Blinken begins Middle East tour with strains growing in US-Israel ties amid war in Gaza - CNA

GAZA STRIP: US top diplomat Antony Blinken touched down on Wednesday (Mar 20) in the Middle East to bolster efforts for a truce in the war in Gaza, as Israeli forces pushed on with a raid on the territory's largest hospital.

Global concern has mounted over the military conflict now in its sixth month, in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to a deadly attack by its fighters on Oct 7.

The latest fighting included an Israeli assault on Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital, a vast complex crowded with patients and people seeking refuge, where Israel says Palestinian militants are holed up.

The Israeli army said "over 300 suspects were apprehended" in the hospital raid that began early Monday, including "dozens of senior terrorists and those with key positions".

Hamas meanwhile condemned Israeli "crimes" at Al-Shifa "for the third day in a row, the executions of dozens of displaced persons, patients and staff".

UN agencies have warned that Gaza's 2.4 million people are on the brink of famine, and UN rights chief Volker Turk said Israel may be using "starvation as a method of war".

The dire plight of Palestinians and the fate of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have pushed negotiators back to the table in Qatar to try to thrash out a truce deal, but officials have so far reported little progress.

The United States, long Israel's top ally, has also ratcheted up its diplomatic efforts and increasingly voiced concern over humanitarian issues.

US Secretary of State Blinken, who began his regional tour with meetings in regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, has warned that Gaza's "entire population" is suffering "severe levels of acute food insecurity".

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2024-03-20 21:34:00Z
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Australia hosts China FM Wang Yi, sees 'stability' in ties - CNA

An Australian foreign ministry official said Wong had warned the reforms would "further erode rights and freedoms", breach international commitments and have "far-reaching impacts, including on individuals in Australia".

The remarks are unlikely to have gone down well with Wong's Chinese guest.

Beijing has described similar criticism from Britain, the United States and the European Union as "slandering and smearing".

As the foreign ministers met, protesters gathered on the lawns of Australia's parliament, drawing attention to alleged human rights abuses within China.

A small group of demonstrators later clashed with police outside the Chinese embassy, brandishing Tibetan flags and shouting "free Tibet" as they rushed towards the building's front gates.

TRADE RESTRICTIONS

Australia's relationship with China began unravelling in 2018, when Canberra excluded telecommunications giant Huawei from its 5G network on security grounds and later passed laws on foreign interference.

Then in 2020, Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of COVID-19 - an action China saw as politically motivated.

In response, Beijing slapped trade restrictions on a slew of Australian exports, including barley, beef and wine, while halting its coal imports.

Most of those barriers have been gradually wound back as relations have been repaired.

Wang said a final decision on ending wine tariffs would be made at the end of the month, signalling restrictions could soon be lifted.

Before the trade restrictions were imposed, China was the largest destination for Australian bottled wine - accounting for 33 per cent of export revenue in 2020, according to Australian government data.

Wong said the talks had also touched on the global nickel market, which has been upended by a surge in exports from Indonesia - enabled by massive Chinese investments and a revolution in refining techniques.

Prices have fallen about 40 per cent in the past year alone, prompting many once-dominant Australian firms to rethink projects or write down the value of their assets.

Wang later told an Australia-China business council that common interests between the two countries far outweigh their differences.

"China is Australia's largest trading partner and the biggest customer for our products like iron ore", said Rio Tinto mining executive and meeting participant Simon Trott, welcoming a "stabilisation" of relations.

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2024-03-20 10:12:00Z
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Hong Kong Faces Battle to Shore Up Its Role as Financial Hub After Security Law - Bloomberg

Hong Kong just passed its local security law at record speed, placating Beijing and antagonizing Western governments. It now has the challenging task of bolstering the city’s position as an international finance center.

The city’s leader John Lee has repeatedly said a pressing need to focus on economic development was one of the reasons behind expediting the legislation. Since coming to power in 2022, Lee has prioritized national security, even at the cost of Hong Kong’s reputation as a freewheeling hub. While his administration has taken steps to boost overseas investment and stimulate spending, the city’s financial markets are in the doldrums and the economy is struggling.

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2024-03-20 03:28:00Z
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No bids as house of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi auctioned - CNA

YANGON: The lakeside mansion where Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest went under auction on Wednesday (Mar 20) with a minimum price of US$150 million - but attracted no bids, officials said.

The two-storey house and 1.9 acres of land were put up for sale following a decades-long dispute over the property between the Nobel laureate - who has been detained since the 2021 military coup - and her brother.

Ahead of the auction, a small crowd - mostly of journalists - gathered outside the colonial-era house on leafy University Avenue, a few doors down from the US embassy.

Officials emerged from the locked gates and announced the opening of the auction by striking a small bell three times.

Above the gate, a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi's father, the independence hero Aung San, watched over the proceedings, while a notice advertised the price as 315 billion kyats, or US$150 million based on the official exchange rate.

