Selasa, 27 April 2021
S'pore is best place to be during Covid-19 | ST NEWS NIGHT - The Straits Times
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2021-04-27 13:10:12Z
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Australia suspends flights from COVID-19 hotspot India - CNA
SYDNEY: Australia on Tuesday (Apr 27) suspended direct flights from India to prevent more virulent coronavirus variants entering the country following a surge in positive COVID-19 cases in the world's second-most populous nation.
India's coronavirus death toll neared the bleak milestone of 200,000 with another 2,771 fatalities reported on Tuesday, while its armed forces pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.
The suspension of direct passenger flights between the two countries will remain until May 15, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a televised news conference.
"It is a humanitarian crisis and one gripping the world," Morrison said.
"We don't think the answer is to forsake those Australians in India and just shut them off," he added, reiterating the suspension was temporary to ensure Australia could manage arrivals from virus hotspots.
Australia's move impacts two passenger services from India into Sydney and two repatriating flights from India to Darwin, totalling about 500 arrivals.
READ: COVID-19 situation in India 'beyond heartbreaking': WHO chief
READ: Indian Americans in US Congress, tech organise COVID-19 aid to India
Morrison said the suspension would provide a "breather" to quarantine facilities in New South Wales state and the Northern Territory, given the majority of positive cases there came from India.
Australia, which has all but stamped out the coronavirus from its shores, closed its borders to non-citizens and permanent residents in March 2020 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
Returning residents and citizens have to undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense, a system that has largely helped Australia to keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, with just under 29,700 cases and 910 deaths.
The country reported zero new cases of community transmission on Tuesday.
Some state premiers had earlier voiced concerns about rising coronavirus cases in quarantine hotels, calling for a suspension on flights from India.
Western Australia, which on Monday emerged from a three-day snap lockdown after reporting one local case last week, had been among the most vocal.
"India, there needs to be a suspension," Premier Mark McGowan told reporters in Perth, ahead of the federal government's decision.
"There is huge pressure now on all our quarantine facilities as a result of people coming from India."
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2021-04-27 06:48:00Z
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Myanmar junta wants 'stability' before heeding pleas on violence - CNA
YANGON: Myanmar's junta said on Tuesday (Apr 27) that it will heed regional pleas to stop violence only when the coup-hit country "returns to stability", as fresh fighting erupted with a major ethnic rebel group along its eastern border.
The nation has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a Feb 1 coup, triggering an uprising that has seen security forces mount deadly crackdowns against protesters.
The violence - in which more than 750 people have been killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group - has raised alarm among regional neighbours.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing attended a weekend meeting on the crisis with the leaders of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - his first overseas trip since he seized power.
The leaders issued a "five-point consensus" statement that called for the "immediate cessation of violence" and a visit to Myanmar by a regional special envoy.
READ: Myanmar's junta to 'positively' consider ASEAN suggestion on ending crisis
READ: Obama calls Myanmar violence 'heartbreaking', urges world to reject junta
On Tuesday, Myanmar's State Administrative Council - as the junta dubs itself - said it would consider the "constructive suggestions made by ASEAN leaders when the situation returns to stability in the country".
The statement also said its neighbours' suggestions would be "positively considered if (ASEAN) would facilitate the implementation" of the junta's five-step road map.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP that the regime was "satisfied" with the trip, saying they had been able to explain the "real situation" to ASEAN leaders.
But ASEAN is not known for its diplomatic clout, and observers have questioned how effectively it can influence the crisis.
Former United States ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel warned that the military's response to the Jakarta summit showed signs of backsliding already.
"ASEAN cannot dither here, as the junta moves to walk back even the limited agreement reached Saturday," Marciel said in a tweet.
"There should be urgent follow-up, and costs imposed on the junta for delay. There is a reason no one in Myanmar trusts the Tatmadaw," he said, referring to the military by its Burmese name.
READ: Myanmar protesters train to fight junta
READ: Insurgent group says it has captured Myanmar military outpost near Thai border
FIGHTING IN THE EAST
Since Feb 1, security forces have killed more than 750 civilians, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group tracking the death toll.
But the junta - which called AAPP an "illegal organisation" - has registered a far lower death toll while blaming the violence on "rioters".
