Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 20 December - 26 December 2021

Economic

China consolidates 3 rare earth miners into 'aircraft carrier'

China on Dec 23 announced the merger of three state-owned rare earth miners into a company that will control nearly 70% of the country's output of key metals. The new entity, China Rare Earth Group, brings together the rare-earth operations of Aluminum Corp. of China, China Minmetals and Ganzhou Rare Earth Group. The last is under the government of the Jiangxi Province city of Ganzhou, an area rich in these metals. Beijing is tightening its grip on the country's supply chain for rare earths, which are essential for a wide range of high-tech products, in preparation for prolonged tensions with the U.S. The news follows the announcement of a strategic partnership between China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech and China Rare Earth Holdings. China Rare Earth Group will be among the roughly 100 "central companies" directly overseen by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which controls 31% of the new enterprise. Aluminum Corp., China Minmetals and the Ganzhou company each hold a 20% interest. Chinese media reporting on the merger plans have called the combined company an "aircraft carrier" in reference to its sheer scale. It will hold almost 70% of China's production quota for medium and heavy rare earths, and nearly 40% for rare earths as a whole including light elements, according to information released by Beijing. Click here to read... [2]

Standard-bearer: China races U.S. and Europe to set tech rules

Whether it is something as complex as a computer or as simple as a screw, standards help to ensure products are reliable, safe and work across borders. Many are set by global bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), after discussions by "technical committees" comprising experts from around the world. China's presence on these panels has increased significantly. From 2011 to 2021, its secretariat positions in ISO technical committees and subcommittees -- influential roles in the development of specific standards -- rose by 58%, while its comparable IEC positions doubled from 2012 to 2021. Over the same period, secretariat spots occupied by the U.S., Germany and Japan in both organizations remained relatively flat, according to the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC). While China remains behind the more established players, some critical observers stress it is focusing its efforts on strategic sectors. No company, for example, had more technical contributions approved for 5G than China's Huawei Technologies, according to a November 2021 report by market intelligence company IPlytics. New technologies yet to be standardized -- drones, lithium batteries, data security, artificial intelligence and so on -- are also key targets. Click here to read... [3]

Japan, Taiwan agree to boost economic security cooperation

Lawmakers of the ruling parties of Japan and Taiwan agreed Dec 24 to bolster cooperation in the field of economic security with an emphasis on supply chain resiliency for semiconductors and other crucial goods. During online talks attended by members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwanese side showed strong interest in a planned bill to promote economic security which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government aims to submit to parliament next year. "We must make it effective legislation," said Akimasa Ishikawa, head of the LDP's Economy, Trade and Industry Division. The meeting was held as the LDP has stepped up exchanges with the Taiwanese ruling party, with the self-ruled island facing military pressure from an increasingly assertive China. In the meeting, the LDP welcomed Taipei's bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement between 11 Pacific Rim countries, which China has also applied to join, Masahisa Sato, chief of the LDP Foreign Affairs Division, told reporters. Japan, a member of the TPP, said earlier it welcomes Taiwan's application to take part in the trade deal and it sees no technical problem with it, while Beijing has expressed strong opposition to Taipei's move and has lodged a protest to it. Click here to read... [4]

Japan's cabinet approves largest-ever budget for next fiscal year

Japan's cabinet approved Dec 24 a 107.60 trillion yen ($940 billion) draft budget for fiscal 2022, the largest ever, to finance measures against the coronavirus pandemic, swelling social security costs and record defense spending. Compared to fiscal 2021's initial 106.61 trillion yen, the budget for the new fiscal year starting in April will be a record high for the 10th year in a row. The largest policy spending component is social security, growing by around 440 billion yen to a record 36.27 trillion yen and accounting for more than a third of the overall budget, as the aging population continues to push up medical costs. The budget includes 24.34 trillion yen in debt-servicing costs, up from 23.76 trillion yen a year ago. The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expects a record-high tax revenue of 65.24 trillion yen, larger than 57.45 trillion yen originally projected for the current fiscal year when compiling the year's initial budget, as the government expects the domestic economy to continue recovering from a pandemic-triggered slump. Defense outlays will rise to the largest-ever amount of 5.40 trillion yen, a record high for the eighth successive year. The national security costs include 291.10 billion yen of research and development expenditures such as a next-generation fighter jet development. Click here to read... [5]

