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Rabu, 08 Juli 2020

US COVID-19 infections top three million as Trump begins WHO pullout - CNA

WASHINGTON: Coronavirus infections in the United States topped the three million mark Wednesday (Jul 8), as President Donald Trump began withdrawing the country from the World Health Organization.

The US remains by far the worst affected country, with over 131,000 deaths, while Brazil - whose virus-skeptic President Jair Bolsnoaro has tested positive for the disease - is a distant second with close to 67,000 deaths from almost 1.7 million cases.

Despite the figures, both Trump and Bolsonaro have continued to argue against lockdowns and other restrictive measures, reflecting a wider divide over the response to the crisis.

Trump Wednesday called for students to return in the fall despite the virus surging in several southern state hotspots.

Meanwhile, millions in the Australian city of Melbourne were preparing for a return to lockdown to fight an upsurge that is seeing more than 100 new cases reported each day, with panic buyers stripping supermarket shelves.

But there were signs in Europe that harsh restrictions would be difficult to reimpose, with thousands protesting in Serbia against a weekend curfew and France vowing not to have a blanket lockdown again.

The virus has infected almost 12 million people worldwide and killed more than 500,000 since it emerged in China late last year.

READ: Panic-buying returns as Melbourne braces for lengthy COVID-19 lockdown

READ: Australia deploys police, army to enforce border closure amid COVID-19 outbreak

"KNEE-DEEP"

Having just a handful of cases at the start of February, the US infection rate passed the one million milestone on Apr 28 and hit two million on Jun 11, according to an AFP tally of official sources.

All the while, the death toll has been creeping up to its current figure of 131,480, almost one-quarter of the global total.

Top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has warned that the country is still "knee-deep" in only its first coronavirus wave, but Trump said on Tuesday America was "in a good place" and that he disagreed with Fauci.

To the consternation of experts and political opponents, Trump formally started withdrawing from the WHO on Tuesday, making good on threats to deprive the UN body of some $400 million in funding after he accused it of being too close to China.

Joe Biden, who will face him in a presidential election in November, promised to rejoin the WHO "and restore our leadership on the world stage" if he wins.

Underlining America's unilateral approach, the government Wednesday announced more than US$2 billion in funding for research into vaccines and treatments.

In its biggest grant yet, US$1.6 billion was awarded to biotech firm Novavax.

The company has agreed to deliver 100 million doses if successful and said it would now move with "extraordinary urgency".

Several potential vaccines are being developed around the world - US$1.2 billion was recently awarded to drug firm AstraZeneca as part of another project in Britain.

READ: Canada handled the COVID-19 outbreak better than United States: PM Trudeau

"FASCIST" PROTESTERS

Following in the footsteps of world leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Bolsonaro was the latest statesman to test positive for COVID-19.

He has consistently played down the risks of the disease, mocking it as a "little flu".

The 65-year-old said he felt "tiredness, illness and a fever" but insisted he was feeling "good, calm" and took off his mask to emphasize the point.

Experts have criticized the US and Brazil for stoking the virus by failing to enforce rigorous social distancing measures and lockdowns.

In Europe, where millions lived for months under severe restrictions, the possibility of returning to that scenario triggered violent protests in Serbia.

Dozens were hurt, police cars set alight and the parliament building breached as thousands protested in Belgrade after the government said it would reimpose a weekend curfew.

Outrage focused on President Aleksandar Vucic, who branded the protesters "fascists" but later said the curfew could be reconsidered.

"EXTRAORDINARY SOLIDARITY"

Mindful of potentially disastrous consequences of attempting to thrust millions back into their homes, France's new prime minister aimed to soothe fears by promising no new full shutdown.

"We're not going to impose a lockdown like the one we did last March, because we've learned ... that the economic and human consequences from a total lockdown are disastrous," Jean Castex said, promising "targeted" measures instead.

France is among the European nations attempting to frame a national response to the crisis while also leading European Union's attempts to repair the massive economic damage.

