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Sabtu, 24 April 2021

ASEAN leaders reach consensus on 'immediate cessation' of violence in Myanmar - CNA

SINGAPORE: Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed on the need for an immediate stop to the violence in Myanmar after an emergency meeting in Jakarta on Saturday (Apr 24).

The meeting, chaired by Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was also attended by Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.

This is the general's first foreign trip since the Feb 1 coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar's crackdown on anti-coup protests has left more than 700 people dead.

According to a statement from Brunei, the current chair of ASEAN, leaders reached a consensus on five points - ending violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate dialogue, the provision of humanitarian assistance and a visit by the envoy to Myanmar.

READ: Myanmar junta chief 'not opposed' to visit by ASEAN delegation to help resolve crisis, says PM Lee

"We, as an ASEAN family, had a close discussion on the recent developments in Myanmar and expressed our deep concern on the situation in the country, including reports of fatalities and escalation of violence," said the statement.

"We acknowledged ASEAN’s positive and constructive role in facilitating a peaceful solution in the interest of the people of Myanmar and their livelihoods," it added.

"We also heard calls for the release of all political prisoners including foreigners."

FIVE POINTS OF CONSENSUS

Among the points of consensus, ASEAN leaders called for an "immediate cessation of violence" in Myanmar, adding that all parties shall exercise "utmost restraint".

They also agreed to start a constructive dialogue among all parties concerned to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people of Myanmar.

"Third, a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the Secretary-General of ASEAN," the statement read.

"Fourth, ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management. Fifth, the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned."

The ASEAN meeting is the first coordinated international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar.

General Min Aung Hlaing had earlier told the meeting that he was not opposed to a visit by an ASEAN delegate to help resolve the crisis.

During the meeting, the leaders also discussed ASEAN's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and Myanmar's continued efforts to address the situation in Rakhine state, including its repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh.

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2021-04-24 14:47:23Z
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India posts new world record of daily Covid-19 cases, Air Force airlifts cryogenic tanks - The Straits Times

NEW DELHI (REUTERS, AFP) - India’s coronavirus infections rose by 346,786 overnight, the health ministry said on Saturday (April 24), setting a new world record for the third consecutive day, as overwhelmed hospitals in the densely-populated country begged for oxygen supplies.

India is in the grip of a rampaging second wave of the pandemic, hitting a rate of one Covid-19 death in just under every four minutes in Delhi as the capital’s underfunded health system buckles.

The government has deployed military planes and trains to get oxygen from the far corners of the country to Delhi.

The Indian Air Force has also on Saturday airlifted four cryogenic tanks from Singapore’s Changi airport. The tanks will be used to transport oxygen in India, the Times of India reported.

“We stand with India in its fight against Covid-19,” Singapore’s diplomatic missions in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai tweeted via its account Singapore in India.

“Through a bilateral and multi-agency effort, an @IAF_MCC transport plane picked up 4 cryogenic oxygen containers at @ChangiAirport in Singapore this morning.”

Television showed an oxygen truck arriving at Delhi’s Batra hospital after it issued an SOS saying it had 90 minutes of oxygen left for its 260 patients.

“Please help us get oxygen, there will be a tragedy here,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a conference on Friday.

The crisis is also being felt in other parts of the country, with several hospitals issuing public notices that they don’t have medical oxygen. Local media reported fresh cases of people dying in the cities of Jaipur and Amritsar for lack of the gas.

India surpassed the the US record of 297,430 single-day infections anywhere in the world on Thursday, making it the global epicentre of a pandemic that is waning in many other countries.

Covid-19 deaths across India rose by 2,624 over the past 24 hours, the highest daily rate for the country so far. The country has now recorded a total of 16.6 million cases, including 189,544 deaths.

Health experts said India became complacent in the winter, when new cases seemed under control at about 10,000 a day, lifting restrictions that allowed for the resumption of religious gatherings and elections.

