Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 07 December - 13 December 2020

Economic

Japan plans hiring spree of tech experts for digital agency

The creation of a digital agency is one of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s biggest policy initiatives, and he handpicked Takuya Hirai, the country’s newly appointed digital minister to lead its launch. While Japan has been making a digital push since the early 2000s, Covid-19 has revealed the gains by Taiwan and South Korea in moving their societies online. “Even with a small start we’ll have more than 500 people. With a mixed team of bureaucrats and the private sector, the governance can only be experimental,” Mr Hirai said. He said the digital agency aimed to scale up rapidly after it launched as early as September. The government will look for engineers and other technology experts both inside and outside of Japan to create a digital infrastructure for government agencies. One striking aspect of Japan’s digital plan is the intention to recruit technologists directly into the bureaucracy rather than relying purely on private contractors. Governments around the world have often struggled when they have sought to act as developers. Click here to read... [2]

U.K., EU Leaders Extend Marathon Brexit Talks

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and top European Union officials decided not to pull the plug from Brexit negotiations on Dec 13, with officials signalling last-minute progress on some of the issues that have bedevilled the talks. Officials on both sides said they were narrowing differences over the question that lies at the center of their dispute: How much will the U.K. be tied to EU norms as the price for a tariff-free trade deal with its largest trading partner? On that question hangs trade worth close to $900 billion a year. With time running short—a deal has to be in place by Jan. 1 to prevent huge disruption to trade and security cooperation—officials on both sides said negotiators appeared to be finding some common ground though they cautioned much work needed to be done. The two sides had set Dec 13 as the day to decide whether it was worth keeping the negotiations going. Following a midday phone call between Mr. Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the two leaders said they would try to seal a post-Brexit economic and security deal by Dec. 31. Click here to read... [3]

China-Europe Trade Forum Cancelled After China Sought to Bar Critics

An annual China-Europe trade forum was quietly cancelled last month after European organizers rejected Chinese demands to ban participants critical of Beijing. The move, not previously reported, highlights an increasingly difficult balance Europe is trying to strike between safeguarding business interests and upholding democratic values in the face of China’s increasingly aggressive global stance. The U.S. and Australia have taken more forceful stands against pressure from China, sparking public fights and trade battles. The annual China-EU CEO and Former Senior Officials Dialogue—a closed-door event that includes around 40 chief executives, top officials and academics from Europe and China—would have been its fourth edition and taken place this year by video conference. In previous years, participant lists weren’t controversial, organizers say. But this year, European organizers at Business Europe, an umbrella organization for the European Union’s national business lobbies, rejected Chinese demands to exclude certain participants. Click here to read... [4]

Taiwan says it's on track to apply to join trans-Pacific trade pact

Taiwan will submit an application to join the revamped version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership once it has finished informal consultations with its existing 11 members, talks which are ongoing, the island's foreign ministry said. While a member of the World Trade Organization, many countries are wary of signing trade deals with Taiwan fearing objections from China, which claims the democratic island as its own territory, and Taiwan has sought greater access to multilateral deals. Tech-powerhouse Taiwan has been angling to join the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), signed in 2018. In a statement late on Dec 13, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said that according to the processes of the CPTPP, new member applicants needed to complete informal talks with existing members first and "reach a consensus" before applying. Those talks are ongoing, and member countries "already clearly understand our determination and steps to seeking membership, and the attitude is quite positive", the ministry said in a statement. Click here to read... [5]

After a deep recession, advanced economies must start reinvesting in infrastructure

The United States, for example, spent only 2.3 per cent of GDP (US$441 billion) on transportation and water infrastructure in 2017, a lower share than at any time since the mid-1950s. US President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make it a priority, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and combating climate change. The European Union’s proposed €1.8 trillion (US$2.2 trillion) stimulus package – comprising the new €1.15 trillion seven-year budget and the €750 billion Next Generation EU recovery fund – has a major infrastructure component, particularly benefiting the economically weaker southern member states.For one thing, as the late economist and former US Federal Reserve Board governor Edward Gramlich noted a quarter-century ago, most developed countries have already built the high-return infrastructure projects, from interstate roads and bridges to sewer systems. Yet there seems to be vast unrealised potential to improve the electricity grid, provide universal Internet access, decarbonise the economy, and bring education into the twenty-first century – macroeconomists should not be so quick to dismiss it. Click here to read... [6]

