South Africa: President deeply disappointed by decision to prohibit travel from SA President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all those countries that have imposed travel bans on South Africa and other Southern African countries to urgently reverse their decisions. He urged them to lift the travel bans they have imposed before any further damage is done to the countries economies and to the livelihoods of people. There is no scientific justification for keeping these restrictions in place. We know that this virus, like all viruses, does mutate and form new variants, said the President. He was addressing the nation on Sunday evening on progress in the national effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Union Buildings. Earlier this week, South African scientists identified a new variant of the Coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The World Health Organisation has named the variant Omicron and has declared it a variant of concern. The Omicron variant was first detected in Botswana and subsequently in South Africa, and scientists have also identified cases in countries such as Hong Kong, Australia, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Israel. Countries that have imposed travel restrictions on South Africa include the United Kingdom, United States, European Union members, Canada, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Seychelles, Brazil and Guatemala, among others. We are deeply disappointed by the decision of several countries to prohibit travel from a number of Southern African countries following the identification of the Omicron variant. This is a clear and completely unjustified departure from the commitment that many of these countries made at the meeting of G20 countries in Rome last month. President Ramaphosa said they had pledged at that meeting to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner, consistent with the work of relevant international organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Maritime Organisation and the OECD. The G20 Rome Declaration noted the plight of the tourism sector in developing countries, and made a commitment to support a rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector. The President said the travel restrictions are unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic, he said. He added that the likelihood of the emergence of more severe forms of variants is increased significantly where people are not vaccinated. That is why we have joined many countries, organisations and people around the world who have been fighting for equal access to vaccines for everyone. We have said that vaccine inequality not only costs lives and livelihoods in those countries that are denied access, but that it also threatens global efforts to overcome the pandemic. President Ramaphosa said the emergence of the Omicron variant should be a wake-up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue. Until everyone is vaccinated, everyone will be at risk. Until everyone is vaccinated, we should expect that more variants will emerge. These variants may well be more transmissible, may cause more severe disease, and may be more resistant to the current vaccines. Instead of prohibiting travel, the rich countries of the world need to support the efforts of developing economies to access and to manufacture enough vaccine doses for their people without delay, said President Ramaphosa. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. South Africa: SA to remain on Alert Level 1 While South Africa will remain on the Coronavirus Alert Level 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on citizens who have not vaccinated to do so immediately. In taking the decision not to impose further restrictions at this stage, we considered the fact that when we encountered previous waves of infection, vaccines were not widely available and far fewer people were vaccinated, the President said on Sunday. Addressing the nation on developments in the countrys response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the President encouraged every person who has not been vaccinated to go to their nearest vaccination station without delay. The Presidents plea comes as scientists earlier this week identified a new variant of the Coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The identification of Omicron coincides with a sudden rise in COVID-19. This increase has been centred in Gauteng, although cases are also rising in other provinces. We have seen an average of 1 600 new cases in the last seven days, compared to just 500 new daily cases in the previous week, and 275 new daily cases the week before that. The proportion of COVID-19 tests that are positive has risen from around 2% to 9% in less than a week. This is an extremely sharp rise in infections in a short space of time, the President said. In addition, South Africa is expected to experience a fourth wave early in December as epidemiologists and disease modellers have warned government. There are several concerns about the Omicron variant, and we are still not sure exactly how it will behave going forward. However, we already have the tools that we need to protect ourselves against it. We know enough about the variant to know what we need to do to reduce transmission and to protect ourselves against severe disease and death. The first, the most powerful, tool we have is vaccination, the President said. Since government launched its public vaccination programme in May 2021, over 25 million vaccines doses have been administered in South Africa. Forty-one percent of the adult population have received at least one vaccine dose, and 35.6% of adult South Africans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Significantly, 57% of people 60 years old and above are fully vaccinated, and 53% of people aged between 50 and 60 are fully vaccinated. While this is welcome progress, it is not enough to enable us to reduce infections, prevent illness and death and restore our economy, the President said. Engagements on mandatory vaccination Government has set up a task team that will undertake broad consultations on making vaccination mandatory for specific activities and locations. We have therefore been undertaking engagements with social partners and other stakeholders on introducing measures that make vaccination a condition for access to workplaces, public events, public transport and public establishments, the President said. This includes discussions that have been taking place at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) between government, labour, business and the community constituency, where there is broad agreement on the need for such measures. The task team will report to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Vaccination chaired by the Deputy President, which will make recommendations to Cabinet on a fair and sustainable approach to vaccine mandates. We realise that the introduction of such measures is a difficult and complex issue, but if we do not address this seriously and as a matter of urgency, we will continue to be vulnerable to new variants and will continue to suffer new waves of infection, the President said. Government to review current regulations With the recent detection of Omicron, government will closely monitor infection rates and hospitalisation over the coming days and will review the situation in another week. We will then need to determine whether the existing measures are adequate or whether changes need to be made to the current regulations. We have started the process of amending our health regulations so that we can review the use of the Disaster Management Act to manage our response to the pandemic, with a view to ultimately lifting the National State of Disaster, the President said. Government will also implement the national resurgence plan to ensure that hospitals and other medical facilities are ready for the fourth wave. We are focusing on effective clinical governance, contact tracing and screening, effective clinical care, availability of health personnel. To ensure our facilities are ready, all hospital beds that were available or required during the third wave of COVID-19 are planned and prepared for the fourth wave. We are also working to ensure that oxygen supply is available to all beds earmarked for COVID-19 care, the President said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: UK convenes urgent G7 meeting to discuss Omicron Britain, currently chair of the G7 group of nations, on Sunday called for an emergency meeting to discuss the Covid crisis, after several European countries announced cases of the new Omicron variant. "Under the UK presidency an urgent meeting of G7 health ministers will also be convened on Monday 29 November to discuss the developments on Omicron," said Britain's health ministry. Britain is one of several countries to have announced cases of the new variant on their soil, including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, even though most European countries have shut down flights from southern African nations, where the variant was first identified. The head of the World Health Organisation in Africa on Sunday urged countries to follow the science rather than imposing flight bans in a bid to contain the new variant. "With the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity," said WHO regional director general Matshidiso Moeti. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday became the latest leader from the region to denounce the flight ban and the economic damage it is doing to the countries affected. The WHO on Friday declared the recently discovered strain a variant of concern, but scientists are still trying to assess how dangerous it is. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. More Vietnamese airports secure Airport Health Accreditation Two more international airports in Vietnam have been granted the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) by the Airports Council International (ACI) for maintaining Covid-19 pandemic safety and prevention measures. According to the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the Airport Health Accreditation was provided for Tan Son Nhat International Airport and Danang International Airport on November 26. The certificate will be valid for one year, starting from December 4, 2021. Free masks offered for passengers at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi Noi Bai, Phu Quoc and Cam Ranh international airports also secured the certificate earlier. The ACI Airport Health Accreditation is designed to help airports around the world prove to passengers, their employees, regulators, and governments that they continue to place the health and safety of passengers as their top priority via the establishment of specific safeguard measures in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. To be certified by the ACI, airports are assessed across a number of categories including cleanliness and disinfection, physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities. Several localities in Vietnam have welcomed international tourists with the Covido-19 vaccine passport again, including Phu Quoc and Nha Trang. It is a must to produce COVID-19 vaccines, treatment drugs at home: PM It is a must to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs domestically, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at a meeting with representatives from ministries and agencies in Hanoi on November 27. He regarded the 5K principle, vaccines, treatment drugs, technologies, public awareness and other solutions as crucial factors to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control the pandemic. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA) The 5K principle was issued by the Ministry of Health, covering khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration). PM Chinh applauded the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and agencies, especially scientists, researchers and producers of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs for their efforts over the past time. He called for closer coordination to remove difficulties in research as well as administrative and legal procedures, striving to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs at home. The nations interests, and the publics health and life must be the top priority, the PM emphasised. PM Chinh assigned the Ministry of Health to coordinate with other relevant ministries and agencies to review institutions to facilitate the process. The Ministry of Health reported that as of November 25, Vietnam had administered about 116.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with 47.4 million people fully vaccinated. The country has engaged in technology transfer, research and trial of such vaccines as Nano Covax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, HIPRA, Sputnik V, Shionogi and some vaccines of Cuba and India. Six factories have registered for COVID-19 treatment drug production. Vietnam boasts advantages in foreign investment attraction Vietnam is assessed to have plenty of room to compete for foreign direct investment (FDI) against major competitors in the current global production shift, said Nguyen Bich Lam, former Director General of the General Statistics Office. In an inclusive interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Lam cited the 2021 investment report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which said in 2020, Vietnam attracted 16 billion USD of FDI, entering the top 20 countries in the world in terms of FDI attraction for the first time. Production activities at Fuhong Precision Component Company in Dinh Tram Industrial Park (Photo: VNA) Despite COVID-19, in the first ten months, 23.74 billion USD worth of FDI were poured into 18 sectors in Vietnam, with processing and manufacturing obtaining the lions share of the sum, at 53.7 percent or 12.74 billion USD. This meant that foreign investors are placing great trust in Vietnam as part of the global supply chain. Also in the period, 7.09 billion USD were added to existing FDI projects in the nation, up 24.2 percent year-on-year, while foreign capital contribution and share purchase reached 3.63 billion USD. In the ten months, Vietnam reeled in 267.93 billion USD worth of export turnover, up 28.2 percent annually. Of the sum, the FDI sector contributed more than 196.7 billion USD, an annual increase of 20.3 percent. The foreign-invested sectors import value, meanwhile, reached nearly 176.9 billion USD, up 31.3 percent over the same period last year and accounting for 65.7 percent of the countrys total. Regarding Vietnam's advantages in attracting foreign investment, Lam said the macro environment and politics are stable, the economy is dynamic, and the consumption market is expanding with abundant supply sources. He also listed consistent policies for foreign investment attraction and improving business climate. In addition, Vietnam is a member of many large-scale multilateral and bilateral trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); Vietnam EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); and Vietnams several bilateral trade agreements with the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the UK. Lam noted that in order to effectively attract and maintain foreign investment in Vietnam, the Government and relevant ministries, sectors, and localities need to implement a number of solutions. Specifically, in the coming time, the Government should to review and promptly adjust foreign investment policies to keep up with fluctuations of the global economy and changes in FDI attraction strategies of other countries. He also stressed the necessity to build and maintain such competitive advantages as open investment conditions and transparent legal system; to consolidate the stable macro foundation; and to have the right strategy in handling the COVID-19 epidemic and speed up the vaccination process. Low-lying Mekong Delta deals with worsening land subsidence The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region needs consistent strategies to deal with groundwater extraction, land subsidence and saltwater intrusion in an increasingly urbanising area, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 26. Speaking at the online event, Nguyen Huu Thien, an expert on Mekong Delta ecology, said that land subsidence is a threat to many of the worlds deltas, especially the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. A severe landslide along a bank of the Tien River in Thanh Binh district in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. (Photo: VNA) The overexploitation of groundwater in the region has contributed to severe land subsidence and will lead to devastating consequences if the practice continues, according to the expert. It is essential to support policymakers in exploring suitable, consistent strategies for mitigating subsidence in a participatory manner. In recent years, data has become available showing the rate at which the Mekong Delta is subsiding, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Thien, who is deputy head of the Governance of Land Subsidence and Groundwater Management for the Mekong Delta project, said it was paramount to identify alternative water sources, the value of water sources, and the link between groundwater extraction and land subsidence. Begun in January 2020 and completed last month, the project aimed to enhance the capabilities of individuals and organisations to develop sustainable strategies for dealing with the problems. Under the project, a new integrated delta model linked surface water, groundwater and geo-mechanical models in order to analyse the interrelated character of groundwater extraction, subsidence levels and saltwater intrusion. The integrated model was applied to quantify the effects of water management strategies in the Mekong Delta. Strategies were developed by simulating and demonstrating the effects of development scenarios and policy recommendations as mentioned in the Mekong Delta Plan in 2013. Four case-study fact sheets of Can Tho City and Ben Tre, Soc Trang, and Kien Giang provinces have been developed. The four provinces all face major problems concerning land subsidence and groundwater extraction depending on location-specific characteristics. The key challenges, needs and opportunities for governance of land subsidence and groundwater management were identified with the support of several workshops, close collaboration with Can Tho University, and key actors in the Mekong Delta. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has issued a decree that requires zoning plans to cope with land subsidence. Each province is at a different stage of implementing the decree. The four pilot provinces indicated common challenges: a scarcity of available data to be used in decision-making, a lack of a proper monitoring network, insufficient financial incentives (pricing), a lack of spatial planning, little regional coordination, limited regulations for groundwater extraction, and scarce financial and technical capacities. The project has contributed to good water governance, closing the disconnect between local communities and decision-makers. At a later stage, a collaborative learning process can start, creating flexibility in the set goals. Project challenges While further research is necessary to identify hotspots in the Mekong Delta, experts said it was clear from the evidence that land subsidence induced by groundwater extractions could lead to increased flood vulnerability and damage to infrastructure and buildings. Groundwater extractions are augmented by changes in weather extremes and climate change leading to increased saltwater intrusion and droughts, intensifying issues in the Mekong Delta, according to the experts. Groundwater extraction and resulting land subsidence is a gradual process, but vital tipping points should be avoided. These could have financial implications as well as affect a wide variety of livelihoods. Vietnam and the Netherlands signed the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Climate Adaptation and Water Management under the Mekong Delta Plan in 2013. Since then, the two countries and international stakeholders have collaborated to translate the plans vision into concrete policy ambitions. The Mekong Delta, the countrys largest rice, fruit and seafood producer, is facing a land subsidence rate of 1 cm per year, with some areas reaching a rate of 5.7 cm, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Can Tho City has the highest rate of land subsidence, with more than 5 cm in most areas during the 2015 - 19 period. The rapidly increasing population and economic development are driving a rapid increase in water consumption. The associated extraction of groundwater for drinking water, agriculture and fisheries is to blame for the dramatic land subsidence in the low-lying region. President: Vietnam offers all possible support for Swiss firms President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has stated that Vietnam will offer all possible support for Swiss firms to cooperate with Vietnamese partners. He made the statement while receiving executives of several leading Swiss enterprises in the fields of infrastructure, heavy industry, high technology, electricity and pharmaceuticals in Bern, Switzerland on November 26-27 (local time). President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Chairman of DKSH Group Marco Gadola (Photo: VNA) During reception, Phuc said at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Vietnam committed to reducing greenhouse gas emission to zero by 2050. The country advocated developing clean and renewable energy such as solar and wind power, especially offshore wind power. Vietnam wants Swiss hi-tech firms to grasp opportunities in these fields, he said, adding that as the country wants to develop infrastructure to connect with economic regions, he also expected more Swiss investment in this field. Suggesting the Swiss Government offer financial assistance to encourage firms to seek long-term opportunities in Vietnam, he wished that Swiss firms would raise their voice on this issue and push forward negotiations toward the early signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), thus opening up opportunities for trade and investment activities. The Vietnamese leader also hailed Swiss companies for assisting Vietnam in the transfer of vaccine and medicine production technology, saying that it benefits both sides as well as helps save cost and time. Executives wished to partner with Vietnamese firms in the production of vaccines and medicines and other fields in Vietnam. They also expressed support for the signing of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA. President Phuc meets overseas Vietnamese community representatives President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted the overseas Vietnamese community as an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation and an important resource for the cause of national construction, development and defence. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting with representatives of Vietnamese associations, friendship organisations and community in Bern as part of his trip to Switzerland. During his meeting with representatives of Vietnamese associations, friendship organisations and community in Bern, Switzerland on November 27 (local time), the Vietnamese State leader highly appreciated their opinions and suggestions, adding that the Vietnamese Party and State are set to issue a mechanism to effectively collect and utilize feedback and initiatives of OV experts, intellectuals and businesspeople. He informed them about the situation in the home country with improved business environment that has drew a large number of top investors. External and global integration activities have been enhance further, with the nation having signed and enforced a number of new-generation free trade agreements. Phuc said he hopes that the OVs would continue offering mutual support, help fellows at home overcome the pandemic, as well as raise awareness of national traditions and culture among young generations, especially the Vietnamese language. He urged Vietnamese Embassy staff in Switzerland to better perform citizen protection and launch an array of practical activities to make greater contributions to the homeland, thereby upholding the power of great national unity. On the occasion, the President presented the Friendship Order to the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association (SVFA) in honour of its contributions to the friendship between the two countries' people. President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga also granted the insignia For Peace and Friendship among Nations, the most noble distinction of the VUFO, to SVFA President Anjuska Weil. As planned on November 28 morning (local time), President Phuc and his wife left Bern for Geneva to meet Director General of the UN Office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya, Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Daren Tang. Cut to environment tax on jet fuel proposed The Ministry of Finance has proposed a cut of the environment tax on jet fuel by half in order to support the local aviation industry amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Under the ministrys recommendation sent to the government, the tax would be halved to VND1,500 (USD0.0662) per litre from VND3,000 for the whole of next year. The Ministry of Finance has proposed a cut of the environment tax on jet fuel by half According to the Ministry of Finance, since the second half of 2020, the government has lowered the environmental tax on jet fuel by 30% to VND2,100 per litre. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said that the lower fuel tax had helped the firm to save VND155 billion (USD6.73 million) in 2020 and VND164 billion in 2021. Since late April 4 when the fourth Covid-19 wave hit Vietnam, most Vietnamese airlines have been nearly suspended. So the lower jet fuel tax policy has not assisted the local aviation sector as effectively as expected. AUKUS deal endangers international security order: Chinese, Russian representatives Xinhua) 09:06, November 28, 2021 Wang Qun (R), Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, and Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, attend a press conference on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and related non-proliferation issues in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) The trilateral nuclear submarine deal "endangered the international non-proliferation mechanism and global strategic balance and stability, as well as the post-war international security order," stated Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, and Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna. VIENNA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian envoys expressed their solemn stance against the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on Friday. The board set up a new agenda suggested by China, and for the first time dedicated discussions on the "Transfer of nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)." The trilateral nuclear submarine deal "endangered the international non-proliferation mechanism and global strategic balance and stability, as well as the post-war international security order," stated Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, and Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, at a joint press conference after the meeting. AUKUS nuclear submarine deal intensified regional tensions and increased the risk of an arms race, and "Russia is deeply concerned about this," said Ulyanov. At present, all U.S. nuclear submarines use weapon-grade highly-enriched uranium. If the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation is to proceed, Australia will obtain a large amount of weapon-grade nuclear materials, which will seriously impact the international nuclear non-proliferation system, Ulyanov said. AUKUS not only violates the relevant norms of comprehensive safeguards agreements, but will also have a serious negative impact on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the construction of nuclear-weapon-free zones, he said. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia concealed the progress of nuclear submarine cooperation from the international community, which is extremely non-transparent, Ulyanov stressed, adding that the three must report the relevant situation in a timely manner. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, attends a press conference on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and related non-proliferation issues in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) Wang emphasized that in September, after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced the establishment of AUKUS, under which the United States and the United Kingdom will assist Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out that the trilateral deal will give rise to "five dangers" and "three risks," affecting non-proliferation regime, regional security and strategic stability, which was widely echoed by the international community. The three countries draw lines with ideology and create new military blocs, and will exacerbate geographical tensions, said Wang, adding that, at a time when the international community generally opposed the Cold War and division, the United States flagrantly violated its policy of not engaging in a new Cold War, organized an Anglo-Saxon "small circle" and placed its geopolitical interests above international solidarity -- a typical Cold War mentality. This move will stimulate regional countries to step up their military development, and even seek to break through the nuclear threshold, pushing up the risk of military conflicts, which China firmly opposes, he stressed. Wang pointed out that AUKUS has huge hidden dangers and serious harm. "From the perspective of non-proliferation, it is a sheer proliferation act." The key to AUKUS is the transfer of tons of nuclear weapons materials by the two nuclear-weapon states, the United States, the United Kingdom, to Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state, which obviously violates the purpose of the NPT, he explained. So far, the three countries have always avoided this basic fact, and even tried to confuse the public. AUKUS is a big trouble for the IAEA's safeguard arrangements and must be corrected, he said, adding that the international security is threatened unless AUKUS is stopped. Wang said that the IAEA Board of Governors on Wednesday decided to set up a new agenda item on AUKUS, starting the intergovernmental discussion process, which is the right step towards a proper solution of the issue. The move fully reflects the serious concerns of the Board Members on the trilateral deal, shows that the matter goes beyond the existing mandate of the IAEA's secretariat, and that member states must jointly explore and seek solutions through an intergovernmental process, he added. China has already proposed the establishment of a special committee that all member states can participate in, continue to have in-depth discussions on this issue, and submit reports to the Board and conference, Wang said. Until the parties reach a consensus, the three shall not carry out nuclear submarine-related cooperation, and the agency secretariat shall not negotiate with the three on safeguards arrangements for the trilateral deal, Wang stressed. The representatives of China and Russia also stated that they will closely follow the relevant trends of the trilateral deal, jointly maintain and continue to promote the relevant intergovernmental process initiated under the institutional framework, and work with all parties to defend the purpose of the NPT with practical actions, maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system and jointly maintain global strategic stability and international peace and security. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) China-Africa economic cooperation enters stage of rapid development Xinhua) 09:08, November 28, 2021 A staff member shows a product in "Let's go China" exhibition hall at Kigali City Tower in Kigali, Rwanda, Sept. 9, 2021. (Photo by Huang Wanqing/Xinhua) BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China-Africa economic cooperation has expanded rapidly in scale and extent in nearly a decade, injecting impetus to the continent's development and bringing tangible benefits for people from both sides. With both China and Africa entering new stages of development, the complementary advantages of the two sides have become more prominent, with brilliant prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation, said Wu Peng, head of the department of African affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a press conference on Friday. FLOURISHING DIGITAL ECONOMY The digital economy is one of the new highlights of China-Africa economic cooperation. "China has been helping African countries eliminate the digital divide and seize the opportunities of the information revolution," said Wu. Chinese companies have forged cooperation with major African operators in achieving full basic coverage of telecommunications services in Africa, and have built more than half of the continent's wireless sites and high-speed mobile broadband networks. In total, more than 200,000 km of optical fiber has been laid, giving broadband Internet access to 6 million households in Africa, and serving more than 900 million local people, according to a white paper titled "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals" released Friday. Besides, Chinese companies actively participate in building platforms of public services in Africa such as electronic payment and smart logistics. Thanks to the development of the digital economy, more and more African specialty products such as coffee and pepper have entered the Chinese market. "Africa is a continent of hope. It has the potential to realize leapfrog development in new economic fields," Wu said. BOOMING TRADE, INVESTMENT TIES Over the past decade, China has taken concrete initiatives to strengthen its trade and investment ties with Africa with strong momentum. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa's trade with China in the continent's total external trade has continued to rise, with the figure exceeding 21 percent in 2020, according to the white paper. From January to September, bilateral trade grew 38.2 percent year on year to reach over 185.2 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce. The structure of China-Africa trade is also improving. There has been a marked increase in technology in China's exports to Africa, with the export of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products now accounting for more than 50 percent of the total, according to the white paper. China has increased its imports of non-resource products from Africa, and offered zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items exported to China by the 33 least-developed countries in Africa, with the goal of helping more agricultural and manufactured goods from Africa gain access to the Chinese market. Direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa rose 9.9 percent to reach 2.59 billion dollars during the first three quarters of the year, with the growth rate surpassing the pre-pandemic levels. "These figures fully demonstrate the confidence of Chinese enterprises in Africa's future development and the prospects of the African market," said Qian Keming, vice minister of commerce. BRIGHT PROSPECTS The dual successes of the Johannesburg Summit in 2015 and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2018 spurred China-Africa cooperation to a new and unprecedented height. After years of dedicated efforts, the tree of China-Africa cooperation has flourished -- it is tall and strong, and cannot be shaken by any force, said the white paper. China will announce new cooperation measures with Africa over the next three years, including new trade and investment policies, at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC scheduled in Senegal's capital of Dakar from Nov. 29 to 30, Wu said at the press conference. China and African countries will continue to set the pace of cooperation through FOCAC, support the Belt and Road Initiative, bring the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to a higher level, and deliver a brighter future together, said the white paper. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Xi Jinping on China-Africa cooperation Xinhua) 09:09, November 28, 2021 Members of a Chinese medical team pose for a photo upon their arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shoubao) BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a keynote speech to the opening ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) via video link, which is scheduled for Nov. 29 to 30 in Senegal's capital of Dakar. Xi has on many occasions emphasized the longstanding China-Africa friendship and the broad prospects of cooperation between the two sides. The following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard: -- With similar fate in the past and a common mission, China and Africa have extended sympathy to and helped each other throughout all the years. Together, we have embarked on a distinctive path of win-win cooperation. -- China will stay committed to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and the approach of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, honor its commitments to Africa to the letter, persistently support Africa's development, and make greater contributions to Africa's development and rejuvenation and African countries' joint efforts to become stronger. -- The China-Africa relationship is currently at its best in history. The 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC led to a new wave in developing the China-Africa friendship, with the implementation of its results injecting new vigor into their practical cooperation in various fields. -- Ultimately, it is for the peoples of China and Africa to judge the performance of China-Africa cooperation. No one could deny the remarkable achievements made in China-Africa cooperation, not with their assumption or imagination. -- Let me reaffirm China's commitment to its longstanding friendship with Africa. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China shall never waver in its determination to pursue greater solidarity and cooperation with Africa. -- China and Africa's collaboration and common development will underscore important contributions to strengthening the power of developing countries, building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Robberies at luxury stores increase on Black Friday in southern California Xinhua) 09:14, November 28, 2021 LOS ANGELES, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- A surge in "smash-and-grab" robberies at luxury stores this week forced the retailers and police in the southern California to increase in security on the Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving that traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. "We are concerned like everyone across the country knows about the retail business crime," Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of the South Coast Plaza, told Xinhua on Friday. Monday evening, three to five masked men wearing black clothes and hoodies burst into an upscale restaurant in the mall and told customers to "get down" before running off with a purse and fleeing in a white car. Local police said at least one of the robbers apparently armed with a gun, and they were searching for the suspects as of Friday. Also on Monday, at least 18 people broke into a Nordstrom department store in Los Angeles and stole thousands of dollars in merchandise. And Wednesday evening, at least five people attacked another open Nordstrom store in Los Angeles downtown, then ran out with items that included about seven to eight expensive purses. On Saturday, a mob of about 80 people stormed a Nordstrom department store with weapons in Walnut Creek, 35 km east of San Francisco. Three suspects have been arrested on Wednesday and charged with multiple felonies, including robbery, burglary, organized retail theft, conspiracy and receiving stolen property. These incidents, dubbed "grab-and-go" or "smash-and-go" thefts, usually involve people taking expensive items and running off, rather than traditional shoplifters who snag items here and there while shopping around. The kind of organized retail crime cost U.S. retail stores and companies as much as 30 billion U.S. dollars a year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In response to a recent increase in organized retail theft activities across the state, California Governor Gavin Newsom directed California Highway Patrol to increase their presence near major retail sites and announced a proposed increase in the 2022 to 2023 state budget to combat retail theft. Cities where the high-end shopping malls concentrate also have to protect the Black Friday by themselves. Beverly Hills hired two private security companies with 80 armed guards to bolster patrols this week after Local police have been working 12 hours shifts and are hoping to utilize over 2,000 security cameras watching over the city. "Our city is taking it serious, we're putting the money into it," Todd Johnson, president and CEO of Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, told local KCAL 9 news channel Friday. Late Saturday night, a group of robbers attempted to break into luxury stores off Rodeo Drive, a famous shopping street in the Beverly Hills, by smashing the windows with sledgehammers but failed to get into the stores because of the thick protective glass. At Westfield Century City, an outdoor shopping mall in the Century City commercial district in Los Angeles, uniform officers were seen on foot patrol on Friday, while expandable barriers were ready to be installed. "We are monitoring the situation with smash-and-grab robberies around the county very closely," said Louis Schillace, a senior general manager at Westfield Century City. However, the measures did not stop the robberies. Friday night, a large group of robbers rushed into a luxury store in Beverly Grove, a bustling shopping and dining district in Beverly Hills, and stole several items. This incident prompted Los Angeles police late Friday to issue a citywide tactical alert. Police said those thieves stormed into the store Friday night and fled with sledgehammers and bolt cutters, which could be used for more "smash-and-grab" robberies. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Xinjiang cotton industry representatives refute "forced labor" fallacies Xinhua) 09:35, November 28, 2021 URUMQI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from the cotton industry in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region denounced accusations of "forced labor" in the region at a press conference held on Saturday. They refuted the fallacies with detailed data, information on the industry, and their own experiences. Private enterprises in Xinjiang have established a sound mechanism for building harmonious labor relations and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers, said Nurali Yunus, an inspector of the Federation of Industry and Commerce (Chamber of Commerce) of Xinjiang. Nurali Yunus said there is no "forced labor" or disrespect of ethnic groups' customs and religious beliefs in the region. Peng Changming, vice president of Xinjiang Cotton Association, said Xinjiang's cotton textile industry provided jobs for nearly 1 million locals. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Brazil looks to Chinese visitors to boost int'l tourism, minister says Xinhua) 10:32, November 28, 2021 RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government is relying on Chinese visitors to boost international tourism to the South American country, Tourism Minister Gilson Machado has told Xinhua. During an interview with foreign correspondents earlier this week, Machado said that the Brazilian government is working to boost foreign visits once the COVID-19 pandemic situation is stabilized, and that the presence of Chinese tourists is fundamental to that goal. Brazil plans to open a tourism office in China and is going to formalize visa exemption for Chinese tourists, according to the minister. Challenges to have more Chinese tourists visit Brazil include the long distance between the two countries and a lack of air connections, he added. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Feature: "My decision to stay in China leads to truly unique life" Xinhua) 12:46, November 28, 2021 File photo taken in 2014 shows Frank Hawke speaking during an event commemorating the 35th anniversary of exchanges between Chinese and American scholars in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua) WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- On Feb. 23, 1979, twenty-five-year-old Frank Hawke arrived at snow-covered Beijing Capital Airport with seven other U.S. students. They were the first group of American students to study in the People's Republic of China since the two countries officially normalized their diplomatic relations on Jan. 1, 1979. Hawke, who has lived and worked more or less continuously in Beijing over the past 40 years, is now the director of the China Program for the Stanford Graduate School of Business, located at the Stanford Center at Peking University. STUDY AND TEACHING IN PEKING UNIVERSITY Hawke's interest in China was sparked by two Sinologists at Stanford -- John Lewis and Harry Harding, when the economics undergraduate took some of their courses in contemporary Chinese politics. After graduating from his bachelor's program, he decided to pursue an academic career in Chinese studies and started to learn Chinese. "When I arrived in China, I actually spoke very little Chinese. I could maybe recognize some characters, but that was really about all," laughed Hawke, who speaks very fluent Mandarin with a Beijing accent now. After a short stay at the Beijing Language Institute upon arrival, Hawke was admitted to the Department of World Economy at Peking University. "Classical economist, Professor Hong Junyan became my mentor. He was a wonderful man. He treated us very kindly and was very much aware that we were a long way from home," said Hawke. Hawke was supposed to go back to Stanford after a year in Peking University, but he didn't. "I wasn't ready yet to go back because I felt that there was so much yet to learn," he said. Hawke then taught neoclassical economics at Peking University for one semester at the invitation of Hong. NEGOTIATIONS FOR CHINA'S FIRST AUTOMOBILE JOINT VENTURE After teaching in Peking University, Hawke joined a company called Unison International, which helped American companies do business in China. With Unison, one of the most famous deals Hawke participated in was the Beijing Jeep Corporation, the first Sino-foreign auto joint venture between American Motors Corporation, one of Unison's clients, and Beijing Auto Works. "I was the one facilitating on the ground, attending all the negotiations. I was providing a lot of advice in the context of the negotiations," said Hawke. "That was a very interesting negotiation," he said, adding that "every little detail had to be negotiated. Finally, we got it done in 1983." When China opened its doors to the global market in 1978, a motor car was still a novelty for Chinese, but now China becomes the top player both in auto manufacturing and sales, with cars being almost a household necessity. CONTRIBUTION TO CHINA'S AGRICULTURE In 1997, IMC Global, a world's leading producer of phosphate and potassium fertilizers, hired Hawke to serve as the president of its Asia subsidiary. That job gave him lots of opportunities to go around China and talk to not only Chinese phosphate producers, but also a great number of Chinese farmers. "That was really a lot of fun for me to be able to talk to Chinese farmers and learn about their lives and how we could help them improve their crop yields, not only by providing these very important fertilizers, but also in discussing how to farm more scientifically," said Hawke. "We were supplying something China badly needed, Chinese farmers badly needed, as the Chinese say, Feiliao Shi Liangshi De Liangshi (fertilizer is the food for the grain)," he said. In 2011, Hawke was offered his second job in agriculture -- to run East Asian operations for the International Potato Center, which is headquartered in Lima, Peru. What impressed Hawke most was "Chinese farmers were extremely friendly, always willing to answer our questions, always willing to learn." "That gives you a sense of accomplishment that you're working with people who really want to listen and maybe learn something." WITNESS OF CHINA'S RAPID GROWTH From 1979 onwards, Hawke has witnessed China growing at a very rapid rate, which is, as the World Bank described, "the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history." There were "rationed coupons for everything," as the Chinese government had to make sure that everybody had the basic necessities, he said. The nation at the time could not produce enough grains and various kinds of foods for her people, such as meats, eggs, and so on. "When the ration coupons went away, I think that was a sign that things turned the corner. So that was a milestone, obviously," he said. In the past 40-plus years, more than 700 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, contributing to over 70 percent of global poverty reduction. "I have great confidence in China. I have great confidence in the Chinese people. I think the key to China's future is to unlock the genius of the Chinese people," said Hawke. CALL FOR PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES Talking about the current strained U.S.-China relations, Hawke said the two countries "should be in a better position to understand the other side" after 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties. The world's two largest economies can "still disagree, but we can disagree with respect out of mutual understanding," he said, noting that both sides should learn each other's history and culture. "One way to avoid mistakes, to avoid tragedy is by having very robust people-to-people relations. I would like to see more exchange students, more people going back and forth in all fields; it's extremely important," he said. "It's nice to have lived through a past worth telling," Hawke said of his China stories in retrospect. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Factbox: Highlights of China-Africa economic, trade ties Xinhua) 14:27, November 28, 2021 BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council Information Office has issued a white paper on Friday detailing the country's cooperation with Africa in the new era. China-Africa economic cooperation has expanded rapidly in scale and extent in nearly a decade, injecting impetus to the continent's development and bringing tangible benefits for people from both sides. The following facts and figures offer a glimpse of the achievements of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. -- China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa's trade with China in the continent's total external trade has continued to rise, which exceeded 21 percent in 2020. -- China has increased its imports of non-resource products from Africa, and offered zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items exported to China by the 33 least-developed countries in Africa. -- China's imports in services from Africa have been growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent since 2017, creating close to 400,000 jobs for the continent every year. -- By the end of 2020, direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa had surpassed 43 billion U.S. dollars. -- China has established over 3,500 companies of various types across the continent, with private companies gradually becoming the main investment force in Africa. More than 80 percent of their employees are locals, and they have directly and indirectly created millions of jobs. -- To date, China has established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, and signed 72 bilateral and multilateral agricultural cooperation agreements. -- By the end of 2020, more than 200 Chinese companies had an investment stock of 1.11 billion U.S. dollars in agricultural sector in 35 African countries. The investments cover areas such as planting, breeding and processing. -- As of October 2021, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System had 42 indirect participants in Africa, covering 19 African countries. The People's Bank of China has signed successive currency swap agreements with the central banks of South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria, to a total amount of 73 billion yuan (about 11 billion U.S. dollars). (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Afghanistan wants good relations with all countries: acting PM Xinhua) 15:30, November 28, 2021 People receive relief assistance donated by a local philanthropist in Nahr Shahi district of Balkh province, Afghanistan, Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Kawa Basharat/Xinhua) "The Islamic Emirate wants to have good relations, economic ties and co-exist with all countries. Afghanistan will not interfere in internal affairs of any country, it is not our policy," acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan's caretaker government Mullah Hassan Akhund said in local media. KABUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The acting Prime Minister (PM) of Afghanistan's caretaker government Mullah Hassan Akhund has said that Afghanistan wants to have good relations with the international community, including the neighbors and regional countries. "The Islamic Emirate wants to have good relations, economic ties and co-exist with all countries. Afghanistan will not interfere in internal affairs of any country, it is not our policy," Hassan Akhund said in his address broadcast in the state-run Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) on Saturday night. In his first address since the Taliban's takeover on Aug. 15, and the formation of its caretaker government on Sept. 7, Hassan Akhund noted that Afghanistan's soil will not be used against any country and the new administration will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against anyone. "No harm has been inflicted to any country from Afghanistan and no one will witness harm from Afghanistan. Now, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is focusing on rebuilding our country," he said, noting that exerting pressure on Afghanistan will not benefit anyone. Afghan women attend a class at a university in Kandahar city, southern Afghanistan, Sept. 13, 2021. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua) Regarding women's education, Hassan Akhund said that "the women's rights are safeguarded, and the Islamic Emirate respects the rights of education for women and girls. The women will be provided with an immune space for their education based on the Islamic laws." He also urged the provincial governors, police chiefs and judges to do their best in providing service to the Afghans, calling on them to strictly act against those who cause harassment among the people. "Those who harass ordinary people, or individuals who worked in the former government, must be accountable. It doesn't matter how high their rank is, those who are harassing people should be disarmed immediately and the report should be sent to me directly," he said. The acting PM also called on Afghans to get united and rebuild the country including its economy with goodwill, brotherhood and unity. (Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Bianji) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Your browser does not support the video tag. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijani and Iranian Foreign Ministers Jeyhun Bayramov and Hossein Amir Abdollahian have discussed the current situation in the region. The discussion took place within the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC in Ashgabat, the Foreign Ministry reported on November 28. During the meeting, the parties discussed the current situation in the region, including the Sochi meeting [of Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents, and Armenian PM], the declaration signed on November 26, the implementation of trilateral statements in general and the importance of the "3+3" cooperation platform. The ministers welcomed meetings held in New York on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, as well as constructive work on the implementation of agreements reached during numerous telephone conversations. In addition, satisfaction was expressed with the November 21 meeting of the co-chairs of the Azerbaijan-Iran State Commission on Economic, Commercial and Humanitarian Affairs in Tehran. The sides also discussed other important regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the country and the surrounding region, as well as the negotiations in Vienna on Iran's nuclear program and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Additionally, they discussed cooperation between the two countries within international organizations and other issues of mutual interest. After liberating its lands from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Azerbaijan restored control over the 132-km section of the Azerbaijan-Iran border. The restoration of control over the state border created new opportunities and prospects for broader cooperation between the two countries. It should be noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran amounted to $339.1 million in 2020. This figure was $293.2 million in the first nine months of 2021. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has invited the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states to benefit from the Zangazur corridor. He made the remarks in his speech at the 15th ECO summit held in Turkmenistans Ashgabat on November 28. At the last ECO summit, I informed my colleagues about the Zangazur corridor. Today I can say that the Zangazur corridor becomes a reality. This new transport infrastructure will be an important part of the East-West and North-South corridors. I am confident that the ECO member states will benefit from this corridor, he said. Victory and reconstruction Noting that Azerbaijan put an end to nearly 30 years of occupation of its territories by Armenia, the president recalled that the 44-days Patriotic War resulted in Armenias defeat and being forced to sign an act of capitulation on November 10, 2020. Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and itself ensured the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. He also underlined that all cities and villages, including cultural and religious heritage sites of Azerbaijan, have been totally wiped out by Armenia during the occupation. Speaking about the start of large-scale reconstruction work, the president emphasized that Azerbaijan is building new cities and towns from the scratch relying solely on its own financial resources. To that end, $1.3 billion has been released from the state budget this year. At least, the same amount will be allocated for this purpose in 2022, he said. Recalling the annunciation of liberated Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur as green energy zone, Aliyev noted that the liberated territories have the proven potential of 7,200 MW of solar energy and 2,000 MW of wind energy. Cooperation within ECO Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan is an active member of ECO, adding that the relations with the member states are based on friendship and mutual respect. We also enjoy fruitful cooperation with the ECO member states within international platforms, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, he said. Recalling that the Charter of the ECO Research Centers was signed during the 14th ECO Summit this March, the president expressed his gratitude to the member states for supporting late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev's initiative. Azerbaijan will do its utmost for the efficient functioning of the Center based in our country. I invite remaining member states to join this important initiative, he said. Economic development The president noted that over the past 18 years, Azerbaijans economy has developed rapidly, and the gross domestic product increased more than three times. He emphasized that Azerbaijan has achieved a favorable investment climate as a result of large-scale reforms. Azerbaijan is placed 28th out of 190 countries in the World Banks Doing Business survey, he said. Aliyev noted that around $280 billion has been invested in the Azerbaijani economy, half of which is foreign investment. Our strategic foreign exchange reserves exceed our state external debt by over six times, he added. Noting that the countrys external debt accounts for only about 17.3 percent of its gross domestic product, the president stated that by the end of 2030, it is planned to decrease it to 10 percent. He also noted that over the past 18 years, the poverty rate in Azerbaijan has decreased from 49 percent to 6 percent, adding that the unemployment rate in the country is around 6 percent. Emphasizing that Azerbaijans achievements are highly appreciated by the international institutions, Aliyev noted that the Davos World Economic Forum report ranks Azerbaijan in the 10th place for the long-term government strategy and 5th in the world in terms of the leaderships commitment to reform. Again, according to the Davos report- Azerbaijan ranks the 2nd for electricity supply to the population, 11th for efficiency of railroad services, 12th for efficiency of air transportation services, 25th for efficiency of seaport services, and 27th for quality of road infrastructure, he said. Fight against COVID-19 Noting that Azerbaijan has launched an immunization campaign since mid-January this year, Aliyev stated that over 60 percent of the adult population in the country has received two doses of the vaccine. He stressed that almost $3 billion of the socio-economic stimulus package has been released to support COVID-affected people and businesses in the country. The president added that for the same purpose, $1.6 billion of financial assistance package will be allocated from the state budget in 2022. Aliyev also underlined that Azerbaijan is making significant steps to mobilize global efforts against the pandemic, adding that the countrys firm opposition against vaccine nationalism has been persistently stressed. This year, upon Azerbaijans initiative in its capacity as the Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, resolutions on ensuring equitable access for all countries to vaccines were adopted at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly respectively, he said. The president added that Azerbaijan has provided financial and humanitarian assistance to about 80 countries directly and through World Health Organization to support their fight against the COVID-19. By Trend Close relations and cooperation between Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey are important, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, Trend reports citing the Iranian President Office's official website. He made the remark during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 15th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Raisi noted that the three countries have many cultural and religious partnerships, and we must not allow problems to arise in these relations. Iranian President added that the development of relations between Iran and Turkey is in the interests of the peoples of the two countries, as well as peace and stability in the region. Raisi also pointed out the potential of trade and economic relations between Iran and Turkey is many times greater than today. By increasing trade, economic and political relations, the two countries can bring these relations closer to the level of strategic relations. "Various simplifications should be made for the development of cooperation between Iran and Turkey in various fields, including energy, banking and money, trade. In this regard, discounted tariffs can be reconsidered," he said. During the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also stressed the importance of developing and strengthening bilateral and regional relations. Erdogan added that high-level development of relations between the two countries, especially in the economic sphere, can be achieved. "Turkey, Russia and Iran can maintain security and stability in the region through cooperation with other countries in the region," Turkish President noted. By Trend Two Azerbaijani servicemen suffered as a result of mine explosion in Fuzuli region, Trend reports with reference to the Interior Ministry. The servicemen involved in the extra-urgent service of N military unit of the internal troops of the Interior Ministry, located in Fuzuli region, suffered as a result of explosion of an anti-personnel mine in Shukurbayli village. The wounded servicemen are being treated by doctors. The investigation is underway. An official dinner reception has been hosted on behalf of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in honor of heads of state, government and delegations attending the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, Azertag reported on November 28. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the reception. By Trend At the decision of the Interagency Coordination Council, Georgia tightens state border crossing regulations for citizens from 8 countries in connection with spread of the new strain of coronavirus, Trend reports citing 1tv.ge. The regulations will enact from November 28, the Governmental Administration reports. Any person regardless of citizenship who traveled to the below-listed countries during the last 14 days, will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine at the government-assigned facilities. These countries are: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi. They will take PCR tests after completion of guaranteeing period. By Trend As part of participation of in the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Ashgabat, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov met with Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Trend reports citing Kabar. The press service of the Kyrgyz president reported that the leaders of the two countries discussed current areas of the Kyrgyz-Turkmen bilateral relations, as well as the implementation of agreements reached at the highest level. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow warmly greeted Sadyr Zhaparov and expressed gratitude for accepting his invitation to participate in the anniversary ECO Summit in Ashgabat. He emphasized that the Organization is an important regional structure and noted the readiness of the Turkmen side to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with ECO member states. Sadyr Zhaparov noted the Kyrgyz side attaches great importance to deepening cooperation with Turkmenistan in trade, economic, energy and other areas. The two presidents expressed mutual readiness to further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation for the benefit of peoples of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Dubai Land Department (DLD) has officially invited international realtors and real estate professionals to the Global Investors and Real Estate Professionals Program, to network with investors and government officials from more than 170 countries at the Expo 2020 Dubai. As part of the invitation, international real estate delegations will be given access to several benefits, such as free membership in the Property Network Partnership (PNP), as well as special exhibition packages to visit 191 countries' pavilions at the Expo 2020. Invest in Dubai Real Estate has recently signed MoUs with more than 25 associations, which allow the visiting real estate delegations to meet and network with ministries and real estate authorities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The programme will also allow the delegations to meet local and international developers in the city to understand and learn more about new projects. Real estate delegations will get the opportunity to attend Business & Culture Tours in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, along with business meetings with Dubai government entities. It will also accommodate visits and tours to real estate development sites in Dubai, with a complimentary luxury gala dinner. DLD Director General Sultan Butti Al Mejren said: "It is an honour to invite international real estate delegates to Dubai. The Global Investors and Real Estate Professionals program and Invest in Dubai Real Estate will create a boundless environment for real estate investors and professionals." "This initiative allows growth, diversity and increased connectivity within the industry. We are proud to be a part of this program because this is a fulfilment of our vision, as it brings the real estate industry together to achieve sustainable economic growth and success," he added. Majida Ali Rashid, CEO, Promotion and Real Estate Investment Management Sector, said: "We would like to view this invitation as an opportunity to acknowledge our good relations with real estate delegations from around the world." "Invest in Dubai Real Estate portrays the strength of the global real estate market during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite the pandemic, we continue to stay true to our commitment to provide opportunities to everyone in the different real estate sectors and propel business transactions even more," he noted. "It is through our resilience that continues to further strengthen the citys competitiveness with the help of the latest technological innovation," she added. The 5th edition of the decoration, design and building materials exhibition DecoBuild wrapped up its 2021 activities at the Dubai World Trade Centre today (November 27) with more than 80 public and private exhibitors taking part in the four-day event, up 45.45% compared to the previous edition. Organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MBHE), DecoBuild 2021 has been the largest edition to be held since its inception, attracting thousands of visitors who were interested to view the latest developments and global practices in the construction sector. The MBHE stressed that many deals, contracts and businesses have been concluded on the sidelines of 'DecoBuild 2021, which attracted the attention and gained the satisfaction of both exhibitors and visitors. Stretching over an area of 4,000 sq m, the event brought together dozens of exhibitors from government institutions and private sector companies, as well as the Whos Who of construction materials, contracting, decoration, engineering consultancy, interior and architectural design companies, in addition to banks and financial institutions, furniture companies, lighting and smart home services, it stated. Also during the exhibition, the MBHE announced it has joined the Young people of determination in Construction initiative, recently launched by the Dubai Youth Council. The move aims to support people of determination and help them effectively integrate into society, in line with its keenness to improve their happiness by providing them with suitable housing. A Turkish business delegation featuring 25 representatives from the Mediterranean Furniture, Paper and Forest Products Exporters' Association, (AKAMIB) and the most prominent Turkish companies specialized in the production and manufacture of furniture, furnishings and interior design visited 'DecoBuild 2021 on the second day. The delegation discussed prospects of commercial cooperation with Emirati companies and the possibility of participation in the upcoming edition of the exhibition. The event saw companies showcasing the latest solutions to transform normal homes into fully or semi-smart ones, and offering attractive competitive offers, discounts, modern designs and architectures affordable for different budgets. Lauding the outstanding event, exhibiting companies said that DecoBuild 2021 has effectively helped them promote and enhance the position of their companies, adding that they are interested to take part in the upcoming editions due to the well-organization of the event and its resounding success achieved year after year.-TradeArabia News Service The most recent developments in dermatology and cosmetic medicine post-pandemic, as well as new treatments for incurable skin diseases like psoriasis and vitiligo will feature at a conference in Bahrain. The four-day event, Dermatology, Laser & Aesthetic Conference & Exhibition (BDLA4), from December 1 to 4, includes several sessions, workshops and scientific programmes for international partners. To be held physically and online, this medical event is the only one of its kind in Bahrain, and will be held in a strategic partnership with the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), in addition to notable worldwide training forums specialising in Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic and Laser Medicine, and organised by the BDA Centre for Medical Training. BDLA4 is accredited by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), with 24 training hours. On the sidelines, an exhibition will be conducted with the involvement of several international enterprises offering their latest cosmetic medical services and products. Dr Hussain Juma, a Consultant Dermatologist, the head of the conference's scientific committee, said this is the first conference in which such a large number of doctors from outside and inside Bahrain will participate, following the recovery and return to normalcy post-pandemic. According to Dr Juma, several pioneering dermatologists from inside and outside Bahrain will review during the conference the best international methods used in plastic surgery and treating skin diseases. The event serves as a forum for doctors to share their thoughts and experiences, as well as to provide them with the necessary skills, refine their knowledge, and enhance their capabilities, as well as to exchange ideas and debate the most recent medical breakthroughs in their fields, Dr Juma said. The head of the conferences organising committee and plastic surgeon, Dr Ahmed Shahda, stated that among the strategic partners for BDLA4 is the Middle East Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine Conference & Exhibition MEIDAM, Dubai World Dermatology and Laser Conference, and Exhibition Dubai Derma, The Saudi Cosmetic Medicine "Saudi Derma", the Oman Cosmetic Conference "Oman Derma", in addition to the Saudi Society for Cosmetic Surgery. The successful continuation of this medical event for the fourth year in a row demonstrates the organisers' commitment to hold it regularly, said Dr Shahda.