German Angela Merkel said Brussels needed to reach a deal quickly on a proposed $843 million package to help crisis-hit economies in the bloc.

"We need extraordinary solidarity," she said ahead of an upcoming EU summit.

READ: Merkel wants swift EU deal on COVID economic recovery to grow unity

Australia neither suffered the kind of outbreak that ravaged Europe, nor the economic damage from draconian lockdowns.

But seeking to staunch a surge of cases in its second-biggest city, it is sealing off the state of Victoria - a move that sparked panic-buying and prompted supermarkets to introduce limits on the purchase of some goods.

"This is not the situation that anybody wanted to be in, but it is the reality that we must confront," said Victoria premier Daniel Andrews.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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2020-07-08 17:56:18Z
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Coronavirus: A look inside China's Wuhan Institute of Virology - South China Morning Post

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Coronavirus: A look inside China's Wuhan Institute of Virology South China Morning PostView Full coverage on Google News
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2020-07-08 11:38:23Z
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Hong Kong bans protest anthem in schools as fears over freedoms intensify - CNA

HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday (Jul 8) banned school students from singing Glory to Hong Kong, the unofficial anthem of the protest movement, just hours after Beijing set up its new national security bureau in the Chinese-ruled city.

New security legislation imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing requires the Asian financial hub to "promote national security education in schools and universities and through social organisations, the media, the Internet".

The school anthem ban will further stoked concerns that new security laws will crush freedoms in China's freest city, days after public libraries removed books by some prominent activists from their shelves.

Authorities also banned protest slogans as the new laws came into force last week.

The sweeping legislation that Beijing imposed on the former British colony punishes what China defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison.

READ: Hong Kong in tumult over national security law

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung, responding to a question from a lawmaker, said students should not participate in class boycotts, chant slogans, form human chains or sing songs that contain political messages.

"The song Glory to Hong Kong, originated from the social incidents since June last year, contains strong political messages and is closely related to the social and political incidents, violence and illegal incidents that have lasted for months," Yeung said.

"Schools must not allow students to play, sing or broadcast it in schools."

Earlier on Wednesday, China opened its new national security office, turning a hotel near a city-centre park that has been one of the most popular venues for protests into its new headquarters.

Both Hong Kong and Chinese government officials have said the new law is vital to plug gaping holes in national security defences exposed by the anti-government and anti-China protests that rocked the city in the past year.

READ: 'We're next': Hong Kong security law sends chills through Taiwan

They have argued the city failed to pass such laws by itself as required under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.

Critics of the law see it as a tool to crush dissent, while supporters say it will bring stability to the city.

In a statement last month, China's Hong Kong Liaison Office, Beijing's top representative office in the city, blamed political groups "with ulterior motives" for "shocking chaos" in Hong Kong education.

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2020-07-08 06:18:12Z
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Selasa, 07 Juli 2020

China opens Hong Kong security agency headquarters; city's leader hails 'historic moment' - CNA

HONG KONG: China opened a new office on Wednesday (Jul 8) for its intelligence agents to operate openly in Hong Kong for the first time under a tough new security law, in a public display of its tightening control over the finance hub.

The new base is located in a rapidly converted hotel overlooking the city's Victoria Park, a location that has hosted pro-democracy protests for years, including an annual vigil marking Beijing's deadly Tiananmen crackdown.

A plaque bearing the security agency's name was unveiled early on Wednesday in front of Hong Kong government and mainland officials -- including Beijing's top envoy to the city and the commander of the Chinese army barracks in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG-CHINA-POLITICS (2) — Pedestrians walk past a plaque outside the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong after its official inauguration on Jul 8, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)

Police blocked roads around the former Metropark Hotel and surrounded it with water-filled barriers. A Chinese flag was unfurled on a pole erected outside the building.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam hailed the opening as "a historic moment" that will help safeguard national security.

"Today's unveiling ceremony is a historic moment because we are witnessing another milestone in the establishment of a sound legal system and enforcement mechanism for maintaining national security in Hong Kong," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a speech during an inauguration ceremony for the new office.

