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March
EU shouldn't be 'useful idiot' in global vaccine battle - French official
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The European Union shouldn’t be the “useful idiot” of the COVID-19 pandemic by exporting vaccines while other countries keep supplies for themselves, a French official said on Wednesday, backing plans for tougher rules on vaccine exports.
“Europe shouldn’t be a sort of useful idiot in the battle against the virus,” the French presidential adviser told reporters ahead of a virtual EU summit on Thursday.
The European Commission will extend EU powers to potentially block COVID-19 vaccine exports to Britain and other areas with much higher vaccination rates, and to cover instances of companies backloading contracted supplies, EU officials have said.
The regulation is aimed at making vaccine trade reciprocal and proportional so that other vaccine-making countries sell to Europe and the EU does not export much more than it imports, one EU official said.
France will support this updated EU system, the French official said. “We have exported a lot (of vaccines), we’ve played by the rules. The same can’t be said about some of our partners,” he said.
The EU had no interest in entering some sort of “blame game” with Britain on vaccine exports, the official said, adding EU politicians had nothing to gain from the row in the eyes of their own public opinion.
“As far as we’re concerned, we have no willingness, no interest in fuelling permanent controversy with Britain.” (Reuters)
March
India detects 'double mutant' coronavirus variant in western state
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. India has detected a “double mutant variant” of the novel coronavirus in 206 samples in the worst-hit western state of Maharashtra, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The new variant was also detected in nine samples in the capital New Delhi, the director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Sujeet Kumar Singh, told a news conference. (Reuters)
March
China embassy takes swipe at 'fusty' Japan over South China Sea
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. China’s embassy in the Philippines has blamed “some external countries” for stoking tensions in the region, in remarks aimed at Japan after its ambassador stressed the need for peace and stability and in the South China Sea.
China was criticised by the Philippines and the United States this week after Manila said there were about 220 vessels likely manned by Chinese maritime militia anchored in disputed waters.
“Within our region tensions are rising because some external countries are bent on playing fusty geopolitical games,” the Chinese embassy said on Twitter.
“It is a pity that some Asian country, which has disputes in the East China Sea and is driven by the selfish aim to check China’s revitalisation, willingly stoops as a strategic vassal of the U.S.,” it said.
The comment was a direct response to a Twitter remark by Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, who on Tuesday said his country “opposes any action that heightens tensions” in the South China Sea, and supports international efforts to keep the waters peaceful and open.
China’s extensive territorial claims in the East and South China Seas have become a priority issue in an increasingly testy Sino-U.S. relationship and are a security concern for Japan.
The Philippines complained to China at the weekend about what it called the “swarming and threatening presence” of Chinese vessels at the Whitsun Reef.
China’s mission in the Philippines said those were fishing vessels sheltering from rough seas. It also criticised the United States for “fanning flames and provoking confrontation in the region”.
Philippine military chief Cirilito Sobejana on Wednesday said he had instructed the navy to deploy more boats “to increase our visibility and ensure the security and safety of our fishermen.”
Sobejana said China’s defence attache had met Philippine military representatives on Wednesday after being asked to explain the maritime militia, but he had yet to briefed on the meeting. (Reuters)
March
Indian premier Modi writes goodwill letter to Pakistani counterpart: minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan received a letter of goodwill from his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday, a Pakistani senior Cabinet minister said, as relations thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars and have shared a fractious relationship since the two gained independence in 1947, and in 2019 tensions rose dramatically as they sent combat planes into each other’s territory.
Asad Umar, a senior Pakistani minister, in a post on Twitter welcomed Modi’s letter, calling it a “message of goodwill”. He added that Khan had already expressed a desire for a peaceful South Asia.
The message from Modi arrived on Pakistan’s Republic Day, March 23, and follows a series of moves and statements signalling rapprochement. The two sides are holding talks on water sharing, with Pakistani officials in Delhi.
Last week, the chief of Pakistan’s influential army called on the two sides to bury the past.
Last month, the militaries of both countries released a rare joint statement announcing a ceasefire along a disputed border in Kashmir, having exchanged fire hundreds of times in recent months.
Neither country’s foreign office immediately responded to requests for comment on the letter.
Indian publication Times of India reported Modi’s letter citing the Press Trust of India news agency.
Quoting from the letter, Pakistani newspaper Dawn said Modi had written that, “India desires cordial relations with the people of Pakistan” and “for this, an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is imperative.”
Reuters was unable to independently verify the contents of the letter. (Reuters)
March
North Korea fires two short-range missiles over weekend, officials
Written by Nur YasminJakarta. North Korea fired two short-range missiles over the weekend, said two U.S. officials on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.
The launches, which were first reported by the Washington Post, came after North Korea declined to engage with repeated behind-the-scenes U.S. diplomatic overtures by President Joe Biden’s administration.
