Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 11 January - 17 January 2021

Economic

France wants suspension of 'poisonous' US-Europe trade spat

The European Union and the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden should suspend a trade dispute to give themselves time to find common ground, France's foreign minister said in remarks published on Jan 17. "The issue that's poisoning everyone is that of the price escalation and taxes on steel, digital technology, Airbus and more particularly our wine sector," Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview.He said he hoped the sides could find a way to settle the dispute. "It may take time, but in the meantime, we can always order a moratorium," he added. At the end of December, the United States moved to boost tariffs on French and German aircraft parts, wines and other spirits in the Boeing-Airbus subsidy dispute, but the bloc decided to hold off on retaliation for now. The EU is planning to present a World Trade Organization reform proposal in February and is willing to consider reforms to restrain the judicial authority of the WTO's dispute-settlement body. Click here to read... [2]

Dark Market goes down: Europol closes largest dark web marketplace trading in drugs & malware

The largest illegal marketplace on the dark web for selling drugs, counterfeit money and malware, Dark Market, has been taken offline, in a major international operation, the EU's law enforcement agency Europol said on Jan 12.The law enforcement operation against Dark Market involved security agencies from Germany, Australia, Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine and the UK, as well as the US, with Europol coordinating their actions and providing operational analysis. In Germany, officers arrested a 34-year-old Australian man suspected of being the operator of the illegal marketplace. He was taken into custody near the country's border with Denmark at the weekend. Further investigation led to the discovery of more than 20 servers in Moldova and Ukraine which had hosted Dark Market, resulting in their seizure. The data stored on the seized servers is expected to give the cybercrime units even more leads on moderators, sellers and buyers on the marketplace. Dark Market saw trade in illegal drugs, counterfeit money, stolen credit card details, anonymous SIM cards and malware, according to Europol, and boasted almost 500,000 users, including 2,400 vendors. Business conducted via cryptocurrencies on the platformer equalled some €140 million ($170 million), investigators said. Click here to read... [3]

What’s the big deal with data privacy? Thorny, complex issues confront citizens and governments

When messaging app WhatsApp’s new privacy policy sparked a global exodus from its services, Mr Darren Chin’s company — a local tech firm — decreed that their entire staffs was to cease using the Facebook-owned platform for work. “We’ve all been using WhatsApp for many years, but the company’s top management decided to ban it and we cannot say no,” said Mr Chin, 52. “Everyone in the tech chat groups in my company switched to Signal, so I did so as well. I agree with the decision too: Data privacy is important to me,” the IT operations specialist said in an interview conducted over Facebook at his request. Signal, as well as Telegram are rival encrypted messaging apps that have surged in popularity amid the fiasco as an alternative to WhatsApp. WhatsApp has since come forward to clarify that its new terms will not allow its parent company to access the app users' messages and delayed its February deadline for users to accept the terms. But the new policy will still allow WhatsApp to share more information with Facebook and roll out advertising and e-commerce. Click here to read... [4]

In parting shot, Trump halts supplies to China’s Huawei: Report

The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including United States-based chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licences to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency. The action – likely the last against Huawei Technologies under Republican President Donald Trump – is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat. A spokesperson for Intel Corp declined to comment. Commerce said it could not comment on specific licensing decisions, but said the department continues to work with other agencies to “consistently” apply licensing policies in a way that “protects US national security and foreign policy interests”. In an email seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Jan 15, the Commerce Department had issued “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license”. Click here to read... [5]

Tunisia: Protests over moribund economy spread to a dozen cities

Fighting broke out between Tunisian police and protesters in the capital Tunis and at least 15 cities for the third consecutive day as youths demonstrated against the unprecedented economic crisis the country faces. Police swooped in as shops and banks were looted and vandalized on Jan 17, arresting “dozens” of youths, according to state news agency TAP. Most Tunisians are angry that the country is on the verge of bankruptcy and has dire public services.Many feel disappointed that, on the 10-year anniversary of the revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, there is little to show in terms of improvement. A decade on from the revolution, many Tunisians are increasingly angered by poor public services and a political class that has repeatedly proved unable to govern coherently. GDP shrank by 9 percent last year, consumer prices have skyrocketed, and one-third of young people are unemployed.The key tourism sector, already on its knees after a string of deadly attacks by armed groups in 2015, has been dealt a devastating blow by the pandemic. Click here to read... [6]