READ: Five ways Hong Kong has changed under China's security law

Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong last week targeting acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion.

The law is the most radical change in Hong Kong's freedoms and autonomy since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.

Similar national security laws are used to crush dissent on the mainland and police in Hong Kong have already made arrests for people voicing certain political views now deemed illegal, such as advocating independence or autonomy.

SPEAR TIP OF SECURITY APPARATUS

The content of the security law was kept secret until it was enacted last Tuesday, bypassing Hong Kong's legislature.

China has said it will have jurisdiction over the most serious cases, toppling the legal firewall that has existed between its party-controlled courts and Hong Kong's independent judiciary since the 1997 handover.

HONG KONG-CHINA-POLITICS (1) — A Chinese flag flutters outside the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong after its official inauguration on Jul 8, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)

Among the many precedent-breaking provisions the law contains is authorisation for China's security apparatus to work openly inside Hong Kong, with powers to investigate and prosecute national security crimes.

Until now Hong Kong's own police and judiciary had complete jurisdiction over the financial hub.

But China argues national security is the responsibility of the central government and says the laws are needed to restore stability. It has described the law as a "sword" hanging over the heads of critics.

On the mainland, China's secret police are the spear tip of a highly efficient and ruthless security apparatus that pursues critics and scrubs the public sphere of dissent.

READ: Hong Kong set to become a new Tibet, says exiled leader

NEW BOSS

Not much is known about the new security office China has opened in Hong Kong beyond its top leadership.

Last week Beijing appointed Zheng Yanxiong to head up the agency.

A party hardliner and a speaker of Hong Kong's Cantonese dialect, Zheng is best known for his involvement in a clampdown against protests across the border in neighbouring Guangdong province.

At Wednesday's ceremony Zheng said the agency would "strengthen our working liaison and coordination" with mainland bodies already in the city, including the local garrison of the People's Liberation Army.

His two deputies have been named. The first is Li Jiangzhou, a veteran public security officer who has worked in the Liaison Office, the body that represents Beijing in Hong Kong.

Little is publicly known about the second deputy, Sun Qingye. Last week the South China Morning Post described Sun as a senior official from China's intelligence agency, according to government sources.

Beijing's new security law says agents working for the office are exempt from Hong Kong's laws while carrying out their duties.

READ: What are Hong Kong police's new powers?

The opening of the new office comes little more than a day after Hong Kong announced expanded search and surveillance powers for police investigating national security crimes.

The new rules also empower Hong Kong police to order Internet takedown notices if posts and comments are deemed to breach national security.

A host of United States tech giants, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft have said they have stopped considering requests by Hong Kong's government for information on users because of the new law.

READ: Microsoft, Zoom join pause on Hong Kong data requests

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2020-07-08 03:33:45Z
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China opens new Hong Kong security agency headquarters - CNA

HONG KONG: China on Wednesday (Jul 8) opened a new office for its security agents to operate openly in Hong Kong for the first time under a tough new law, transforming a hotel into the force's headquarters.

"The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was inaugurated here on Wednesday morning," China's official Xinhua news agency said.

The new base is the Metropark Hotel, a skyscraper overlooking Hong Kong's Victoria Park, a location that has hosted protests for years, including an annual vigil each June marking Beijing's Tiananmen incident.

A plaque bearing the security agency's name was unveiled early on Wednesday in front of Hong Kong government and police officials, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

Police blocked roads around the hotel and surrounded it with heavy water-filled barriers.

A Chinese flag was unfurled on a pole erected outside the building while a plaque bearing the emblem of the People's Republic of China went up overnight.

Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong last week targeting acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion.

READ: Five ways Hong Kong has changed under China's security law

The law is the most radical change in Hong Kong's freedoms and autonomy since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997.

HARDLINER BOSS

The content of the security law was kept secret until it was enacted last Tuesday, bypassing Hong Kong's legislature.

Until then Hong Kong's own police and judiciary had complete jurisdiction over the financial hub.

