Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 19 April - 25 April 2021

Economic

MSF urges rich countries to back COVID vaccine patent waiver

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medicine Sans Frontiers, or MSF) has urged rich countries to stop blocking a patent waiver plan that could boost the global production of coronavirus vaccines. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will meet virtually for informal talks on April 22 to discuss a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for producing COVID-19 vaccines and other coronavirus-related medical tools for the duration of the pandemic. Sponsors of the waiver argue that the temporary suspension would allow more factories worldwide to produce jabs without breaking international rules under the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). But the proposal, originally submitted in October by India and South Africa, has met staunch opposition from several high-income members, many of which are home to major drug-makers – such as the United States and members of the European Union.In a statement on April 21, Dr Maria Guevara, MSF’s international medical secretary, called on the opponents to drop their opposition to the plan.
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Biden climate summit: New pledges to cut emissions still fall short

The United States and several other nations have pledged to cut carbon emissions faster, putting pressure on other big polluters to clean up their acts. US President Joe Biden promised to halve his country's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels. "The cost of inaction keeps mounting. The United States isn't waiting," he said on April 22 in the opening address of the two-day summit hosted virtually by the White House. He also pledged to double US contributions to global climate finance by 2024 and triple funding for adapting to its effects. Several other countries also upped their pledges.Japan announced plans to cut emissions 46% below 2013 levels by 2030. Canada said it would aim to slash emissions 40%-45% by 2030 below 2005 levels. China's President Xi Jinping reiterated his country's goal to peak CO2 output before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, adding that coal use would gradually decrease in the second half of this decade. Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro pledged to go climate neutral by 2050, bringing his country's goal forward by 10 years, and end illegal deforestation, which has spiked under his leadership, by 2030.
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‘A means, not an end’: EU proposes ‘human centric’ approach to AI regulation in draft rules

The European Commission has proposed regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) through a risk-based rules framework that calls for heavy fines, partial bans on surveillance, and safeguards for high-risk applications. Companies breaching regulations banning the use of ‘unacceptable’ AI or not adhering to a number of “strict obligations” could face fines as much as 6% of their worldwide turnover, or €30 million (whichever is higher) under the draft rules announced by Brussels on April 21.“AI is a means, not an end. It has been around for decades but has reached new capacities fuelled by computing power. This offers immense potential in areas as diverse as health, transport, energy, agriculture, and tourism or cyber security. It also presents a number of risks,” the commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton, said. In its proposal, the EU outlines what it terms a ‘human-centric’ approach that both utilizes the technology’s promise, but also keeps it from infringing on strict privacy laws and keeping it “trustworthy.”
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Australia nixes two Belt and Road deals with China

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne overruled officials in Victoria on April 21, cancelling two deals the state made in 2018 and 2019 as part of China's vast infrastructure project known as the Belt and Road Initiative. Payne said the memorandums of understanding were "inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations”. In response, the Chinese Embassy in Canberra warned of "further damage to bilateral relations" after multiple trade rows between the countries on topics ranging from wine to telecoms and as a result of the governments' rival bids to influence Pacific island nations. In 2018, Canberra staged an international first by banning the Chinese tech giant Huawei from Australia's 5G network. In December, the Parliament granted Australia's federal government veto power over foreign non-commercial deals signed by states and territories. "The Foreign Relations Act is entirely a matter for the Commonwealth government," a Victoria state spokeswoman said on April 21. Reviewing past deals with other nations, Payne on April 21 also said she would revoke a 2004 memorandum of understanding between Victoria state and Iran on education as well as a scientific cooperation agreement with Syria of 1999.
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UN warns of Myanmar's worsening food shortage as turmoil deepens

Up to 3.4 million additional people in Myanmar will face hunger in the coming three to six months on top of nearly three million already suffering food insecurity amid the country's deepening economic and political turmoil since the Feb. 1 coup the U.N. World Food Programme warned on April 21. In its latest assessment of the situation in the wake of the military takeover, the agency gave a far bleaker view than a month earlier, when it warned that an additional 1.8 million people could face hunger as a result of the coup. On April 21, WFP said that further increases in food prices, joblessness and ongoing concerns about COVID-19 are accelerating economic deterioration and fuelling a humanitarian crisis. Myanmar's economy in 2020 was already severely impacted by the pandemic, with a quarter of the country's population already poor and a further third vulnerable to poverty. To tackle the looming humanitarian crisis, the U.N. agency has called for an additional $106 million to build an emergency stockpile of food. The agency warned that in coming months, the number of people it currently assists will nearly triple -- from 1.3 million to 3.3 million.
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TSMC tackles Taiwan drought with plant to reuse water for chips