IAF's C-17 aircraft arrived at Singapore's Changi International Airport today to load 4 containers of cryogenic oxygen tanks. The aircraft will offload these containers at Panagarh airbase by today evening. pic.twitter.com/kzOHOpKCkW
— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2021

Others said that it could also be a more dangerous variant of the virus coursing through the world’s second most populous country where people live in close proximity, often six to a room.

“While complacency in adhering to masks and physical distancing might have played a role, it seems increasingly likely that this second wave has been fuelled by a much more virulent strain,” wrote Vikram Patel, Professor of Global Health at Harvard Medical School, in the Indian Express.

WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said reducing transmission in India would be a “very difficult task” but the government was working on limiting mixing between people, which he said was essential.

Southeast Asian leaders set for Myanmar crisis talks - CNA

JAKARTA: Southeast Asian leaders will hold Myanmar crisis talks on Saturday (Apr 24) with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing who has become the focus of international outrage over a military coup and crackdown that has left more than 700 dead.

The senior general was expected at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia's capital, marking his first foreign trip since security forces staged a coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in early February.

Mass protests by an angry population have been met by a brutal crackdown that has left blood on the streets.

An estimated 250,000 people have been displaced, according to a UN envoy, with Myanmar's democratically elected top leaders in hiding or under house arrest.

READ: PM Lee to travel to Jakarta for ASEAN summit on Myanmar crisis

On Saturday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the Sultan of Brunei, the current chair of ASEAN, were to be joined by leaders and foreign ministers from most of the 10-country group, which also includes Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos.

Protests were expected around ASEAN's downtown headquarters, which is being ringed by heavy security. The meeting was to be closed to media.

The general's expected involvement has angered activists, human rights groups and a shadow government of ousted Myanmar lawmakers, which was not invited to the talks.

"The crisis initiated by a murderous and unrepentant Myanmar military has engulfed the country, and will cause severe aftershocks - humanitarian and more - for the entire region," Amnesty International said ahead of the meeting.

"The Indonesian authorities are duty-bound to investigate Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other Myanmar military officials who may join his delegation to Jakarta," it added.

There have also been calls for the regional bloc to expel Myanmar.

But ASEAN generally takes a hands-off approach to members' internal affairs.

READ: Commentary: The ups and downs of ASEAN’s dealings with Myanmar

Few analysts expected major breakthroughs from the meeting, saying instead it was a chance to bring Myanmar's military to the bargaining table and pave the way for a possible resolution.

"We have to be realistic here. I don't think the summit is going to bear out a full-blown plan on how to get Myanmar out of the conflict," said Mustafa Izzuddin, senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore.

"But rather I think it will start the conversation and perhaps lay the parameters as to how a resolution could be found."

United Nations special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is expected on the sidelines of the summit.

While the EU and Washington have ramped up sanctions against Myanmar to force the military's hand, it is unlikely ASEAN would scold the coup leaders or demand Suu Kyi's release, observers said.

"ASEAN wants to embrace (Myanmar) so it can create and safeguard peace in Southeast Asia," said Beginda Pakpahan, an international relations expert at the University of Indonesia.

"The second objective is to find a long-term solution through constructive engagement."

But the crisis engulfing Myanmar has delivered a big challenge to the future of the bloc and its consensus-driven approach.

"This summit is really a test of ASEAN's credibility not just within the region but also outside of the region," Izzuddin said.

"International eyes are on (it) to see whether the regional approach that ASEAN has taken to find a resolution in Myanmar is effective."

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2021-04-24 00:18:19Z
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Hopes fade for crew of Indonesia submarine KRI Nanggala 402 as oxygen supply dwindles - CNA

BALI: Hopes of rescuing dozens aboard a missing Indonesian submarine faded Saturday (Apr 24) as its oxygen reserves were believed to have run out, turning the focus to retrieving the stricken vessel from waters off Bali.

As hundreds of military personnel took part in a frantic hunt for the KRI Nanggala 402, authorities said the German-built craft was equipped with enough oxygen for only three days after losing power.

But that deadline passed early Saturday morning with still no sign of the missing vessel and its 53 crew.