Two days after the ASEAN meeting, a tea shop owner in Mandalay - a hotspot of unrest - was shot dead amid a protest that saw a violent crackdown by authorities, according to a rescue worker.
The anti-coup movement has garnered broad support across the country, including among some of Myanmar's armed insurgent groups which have for decades been fighting the military for more autonomy.
One of the most active opponents, the Karen National Union (KNU), has clashed with the military in their territory along Myanmar's eastern border for weeks.
On Tuesday, fighting broke out in Karen state near the Salween River, which demarcates part of the border, with residents on the Thai side reporting hearing gunfire and explosions coming from inside Myanmar.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun confirmed the attack by the KNU's Fifth Brigade, saying the rebels were not listening to the group's central command.
"We will continue to take action for security reasons," he said.
But Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU's head of foreign affairs, called the junta's statement "nonsense", adding that their soldiers had razed the Tatmadaw's army base.
"This is a divide-and-rule technique ... we approve (of the Fifth Brigade's attack)," he said.
READ: Myanmar junta postpones Aung San Suu Kyi court date again
READ: Myanmar activists call for new non-cooperation campaign
"NOBODY DARES TO STAY"
Last month, after the KNU overran a military base in the same region, the junta responded with multiple air strikes at night - the first use of air offensives in Karen state in over 20 years.
Some villagers had already left their homes for other towns in fear of retaliation from the Myanmar military, said Hkara, a longtime ethnic Karen resident of Mae Sam Laep, a village on the Thai side of the border.
"Nobody dares to stay," she told AFP. "They ran early this morning already when the fire fighting started."
The fighting over recent weeks has displaced more than 24,000 civilians, including about 2,000 who crossed the river to seek refuge in Thailand before they were pushed back by border authorities.
An estimated one-third of Myanmar's territory - mostly in its border regions - is controlled by a myriad of rebel groups, who have their own militias.
The KNU has vocally condemned the military putsch, and have said they are sheltering at least 2,000 anti-coup dissidents who fled urban centres of unrest.
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2021-04-27 08:12:48Z
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Carrie Lam says Hong Kong government could intervene in Bar Association if necessary - CNA
HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday (Apr 27) the government could intervene if necessary in the Bar Association, whose chief has been labelled an "anti-China politician" by Beijing's top representative office in the city.
Paul Harris, chairman of the Bar Association, has been repeatedly targeted by pro-Beijing forces, with the latest remarks coming from the Liaison Office on Sunday criticising him for speaking out against jail terms handed down to several democracy activists this month.
READ: Jimmy Lai among 5 Hong Kong democracy activists jailed
Speaking at her weekly press briefing, Lam said that while Hong Kong respects freedom of expression, there are limits.
"For the time being I do not see the case for any government intervention into the affairs of the Hong Kong Bar Association," Lam said. "But, of course, if there are instances or complaints about the bar not acting in accordance with the Hong Kong law, then of course the government would be called into action."
Harris had challenged the prison terms given to media tycoon Jimmy Lai and others for taking part in an unauthorised assembly during anti-government demonstrations in 2019, and also defended the right to peaceful protests.
READ: China-drafted electoral reform Bill introduced in Hong Kong
The Liaison Office accused him of being "an anti-Chinese politician with intimate foreign connections," and questioned how he could safeguard the rule of law in the former British colony as well as if he should remain on as chairman.
Asked if an annual vigil to mark the Jun 4 anniversary of a crackdown on democracy protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 would violate a contentious national security law imposed on the city in June last year, Lam said only that respecting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was important.
"This year is the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the CCP. Everybody sees under the leadership of CCP, the taking-off of our country’s economy and the happy lives led by the people in these decades," Lam said. "So, respecting our country’s governing party is our stance."
On Monday, Civil Human Rights Front, organiser of an annual rally in Hong Kong on Jul 1, the date at which the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997, said police had asked it to provide details of its finances and explain other activities, sparking concern the protest might not go ahead this year.
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2021-04-27 04:19:11Z
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Senin, 26 April 2021
India's coronavirus crisis intensifies as nations pledge aid - The Straits Times
BENGALURU (REUTERS) - India’s coronavirus cases hit a record peak for a fifth day on Monday (April 26) as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid to help tackle the crisis overwhelming its hospitals.
