Economic
Xi chairs leadership meeting to address aging of population
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on May 31 chaired a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to hear reports on major policy measures to actively address the aging of the population during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). The meeting reviewed a decision on improving birth policies to promote long-term balanced population growth. The meeting called for efforts to raise the statutory retirement age in a steady and gradual manner, improve a multi-level system for pension and aged-care social protection, explore building a systematic framework for long-term nursing insurance and accelerate the building of the systems for elderly care and health support that combine elderly care, health and medical services to be available both at homes and within communities. The meeting said China will support couples that wish to have a third child, noting that implementing the policy and relevant supporting measures will help improve China's population structure, actively respond to the aging population, and preserve the country's human resource advantages.
Click here to read...
China to support small businesses by tackling monopolies, stabilizing raw material prices
China will roll out a series of measures to further support micro enterprises and solve difficulties for small businesses, including establishing a supply-demand docking platform to help small enterprises cope with rising raw material prices and cracking down on monopolistic practices, according to a State Council executive meeting held by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on May 26. China will clear up policies and regulations that stand in the way of any market entities' participation in economic activity, so that businesses will be treated equally, the meeting stressed. In particular, China will push legislation against monopolistic practices and unfair competition, while punishing activities like price dumping or malicious subsidies for the sake of grabbing market share. The meeting also noted that China will support large enterprises to set up supply-demand docking platforms in key industries, in order to help stabilize raw material supply and prevent price gouging. There were more than 44 million micro enterprises in China and more than 95 million individual businesses by the end of April.
Click here to read...
CPEC to be extended to Afghanistan, initiative won’t impact position on Kashmir: FM
China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been in communication through diplomatic channels on the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China's Foreign Ministry said on May 24, reiterating that the CPEC is an economic initiative that does not target any third party and won't affect its position on the Kashmir issue. "We have also noticed that Afghanistan has imported and exported related goods through the Gwadar Port and Karachi Port. China, Pakistan and Afghanistan are discussing issues related to extending roads and expressways in Pakistan to Afghanistan," Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, told a regular press conference in Beijing on May 24. "China has stated its position on Kashmir many times. The CPEC is an economic initiative that is not aimed at third parties and has nothing to do with territorial sovereignty disputes. It won't affect our principled position on the Kashmir issue," he said.
Click here to read...
Switzerland ends 7 years of treaty negotiations with EU over disagreements on 'key aspects'
The Swiss government has said it will abandon seven years of negotiations for a framework agreement with the EU, arguing Brussels had not met its conditions for the deal, which would have simplified relations between the pair.Switzerland’s Federal Council, its ruling executive, announced the decision to scrap efforts to ink the much-delayed accord at a press conference on May 26 following a cabinet meeting. It “concluded that there remain substantial differences between Switzerland and the EU on key aspects of the agreement.” The framework agreement was intended as an all-encompassing treaty to replace the more than 120 individual bilateral agreements Switzerland currently has with the 27-member European trading bloc. The disagreements centered on three key issues, on which Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told reporters the government could not afford to make further concessions.These included state aid, wage protection and EU citizens’ access to Swiss benefits, with the latter two matters proving especially difficult to reach a consensus.
Click here to read...
Hungary finally backs EU’s Covid recovery fund, leaving only three nations to sign off
Budapest has passed a bill giving its backing to the European Union’s massive recovery fund after multiple standoffs between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Brussels, including over plans to link EU funding to the rule of law. The decision of Hungary’s parliament on May 26 brings the EU recovery fund one step closer to being put into operation. Only Romania, Austria and Poland are yet to sign off on the deal which requires ratification by all 27 EU nations. The legislation was passed in parliament with 170 votes in favour, while 29 lawmakers elected to abstain from the vote. The EU intends to jointly borrow €750 billion ($918 billion) for the recovery fund until the end of 2026 in an attempt to repair the European economy following Covid-19. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had been at odds with Brussels over its financial plans.In December, Hungary and Poland blocked the EU’s €1.8 trillion budget and recovery deal over plans to make access to funding dependent on whether countries adhere to the rule of law, but they eventually came to an agreement with their European counterparts.
Click here to read...
