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Jumat, 04 Desember 2020

The Straits Times Asians of the Year: Heroes in the fight to end Covid-19 pandemic - The Straits Times

Six people who have spent 2020 tirelessly seeking a way out of the greatest crisis of our era have been named The Straits Times Asians of the Year.

Between them, the recipients of the 2020 award capture the entire trajectory of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They are Chinese researcher Zhang Yongzhen, who led the team that mapped and published online the first complete genome of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that sparked the pandemic; three scientists - China's Major-General Chen Wei, Japan's Dr Ryuichi Morishita and Singapore's Professor Ooi Eng Eong - who are among those at the forefront of developing vaccines against the virus; and two businessmen - South Korea's Mr Seo Jung-jin and India's Mr Adar Poonawalla - whose companies will enable the making and dispensing of the vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments to the world.

Collectively referred to as "the virus busters", they are heroes of a kind, having devoted themselves to the pressing cause of resolving the coronavirus pandemic, each in their own capacity.

"Sars-CoV-2, the virus that has brought death and hardship to the world's largest and most populous continent, is meeting its tamer in The Virus Busters," the award citation said. "We salute your courage, care, commitment and creativity. In this peril-filled hour, you are a symbol of hope for Asia, indeed the world."

In deciding to honour The Virus Busters, ST editors had in mind those who have, in one way or another, enabled the complex, multi-stage process of preventing as many people around the world from getting the deadly disease in as little time as possible.

Said Mr Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English/Malay/Tamil Media Group and editor of ST: "Each year, ST editors seek out a person, team or organisation that has not only made or shaped the news, but also helped contribute positively to Asia in the process.

"This year, we naturally looked to those involved in the fight against Covid-19, which has dominated the headlines. We debated long and hard, but finally agreed on a group of people who have done the most to help find an answer to the crisis brought on by the virus.

"They are a disparate group whose collective efforts have pushed forward the search for vaccines, allowing these to be discovered and delivered with an urgency never attempted or seen before. Their commitment and actions have helped save lives and give hope to people all around Asia, and the world."

Working to end pandemic

Professor Zhang Yongzhen, 55, of China's Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre helped kick-start the process of working towards an end to the pandemic.

He and his team toiled through two straight nights in early January - after receiving their first sample of the mysterious illness then plaguing the city of Wuhan in central Hubei province - to map the first complete genome of the virus.

With the identification of the pathogen came the realisation of the enormity of the situation.

Prof Zhang's team quickly shared their findings with the authorities and posted the information online to alert the global scientific community of the dangerous virus about to sweep the world.

It would have taken extraordinary gumption to do so, as some whistle-blowing doctors who had earlier tried to sound the alarm about the disease had been detained at that time. Prof Zhang and his team's timely transparency proved vital in the swift development of testing kits and early research into treatments and vaccines for the illness.

Over in Wuhan, the Chinese military's top epidemiologist Chen Wei, 54, scrambled to develop a viable vaccine to bring an end to the outbreak that she could already foresee wreaking havoc across the globe.

In barely 50 days, she and her team had produced a potential vaccine with Chinese firm CanSino Biologics ready for clinical trials. It became the world's first vaccine to be approved for restricted use.

While Maj-Gen Chen's vaccine employed a tried-and-tested method of using a common cold virus to carry genetic data of the coronavirus' protein to elicit an immune response, other researchers are blazing a trail in experimenting with novel technologies in developing their own vaccines.

In Japan, Dr Ryuichi Morishita, 58, a professor of clinical gene therapy at Osaka University, is working with home-grown biotech start-up AnGes on a DNA vaccine, while Singapore's Professor Ooi Eng Eong, 53, is leading scientists at the Duke-NUS Medical School and US pharmaceutical firm Arcturus Therapeutics to develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine.

The DNA and mRNA vaccines differ from traditional ones in that, instead of injecting a form of a virus into the body, they take only a small part of the coronavirus' genetic data to stimulate cells to create a protein that would produce antibodies against the virus.

If the DNA and mRNA Covid-19 vaccines make it through the clinical trials and are approved for use in humans, they will be among the very first of their kind.

The first such mRNA vaccine, an American-German collaboration by drug-makers Pfizer and BioNTech, was approved for mass production only on Wednesday.

These novel technologies can be developed quickly, and may churn out vaccines that are cheaper to produce.

The Asian efforts are but part of a wider, global collaboration. Developers in the United States and Europe, too, have been working at lightning speed to crunch down the typical years taken to create a vaccine to just months.