The auctioneer - wearing a sarong-like longyi - held his hand up for bids, but there was only silence.

"There is no one to bid," he announced, striking the bell again to close the auction.

Plainclothes security officers took photos of journalists covering the event.

For around 15 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was confined within the house's crumbling walls by the military after she shot to fame during huge demonstrations against the then-junta in 1988.

Cut off from her husband and children in England, Aung San Suu Kyi spent time playing the piano, reading detective novels and meditating as her status as a democracy leader grew.

Hundreds gathered regularly on the pavement outside the property to hear her talk about democracy and fighting military rule through non-violence.

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2024-03-20 06:17:10Z
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Israel may be using starvation as 'weapon of war': UN - CNA

IMMINENT FAMINE

The comments came after a UN-backed food security assessment determined that the war-torn Palestinian territory is facing imminent famine.

The devastating war since Hamas's Oct 7 attack on Israel has left roughly half of Gazans - around 1.1 million people - experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, the assessment warned.

Without a surge of aid, famine would hit the 300,000 people in Gaza's war-battered north by May, it said.

The finding comes just over five months into the Gaza war, which erupted after Hamas's unprecedented Oct 7 that killed about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed more than 31,800 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, pointed to the difficulty of clearly determining if the strict criteria have been met to declare a famine.

"The famine thresholds may already be the case in northern Gaza," he told reporters, highlighting that for weeks people had already been reduced to eating bird seed, animal fodder, wild grass and weeds.

"There is literally nothing left," he said.

Looking ahead, he warned that without more aid, Gaza could soon be looking at "more than 200 people dying from starvation per day".

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2024-03-19 13:10:00Z
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Many hospitals in China stop newborn delivery services as birth rate drops - CNA

China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023 as the record-low birth rate and high deaths due to COVID-19 accelerated a downturn that officials fear will have profound long-term effects on the economy's growth potential.

The most recent available data from China's National Health Commission showed the number of maternity hospitals dropped to 793 in 2021 from 807 in 2020.

Local media including Daily Economic News said the plummeting number of newborns meant that it was not possible for many hospitals to keep operating their obstetrics departments.

"'The obstetric winter' seems to be coming quietly," the newspaper reported on Friday (Mar 15).

Many women in China are opting to remain childless due to high childcare costs, an unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold in a traditional society where they are still seen as the main caregivers and where gender discrimination remains rife.

Authorities have tried to roll out incentives and measures to boost the birth rate, including expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits for having children and housing subsidies.

But China is one of the world's most expensive places to bring up a child relative to its gross domestic product per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank said in February, as it detailed the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth.

More babies are being born in hospitals across China in the Year of the Dragon, which began on Feb 10, financial news outlet Yicai reported, with the dragon Chinese zodiac sign believed to be particularly auspicious. But demographers say any bump from a "dragon baby" boom is likely to be short-lived.

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2024-03-19 07:48:00Z
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Adopt 'Malaysia First' attitude to strengthen ringgit, says country's finance ministry - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government urges all parties to work together and take a whole-of-nation approach to strengthen the value of the ringgit, says the finance ministry.

It said on the Parliament website on Monday (March 18) that all Malaysians are encouraged to adopt a "Malaysia First” attitude in their daily lives.

"This includes buying domestic goods, as well as investing in the domestic capital market. More tourism campaigns in the country also need to be introduced and improved,” it said.

The ministry was replying to Mr Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (Perikatan Nasional-Bachok) who wanted to know the concrete steps taken within the framework of the Madani Economy to increase the resilience and competitiveness of the value of the ringgit.

Last month, the Malaysian ringgit fell to its lowest levels in 26 years since the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s.

The finance ministry said that various concrete measures have been and are being taken by the government and Bank Negara Malaysia to deal with the fall in the value of the ringgit, including ensuring that the domestic foreign exchange market remains orderly while monitoring the conversion of export proceeds into ringgit by exporting companies.

The ministry also said that the government and Bank Negara also took integrated and coordinated actions to bring in the flow of funds to the foreign exchange market; and control overseas investments by private companies, including encouraging them to prioritise domestic investment and delaying new overseas investment.

It added that the impact of the depreciation of the ringgit is higher on imported goods, including food which includes meat and dairy, fish and seafood, fruits and vegetables.

"However, moderated global commodity prices have, to some extent, curbed the effect of the ringgit’s devaluation on inflation,” it said in a reply to Mr Abdul Latiff Bin Abdul Rahman (Perikatan Nasional-Kuala Krai) who asked about the government’s efforts to holistically deal with the issue of the fall of the ringgit and the impact on import transactions that cause the price of goods to increase for consumers.

According to the ministry, the government is also planning measures to implement more effective subsidies and targeted income assistance, especially to help the affected groups ensure fiscal strengthening can be achieved through more productive spending.

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2024-03-19 02:43:39Z
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