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract chipmaker, is building a plant capable of treating industrial water so it can be reused to make semiconductors -- part of efforts to tackle Taiwan's crippling water shortage. Taiwan is facing its worst drought in more than 50 years. Chipmaking, the island's most important industry, is a voracious user of water -- which has to be of very high quality given the technical demands of advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Tainan is TSMC's most advanced chip production base, making cutting-edge 5 nanometre chips used in the latest Apple iPhones and MacBook processors."It will gradually ramp up the treatment capacity of industrial wastewater and by 2024 will be able to generate 67,000 tons of water daily that can go back into to the chipmaking process," said Ho, who is also the chairperson of TSMC's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. TSMC currently uses 156,000 tons of water a day, according to the company's latest available sustainability report. The company recycled 133.6 million tons of water in 2019, according to the same report, but only some of it was pure enough to be reused in the chip manufacturing process.
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Autonomous driving: Tesla deaths shine light on industry hurdles

News of more fatalities caused by self-driving cars is a setback for an industry promising to make driving safer. The fiery death of two passengers riding in a driverless Tesla on April 24 has once again drawn attention to a market that has become notorious for overpromising and under-delivering. A handful of years ago, everyone from newcomer Uber to old-timer Ford had promised self-driving vehicles would be on the road by the 2020s. These self-proclaimed deadlines have come and gone. Today, the players pursuing the end of the human driver have more humble ambitions. The market for this technology can seem as complex as the vehicles themselves, with many interconnected parts in their own stages of development. The technologies for long-haul trucks, personal light vehicles, and taxis and other forms of public transportation all do different jobs in different settings and require a different approach. Much of the industry's progress also depends on the slow accumulation of data compiled by the few vehicles that have hit the road. "The functionality, software and algorithms required all rely on data, and the data base will gradually grow over time," Volvo Cars' head of strategy, Alexander Petrofski, told Bloomberg.
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Switzerland, EU Fail to Reach Deal on Long-Running Treaty Talks

Switzerland and the European Union failed to resolve their differences over a stalled bilateral agreement originally finalized more than two years ago. “We have had to acknowledge that significant differences remain between our respective positions,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin said after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels April 23. He said negotiators will remain in contact as Switzerland tries to secure a deal with its biggest trading partner. The planned “framework agreement” is meant to replace more than 100 bilateral accords now governing relations between the two. It was finalized in 2018, but has failed to get support in Switzerland, in part because of fears it’ll erode high local wages. Other sticking points are the EU’s Citizens’ Rights Directive and state aid.
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What is behind Switzerland’s first ‘China strategy’ report?

Switzerland recently released its first "China strategy," describing China as a priority country for its foreign policy. While hyping so-called "differences in values" and "human rights" concerns among bilateral relations, it also expressed a strong intention to shore up economic and trade ties with China which, however, would only be expected under mutual respect over each other's core interests. Within the focus areas of Switzerland's report, it first claimed that human right topic is a "core element of the two countries' relations." Meanwhile, it aims to "modernize" the bilateral free trade agreement with China and has listed out areas that it intends to pursue cooperation, from trade, infrastructure projects to digitalization. As the first European country establishing a free trade agreement (FTA) relation with China, Switzerland has been benefited from the China-Swiss ties. Besides the crucial FTA, the two nations have signed dozens of bilateral agreements, from areas of technology, culture, education to tourism and finance.
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Strategic

Biden and Putin eye possible June 15 summit: Kremlin aide

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden may meet in June, RIA news agency reported on April 25, citing a Kremlin aide, amid simmering tensions between Moscow and the West. The foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said a firm decision on the meeting has not been taken yet. "We will take a decision depending on many factors," Ushakov, the Russian ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2008, was quoted as saying. Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, cited by RIA, said on April 25 that Biden's proposal for the summit has been received "positively" and is now under consideration. Russia's Kommersant daily, citing unnamed sources, said Biden had offered Putin to meet on June 15-16 in a European country. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Putin and then U.S. President Donald Trump held a summit in Helsinki in July 2018. The Kremlin said at the time that a summit would be contingent on U.S. behaviour; reportedly telling Washington to scrap a plan to impose new sanctions on Russia. Putin took part in a virtual climate summit hosted by Biden last week.
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China’s Xi Lays Out Vision for a World Without a Single Dominant Power