The submarine - one of five in Indonesia's fleet - disappeared early Wednesday morning during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island.

Indonesia Submarine — A picture of Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala that went missing while participating in a training exercise on Wednesday, is installed at a command tent set up at a naval base in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, Apr 23, 2021. (Photo: AP)

Despite hopes for a miracle, an oil spill spotted where the submarine is thought to have submerged pointed to possible fuel-tank damage, fanning fears of a deadly disaster.

READ: ‘We can only pray’, says mother-in-law of sailor on missing Indonesian submarine

There were concerns that the submarine could have broken apart as it sunk to depths reaching 700m – well below what it was built to withstand.

The vessel was scheduled to conduct the training exercises when it asked for permission to dive. It lost contact shortly after.

Authorities have not offered possible explanations for the submarine's sudden disappearance or commented on questions about whether the decades-old vessel was overloaded.

Neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the United States and Australia, were among nations helping in the hunt, with nearly two dozen warships deployed to scour a search zone covering about 34 sq km.

The United States is deploying a P-8 Poseidon aircraft to assist in the search and rescue operation, while Australia has also deployed a sonar-equipped frigate with a helicopter to help.

READ: 25 Indonesian vessels involved in submarine search; Singapore's MV Swift Rescue to join in

"The possibility of it having fallen underneath its maximum diving depth thereby leading to the implosion of the submarine will have to be considered," said Collin Koh, Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

If the submarine was still intact, Indonesian officials said on Friday it would only have enough air to last until around dawn on Saturday if the equipment was functioning properly.

"So far we haven't found it ... but with the equipment available we should be able to find the location," Achmad Riad, a spokesman for the Indonesian military, told a news conference.

Koh said the assumption that the submarine had 72 hours of oxygen was optimistic given the submarine's limited ability to generate oxygen due to its conventional power generation.

On Thursday, Indonesia's military said it had picked up signs of an object with high magnetism at a depth of between 50m and 100m, bolstering hopes of finding the submarine.

Indonesia has deployed warships and hundreds of personnel in the search for a submarine that went missing off the coast of Bali AFP/SONNY TUMBELAKA

But the passing of Saturday's oxygen deadline was likely to add the Southeast Asian archipelago to a list of countries struck by fatal submarine accidents.

Among the worst was the 2000 sinking of the Kursk, the pride of Russia's Northern Fleet.

That submarine was on manoeuvres in the Barents Sea when it sank with the loss of all 118 aboard. An inquiry found a torpedo had exploded, detonating all the others.

Most of its crew died instantly but some survived for several days before suffocating.

READ: In race to find missing Indonesian submarine, carbon dioxide may be the enemy

In 2003, 70 Chinese naval officers and crew were killed, apparently suffocated, in an accident on a Ming-class submarine.

Five years later, 20 people were killed by poisonous gas when a fire extinguishing system was accidentally activated on a Russian submarine being tested in the Sea of Japan.

And in 2018, authorities found the wreckage of an Argentine submarine that had gone missing a year earlier with 44 sailors aboard.

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2021-04-24 00:00:00Z
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Jumat, 23 April 2021

PM Lee to attend Asean Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta on Saturday - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in Jakarta on Saturday (April 24) to attend an Asean leaders' meeting on the situation in Myanmar.

The meeting, organised by Brunei - this year's Asean chair - will mark the first time leaders are gathering in person since the Covid-19 pandemic began last year.

Eight of the 10 Asean leaders will be present. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will be represented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr, while Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is sending Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai as his representative.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will also attend the summit. It will be his first known foreign trip since the military coup on Feb 1, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and caused thousands to be taken prisoner.

Singapore's Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday: "The Asean leaders will discuss the situation in Myanmar, which has had a serious impact on the peace and stability of Asean and the region."

The decision to invite Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to the summit caused an outcry, with Myanmar nationals interpreting the decision as conferring legitimacy on the junta chief. In particular, the National Unity Government formed by pro-democracy politicians from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party has called for international recognition and an invitation to the summit in place of the general.