Infections in the past 24 hours rose to 352,991, with overcrowded hospitals in Delhi and nationwide turning away patients after running out of supplies of medical oxygen and beds.
"Currently the hospital is in beg-and-borrow mode and it is an extreme crisis situation,” said a spokesman of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the capital.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the storm of infections had shaken the nation.
In some of the worst-hit cities, including New Delhi, bodies were being burnt in makeshift facilities offering mass services.
Television channel NDTV broadcast images of three health workers in the eastern state of Bihar pulling a body along the ground on its way to cremation, as stretchers ran short.
“If you’ve never been to a cremation, the smell of death never leaves you,” Vipin Narang, a political science professor at MIT in the United States, said on Twitter.
“My heart breaks for all my friends and family in Delhi and India going through this hell.”
The United States will immediately send raw materials for vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to help India respond to its massive surge in infections, President Joe Biden said on Sunday.
Germany will send oxygen and medical aid in the coming days, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday, while the European Commission has also said it aims to send oxygen and medicines.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has a tally of 17.31 million infections and 195,123 deaths, after 2,812 deaths overnight, health ministry data showed.
Health experts say the death count is probably far higher.
The scale of the second wave knocked oil prices on Monday, as traders worried about a fall in fuel demand in the world’s third-biggest oil importer.
Rally backlash
Politicians, especially Mr Modi, have faced criticism for holding rallies attended by thousands of people, packed close together in stadiums and grounds, despite a brutal second wave of infections.
Several cities have ordered curfews, while police have been deployed to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.
Still, about 8.6 million voters were expected to cast ballots on Monday in the eastern state of West Bengal, in the penultimate part of an eight-phase election that will wrap up this week.
Voting for local elections in other parts of India included the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which has been reporting an average of 30,000 infections a day.
Mr Modi’s plea on vaccinations came after inoculations peaked at 4.5 million doses on April 5, but have since averaged about 2.7 million a day, government figures show.
Several states, including Maharashtra, the richest, halted vaccinations in some places on Sunday, saying supplies were not available.
Supply has fallen short of demand as the inoculation campaign was widened this month, while companies struggle to boost output, partly because of a shortage of raw material and a fire at a facility making the AstraZeneca dose.
Hospitals in Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat are among those facing an acute shortage of oxygen, doctors said.
Just seven ICU beds of a total of 1,277 were available in 166 private hospitals designated to treat the virus in the western state’s largest city of Ahmedabad, data showed.
“The problem is grim everywhere, especially in smaller hospitals, which do not have central oxygen lines and use cylinders,” said Mona Desai, former president of the Ahmedabad Medical Association.
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2021-04-26 06:42:07Z
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Myanmar junta postpones Aung San Suu Kyi court date again - CNA
YANGON: Myanmar's government again postponed court proceedings against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday (Apr 26), her lawyers said as they fight for permission to visit her 12 weeks after she was detained.
The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted the Nobel laureate in a Feb 1 coup, shunting the country back into military rule after a brief experiment with democracy.
Large swathes of the population have taken to the streets in protest, with security forces unleashing a brutal campaign to quell the massive uprising.
Meanwhile Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest, with the military charging her under six cases - including for sedition and having unlicensed walkie-talkies.
But movement on her case was once again delayed until May 10, her lawyer Min Min Soe said Monday after a hearing.
Twelve weeks since Aung San Suu Kyi was detained, Min Min Soe said they still have not received permission to meet their client face-to-face - one of many hurdles the team has faced.
"When the judge asked (police) which stage they have reached, they replied they couldn't tell specifically," she told AFP, adding that Aung San Suu Kyi was frustrated by the slow pace.
"I think she is not getting access to watch news and TV. I do not think she knows the current situation happening in the country," she said.
Besides not being able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, military-imposed mobile data shutdowns have also prevented video-conferencing in previous hearings.
The most serious charge Aung San Suu Kyi faces falls under Myanmar's official secrets law, with a hearing due in Yangon on May 6.
'ERADICATE THE FASCIST ARMY'
Nationwide protests continued Monday, with demonstrators in the south holding signs that said "Free our leaders" and waving red flags emblazoned with a golden peacock - the symbol of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party.
In commercial hub Yangon, dozens of protesters took part in a flash mob which lasted only 10 minutes - a lightning-quick show of resistance to avoid confrontation with security forces.