The Pentagon declined comment. (Reuters)
March
Vietnam says approves Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for use
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Vietnam has approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for use against COVID-19, its health ministry said, the second coronavirus shot to be approved in the Southeast Asian country after the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The approval of Sputnik V vaccine was based on data about its safety, quality and efficiency,” the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday on its website.
The ministry did not say when it expected doses of the vaccine to arrive.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which promotes the vaccine, said in a statement on the Sputnik V website that it had now been approved for use in 56 countries with a combined population of over 1.5 billion people.
“Its approval in Vietnam, one of the most populated countries in Southeast Asia, will provide for protecting the people and getting closer to lifting the restrictions imposed because of coronavirus,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
Vietnam, with a population of 98 million, has been relying on the AstraZeneca vaccine so far and since launching vaccinations on March 8 more than 36,000 people have been inoculated.
The country is also in talks to buy vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson and is aiming to put its first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine in use in 2022.
The government has previously said it would acquire 150 million vaccine doses in total, both through direct purchases from producers and the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme.
The Southeast Asian country has been praised for its record in containing the virus through mass testing and tracing and strict quarantining, only recording 2,575 infections and 35 deaths. (Reuters)
March
Malaysia's biodiesel exports in 2021 seen falling to four-year low
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Malaysia’s exports of palm-based biodiesel are likely to fall this year to their lowest since 2017 due to European Union restrictions and the coronavirus pandemic, the Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA) said on Tuesday.
Exports from Malaysia are estimated to fall to 350,000 tonnes from 378,582 tonnes in 2020, MBA president U.R. Unnithan said at the Virtual Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference.
The European Union accounts for nearly 80% of Malaysia and Indonesia’s exports of palm methyl ester (PME), the bio component of biodiesel that comes from palm oil.
Exports, however, have slowed since the bloc in 2019 moved to cap the use of palm oil for transport fuel at 2019 levels due to deforestation concerns, with an aim to phase out its use by 2030.
“(Malaysia’s) biodiesel exports are unlikely to best the performance seen in 2019 due to the EU Delegated RED II Act,” Unnithan told the conference.
MBA estimates the EU’s total consumption of palm biofuel in 2019 was 6.2 million tonnes. It said that actual exports this year will start at much lower levels because EU member states pushing for a no palm-biofuel agenda can set a lower limit.
Some member states will also phase out palm biodiesel before the 2030 deadline, Unnithan said.
Exports this year will be the lowest in four years due to the impact of the EU rule, a rising crude palm oil-gas oil spread and reduced usage of vehicles due to coronavirus containment measures, he added.
A recent rally in palm oil prices amid lower crude prices pushed the edible oil to trade $455 above gas oil on Tuesday, making it a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.
Crude prices have declined on concerns that new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe will hold back a recovery in fuel demand, which collapsed last year as a result of global lockdowns to curb COVID-19 outbreak. [O/R]
Malaysia’s benchmark crude palm oil prices are trading at an average of 3,638 ringgit ($883.01) per tonne so far this year, up 34% from an average price of 2,700 ringgit throughout 2020. (Reuters)
March
U.N. rights office gets mandate to document Sri Lanka war crimes
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet was given a mandate on Tuesday to collect and preserve information and evidence of war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s long civil war that ended in 2009.
The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution, brought by Britain on behalf of a core group of countries, strengthening her office’s capacity to investigate with a view to future prosecutions. The vote was 22 countries in favour, with 11 against, including China and Pakistan, and 14 abstentions including India. (Reuters)
March
Name of vaccine Russia's Vladimir Putin to take will be a secret, says Kremlin
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had deliberately decided it would not reveal the name of the Russian-made vaccine which President Vladimir Putin is due to take later on Tuesday.
“We are deliberately not saying which shot the president will get, noting that all three Russian (-made) vaccines are absolutely reliable and effective,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He said Putin, who announced his intention to get vaccinated a day earlier, would probably be vaccinated in the evening and would receive one of the three Russian-made shots.
Peskov said Putin had already done a lot to promote Russian-made vaccines, the most famous of which is Sputnik V. Moscow has also given emergency approval to two other domestic vaccines, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac.
Peskov said that Putin did not like the idea of being vaccinated on camera. (Reuters)
March
Pfizer to develop new vaccines on its own using mRNA technology - WSJ
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Pfizer Inc plans to tap the mRNA technology to make new vaccines for other viruses following the success of its COVID-19 shot, which was developed jointly with German partner BioNTech SE, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The drugmaker said it was ready to pursue mRNA on its own following its experience in the past year working on the COVID-19 vaccine, the WSJ reported, citing an interview with Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla.
It did not, however, disclose any details about the viruses it was targeting.
Pfizer and BioNTech did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, authorized for emergency use in the United States, use mRNA technology.
The success of the technology is prompting drug developers to consider its use in other areas of medicine beyond vaccines, attracting billions of dollars in investment. (Reuters)