SpaceX Starlink satellites twice came too close, China tells UN chief

China has complained of “close encounters” with Elon Musk’s space programme, with SpaceX Starlink satellites twice approaching the Chinese Space Station (CSS) in orbit. The two events, on July 1 and October 21, forced the Chinese spacecraft to undertake avoidance manoeuvres to avoid collision. Both times there were crew members on board, “which could constitute a danger to the life or health of astronauts”, the Chinese delegation said in a diplomatic note presented to the United Nations secretary general earlier this month. China said in the note that it wanted the UN to remind all state parties to the Outer Space Treaty of the pledge to “bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space … whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities”. The CSS “Tiangong” has stayed in a near-circular orbit at an altitude of around 390km on an orbital inclination of about 41.5 degrees since it was launched on April 29. From May 16 to June 24, the Starlink-1095 satellite maintained a steady descent from its original 555km-altitude orbit to around 382km, and then stayed there, posing the risk of potential collision. Click here to read... [6]

Space project seeks to explore origins of universe, search for exoplanets

The world's most powerful space telescope on Dec 25 blasted off into orbit, headed to an outpost 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth, after several delays caused by technical hitches. The James Webb Space Telescope, some three decades and billions of dollars in the making, left Earth enclosed in its Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana. "What an amazing day. It's truly Christmas," said Thomas Zurbuchen, head of scientific missions for NASA, which together with the European and Canadian space agencies, ESA and ACS, built the telescope. ESA chief Josef Aschbacher said he was "very happy to say that we've delivered the spacecraft into orbit very precisely... that Ariane 5 performed extremely well." This was key since placing the spacecraft in orbit helps economize on the fuel the telescope will need to reach its final destination and perform well after that. It is expected to take a month to reach its remote destination. It is set to beam back new clues that will help scientists understand more about the origins of the universe and Earth-like planets beyond our solar system.Click here to read... [7]

Biden pushes ‘aggressive’ green mileage standard

The rule, announced Dec 20, will see the standard raised to 40 mpg in 2023 and up every year from there. It is a 25% increase over the Trump administration standard of 36 mpg announced last year, and 5% above the 38 mpg the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed in August. “We are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet – and save families money at the same time,” EPA chief Michael Regan said in a statement. The rule was “a giant step forward” in delivering on President Joe Biden’s agenda to combat climate change, he added, “while paving the way toward an all-electric, zero-emissions transportation future.” According to the EPA, the rule will help slow climate change, improve public health, and lower the cost of driving through improved fuel efficiency. The agency estimates it will lower the consumption of gasoline by about 360 billion tons, prevent the release of 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide through 2050, and save drivers about $1,080 over the lifetime of their new vehicle. The new rules will start applying to 2023 vehicle models and ratchet up the emissions standard every year through 2026, much faster than previous rules. Click here to read... [8]

US population growth at lowest rate since nation's founding

U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation's founding during the first year of the pandemic as the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to figures released Dec 21. The United States grew by only 0.1 percent, with an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population from July 2020 to July 2021, bringing the nation's count to 331.8 million people, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. has been experiencing slow population growth for years but the pandemic exacerbated that trend. This past year was the first time since 1937 that the nation's population grew by less than 1 million people. ''I was expecting low growth but nothing this low,'' said William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's metropolitan policy program, Brookings Metro. Once there's a handle on the pandemic, the U.S. may eventually see a decrease in deaths, but population growth likely won't bounce back to what it has been in years past because of fewer births. That will increase the need for immigration by younger workers whose taxes can support programs such as Social Security, Frey said. Click here to read... [9]