Russia & Pakistan agree to build gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore in biggest deal in decades
Russia has signed a deal with Pakistan to build a major gas pipeline linking the nation’s southern port of Karachi to industrial hubs in the north. The deal is set to be the biggest between Moscow and Islamabad since the 1970s. Russia’s Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov and the Pakistani Ambassador, Shafqat Ali Khan, signed a revised agreement on the project in Moscow on May 28, opening the way for the start of construction in the near future. Spanning more than 1,100 kilometers, the pipeline dubbed the ‘Pakistan Stream’ is expected to have a discharge capacity of up to 12.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, according to the Energy Ministry’s statement. The pipeline would connect liquefied natural gas terminals in Karachi and another port city, Gwadar, with power plants and industrial hubs in Pakistan’s northern region of Punjab, which includes the city of Lahore. Both nations “put a major effort” in preparing the amendments to the deal, Shulginov said, adding that the signing of the agreement would allow them to begin construction “as soon as possible.”
Click here to read...
SpaceX competitor sounds alarm over Musk’s alleged ‘de facto monopolization’ of low-Earth orbit
The private space race is heating up and now Elon Musk’s competitors, which include Arianespace’s Stephane Israel, are sounding the alarm over SpaceX’s “de facto monopolization” of space. As SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of satellites expands with each passing month, even more so now that the aerospace giant has received regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), others in the industry are growing concerned there may soon not be enough room for their projects in low-Earth orbit.Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin recently lost a multi-billion-dollar contract with NASA to Musk’s SpaceX for the coveted mission to the Moon pencilled in for 2024, but the private space race closer to home is proving to be equally contested. SpaceX’s competitors have highlighted more specific issues regarding the lower altitude of the company’s artificial constellation, the purpose of which is to provide broadband internet to areas of the globe with poor or no coverage, suggesting that Starlink’s very existence increases the risks of collisions and radio interference. “We want space to remain accessible for human activities... but we refuse a Wild West space,” Israel told a conference in Geneva on sustainable space development.
Click here to read...
Taiwan triple whammy threatens global chip supply
Taiwan’s chipmakers are being hit simultaneously with drought, power shortages and a worst-yet wave of Covid-19, a confluence that threatens to undermine already strained global supply chains.That threat is greatest to chip producer TSMC, the world’s leading supplier of cutting-edge semiconductors that power everything from iPhones to newfangled electric vehicles. At least one engineer employed by the chipmaker at its vital Taichung fab tested positive for the virus last weekend, while the central Taiwanese city grapples with a viral spread from Taipei with the confirmation of 11 fresh infections, according to Taiwanese papers. This has further fuelled talk about TSMC taking precautions and shutting its plant in the city, which churns out chips that run products from iPhones to electric cars. Taiwan is scrambling to close non-essential shops and government agencies and limit indoor gatherings to five people as it reinstates measures put in place when it staved off the Covid spillover from mainland China in the first quarter of 2020.
Click here to read...
No longer top dog: Japan languishes at fifth place in foreign aid
Japan doled out more foreign aid than other countries in the 1990s but now ranks only fifth, partly on the ending of assistance to China.Official development assistance by Japan totalled $13.6 billion in 2020, up 17% on the year. But its share of the overall amount provided by members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shrank to 8% from the 1990 figure of 17%. These net figures -- aid provided minus lending repaid -- are based on data from the DAC. Japan was the leading provider in the 1990s but has gradually slipped in the rankings. The U.S. was the top provider in 2020 at $35.1 billion, with Germany in second place. The U.S. boosted its aid following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, aiming to support development in emerging countries to keep poverty from driving violence. European nations also ramped up aid during that decade.Japan has increased its aid over the past five years, with the figure up roughly 50% from the $9.2 billion of 2015.
Click here to read...