There are promising vaccine candidates from Russia and China as well, though they have been less transparent in releasing clinical trial results.

Scientists and researchers are not the only ones with a part to play.

Nations are now gearing up for mass production and distribution of these much-anticipated vaccines, with many in Asia moving to make them free for their people. Among those enabling the process are two key Asian businessmen whose contributions have helped push us closer by the day towards the end goal of getting billions of doses of the vaccines and treatments within reach of people around the world.

Mr Seo Jung-jin, chairman of one of South Korea's largest pharmaceutical firms, Celltrion, and the country's second-richest man, is investing 300 billion won (S$368 million) into producing an antibody treatment that will complement the Covid-19 vaccines. Celltrion is also South Korea's biggest distributor of biological medicines worldwide.

With an eye towards offering affordable treatment, Mr Seo, 63, has vowed to provide Celltrion's Covid-19 drug - which will seek conditional approval by the end of this month - at production cost in South Korea, and at lower prices than competitors to the rest of the world.

"During a pandemic crisis, pharmaceutical companies must serve as public assets for the country," said Mr Seo.

Mr Adar Poonawalla - billionaire chief executive of India's Serum Institute, the world's biggest producer of vaccines, has put US$250 million (S$333 million) of his family fortune into ramping up his firm's manufacturing capacity.

"I decided to go all out," said Mr Poonawalla, 39, who has pledged that his firm's Covid-19 vaccines will help supply lower- and middle-income countries that face significant disadvantages in the quest to obtain them.

Serum Institute is also developing its own vaccine.

In the big picture of ending the pandemic, commonality of purpose is key. The ST Asians of the Year have led the way, as have scores of other individuals in their own fields. When an end comes into sight, it will be due in no small part to these people who - undaunted by the tumult - have committed themselves to the sobering, much-needed work to put together an exit plan from the crisis, for humanity.

Said Ms Bhagyashree Garekar, ST's foreign editor: "There has not been a day this year when the pandemic has not been in the news. ST's editors felt there could be no more deserving recipients this year than the people squaring up to Asia's biggest-ever health challenge, engaged in pioneering and courageous efforts to prevent the highly contagious virus from wreaking more damage.

"In a year that is ending with a wish for great resets... Asia's virus busters are the face of hope on the horizon."

Past recipients of The Straits Times Asian of the Year award

2012

Myanmar President Thein Sein

2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

2014

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

2015

Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (awarded posthumously)

2016

"The Disruptors": Grab co-founders Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling, Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, Gojek founder and chief executive Nadiem Makarim, Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma and Razer co-founder Tan Min-Liang

2017

Chinese President Xi Jinping

2018

"The First Responders": Singaporean paraglider Ng Kok Choong (awarded posthumously), Indian Navy helicopter pilots P. Rajkumar and Vijay Varma, Indonesia's national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Singapore's Mercy Relief, and Jakarta-based Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management

2019

Indonesian President Joko Widodo

China tweet that enraged Australia propelled by 'unusual' accounts, say experts - CNA

SYDNEY: A Chinese official's tweet of an image of an Australian soldier that sparked a furious reaction from Canberra was amplified across social media by unusual accounts, of which half were likely fake, an Israeli cybersecurity firm and Australian experts said.

The digitally altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child was tweeted by China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday (Nov 30).

Twitter declined Australia's request to remove the tweet.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra told ABC television on Friday that Prime Minister Scott Morrison's demand for an apology drew more attention to an investigation into war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Cyabra, an Israeli cybersecurity firm, said it found evidence of an orchestrated campaign to promote Zhao's tweet.

Cyabra said it had found 57.5 per cent of accounts that engaged with Zhao's tweet were fake, and "evidence of a largely orchestrated disinformation campaign" to amplify its message.

READ: Australia to discharge 13 soldiers after Afghan war crimes probe

READ: Australian special forces suspected of killing 39 captured, unarmed people in Afghanistan: Report

The firm did not give any details about who was behind the campaign.

Cyabra said it analysed 1,344 profiles and found a large number were created in November and used once, to retweet Zhao's tweet.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Queensland University of Technology's Tim Graham analysed 10,000 replies to Zhao's tweet.

Accounts originating in China were the most active, he said, and 8 per cent of replies were from accounts created on the day, or in the 24 hours prior. Many contained duplicated text.

"When not tweeting about Afghan children, they were tweeting about Hong Kong," he told Reuters in an interview.