Harvard professor found guilty of hiding ties to China

A Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program was found guilty on all counts Dec 21. Charles Lieber, 62, the former chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of making false statements, and two counts of failing to file reports for a foreign bank account in China. The jury deliberated for about two hours and 45 minutes before announcing the verdict following five days of testimony in Boston federal court. Lieber’s defense attorney Marc Mukasey had argued that prosecutors lacked proof of the charges. Prosecutors argued that Lieber, who was arrested in January, knowingly hid his involvement in China’s Thousand Talents Plan — a program designed to recruit people with knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property to China — to protect his career and reputation. Lieber denied his involvement during inquiries from U.S. authorities, including the National Institutes of Health, which had provided him with millions of dollars in research funding, prosecutors said. The case is among the highest profile to come from the U.S. Department of Justice’s so-called “China Initiative.” Click here to read... [10]

Strategic

Japan, U.S. draft operation plan for Taiwan contingency: sources

Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military have drawn up a draft joint operation plan that would enable the setup of an attack base along the Nansei island chain in the country's southwest in the event of a Taiwan contingency, according to Japanese government sources. Japan and the United States will likely agree to begin work to formalize an operation plan when their foreign and defense chiefs meet in early January under the "two-plus-two" framework, the sources told Kyodo News by Dec 23. The development will likely draw a backlash from China, which regards the self-ruled island of Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Under the draft plan, U.S. Marines will set up a temporary attack base at the initial stage of a contingency on the Nansei Islands, a chain stretching southwest from the Japanese prefectures of Kagoshima and Okinawa toward Taiwan. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military installations in Japan. The U.S. military will get support from the SDF to send troops to the islands if a Taiwan contingency appears imminent, the sources said. Such a deployment, however, would make the islands the target of attack by China's military, putting the lives of residents there at risk. Legal changes would be needed in Japan to realize the plan, the sources said. Click here to read... [11]

Moscow considering NATO proposal to hold talks on Jan 12: TASS

Russia has received a NATO proposal to commence talks on Moscow's security concerns on Jan. 12 and is considering it, TASS news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying on Dec 26. Russia, which has unnerved the West with a troop buildup near Ukraine, last week unveiled a wish list of security proposals it wants to negotiate, including a promise NATO would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine. "We have already received this (NATO) offer, and we are considering it," TASS quoted the foreign ministry as saying. The United States and Ukraine say Russia may be preparing an invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbour. Russia denies that and says it is Ukraine's growing relationship with NATO that has caused the standoff to escalate. It has compared it to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the world came to the brink of nuclear war. President Vladimir Putin said on Dec 23 Russia wanted to avoid conflict but needed an "immediate" response from the United States and its allies to its demands for security guarantees. Moscow has said it expects talks with US officials on the subject to start in January in Geneva. Click here to read... [12]

China keeps an eye on the skies as US Space Force marks 2nd anniversary

The US Space Force celebrated its second anniversary this week while China closely watches its development. The eighth and youngest branch of the US armed services was established on December 20, 2019 to “help the United States deter aggression and control the ultimate high ground,” as for US president Donald Trump put it when he signed the law establishing the force. The USSF now has about 6,500 uniformed personnel and operates missile detection networks and the Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as monitoring more than 4,500 active satellites in space for their safety. It is also in charge of technology with offensive uses, such as a satellite jamming system. “The USSF has presented an impressive big picture – grand projects with great expectations since establishment – but so far they are still working on constructing its organisational structure and command chain, and the implementation of their master plans will take at least a few more years,” said Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology institute in Beijing. China National Defence News, an official military publication, has warned that the space force can already claim some achievements that Chinese military must note, including a missile surveillance system. Click here to read... [13]

Ultra-leftist voices are making themselves heard in China, but at what cost?

First, China’s ultra-left opinion leaders battled outspoken media, liberal intellectuals and NGOs, then foreign governments, corporations and moderate liberals. But lately they have found new ideological opponents to take on. Leftist bloggers are targeting private tech firms, entrepreneurs and capital markets, as well as misbehaving celebrities, in combative essays pushing a socialist agenda in the name of patriotism. Ultra-leftist sentiment riding on the rising tide of nationalism is gaining popularity on the Chinese internet. Deng Yuwen, a former editor of Study Times, a paper run by the party’s top academy, said widening wealth gaps and corruption arising from China’s reform and opening up gave oxygen to the ultra-leftists who dreamed of a return to the Mao era. However, analysts warn that leftist tendencies that build on irrational and misguided policy interpretation could threaten China’s progress of reform and opening up if left unchecked. Zhan Jiang, a retired professor of journalism and communications from Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the ideological tensions created could lead to uncoordinated development in politics and the economy. In one of the latest attacks, Sima Nan accused Lenovo, China’s largest PC maker, of allegedly selling state assets for less than they are worth and paying top executives unreasonably high salaries, among other things. Click here to read... [14]

South China Sea code of conduct may miss 2022 deadline, PLA adviser warns

A China-Asean code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea is likely to miss its 2022 deadline, a Chinese military adviser has warned. Yao Yunzhu, a retired People’s Liberation Army major general, put the expected delay down to unresolved disputes on the code’s scope and range, as well as intense US-China geopolitical rivalry and the Covid-19 pandemic. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) remained divided on a number of contentious issues, Yao pointed out in the latest World Affairs journal, a monthly publication affiliated with the Chinese foreign ministry. This included whether the agreement should be legally binding, its geographic and maritime activities scope, as well as the role of extra-regional powers, Yao wrote. “As the negotiations deepen, bargaining will become more intense and interference from the US and other extraterritorial powers will intensify, making it more difficult to reach a consensus,” she said. “There is still great uncertainty on whether China and the Asean would be able to complete the negotiations by the end of 2022 as scheduled.” Click here to read... [15]

Hong Kong University Pulls Down Monument to Tiananmen Massacre Victims

The governing body of the city’s oldest university removed a statue commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, felling one of the most prominent monuments to the incident on Chinese soil. The Council of the University of Hong Kong said in a statement Dec 23 that it made the decision based on legal and risk assessments. It said that no party had ever obtained approval from the university to display the statue on campus. The “Pillar of Shame,” a contortion of 50 torn bodies and faces, stood on the campus of the university for more than two decades until it was removed in the early hours Dec 23. The sculpture was created by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt to symbolize those who died during China’s crackdown of student protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Mr. Galschiøt, who in recent months has said the statue is his personal property and has made requests to the university to retrieve the sculpture, said he was shocked by the university’s actions. The removal comes amid a crackdown on civic freedoms more than a year after the imposition of a sweeping national-security law, which has also cast a chill over the local academic landscape. Commemorations of the June 4 crackdown in Tiananmen are gradually being extinguished in Hong Kong. Click here to read... [16]

Taiwan’s opposition KMT rushes to regain lost voice in America

Taiwan’s main opposition party has stepped up plans to reopen its liaison office in Washington, as it seeks to rebuild US ties after a 13-year hiatus. The move from the Kuomintang, which is largely Beijing-friendly, comes at a time of rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and warming ties between the administrations of US President Joe Biden and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen. As a result, new KMT chairman Eric Chu Li-luan, wants to swiftly reestablish the party’s presence in the US capital, to have its voice heard by American policymakers and think tanks, according to officials. The party’s US-educated deputy international affairs director, Eric Huang, was dispatched to Washington late last month, tasked with reopening the office that was first set up in 2004 with the KMT’s pro-mainland ally, the People First Party. The office, which closed in 2008 after Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT became president of Taiwan, was due to reopen earlier this year but kept getting stalled by successive Covid-19 outbreaks in the US. However, while the KMT remained unrepresented in the US following the Ma years, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party retained its office in Washington even after its chairwoman Tsai was elected president in 2016 and has won the trust and support of Americans in the years since. Click here to read... [17]