Iraq grants $20B projects to Chinese companies

Iraq has given construction projects worth $20 billion in the southern province of al-Muthanna to a consortium of Chinese companies, an Iraqi official said on Jan 17. “The projects include the construction of a power station and a factory for floors and porcelain with a production capacity of 32,000 m2 per day, and a factory for ceramic walls and façades with a capacity of 36,000 m2 per day,” Adel Al-Yasiri, the head of the al-Muthanna Investment Authority, said in a statement. He added that an initial approval has been granted to establish the projects. “The first phase of the projects amounts to $2 billion where two sites have been prepared near the Samawah refinery for the companies to complete the remaining procedures,” he said. Other projects include the construction of a sanitary ware factory with a capacity of 360 m3 per day, a ceramic factory for accessories with a capacity of 108,000 m2 per month, and a factory for papers and 125 million cardboards per month. Click here to read... [7]

ILO highlights plight of millions of home-based workers

The increasing number of people forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to work from home has generated a lot of attention on both the benefits and trials of working remotely. The UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) has seized on this new awareness to highlight the predicament of what it estimates to be 260 million home-based workers worldwide — 8 percent of global employment — who had for decades prior to the pandemic been working under precarious conditions. Home-workers are a heterogeneous group. They include highly skilled teleworkers who work remotely on a continual basis and a vast number of impoverished industrial workers who are required to produce goods that cannot be automated, such as artisanal goods like embroidery and handicrafts. A third category, digital platform workers, provides services such as processing insurance claims or copy editing. Homeworking Convention No. 177 was passed in 1996, with the objective of transforming such work into a respectable source of employment by promoting equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners. However, only 10 ILO member states have ratified the convention, and few have a national policy in place on working from home. Click here to read... [8]

Virtual showroom helps Japan’s Infiniti to record surge in Mideast sales

Japanese carmaker Infiniti’s launch of the virtual “showroom of the future” last year helped the brand to record an increase in sales in the Middle East, despite the financial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Available in 11 markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Lebanon, the digital showroom experience allowed dealers to continue to interact with potential buyers using an interactive interface, despite the travel restrictions during the pandemic. Users were able to view the cars’ exteriors and interiors in 3D, choose different paint colours, listen to the sound of the engine and place the car in a true-to-life background to see how it would look in front of their house or office. The company said on Jan 17 its Infiniti QX50 model recorded a 32 percent boost in sales year-on-year in the second half of 2020. The QX80 recorded a 10 percent year-on-year rise in sales in the third quarter of last year. Click here to read... [9]

220 million Chinese workers may need to transition between occupations: report

China has world's largest workforce, which is experiencing challenge of intensifying transformation. Up to 220 million Chinese workers, or 30 percent of the workforce, may need to transition between different occupations. That's about one-third of all global transitions implied by the work model; a report released by consulting firm McKinsey said on Jan 13. In the next 10 years, the demand for cutting-edge innovators may increase by 46 percent, skilled professionals by 28 percent, front-line service personnel by 23 percent, manufacturing workers by 27 percent, and construction and agricultural workers by 28 percent, the company said. The report said about 516 billion hours of work, or 87 days per average worker, may be displaced by automation by 2030 in a mid-point adoption scenario. Demand for physical and manual skills could fall by 18 percent while demand for technological skills could rise 51 percent. The transitions are likely to be more challenging for China's rural-urban migrants who could reach 331 million in 2030. Click here to read... [10]

Biden Covid-19 Relief Plan Aims to Ease Poverty, Advance Democratic Priorities

President-elect Joe Biden’s economic-relief plan places low-income families at its center, delivering cash, housing assistance, food and child-care support to the most vulnerable Americans. It is also a way for Democrats to get some long-sought priorities into law.Mr. Biden released his $1.9 trillion plan on Jan 14, urging Congress to help states, provide money to households and accelerate vaccinations in the early days of his administration. Democrats applauded the package, but its legislative path is uncertain as Mr. Biden tries to find enough Republican support in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles. Democrats, who will have slim House and Senate majorities, can muscle much of the plan through Congress if bipartisan talks stall or collapse. They gained that power by winning control of the Senate, giving them the opportunity to merge their response to the pandemic with longstanding policies on redistribution and inequality. The ideas they are advancing include an increase in the child tax credit for low-income households and expanded paid leave for workers. Click here to read... [11]

