China state media plays down severity of COVID wave before WHO meeting

China state media plays down severity of COVID wave before WHO meeting
A man wearing a face mask tends to his elderly relative rest along a corridor of the emergency ward to receive intravenous drip at a hospital in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. As the virus continues to rip through China, global organizations and governments have called on the country start sharing data while others have criticized its current numbers as meaningless. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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Updated 03 January 2023
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China state media plays down severity of COVID wave before WHO meeting

China state media plays down severity of COVID wave before WHO meeting
  • State media says severe illness from COVID is rare
  • Chinese scientists expected to brief WHO

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: State media in China played down on Tuesday the severity of its surge of COVID-19 infections ahead of an expected briefing later in the day by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which is hoping for detailed data on the evolution of the virus.
China’s abrupt U-turn on COVID controls on Dec. 7, as well as the accuracy of its case and mortality data, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad and prompted some countries to impose travel curbs.
The policy shift followed protests over the “zero COVID” approach championed by Xi Jinping, marking the strongest show of public defiance in his decade-old presidency and coinciding with the slowest growth in China in nearly half a century.
As the virus spreads unchecked, funeral parlours report a spike in demand for their services and international health experts predict at least one million deaths in the world’s most populous country this year.
China reported three new COVID deaths for Monday, taking its official death toll since the pandemic began to 5,253.
On Tuesday, the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, cited Chinese experts as saying the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild for most people.
“Severe and critical illnesses account for 3 percent to 4 percent of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing,” Tong Zhaohui, vice president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper.
Kang Yan, head of West China Tianfu Hospital of Sichuan University, said that in the past three weeks, a total of 46 patients had been admitted to intensive care units, or about 1 percent of symptomatic infections.
The emergencies area at the Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai was packed with patients on Tuesday, most of them elderly, a Reuters witness said. Some were in beds in the corridor, covered with blankets and receiving IV treatment, while dozens were queuing around them, waiting to be seen by a doctor. It was unclear how many were there with COVID.
’CONNECT WITH THE WORLD’
The World Health Organization has urged Chinese health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID situation.
The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing at a Tuesday meeting of a technical advisory group. It has also asked China to share data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.
“Scientists around the world believe it to be most useful that all countries engage in testing and sequencing for variants, and to transparently and immediately share their data globally,” said Alexandra Martiniuk, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney.
“In this respect the WHO meeting on Jan. 3 could be significant.”
The United States, France, and others will require COVID tests on travelers from China, while Belgium said it would test wastewater from planes for new COVID variants.
European Union health officials will meet on Wednesday on a coordinated response.
China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said any new mutations may be more infectious but less harmful.
“According to the political logic of some people in Europe and the United States, whether China opens or does not open is equally the wrong thing to do,” state broadcaster CCTV commented.
A 25-year-old Shanghai resident, who only gave her last name Ruan, said she was in favor of China sharing its COVID data and working with the world to fight the disease.
“You always have to connect with the world. It’s better to study it together and prepare for the future,” Ruan said.
’DANGEROUS WEEKS’
As Chinese workers and shoppers fall ill, concerns mount about near-term growth prospects in the world’s second-largest economy, causing volatility in global financial markets.
Data on Tuesday showed China’s factory activity shrank at a sharper pace in December.
December shipments from Foxconn’s Zhengzhou iPhone plant, disrupted by worker departures and unrest amid a COVID outbreak, were 90 percent of the firm’s initial plans.
A “bushfire” of infections in China in coming months is likely to hurt its economy this year and drag global growth lower, said the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
“China is entering the most dangerous weeks of the pandemic,” warned Capital Economics analysts.
Mobility data suggested that economic activity was depressed nationwide and would likely remain so until infections subside, they added.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the domestic tourism market saw 52.71 million trips during the New Year holiday, only 43 percent of the 2019 level, before the pandemic.
Revenue generated was more than 26.52 billion yuan ($3.84 billion), up 4 percent year-on-year but only about 35 percent of 2019 revenue, the ministry said.
Expectations are higher for China’s biggest holiday, the Lunar New Year, later this month, when some experts predict infections will have peaked in many places.
Some hotels in the tourist resort of Sanya are fully booked for the period, media reported.