Waving a three-finger salute, they chanted "Eradicate the fascist army!"
The military has justified its power grab by claiming it is protecting democracy, alleging electoral fraud in November elections which the NLD won in a landslide.
READ: Myanmar activists call for new non-cooperation campaign
READ: Myanmar shadow government welcomes ASEAN call to end violence
Military leader Min Aung Hlaing had travelled to Jakarta over the weekend for a top-level meeting with the 10-country bloc of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - his first overseas trip since his power grab.
The meeting produced a "consensus statement" that called for the cessation of violence, but stopped short of demanding a release of political prisoners.
It drew condemnation from much of Myanmar's civil society - already angered by ASEAN's invitation to the general.
"The statement does not include what the civilians are asking for - respect for their basic human rights, democracy and peace," said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group that has tracked post-coup Myanmar's escalating death toll.
"People in Burma are not asking for humanitarian aid, but for the international community to stand for the truth," it said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
According to AAPP's latest figures, security forces have killed more than 750 people.
The military has given a much lower death toll and blames the violence on "rioters".
State-run television news on Monday night called AAPP an "illegal association", and action will be taken against it.
It also reported that one member of the security forces was killed in Chin state, when their convoy was attacked by people with homemade guns.
'SOLVE ITS OWN PROBLEMS'
Also present in Indonesia over the weekend was the UN special envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener - who has so far been denied a visit to the country.
According to UN sources, Burgener spoke with senior General Min Aung Hlaing briefly on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting.
A spokesperson from Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed that she was "in communication" but no further detail was provided.
The special envoy had previously implored the UN Special Council to take action against the generals, warning that "a bloodbath is imminent" if the international community continues to stall.
So far, western powers like the US, EU and Britain have imposed sanctions targeting military top brass and army-affiliated businesses.
But Myanmar's allies Russia and China have been seen to be blocking efforts for a wider response, such as imposing an arms embargo, according to the EU foreign policy chief.
On Monday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is following Myanmar's situation "with great attention".
"However, Russia is bound by long-standing relations with Burma, and we are keen on it," he said, adding that Myanmar must "solve its own problems".
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2021-04-26 10:31:54Z
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India COVID-19 cases sets new global record for 5th straight day - CNA
BENGALURU: India on Monday (Apr 26) set a global record for a rise in daily coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day, while deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by an all-time high over the last 24 hours.
With 352,991 new cases, India's total caseload has crossed 17 million. Deaths rose by a record 2,812 to reach a total of 195,123, with overcrowded hospitals in Delhi and elsewhere turning away patients after running out of supplies of medical oxygen and beds.
"Currently the hospital is in beg-and-borrow mode and it is an extreme crisis situation," said a spokesman of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the capital.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to get vaccinated and exercise caution, while hospitals and doctors have put out urgent notices saying they were unable to cope with the rush of patients.
People were arranging stretchers and oxygen cylinders outside hospitals as they desperately pleaded for authorities to take patients in, Reuters photographers said.
"Every day, it the same situation, we are left with two hours of oxygen, we only get assurances from the authorities," one doctor said on television.
In some of the worst-hit cities, including the capital, bodies were being burnt in makeshift facilities offering mass services.
Television channel NDTV broadcast images of three health workers in the eastern state of Bihar pulling a body along the ground on its way to cremation, as stretchers ran short.
"If you've never been to a cremation, the smell of death never leaves you," Vipin Narang, a political science professor at MIT in the United States, said on Twitter.
"My heart breaks for all my friends and family in Delhi and India going through this hell."
Politicians, especially Modi, have faced criticism for holding rallies attended by thousands of people, packed close together in stadiums and grounds, despite a brutal second wave of infections.
Several cities have ordered curfews, while police have been deployed to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.
Still, about 8.6 million voters were expected to cast ballots on Monday in the eastern state of West Bengal, in the penultimate part of an eight-phase election that will wrap up this week.
Voting for local elections in other parts of India included the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which has been reporting an average of 30,000 infections a day.
Singapore, the United States and Germany have sent vaccine components and medical equipment, including much-needed oxygen-related supplies, to help India tackle the crisis.
The European Commission has also said it aims to send oxygen and medicines to India after receiving a request from Delhi.
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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2021-04-26 05:26:15Z
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