Chinese leader Xi Jinping used a high-profile speech to call for equitable management of world affairs, underscoring Beijing’s attempts to reshape its relationship with the U.S. into one on a more equal footing. “We must not let the rules set by one or a few countries be imposed on others, or allow unilateralism pursued by certain countries to set the pace for the whole world,” Mr. Xi said in a video speech at the Bo’ao Forum for Asia, an annual gathering on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.In his speech April 20, Mr. Xi laid out his view of a world without a single dominant power, centered on the United Nations and other multilateral institutions—a post-Trump reaffirmation of his view of America and China as being on the same plane. “We need to safeguard the U.N.-centered international system, preserve the international order underpinned by international law, and uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core,” he said. Mr. Xi’s multilateral vision includes two initiatives that he has spearheaded—the Belt and Road Initiative and a Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations—that place China at the center of its own multilateral grouping, ones that don’t include the U.S.Mr. Xi said April 20 in his speech—which used the word “civilization” six times, in a reflection of its sweeping scope—that China would host the Asian conference once the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control.
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Russia ends troop buildup near Ukraine

Russia's defense minister on April 22 ordered troops back to their permanent bases following massive drills amid tensions with Ukraine but said that they should leave their weapons behind in western Russia for another exercise later this year.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the Russian pullback. After watching the drills, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the manoeuvers in Crimea and wide swathes of western Russia over and ordered the military to pull the troops that took part in them back to their permanent bases. "I consider the goals of the snap check of readiness fulfilled," Shoigu said. Shoigu said the troops should return to their bases by May 1, but he ordered to keep the heavy weapons deployed to western Russia as part of the drills for another massive military exercise later this year. The Russian troop buildup near Ukraine came amid increasing violations of a cease-fire in Ukraine's east has raised concerns in the West. The U.S. and NATO have said that the Russian buildup near Ukraine was the largest since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and threw its support behind separatists in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland called Donbas.
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U.S. Beefing Up Defenses to Aid Afghan Withdrawal

The Pentagon is sending B-52 bombers to the Mideast alongside an aircraft carrier as a signal to Taliban militants that the U.S. intends to ensure a peaceful withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, officials said. The White House on April 23 approved the temporary deployment of the carrier and as many as six B-52 bombers as a way to protect American and NATO forces as they leave Afghanistan starting in less than two weeks, the officials said. President Biden announced on April 14 that he was ending the U.S. role in the 20-year-old conflict. An Army Ranger unit also is expected to be sent to support the drawdown of forces, the officials said. The withdrawal of about 3,500 American forces from Afghanistan is expected to be complete as early as mid-July, although Mr. Biden set a deadline of Sept. 11 as the ultimate date for the withdrawal. For military planners arranging the withdrawal, the reaction of Taliban forces poses an uncertainty that could complicate the U.S. exit, officials said. The possible challenge of a contested pullout prompted the temporary additional deployment, officials said. In all, there are between 25,000 and 30,000 personnel in Afghanistan who must leave the country in the next several months.
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China offers Sri Lanka a lifeline as critics question cost

The island's tightening financial straits, however, eased a bit last week after China Development Bank extended a loan of $500 million, the second tranche of a $1 billion bailout Colombo sought from Beijing last year as the coronavirus struck. The latest loan comes just weeks after China approved a $1.5 billion currency swap with Sri Lanka. Negotiations for the second tranche took a year. According to Sri Lanka's Secretary to the Treasury S. R. Attygalle, the signing of a memorandum of understanding was delayed because the pandemic prevented the two countries leaders from meeting to ink the deal. Sri Lankan Finance Ministry officials, however, attributed the delay to "intense" negotiations. Although the loan agreement looks straightforward on paper, with a maturity period of 10 years and a grace period of three years, China appears to have obtained informal assurances from Colombo that it will drop any plans to renegotiate the 99-year lease of Port of Hambantota, and that it will fast-track controversial legislation thought to give sweeping powers to China to oversee Colombo Port City, a $1.4 billion "financial hub" to be built on an artificial island off the coast of Sri Lanka's largest city.
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Japan gears up for US defense cooperation in 'all domains'