"If there's enough of them, those irregularities suggest they were set up for a particular campaign."

READ: Backing Australia, US State Department says China hit 'new low' with doctored image

Some of the accounts had already been identified by Graham in a data-set of 37,000 Chinese accounts targeting Australia since June, he said.

Ariel Bogle, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said she had also noticed "unusual behaviour" by Twitter accounts retweeting or liking Zhao's tweet.

"There was a spike in accounts created on Nov 30 and Dec 1," she told Reuters, adding it was too early to determine if it was coordinated inauthentic behaviour or patriotic individuals.

Many of the new accounts only followed Zhao, plus one or two other accounts, she said. A third of accounts liking Zhao's tweet had zero followers, ASPI noted.

Earlier this year, Twitter said it had removed 23,750 accounts spreading geopolitical narratives favourable to the Chinese Communist Party, and another 150,000 accounts designed to amplify these messages.

A Twitter spokeswoman said the company remains vigilant, but the Cyabra findings "don't hold up to scrutiny" because it relied only on publicly available data.

A Cyabra spokeswoman said its founders are information warfare experts with Israeli military backgrounds, and the US State Department was among its clients.

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2020-12-04 09:19:58Z
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Climate Change - CNA

BANGKOK: Up to 1 billion people in Asia could live in areas experiencing lethal heatwaves by 2050 as a result of worsening climate change, according to a new report by consulting firm McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

The modelling in the report outlines that severe heat is just one of the major risks forecast for the continent under RCP8.5, a worst-case scenario situation that could result without collective action to reduce carbon emissions.

Without vastly improved action to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, Asia is expected to see temperature rises of more than two degrees from pre-industrial levels.

While much of the risk lies in subcontinental Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Southeast Asia would also face more frequent, dangerous heat conditions, especially Vietnam.

Based on MGI’s report released on Nov 24, it means more regular deadly heat events and vastly reduced safe outdoor working hours, a factor compounded in Southeast Asia by fast spreading urbanisation and the prediction of shifting manufacturing operations to the region from China.

The flow-on effects to agriculture is also predicted to place greater strain on populations.

In Southeast Asia - labelled Emerging Asia in the report - yields of essential crops like rice, corn and soy will become more unpredictable, affecting prices for consumers and livelihoods of farmers. Singapore is in a separate category called Advanced Asia.

Thailand drought 10 — A small camp fire built by locals in the dried out reservoir that normally provides agricultural water in northeast Thailand. (Photo: Jack Board)

“Climate risk and response is one the imperatives, if not the imperative of our generation,” Oliver Tonby, Asia Chairman of McKinsey & Company, told CNA.

“The stakes of climate change - and the impact it’s having on people, on economies, on countries - we’re already starting to feel it in significant ways and if we continue on the slow pace we’re on right now, the consequences are going to be devastating, especially for Asia,” he said.

READ: Hot in the city - Rising night temperatures a potentially major health issue in Asian metropolises

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

The financial impacts on economies could be staggering - between US$2.8 trillion and US$4.7 trillion of collective GDP in Asia would be at risk every year from rising heat and humidity.

Tonby says one of the report’s intentions is to put a dollar figure on the damage that could lie ahead in the hope that it will provoke action from governments and companies.

“It is important to have a fact base in this debate. For certain people, it is important to talk about what the effect is in monetary terms,” he said.

“We want to paint a realistic picture. The numbers themselves and the messages themselves are startling. It illustrates the importance of climate risk, of sustainability, in a certain context and hopefully it spurs more action. That’s the idea.”

Cambodia_agriculture — Agricultural yields will become more unpredictable under the RCP8.5 scenario. (Photo: Jack Board)

BECOMING RESILIENT

Regional governments have been urged to “amplify” investments in climate action in order to protect vulnerable populations and empower them to adapt to the rising dangers of drought and extreme heat, in another recent report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Secretariat.

It follows some of the worst drought conditions ever recorded in the region over the past five years, with 70 per cent of Southeast Asia's land area affected and about 60 per cent of the region’s population exposed at the peak of dry conditions, according to the study.

“The ever-present threat of drought, with devastating impacts across the Southeast Asia region, is a hallmark of the climate crisis,” UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said in a statement on Nov 27.

“The best way to protect people in pandemics, droughts or other disasters, is not just to offer emergency aid but to also help people become more sustainably resilient,” she said.