Asean, which takes decisions by consensus, has not officially condemned the coup although individual member states such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have denounced the violence.

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has previously called on the junta to exercise restraint and stop the use of lethal force on civilians, as well as to immediately release Ms Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the coup.

Speaking to reporters following a visit to Jakarta last month, he added: "We still do not believe in foreign interference in domestic politics but as fellow Asean member states, we hope they will take into consideration the views of our leaders. Particularly, when our leaders have had the chance to quietly, confidentially and openly among themselves, arrive at a set of conclusions."

Dr Balakrishnan, as well as officials from his ministry, will accompany PM Lee on the trip. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will be Acting Prime Minister in the Prime Minister's absence.

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2021-04-23 10:00:00Z
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Hong Kong separatist jailed for 12 years in explosives case wanted to ‘create terror’ - South China Morning Post

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2021-04-23 13:58:37Z
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Oxygen gets armed escort in India as supplies run low in COVID-19 crisis - CNA

NEW DELHI: Sirens wailing, a police convoy escorting a tanker carrying oxygen reached a hospital in India's capital just in time, to the huge relief of doctors and relatives of COVID-19 patients counting on the supply to stave off death.

India on Friday (Apr 23) posted the world's largest daily COVID-19 caseload for a second day, with 332,730 new cases and 2,263 deaths, as the pandemic spiralled out of control.

A dire shortage of oxygen - essential for the survival of critical COVID-19 patients - has meant states are closely guarding their supplies and even posting armed police at production plants to ensure security.

READ: Oxygen supplies run low as India grapples with COVID-19 'storm'

Several hospitals, including Shanti Mukand in the west of the New Delhi with 110 COVID-19 patients, said they had almost exhausted their oxygen supplies on Thursday. The prospects for patients and their distraught families was disastrous.

"The hospital came to us and told us to make our own arrangements," said Bhirendra Kumar, whose COVID-positive father was admitted 10 days ago.

"We're not an oxygen company - how can we make our own arrangements?"

Earlier in the day, the hospital's chief executive, Sunil Saggar, choked back tears as he described the decision to discharge some patients because the lack of oxygen meant there was nothing his hospital could do to help.

At the hospital's oxygen supplier, Inox in Uttar Pradesh state about an hour from the capital, a line of a dozen trucks from cities across north India waited to fill up.

Half a dozen drivers told Reuters they had been waiting for as long as three days to get their trucks filled, as surging demand from hospitals in the capital and elsewhere outstripped supply.

Vakeel, who goes by one name, has been working as a driver for Inox since 1994. He said the level of demand was unprecedented.

"Every hospital wants three or four times what they did before," he said.

Spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad — A worker loads empty oxygen cylinders onto a supply van to be transported to a filling station, at a COVID-19 hospital, in Ahmedabad, India, Apr 22, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Amit Dave)

READ: India COVID-19 variant: What we know so far

"LEARN TO MANAGE"

The Inox plant has seen frequent visits from government officials and police, some wielding assault rifles, ensuring that there is no disruption of any kind to supplies.

An Uttar Pradesh police officer said they had been given orders to escort trucks to waiting hospitals.

Welcome though the extra security is, a supervisor at the facility said it was impossible to meet demand.

"Even if we build another five plants here we won't be able to," said the supervisor, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Eventually, a truck left the plant, reaching the New Delhi hospital late on Thursday evening.

READ: 'Losing hope': India's COVID-19 meltdown exposes new front in digital divide

A relieved crowd of doctors and relatives who had gathered outside to wait for the truck's arrival headed back in.

"Some things in life are difficult," hospital chief Saggar said as the needle on the hospital's storage tank ticked back up from close to zero. "You have to learn to manage."

But the reprieve is only temporary.

"Every day is like this now," Saggar said.

In less than 24 hours, the hospital will have to do it all over again, as the needle sinks back towards empty with new supplies, hopefully, on the way.

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

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2021-04-23 07:50:21Z
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Sabtu, 24 April 2021

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Jumat, 23 April 2021