Japan "resolved to bolster its own national defense capabilities to further strengthen the Alliance and regional security," according to the April 23 joint statement. The phrasing struck a stronger note than the statement from last month's "two-plus-two" meeting of the countries' foreign and defense ministers, which referred to Japan's commitment to "enhance" its defense capabilities. By contrast, the joint statement from the 2017 summit between Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump said only that "Japan will assume larger roles and responsibilities in the alliance." The increased defence cooperation will require Japan to be equipped with the latest military technology, such as cutting-edge stealth fighters. April 23's joint statement also touched on the U.S. defense of Japan "using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear," under their bilateral security treaty, and a commitment to "bolster extended deterrence" -- the concept of deterring attack on an ally. The joint statement from Abe's meeting with Barack Obama in 2014 cited the "importance" of U.S. extended deterrence, while the 2017 Abe-Trump statement made no mention of the concept.
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LDP suffers setback with losses in 2 Diet elections

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Liberal Democratic Party was left reeling April 25 after it lost two key Diet elections in Hiroshima and Nagano Prefectures. They were the first polls to be held at the national level since Suga replaced Shinzo Abe as prime minister last September. As the LDP could not field a candidate in a third national-level election held the same day in Hokkaido, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP)was able to seize all three seats. The setback will likely force the Suga administration to rethink its strategy over when to call a Lower House election that must be held by fall. The gains allow the opposition bloc to gather momentum in the months ahead and expand its strength, analysts said. Unlike the 2019 poll, LDP’s top brass such as Suga and Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the LDP, did not go to Hiroshima Prefecture to show their backing to Nishita. Instead, Fumio Kishida, former LDP policy chief and the head of the prefectural chapter of the LDP, spearheaded the campaign to defend the Hiroshima constituency, known as an LDP stronghold.
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Indonesian submarine that went missing during military drills with 53 on board confirmed sunk – navy

An Indonesian submarine that went missing on April 21 with 53 crew on board, has sunk, the country’s navy has said, adding that there is no hope of finding any survivors. The submarine, KRI Nanggala 402, disappeared during military drills off the resort island of Bali. Despite international efforts to locate it, the only traces that have been found are an oil spill, along with some minor debris believed to have originated from the vessel. “With the authentic evidence we found believed to be from the submarine, we have now moved from the ‘sub miss’ phase to ‘sub sunk,’” Navy Chief YudoMargono said during a press conference on April 24. Earlier, Indonesian officials said that the submarine had enough oxygen reserves to survive underwater until at least early on April 24. While the navy refrained from making any statements on the fate of the crew, the debris recovered – a bottle of periscope grease and parts of a torpedo launcher – suggests the submarine had been crushed. The submarine disappeared during a dive, going to a depth of over 600 meters (around 2,000 feet). Its depth made recovery impossible, Indonesian officials said earlier this week.
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'Progress made' in Iran nuclear deal revival talks, parties say as negotiations pause so delegations can do 'homework'

International talks to rescue the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have progressed and the original signatories are now clearer about how to get the US and Iran to comply, representatives of Russia and China have said. Two weeks of indirect talks to revive the deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – have taken place between the US and Iran in Vienna, with other signatories to the accord acting as mediators. "Today the Joint Commission of #JCPOA took note with satisfaction of the progress made in negotiations to restore the nuclear deal," Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement on April 20. Ulyanov confirmed all delegations will now take a break from talks until early next week to allow them to "do homework and consult with the capitals." It was also announced on April 20 that a third expert working group has been created by the parties to address issues around the sequencing of practical steps towards a restoration of the JCPOA.
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Germany’s CDU/CSU loses majority support after Laschet named chancellor pick, as Greens become TOP party for first time – poll

