Visitors entering Malaysia must pay for mandatory quarantine: minister South China Morning PostView Full coverage on Google News
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TAIPEI: The US government has notified Congress of a possible sale of advanced torpedoes to Taiwan worth around US$180 million, a move likely to further sour already tense ties between Washington and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory.
The United States, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself. China routinely denounces US arms sales to Taiwan.
The US State Department has approved a possible sale to Taiwan of 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$180 million, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday (May 20).
"The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today," it added.
The proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting Taiwan's "continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability", the agency said.
The announcement came on the same day Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in for her second term in office, saying she strongly rejecting China's sovereignty claims. China responded that "reunification" was inevitable and that it would never tolerate Taiwan's independence.
China has stepped up its military drills near Taiwan since Tsai's re-election, flying fighter jets into the island's air space and sailing warships around Taiwan.
China views Tsai as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan. Tsai says Taiwan is an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name, and does not want to be part of the People's Republic of China governed by Beijing.
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said on Wednesday (May 20) it had registered a new daily record number of COVID-19 cases as it quickly neared the "tragic milestone" of five million total infections.
The UN agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that on Tuesday, there were "106,000 cases reported to WHO - the most in a single day since the outbreak began" in December.
The WHO was also getting to grips with US President Donald Trump's reform ultimatum, giving the organisation 30 days to overhaul its operations otherwise its biggest contributor would freeze its funding and consider pulling out altogether.
The Geneva-based WHO's coronavirus disease dashboard said that on Tuesday, 106,662 confirmed cases had been reported to the agency from around the world.
The new figures come after states around the world have been dramatically ramping up their testing programmes.
And the pandemic is still unfolding.
"We still have a long way to go in this pandemic," Tedros told a virtual press conference as his agency warned of rising infection figures in poorer countries.
More than 4.9 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been registered in total since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the five million cases mark would be a "tragic milestone".
Tedros added: "We're very concerned about the rising numbers of cases in low- and middle-income countries."
More than 325,000 people have lost their lives, according to the AFP tally.
WHO STUDYING TRUMP LETTER
The WHO's annual gathering of member states agreed on Tuesday to an independent probe into the UN agency's coronavirus response amid mounting US criticism over its handling of the pandemic.
Trump made public later on Tuesday a letter he sent to Tedros, saying that if the WHO did not commit to "major substantive improvements" within 30 days, he would permanently freeze funding to the organisation and reconsider US membership.
The United States is the biggest contributor to the WHO's budget and has already suspended funding, accusing the organisation of severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the virus.
Pressed on the ultimatum, Tedros said only: "We have received the letter and we are looking into it."
The WHO agreed that an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of "the actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic" should be conducted at the "earliest possible moment".
Asked Wednesday when that might be, Tedros said: "When all the conditions we need are actually met".
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE ADVICE
Trump on Monday made the surprise announcement that he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that his own government experts say is not suitable for fighting the novel coronavirus.
And Brazil's health ministry recommended on Wednesday using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat even mild cases of COVID-19 - treatments President Jair Bolsonaro has pushed for despite the lack of conclusive evidence of their effectiveness.
The WHO's Ryan stressed: "Hydroxychloroquine nor chloroquine have been, as yet, found to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19 - or in the prophylaxis against coming down with the disease."
The two drugs are among a handful involved in WHO-coordinated clinical trials to find effective treatments for the disease. Some 3,000 patients are taking part in the trials in 320 hospitals across 17 countries.
"As WHO, we would advise that for COVID-19, that these drugs be reserved for use within such trials," said Ryan.
JAKARTA: Police in Indonesia are clamping down on sellers of fake medical certificates, reportedly used to circumvent travel restrictions enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Medical certificates from hospitals or clinics indicating that the holders have tested negative for COVID-19 are required for those who need to travel for business or work amid a ban on "mudik" - the annual homecoming exodus ahead of the Muslim holiday Idul Fitri.
This has led to fraudulent medical certificates, including those purporting to be from a major Indonesian hospital chain, to be sold for a price between 50,000 to 300,000 rupiah (US$3.37 to US$20.23) each.
Indonesian police have made seven arrests in Bali so far, but admitted that they have only scratched the surface.
An Indonesian health agency official rests at the entrance to a public toilet as other colleagues conduct COVID-19 testing in Bandung, West Java. (Photo:AFP/Timur Matahari)
National police spokesman Argo Yuwono told CNA that fake certificates are available online at marketplaces, blogs and social media.
“(Police's) cybercrime unit is tracking these people down,” the two-star general said, warning that both sellers and buyers of such fraudulent certificates could face charges.
“This is a serious offence.”
General Yuwono said police in all provinces across Indonesia have been told to be on the lookout for similar forged documents
“Our officers were also told to monitor social media to look for people who might be selling or buying forged documents.”
MEDICAL CERTIFICATES TO BOARD JAVA-BOUND FERRIES IN BALI
In a statement, Bali Provincial Police said the seven arrested were suspected of producing and selling fake certificates to dozens of travellers hoping to board a ferry bound for Java at the Gilimanuk port in Bali.
In a raid at the port on Thursday (May 14) evening, authorities grew suspicious that a number of travellers were carrying certificates bearing a letterhead that said “private medical practitioner”.
The signatures on the certificates were inconsistent, despite them being purportedly issued by the same doctor. The stamp mark also appeared to be printed instead of stamped.
The discoveries led to the arrest of three people suspected of selling and producing the fake certificates.
The other four suspects who produced and sold such certificates were arrested after authorities came across questionable certificates that appeared to be issued by a health clinic in Bali's capital of Denpasar.
Despite being issued to different people, all of the certificates carried the exact same diagnosis.
Among the four arrested was an employee of a printing shop. The Denpasar health clinic had earlier patronised the shop to print stationery, which explained how this employee got hold of the clinic's logo for the fake certificates.
The suspects were charged for document forgery and could face a maximum sentence of six years in prison, if convicted.
THERE IS DEMAND BECAUSE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS TRAVEL: EXPERT
Public policy expert Trubus Rahadiansyah opined that the sale of these forged documents stemmed from the government's reluctance to impose a blanket ban on intercity travel.
“As long as people are still allowed to perform business and work-related travel, there will be people selling and buying forged documents and health certificates,” the Trisakti University lecturer told CNA.
A crowd of people stand in line at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, May 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters)
Mr Rahadiansyah said with a force of just 470,000 officers, police would have a hard time monitoring every road, border, terminal, seaport and airport across the vast archipelago.
“It is impossible to scrutinise every traveller and examine every document,” he said.
The government had initially banned commercial flights, intercity buses and trains from operating on Apr 24 to stop people from performing mudik.
But the ban was later lifted on May 7 with the government explaining that state officials, representatives of international organisations, businessmen and professionals still need to conduct business trips.
“The government should have at least suspended all trips until the mudik season is over. The priority right now should be to stop COVID-19 from spreading from big cities like Jakarta to small towns and villages,” he said.
GENEVA: The World Health Organization expressed concern on Wednesday (May 20) about the rising number of new coronavirus cases in poor countries, even as many rich nations have begun emerging from lockdown.
The global health body said 106,000 new cases of infections of the novel coronavirus had been recorded in the past 24 hours, the most in a single day since the outbreak began.
"We still have a long way to go in this pandemic," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. "We are very concerned about rising cases in low and middle income countries."
Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO's emergencies programme, said: "We will soon reach the tragic milestone of 5 million cases."
The WHO has come under fire from US President Donald Trump, who accuses it of having mishandled the outbreak and of favouring China, where the virus is believed to have emerged late last year. This week Trump threatened to withdraw from the WHO and permanently withhold funding.
Tedros acknowledged receiving a letter from Trump, but declined to comment further.
Tedros said he was committed to accountability and would carry out a review into the response to the pandemic. Such a review was demanded by member states in a resolution this week that was passed by consensus, although the United States expressed reservations about some elements of it.
"I said it time and time again that WHO calls for accountability more than anyone. It has to be done and when it's done it has to be a comprehensive one," Tedros said of the review, while declining to say when it would start.
Ryan said such assessments are normally conducted after an emergency is over.
"I for one would prefer, right now, to get on with doing the job of an emergency response, of epidemic control, of developing and distributing vaccines, of improving our surveillance, of saving lives and distributing essential PPE to workers and finding medical oxygen for people in fragile settings, reducing the impact of this disease on refugees and migrants," he said.
Tedros said he had long been looking for other sources of funding for the WHO, saying its US$2.3 billion budget was "very, very small" for a global agency, around that of a medium sized hospital in the developed world.
In comments that could further annoy Trump, Ryan, said people should avoid using the malaria medicine hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent coronavirus infection, except as part of a clinical trial to study it.
Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection.
"At this stage, (neither) hydroxychloroquine nor chloroquine have been as yet found to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19 nor in the prophylaxis against coming down with the disease," Ryan said.
"In fact, the opposite, in that warnings have been issued by many authorities regarding the potential side effects of the drug."