Death toll from fuel depot blast in Karabakh rises to 170 — media

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Death toll from fuel depot blast in Karabakh rises to 170 — media

Death toll from fuel depot blast in Karabakh rises to 170 — media
  • Authorities have not given any explanation of the cause of the blast
MOSCOW, Sept 29 : The death toll from an explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh has risen to 170, Armenpress news agency reported on Friday citing local officials in the breakaway region.
The blast occurred as thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the breakaway enclave after their fighters were defeated by Azerbaijan in a lightning military operation.
The authorities have not given any explanation of the cause of the blast.
The number of victims rose sharply from an earlier announcement by Karabakh authorities reporting 68 dead on Tuesday evening.
Rescue work at the blast site continues.
As of Friday morning, more than 84,700 of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who call Nagorno-Karabakh home had already crossed into Armenia.

Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 6 people in southwest Pakistan

Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 6 people in southwest Pakistan
Updated 1 min 24 sec ago
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Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 6 people in southwest Pakistan

Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 6 people in southwest Pakistan
  • The bombing occurred in Mastung, a district in Baluchistan province

QUETTA,: A powerful bomb exploded at a rally celebrating the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens of others, police and a government official said.
The bombing occurred in Mastung, a district in Baluchistan province, said government administrator Atta Ullah. The injured people were being taken to nearby hospitals, and some of them were in critical condition, he said.
Ullah provided no further details.
Muslims in Pakistan and around the world celebrate the birthday of Islam’s prophet by holding public gatherings.


Putin discusses Ukraine war with top Wagner commander Troshev

Putin discusses Ukraine war with top Wagner commander Troshev
Updated 28 min 59 sec ago
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Putin discusses Ukraine war with top Wagner commander Troshev

Putin discusses Ukraine war with top Wagner commander Troshev
  • Putin meets former top Wagner commander
  • The meeting underscored the Kremlin’s attempt to show that the state had now gained control over the mercenary group

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use “volunteer units” in the Ukraine war.
The meeting underscored the Kremlin’s attempt to show that the state had now gained control over the mercenary group after a failed June mutiny by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed with other senior commanders in a plane crash in August.
Just days after the Wagner’s mutiny, Putin offered the mercenaries the opportunity to keep fighting but suggested that commander Andrei Troshev take over from Prigozhin, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper has reported.
The Kremlin said that Putin had met with Troshev, who is known by his nom de guerre “Sedoi” — or “grey hair” — and Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who sat closest to Putin, on Thursday night.
Addressing Troshev, Putin said that they had spoken about how “volunteer units that can perform various combat tasks, above all, of course, in the zone of the special military operation.”
“You yourself have been fighting in such a unit for more than a year,” Putin said. “You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes in the best and most successful way.”
Putin also said that he wanted to speak about social support for those involved in the fighting. The meeting took place in the Kremlin and was shown on state television.
Troshev was shown listening to Putin, leaning forward and nodding, pencil in hand. His remarks were not shown.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA news agency that Troshev now worked at the defense ministry.
The fate of Wagner, one of the world’s most battle-hardened mercenary forces, has been unclear since Prigozhin’s failed June 23 mutiny and his death on Aug. 23.
The aborted mutiny is widely regarded to have posed the most serious internal challenge to Putin — and to the Russian state — for decades. Prigozhin said the mutiny was not aimed at toppling Putin but at settling scores with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
After Prigozhin’s death, Putin ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state — a step Prigozhin had opposed.
The Putin meeting appears to indicate that what remains of Wagner will now be overseen by Troshev and Yevkurov, who has traveled over recent months to several countries where the mercenaries work.
A decorated veteran of Russia’s wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya and a former commander in the SOBR interior ministry rapid reaction force,Troshev is from St. Petersburg, Putin’s home town, and has been pictured with the president.
He was awarded Russia’s highest medal, Hero of Russia, in 2016 for the storming of Palmyra in Syria against Daesh militants.