The Five Biggest Issues for Technology Companies in 2021

After a year of startling growth, the tech industry faces a more vexing 2021. The pandemic helped bring the world’s tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to new heights in 2020. The shift to online shopping and remote working accelerated at a pace that would have been inconceivable without the coronavirus. But there are signs the good times may end soon. Late last year, governments in the U.S., China and Europe separately began investigating whether Big Tech is too big. The scrutiny in Washington is expected to continue under a Biden administration, which also appears inclined to continue the Trump administration’s export restrictions against Chinese companies that are reshuffling global supply chains. While Big Tech faces perhaps its biggest challenge in years, some sectors can look forward to 2021. The world of electric vehicles may finally arrive. President-elect Joe Biden promises to make cybersecurity a priority. And Washington will start doling out financial incentives to help U.S. companies stay ahead of Chinese rivals. Click here to read... [12]

Strategic

Turning back on S-400 program ‘very problematic’, Turkish defense minister says, urging US to consider dialogue

The Turkish defense minister has said that negotiations for a second consignment of the Russian S-400 defense system are ongoing despite US opposition to the program and Washington’s threat of further repercussions. Speaking on Jan 14, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar urged Washington to distance themselves from the threat of sanctions as he said Ankara would not be turning its back on the Russian-built S-400 air-defence systems. “It is a very problematic situation to turn back from the point we have come to. We invite (the United States) to distance themselves from threatening language such as sanctions,” Akar told journalists in Ankara. “We want the solution of problems through dialogue. If the US side wants a solution, a solution could be found with work on the technical level.” Akar added that Ankara had met with the NATO allies concerning the purchase of an air-defense system, but could not get suitable answers on certain issues, including “cost, technology transfer, payment terms, delivery and production.” Russia responded more positively than their European and US counterparts, he insisted. Click here to read... [13]

Only weeks left to save Iran nuclear deal, says IAEA chief

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that time is running out to revive the Iran nuclear deal as Tehran ups its uranium enrichment program and threatens to reduce access for inspectors. Speaking to Reuters on Jan 11, Rafael Grossi contended that the world had entered "a new reality" with Iran hollowing out the remains of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a deal made to restrict Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Grossi said that Iran was progressing "quite rapidly" towards 20 percent enrichment and noted Tehran's threat to reduce access for international nuclear facility inspectors. "It is clear that we don't have many months ahead of us. We have rather weeks," he asserted. Grossi said that the IAEA was not originally sure whether Tehran's announcement about upping its uranium enrichment program was just rhetoric or a concrete plan of action.On Jan 04, Tehran said it had started enriching uranium to 20 percent, drifting further away from the parameters of the nuclear deal. The new figure is higher than the 3.67 percent level agreed in the 2015 pact, but still far below the 90 percent level that is considered weapons-grade. Click here to read... [14]

What’s behind the significant build-up of US firepower in the Gulf

The last few weeks have seen a sharp build-up of American combat power in the Gulf. Already home to the formidable 5th Fleet – based in Bahrain – the US Navy recently sent a powerful Ohio-class submarine, the USS Georgia, escorted by two guided-missile cruisers – the USS Port Royal and USS Philippine Sea – through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf. These three naval vessels could destroy every single target of note right across Iran, prevent Iran from using its ballistic missile force and devastate Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) coastal installations. Not only that, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, due to be rotated out back to its homeport at San Diego, California was ordered to remain close by in the Arabian Sea. This, coupled with high profile B-52 bomber flights from the US to bases in the Gulf, has served to send a clear message to Iran’s leadership that any military action by Iran or its regional proxy forces would be met with an overwhelming response by the US and its regional allies. Click here to read... [15]

Taiwan’s representative visits US embassy in the Netherlands, as China condemns lifting restrictions on official meetings