Strategic
Call dispute highlights US-China military tensions
A US defense spokesman said May 25 that the Pentagon was still trying to connect with Chinese military chiefs amid reports that Beijing was rejecting calls on protocol issues. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been rebuffed three times in attempted calls to Chinese counterparts, according to a Financial Times report that has not been denied. China’s government-allied Global Times newspaper reported that while China is open to bilateral military discussions, Austin had tried to connect with Xu Qiliang, the powerful vice chairman of the Central Military Commission – the Chinese Communist Party organ that oversees the military – rather than just with the country’s Minister of Defense Wei Fenghe. Austin’s approach of trying to see Xu, who is close to President Xi Jinping, was “an unprofessional and unfriendly act of disregarding diplomatic protocol and international common practice,” wrote the Global Times, which often echoes official views. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Austin has not connected with China’s top military officials.
Click here to read...
Norway concerned NATO chief taking on too much with reform plan -report
Norway objects to some of NATO's proposed reforms including steps to help stem climate change, fearing the Western alliance could take on too many extra responsibilities; Prime Minister Erna Solberg was quoted as saying on May 28. At a June 14 summit, NATO members including Norway will discuss Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's plan to revitalise the alliance, known as NATO 2030, addressing Russia, terrorism, cyber attacks, technology, climate change and the rise of China. Solberg said Stoltenberg - himself a Norwegian - risked taking on too many responsibilities. "I advocate great restraint with regards to which way we use NATO and where it can be useful," Solberg told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang (VG). "There's no point in NATO being involved in everything. NATO is first and foremost a defence alliance for the member countries," she said. Solberg said the scope of Stoltenberg's vision should be watered down, particularly when it comes to climate change and non-military crisis management.
Click here to read...
US says looking at Quad meeting in fall focussed on infrastructure
The United States is looking to convene an in-person meeting of its partners the Quad group of countries - Australia, India and Japan - in the fall with a focus on infrastructure, President Joe Biden's policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacific said on May 26. Kurt Campbell said other countries would be welcome to work with the Quad, which held a first virtual leaders' summit in March and pledged to work closely on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, climate issues and security. "I think we want to look this fall to convene an in-person Quad and the hope will be to make a similar kind of engagement on infrastructure more generally," Campbell told an online event hosted by Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center."And I do want to underscore ... this is not a fancy club. If there are other countries that believe that they'd like to engage and work with us, the door will be open as we go forward," Campbell said.
Click here to read...
Biden, Putin to hold first summit in Geneva despite low hopes of breakthrough
US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will hold their first summit in June in Geneva, both sides said May 25, though no breakthrough is expected in the fraught relationship. The meeting in the wealthy Swiss city - home to many UN organizations and location of a historic 1985 summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president Ronald Reagan - will be on June 16. "The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.The Kremlin confirmed the summit details and said in a statement that Putin and Biden would be discussing "issues of strategic stability," as well as "resolving regional conflicts" and the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden, making his first international trip as president, will go to Geneva immediately after separate summits with his key Western allies in the G7, NATO and the European Union.Unlike in 2009, when Biden was vice president and then President Barack Obama's administration declared a diplomatic "reset" with Putin's government, expectations going into the summit this time are far lower.
Click here to read...
Israel faces change of government as anti-Netanyahu opposition announces agreement
A coalition of Israel’s opposition parties have announced they have reached an unlikely agreement and now have the votes to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest serving leader. Naftali Bennett, former defense minister for Netanyahu, and opposition leader Yair Lapid will lead the opposition parties under this new agreement that would split power in a “unity government.” Bennett would take over as prime minister first, and then Lapid if they are successful in pushing Netanyahu from power. “We could go to fifth elections, sixth elections, until our home falls upon us, or we could stop the madness and take responsibility,” Bennett announced on May 30, adding that this “unity government” is needed to save Israel from its “tailspin.” This coalition will have one week to finalize deals and then will face a vote in the Knesset. Lapid will inform President Reuven Rivlin of his ability to form a new government with his partners on May 31, according to reports.
Click here to read...
Nuclear flash cards: US secrets exposed on learning apps
US troops charged with guarding nuclear weapons in Europe used popular education websites to create flashcards, exposing their exact locations and top-secret security protocols, according to the investigative site Bellingcat on May 28. To familiarize themselves with things like which shelters in various locations had "hot" vaults with live nuclear bombs, with security patrol schedules, and with identification badge details, the soldiers created digital flashcard sets on apps like Chegg Prep, Quizlet and Cram. "By simply searching online for terms publicly known to be associated with nuclear weapons, Bellingcat was able to discover cards used by military personnel serving at all six European military bases reported to store nuclear devices," wrote Foeke Postma, the author of the Bellingcat article. They found one set of 70 flashcards on Chegg, entitled "Study!" which noted the exact shelters containing nuclear weapons at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands.