China replaces Xinjiang Communist Party chief Chen

China has replaced Chen Quanguo, who as Communist Party chief in the Xinjiang region oversaw a security crackdown targeting ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in the name of fighting religious extremism. Chen, in his post since 2016, will move to another role and Ma Xingrui, governor of the coastal economic powerhouse Guangdong province since 2017, has replaced him, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Dec 25. It gave no other details. United Nations researchers and human rights activists estimate more than one million Muslims have been detained in camps in western China's Xinjiang region. China rejects accusations of abuse, describing the camps as vocational centres designed to combat extremism, and in late 2019 said all people in the camps had "graduated". Chen, 66, is a member of China's politburo and is widely considered to be the senior official responsible for the security crackdown in Xinjiang. He was sanctioned last year by the United States. On Dec 23, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on imports from Xinjiang over concerns about forced labour, provoking an angry Chinese condemnation. Some foreign lawmakers and parliaments, as well as the U.S. secretaries of state in both the Biden and Trump administrations, have labelled the treatment of Uyghurs genocide. Click here to read... [18]

China has multiple military basing options in Africa, analysts say

China is reportedly looking to build a military presence in Equatorial Guinea, which would be its second such facility in Africa and the first along the Atlantic Ocean. But China's options are not limited to the small country, analysts say. Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Angola and Seychelles are strong candidates, each with different reasons. "If we look at China's operational patterns of behavior, there will be a number of considerations that the Chinese government will take into account," Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said. First, China will likely opt for partners with which it enjoys the highest strategic level of relations, Nantulya said. Of the five tiers of partnerships it has, the "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership" is the highest. Those that fit that category are Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. But politically unpredictable Zimbabwe, for instance, will not be considered an option, Nantulya said. "Even when relations are strong, whenever there are signs of instability, China has shown to be very cautious and very conservative." Beijing will also favor countries that have clout in the African Union and will be able to mobilize support and mitigate resistance to a Chinese base, Nantulya said. Click here to read... [19]

Turkish elections may hinge on short window of lira calm

The new set of policy measures announced on Dec 20 included a guarantee to compensate any loss of value in lira deposits due to currency depreciation by the treasury and the central bank. The moves are designed to encourage the de-dollarization of existing forex accounts while creating a chance of increasing central bank reserves, as well as discouraging further forex buying by individuals, easing pressure on the lira, and thus tame inflation. According to opposition politician Umit Ozlale, an economist, “the critical thing is external financing requirements. If they can create a current-account surplus and high debt rollovers, that may be successful up to one year." The one-year time frame may have political implications, Ozlale said, suggesting that it may be a move with an eye on an early election. Erdogan has until now vehemently denied such speculation and insists that the elections will be held on time in June 2023. Ozer Sencar, head of leading pollster Metropoll, said, "All signs lead to a snap election by Erdogan," pointing to the 50% minimum wage hike announced this month, the promised wage hike for public servants and now the new deposit scheme to prop up the lira. Click here to read... [20]

Manchin rejects Biden's $1.75tn 'Build Back Better' investment bill

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden's hopes of passing a $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill, said on Dec 26 he would not support the package. "I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," Manchin said during an interview with the "Fox News Sunday" program, citing concerns about inflation. "I just can't. I have tried everything humanly possible." The White House called Manchin's remarks a breach of commitments he made to find common ground and said it would find a way to move forward with the legislation in 2022. Many Democrats feel passage of the bill is essential to the party's chances of maintaining control of Congress in next year's elections. The exchange marked the first sharp public break between the White House and a senator who many top allies of Biden privately regard as damaging the Democratic president's political future. Manchin has been a key holdout on the White House's "Build Back Better" plan, which aims to bolster the U.S. social safety net and fight climate change and is the cornerstone of Biden's legislative agenda. In a statement released after the "Fox News Sunday" interview, Manchin said that increasing the U.S. debt load would "drastically hinder" the country's ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical threats. Click here to read... [21]

U.N. Plans $8 Billion Fund to Restart Afghanistan’s Economy

The United Nations is planning an $8 billion program of aid and services in Afghanistan for next year, taking on many government functions at a time when the Taliban regime remains under economic sanctions and lacks diplomatic recognition, according to international officials. From providing hot meals for children in schools, to generating jobs or finding ways to pay Afghanistan’s energy bills to its neighbors, the U.N.’s plan would move beyond its current humanitarian mission to rebuilding governing systems and social services. “A human being needs more than being handed a piece of bread. They need dignity, they need hope,” said Ramiz Alakbarov, deputy special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General and the humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan. “We do not want to become an alternative government of Afghanistan. But is it important to support systems, not lose the gains made in past years.” The Afghan economy has shrunk by at least 40% since the Taliban took over in August. The U.S. froze some $9 billion in Afghan central-bank assets and financial sanctions have paralyzed the country’s banking system. Half the country is on the verge of starvation, according to the U.N. International donors have already given more than $1 billion since the Taliban takeover to meet emergency needs for the rest of 2021. Click here to read... [22]

