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

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.


Indian PM inaugurates new parliament building amid opposition boycott

Indian PM inaugurates new parliament building amid opposition boycott
Updated 28 min 46 sec ago

Indian PM inaugurates new parliament building amid opposition boycott

Indian PM inaugurates new parliament building amid opposition boycott
  • Opposition describes inauguration by Narendra Modi ‘direct assault’ on democracy
  • New parliament part of controversial, $2.8bn Central Vista project

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Sunday a new parliament building in New Delhi amid a boycott of the ceremony by 20 opposition parties.

The triangle-shaped, four-storey building located in the heart of the capital cost nearly $120 million and is part of a controversial $2.8 billion revamp of the capital’s historic center called the Central Vista project.

Modi said the new parliament building was a “reflection of the aspirations of new India.”

“The new parliament building will be a testament to the dawn of a self-reliant India. It will be a witness to our journey toward a developed India,” he said at the inauguration ceremony.

FASTFACT

The triangle-shaped, four-story building located in the heart of the capital cost nearly $120 million and is part of a controversial $2.8 billion revamp of the capital’s historic center called the Central Vista project.

“Some moments in the developmental journey of a nation get immortalized, today is one such day. The new parliament complex will witness the realization of our developed India resolution.”

Modi also installed the Sengol, or a symbolic scepter, in the legislature’s lower house, a gold-plated object that the government claimed was gifted to India’s first prime minister on the eve of its independence from Great Britain in 1947.

The Central Vista project covers new construction of various government offices, including a residence and office for the premier as well as 10 blocks of buildings to house ministries and departments.

The government has stated that the new upgrades were necessary to increase seating capacity and allow for better facilities. The original parliament building, for example, dates to 1927 and had only around 800 seats combined for both the lower and upper house, while the newly inaugurated building had room for more than 1,000 seats.

Yet the project has sparked controversy since it was first announced, as civil society groups, opposition politicians, and environmentalists questioned the cost and need for all-new buildings.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has also been facing backlash for sidelining the President Droupadi Murmu by asking the PM to inaugurate the building instead. Though the Indian president is a non-elected and non-executive position, they are considered a ceremonial figurehead as the country’s first citizen and highest constitutional authority.

The opposition boycott was sparked by Modi’s decision to “inaugurate the new parliament building by himself,” which national and regional opposition parties said was “not only a grave insult but a direct assault on our democracy.”

A joint statement issued by the opposition parties on Wednesday said: “When the soul of democracy has been sucked out from the parliament, we find no value in a new building.”

Aditya Mukherjee, writer and former professor at Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, criticized the timing of the project and how it was carried out.

He told Arab News: “The whole project has been mired in controversy right from the beginning because the foundation was laid at a time when the whole nation was passing through a deadly second wave of coronavirus.

“No consultation was held before the foundation stone for the new parliament was laid.”

Sunday’s ceremonial event, which also involved religious rituals and Hindu priests, also came under scrutiny.

“The whole effort is just to glorify the current prime minister. It is a matter of great shame that a parliament of the world’s largest democracy is being inaugurated in the absence of the main opposition parties,” Mukherjee said.

 


Pakistani pilgrims laud Hajj arrangements

Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
Updated 28 May 2023

Pakistani pilgrims laud Hajj arrangements

Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government. (SPA)
  • Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and scrapped the upper age limit of 65

ISLAMABAD: With Hajj flight operation to Saudi Arabia in full swing, Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government, saying their experience has so far been “better than expected.”

Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and scrapped the upper age limit of 65.

About 80,000 pilgrims are scheduled to perform Hajj under the government scheme in the ongoing year while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators.

The first group of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims arrived in Madinah on May 22, while the last flight will depart from Pakistan on June 20.

According to Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Ministry, these pilgrims will depart for Makkah after spending eight days in Madinah.

“The arrangements made for us here by the Pakistani government are better than expected,” Mohammed Farrukh, a pilgrim from southern Karachi city, said in a video interview circulated by the ministry.

“(The ministry officials) have addressed all our concerns. For instance, we were worried about purchasing sacrificial animals for Hajj. But the government returned our money so we could buy the animal of our choice.”

Another pilgrim from Peshawar, Naveed Durrani, said he boarded the Hajj flight from Islamabad.

“The hotel (booked for us) is right opposite the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, which is very convenient for us,” he added.

While most pilgrims maintained they had not faced any problem in the Kingdom, they said patience was still the key to a pleasant experience.

“I am here for Hajj for the first time and this experience has been very good,” said Zara, a pilgrim from Lahore who only revealed her first name.

“Even if we complain about small issues, they are immediately addressed,” she added. “But we should remember that Hajj teaches us patience and how to be a good human, which is the key to a good experience.”


UK launches ad drive to deter Albanian migrants

The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
Updated 28 May 2023

UK launches ad drive to deter Albanian migrants

The scheme is the latest attempt by UK authorities to control the number of migrants making the journey across the Channel.
  • They ‘face being detained and removed’ if they reach Britain illegally, adverts warn
  • Charity CEO: Campaign ‘repeats myth that refugee migration is illegal’

LONDON: The UK Home Office is launching an advertising campaign to discourage Albanian migrants from traveling to Britain illegally via small boats.

The scheme, which will use Facebook and Instagram, is the latest attempt by British authorities to control the number of migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel. Albanians “face being detained and removed” if they reach Britain illegally, the adverts warn.

So far this year, more than 6,000 migrants have crossed from mainland Europe into Britain using small vessels.

The Home Office did not release information about the advertising campaign’s cost, but said it would “make clear the perils” that migrants could face in making the journey.

It described Albania as a “safe and prosperous country,” adding that migrants are making “spurious asylum claims” following their arrival in the UK.

But the campaign, which will launch next week, has been criticized by migrant advocacy groups and the main opposition Labour Party.

Refugee Action CEO Tim Naor Hilton said the advertising is “pointless” and “repeats the myth that refugee migration is illegal.

He added: “If the government wanted to smash the smuggling gangs and stop people crossing the Channel in flimsy boats, it would create more safe routes for refugees to travel here to claim asylum.”

The new campaign follows a similar scheme launched last August by the Home Office, which also used social media to deter Albanian would-be asylum seekers.

Albanians were the top asylum claimants in the UK from January to March this year, with 13,714 people from the Balkan country filing applications.

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith warned that the new advertising campaign would fail to meet its objectives.

“No amount of taxpayer-funded PR spin will deter refugees, who have experienced some of the worst things imaginable from war and conflict to torture and human rights abuses, from seeking a safe future,” he said.

“The only solution that will put people smugglers out of business, stop small boat crossings and save lives is to offer safe passage to refugees with a viable asylum claim in the UK.”

The campaign follows the launch of the government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to deport asylum seekers who arrive in the UK illegally to their countries of origin or Rwanda.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “We are determined to stop the boats and the campaign, launching in Albania this week, is just one component of the Home Office’s work upstream to help dispel myths about illegal travel to the UK, explain the realities and combat the lies peddled by evil people smugglers who profit from this vile trade.”


US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia
Updated 28 May 2023

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia

US conducts strike near site of Shabab attack in Somalia
  • Al-Shabab militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base, prompting a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States conducted an airstrike that destroyed stolen Al-Shabab weapons and equipment in Somalia near an African Union military base that was attacked by the group, officials reported Saturday.
The base in Bulo Marer, 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, was housing Ugandan troops when it was raided Friday in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group.
In a statement, US Africa Command said that it “destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabab fighters,” without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen.
“US Africa Command conducted an airstrike against militants in the vicinity” of Bulo Marer on Friday, in support of the Somali federal government and the AU force known as ATMIS, it said.
Al-Shabab militants drove a car laden with explosives into the base, prompting a gunfight, local residents and a Somali military commander told AFP.
It was not immediately known if there were any casualties from the Al-Shabab attack.
US Africa Command said its “initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed” in its operation.
Pro-government forces backed by ATMIS forces launched an offensive last August against Al-Shabab, which has been waging an insurgency in the fragile Horn of Africa nation for more than 15 years.
The 20,000-strong ATMIS force has a more offensive remit than its predecessor known as AMISOM.
The force is drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, with troops deployed in southern and central Somalia.
Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia’s army and police by 2024.

 


Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day
Updated 28 May 2023

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day

Russia unleashes ‘largest’ drone attack on Ukrainian capital ahead of Kyiv Day
  • Air defense systems downed at least 20 drones moving toward Kyiv

KYIV: Russia unleashed multiple waves of air strikes on Kyiv overnight in what officials said appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war, as the Ukrainian capital prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding on Sunday.
In what also appeared to be the first deadly attack on Kyiv in May and the 14th assault since the start of the month, officials said air defense systems downed at least 40 drones moving toward Kyiv with falling debris killing one person.
The pre-dawn attacks came on the last Sunday of May when the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago. The day is typically marked by street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions — plans for which have been made this year too, but on a smaller scale.
“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians,” Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said on his Telegram channel.
Preliminary information indicated the air raid was the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration said. Russia used the Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack, he added.
Reuters was not able to independently verify that information.
“Today, the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.
“The attack was carried out in several waves, and the air alert lasted more than five hours.”
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the victim was a 41-year-old. The military administration said at least two people were injured.
Several districts of Kyiv, by far the largest Ukrainian city with a population of around 3 million, suffered in the overnight attacks, officials said, including the historical Pecherskyi neighborhood.
Reuters witnesses said that during the air raid alerts that started soon after midnight, many people stood on their balconies, some screaming offensives directed at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defense” slogans.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming 15 months into the war, Moscow has intensified missile and drone strikes after a lull of nearly two months, targeting military facilities and supplies. Waves of attacks now come several times a week.
In the leafy Holosiivskyi district in the southwestern part of Kyiv, falling debris set a three-story warehouse on fire, destroying about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet) of building structures, Mayor Klitschko said.
A fire broke out after falling drone debris hit a seven-story non-residential building in the Solomyanskyi district west of the city. The district is a busy rail and air transport hub.
In the Pecherskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a nine-story building due to falling drone debris, and in the Darnytskyi district a shop was damaged, Kyiv’s military administration officials said on Telegram.