Click here to read...
North Korea keeps dialogue momentum alive in low-profile protest
North Korea issued a long-awaited response May 31 to the South Korea-U.S. summit held May 21, slamming Washington's lifting of all restrictions on Seoul's missile development program. But diplomatic observers believe that despite the criticism, the "toned-down" delivery of its message left the door open for dialogue with the United States, while urging the Joe Biden administration to be more specific on its new policy toward the country. President Moon Jae-in held his first summit with President Joseph Biden, during which the two heads of state agreed to end all guidelines that banned South Korea from developing or possessing missiles with a maximum flight range greater than 800 kilometers. "The U.S., doggedly branding the measures taken by the DPRK for self-defence as violation of U.N. 'resolutions,' grants its allies unlimited right to missile development. It is engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to dialogue," said an article in the name of an individual commentator published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Click here to read...
Macron recognizes France’s ‘overwhelming responsibility’ for 1994 Rwandan genocide, asks survivors for ‘gift of forgiveness’
Speaking on May 27 during a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, President Emmanuel Macron accepted his country’s part in the genocide during a solemn speech. He said that France “was not an accomplice” to the genocide but was responsible. The president said that France did not listen to those who warned them about the impending massacre and stood by the genocidal regime. In a long-awaited speech, Macron said France has “for too long been silent on the examination of the truth.” His visit and speech were presented as the “final stage of normalization of relations” between the two nations, after more than 25 years of tensions stemming from France’s role in Rwanda’s tragedy. “On this path, only those who went through that night can perhaps forgive, give us the gift of forgiving,” the president noted. At the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the remains of more than 250,000 victims are buried. An estimated 800,000 people, mostly the minority Tutsis, died between April and July 1994 in the “land of a thousand hills.”
Click here to read...
Berlin pledges payments after recognizing Namibia ‘genocide’ carried out by German colonial troops
Germany has formally acknowledged that its military committed ‘genocide’ against the African peoples who lived in what is now Namibia and has announced that it will set up a fund to atone for its colonial-era crimes. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement on May 28 that Germany recognized the “atrocities” carried out by its colonial troops against the Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908, adding that Berlin wanted to “find a common path to genuine reconciliation in memory of the victims.” He said that, going forward, Germany will in an official capacity refer to the events as “genocide.” Maas also announced that as a “gesture of recognition of the immeasurable suffering,” the German government would create a fund totalling €1.1 billion ($1.34 billion), which will go towards infrastructure, healthcare, and training programs for the affected communities. The money will reportedly be paid out over 30 years. The Herero and Nama tribes were nearly wiped out during a rebellion against German colonial forces in what was then known as German Southwest Africa.
Click here to read...
Iran announces 7 approved candidates for upcoming elections, ex-president Ahmadihejad barred from running
Iran has approved the final list of candidates to compete in its upcoming presidential elections this June. Several prominent figures, however, including ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been barred from running. The list of seven presidential hopefuls was unveiled by Iranian state media on May 25. The candidates have been picked from nearly 600 people who submitted their bids for approval. The list is dominated by political hardliners, including judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi, believed to be a very close figure to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a favourite in the upcoming polls. Raisi ran for president before, losing to the incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, back in 2017 by a wide margin of nearly 20% of the votes. Rouhani is barred from running for office again due to legal limitations, as he has already served the maximum allowed two consecutive four-year terms. A number of candidates, however, have been disqualified from standing in the June 18 presidential poll by the country’s Guardian Council, a 12-member panel directly under Khamenei. The list includes several political heavyweights, like hardliner Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran's president from 2005 to 2013, and conservative former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani.
Click here to read...
