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Jumat, 26 Maret 2021

US accuses China of 'state-led' social media campaign against companies over Xinjiang - CNA

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday (Mar 26) condemned what it called a "state-led" social media campaign in China against US and other international companies for deciding not to use cotton from China's Xinjiang region over forced labour concerns.

State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the social media campaign and consumer boycotts had targeted American, European and Japanese businesses.

"We commend and stand with companies that adhere to UN laws and ensure that products we are consuming are not made with forced labour," she told a regular news briefing.

"We support and encourage businesses to respect human rights in line with the UN guiding principles on business and human rights and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises," she added.

China rejects allegations of abuses in Xinjiang, which is one of the world leading producers of cotton, and describes the camps it has set up there as vocational training centers for Uighur Muslims that help combat religious extremism.

READ: Western countries sanction China over Xinjiang 'abuses', Beijing hits back at EU

Earlier, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called on the international community to "oppose China's weaponizing of private companies' dependence on its markets to stifle free expression and inhibit ethical business practices."

A number of overseas retailers have faced a public backlash from Chinese consumers who have circulated statements from the brands on social media announcing they will cease sourcing from Xinjiang.

Chinese celebrity endorsers have abandoned several foreign retail labels, including six US brands such as Nike, as Western concerns over labour conditions in Xinjiang spark a patriotic backlash from consumers.

New Balance, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger and Converse, owned by Nike, are among companies that have come under fire in China for statements that they would not use cotton produced in the far-western Chinese region due to suspected forced labour.

The United States and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which the United States has said have amounted to genocide.

In January, Washington announced an import ban on all cotton and tomato products from the region over allegations that they are made with forced labour from detained Uighur Muslims.

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2021-03-26 20:06:52Z
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Russia says it is seeking to strengthen military ties with Myanmar - CNA

MOSCOW: Russia wants to strengthen military ties with Myanmar, its state media reported on Friday (Mar 26), after a meeting between top defence officials and a junta condemned by Western countries for killing hundreds of civilian protesters.

Russia's deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, met in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday with junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a Feb 1 coup that triggered weeks of nationwide protests and a lethal response by security forces.

Fomin said Myanmar was a reliable ally and strategic partner of Russia in Asia, state-run TASS said, during a visit that came a day ahead of a big parade to mark Myanmar's Armed Forces Day, the military's most prestigious event.

READ: Myanmar activists call for Armed Forces Day protests

In a video shown on the Russian Defence Ministry's Zvezda TV, Fomin is seen shaking hands and receiving a medal and a ceremonial sword from Min Aung Hlaing in a meeting room full of military officers in green uniforms.

"You, distinguished Senior General, took part in our parade last year, our parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War," TASS quoted Fomin as telling the junta leader, referring to World War Two.

"And this visit of ours - it's a response to yours."

WESTERN OUTRAGE

The visit is the firmest sign yet of Russia's support for the new military rulers in Myanmar, amid outrage in the West and deep concern among its Asian neighbours, some of which have condemned the violence against civilians and urged the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government.

READ: Southeast Asian nations urge halt to violence in Myanmar

The United States, Britain, Australia and the European Union have imposed sanctions on the ruling military council and the army's vast network of businesses.

Defence ties between Russia and Myanmar have grown in recent years with Moscow providing army training and university scholarships, as well as selling arms to a military blacklisted by several Western countries for alleged atrocities against civilians.

Russia is the source of at least 16 per cent of weaponry procured by Myanmar from 2014 to 2019, according to a 2020 study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Yadanar Maung, a representative for campaign group Justice for Myanmar, said Russia was legitimising the junta and called for the international community to impose a global arms embargo.

"Russia is complicit in the military's campaign of terror against the people," Yadanar Maung said.

"We are appalled that Russian officials are travelling to Myanmar to legitimise the illegal military junta."

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2021-03-26 13:57:48Z
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Thailand to waive COVID-19 quarantine for vaccinated tourists who visit Phuket - CNA

BANGKOK: Thailand on Friday (Mar 26) announced plans for an experimental quarantine-free model in ultra-popular beach destination Phuket, as the kingdom attempts to resuscitate its pandemic-battered economy.

Thailand has imposed massive restrictions visitor arrivals in order to stem the spread of COVID-19, but discouraging tourism has led to its economy recording the worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The impact has reverberated across the country's services sectors - bruising entertainment, retail, hotels and restaurants.

READ: Thailand urges calm after death of COVID-19 vaccine recipient

Thailand's tourism tsar announced Friday that Phuket - renowned for its sandy beaches and sapphire waters - will be used as a test.

Tourists who have been vaccinated will be allowed to travel there without mandatory hotel quarantine.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the "Phuket sandbox model" would begin some time from July onwards.

Foreign visitors will be required to have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, a certificate signifying negative test results, and to download a mobile tracking application.

Yuthasak also confirmed that six tourism-reliant cities will have slashed quarantine times for vaccinated travellers beginning next month - including beach resorts Krabi, Ko Samui and Pattaya.

READ: Thailand approves Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine

Arrivals will undergo a seven-day quarantine period and will be permitted in areas around their hotels - a marked difference for current visitors who are required to stay confined to their rooms for two weeks.

The plans still require final approval by the government.

About 40 million tourists were expected to arrive in 2020, but only 6.7 million managed to enter the kingdom, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Thailand's tough approach has kept the coronavirus largely in check - the kingdom has registered about 28,500 cases in a population of 70 million.

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2021-03-26 10:25:02Z
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Thailand to reopen Phuket to tourists vaccinated against Covid-19 from July 1 - The Straits Times

BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - Thailand will waive quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors arriving on the resort island of Phuket from July 1, the first key reopening for the tourism-reliant nation.