The US ambassador in the Netherlands has hosted Taiwan’s representative at the US embassy, in the first such meeting since Washington removed restrictions on Taiwanese officials’ visits to American government offices. Pete Hoekstra, the US ambassador to the Netherlands, described the meeting with Taiwan’s representative to the country, Chen Hsing-hsing, which took place on Jan 11, as symbolic. “Made some history today: Welcomed Taiwan Representative Chen to our Embassy,” the US envoy tweeted. “Glad that our [State Department] colleagues around the world will now be able to host our friends from this vibrant democracy on our Embassy grounds.” Chen tweeted she was “extremely pleased and honoured to visit” the embassy. She explained that such a meeting, “the very first time in my diplomatic career,” was possible thanks to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision on January 9. Pompeo had lifted all self-imposed restrictions on US executive branch agencies’ interactions with their counterparts from Taiwan, and Hoekstra believes this move was “an important shift for a vibrant democracy and steadfast partner.” Click here to read... [16]

Pompeo says US will designate Houthis as terrorist group in bid to undermine ‘Iranian interference’ in Yemen

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he intends to designate the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, while acknowledging that the move will create hurdles for delivering aid to war-torn Yemen. In a statement released on Jan 17, Pompeo said the State Department will also label three Houthi leaders, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al Hakim, as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The designations will take effect on January 19. The move will give the US additional tools to confront the “terrorist activity” carried out by the Iran-backed group, Pompeo explained. He accused the Houthis of orchestrating cross-border attacks that have threatened civilian populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping in the region. According to the secretary of state, the designations will also help create a peaceful, united Yemen that is “free from Iranian interference and at peace with its neighbours.” The Houthis responded to the announcement by denouncing the administration of President Donald Trump and its behaviour as “terrorist.” A leader of the group, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said that they “reserve the right to respond to any designation” issued by Washington. Click here to read... [17]

Terror cells in Indonesia continue to recruit and plot attacks amid COVID-19: Senior counterterrorism official

As Indonesia grapples with the impact of COVID-19, terrorism cells in the country continue to spread radical messages, actively seeking new recruits and plotting their next attacks, a senior counterterrorism official said. In an exclusive interview with CNA, the National Counter Terrorism Agency's (BNPT) director for enforcement, Eddy Hartono said although there has been no major terrorist attack during the pandemic, terrorism cells in Indonesia "are not sitting back and relaxing.” “They are actively recruiting, spreading their ideology, raising funds and conducting training,” the Brigadier General said, adding that the only thing that has slowed during the pandemic is the sending of militants to join the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The police’s counterterrorism unit Densus 88 arrested a total of 232 people last year for alleged involvement in terrorism activities. Among those who were arrested last year were two of Indonesia’s most wanted terrorists Zulkarnaen and Upik Lawanga who have evaded capture for 19 and 14 years respectively. Click here to read... [18]

South Korea's Moon urges Biden administration to follow up on Trump-Kim summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Jan 18 that US President-elect Joe Biden should hold talks with North Korea to build on progress that President Donald Trump had made with leader Kim Jong Un.Biden takes office on Jan 20 amid a prolonged stalemate in negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for US sanctions relief. Moon, who had offered to be a mediator between Pyongyang and Washington, said he will seek an early chance to promote North Korea as Biden's foreign policy priority so that he will follow through on an agreement reached by Trump and Kim at their first summit in Singapore. The two leaders vowed to establish new relations and work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in that joint statement, but their second summit and ensuing working-level talks fell apart. "The inauguration of the Biden administration would provide a turning point to newly start US-North Korea dialogue, South-North dialogue, to inherit the achievements that were made under the Trump administration," Moon told a New Year news conference. Click here to read... [19]

Pyongyang unveils sub-launched missile at parade

Nuclear-armed North Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade in Pyongyang, state media reported on Jan 15, in a show of strength days before Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president. The parade came after the five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, at which leader Kim Jong Un decried the US as his country’s “foremost principal enemy”. “The world’s most powerful weapon, submarine-launch ballistic missile, entered the square one after another, powerfully demonstrating the might of the revolutionary armed forces,” the official KCNA news agency said.Kim oversaw the display, which included rockets with a “powerful striking capability for thoroughly annihilating enemies in a pre-emptive way outside the territory”, KCNA said – implying a range extending beyond the Korean peninsula. Images showed the parade ending with what appeared to be a new solid-fuel short-range ballistic missile– more mobile and more quickly deployed than liquid-fuelled versions. Analysts say the North is using the congress to send Washington’s incoming administration a message of strength in an attempt to extract concessions. Click here to read... [20]

Japan scrambles to deny reports that Olympic cancellation possible

The Japanese government said Jan 17 it remains committed to holding the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer, reacting to an international media storm sparked by comments from one of its senior ministers. "We have decided the venues and schedule (for the games), and the people involved are working on preparations including infection control," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, the top government spokesman, said on a television program. Kato's assurances came after Reuters quoted Japan's administrative and regulatory reform minister, Taro Kono, as saying the fate of the games "could go either way." "Anything is possible, but as the host of the games we need to do whatever we can, so that when it's a go, we can have a good Olympic Games," Kono said, according to the news agency. The remarks were carried by several media outlets across the world as it is the first time a high-ranking member of the government has indicated any doubt over the postponed games going ahead. Click here to read... [21]

Britain invites G7 leaders to Cornish resort for June summit

Britain announced plans to hold the first in-person meeting of the G7 for nearly two years in June, inviting the leaders of major developed economies to a picturesque seaside village to discuss rebuilding from the pandemic and climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to use Britain's presidency of the G7 to forge a consensus that the global economy must recover from the COVID-19 crisis in a pro-free trade and sustainable way."Coronavirus is doubtless the most destructive force we have seen for generations and the greatest test of the modern world order we have experienced," he said in a statement. "It is only right that we approach the challenge of building back better by uniting with a spirit of openness to create a better future." The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said the British government hoped the event would be the occasion for U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's first trip to Europe after he becomes president on Jan. 20."I don't think he will visit anywhere else before the G7, except possibly Canada," the newspaper quoted an unnamed British government source as saying.Johnson has also invited Australia, India and South Korea to attend. Click here to read... [22]

China eyes the big picture on Southeast Asia tour

Eager to project Chinese global leadership amid a fraught presidential transition in Washington, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up a five-day tour across four key nations in Southeast Asia. It was a calibrated move to charm China’s neighbours ahead of the Biden presidency, which has promised to restore American commitments to international partners and allies. The much-ballyhooed trip came on the heels of a six-day tour of Africa the previous week. Ostensibly, the visit focused on cooperation in fighting the Wuhan-originated virus, including the expedient provision of affordable Chinese vaccines en masse, but there were clear geopolitical undertones. It started in Myanmar, which is set to assume the role of country coordinator for Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) relations and co-chair of negotiations over a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. It ended in the current occupant of those two crucial positions, the Philippines, which happens to be a US treaty ally and a major claimant state.In between, the Chinese chief diplomat visited Indonesia, ASEAN’s presumptive leader and largest economy, as well as Brunei, this year’s chairman of ASEAN. Click here to read... [23]

US downsizes its troops in Afghanistan to 2,500

The US military has met its goal of reducing the number of soldiers in Afghanistan to about 2,500 by Jan 15, a withdrawal that appears to violate a last-minute congressional prohibition. President Donald Trump, who ordered the reduction in November last year, said on Jan 14 that troop levels in Afghanistan had reached a 19-year low, although he did not mention the number. Last February, his administration struck a deal with the Taliban to reduce US troops in phases and to go to zero by May 2021, although it is unclear how the new administration will proceed.Acting US Defense Secretary confirmed the withdrawal in a statement on Jan 15. President-elect Joe Biden, who has advocated keeping a small counterterrorism force in Afghanistan as a way to ensure that armed groups like al-Qaeda are unable to launch attacks on the United States, faces a number of questions on Afghanistan. At Trump’s order, commanders also cut US troop levels in Iraq to 2,500 from about 3,000 in the same period. The Afghanistan decision has been seen by some as unnecessarily complicating the decision-making of the incoming administration. Click here to read... [24]

Sri Lanka revives port deal with India, Japan amid China concerns

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced the revival of an Indian and Japanese investment project to develop a deep-sea terminal in Colombo harbour, next to a controversial $500m Chinese-run container jetty. A tripartite deal by Sri Lanka’s previous government had been on hold amid trade union resistance but Rajapaksa on Jan 13 said the East Container Terminal (ECT) would proceed. The terminal will be developed with 51 percent ownership by Sri Lanka’s government and the remaining 49 percent as an investment by India’s Adani Group and other stakeholders including Japan, officials said. The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) entered into a memorandum of cooperation in May 2019 with Sri Lanka, India and Japan to develop the ECT before Rajapaksa came to power in November 2019. The deep-sea jetty is located next to the Colombo International Container Terminal, which is 85 percent, owned by China and was commissioned in 2013. The SLPA owns the remaining 15 percent.India lodged protests when Chinese submarines made unannounced visits to the Chinese-managed terminal in 2014. Since then, Sri Lanka has refused permission for further submarine calls.Nearly 70 percent of transhipment containers handled by Colombo was Indian export-import cargo. Click here to read... [25]

French Muslim council nears accord on ‘principles’ sought by Macron

Muslim leaders in France have proposed a new “charter of principles” requested by President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to eradicate sectarianism and extremism, with an agreement from the country’s Muslim federations possible as soon as Jan 17. Macron urged the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) to devise the charter in November, after the killing of a schoolteacher who showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed to students. The push is part of Macron’s hopes to “liberate” Islam from radicalized influences that encroach on France’s strict secularism and which are blamed for a wave of extremist killings in recent years. His government has embarked on a crackdown against extremist mosques and associationsand plans to remove the roughly 300 imams in France sent to teach from Turkey, Morocco and Algeria. But several member federations of the CFCM have criticized the idea of a charter declaring Islam compatible with French law and values — the first step toward creating a national certification council for imams (CNI). Click here to read... [26]

Germany: Poll shows low support for new CDU head as Merkel successor

Only a minority of Germans back Armin Laschet as the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel in elections later this year, according to new poll published on Jan 17. Laschet, North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) state's premier, won a three-way race to chair the Christian Democrats (CDU) on Jan 16, the party of exiting Chancellor Merkel.Despite taking the reins of the CDU, only 12.1% of Germans think he should become the conservative candidate, according to a survey by pollster Civey. The poll, which was carried out for the Munich-based Focus magazine, showed that 43% of Germans would prefer Markus Söder, Bavaria's premier who also chairs the southern state's Christian Social Union (CSU) party. Ultimately who runs as top conservative against the Social Democrats' (SPD) candidate, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, and an as yet unnamed Greens candidate, goes back to a 1949 electorate-separation deal between CDU and CSU not to poach each other’s conservative votes and to maintain a combined CDU/CSU, or "Union," conservative bloc in parliament.Only once was it seriously challenged — in 1980 by Bavarian arch-conservative Franz Josef Strauss, whose chancellery-bid defeat, was followed by the rise of the CDU's Helmut Kohl. Click here to read... [27]

Medical

COVID vaccines in Africa to be allocated by population

Millions of coronavirus vaccine doses secured by the African Union (AU) will be allocated according to countries’ populations, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said. Ramaphosa, who is the current AU chairman, said on Jan 13 that vaccines from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Astra Zeneca would be available this year, but he did not specify how much each African country would get.No African countries have begun large-scale vaccination campaigns and the AU’s 270 million shots, if administered so there are two per person, would still only cover around 10 percent of the continent’s 1.3 billion people. “The Africa CDC has already worked out the allocations that each country will be able to get, and the allocation is going to be worked on the size of your population,” Ramaphosa said, referring to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Speaking to South African news website Eyewitness News and Radio 702, Ramaphosa also suggested that the AU would source vaccines from China. “China will also be part of that, although they will join later,” he said. Click here to read... [28]

China builds hospital in 5 days after surge in virus cases

China on Jan 17 finished building a 1,500-room hospital for COVID-19 patients in five days to fight a surge in infections in a city south of Beijing, state media reported. The hospital is one of six with a total of 6,500 rooms being built in Nangong in Hebei province, the Xinhua News Agency said. All are due to be completed within the next week.China, which largely contained the spread of the coronavirus, has suffered hundreds of infections this month in Nangong and the Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, southwest of the Chinese capital.A similar program of rapid hospital construction was launched by the ruling Communist Party at the start of the outbreak last year to set up isolation hospitals in Wuhan, the central city where the virus was first detected in late 2019. Nationwide, the National Health Commission reported 130 new confirmed cases — 90 of those in Hebei — in the 24 hours through midnight on Jan 15. There were 645 cases, two of them acquired abroad, being treated in Nangong and Shijiazhuang, according to Xinhua. In Shijiazhuang, authorities have finished construction of one-third of the rooms in a planned 3,000-room coronavirus facility, state TV said on Jan 17. Click here to read... [29]