday evening.
The protesters were carrying the bodies of the four young men, aged between 15 and 20, found in a shallow grave on March 21 in the town of Jani Khel, outside Bannu.
“The government didn’t pay any attention to us and left us alone to mourn the slain boys,” Haji Mohammad Wali, one of the protesters, told Reuters by phone.
Relatives of the dead, alleging they died during interrogation by security forces, held a sit-in in Jani Khel for nearly a week, refusing to bury the bodies until an investigation was opened against an army officer they said was responsible.
A Pakistani military spokesman declined to comment about the incident on Sunday, and the military has not commented publicly on the case.
The central government has not commented on the case.
Officials of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, including Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, travelled to Bannu on Sunday to meet with protesters.
“This incident is a challenge for my government and law enforcement agencies,” Khan said in a statement, adding those responsible for the deaths will be held accountable.
The protesters said that after their demands for an inquiry went unheard they decided to march to Islamabad - 300 km (190 miles) away - and local police tried to stop them by placing barricades in Bannu.
The four dead boys had been missing for several weeks, according to their relatives. Relatives said their bodies bore signs of torture when they were found.
Protests were also held in the port city of Karachi on Sunday.
The town of Jani Khel is part of the former semi-autonomous tribal areas, a region along the Afghanistan border that served as a base for the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other jihadist groups until a series of Pakistani military offensives drove them out.
Rights groups have accused the military of carrying out extrajudicial detentions and other abuses in the area - a charge the military has consistently denied. (Reuters)
March
Japan to issue digital vaccine passport - Mint
Japan is set to issue digital health certificates to citizens who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, joining China, the EU and other countries that have adopted similar measures aimed at opening up overseas travel, the Nikkei reported s.nikkei.com/3stfAX6 on Saturday.
In line with international standards, the certificate can be managed on a mobile app, allowing the carrier to present the proof of vaccination when boarding a plane or checking in to a hotel, the report said.
The app is also focused on foreigners staying in Japan and returning to their respective home countries, according to the report//Reuters
March
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he tested positive for COVID-19
Written by nuke
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Saturday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and has mild symptoms.
Guaido said on his Twitter account that he is in isolation and expressed concern about the number of infections in the country.
“I want to express my solidarity with the thousands of Venezuelans suffering during the pandemic,” Guaido wrote on Twitter. “Today we all have a relative or acquaintance affected by COVID-19.”
Dozens of countries have backed Guaido as interim president of Venezuela following Maduro’s re-election in 2018 in a vote Western governments called a sham.
The opposition leader added that he considered the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines to Venezuela urgent.
Venezuela has received 700,000 doses, of which 500,000 were donated by China’s Sinopharm and the rest are Russia’s Sputnik V. Opposition leaders are separately negotiating to buy vaccines via the COVAX program using funds frozen in the United States.
Venezuela’s official figures as of Saturday showed 155,663 cases of coronavirus and 1,555 deaths, though opposition critics say the actual figure is likely higher due to limited testing//Reuters
March
Spectacular: 5,000 pack Barcelona rock concert after COVID tests
Written by nuke
Spectacular: 5,000 pack Barcelona rock concert after COVID tests - US news
Music fans in Barcelona hugged, danced and sang along at a sold-out rock concert on Saturday night after taking rapid COVID-19 tests in a trial that could revive the live music industry in Spain and beyond.
Some 5,000 fans at the show for Spanish indie band Love of Lesbian had to wear masks but social distancing was not required in the Palau Sant Jordi arena.
“It was spectacular. We felt safe at all times. We were in the front row and it was something we’d missed a lot,” said publicist Salvador, 29, after the show. “We are very proud to have had the chance to take part in this. We hope it’ll be the first of many.”
In surreal scenes after a year of social distancing, fans danced up close to one another, but the sea of faces covered in masks showed that things were not quite back to normal.
Health controls at the entrance delayed the start of the concert, but could not dampen the celebratory spirit.
“Welcome to one of the most exciting concerts of our lives!” lead singer Santi Balmes told the crowd to a roar of cheers.
The government-approved concert served as a test for whether similar events will be able to start up again.
“It will be safer to be in the Palau Sant Jordi than walking down the street,” concert co-organiser Jordi Herreruela told Reuters earlier on Saturday.
Pre-concert testing at three Barcelona locations was carried out by 80 nurses wearing full personal protective equipment. Some people winced as nurses swabbed their noses.
By midday, three out of 2,400 people already screened had tested positive and one had come into contact with a positive case, said Dr. Josep Maria Libre, a doctor who oversaw the testing. They were unable to attend the concert and would get a refund.
Attendees received their antigen test results in 10 to 15 minutes via an app on their phones. The test and a mask were included in the ticket price.
“I believe today we have made one thing a reality which is to show the world that culture is safe,” said Ramon, a 49-year-old fan//Reuters
March
French COVID-19 patient numbers rise again, adding to pressure for new lockdown
Written by nuke
French COVID-19 patient numbers rise again, adding to pressure for new lockdown - medical express
The number of patients with coronavirus in French intensive care units rose on Saturday to a new high for this year, increasing the pressure to impose new restrictions that President Emmanuel Macron says will probably be needed. France had 4,791 ICU patients being treated for COVID-19, up from 4,766 on Friday, health ministry data showed.
The numbers are approaching a peak recorded in mid-November during the second wave of the virus, although last spring, when France imposed its first lockdown, saw a peak of more than 7,000.
Doctors say intensive care units in the worst-hit regions could become overwhelmed.
The government’s commitment to keeping schools open has been called into question due to rising case numbers among students and opposition from teachers, who are threatening to walk out.
Spain said on Saturday it would require people arriving by land from France to show a negative coronavirus test result.
Macron this week defended his decision not to impose a third full lockdown, but said further restrictions would probably be needed.
Three additional regions, including the Rhone department around Lyon, on Saturday joined other regions including Paris in closing non-essential stores and restricting travel. Police were out in Paris, Nice and other cities enforcing the rules.
The government is also trying to speed up a stuttering vaccination campaign.
France expects to receive 3 million doses of vaccines this week, rising to 4 million a week in a month’s time, junior industry minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told Europe 1 radio.
As of Saturday, more than 7.7 million people had received a first dose of vaccine, the health ministry said.
France’s COVID-19 death toll, at almost 95,000, is the eighth-highest in the world//Reuters
March
Beijing enveloped in hazardous sandstorm, second time in 2 weeks
Written by nuke
A general view of the city shrouded in smog after a sandstorm, in central Beijing, China - CNBC
The Chinese capital Beijing woke on Sunday (Mar 28) morning shrouded in thick dust carrying extremely high levels of hazardous particles, as a second sandstorm in two weeks hit the city due to winds from drought-hit Mongolia and northwestern China.
Visibility in the city was reduced, with the tops of some skyscrapers obscured by the sandstorm, and pedestrians were forced to cover their eyes as gusts of dust swept through the streets.
The China Meteorological Administration issued a yellow alert on Friday, warning that a sandstorm was spreading from Mongolia into northern Chinese provinces including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Liaoning and Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.
The meteorological office said the recent sandstorms to hit Beijing originated from Mongolia, where relatively warmer temperature this spring and reduced rain resulted in larger areas of bare earth, creating favourable conditions for sandstorms.Beijing might face more sandstorms in April due to the unfavourable weather this year, the meteorological office said//CNA