On Friday (March 26), an economic panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the proposal by Phuket's private sector and business groups to inoculate at least 70 per cent of the island's residents to prepare for the reopening for vaccinated tourists, according to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

The government plans to test the reopening plan in Phuket before expanding to other key tourist hot spots, like another resort island, Koh Samui, to help restart the tourism industry battered by a year without its millions of tourists who contributed to one-fifth of the economy before the pandemic.

The approval means that Phuket will reopen three months earlier than the rest of the country, which is expected to reopen for those who are fully vaccinated only in October.

Phuket residents will also be prioritised in the vaccine roll-out, with more than 930,000 doses expected to be administered before the reopening, Mr Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the island's tourist association said separately earlier this week.

An early reopening could add more than 30 billion baht (S$1.3 billion) to the economy, but a successful reopening also hinges on the international vaccine passport agreement and negotiations with other countries to allow free travel, Mr Bhummikitti said.

Kamis, 25 Maret 2021

Shipping rates surge with Suez Canal set to be blocked for weeks by stranded ship - The Straits Times

ISMAILIA, Egypt (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - Shipping rates are surging as the blockage of the Suez Canal is wreaking havoc in the global seaborne trade and making the long trip around Africa the only short-term alternative.

A huge container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a "beached whale" may take weeks to free, the salvage company said, as officials stopped all ships entering the channel on Thursday (March 25) in a new setback for global trade.

The 400-m Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world's busiest shipping channels for oil and refined fuels, grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.

Late on Thursday, dredgers were still working to remove thousands of tonnes of sand from around the ship's bow.

Meanwhile a super suction dredger is the new tool being used in the efforts to dislodge the giant container ship that went aground in the key waterway on Tuesday.

The blocking of the waterway is creating another setback for global supply chains already strained by the e-commerce boom linked to the pandemic. About 12% of global trade goes through the canal that's so strategic world powers have fought over it.

On Thursday, 238 vessels were queued up, up from 186 Wednesday, according to Bloomberg data. Ever Given has not moved and operations to re-float were still ongoing earlier in the afternoon, according to Inchcape Shipping Services.

It's going to be tough to come up with a single figure for how much the epic traffic jam in the canal is costing, but shipping rates are already skyrocketing.

The cost to ship a 40-foot container from China to Europe has climbed to about US$8,000 (S$10,870), almost quadruple the figure a year ago. Suezmax vessels, which typically carry 1 million barrels of oil, are now getting about US$17,000 a day, the most since June 2020.

The crisis in the Suez Canal is also curbing shipments of robusta coffee - the type used to make Nescafe. All of the beans from East Africa and Asia - which houses two of the world's top robusta producers - flow to Europe via the Suez.

Coffee roasters on the continent had already been struggling to get robusta coffee from Vietnam, the world's largest producer, due to a shortage of shipping containers that has upended the global food trade. Just when the availability of boxes started improving, the canal blockage brought another headache.

Two liquefied natural gas tankers loaded in the US and bound for Asian markets appear to have changed course in the mid-Atlantic and are now heading around Africa to avoid gridlock in the Suez waterway.

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and Hapag-Lloyd AG are considering sending ships along the same route, moves that would follow a Synergy Marine-managed ship that is being sent around the Cape of Good Hope. Torm A/S, a Danish owner of tankers, said its customers have asked about the cost of options to divert.

Eight of more than 375 ships managed by Synergy Marine are caught up in the Suez Canal traffic jam. That includes a 20,000 TEU Ultra Large Container Vessel, or ULCV, three other large container ships, one Very Large Gas carrier, one chemical tanker and two bulk carriers.

"The longer the Canal is closed, the larger the queue of vessels that will be caught up in jams and the bigger the losses for shipping and, ultimately, consumers of the goods which we transport," Unni siad.

Several dozen vessels have backed up at either end of the canal to create one of the worst shipping jams seen for years. PHOTO: AFP

Russia natural gas supplies via pipeline could provide Europe with some flexibility as LNG imports from the Middle East are affected by the blockage at the Suez Canal, consulting firm Rystad said in a note.

The US could also benefit as shipments from its LNG export terminals could reach Europe much quicker than vessel going around Africa from the Middle East.

"It could be a perfect opportunity for US producers to secure some orders at a time of such a transport route crisis," Rystad said.

The blockage highlights a major risk faced by the shipping industry as more and more vessels, which are getting bigger and bigger, transit maritime choke points including the Suez, Panama Canal and the Strait of Hormuz.

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2021-03-25 22:46:25Z
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After H&M, Nike feels Chinese social media heat over Xinjiang - CNA

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After H&M, Nike feels Chinese social media heat over Xinjiang CNA
China puts pressure on global fashion brands to reverse boycott on Xinjiang cotton Yahoo Singapore News
After H&M, Nike, more foreign retail brands under fire in China over Xinjiang The Straits Times
After H&M, more brands criticised on Chinese social media over Xinjiang CNA
Nike sees social media storm in China over Xinjiang statement TODAYonline
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2021-03-25 11:17:05Z
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Suez Canal suspends traffic amid 'extreme difficulty' in freeing grounded container ship - CNA

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Suez Canal suspends traffic amid 'extreme difficulty' in freeing grounded container ship CNA
Low tide slows work to clear Suez Canal ship blockage; traffic jam builds The Straits Times
Suez Canal blockage leaves at least US$400 million of crude oil stranded South China Morning Post
Megaship blocks Suez Canal: What we know so far CNA
Japanese owner of container ship stuck in Suez Canal apologises The Straits Times
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2021-03-25 14:03:45Z
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Jumat, 26 Maret 2021

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Kamis, 25 Maret 2021