M.S. Swaminathan, ‘father’ of India’s green revolution, dies at 98

M.S. Swaminathan, ‘father’ of India’s green revolution, dies at 98
Updated 29 September 2023
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M.S. Swaminathan, ‘father’ of India’s green revolution, dies at 98

M.S. Swaminathan, ‘father’ of India’s green revolution, dies at 98
  • Scientist revolutionized farming in 1960s when China was engulfed in deadly famine, India barely got by on hand-to-mouth imports
  • Swaminathan won many awards for his work in agriculture, including the first World Food Prize in 1987

NEW DELHI: Indian agricultural scientist Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, who ushered a “Green Revolution” in India nearly six decades ago that helped end famine and transformed the country as a top producer of wheat, died on Thursday aged 98.

Swaminathan died at his home in southern India’s Chennai city following age-related illness, local media reported.

He revolutionized farming in the 1960s when China was engulfed in a deadly famine and India barely got by on hand-to-mouth imports.

Back then, Swaminathan was a young scientist who turned down plum positions in academia and the government to work in agricultural research. He helped to cross-breed wheat seeds that allowed India to more than treble its annual crop in just 15 years.

“His end came very peacefully this morning... Till the end, he was committed to the farmers’ welfare and to the upliftment of the poorest in society,” his daughter Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist at the World Health Organization, told ANI news agency.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined lawmakers, scientists and people from across the country in expressing condolences.

Swaminathan won many awards for his work in agriculture, including the first World Food Prize in 1987 and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, in 1989.

Back in 2008, when Swaminathan was 82, he told Reuters in an interview that conservation farming and green technology were crucial for a sustainable “Evergreen Revolution” of the 21st century that could push India to become an even bigger supplier of food to the world.

The push for a new revolution came as hybrid seeds that helped India in the 1960s made farmers overlook the potential ecological damage of heavy fertilizer use, drop in water tables due to heavier irrigation and the impact of repeated crop cycles on soil quality.

“The Green Revolution created a sense of euphoria that we have solved our production problem. Now we have a plateau in production and productivity. We have a problem of under investment in rural infrastructure,” he said afterwards.

Swaminathan is survived by three daughters.

“He leaves behind a rich legacy of Indian agriculture science which may serve as a guiding light to steer the world toward a safer and hunger-free future for humanity,” President Murmu said in a social media post.


Blinken raises Sikh separatist murder with India’s Jaishankar — US official

Blinken raises Sikh separatist murder with India’s Jaishankar — US official
Updated 29 September 2023
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Blinken raises Sikh separatist murder with India’s Jaishankar — US official

Blinken raises Sikh separatist murder with India’s Jaishankar — US official
  • Canada says Indian government agents linked to murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June
  • India has dismissed Canada’s allegations, ties have become strained as both governments expelled diplomats

WASHINGTON/OTTAWA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged India to cooperate with a Canadian investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist during a meeting with Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday, a US official said.

Speaking in Quebec earlier on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has alleged an Indian role in the killing, said he was certain that Blinken would broach the issue with Jaishankar.

India has dismissed Canada’s allegations as absurd, and ties have become strained with both governments expelling a diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.

“Blinken raised the Canadian matter in his meeting, (and) urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada’s investigation,” the US official said, though a State Department statement made no mention of the issue.

Trudeau told parliament earlier this month that Canada suspected Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the province of British Columbia in June.

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen but India had declared him a “terrorist.” He supported the cause of Khalistan, or an independent homeland for Sikhs to be carved out of India.

Traditional Canadian allies, including the United States, have appeared to take a cautious approach to the matter. Political analysts have said this is partly because Washington and other major players see India as a counterweight to the growing influence of China.

Blinken met Jaishankar on Thursday afternoon in Washington. Asked directly whether Blinken would bring up the case, Trudeau replied: “The Americans will certainly discuss this matter with the Indian government.”

The US State Department’s formal statement on its website after Blinken met his Indian counterpart made no mention of Nijjar’s murder or of Canada as a whole.

A short State Department summary of the issues discussed in the meeting between Blinken and Jaishankar, formally called a readout, listed points like India’s G20 presidency, the creation of an India-Middle East-Europe corridor and topics like defense, space and clean energy.

Jaishankar said on Tuesday that New Delhi has told Canada it was open to looking into any “specific” or “relevant” information it provides on the killing.

Trudeau, who is yet to publicly share any evidence, said last week he has shared the “credible allegations” with India “many weeks ago.”

Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week the United States was “deeply concerned” about the allegations raised by Trudeau.

The US ambassador to Canada told Canadian television that some information on the case had been gathered by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK.