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November
New Zealand to steer APEC's work towards recovery
Written by Nur YasminNew Zealand, one of the twelve founding members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), plans to steer APEC’s efforts towards recovery in a time of unprecedented health and economic crises as the grouping’s host in 2021.
New Zealand has taken over the leadership of APEC from Malaysia, the host of APEC 2020, as noted in a written statement issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Wednesday.
The host year will be completely held online, as announced in June this year, demonstrating New Zealand’s leadership in digital diplomacy amidst the global pandemic, according to the statement.
"As we plan for recovery from COVID-19, it is economic cooperation through APEC, the most dynamic region in the world’s economy that will help us all rebuild," said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a video introducing New Zealand’s APEC year, presented at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting last Friday.
Prime Minister Ardern, who will chair the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, acknowledged the extraordinary scale of the challenges the world faces today and stressed the need for member economies to work together for the greater good.
She explained that New Zealand will create an environment where connections can be made and APEC’s important work can continue, including progress on sustainability, widespread adoption of digital tools to drive productivity, and development of inclusive plans to create opportunities for all people.
"The way we respond as a region to today’s challenges will be felt for generations to come," stated Prime Minister Ardern.
"APEC 2021 New Zealand will be the start of reigniting growth, continuing trade, and setting a plan for long-lasting recovery across the entire region," she added.
Speaking at a virtual briefing on Monday, Vangelis Vitalis, 2021 chair of APEC Senior Officials and deputy secretary of trade and economic affairs at New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, emphasized the importance of greater cooperation in times of crisis, noting that trade is "an absolute vital part" to the journey of recovery.
"We are hoping to take a closer look at the trade and economic policies that we need to drive recovery and to take us forward. We would also like to propel more discussion on not only how we can build back better, but to build back greener and more inclusively, so that the recovery will be much more resilient and sustainable," he explained.
Vitalis, who will be leading the technical discussions next year, also highlighted the importance of the digital and innovation aspect in driving recovery, improving productivity and efficiency, and keeping engagement and connectivity alive during periods of border closings and lockdowns.
"We look forward to a successful virtual APEC year as New Zealand continues the successful work laid by Malaysia this year, including to develop a work program for the implementation of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040," said executive director of the APEC Secretariat, Rebecca Sta Maria.
"We stand ready to fully support New Zealand in its vision to pave the way for a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable APEC region," she remarked.
New Zealand will begin its host year with a symposium and the Informal Senior Officials Meeting in December, 2020, followed by the first formal gatherings of senior officials early next year. (Antaranews)
November
China calls launch a success as robotic spacecraft heads to moon
Written by Nur YasminChina hailed as a success its pre-dawn launch on Tuesday of a robotic spacecraft to bring back rocks from the moon in the first bid by any country to retrieve lunar surface samples since the 1970s, a mission underscoring Chinese ambitions in space.
The Long March-5, China’s largest carrier rocket, blasted off at 4:30 a.m. Beijing time (2030 GMT on Monday) in a launch from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying the Chang’e-5 spacecraft.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) called the launch a success and said in a statement that the rocket flew for nearly 37 minutes before sending the spacecraft on its intended trajectory.
The Chang’e-5 mission, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect lunar material to help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.
State broadcaster CCTV, which ran live coverage of the launch, showed images of CNSA staff in blue uniforms applauding and cheering as they watched the spacecraft climbing through the atmosphere, lighting up the night sky.
If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, joining the United States and the Soviet Union.
Upon entering the moon’s orbit, the spacecraft is intended to deploy a pair of vehicles to the lunar surface: a lander and an ascender. The landing is due to take place in about eight days, according to Pei Zhaoyu, a spokesman for the mission. The probe is due to be on the lunar surface for about two days, while the entire mission is scheduled to take around 23 days.
The plan is for the lander to drill into the lunar surface, with a robotic arm scooping out soil and rocks. This material would be transferred to the ascender vehicle, which is due to carry it from the surface and then dock with an orbiting module.
The samples then would be transferred to a return capsule for the return trip to Earth, with a landing in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
“The biggest challenges ... are the sampling work on the lunar surface, take-off from the lunar surface, rendezvous and docking in the lunar orbit, as well as high-speed re-entry to Earth,” said Pei, also director of the space administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center.
“We can conduct sampling through circumlunar and moon- landing exploration, but it is more intuitive to obtain samples to conduct scientific research - the method is more direct,” Pei added. “Plus, there will be more instruments and more methods to study them on Earth.”
November
Netanyahu met Saudi crown prince, Pompeo in Saudi Arabia: Israeli minister
Written by Nur YasminPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said on Monday, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit there by an Israeli leader as the countries close ranks against Iran.
Earlier, Israeli media said Netanyahu had secretly flown on Sunday to Neom, on the Red Sea, for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Reports of the meeting between the crown prince and Netanyahu were denied by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
“I met Pompeo at the airport and went with him to the meeting. I then took him back to the airport. Saudi and American officials were the only ones present throughout,” he said.
Saudi Arabia, Islam’s birthplace, has long championed the Palestinian cause and shunned official contacts with Israel.
Netanyahu, speaking publicly after the Saudi denial, was circumspect about any clandestine travel.
Asked at a meeting of his right-wing Likud faction about a Saudi visit, Netanyahu replied: “Are you serious? Friends, throughout my years I have never commented on such things and I don’t intend to start doing so now.”
Spokesmen for Pompeo declined comment.
But asked about the Israeli media reports, Yoav Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Army Radio: “The very fact the meeting happened, and was outed publicly, even if half-officially right now, is a matter of great importance.”
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, in a speech, condemned “the irresponsible leak of the secret flight to Saudi Arabia”. (Reuters)
November
G20 to extend debt relief to mid-2021, pushes private sector to help
Written by Nur YasminLeaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies on Sunday endorsed a plan to extend a freeze in official debt service payments by the poorest countries to mid-2021 and backed a common approach for dealing with their debt problems.
In a joint statement, Group of 20 leaders also strongly encouraged private creditors to take part in the initiative on comparable terms and said they were keeping an eye on the special challenges facing African and small island states.
The G20 debt relief initiative - launched shortly after the start of the pandemic in the spring - has helped 46 of 73 eligible countries defer $5.7 billion in 2020 debt service payments, freeing up funds for countries to fight the pandemic and shore up their economies.
But lack of private-sector participation and countries’ concerns about marring future access to capital markets have limited the success of the debt freeze, which was initially projected to generate some $12 billion in extra liquidity.
Some big creditor countries, including China, also failed to include all state-owned institutions, such as the China Development Bank, in responding to requests for debt relief.
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated concerns about high debt levels affecting not just low-income countries, but some middle-income states as well.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called for prompt and effective implementation of the debt treatment framework to provide permanent debt relief to the poorest countries, but said other countries also needed help.
“Going forward, we must also help those countries not covered by the framework to address debt vulnerabilities so that their economies can become more resilient,” Georgieva said in a statement after addressing G20 leaders.
Eric LeCompte, a U.N. adviser and executive director of Jubilee USA Network, said the new framework would push the private sector to get involved because it made G20 debt relief contingent on countries asking for similar treatment from private creditors, but offered no guarantees.
He said the G20 initiative also left out countries that needed urgent help.
“Six of the 12 countries with the highest COVID death rates are middle-income countries, which remain outside the scope of the G20 debt process,” he said.
The United States has said it is open to expanding the framework to include middle-income countries and small island states, but U.S. officials said that view was not currently shared by all G20 members. (Reuters)
November
UNICEF says to ship two billion COVID vaccines to poor nations in 2021
Written by Nur YasminNearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped and flown to developing countries next year in a “mammoth operation”, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said on Monday, as world leaders vowed to ensure the fair distribution of vaccines.
UNICEF said it was working with over 350 airlines and freight companies to deliver vaccines and 1 billion syringes to poor countries such as Burundi, Afghanistan and Yemen as part of COVAX, a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan with the World Health Organization (WHO).
“This invaluable collaboration will go a long way to ensure that enough transport capacity is in place for this historic and mammoth operation,” said Etleva Kadilli, director of UNICEF’s Supply Division, in a statement.
COVAX - co-led by GAVI vaccine group, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations - aims to discourage governments from hoarding COVID-19 vaccines and to focus on first vaccinating the most at risk in every country.
At a G20 summit this weekend, leaders of the biggest 20 world economies pledged to ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests so that poorer countries are not left out.
Even before the pandemic hit, access to vaccines was unequal with around 20 million babies not receiving vaccines that could save them from serious diseases, death, disability and ill health, according to the WHO.
“We need all hands on deck as we get ready to deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses, syringes and more personal protective equipment to protect frontline workers around the globe,” said UNICEF’S Kadilli, who is working with the Pan American Health Organization and the International Air Transport Association.
UNICEF’s role with COVAX stems from its status as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world.
It said it procures more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunisation and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.
Drugmakers and research centres worldwide are racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well underway.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech could secure emergency U.S. and European authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine next month after final trial results showed a 95% success rate and no serious side effects.
Moderna Inc last week released preliminary data for its vaccine showing 94.5% effectiveness.
The better-than-expected results from the two vaccines, both developed with new messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, have raised hopes for an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people and wreaked havoc upon economies and daily life. (Reuters)
November
WHO advises against Gilead's remdesivir for all hospitalised COVID-19 patients
Written by Nur YasminGilead’s drug remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence it improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization panel said on Friday.
“The ... panel found a lack of evidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter to patients such as reduced mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and others,” the guideline said.
The advice is another setback for the drug, which grabbed worldwide attention as a potentially effective treatment for COVID-19 in the summer after early trials showed some promise.
At the end of October, Gilead cut its 2020 revenue forecast, citing lower-than-expected demand and difficulty in predicting sales of remdesivir.
The antiviral is one of only two medicines currently authorised to treat COVID-19 patients across the world, but a large WHO-led trial known as the Solidarity Trial showed last month that it had little or no effect on 28-day mortality or length of hospital stays for COVID-19 patients.
The medication was one of the drugs used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection, and had been shown in previous studies to have cut time to recovery. It is authorised or approved for use as a COVID-19 treatment in more than 50 countries.
Gilead has questioned the Solidarity Trial’s results.
“Veklury is recognised as a standard of care for the treatment of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in guidelines from numerous credible national organisations,” Gilead said in a statement, referring to the drug’s brand name.
“We are disappointed the WHO guidelines appear to ignore this evidence at a time when cases are dramatically increasing around the world and doctors are relying on Veklury as the first and only approved antiviral treatment for patients with COVID-19.”
The WHO’s Guideline Development Group (GDG) panel said its recommendation was based on an evidence review that included data from four international randomised trials involving more than 7,000 patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
After reviewing the evidence, the panel said, it concluded that remdesivir, which has to be given intravenously and is therefore costly and complex to administer, has no meaningful effect on death rates or other important outcomes for patients.
“Especially given the costs and resource implications associated with remdesivir ...the panel felt the responsibility should be on demonstrating evidence of efficacy, which is not established by the currently available data,” it added.
The latest WHO advice comes after one of the world’s top bodies representing intensive care doctors said the antiviral should not be used for COVID-19 patients in critical care wards.
The WHO’s recommendation, which is not binding, is part of its so-called “living guidelines” project, designed to offer guidance for doctors to help them make clinical decisions about patients in fast-moving situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines can be updated and reviewed as new evidence and information emerges.
The panel said, however, that it supported continued enrolment into clinical trials evaluating remdesivir in patients with COVID-19, which it said should “provide higher certainty of evidence for specific groups of patients”.
The recommendation may raise further questions about whether the European Union will need the 500,000 courses of the antiviral worth 1 billion euros it ordered last month. (Reuters)
November
Xi touts China's huge economy as base of free trade in APEC speech
Written by Nur YasminPresident Xi Jinping hailed China as the pivot point for global free trade Thursday, vowing to keep its "super-sized" economy open for business and warning against protectionism as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.
Buoyed by the signing of the world’s largest trade pact over the weekend, Xi said the Asia-Pacific is the "forerunner driving global growth" in a world hit by "multiple challenges."
He vowed "openness" to trade and rejected any possibility of the "decoupling" of China's economy, in his only nod to the hostile trade policy of US President Donald Trump's administration, which has battered China with tariffs and tech restrictions.
Xi was speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, held online this year because of the pandemic, which brings together 21 Pacific Rim countries, accounting for about 60 percent of global GDP.
In a speech that veered into triumphalism over China's economic "resilience and vitality" in bouncing back from the virus, which first emerged in the central city of Wuhan, Xi warned countries who insist on trade barriers would suffer self-inflicted wounds. (AFP_
November
New Zealand Police Introduces Hijab For Its uniform
Written by Nur YasminNew Zealand Police have introduced a hijab into their official uniform to encourage more Muslim women to join.
As quoted by BBC.com (18/11), new recruit Constable Zeena Ali will become the first officer to wear the official hijab.
A spokesperson said that this aimed to create an "inclusive" service reflecting the country's "diverse community."
Other forces such as the Metropolitan Police in London and Police Scotland offer the option of a uniform hijab.
In the UK, the Metropolitan Police in London approved a uniform hijab in 2006 with Police Scotland following in 2016.
In Australia, Maha Sukkar of Victoria Police wore a hijab in 2004. (BBC.com)
November
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine deliveries could start 'before Christmas'
Written by Nur YasminPfizer Inc PFE.N and BioNTech 22UAy.DE could secure emergency U.S. and European authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine next month after final trial results showed it had a 95% success rate and no serious side effects, the drugmakers said on Wednesday.
The vaccine’s efficacy was found to be consistent across different ages and ethnicities - a promising sign given the disease has disproportionately hurt the elderly and certain groups including Black people.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could grant emergency-use by the middle of December, BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Reuters TV. Conditional approval in the European Union could be secured in the second half of December, he added.
“If all goes well I could imagine that we gain approval in the second half of December and start deliveries before Christmas, but really only if all goes positively,” he said.
The success rate of the vaccine developed by the U.S. drugmaker and German partner BioNTech was far higher than what regulators had said would have been acceptable. Experts said it was a significant achievement in the race to end the pandemic.
Of the 170 volunteers who contracted COVID-19 in Pfizer’s trial involving over 43,000 people, 162 had received a placebo and not the vaccine, meaning the vaccine was 95% effective. Of the 10 people who had severe COVID-19, one had received the vaccine.
“A first in the history of mankind: less than a year from the sequence of the virus to the large-scale clinical trial of a vaccine, moreover based on a whole new technique,” said Enrico Bucci, a biologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. “Today is a special day.”
BioNTech’s Sahin said U.S. emergency use authorization (EUA) would be applied for on Friday.
An FDA advisory committee tentatively plans to meet on Dec. 8-10 to discuss the vaccine, a source familiar with the situation said, though the dates could change. The FDA did not respond to requests for comment. (Reuters)
November
Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine induces quick immune response: study
Written by Nur YasminSinovac Biotech’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac triggered a quick immune response but the level of antibodies produced was lower than in people who had recovered from the disease, preliminary trial results showed on Wednesday.
While the early to mid-stage trials were not designed to assess the efficacy of CoronaVac, researchers said it could provide sufficient protection, based on their experience with other vaccines and data from preclinical studies with macaques.
The study comes hot on the heels of upbeat news this month from U.S. drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna as well as Russia that showed their experimental vaccines were over 90% effective based on interim data from large, late-stage trials.
CoronaVac and four other experimental vaccines developed in China are currently undergoing late-stage trials to determine their effectiveness in preventing COVID-19.
The Sinovac findings, published in a peer-reviewed paper in medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, came from results in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in China involving more than 700 participants.
“Our findings show that CoronaVac is capable of inducing a quick antibody response within four weeks of immunisation by giving two doses of the vaccine at a 14-day interval,” Zhu Fengcai, one of the authors of the paper, said.
“We believe that this makes the vaccine suitable for emergency use during the pandemic,” Zhu said in a statement published alongside the paper.
Researchers said the findings from large, late-stage studies, or Phase III trials, would be crucial to determine if the immune response generated by CoronaVac was sufficient to protect people from the coronavirus infection.
Sinovac is currently running three Phase III trials in Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey.
The results must be interpreted with caution until Phase III results are published, Naor Bar-Zeev, a professor from Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the study, said.
“But even then, after Phase III trial completion and after licensure, we should prudently remain cautious,” he said. (Reuters)