Belgian military hit by cyberattack

The security breach was initially detected last week, but only publicized on Dec 20 by ministry spokesman Commander Olivier Severin, according to a local media report. “[The Defense Ministry] on Dec 16 discovered an attack on its computer network with internet access,” Severin said, adding that “all weekend our teams have been mobilized to control the problem, continue our activities and warn our partners.” A spokesperson for Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder also told Politico that the ministry was “working hard” to secure the network, though officials have yet to comment on the origin of the attack. The breach reportedly targeted a security flaw in a widely used utility known as Log4j, a fault that was first observed by cyber experts earlier this month, stoking fears that hackers could use the vulnerability to compromise millions of devices. While many attackers have exploited the flaw to install cryptocurrency mining software on computers without the owners’ knowledge, others have taken aim at businesses and even government agencies, according to Check Point, an Israel-based cyber security firm. Click here to read... [23]

Iran holds extensive military drills in 3 provinces

Iran fired missiles from land and sea on Dec 21 as part of five days of military exercises in three provinces, including near its only nuclear power plant, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement. The military maneuvers come after the US said it was preparing "alternatives" in case negotiations to revive a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program collapse in Vienna. "We have carried out exercises to destroy the enemy before they approach the Hormuz islands," Guards navy commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said, quoted by the Guards' Sepah News website. The military drills dubbed Payambar-e-Azadm, or "Great Prophet," began on Dec 20 in Bushehr, Hormozgan and Khuzestan provinces, each of which touch the Gulf. They included biological warfare exercises. The maneuvers also saw the deployment of Iranian-made boats that are capable of launching high-precision missiles and reaching speeds up to 75-95 knots. At dawn on Dec 20, "in order to increase the defense capability of the armed forces, an exercise was held over the Bushehr nuclear power plant," Mohammad-Taghi Irani, Bushehr's deputy governor for political and security affairs, told Fars news agency. Click here to read... [24]

Landslide in Myanmar mining area leaves dozens missing

A landslide at a remote jade mine in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state killed one person and left at least 70 missing Dec 22 and a search and rescue operation was underway, rescue officials said. Reports were scant from the area in Hpakant, which is the center of the world’s biggest and most lucrative jade mining industry. It’s a region where sporadic fighting has broken out between the Myanmar army and ethnic guerrilla forces. Gayunar Rescue Team official Nyo Chaw, who was coordinating the effort, said more than 70 miners who were digging for jade were swept into a lake a couple of hours before dawn when the landslide hit. Earth and waste from several mines around Lonekhin village slid 60 meters (about 200 feet) down a cliff and struck the miners, he said.. Hpakant is a mountainous and remote area in Kachin state, 950 kilometers north of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. A ceasefire in the region has been disrupted since a Feb. 1 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government. It has some of world’s richest jade deposits, making the industry a hotbed for corruption. Click here to read... [25]

Sri Lanka shuts three foreign missions as dollar crisis worsens

Sri Lanka has announced the closure of three overseas diplomatic missions in a bid to save foreign currency reserves, as the country’s Central Bank slaps tighter controls on dollars needed to finance essential imports. The Sri Lankan High Commission in Nigeria and consulates in Germany and Cyprus will be closed from January in the restructuring, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Dec 27. “The restructuring is undertaken with a view to conserving the country’s much needed foreign reserves and minimising expenditure related to maintenance of Sri Lanka’s missions overseas,” the ministry said in a statement. The island’s tourism-dependent economy has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. In March last year, the government imposed a broad import ban to shore up forex reserves, triggering shortages of essential goods such as fuel and sugar. The closure of the three missions came on the same day the Central Bank of Sri Lanka tightened restrictions on foreign currency remittances received by locals. It ordered all commercial banks to hand over a quarter of their dollar earnings to the government, up from 10 percent. Sri Lanka had foreign reserves of just $1.58bn at the end of November, down from $7.5bn when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019. Click here to read... [26]

Malaysia government under fire over slow clean-up after deadly floods

Malaysia's government was under fire on Dec 27 as residents accused it of responding too slowly after the country's worst floods in years. Days of torrential rain caused rivers to overflow last week, swamping cities, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Damaged appliances and soaked furniture were piled up on the streets and outside homes in flood-hit areas as residents and volunteers continued a massive clean-up drive. Many were frustrated with the authorities. "I am angry. There is no assistance from the government ... We need cash to rebuild our lives," said Asniyati Ismail, who lives in a residential enclave in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state. "There is mud everywhere, everything has been destroyed," she told AFP as her two children helped her clean. The mounds of rubbish left in the area after the floods have also sparked fear of disease outbreaks. Selangor, which encircles the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, was the state hit hardest by the floods. Many in Shah Alam were left stranded in their homes with barely any food for days, before being evacuated on boats in a chaotic rescue operation. "The government has been absolutely slow in the rescue mission," resident Kartik Rao told AFP. "And now they are slow in the clean-up operation. Click here to read... [27]

Conflict between Korea, USFK simmers

Deep-seated tension between the South Korean government and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is coming into public view, as a former American four-star general has belittled the Moon Jae-in administration's security pledges, struck back by Cheong Wa Dae and the defense ministry. Robert Abrams, who led the USFK from 2018 to 2021, told Voice of America, Dec 25 (local time), that South Korea's military capabilities were not sufficient to take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces from the United States, while questioning the intentions of the Moon administration's push for an end-of-war declaration. In 2014, Seoul and Washington agreed upon a conditions-based OPCON transition, and President Moon had sought to complete the task before his term ends in May 2022, although the plan has fallen through due to a lack of adequate assessment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "What we do say publicly is that condition one is the Republic of Korea must acquire the critical military capabilities to lead the combined defense that translates into 26 discrete systems. In addition, there's a couple of additional tasks for condition one, which includes certifying that the future CFC (Combined Forces Command) led by a Korean four-star general would be capable of leading the combined defense," Abrams said. Click here to read... [28]

Korea grants special pardon to ex-President Park Geun-hye

South Korea's government on Dec 24 announced a special pardon for Park Geun-hye, the former president currently serving a 22-year prison term for corruption, saying that pardoning Park would help bolster national unity. Park has been serving a combined 22-year prison sentence since March 2017 after being impeached and removed from office over far-reaching corruption charges and an influence-peddling scandal. The 69-year-old former president was included in a list of 3,094 pardon beneficiaries who are scheduled to be released on New Year's Eve. The amnesty was decided in consideration of her deteriorating health. This year, Park was hospitalized three times due to chronic shoulder and lower back pain. In 2019, she received shoulder surgery. She will be released directly from Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, where she is currently staying for treatment, according to officials. Granting a pardon to Park is expected to have a significant impact on next March's presidential election, as Park has commanded the support of voters in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, a stronghold of the main opposition People Power Party. Click here to read... [29]

Somalia’s president suspends prime minister amid election spat

Somalia’s president said on Dec 27 he had suspended the prime minister for suspected corruption, a move the prime minister described as a coup attempt, escalating a power struggle between the two leaders The raging, months-long dispute has seen both leaders trade allegations over the holding up of parliamentary elections, and is widely seen as distracting the government of the Horn of Africa country from fighting an Islamist insurgency. It will also raise concerns about the prospect of renewed clashes between factions in the security forces allied to each side, prompting the United States to call for calm. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed accused Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble of stealing land owned by the Somali National Army (SNA) and of interfering with a defence ministry investigation. “The president decided to suspend [the] prime minister … and stop his powers since he was linked with corruption,” the office of the president said in a statement, accusing Roble of interfering with an investigation into a land grabbing case. In response, Roble said the move was unconstitutional and aimed at derailing an ongoing election. He also ordered the security forces to start taking orders from him, instead of the president. Click here to read... [30]

Israel plans to double settlement in Golan Heights

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Dec 26 the country intends to double the amount of settlers living in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights with a multimillion-dollar plan meant to further consolidate Israel’s hold on the territory it captured from Syria more than five decades ago. Bennett said the new investment in the region was prompted by the Trump administration's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the swath of land and by the Biden administration’s indication that it will not soon challenge that decision. “This is our moment. This is the moment of the Golan Heights,” Bennett said at a special Cabinet meeting in the Golan Heights. Bennett's office said the government would invest some 1 billion shekels (over $300 million) into developing the Golan, including the establishment of two new settlements as well as investments in tourism, industry, clean energy and technology that would create several thousand jobs. Entrenching Israeli control over the territory would complicate any future attempt to forge peace with Syria, which claims the Golan Heights. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the territory, promoting settlement and agriculture there as well as creating a thriving local tourism industry. Click here to read... [31]

Medical

China puts 13m residents in lockdown ahead of Beijing Olympics

China is redoubling efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown of the 13 million residents of the northern city of Xi'an following a spike in coronavirus cases. The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing, roughly 1,000 kilometers (6,210 miles) to the west. There was no word on whether the virus was the newly surging omicron variant or the far more common delta. China has recorded just seven omicron cases - four in the southern manufacturing center of Guangzhou, two in the southern city of Changsha and one in the northern port of Tianjin. China has also been dealing with a substantial outbreak in several cities in the eastern province of Zhejiang near Shanghai, although isolation measures there have been more narrowly targeted. Authorities have adopted strict pandemic control measures under their policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero, leading to frequent lockdowns, universal masking and mass testing. While the policy has not been entirely successful while leading to massive disruptions in travel and trade, Beijing credits it with largely containing the spread of the virus. The Xi'an restrictions are some of the harshest since China in 2020 imposed a strict lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around the central city of Wuhan. Click here to read... [32]

China tightens border with Vietnam, stokes trade worries

China has tightened its land border with Vietnam amid worries over the omicron variant of COVID-19, dealing a blow to trade from the Southeast Asian country as it battles to get its economy back on track in the face of the pandemic. Beijing informed Vietnam on Dec 23 that foreign drivers would be barred from crossing the border between the two countries from Dec 24 due to a request from Chinese health authorities, with similar measures also affecting China's borders with Myanmar and Laos. China is Vietnam's second-largest export market and its biggest source of imports. The customs process on the Chinese side of the border had already slowed from November, with authorities taking steps such as mass testing after a COVID case was discovered in a town near the border in China. As of Dec 23, over 6,300 trucks carrying industrial goods and agricultural produce such as jackfruit, watermelon, mango and dragon fruit were queuing for kilometers along Vietnamese roads to the four main border gates, waiting for customs clearance. Some had been there for over 20 days, while around another 3,000 trucks were also stuck on the Chinese side. Hanoi-based economist Le Dang Doanh said initial estimates show that Chinese border controls over the last few weeks have cost Vietnamese trade some $174 million. Click here to read... [33]

Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, studies say

Two new British studies provide some early hints that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact Omicron spreads much faster than delta and is more able to evade vaccines. Sheer numbers of infections could still overwhelm hospitals. Still, the new studies released Dec 22 seem to bolster earlier research that suggests Omicron may not be as harmful as the delta variant, said Manuel Ascano Jr., a Vanderbilt University biochemist who studies viruses. “Cautious optimism is perhaps the best way to look at this,” he said. An analysis from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimated hospitalization risks for Omicron cases in England, finding people infected with the variant are around 20 percent less likely to go to the hospital at all than those infected with the delta variant, and 40 percent less likely to be hospitalized for a night or more. That analysis included all cases of COVID-19 confirmed by PCR tests in England in the first half of December in which the variant could be identified: 56,000 cases of Omicron and 269,000 cases of delta. Click here to read... [34]