China stacking Indo-border with advanced weapons
Efforts toward a peaceful solution to the Sino-Indian border standoff appear to be a bit more distant following highly publicized moves by Beijing to boost its Western high-altitude plateau regions with new weapons systems. According to a report in the Global Times, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced the deployment of new self-propelled rapid-fire mortars to conduct “mobile, hit-and-run firing positions.” The arrival of the self-propelled mortars are the fourth new type of weapons systems the PLA is bringing to the region, an effort including the addition of a new 122-millimeter calibre self-propelled howitzer, armoured assault vehicles and long-range multiple rocket launcher systems. In addition, many soldiers at the commissioning ceremony wore night vision goggles, reported Passion News, indicating their strong night combat capability. The missile system and the rocket artillery have been identified as the HQ-17A field air defense missile system and the PHL-11 122mm caliber self-propelled multiple rocket launcher system.
Click here to read...
West African bloc ECOWAS suspends Mali over twin coups
West African leaders have said Mali must hold a presidential election in February 2022. They also called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister. Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meeting in a regional summit May 30, suspended Mali from the bloc's institutions after a second coup by the Malian military. "The suspension from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government," Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey told reporters. "One of the decisions of the heads of state is that they should ensure that in the next few days a civilian prime minister is put in place to form the next government," she added. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo hosted the talks in the Ghanaian capital Accra after Mali's constitutional court named Colonel Assimi Goita as the country's new president. Goita — who sparked outrage after detaining the country's transitional president and prime minister on May 24 — arrived in Accra on May 29 for preliminary talks.
Click here to read...
Australia Reviews China Port Lease Near U.S. Military Outpost
A Chinese deal to manage an Australian port near where thousands of U.S. and local troops train has become the latest fault line in a worsening diplomatic and trade relationship between Canberra and Beijing. Australian defense officials are reviewing whether a 99-year lease granted to Shandong Landbridge Group in 2015 to operate Darwin Port—in exchange for 506 million Australian dollars, or about $392 million—is a potential national security threat. The deal blindsided the U.S. government at the time, as it wasn’t told in advance about the lease of the port by the Northern Territory government to Landbridge. The port handles ammunition, equipment and fuel used by U.S. Marines and the Australian troops who train with them for up to six months of the year, defense experts say. It is also the most suitable site in northern Australia for a major naval base and provides the country’s closest route to disputed South China Sea waters. Darwin Port routinely supports exercises of the Australian defense forces and hosts visits by Australian and foreign navies, according to the port’s annual reports.
Click here to read...
Eastern Europe ends love fest with China amid Beijing-EU rift
Enthusiasm for China has cooled in much of central and Eastern Europe, leaving Beijing alarmed as human rights concerns and stalled investments push disillusioned partners toward the U.S. Slovenia last August signed a declaration on fifth-generation wireless security that essentially would block Chinese company Huawei Technologies from its 5G network. Ljubljana also shut out Chinese companies from bidding on a rail project, according to local media. Other central and eastern European nations are distancing themselves as well. Lithuania said last week it has withdrawn from China's 17+1 economic cooperation framework with countries in the region. This year's virtual gathering in February had record-low attendance by leaders, with six members including Latvia and Bulgaria sending foreign ministers instead. Xi himself tried to persuade the heads of state to attend, with little luck.
Click here to read...
Russia fortifies Central Asia military clout before US Afghan exit
Nearly 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia still maintains a significant military footprint in Central Asia. Moscow is the region's largest arms supplier and has thousands of troops stationed at bases in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Those three Central Asian republics are also members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led military alliance including several post-Soviet states. U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement earlier this year that he would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 has pushed Moscow to look for ways to bolster those ties. In late April, Russia held a large-scale exercise with Tajikistan involving over 50,000 military personnel and 700 units of military hardware, ranging from fighter jets and tanks to rocket launchers and artillery. Days after the conclusion of the exercise, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu travelled to Tajikistan to sign an agreement to establish a joint air defense system. Shoigu also stopped in Uzbekistan, where he announced that the Russian and Uzbek defense ministries had adopted a four-year "strategic partnership" program, the first of its kind.
Click here to read...
China's space ambitions target satellites, a US vulnerability
The pride of superpowers drove the U.S. and Soviet Union to compete in space. The Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, in 1957. Not to be outdone, the Americans poured money into the Apollo program, which produced the first manned mission to the moon in 1969. So it is not surprising that China, which aims to become the world's leading power by 2050, is trying to compete with the U.S. in space. But when it comes to space development, separating peaceful purposes from military motivations has always been difficult, and analyzing China's celestial ambitions is no different. As noted in recent years, the People's Liberation Army has developed the capability to attack U.S. satellites, in a strategy that aims to paralyze the American military. The U.S. relies on satellites for many of its military operations. Satellites are essential for communication, command and monitoring, as well as missile guidance. Losing satellite function would leave the American military like a giant whose central nervous system has been damaged.
Click here to read...
Medical
The Virus Lab Theory’s New Credibility
President Biden on May 26 ordered U.S. intelligence to dig deeper into the origins of Covid-19, a reversal after he reportedly ordered a State Department investigative unit shut down. In January 2020, international media began reporting about a virus spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan. “The coronavirus could result in a global pandemic,” said Sen. Tom Cotton on Jan. 30, 2020. “I would note that Wuhan has China’s only biosafety level-four super laboratory that works with the world’s most deadly pathogens to include, yes, coronavirus.” The world would learn more about Covid-19—and the WIV. But it was always reasonable to ask if the virus came from a nearby lab that handled dangerous viruses. On Feb. 6, 2020, Botao Xiao of the South China University of Technology posted a paper concluding the virus “probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.” But the Chinese government strictly controls research into Covid-19’s origins, and the molecular biomechanics researcher withdrew his publication.
Click here to read...
German scientists claim to have solved Covid-19 vaccine blood clot mystery, say jabs can be altered
A group of German scientists claims to have found the cause of the rare blood clots linked to the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines – and they say the jabs could be altered to prevent the problem. The research, led by Professor Rolf Marschalek from Goethe University, in Frankfurt, was published on May 26. It suggests the problem lies with the adenovirus vector technology used in the vaccines. Viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a different virus to deliver important instructions to the nucleus of cells so as to produce a spike protein and trigger an immune response in the body. Dr Marschalek and his team believe some parts of the spike protein split apart and create ‘mutant’ versions that trigger the blood clots, in what the paper termed the “Vaccine-Induced Covid-19 Mimicry” syndrome. The study suggests vaccine manufacturers could alter the sequence of the spike protein to prevent unintended splitting and “increase the safety of these pharmaceutical products.”
Click here to read...
EU welcomes pass to restore travel freedom
EU leaders on Tuesday welcomed the introduction of a bloc-wide COVID-19 pass that they hope will unlock a tourist surge in summer 2021.The 27 member states want the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate, to be launched on July 1, to turn the page on coronavirus restrictions that have crimped Europeans' cherished freedom of movement.Coupled with a separate plan to let in fully vaccinated travellers from countries outside the EU, to be defined by the middle of June, Europe believes its vital tourist industry could claw back some of the losses racked up since the start of the pandemic. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a media conference after the summit that more than 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses will have been delivered by the end of this week, rising to 400 million in June. EU countries and the European Parliament struck agreement last week on the legislation to come into force in mid-June for the COVID-19 certificate. Von der Leyen said all the technological infrastructure would be ready by June 1.
Click here to read...
Tokyo Olympics fans need inoculations or coronavirus test: report
Tokyo Olympics fans may have to be vaccinated or test negative for coronavirus before being allowed into venues, a Japanese newspaper report said May 31. Cheering, eating, high-fives and drinking alcohol would also be banned under controls now being considered, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said, citing unnamed government officials. Organizers are set to decide in June how many spectators - if any - will be allowed to attend the pandemic-postponed Games. Overseas fans are already barred, and the report warned domestic spectators may be denied entrance or kicked out for breaking the rules. "The plan is to stop the spread of infections during Games time with strict countermeasures," the paper said. Under the plan, spectators must be able to show a vaccination certificate or a negative test taken at their own expense less than a week before entering the venue. They must wear masks and fill in health-check sheets, and once inside must not cheer loudly or high-five each other. Security guards would be stationed around venues monitoring behaviour, the report said, with public viewing venues cancelled or scaled down.
Click here to read...