Cambodia_drought — Extreme heat will exponentially impact the most vulnerable. (Photo: Jack Board)

The authors of the report called on regional governments to be more proactive to foreseeable drought events and implement better early warning systems and drought risk financing.

Despite growing attention to extreme heat from authorities, it remains an overlooked and under-examined issue, according to Albert Salamanca, a Bangkok-based senior research fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute.

“Extreme heat is an issue that is yet to receive full attention by national and regional actors and stakeholders,” he said.

“There is now a growing realisation, however, of extreme heat in the context of agricultural drought and its contribution to a country’s annual loss due to disasters.”

Bangkok expressway — Heat is trapped by thermal mass during the day and released at night. (Photo: Jack Board)

The urban heat island phenomenon is also a growing impediment to productivity and health, as increasing thermal mass adds to temperatures in large cities.

Roads, buildings and other concrete urban infrastructure absorb solar radiation during the day and release it slowly at night, causing an increase in temperature. Vehicles add to the issue, as well as the clearing of green spaces to make way for new construction.

While small-scale solutions are being implemented in some major cities, fast urbanisation around secondary cities poses a pressing need for more urgent mitigation strategies.

“Extreme heat in the context of urban areas or urban heating has not yet entered the priorities of national and regional policymakers. To date, discussions on this issue are very limited,” Salamanca said.

READ: 2020 likely world's second-hottest year, UN says

FUTURE PROOFING

It is in the investment in infrastructure where MGI identifies a key opportunity for the Asia region. The report estimates the need for US$1.7 trillion of new investments to maintain economic growth targets.

Much of the factories, networks and other physical urban spaces will need to be future-proofed, especially with regard to the threat posed by extreme precipitation events leading to historic flooding. In some parts of the continent, including Indonesia, the likelihood of these events could increase by three to four-fold, putting hundreds of billions of dollars of assets at danger of damage.

Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo and Jakarta are highlighted as metropolises where the costs of protection from inundation will continue to rise at steeper magnitudes.

But because much essential infrastructure has yet to be built, decision makers have the chance to make prudent investment choices that prioritise sustainability and build resilience rather than risk.

Japan flood 6 — Homes swept away and apart by the force of landslides in Yanohigashi, Japan. (Photo: Jack Board)

Decarbonising road transportation, buildings and industrial operations - notably steel and cement - as well as forestry and agriculture are all important components in controlling emissions.

As Asia contributes about 45 per cent of global emissions, the speed of its transition from coal to renewable energy sources will be one of the key indicators of success or failure on climate change action.

New capacity in renewables is growing year by year, and several powerhouse nations including China, South Korea and Japan have ambitious emissions targets, which will be driven by the expansion of the solar, wind and geothermal industries.

“That shift is happening naturally. In Southeast Asia we’ve seen a big, big step up in recent years from a lower base and the pace is slightly slower than India and China, but it’s coming,” Tonby said.

READ: Commentary - We can no longer ignore the health risks of climate change in Asia

The COVID-19 pandemic could prove to be an illuminating lesson on how regional and global cooperation and solutions can help tackle a daunting challenge. Indeed, experts insist that coordinated action is a necessary strategy to help mitigate climate change.

“Working collaboratively on climate change is not only about limiting economic losses; it is about survival,” said Sharon Seah, coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre and the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

The speed of action and international collaboration has been unprecedented during this crisis, and Tonby expects the pace of climate change initiatives to accelerate too in its wake.

“The surprise - and it’s not a good surprise - is the pace of change that we are facing now and the severity of it. It’s how rapidly it’s coming now,” he said.

“What’s to come in the next ten to 15 years is dramatic and it’s already locked in. What we’re talking about now is moving the needle for 2030 onwards.”

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2020-12-04 08:08:56Z
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Diplomat blames Australian media for negative spin on China’s grievances - South China Morning Post

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Diplomat blames Australian media for negative spin on China’s grievances South China Morning Post
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2020-12-04 07:09:25Z
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Hackers target groups in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, says IBM - CNA

WASHINGTON: IBM and U.S. officials are sounding the alarm over hackers targeting companies critical to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

IBM said on Thursday (Dec 3) that the campaign was a sign that digital spies are turning their attention to the complex logistical work involved in inoculating the world's population against the novel coronavirus, although some outside experts questioned whether that was the hackers' focus.