Germany’s center-right CDU/CSU bloc has fallen behind the Greens in public support after the Christian Democrats picked Armin Laschet as their chancellor candidate in the upcoming elections, one opinion poll shows.The CDU/CSU has lost six percentage points since April 14 and has fallen behind the Greens, according to an April 20 opinion poll by the Forsa Institute, one of the leading market research and opinion polling firms in Germany. The popularity of the Greens party, which also chose its own chancellor candidate – Annalena Baerbock – rose from 23 to 28 percent, up from a mere 8.9 percent in the 2017 elections. For the first time in their 40-year history, the Greens now have a chance to become the strongest party in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, potentially propelling their top candidate to chancellorship. The candidates’ personalities could play a more decisive role in this outcome, according to the poll. More than half of Germans surveyed welcomed Baerbock’s nomination, while support among her fellow party members sits at nearly 80 percent, according to the Forsa Institute’s data.
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German contender wants tougher stance on China, Russia

A leading contender to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor this fall has called for “dialogue and toughness” toward China when it comes to defending democratic values and human rights. Annalena Baerbock, the environmentalist Greens' candidate for chancellorship, told the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that Europe should use its economic might to block Chinese goods made with forced labour and avoid communications technologies that endanger European security. “We are currently in a competition between systems: authoritarian powers versus liberal democracies," she said in an interview published April 25. Baerbockalso took aim at Russia, in particular its support for rebel groups in Ukraine and the recent massing of Russian troops along Ukraine's border. Against the backdrop of Moscow's aggressive behaviour, Baerbock criticised the German government's support for an underwater pipeline bringing Russian natural gas to Germany. Baerbock suggested that the goal of having NATO members spend 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence should be revisited in light of the pressing need to invest large sums to curb climate change. She also suggested Europe's defence contribution could also come in the form of a cybersecurity centre.
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Germany, France set deadline to seal deal on new combat jet

The defense ministers of France and Germany on April 20 set a deadline for the end of April to reach a deal on the future of a next-generation stealth fighter. During a visit to Paris, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said there were still some final points, involving engine development and legal issues that needed clarification. Until recently, progress had been hampered by questions about how to share the responsibility of construction as well as the allocation of intellectual property rights for the cutting-edge technologies used in the plane. Following weeks of strained negotiations that were putting the plane's development into doubt, manufacturers Airbus and Dassault Aviation reached a burden-sharing deal.The companies will produce many of the components for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) that is intended to prove the EU's ability to integrate its disparate defense forces and increase its military sovereignty. Plans call for the new plane to be fully operational by 2040, when it is to eventually replace the Eurofighter. In addition to Germany and France, Spain is also involved in the project.
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Top Iranian commander hints at future response to Israel

Israel should expect more attacks on its interests in the future, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces warned, days after a rocket launched from Syria landed near an Israeli nuclear reactor.Mohammad Bagheri said on April 25. The commander’s comments come amid months of increased tensions between Iran and Israel, which has openly opposed talks in Vienna to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that would see harsh United States sanctions lifted.The two foes have engaged in tit-for-tat moves across the region on land and sea that intensified after a sabotage at Iran’s main nuclear facilities in Natanz earlier this month which led to a blackout and damaged a number of centrifuges. Iran blamed Israel and vowed “revenge”. An oil tanker was targeted by a suspected drone attack late April 24 close to a refinery in Syria. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied reports the ship was Iranian. Iranian media widely covered a missile that was launched earlier this week from Syria and targeted an area near Dimona, where an Israeli nuclear reactor is located, triggering air raid sirens. Israel launched attacks on Syrian soil in response.
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Biden says 1915 Armenian massacre constitutes genocide

The murder of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces a century ago was genocide, US President Joe Biden acknowledged on April 24. The recognition, the first by a US leader, came on the 106th anniversary of the day the killings began in 1915.In his statement, Biden said the American people honour “all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today.” “Over the decades Armenian immigrants have enriched the United States in countless ways, but they have never forgotten the tragic history,” Biden said. “We remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,” Biden said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan thanked Biden for his “powerful step toward justice and invaluable support to the heirs of the Armenian genocide victims.” The killings took place from 1915 to 1917 during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, which suspected the Christian minority of conspiring with Russia during the First World War. Turkey, which emerged as a republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, has always rejected allegations of genocide. It claims that about 300,000 Armenians died, mainly from war and famine.
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Medical