Pakistan to fence off Gwadar to shield China's Belt and Road port

Pakistan's south western province of Balochistan is putting up barbed wire around large parts of the port city of Gwadar to protect Belt and Road projects from potential attacks by insurgents.The provincial government plans to fence off 24 sq. km of the city, the centre stage of $50 billion in Belt and Road projects in Pakistan. The fencing will surround the deep seaport, built and operated by China. However, the China-funded New Gwadar International Airport and 80 newly built housing projects will fall outside of the fence.According to local media reports, there will only be two entry points to the fenced part of the city, and more than 500 high-definition cameras will be installed for surveillance. Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institutes of Peace Studies, termed Gwadar Pakistan's first "sealed city," fenced off on the grounds of security, in an op-ed in a local paper. The fencing is part of the Gwadar Safe City project, for which 50 million rupees ($310,000) was allocated in the federal budget for fiscal year 2020-21. A local source in Gwadar told Nikkei Asia that China is financing the fencing. Click here to read... [7]

China claims milestone in quest for 'quantum supremacy'

In an article published in the Dec. 3 issue of the American academic journal Science, the Chinese team, including researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, said they were able to solve a problem in 200 seconds that would have taken Japan's Fugaku conventional supercomputer, currently the world's fastest, 600 million years or 2.5 billion years by China's Sunway Taihu Light supercomputer. It is difficult for conventional computers to calculate a problem that involves the strange quantum properties of photons. But quantum computers are based on quantum mechanics and promise to bring innovative changes to the development of materials and drugs, assessment of financial risks and artificial intelligence using big data. But they were regarded as a "dream technology" due to the difficulty of development. That changed when Google claimed the achievement of quantum supremacy in the British scientific journal Nature last year. Google said in that report that it took 200 seconds to perform a calculation that would have taken a supercomputer 10,000 years to compute. Click here to read... [8]

China's $13tn shadow banking sector gets clearer definition

China's top banking regulator for the first time defined the criteria, scope and classification of the country's nearly $13 trillion shadow banking sector in a continuing effort to defuse systemic financial risks as the country expands credit to support recovery from the pandemic. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission listed four criteria to define shadow banking and divided the sector by a broad definition and a narrow definition in a Dec 11 report by the agency's policy research bureau.Under the report's broad definition, shadow banking includes investments by interbank special purpose vehicles, entrusted loans, capital investment trusts, trust loans, bank asset management products, nonequity mutual funds, securities asset management products, insurance asset management products, asset securitization, nonequity private funds, online peer-to-peer lending, financial leasing companies, microfinance loans, commercial factoring companies, finance guarantee companies, consumer loans issued by unlicensed institutions, creditors' rights financing plans provided by local exchanges and structured finance products. The narrow definition covers the riskier products and activities, including investment by interbank special purpose vehicles, interbank asset management, entrusted loans, trust loans, online P2P lending and nonequity private funds. Click here to read... [9]

Afghan rail link ‘expands Iran influence’

The opening of a new rail link between Iran and Afghanistan will increase not only trade but also Tehran’s political influence on the land-locked nation, officials and experts believe. The 140 km rail line from Khawaf in eastern Iran to western Afghanistan opened on Dec 10, providing a transport link that will allow Afghan goods to reach Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The rail line also offers Iran another route into Central Asia. The rail link was inaugurated in a virtual ceremony by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said that it would “strengthen relations between Afghanistan and Iran.” According to Shamrooz Khan Masjidi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s finance ministry, the project also will reduce Kabul’s dependence on Islamabad for trade. “It will more than anything reduce reliance on Pakistan. It’s part of our regional connectivity mega-plan. Afghanistan needs affordable and connected transportation for its economic growth and trade balance. Railways offer that platform. We can connect not only with Iran but also the wider region,” he said. Click here to read... [10]

Google delays return to office and eyes 'flexible work week' - NYT

Alphabet Inc’s Google will allow its employees to work from home until September next year, extending the return to the office by a few months, the New York Times reported on Dec 14. The company was also testing the idea of a "flexible workweek" once it is safe to return to the office, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told the company's staff in an email on Dec 13, according to the report here. As part of the plan, Google’s employees would be expected to work at least three days a week in the office while working from home the other days, the newspaper report said. “We are testing a hypothesis that a flexible work model will lead to greater productivity, collaboration, and well-being,” Pichai wrote in the email. Google was one of the first companies to ask its employees to work from home due to the pandemic. It has previously delayed the timing by when the employees should return to the office from January next year to July. Click here to read... [11]