But China argues national security is the responsibility of the central government and says the laws are needed to restore stability after huge and often violent protests last year.

Not much is known about the new security office China has opened in Hong Kong beyond its top leadership.

On the authoritarian mainland, China's secret police are the speartip of a highly efficient and ruthless security apparatus that tolerates no dissent.

Last week Beijing appointed Zheng Yanxiong to head up the agency.

A party hardliner and a speaker of Hong Kong's Cantonese dialect, Zheng is best known for his involvement in a clampdown against protests across the border in neighbouring Guangdong province.

His two deputies have been named. The first is Li Jiangzhou, a veteran public security officer who has worked in the Liaison Office, the body that represents Beijing in Hong Kong.

Beijing's new security law says agents working for the office are exempt from Hong Kong's laws while carrying out their duties.

READ: What are Hong Kong police's new powers?

The opening of the new office comes little more than a day after Hong Kong announced expanded search and surveillance powers for police investigating national security crimes.

The new rules also empower Hong Kong police to order Internet takedown notices if posts and comments are deemed to breach national security.

READ: Microsoft, Zoom join pause on Hong Kong data requests

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COVID-19 hampers Indonesia's fight against forest fires as haze season looms - CNA

JAKARTA: From reduced state coffers, overwhelmed hospitals to shortages in face masks, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to present unprecedented challenges in Indonesia's fight against another disaster - the annual forest and land fires.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 38,000 ha of forests and peatlands have been burned but the Indonesian Meteorology and Climatology Agency (BMKG) predicted that the worse has yet to come since the dry season would peak between August and September.

Although the BMKG predicted that the fires would not be as severe as the ones in 2019 when the dry season lasted until November, officials are forced to deal with two national disasters at once this year.

The Ministry of the Environment and Forestry, one of the institutions tasked with putting out forest and peatland fires, revealed that it had to cut its annual budget for forest fire mitigation by 39 per cent because of the pandemic.

“Because of COVID-19, the government has decided to divert much of our resources to deal with the pandemic,” the ministry’s director-general for climate change Ruandha Agung Sugardiman said in an online discussion last month.

READ: Area burned in 2019 forest fires in Indonesia exceeds 2018, says official

“These include manpower, volunteers, state coffers and money to buy equipment. Everything is redirected to deal with COVID-19.”

Mr Sugardiman said the central government is hoping that provincial and regency administrations would fork out 70 per cent of the expenses needed to combat forest fires, while the ministry covers the rest.

“It would be hard to control forest and land fires otherwise,” he said.

Forest fire — A firefighter in front of a peatland forest that has been destroyed by fire in September 2019. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)

However, regional governments have also been struggling financially because of the pandemic.

The Finance Ministry revealed last month that 530 provinces, regencies and cities had to redirect their expenditures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its economic impact through social welfare programmes and cash aids. Some regions also had to deal with decreased revenues because of the economic slowdown.

Home Affairs Minister Mr Tito Karnavian said last week that regional governments have been told to find alternative sources of funding to prevent and fight forest fires, including redirecting the Village Funds programme meant to spur economic growth in underdeveloped villages.

“We are encouraging (regional governments) to make use of its village funds (programme) and create forest fire-free villages,” he said after a Cabinet meeting on forest fires on Jul 2, according to local reports.

Mr Karnavian said regional governments are also encouraged to cooperate with private companies for funding, saying that “there are many big companies which are willing to contribute because they too are affected by the fires.”

INCREASED HEALTH RISK

At least 500,000 ha of forests and peatland were burned each year in Indonesia, caused by prolonged drought and the illegal slash-and-burn practices to clear land for agricultural purposes.

Last year, 1.6 million ha were burned, making it the worst forest fires in the country since the 2015 Southeast Asian haze crisis where haze from Indonesia affected millions of people in several countries in the region.

In 2015, 2.6 million ha of forests and peat lands were on fire.

READ: Indonesian forest fires putting 10 million children at risk, says UN

More than 900,000 people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore reported respiratory illnesses during last year’s forest and peatland fires, according to findings from the World Bank.