In a blog post published on Thursday, IBM said it had uncovered "a global phishing campaign" focused on organizations associated with the COVID-19 vaccine "cold chain" - the process needed to keep vaccine doses at extremely cold temperatures as they travel from manufacturers to people's arms.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reposted the report, warning members of Operation Warp Speed - the U.S. government's national vaccine mission - to be on the lookout.

Other cybersecurity experts expressed some scepticism, however, of IBM's findings.

Joe Slowik, a researcher at online threat intelligence firm DomainTools, said he believed IBM had stumbled upon "a subset of activity" that was part of a much wider campaign "which may not be focused on vaccines or similar activity."

While "definitely malicious", Slowik said he was not convinced it was specifically focused on vaccine distribution.

Who is behind the espionage is not clear. Messages sent to the email addresses used by the hackers were not returned.

Understanding how to build a secure cold chain is fundamental to distributing vaccines developed by the likes of Pfizer and BioNTech because the shots need to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below to avoid spoiling.

IBM's cybersecurity unit said it had detected an advanced group of hackers working to gather information about different aspects of the cold chain, using meticulously crafted booby-trapped emails sent in the name of an executive with Haier Biomedical, a Chinese cold chain provider that specializes in vaccine transport and biological sample storage.

Haier Medical did not return messages seeking comment.

Targets included companies involved in the manufacture of solar panels, which are used to power vaccine refrigerators in warm countries, and petrochemical products that could be used to derive dry ice.

The hackers went through "an exceptional amount of effort," said IBM analyst Claire Zaboeva, who helped draft the report. Hackers researched the correct make, model, and pricing of various Haier refrigeration units, Zaboeva said.

"Whoever put together this campaign was intimately aware of whatever products were involved in the supply chain to deliver a vaccine for a global pandemic," she said.

The only organisation identified by name in IBM's report - the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union - said in a statement that it was aware that it had been targeted in the hacking campaign.

"We have taken the necessary steps to mitigate the attack and are closely following and analysing the situation," the statement said.

Reuters has previously documented how hackers linked to Iran, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, China, and Russia have on separate occasions been accused by cybersecurity experts or government officials of trying to steal information about the virus and its potential treatments. Cybercriminals have also been active against health care providers such as hospitals during the pandemic.

IBM's Zaboeva said there was no shortage of potential suspects. Figuring out how to swiftly distribute an economy-saving vaccine "should be topping the lists of nation states across the world," she said.

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

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2020-12-04 03:31:26Z
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Kamis, 03 Desember 2020

Singapore to contribute US$5 million to COVAX, to help less wealthy countries access COVID-19 vaccines - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore will contribute US$5 million (S$6.67 million) to help bring COVID-19 vaccines to people in low- and lower-middle-income countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a joint statement on Friday (Dec 4).

The contribution will go towards the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Advance Market Commitment (AMC) mechanism, which will assist 92 countries in securing access to vaccines.

Six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are among the countries eligible for assistance: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The COVAX initiative is coordinated by global vaccine alliance Gavi, along with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the World Health Organization.

READ: Global COVID-19 death toll passes 1.5 million as nations plan for vaccine

READ: UN chief warns of long road ahead after vaccines approval

MFA and MOH said that the move is part of Singapore’s “consistent support for vaccine multilateralism, and the fair and equitable access and allocation of vaccines”, and that an effective international response to the pandemic requires global solidarity.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on public health, society and the economy both at home and abroad,” the ministries said.

“The virus does not respect borders, and no one is safe until everyone is safe.

“The successful development of safe and efficacious vaccines is a critical step towards overcoming the pandemic.”

The aim of the COVAX Facility is to obtain and fairly distribute 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.

Singapore is one of 97 self-financing participants in the COVAX Facility, and co-chairs the Friends of the COVAX Facility initiative with Switzerland.

“Singapore will continue to work closely with our international partners, in particular, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to advance vaccine multilateralism and forge a global response to this pandemic,” the ministries said.

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

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2020-12-04 02:09:20Z
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Australia unwilling to ‘give up ground’ as iron ore exports to China rise - South China Morning Post

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Australia unwilling to ‘give up ground’ as iron ore exports to China rise South China Morning Post
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China's WeChat blocks Australian PM Scott Morrison in dispute over doctored image of Australian soldier The Straits Times
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Twitter has become a new battleground for China's wolf-warrior diplomats The Guardian
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2020-12-03 07:41:19Z
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Jumat, 04 Desember 2020

Working to end pandemic

Past recipients of The Straits Times Asian of the Year award

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Kamis, 03 Desember 2020