China’s Alibaba, Tencent unit fined under anti-monopoly law

In a statement, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said Dec 14 that it fined Alibaba 500,000 yuan ($76,500) for increasing its stake in department store company Intime Retail Group to 73.79 percent in 2017 without seeking approval. China Literature, an online publisher and e-book company spun off by Tencent, was fined the same amount for also not seeking approval for its acquisition of New Classics Media. Separately, Shenzhen Hive Box, backed by Chinese courier firm SF Express, was censured over its acquisition of China Post Smart Logistics China’s market regulator is also reviewing the merger of two major Chinese game streaming platforms, Dou Yu International Holdings and Huya Inc. Tencent, the world’s largest gaming company that owns stakes in both firms, is leading the deal and would have controlled 67.5 percent of voting shares in the merged business.The moves come amid stepped up scrutiny of monopolistic behaviour by Internet companies. Click here to read... [12]

Strategic

China and Pakistan ink military MOU to counter US-India pact

China has signed a defense pact with Pakistan, its old ally, in response to a recent information-sharing pact between India and the U.S.Gen. Wei Fenghe, China's defence minister and state councillor, visited Islamabad last week for three days and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance defense cooperation between the Pakistan Army and the People's Liberation Army.Unlike the U.S.-India defense arrangement, details of the China-Pakistan pact have not been made public. However, analysts believe it contains new commitments to intelligence-sharing that will help Pakistan track the movements of Indian forces across their tense shared border. Pakistan made clear the importance of Wei's visit to mutual defense arrangements by bestowing a prestigious national award on him, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, which is given for outstanding service to the country. The military diplomacy follows the signing at the end of October of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation by New Delhi and Washington, which gave India's armed forces access to a wealth of data from U.S. military satellites. Click here to read... [13]

Biden should revamp Asia-Pacific path, ditch Indo-Pacific idea: Global Times editorial

Biden has picked his secretary of state and national security advisor as he begins assembling his administration team. The US new administration's diplomatic strategy is now in the spotlight. While Biden's team is highly focused on mending ties with European allies, Asia will certainly be a strategic priority. There are two geographical concepts to describe Asia and the Pacific: "Asia-Pacific" and "Indo-Pacific." The term "Asia-Pacific" was widely used before the Trump administration. But after Trump took office, the use of "Indo-Pacific" replaced it. Both terms are currently imbued with political meanings, but there are subtle differences. The "Asia-Pacific" involves economic and cooperative connotations, while the term "Indo-Pacific" is directly associated with geopolitical competition and alliance confrontation. The backbone of the Indo-Pacific concept is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the US, Japan, India and Australia. Click here to read... [14]

Iran slams Erdogan after Turkish leader recites poem claiming Iranian provinces are part of Republic of Azerbaijan

Iran’s FM has blasted the Turkish president after he recited a controversial poem, which laments the separation of the historic region of Azerbaijan between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, during a victory parade in Baku. Mohammad Javad Zarif took to Twitter on Dec 11 to correct Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had claimed that Iranian provinces in Azerbaijan were part of the Republic of Azerbaijan while reciting a poem. While the Republic of Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic, Azerbaijan is also the name given to a large area of consisting of three provinces in north western Iran. The foreign minister reiterated these sentiments in another, similar tweet in Farsi. The controversial poem refers to the separation of Azerbaijan between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan along the Aras River. The Aras River became the north western frontier of the Persian Empire and later Iran, following a series of military defeats at the hands of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, leading Qajar Persia to cede all of its territories in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia to Russia. Click here to read... [15]

France will build nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to replace Charles de Gaulle flagship, says Macron

President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled plans for France's new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which will replace the navy's current flagship, the Charles de Gaulle, by 2038. "Nuclear power will remain the cornerstone of our strategic autonomy," Macron said on Dec 08, as he visited the Framatome nuclear reactor construction plant in the eastern town of Le Creusot. France's new carrier – its 11th in total – will boast speeds of up to 27 knots (50 km/h), weigh in at around 75,000 tons, and run some 300 meters long – about 1.5 times the size of the Charles de Gaulle. The new vessel will also be fitted with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system made by American defense firm General Atomics and will be able to hold around 30 next-generation Rafale fighter jets. Set to be in service until around 2080, the new project's price tag has been estimated at around €7 billion ($8.5 billion) by some media, although French officials have not confirmed its total cost. Click here to read... [16]

Trump Wades Into Western Sahara Conflict with Morocco-Israel Deal

President Trump’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region ends American neutrality in a conflict that threatens to destabilize a corner of North Africa critical to U.S. and European security interests. Morocco’s decades long conflict with Western Sahara independence fighters had been dormant until last month. Fighting broke out again in November after nearly three decades in which a United Nations-brokered cease-fire helped maintain relations between Morocco and Algeria, the main backer of the independence movement. Both countries are important security partners of both the U.S. and Europe.If the violence goes unchecked, observers warn it could damage security in the broader region, drawing in criminal networks smuggling weapons and contraband that could link it with conflicts in Libya, Mali and Niger. Mr. Trump’s proclamation on Dec 10 backed Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in return for opening diplomatic relations with Israel, the fourth country to do so since August as a part of a White House effort to broker relations between the Jewish-led state and Middle Eastern neighbours. Click here to read... [17]

U.S., EU to Impose Sanctions on Turkey over Missile System, Energy

The U.S. and European Union are applying pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Washington planning sanctions over Turkey’s acquisition of a Russian air-defense system and the EU targeting people involved in Ankara’s energy exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. and the EU face a similar dilemma: How to contain Turkey’s aspiration to emancipate itself from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s shackles and become a more autonomous regional power, without pushing Mr. Erdogan into Russia’s arms. The EU might have to reassess its own stance, as President-elect Joe Biden’s administration is expected to take a tougher approach to Turkey. Dec 10’s EU decision split the difference between calls by France, Greece and Cyprus for an overhaul of EU ties with Ankara, including a possible arms ban and the cautious approach of Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and others who favoured minimal sanctions against a couple of officials. Click here to read... [18]

China kill: Marines’ new attack ships built for one purpose

America’s famed fighting Leathernecks are coming, and they will be riding in new state-of-the-art ships, designed to take the fight to China’s coast. These light amphibious warships will act as “ruggedized beaching craft,” one senior Navy official put it — that can travel longer distances. China has pushed too many buttons at the Pentagon with its aggression in the South China Sea and elsewhere, and Uncle Sam is responding in a big way. According to officials, 10 new warships that will be capable of delivering 75 US Marines straight from the sea onto a beach will operate in and around the first chain of islands off China’s coast, Gina Harkins of Military.com reported. The ships will be designed to zip around what is known as the first island chain — the archipelagos that pepper the South and East China seas stretching from near Japan and South Korea down toward Vietnam — carrying new Marine littoral regiments. They will operate independently of the amphibious ready groups with which Marine expeditionary units typically deploy, Military.com reported. The regiments, which are being tested out in Hawaii, will include infantry, logistics and anti-air personnel, Military.com reported. Click here to read... [19]

Russian navy to join drills with NATO countries for 1st time in decade

Russian warships will participate in the AMAN-2021 military exercise in February, which will also involve US and British naval forces, the Russian Black Sea Fleet announced on Dec 10. Russian vessels will join the multinational drills to be held off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan along with over 30 countries. It will send a frigate, a patrol vessel, a rescue tug, a Marine Corps unit, a mine clearance squad and a sea-based helicopter to the exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website. The last time the Russian navy took part in joint exercises with naval forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members was in 2011 during the Bold Monarch exercise held off the coast of Spain. Click here to read... [20]

Xi floats 2027 as new milestone year

Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun talking about a new 100-year anniversary: the year 2027, which marks the centennial of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. At a recent key meeting of the Chinese Communist Party, the milestone abruptly appeared, marked as a year toward which military development should be targeted. Many in China believe the political meaning is significant. China has long had two centennial goals. The party came into being in 1921, and in 1949 a Communist-led country, the People's Republic of China, was established. China had been looking at 2035 and toward the middle of the 21st century for realizing the goal of possessing a world-class military. Xi's latest remarks, however, suggest the military modernization plan will be brought forward by a considerable number of years. China's 2019 defense white paper calls for a mechanized and informationized military with greatly improved strategic capabilities. To achieve this, China will make full use of the policy of "military-civilian integration" that was debated at the party's national congress in 2017. The Ministry of National Defense has said that while China's economy has become the world's second biggest, its military is not commensurate to the nation's economic power. Click here to read... [21]

Xi Focus: China's further commitments inject impetus for global climate actions

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Dec 12 announced the country's further commitments for 2030 to contribute more to tackling the global climate challenge, when addressing the Climate Ambition Summit via video link. He said China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent, increase the forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level, and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts. Xi announced in September that China would scale up its nationally determined contributions and adopt more vigorous policies and measures, with goals to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Hailing the extensive international support to and participation in the implementation of the Paris Agreement since its adoption five years ago, Xi said the international landscape is evolving more rapidly, and COVID-19 is triggering deep reflections on the relationship between man and nature. Click here to read... [22]

Australia bolsters defences against a growingly assertive China

Feeling the heat from an ever more assertive China, Australia is ramping up its defences -- from cracking down on foreign deals to joint arms development with Washington -- against Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region and within its own borders. Ties between Canberra and Beijing have steadily deteriorated in recent months as the countries clash over a range of issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and trade. Recent moves in Australia could further stoke bilateral tensions. On Dec 08, parliament passed a law that empowers the foreign minister to scrap agreements between foreign countries and Australia's local governments or universities that are deemed detrimental to national foreign policy. About 130 agreements could potentially be affected by the law, 48 of which are with China, Australian media report. Australia is putting China on notice on the defense front as well. Last week, Defense Minister Linda Reynolds announced a joint development project with the U.S. for a prototype hypersonic cruise missile. Canberra plans to invest A$9.3 billion in this and other related programs. Click here to read... [23]

Pakistan's opposition to lead march to capital in bid to oust PM Khan

The leaders of an anti-government alliance urged tens of thousands of supporters at a rally on Dec 13 to join a march to the Pakistani capital next months to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who they say was installed by the military in a rigged 2018 election. An alliance of 11 major opposition parties - Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) - has been holding mammoth rallies in since its inception in September to seek Khan's ouster and press the military to stop interfering in politics. "The time to have a dialogue is over. There will be a march now," said opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He ruled out the possibility of any dialogue with Khan or the military unless fresh elections were announced.Khan, who says the protest campaign is aimed at blackmailing him into dropping corruption cases against its leaders, has criticised the rallies amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The opposition, which has held six mammoth rallies in recent months, says it plans to put pressure on the government to call a fresh election. The next election is due in 2023. Click here to read... [24]

Turkey appoints ambassador to Israel after two years: Report

Turkey has appointed a new ambassador to Israel after a two-year absence, reports say. In May 2018, Ankara withdrew its envoy over deadly attacks against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip who were protesting US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move to appoint Ufuk Ulutas, 40, as the new Turkish ambassador is part of an attempt to improve ties with incoming President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, a report by Al Monitor quoting “well-placed sources” revealed last week. Turkey first broke off diplomatic ties with Israel in 2010 after 10 pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who boarded a Turkish-owned flotilla trying to deliver aid and break Israel’s years-long maritime blockade of Gaza. They restored ties in 2016, but relations soured again in 2018 in the aftermath of the US embassy move. Ulutas’ appointment also comes as a number of Arab countries – Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates – agreed to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel in deals brokered by outgoing US President Trump. Click here to read... [25]

Parents pray for hundreds of students kidnapped in Nigeria's Katsina

Parents converged on a secondary school in Nigeria's north western Katsina state on Dec 13, begging authorities to save hundreds of boys abducted by gunmen. More than 300 students from the all-boys Government Science School in Kankara taken Dec 11 night remained missing on Dec 13. "We will not rest until we see the end of this," state spokesman Abdul Labaran told Reuters. Labaran said military and intelligence chiefs were in Kankara to lead the rescue. While 321 students were missing, he said some could have gone home to other states. All state schools in Katsina were ordered to close because officials did not know the attackers' motives, the education commissioner said. Attacks by armed gangs, widely known as bandits, are common throughout north western Nigeria. The groups attack civilians, stealing or kidnapping them for ransom. Islamist militants are more common in the northeast. There is growing anger with the precarious security situation in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Late last month, Islamist militants killed scores of farmers in north eastern Borno, beheading some of them. Click here to read... [26]