At least two provinces, South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, have declared a state of emergency as forest fires began to spread across the archipelago.

Meanwhile, thousands of officials have been deployed to combat forest fires in Sumatra, Java and the Indonesian side of Borneo, while many more are being readied.

“If forest fire rages again this year and air quality deteriorates, it will have grave impact on people’s health - not just in Indonesia but also its neighbouring countries - especially as the world still battles with the COVID-19 pandemic,” public health expert Hermawan Saputra told CNA.

“People will become more susceptible to COVID-19 because of reduced immunity. Health risk for COVID-19 patients will increase significantly and their condition might deteriorate.”

Firefighters in Riau Indonesia — Firefighters dousing flames in a forest fire in Rimbo Panjang village, Riau, Indonesia, in September 2019. (Photo: Nivell Rayda)

Dr Wiendra Waworuntu of the Ministry of Health said that the government has begun to look into the problem since May.

The ministry’s director for infectious disease prevention and control said the government has been trying to figure out ways to prevent COVID-19 patients’ conditions from deteriorating in the midst of a forest fire haze. The government was also anticipating shortages in hospital beds, respirators and face masks.

“There could be a shortage in face masks, equipment and beds if forest fire rages and haze appears, especially if they happen when COVID-19 is at its peak,” she told a press conference recently. “We are trying to address these problems.”

More than 66,000 people in Indonesia have contracted COVID-19, and at least 3,000 of whom have died, making Indonesia the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia.

JOKOWI STRESSES ON PREVENTION

During a cabinet meeting on Jun 23, President Joko Widodo told his ministers to prepare for forest and peatland fires as Indonesia enters the dry season.

“Even though we are busy fighting the pandemic, we mustn’t forget that we also have a big job to do in anticipating land and forest fires,” he said.

Jokowi visiting forest fire in Riau — Indonesian President Joko Widodo (left) and his ministers inspecting a forest engulfed by fire in Kampar regency, Riau, Indonesia, on Sep 17, 2019. (Photo: Indonesian Presidential Palace)

The president, popularly known as Jokowi, said he wanted to see officials preventing forest fires from happening in the first place.

“The littlest of fire must be put out immediately. Don’t let fire rages and then we try to put it out,” he said.

Jokowi also stressed on the importance of early detection of hotspots and identifying lands which are prone to fire.

“The ecosystem must be managed consistently. Make sure that peatlands stay wet. We have done it before. We just have to do it consistently,” he said.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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2020-07-07 22:11:54Z
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US to withdraw visas for foreign students whose classes move online - The Straits Times

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Foreign students must leave the United States if their school's classes this fall will be taught completely online or transfer to another school with in-person instruction, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced on Monday (July 6).

It was not immediately clear how many student visa holders would be affected by the move, but foreign students are a key source of revenue for many US universities as they often pay full tuition.

ICE said it would not allow holders of student visas to remain in the country if their school was fully online for the fall. Those students must transfer or leave the country, or they potentially face deportation proceedings, according to the announcement.

Colleges and universities have begun to announce plans for the fall 2020 semester amid the continued coronavirus pandemic.

Harvard University on Monday announced it would conduct course instruction online for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The ICE guidance applies to holders of F-1 and M-1 visas, which are for academic and vocational students. The State Department issued 388,839 F visas and 9,518 M visas in fiscal 2019, according to the agency's data.

The guidance does not affect students taking classes in person. It also does not affect F-1 students taking a partial online course-load, as long as their university certifies the student's instruction is not completely digital.

M-1 vocational programme students and F-1 English language training programme students will not be allowed to take any classes online.

US President Donald Trump's administration has imposed a number of new restrictions on legal and illegal immigration in recent months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In June, the administration suspended work visas for a wide swathe of non-immigrant workers that it argued compete with US citizens for jobs.

The administration has also effectively suspended the admission of asylum seekers at the southern border with Mexico, citing coronavirus-related health risks as justification.

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2020-07-07 16:06:05Z
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