The COVID variant from India: What we know so far

It's too early to say whether the new variant of the virus, B.1.617, is responsible for the rapid increase in infections, but it is being treated as a possible cause. Health authorities have detected variant B.1.617 in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the US, Australia and Singapore. The Indian variant consists of two mutations of the spike protein of the virus. The mutations found in the Indian variant are identified as E484Q and E484K. They are known in other mutations as well — they are not entirely new. They have been detected in the South African variant, B.1.353, and in the Brazilian variant, P1.In some cases, the Indian mutations were detected in the British variant, B.1.1.7. There are other mutations, such as one called L452R, which is detected in a Californian variant of the virus, B.1.429. The same was found in a variant in Germany. The WHO categorizes the Indian variant as a "Variant of Interest." That means the variant is being monitored, but that it is, for the time being, not of major concern. Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the COVID-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, has commented that the Indian variant has spread at such low levels over the past few months, and that makes it "likely not to be as transmissible as B.1.1.7."
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Tokyo Olympics: More tests, no quarantine in updated rules

Tokyo Olympic organizers and the IOC are to unveil new plans this week to explain how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes can compete in Japan when the games open in three months in the midst of a pandemic. The rollout of the second edition of the so-called ''Playbooks'' ― an IOC guidebook explaining how the games can be pulled off ― comes as Tokyo, Osaka and several other areas have been placed under a third state of emergency as coronavirus cases surge. Organizers are expected to announce daily testing for athletes. They are also expected to drop a 14-day quarantine requirement, allowing athletes to train when they arrive. Athletes will be required to stay within a ''bubble'' consisting of the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay, and venues and training areas. Japan's Kyodo news, citing unnamed sources, said athletes and staff will have to be tested twice within 96 hours before leaving home. They will also be tested upon arrival in Japan. The Playbook for athletes is to be updated on April 28, with Playbooks for media and others unveiled on April 23. A final edition of all Playbooks will be published in June.
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Brazilians urged to postpone pregnancies in pandemic

"If it is possible, it would be better to postpone pregnancies until a moment when the situation is a little more relaxed," Raphael Camara Parente, Brazil's secretary of primary health care, said in a public statement released earlier in April. "We cannot say this to those who are 42, 43 years old, of course, but, for a young woman who can, the best thing is to wait for a little," he said. Brazil currently has a seven-day average of 58,303 daily infections and 2,545 deaths. The pandemic has already led to a collapse of public health services in several regions. This means that they pregnant people cannot count on reliable medical care in the event of complications before, during or after childbirth, or if they contract COVID-19. A lack of access to intensive care was responsible for 22.6% of deaths of pregnant people. Maternal mortality in Brazil appears likely to skyrocket in view of the fact that 55.5% of children in Brazil are born by caesarean section, which means that most births take place in hospitals. Brazil has the world's second-highest C-section rate, after the Dominican Republic's 58.1%.
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WHO says against proof of vaccination for travel

The World Health Organization's emergency committee said April 19 it was against international travellers being required to have proof of vaccination, partly on grounds that such a measure would deepen inequities. "Do not require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry, given the limited [although growing] evidence about the performance of vaccines in reducing transmission and the persistent inequity in the global vaccine distribution," the committee said in a statement summarizing its April 15 meeting, the results of which were only published on April 19. "States Parties are strongly encouraged to acknowledge the potential for requirements of proof of vaccination to deepen inequities and promote differential freedom of movement," the committee added. The group's recommendation comes as numerous countries are mulling launching vaccine passports for travellers but also for other activities including sports. The idea, however, has met with criticism, with many saying it would lead to discrimination between young and old as well as rich and poor. Some have also raised privacy concerns.
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South Korea calls on US to share Covid-19 jabs, repaying favour from start of pandemic, as only 3% of population inoculated

South Korea’s foreign minister has urged the US to repay a favour by sharing some of its vaccine supply with his country, noting that early in the pandemic Seoul airlifted Covid testing kits and masks to the US.Speaking on April 21, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told reporters that his country was counting on the US to help them out amid a very acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines. “We have been stressing to the US that ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed,’” he stated. Chung said that, “in the spirit of the special South Korea-US alliance,” Seoul had airlifted masks and Covid-19 testing kits to Washington at the start of the pandemic. “We are hoping that the US will help us out with the challenges we are facing with the vaccines, based on the solidarity we demonstrated last year,” he added. The minister also said that the two countries were in talks about South Korea contributing to the global semiconductor supply chain, which apparently has been well received by US President Joe Biden.
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