US government agencies hacked; Russia a possible culprit

Hackers broke into the networks of the Treasury and Commerce departments as part of a global cyberespionage campaign revealed just days after a leading global cybersecurity firm announced that it had been breached in an attack that industry experts said bore the hallmarks of Russian tradecraft. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity arm are investigating what experts and former officials said appeared to be a large-scale penetration of US government agencies — apparently the same months long cyber espionage campaign that also afflicted the prominent cyber security firm Fire Eye. “This can turn into one of the most impactful espionage campaigns on record,” said cyber security expert Dmitri Alperovitch. The hacks were revealed less than a week after FireEye disclosed that foreign government hackers had broken into its network and stolen the company’s own hacking tools. Many experts suspect Russia is responsible. Fire Eye’s customers include federal, state and local governments and top global corporations. Click here to read... [27]

Medical

Any vaccine adverse effects up to national agencies to review: WHO

Any adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccines are for national authorities to review, the World Health Organization said on Dec 11 in response to questions about Britain warning people with a history of anaphylaxis to avoid the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. “But people should not be too anxious. Remember there are a number of vaccine candidates coming online at the same time,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva. “One vaccine may not be suitable for particular individuals, but you may well find another vaccine is. On Dec 08, Britain became the first country to roll out the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. Its medicine regulator subsequently said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food should not get the shot, after two reported incidents of the reaction. A panel of outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Dec 10 voted overwhelmingly to endorse emergency use of the vaccine, paving the way for the agency to authorize the shot for a nation that has lost more than 285,000 lives to COVID-19. Click here to read... [28]

First U.S. vaccine shipments raise hopes

Cargo planes and trucks with the first U.S. shipments of coronavirus vaccine fanned out from FedEx and UPS hubs in Tennessee and Kentucky on Dec 13en route to the first 145 of 636 distribution points, launching an immunization project of unprecedented scope and complexity. The inoculations, seen as pivotal to ultimately halting a surging pandemic that is claiming more than 2,400 U.S. lives a day could begin as early as Dec 14. Healthcare workers and elderly residents of long-term care homes will be first in line to get the inoculations of a two-dose regimen given about three weeks apart. The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of March, the chief adviser for the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program said on Dec 13. For the United States to get "herd immunity," which would halt transmission of the deadly virus, it would need to have immunized about 75% or 80% of the population, he said, adding that he hoped to reach that point between May and June. Click here to read... [29]

Japan, South Korea fret as surging coronavirus undermines leaders' support

Japan and South Korea grappled with surging coronavirus cases and growing public frustration on Monday as Japan’s prime minister tiptoed around a contentious travel subsidy programme while an anxious South Korean president warned of harsh curbs. But Japan, with a focus on the economic costs, has steered clear of tough lockdowns. It tackled its first wave of infections in the spring by asking people to refrain from going out and for businesses to close or curtail operating hours. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said last week a halt to a campaign that subsidises domestic tourism was not under consideration, citing economic considerations.Critics say encouraging people to travel has helped spread infections. Media reported on Dec 14 that Suga could restrict the programme after weekend polls showed his support had eroded over his handling of the pandemic. Across the sea in South Korea, President Moon Jae-in also faces sliding ratings as clusters of new infections fuel criticism over what many see as slack containment.“Our back is against the wall,” Moon said. “This is a crucial moment to devote all our virus control capabilities and administrative power to stopping the coronavirus.” Click here to read... [30]

World's largest glove maker reports first death in outbreak

Malaysia's Top Glove Corp, the world's largest glove maker, reported on Dec 14 that one of its workers died after contracting COVID-19, the first death since an outbreak at its dormitories and factories. The company told Reuters in an email that the 29-year-old worker from Nepal passed away on Dec 12 due to COVID-19 pneumonia with lung fibrosis. The outbreak at Top Glove's facilities in which more than 5,000 workers tested positive, about 94% of them foreigners, is Malaysia's largest cluster. Workers told Reuters that social distancing during work was difficult to maintain and not consistently enforced. Dormitory conditions were also often cramped, with up to 20 people in some rooms. Click here to read... [29]