-- TradeArabia News Service Demand levels are now back to pre-Covid levels and increased scrapping is helping to restrict the supply of vessels, boosting tanker earnings for 2022, a Tanker Conference heard. Organised by The Maritime Standard recently it was its most successful Tanker Conference yet, as over 200 delegates registered to attend in person at the Dubai World Trade Centre on November 23. In addition, the event, the sixth in the series, attracted a high number of guests who logged in online, with TMS building on the success of its trailblazing hybrid conference held despite the pandemic in November 2020. Conference editor, Clive Woodbridge, said: This conference is vitally important given the strategic significance of the tanker trades in this region. Moreover, it took place at a crucial time for the sector, as it faces up to a whole host of commercial, operational, environmental and human challenges, and this made it hugely topical and relevant. This years keynote speaker was Dr Ibrahim Al Nadhairi of Asyad Shipping & Drydocks, who set the scene perfectly, highlighting the main strategic challenges confronting the tanker shipping business. Climate change was a particular priority for Dr Al Nadhairi, as it was for many speakers throughout the day, and he urged owners to embrace the challenge of hitting a zero emissions target by 2050. This is one of the most important game changers for the shipping industry, he said. And it will provide a great opportunity for additional value creation, through the necessary upgrades and investments in tanker fleets. The overall theme of this years conference was, Charting a course back to market stability, reflecting the need for policies to build the sector back to commercial health after 18 months of unprecedented volatility. The opening session, moderated by industry veteran, Ali Shehab, assessed the short-, medium- and longer-term outlook for the tanker trades and what needs to happen to create a sound platform for recovery. The audience heard from several experienced and influential business leaders, including Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO, Adnoc Logistics & Services; HK Joshi, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of India; Captain Saif Almheiri, Managing Director Abu Dhabi Maritime; Captain Rado Antolovic, CEO, Drydocks World Dubai; Shehab Al Rahma Manager Oil Terminals, DP World UAE; Panos Mitrou, Global Gas Segment Manager, LR; and Navin Kumar, Director, Drewry Maritime Research. Captain Al Masabi led the way with a well-researched and comprehensive presentation, which struck an optimistic and positive note, pointing out that demand levels are now back to pre-covid levels and increased scrapping is helping to restrict the supply of vessels, boosting tanker earnings in 2022. He was followed by Joshi, who described the regional tanker market scenario, the disruption caused by the pandemic and recent recovery as well as an informed assessment of the way forward. Mitrou provided an invaluable update on the use of LNG as fuel, future prospects and risks, while Kumar set out the outlook for LNG and LPG tankers and how this sector is adapting to the changes required by IMO 2030 regulations. The importance of support services for the tanker segment was tackled in the second session by a panel of speakers coming from a broad spectrum of activities within the business. Moderated by Andrew Baird, a partner at WFW, speakers included Ian Edwards, Area Manager, Middle East & Africa, DNV; Saleem Kadernani, Vice President, Commercial for the Middle East, South Asia & Africa Region, Inchcape Shipping Services; Chris Peters. CEO, Emirates Ship Investment Company; Jonathan Hudson, Market Leader, Tanker owners and adjacent stakeholders, Bureau Veritas; Prof Mustafa Amin Massad, Founder and President, Jordan Academy for Maritime Studies; and Petros Doukas, Mayor, Sparta & Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, Greece. Edwards described the tectonic shifts that have taken place in the market and in particular the changes in regulation and digitalisation which are propelling tanker shipping to a cleaner and more connected future. Saleem Kadernani discussed the vexed issue of crew changes in the pandemic and proposed some interesting solutions, while Jonathan Hudson underlined how class can support tanker shipping in the digital age. Professor Massad underscored the importance of education and training and suggested that even when the battle with covid is over, distance learning courses would continue to be a highly effect means of delivering maritime education and training, while Doukas rounded off the session with a rousing presentation that put tanker shipping in its macroeconomic and geo-political context. The tanker industry has a pressing need to harness new ideas and fresh technology to meet its environmental and commercial goals and the third session focused how initiatives and innovations might shape the tanker business of the future. Expertly moderated by Jesper Kjaedegaard from Marcura Group, speakers in this session included June Manoharan, Director, Lukoil Marine Lubricants; Amit Singh, Sales Director, Gulf Oil Marine Limited; Morten Langthjem, Managing Director- Dubai, Glander International Bunkering; Capt. Zarir Irani, Managing Director, Constellation Marine Services; Ramee Rashid, Director, Seamaster Maritime; and Manuel Calzada, Director, International Business Development, JMP Ingenieros-Drone Hopper. Manoharan shared Lukoils experience with lubricants on vessels operating on VLSO, illustrating this with two fascinating case studies, and Singh charted his companys product development journey for the new CAT110 cylinder oil over the past year, leading to successful trials and no objection letter support in recent weeks. Capt. Irani focused on the topical subject of cybercrime and pointed out that cyber-attacks on shipping had jumped 300%, showing the industry remains vulnerable due to inadequate cyber awareness. Reflecting on the positive impact of this years Tanker Conference, TMS Managing Director, Trevor Pereira, added: It was great to have a packed house and to see so much interaction with, and appreciation of our high-quality speakers and presentations. With COP26 fresh in everyones minds, tanker shippings contribution to reducing climate change pressures was inevitably a key theme and the willingness of the industry to embrace change to achieve tough carbon emissions targets was encouraging.-- TradeArabia News Service The latest developments in Brazils halal market and new insights into the $5 trillion global halal trade will come up at the Global Halal Brazil Business forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from December 6 to 8, 2021. The event is set to provide a platform for officials, business, and experts to share their insights on global halal trade and its potentials, as well as the edicts surrounding trade of halal products. The forum also aims to shed light on the potential of Brazils halal market for stakeholders such as government entities of various nations, halal businesses, investors, federations, industry associations, chambers of commerce, exporters, distributors, retailers, and halal certification bodies. The business forum recognises importance and growing demand for high-quality halal, healthy, functional, and organic food products around the world. Organised by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), the three-day event to be held virtual and in-person will be in partnership with the Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (FAMBRAS Halal) and supported by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), BRF, Iceport and Portonave at the Renaissance Hotel. According to the State of Global Islamic Economy Report 2020, the revenue from the global halal trade, which serves around 1.6 billion consumers is $5 trillion, of which only $1.17 trillion accounts for foodstuff. The report also highlights the importance of a traceability guarantee, which offers greater security to the halal value chain and predicts a growth of 18% in the halal trade by 2024. Osmar Chohfi, President of ABCC, said: Through the business forum, we aim to create awareness among the Brazilian exporters about the immense potential in global halal trade and support them to enhance their operations to boost the trade of high-quality Brazilian halal products. The forum will be an ideal opportunity for firms in the Brazilian food industry to explore opportunities, learn and collaborate with stakeholders in halal businesses, accreditation, and certification bodies, to expand Brazils halal food trade and promote best practices, research, and development. The requirement for halal products is not limited to the food and beverages industry and extends as well to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, services, finances, and tourism. The halal cosmetics industry alone is projected to grow up to $76 billion in terms of value by 2024. Brazil has strong potentials to expand its halal market at the global level considering its position as one of the largest animal protein exporters which meet the global halal standards. This business forum is also in line with the initiatives to ensure the integrity of the halal value chain. We are positive that this business forum will enable the creation of a business ecosystem for halal trade without any barriers across the world. The establishment of unified standards for halal trade will also boost halal businesses globally. As an important entity responsible for the diversification of Brazilian businesses, ABCC aims to increase the awareness of the Brazilian firms about current and future business opportunities and facilitate the entry of new stakeholders into the Brazilian industries flawlessly, added Chohfi. Ali Zoghbi, Vice President of FAMBRAS Halal, stated: In Brazil, the halal industry has created around 1.5 billion direct and indirect jobs and the sector also holds huge potential for new business prospects. The practices and initiatives in the whole chain of production in the industry also adhere to the concept of conscious consumption and ensure the authenticity of halal products. He also emphasised that even though most of the consumers of Brazilian halal products are Muslims, with the popularity of halal as a lifestyle, there are also many consumers who are non-Muslims. The key discussions on the first day of the business forum will revolve around opportunities, challenges, and Brazils role in the global halal industry. It will feature eminent personalities from governmental entities of various nations and experts in halal businesses. The second and third days will spotlight topics such as: Innovation and Technology in Halal as Competitiveness Factor, and Beyond Food - Halal in different ESG and Sustainability Ecosystems, respectively. The forum also aims to encourage Brazilian enterprises to take up the opportunities to diversify the halal market to other industries such as cosmetics, fashion, medicines, finance and tourism and mark the niche market for halal trade in all Muslim including non-Arab countries and Islamic communities in Europe and the US.-- TradeArabia News Service Emphasising that free zone is pivotal to boosting Ajmans position as preferred destination for business and UAEs status as a global trade and investment centre the Made in AFZ exhibition was opened in Ajman on November 28. The exhibition was launched to showcase the innovative products and services of companies operating at Ajman Free Zone, as well as provide a platform for building new strategic partnerships, said Eng Omar Bin Omair Al Mheiri, Acting Director General, of Ajman Free Zones Authority, who inaugurated it. Al Mheiri emphasised that the event, running till November 30 under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Board of Ajman Free Zones Authority, reflects the commitment of the free zone and the emirate of Ajman to build an environment that can fast-track business expansion and success, increase the emirates economic and investment activities, empower entrepreneurs, and support the growth of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, the backbone of the national economy. He said: The Made in AFZ exhibition is a continuation of our initiatives aimed at revitalising and accelerating Ajmans economic recovery and growth. Through this event, we seek to stimulate more commercial and investment activities across industries, especially in the SME, to help build a diverse local economy, increase Ajmans capability to meet the requirements of the future, and raise the emirates global competitiveness. We aim to make the local business environment more attractive to foreign companies and investors while ensuring the business communitys sustainable growth. Over the past years, Ajman Free Zone has significantly contributed to Ajmans economy-- effectively helping guide its growth and strengthening the emirates prominent position as a preferred destination for business. We are also helping enhance the UAEs active role in the global trade activities through our many initiatives. The free zone will move forward with its efforts to support businesses and ensure their success at the regional and global levels through a unique model that provides a unified platform for services and solutions. In addition, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure fast delivery of services and expand our offered solutions and facilities to our community, Al Mheiri added. Eng Ali AlSuwaidi, Director General of Ajman Free Zone, said that the exhibition forms part of the free zones initiatives to empower its business partners, as well as give them a broader space where they can forge new cooperation and highlight their products and services. AlSuwaidi said: The Made in AFZ exhibition mirrors our commitment to provide businesses with innovative solutions that accelerate their expansion and stimulate new investment activities. It is an extension of our endeavors to simplify and facilitate the ease of doing business in our community through our integrated commercial and investment system, as well as serve as an incubator for companies to grow. Our main objective at Ajman Free Zone is to consolidate the position of the emirate and the UAE as vital economic centers. We also seek to help realise the vision of our wise leadership and contribute to building a diversified and knowledge- and innovation-driven economy. During the UAEs preparations for the next 50 years, we will strive to reach new levels of leadership and excellence. Participating in the exhibition are several companies engaged in food and beverage, textile and health and beauty businesses, to name a few. Day one saw Coffeekif presenting the history and growth of Ethiopian coffee and the launching of a new product produced by cosmetics company Lolita Bonita. A panel discussion on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the real estate and building and construction markets was also held during the opening day. Furthermore, Centre Point signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lolita Bonita during the same day.-- TradeArabia News Service UAE-based Adnoc Distribution has announced the signing of two new distributors for Adnoc Voyager lubricant in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The contracts will supply a full range of Voyager lubricants, with confirmed volumes of 1,500,000 litres, and signify the companys market entry into Africa. Adnoc Voyager is now available in 19 countries across three continents, spearheading the companys global presence. Adnoc Distribution has seen significant product growth in international markets including a distribution network spanning Asia, North and East Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as the Middle East region. Adnoc Distribution has doubled its international volumes over the past two years through a dedicated global growth strategy. We look forward to working with our new partners as we continue to expand into new global markets. The quality of our product has garnered great interest internationally, and we offer a fully integrated lubricant value chain, said Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO, Adnoc Distribution. We continue to grow in the coming years. We are constantly looking at market trends to ensure that we are engineering products that meet industry needs, not only here in the local UAE market, but worldwide. The launch of our dedicated Hybrid vehicle range lubricants last year is testament to this forward looking strategy. Adnoc Voyager is manufactured using Adnocs high quality Group III base oil, ADbase, which is produced by Adnoc Refining using Adnocs high paraffinic crude oil at its state-of-the art Ruwais refinery in the UAE. The high Viscosity Index (VI) of ADbase makes it an ideal lubricant component, ensuring efficiency and fuel economy for high performance engines, whilst meeting ever stringent environmental regulations. TradeArabia News Service The Israel National Cyber Directorate, which is responsible for all aspects of cyber defence in the civilian sphere, led an international drill on November 16, in Dubai, simulating a multinational cyber attack on the aviation industry. The event was held in the Israeli Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, in partnership with the Cybersecurity Council of the UAE. Yigal Unna, Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, and Dr. Mohammed Al-Kuwaiti, Managing Director of the National Data Centre, were in attendance. Participating in the event were representatives from airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, civilian aviation authorities, cyber authorities and cybersecurity companies from countries including Israel, the United States, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE, according to a statement from the Cyber Directorate. This was the first time that representatives from a number of countries gathered to simulate a cyber attack of this kind and worked together on how to handle it. According to Tamir Goren, Director of Special Technologies in the Technology Unit of the Israel National Cyber Directorate and a former pilot, "International organisation and collaboration on this issue is necessary, as over the past decade, we have seen an upswing in the number of attempted attacks on the aviation sector around the world at different levels of sophistication. "Aviation has become more digitally advanced, and communications between various threats has significantly increased the possibility of attacks. There have not yet been any attacks that have damaged aviation safety, nevertheless, the aviation sector and cyber authorities are intensifying efforts in this field in order to ensure the continued safety of aviation and functional continuity. "The Israel National Cyber Directorate and the Civil Aviation Authority are leading these efforts in Israel."-TradeArabia News Service Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. 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The act first, ask questions later approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe. My mother saw the success of the rainbow tribe, because when we caused trouble as kids, she would never know who had done it because we never ratted on each other, risking collective punishment, one of Bakers sons, Brian Bouillon Baker, told the AP. I heard her say to some friends Im mad to never know who causes trouble, but Im happy and proud that my kids stand united. What to focus on? The skill as a guitarist with his encyclopedic range? His staggering ability to pick up almost any instrument and make music on it (many of his albums were one-man band projects)? His mastery as a producer and arranger? His songwriting not just for himself but for other artists, including Sinead O'Connor, who had a huge hit with his "Nothing Compares 2 U"? His showmanship as a performer, dancer and improviser? His pioneering spirit as a businessman who took on the music industry and forged his own path as an independent artist who came to grips with the Internet long before many of his peers did? And what about the role he played as a social and music-industry outsider, a diminutive, androgynous figure who didn't fit the mold of what an artist should wear, sound like or sing about ("I wish I was your girlfriend," he once sang to his would-be lover)? Burris said he thinks Potter had the right to use reasonable force and could get credit from the jury for intending to use her Taser. And if that happens, he said, the best the prosecution might get is a conviction on the lesser charge. But if the jury agrees she should not have used her Taser at all, he added, they might find it was first-degree manslaughter. Foreign business leaders and policymakers expressed confidence in South China's further development during a meeting in Hong Kong on Friday. "A New Journey with Greater Opportunities: A Virtual Tour of the Greater Bay Area for Foreign Businesses in Hong Kong" was jointly held by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the SAR government and the Guangdong provincial government. Attending the event, Bjoern Lindner, president of the German Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said that the city's further integration into the mainland offers lots of possibilities. He said the SAR government's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 is a plan that requires the mutual efforts of all cities in the Greater Bay Area. Noting the negative influence of the border closure situation posed by the pandemic, Lindner hoped that the border will reopen soon so that normal business activities can be resumed and promising possibilities in the GBA can be pursued. David Graham, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said the GBA is a promising platform for Hong Kong to give full play to its strength in the fields of financial services, professional services, business resolution and arbitration, as well as innovation and technology. Graham said the National Security Law for Hong Kong brings the city stability, which he believes is good for business. He said the law also brought a better relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland, with new business opportunities to be explored. The event also included a virtual tour of six enterprises from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Zhuhai and their respective business focuses, including intelligent equipment and biomedical electronics. The foreign business leaders are not the only ones to have confidence in the GBA. Addressing the event, Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong SAR, said the area's development reflects China's determination to open wider to the world, its opportunities in fostering a new development paradigm and the SAR's benefits in getting onboard the fast-train of China's development. The commissioner's office will further support business groups to explore opportunities in the GBA so that they can share the dividends of the region's development and benefit from Hong Kong's integration into overall national development. In a keynote speech, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said companies in Hong Kong, which have a head start, will stand to reap opportunities from the GBA. Lam said the area's development is more than a regional development project, but also a platform that will bring Hong Kong closer with mainland cities and enhance its international trade and cooperation. Huang Liuquan, deputy head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, told attendees that in Hong Kong's future development, the "one country, two systems" policy and its unique strengths will remain unchanged. Huang said the 14th Five-Year Plan and the GBA have both provided great platforms for Hong Kong's growth. He encouraged the chambers and enterprises to seize more opportunities and continue to benefit from "one country, two systems" and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. You are here: China Beijing has recently issued a regulation that requires the setup of standardized Chinese and foreign-language signs in five categories of public venues, said the foreign affairs office of the municipal government. The regulation is aimed at elevating Beijing's international service level, improving its function as an international exchange center, and promoting the high-level opening up and high-quality development of the capital city. The five categories include public transport venues such as airports and railway stations; venues for large-scale international events like sports, conferences, and expos; communities with a mass of foreigners; emergency shelters; and other significant public venues of culture, tourism, and sports. The regulation will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2022. Flash Chinese and Russian envoys expressed their solemn stance against the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on Friday. The board set up a new agenda suggested by China, and for the first time dedicated discussions on the "Transfer of nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)." The trilateral nuclear submarine deal "endangered the international non-proliferation mechanism and global strategic balance and stability, as well as the post-war international security order," stated Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, and Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, at a joint press conference after the meeting. AUKUS nuclear submarine deal intensified regional tensions and increased the risk of an arms race, and "Russia is deeply concerned about this," said Ulyanov. At present, all U.S. nuclear submarines use weapon-grade highly-enriched uranium. If the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation is to proceed, Australia will obtain a large amount of weapon-grade nuclear materials, which will seriously impact the international nuclear non-proliferation system, Ulyanov said. AUKUS not only violates the relevant norms of comprehensive safeguards agreements, but will also have a serious negative impact on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the construction of nuclear-weapon-free zones, he said. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia concealed the progress of nuclear submarine cooperation from the international community, which is extremely non-transparent, Ulyanov stressed, adding that the three must report the relevant situation in a timely manner. Wang emphasized that in September, after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced the establishment of AUKUS, under which the United States and the United Kingdom will assist Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out that the trilateral deal will give rise to "five dangers" and "three risks," affecting non-proliferation regime, regional security and strategic stability, which was widely echoed by the international community. The three countries draw lines with ideology and create new military blocs, and will exacerbate geographical tensions, said Wang, adding that, at a time when the international community generally opposed the Cold War and division, the United States flagrantly violated its policy of not engaging in a new Cold War, organized an Anglo-Saxon "small circle" and placed its geopolitical interests above international solidarity -- a typical Cold War mentality. This move will stimulate regional countries to step up their military development, and even seek to break through the nuclear threshold, pushing up the risk of military conflicts, which China firmly opposes, he stressed. Wang pointed out that AUKUS has huge hidden dangers and serious harm. "From the perspective of non-proliferation, it is a sheer proliferation act." The key to AUKUS is the transfer of tons of nuclear weapons materials by the two nuclear-weapon states, the United States, the United Kingdom, to Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state, which obviously violates the purpose of the NPT, he explained. So far, the three countries have always avoided this basic fact, and even tried to confuse the public. AUKUS is a big trouble for the IAEA's safeguard arrangements and must be corrected, he said, adding that the international security is threatened unless AUKUS is stopped. Wang said that the IAEA Board of Governors on Wednesday decided to set up a new agenda item on AUKUS, starting the intergovernmental discussion process, which is the right step towards a proper solution of the issue. The move fully reflects the serious concerns of the Board Members on the trilateral deal, shows that the matter goes beyond the existing mandate of the IAEA's secretariat, and that member states must jointly explore and seek solutions through an intergovernmental process, he added. China has already proposed the establishment of a special committee that all member states can participate in, continue to have in-depth discussions on this issue, and submit reports to the Board and conference, Wang said. Until the parties reach a consensus, the three shall not carry out nuclear submarine-related cooperation, and the agency secretariat shall not negotiate with the three on safeguards arrangements for the trilateral deal, Wang stressed. The representatives of China and Russia also stated that they will closely follow the relevant trends of the trilateral deal, jointly maintain and continue to promote the relevant intergovernmental process initiated under the institutional framework, and work with all parties to defend the purpose of the NPT with practical actions, maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system and jointly maintain global strategic stability and international peace and security. Flash A high-speed railway connecting China's southwest with Laos has been given the thumbs-up-even before services get underway this coming week. Nearly 200 members of the media enjoyed a trial run on Friday on a section of the track along with people of diverse backgrounds. Jaruwan Udomsab, a university teacher, said the interior decor of the train is beautiful, with its representations of the folk culture of Yunnan province. The 1,024-kilometer China-Laos Railway will whisk passengers at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. "China's railway construction is really world-class. It's great in design and speed," said Jaruwan, a longtime resident of Kunming. Services on the line are due to start on Thursday and are expected to advance economic ties between China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. There are plans for the line to ultimately extend into Thailand and farther south. Li Bei, a train attendant on board for the trial run, said she and her colleagues have received training in diverse skills, including English and Lao for smoother communication with the passengers-as well as dancing. "The China-Laos Railway is an international one, linking the country to the world, and it will allow me to learn and see more in the months to come," Li said. Jaruwan, for one, is keenly awaiting the start of services. "I have lived in Kunming for more than a decade, and I hope to do some foreign trade or cultural exchanges after the international railway line has opened," she said. "I was too excited to sleep last night because I was invited to try the new train." Ma Sijie, a civil servant from Ning'er county in the city of Pu'er, Yunnan, said the new railway is good news for her hometown, as it not only links the county to Yunnan's provincial capital but also to the outside world. She said she plans to take advantage of the train to go abroad for sightseeing in the coming months. Economic acceleration The railway is expected to help Laos accelerate its economic development and improve people's livelihoods, as well as boost exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese province and ASEAN nations in the coming years, Yunnan authorities have said. The railway has 11 stations on the Chinese section and 10 on the 409-kilometer Lao section. It is due to become a showpiece of Laos' participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. It will take just three hours for trains from Kunming to reach the city of Jinghong in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna prefecture. Passengers will be able to keep on the move and reach Vientiane on the same day. Another happy traveler on the trial service was Viengxay Phoodthavons, a student from Laos. Viengxay said the train is well designed and comfortable and, importantly, the food on board is delicious. Construction of the railway has cost 55.68 billion yuan ($8.7 billion). The project includes 93 tunnels with a total length of 398 km, including 15 exceeding 10 km. The longest of them-the Anding tunnel-stretches for 17.5 km. In addition, the line has 136 bridges with a total length of more than 50 km. Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation on bilateral relations and cooperation with Ignazio Cassis, vice president and foreign minister of the Swiss Confederation on Saturday. Wang said that Switzerland is among the first Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and over the past 70 years and more, China-Switzerland relations have maintained sound development and accumulated rewarding experience. First, the two countries respect each other, treat each other as equals, respect their differences, and learn from each other for common improvement, Wang said. Second, with pioneering and innovative spirit, the two countries have created many "firsts" including the establishment of "innovative strategic partnership," providing a strong engine for the development of bilateral relations. Third, the two sides have pooled their respective strengths to deepen practical cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, so as to bring tangible benefits to the two peoples, he added. From January to September, Wang said, with the two sides managing to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, their bilateral trade has increased by more than 70 percent year-on-year, showing the resilience and vitality of China-Switzerland relations and the important role of the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement. Wang said China and Switzerland have supported each other in the fight against the pandemic, and the national flags of the two countries on the Matterhorn Mountain in Switzerland and the Yulong Snow Mountain in China have sent a signal of unity. Switzerland is the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) , he said, and China is ready to work with Switzerland to support the WHO in playing its due role and contribute to the equitable distribution of vaccines around the world. Noting that Switzerland is a strong country in winter sports, Wang said China is willing to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in venue construction and personnel training, so as to enrich China-Switzerland relations and jointly promote the development of winter sports. Switzerland is also the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, and both sides should jointly resist attempts to politicize sports, and should provide a healthy environment for international events, he stressed. Cassis agreed with what Wang said. He emphasized that Switzerland and China have a sound and close relationship, thanks to their mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual appreciation. The innovative strategic partnership between the two countries, Cassis said, has further highlighted the innovation-oriented spirit of both sides. The Swiss side congratulated China on its great achievements in fighting the pandemic, thanked China for providing support and cooperation to Switzerland, and lauded China's important role in promoting global economic recovery, he said. Switzerland opposes the politicization of sports, he said, extending congratulations on the smooth progress of the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics and expressing the belief that the Olympics will be a success. The two sides have agreed to start negotiations on the upgrade of the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible. They also exchanged views on multilateralism. Wang said that both China and Switzerland are supporters of globalization and advocates for multilateralism. China appreciates Switzerland's constructive role in promoting political settlement of international disputes, Wang said, adding that China and Switzerland should work together to practice true multilateralism. The two sides should jointly safeguard the international system with the United Nations as the core, the international order based on international law, the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization at its core, Wang said. Cassis agreed with Wang's remarks, saying that against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, Switzerland believes that the world should firmly support and promote multilateralism, and support the WHO and other international organizations in playing their due roles. Wang noted that Cassis recently said his country is always ready to play the role of a bridge-builder in international affairs, adding that this is a reflection of Switzerland's unique advantage and special influence, which China appreciates. He said China hopes that Switzerland can serve as a bridge between Eastern and Western civilizations, between developed and developing countries, and especially between Europe and China. This bridge, Wang said, should be built on multilateralism, with international laws and regulations as its pillar as well as equity and justice as its passport, so that it can stand firm and long, and get more support from the international community and become more popular. Cassis also said that this telephone conversation with Wang has been rich in content, and hopes that he can meet with Wang face to face as soon as possible, and continue the strategic dialogue process between the two countries. The court case in Sydney against Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston has been delayed until next year. Australian website Eternity News reports that a local court deferred his case until 27 January 2022 when the date of his full trial is due to be announced. Houston has pleaded not guilty via his lawyer. New South Wales police charged Houston in August with concealing information about sexual abuse committed by his father in the 1970s. The charge followed a two-year police investigation. The elder Houston abused a number of children in his native New Zealand, but the case before the court concerns the abuse of Australian survivor Brian Sengstock as a young boy. In a statement in July, Brian Houston insisted that he did not find out about his father's abuse until 30 years after the event and that he was honouring the victim's "multiple requests not to inform the police". "The law at the time granted an exception to reporting a crime of this nature when a person had a reasonable excuse not to report," Houston claimed. "This state law has since further clarified that this type of situation - when an adult victim of child abuse explicitly does not want the matter reported - qualified as a reasonable excuse under the law." Reposted with permission from Christian Today The rush of adrenaline soars through my veins, as my heart pulsates in my chest. I take a moment to look around. The courageous smiles, the fierceness in their eyes, the strength in their voices these are my people, my tribe. They are the heartbeat of Australia. Together we walk, no, we march, side by side through the streets, united. Families, children, newborn babies cradled in their mothers arms, the old and the young, doctors, nurses, teachers, firefighters, tradies, carers we all march together in unison, peacefully protesting, and standing for our rights and our freedoms. The challenge No matter what your stance is on the vaccination mandate, I know that one thing is for sure united we stand, divided we fall. Right now, Australia has been faced with one of our biggest challenges of all during this pandemic: whether we stand for our rights and our freedoms as one united people, or if we decide to fall into submission to oppressive powers that create discrimination, division, and alienation against its people. Ultimately, the vaccine choice is yours to make, despite personal opinions, but the moment it becomes a vessel for destruction and division is the moment we have lost all understanding of the meaning of the words loving your neighbour. The Bible says in Mark chapter 2 verses 30 to 31, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. To love your neighbour as yourself is to show them the same kindness, respect, dignity, and love that you expect others to show you do to others what you would have them do to you. (Matthew chapter seven verse 12). Afterall, we are all children of God, who loves each one of us unconditionally. One John chapter three verse one says, See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! Division 2021 has been a year of trial, of growth, of change, of uncertainty, but more importantly, of challenge. I am overwhelmed with the growing community of those, vaccinated and unvaccinated, who have come together in the name of unity and freedom against the tyrannical mandates and restrictions put in place by our government There is a quote by Anthony Gregory that says, The most destructive thing governments do is divide people against each other, all in competition over the reins of the state. It can often feel like the government are overpowering the people, but we must remember who is ultimately in control. God allows certain things to happen for a reason. That reason may never become clear to us, but we must always trust that God allows certain things for a divine purpose. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 verse 12 says, Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Strength to the people The numbers from the protest marches all across Australia speak for themselves, as one million people marched for their freedoms and rights. It is hard to know how our participation will affect change, and it is even harder when the opposition seems so great. The thing is, those who fight and fight together for the rights and freedoms of all Australians are the majority and we have already won. We have decided to stand as one people, one nation, and one army against the discrimination and division created by our government. Alan Moore explains it perfectly in his quote, People shouldnt be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people. (V for Vendetta - 1982). John chapter 16 verse 33 says, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. The power is with the people, and it is those people who stood firm and strong during this time that will create change. That change that will ring out all throughout history. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 verse nine says, If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us. Fight for freedom I felt honoured and proud to stand with my fellow Australian patriots as we marched, sang, and chanted for freedom. I am honoured to one day be able to tell my children that I did stand, that I did march for our rights and freedoms, and that I did do something about the injustice that is occurring in Australia right now. I will always fight for my freedom and my rights because what I am fighting for is not just about this current moment in history and the impacts it has on my life, but how it impacts my future childrens freedoms and rights as well. Alexander Hamilton once said, If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. What we do right now in moments like these impacts the future that we create for our children. Whatever God has planned, I want to make sure I was righteously a part of the army that stood tall and proud, no matter the opposition, for our freedoms and our rights. United we stand, divided we fall. We must hold the line and remember that the power is to the people. We are one, but we are many. God is about to do something great in Australia. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 verse 17 says, You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you. The proposed spectrum auction is likely to be held in the April-June quarter of 2022. (PTI file photo) New Delhi: Telecom industry body COAI is learnt to have asked the government to cut the base price of spectrum by more than half, for the proposed auction especially for 5G services, according to industry sources. In the first auction of radio airwaves in five years in March 2021, the government offered 2,308.80 MHz of spectrum in seven bands, at a reserve price of nearly Rs 4 lakh crore. However, airwaves in the premium 700 MHz and 2,500 MHz bands went unsold mainly due to high base price. The government could not put 3.3-3.6 Ghz frequency range for auction as it could not get it vacated in time and the base price of the radio waves in the spectrum band was termed to be very expensive for 5G services. "COAI has asked the government for a drastic cut in spectrum price for the proliferation of digital connectivity and specially for ushering 5G services. It has requested the government to reduce the base price by more than half in the proposed spectrum auction," a telecom operator representative told PTI. The proposed spectrum auction is likely to be held in the April-June quarter of 2022. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) declined to comment on the matter. Representatives of two separate telecom operators quoted different figures on the scale of reduction demanded by the industry body, but concurred on the view that the COAI has sought to slash spectrum price by more than half. One representative said it is to the tune of 50-60 per cent and the other senior official of another telecom operator mentioned 60-70 per cent. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended a base price fixed at Rs 492 crore per megahertz for spectrum in 3.3-3.6 Ghz. Telecom operators interested in buying radio waves for 5G will have to shell out a minimum of Rs 9,840 crore on pan-India basis to buy spectrum in 3,300-3,600 Mhz band as Trai has suggested that it "should be put to auction in the block size of 20 MHz". In May, the government allocated spectrum to the telecom companies for trials across various locations for six months in the 700 Mhz band, 3.3-3.6 Gigahertz (Ghz) band and 24.25-28.5 Ghz band. At present 5G trials are going on in the country. The Department of Telecom has extended the trial period to May 2022, or till the time spectrum auction results are out, whichever is earlier. Vodafone Idea has demonstrated the highest download speed of around 4 gigabit per second during the trials. Telecom gear maker Nokia India had claimed to have recorded a top speed of 9.85 gigabits per second on VIL network in back-end data transmission, which means connecting mobile base stations network, during 5G trials in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. VIL has been running 5G trials in Gandhinagar with Nokia and in Pune with Ericsson. It remains to be seen if in the remainder of his term Prime Minister Modi draws the right lessons from the jolt to his leadership given by a few hundred sullen farmers. Representational Image. (PTI) The decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the three farm reform laws he had introduced last year has been criticised by many advocates of economic reform and liberalisation as a major policy and political setback. Some of the Prime Ministers staunch supporters, who had hailed the original decision as being as important for Indian agriculture as the reforms of 1991 were for Indian industry, have argued that while Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was forced in 1991 to introduce reforms by stealth because of an economic crisis, Mr Modis reforms were products of the courage of conviction. The irony in comparing Narasimha Raos reform initiatives with Narendra Modis lies in the fact that in July 1991 Rao was in the first month of a minority government while in November 2021 Narendra Modi is in the middle of the second term of a government with an overwhelming majority in Parliament. More to the point, Rao did not roll back any of his policy initiatives despite a threat to the very survival of his government, while Mr Modi has had to step back despite the absence of any threat to his government. It is the politics of policymaking that deserves a closer look than the economics of Mr Modis initiative. Heading a minority government with uncertain support from even within his own party, Narasimha Rao was able to provide leadership to the historic policy change that threatened the power of several constituencies of vested interests. Raos low-profile style combined with his gentle outreach to important Opposition party leaders, especially Atal Behari Vajpayee of the BJP, enabled him to secure the tacit, if not the explicit, endorsement of Parliament. If then finance minister Manmohan Singhs debut Budget of July 1991 had been voted down by the entire Opposition, the Rao government would have fallen. In the event, the Budget was passed and the government survived. Over the next five years Raos political management of policy ensured that his governments historic reforms survived and began to show results. So much so that none of his initiatives with respect to industry, trade and fiscal policy were reversed by the successive governments of H.D. Deve Gowda, Inder Kumar Gujral and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Almost all the political parties that had opposed Rao were constituents of one or the other of these three governments. Much the same can be said about Prime Minister Vajpayees policy initiatives. While it is true that his finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, earned the moniker of Rollback Sinha for having had to withdraw budgetary policy initiatives due to inadequate support within the ruling coalition, Vajpayee did manage to take forward the economic reform programme. Like Rao, Vajpayee too had established an excellent working relationship with several leaders of the Opposition political parties. Following the examples set by Rao and Vajpayee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also adopted a consensual approach and despite heading a fractious coalition and, on occasion, facing opposition from within his own party, he was able to take the economy and the nation forward during his decade in office. The net result of such consensual policy making has been that the period 1991-2014 stands out as the golden era of economic growth during which there was a dramatic reduction in poverty, a sustained rise in the share of investment and savings in national income, an increase in the share of international trade in national income and an increase in Indias share of world trade. It is worth noting that a lower annual average rate of economic growth was recorded during the era of majority governments with powerful leaders the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s while the highest rates of economic growth and poverty reduction was recorded during the era of coalitions 1990-2014. The secret of successful policy management in a diverse, plural, sub-continental, federal, parliamentary republic like India lies in building political coalitions irrespective of parliamentary majority. The formula may not always work, but it ensures policy longevity. This is not just a lesson for the Prime Minister, but for all unilateralist chief ministers too. The problem with Mr Modis controversial farm laws initiative, as many have since commented, was not so much with the policy itself as it was with the manner in which the politics of policymaking was managed. Mr Modi has politically isolated himself from most political parties across the country by imagining that an election constitutes regime change. Merely because the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress Party has been rudderless and remains stunted by its own inadequacies, the BJP imagined that it had not only liberated India from Congress rule Congress-mukt Bharat but that it would now set the nation on a new course to become a Hindu Rashtra. It is the consequent hubris that has met with its comeuppance thanks to the farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. When one compares the political style and record of both Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi, two powerful PMs with a clear majority in the Lok Sabha and little opposition within their own ranks, with that of P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh, there is an important lesson to be learnt. It is not an accident or a mere happenstance that the economy performed better and the polity was more stable and secure during the interregnum between Indira Gandhi and Mr Modi than during their respective tenures. Indias political leadership must recognise that there is a link between how domestic politics is managed and how the economy performs. Both households and firms seek not just stability in policy, but also in the polity. A secure people look to the future with hope and optimism. An insecure people become risk averse and sullen. The growth process of 1991-2014 was driven by an optimism nurtured by the consensual leadership of three great statesmen. It remains to be seen if in the remainder of his term Prime Minister Modi draws the right lessons from the jolt to his leadership given by a few hundred sullen farmers. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recently discovered B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19, first detected in South Africa on 24 November, to be a variant of concern. The WHO has renamed the variant Omicron. The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of COVID-19 variants, along with the globally dominant Delta and its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma. In fact, Dr Gagandeep Kang, reputed microbiologist and virologist, has even stated that the new variant could be more transmissible and may escape immunity. With much uncertainty prevalent, this variant has certainly raised concerns across the world. Authorities even fear a wave of infections much worse than what was witnessed during the dreaded Delta wave outbreaks. Experts from across the country share their views: Virus cant sustain for long... ...Says Dr G V Rao, Director & Chief of Gastrointestinal & Minimally Invasive Surgery at AIG Hospitals. From what is known currently, B.1.1.529 has multiple spike protein mutations, and preliminary analysis suggests it is highly infectious. Almost all the cases with the Omicron variant were fully vaccinated individuals but the good part is they didnt develop any severe symptoms. We need to be cautious and continue our vigilance regarding this new variant. Theres also a silver lining with such high number of mutations, the virus becomes unstable and cant sustain in real world for long. Vaccination should remain a priority despite questions about effectiveness against Omicron because it is likely that they still remain protective to a certain extent. Best is to stick to the basics, i.e., keep the mask on, get fully vaccinated, maintain COVID appropriate behaviour. It is also advisable now to advocate for the booster especially for the venerable population. Dr K Subba Reddy, Sr. Consultant, Critical Care, Apollo Hospital, tells us that investigations are underway to determine the possible impact of these mutations on the capacity of the virus to transmit more efficiently, to impact vaccine effectiveness and evade immune response, and/or to cause more severe or milder disease. Its commonly referred to as super strain by healthcare experts as it has more than 30 mutations, twice as many as delta variants. According to preliminary reports, the 32 mutations in its spike protein make it 40% less vulnerable to the vaccine as compared to the other variants. l We dont know if its more transmissible than Delta. We have no data on how much more transmissible it is. It is unknown if it causes severe disease and death. It is unknown if it can escape vaccine-induced and naturally acquired immunity. It is likely, however, that fully vaccinated individuals will be protected against hospitalisation, severe disease, ICU admission and death. We have yet to encounter a variant that is so-called resistant to vaccines. Its a variant of concern, but still early days Dr Satyajit Rath, leading immunologist from India associated with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, scientist from National Institute of Immunology, physician and pathologist, shares his thoughts. A fraction of SARS-CoV-2 virus samples from COVID-19 cases are being routinely tested for the full genetic sequence. Different countries do this differently; some like the UK or South Africa do it intensively, while some like India, much less. When a particular set of differences begin to show up together in these genetic sequences, repeatedly and quickly, alarm bells ring. Thats because it indicates a new strain, or variant of the virus. This is how the Omicron variant has been identified, initially in Botswana and South Africa, then in neighbouring countries, and now in Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium as traveller cases. Omicron is somewhat concerning for a number of reasons. First, its not a descendant of the Delta variant but a cousin. Second, a new variant commonly shows only a few differences in its genetic sequence, but the Omicron variant shows a large number. Third, many of these changes are in the sequence coding for the spike protein of the virus, which is the target of COVID-19 vaccines, raising the worry that the current vaccines may not protect as well against this variant. Fourth, this variants emergence appears to coincide with a sudden spurt in case numbers in South Africa; this indicates, though not proven yet, that it may be much more transmissible than the Delta variant. The first obvious caution is that it is early days as yet, with little definitive information, and we should wait for evidence to emerge. We dont know if Omicron is really as highly transmissible, though it could be, though theres no reason yet to think it causes severe illness. Whether vaccines work against a virus or strain is not a yes/no issue. Vaccine-related reality is a graded matter, and not if itll protect completely or not at all. While current vaccines may provide slightly reduced protection against it, they will likely still provide some protection. Another possibility is that an additional dose of current vaccines may be adequate. The least likely though not out-of-question possibility thus far is that we might need a new-generation vaccine, which will take some time to develop, test, manufacture and deploy. Third wave, experts divided Experts are divided on whether theres a possibility Omicron will drive a third wave as big as the second one in India. According to Dr Naresh Purohit, Advisor National Immunisation programme, and Dr GV Rao, the new strain may possibly cause the third wave and escalate cases. However, Dr Subba Reddy also feels that a third wave is unlikely because of vaccinations. Already, people have gotten infected and have immunity but numbers may increase, mortality will be less. Dr Venkat Ramesh, Consultant Infectious Diseases, Apollo Hospitals, says the anecdotal data suggest that it has the propensity for greater transmissibility because it has been sequenced in many cases quite rapidly, displacing even the Delta variant in South Africa, particularly among student communities in Pretoria and Johannesburg. The available epidemiological and clinical evidence so far shows that it is highly infectious and is not clear that this new variant has the capability to escape the antibody present in a vaccinated or naturally recovered person. Covishield, Covaxin produce immunity through a different antigen Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Samiran Panda whos also the head of the Epidemiology Department at the countrys apex health research institute, has tweeted that Covishield and Covaxin the vaccines India has deployed for its national programme might hold out due to the following reason: mRNA vaccines are directed towards spike protein & receptor interaction, so mRNA vaccines need to be tweaked around this change already observed. But not all vaccines are similar, Covishield & Covaxin produce immunity through a different antigen presentation to our system, reads Dr S Pandas tweet. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Reports of Russia developing space technology that would rival; the west has shaken the EU and the US thoroughly. Much so that recent mock exercises by the US to attack the Russian federation are indications of how far the current US administration fears Vladimir Putin. Until recently, the US is relaxed; but the ASAT missile test caused a stir about how the Kremlin can destroy objects in low earth orbit (LEO). The test is a success that the US has arrayed its allies against the Kremlin. Russian ASAT poses a threat NASA noted the launch of the anti-satellite missile (ASAT) that obliterated Cosmos-1408 from Plesetsk in northwest Russia on November 14 or 15. Before getting shut down after 40 years in orbit, shattered to debris, reported the Express UK. Consequently, the international community had decried the missile test, which threatened other space vehicles. One more ASAT test by China in 2007 whose debris is hazardous for space satellites and the International Space Station. Ned Price of the State Department said that the Russian Federation jeopardized space by shooting down one of their satellites. Based on the estimate, the debris is over 1500 bits and other wreckage from earlier years, a collective threat to the space domain. Washington critiques Russia developing space technology weaponry that affects the sustainability of outer space that is opposite to what it claims against starting a space weapons race, cites the Republic World. Read Also: Russia, China Teams Up To Cooperate in the Space Domain; US Alarmed Its Main Adversaries are Together Due to the satellite missile test, seven occupants on the ISS had to take shelter in the Crew Dragon and Soyuz spacecraft for 120 minutes because of a debris cloud. With LeoLabs confirming debris "near" Kosmos-1408 and CNN quoting US officials that there was an ASAT test, rumours are solidfiying into a consistent story that indeed a Russian antisatellite test on Nov 13 or 14 hit Kosmos-1408 causing a debris cloud intersecting the ISS orbit Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) November 15, 2021 Immediately, the US and UK had their representatives like Bill Nelson and Ben Wallace voice out that Russia is not concerned about space safety. These two nations consider Moscow a threat, but now Putin has deterrents to shut off these nations' forces from space communications. Russia to dominate space According to Juliana Suess from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the ASAT test is what the face of space warfare will look like. It seems that Putin's gambit is paying off. Moscow itself is investing in more technologies that alarm the west more. She added the threat faced by Russia based on the Director for National Intelligence that their forces are adapting to blind space systems to win a conflict. The end goal for Vladimir Putin is to get an overwhelming advantage in space to neutralize the Americans and dominate the space front. For the Kremlin, its forces are undergoing modernization along with China that has allied with. They are aware that the US can resurge and make it hard for them to dominate space. Moscow has caught up, and there is a lot more research and development that can be done with Russian Know-How and Chinese funding, noted Air Force Mag. But the US and UK are working on getting lasers to counter their adversaries in space. The west cannot ignore Putin's ASAT missile attack; Russia developing space technology to kill space vehicles and defeat enemies is not new and will eventually be better. It is a deterrent that any nation should have and not abide by what the US or NATO dictates or any international body. Related Article: Expert Predicts Joe Biden's Failure To Stop a Ukraine Invasion As West Hesitates After Russian Weapon Demo @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Peoples Republic of China increases Chinese hypersonic missiles to deter the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. As these deterrents go, these weapons could turn the tide in Beijing's favor. But the mainland government said they would not use nukes first and wanted assurance from Washington if they lose in a conventional conflict that weapons of destruction will not be an option. But on the same note, the PRC wants a peaceful solution to the Taiwanese problem. Chinese fast and deadly missiles The super-fast missiles, Dong Feng 17 or DF-17, can fly at 7,680 miles or Mach 10+ launched from land and has a standoff range of 1,600 miles. A spokesman for the Defense Ministry of China, Wu Qian, informed that the DF-26 with a 3,000 miles range will be made in vast quantities, reported the Express UK. Two years back, the DF-17 was revealed in a four-minute video that was touted as hypersonic and unstoppable. Better yet, it was too fast to intercept by anti-missile defenses, cited the Sun UK. The missile has a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) that is multi-use; China can even use a nuclear warhead on it. But the Peoples liberation army is developing the DF-27, which comes after the DF-26, which will have a range of 5,000 miles. It can hit Hawaii, said the source as a potential target. China has a wide selection of anti-aircraft carrier weapons like DF-21D and DF-26 "aircraft carrier killer" #missiles. South China Sea is fully within grasp of the #PLA; any US #aircraftcarrier movement in the region is at the pleasure of PLA: analysts. https://t.co/X5L0foka6Q pic.twitter.com/rEPjp9gqAZ Global Times (@globaltimesnews) July 4, 2020 According to the Military analyst Malcolm Davis, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) remarked the DF-17 and Chinese hypersonic missiles has been mentioned in the US Department of Defense's in 2021 regarding China's military technology, noted ASPI. Read Also: China Revs Up its Increased Nuclear Threat With Hypersonic Missiles in its Quest to Neutralize Its Top Competitor He added that Beijing's increasing number of nuclear weapons and they are going to a launch-on-warning posture, with capacity for several degrees of tactical readiness. It opens up; if the Peoples' Republic of China is reconsidering its no first use policy when the US might resort to it any time, The US Department of Defense said the no first use policy is just a declaration and suggested the Chinese might not follow it. A US submarine deal started nuclear arms to deter China. The Department of Defense forgot to add that Joe Biden pushed the AUKUS defense deal, which effectively changed the nature of the conditions. Where the ASEAN is nuclear-free comes a change in the future. Washington demands that the PRC be more open about their nuclear capability, but China has not ascribed to any atomic treaty yet. The US wants to force Beijing to accede to its demands Mr. Davis added the happenings in the timing, not only the conflict over Taiwan but also Beijing. The White House has no first use policy yet. It might be in 2022, which concerns Xi Jinping. Davis stated that China is increasing its deterrence posture; to use its nuclear option as a deterrent in a conflict; keep it as a last resort. But the PRC does not trust the US to fight a conventional war if it loses much. Concern if the PLA and its units will reclaim Taiwan is causing high tensions because of China's claims. Even now, the PLA is training on fake made-to-scale aircraft carriers for when it comes to dealing with the real thing. But Zhao Lijian made it clear that the US is not crossing Beijing's red line, and remember, Chinese hypersonic missiles might do the talking and should back off. Related Article: China Reveals New Stealth Anti-Satellite Weapon; Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Technology Rattles the US @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Health officials across the globe are figuring out ways to prevent the further spread of the newest COVID-19 variant, Omicron. Even though the strain has not yet been detected in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci issued a firm warning on Americans to be very careful. Dr. Anthony Fauci talks about the seriousness of Omicron Fauci said that Omicron would be more transmissible than the previous COVID-19 variants due to its mutations during his recent television interview. Even though his predictions haven't been confirmed, Fauci noted that it's best to make this assumption so that the public will be more careful. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) also said that Omicron has a bunch of mutations that suggest that it could evade protection of monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma for those that were already infected and recovered, as well as the vaccine. "Even though the numbers [in South Africa] are relatively small, the ability to infect people who have recovered from infection and even people who have been vaccinated make us say: 'This is something you got to pay really close attention to and be prepared for something that's serious,'" Fauci said via the Huffington Post. Read Also: United Kingdom Detects New COVID-19 Variant With 30 Mutations, Bans Flights From 6 South African Countries Where Virus Was Found Newest COVID-19 variant Omicron first detected in South Africa Omicron was first detected in Botswana on Nov. 11. Since then, a small number of cases have also been detected in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, and Germany. The recent detection of Omicron in the United Kingdom resulted in a temporary travel ban from six South African countries. But the country's health secretary, Sajid Javid, said that the cases in the U.K. don't have direct links to South Africa. Still, everyone is being asked to take extra precautions to prevent the further spread of the new COVID-19 variant. Republicans slam Dr. Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden Meanwhile, Fauci is receiving criticisms from Republicans for postponing the potential travel ban in the United States until after Thanksgiving. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky sarcastically said that new variants do not spread on holiday weekends that is why a travel ban hasn't been imposed. City Councilman Joe Borelli is also upset with Fauci. He couldn't help but wonder why Americans still take the White House chief medical adviser seriously. Rep. Elise Stefanik also criticized Fauci and Joe Biden over the new possible COVID-19 restrictions. Stefanik said that Biden was first to criticize Donald Trump when he decided to impose travel restrictions into the United States last year, according to the New York Post. Unvaccinated Americans should get the jab According to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the possibility of Omicron infiltrating the United States should be enough reason for unvaccinated Americans to get the jab finally. Schaffner said that he hopes more people would take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccines available in their area in the next two weeks because getting inoculated will undoubtedly help. And even though Omicron could be the worst COVID-19 variant yet, the professor said that he believes vaccines can still work against it, according to CNN. Related Article: Jill Biden Heads Nationwide Effort To Encourage COVID-19 Vaccinations Among Children Following CDC's Approval of Pfizer-BioNTech Jab @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Hill-HarrisX poll recently named some of their presidential bets in the 2024 election if Joe Biden won't run for POTUS again. According to reports, the group's presidential bets include Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, and Michael Bloomberg. Out of the five, the incumbent Vice President has the most support. Lagging closely behind her is ex-FLOTUS, Obama. Harris garnered 13 percent of the votes during the Nov. 18 to 19 survey, while Obama earned 10 percent of the votes. The support for the latter's presidential candidacy reportedly came as a surprise because Barack Obama's wife has said time and again that she doesn't have plans to run for office. Michelle Obama has said no to running for president multiple times In 2017, the ex-FLOTUS said that she didn't' want to run for office because her whole family will be affected by her decision if she campaigned for the top spot. "I wouldn't ask my children to do this again because when you run for higher office, it's not just you. It's your whole family," Obama said via The Independent. Read Also: Michelle Obama To Guest Star In ABC's 'Black-ish'; Former First Lady Will Play Herself in the Popular Sitcom A year later, Obama once again denied claims that she was planning to run for president in the 2020 election. She said that the first thing that presidential candidates should have is a desire to lead the entire country. However, she never felt as though she wanted the job. The mom of two also commented about her supporters who are encouraging her to run for office because she's a woman. She said that there are plenty of other women who are also qualified and that want the job, but she doesn't feel the same way, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Two years ago, Obama said that there's zero chance for her to run for president in the 2020 election. The former first lady said that there are a lot of things she can still do to help the country and the Americans without being their POTUS, according to The Hill. Supporters of Obama even told her that she has the ability to beat Donald Trump, who ran for 2020 re-election but lost. Democrats later endorsed Joe Biden as their presidential bet, and the POTUS beat Trump. As of late, it's still unclear whether Obama could have a change of heart regarding her stand on becoming the president of the United States. Pete Buttigieg responds to Kamala Harris feud rumors Other than Obama, Harris is also making headlines as Democrats' top presidential nominee if Biden won't run for re-election. Her supporters are also urging the Biden administration to give the vice president a chance to showcase her skills and talents while she's still in office. Buttigieg is also receiving the support of thousands of Democrats. But when asked if he will compete against Harris as their party's presidential contender, the transportation secretary said no. He also denied claims that there's an ongoing rift between him and Harris after Biden seemingly sided with him by approving his proposal over the incumbent vice president. Buttigieg stressed that he and Harris are part of a team that is disciplined, and they do not focus on what's obsessing the commentators. Related Article: Kamala Harris vs. Pete Buttigieg: Transportation Secretary Denies Claims of Rift, Says They Are a Team @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New York has started putting new measures to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the state. According to reports, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency that will go into effect starting Dec. 3. The state is anticipating a possible increase in the number of active cases due to the winter season. The newest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has not yet been detected in New York or any part of the United States. But Hochul wants locals to be prepared for what is to come. New York's state of emergency aimed at helping residents, hospitals According to NBC New York, the state of emergency declaration will allow the state to acquire pandemic-fighting supplies, increase hospital capacity, and fight potential staffing shortages. The Health Department will also limit Non-essential and non-urgent procedures at hospitals. The state said that limited capacity would be defined as below 10 percent staffed bed capacity or determined by the Department of Health based on regional and health care utilization factors. New protocols that will be imposed on Friday will be re-assessed on Jan. 15. "We've taken extraordinary action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and combat this pandemic. However, we continue to see warning signs of spikes this upcoming winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it's coming," Hochul said via Record Online. Read Also: United Kingdom Detects New COVID-19 Variant With 30 Mutations, Bans Flights From 6 South African Countries Where Virus Was Found Gov. Kathy Hochul urges New Yorkers to get vaccinated Hochul is also urging New York residents to get vaccinated. As of press writing, less than 10 percent of adults in the state have not received a single dose. The governor also stressed that the COVID-19 vaccine is still the greatest weapon in fighting the pandemic. Hochul also reminded those who have already been vaccinated to get their booster on time. There is an ongoing concern in the United States regarding the new COVID-19 variant after being first detected in Botswana on Nov. 11. Omicron has also been detected in other parts of the world, including Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Belgium. The United Kingdom has started banning flights from six South African cities. And more drastic measures will once again be imposed in the island country. UK PM Boris Johnson announces new measures amid Omicron According to Financial Times, these measures include taking a PCR test within two days of their arrival in the United Kingdom. Travelers still need to self-isolate until they receive their negative test results. A person who comes into contact with someone with a suspected case of Omicron needs to isolate for ten days regardless of their vaccination status. The same measures have not yet been imposed in the United States because the variant still hasn't been detected in the country. But Dr. Anthony Fauci said that Americans should keep their guards up over the possibility of Omicron entering the United States because it's better to be prepared. Fauci also said that Omicron would be more transmissible compared to the previous COVID-19 variants, according to the Huffington Post. Related Article: Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns Americans Over New COVID-19 Variant Omicron, Says Strain May Already Be In The United States @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. November 28, 202: Information Clearing House -- " Responsible Statecraft " The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found in its recent investigation that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 12 other members of the Trump administration violated the Hatch Act when they illegally used their official positions to campaign on behalf of Trump and other Republican candidates ahead of the 2020 election. Pompeos violation was arguably the most egregious and indisputable of the bunch. It was obvious at the time that a sitting secretary of state should not have been addressing a partisan political convention (the Republican National Convention) while overseas on government business (in Jerusalem). As a matter of propriety, a secretary of state is expected to stay out of the fray of partisan campaigning, and this is also required by law. Because they are no longer in government, Pompeo and the other former officials will not face any consequences for their flagrant lawbreaking. This is a flaw in the laws enforcement mechanism, but it is also typical of our political system, in which top officials and politicians commit open breaches of the rules and never pay any price for their offenses. All of this is part of a broader culture of elite impunity that prevails in Washington that permits people at the top of the government to get away with doing whatever they want. Meanwhile, low-level whistleblowers get the book thrown at them and their lives ruined for revealing outrageous government practices and crimes. Pompeos Hatch Act violation also fits into a larger pattern of his behavior at the State Department, where he appeared to use government resources to further his own personal political ambitions. His open political campaigning was part and parcel of his tenure at State, where he conducted himself as perhaps the most overtly partisan secretary of state of all time. Starting with the president himself, the Trump administration made a frequent habit of blurring or erasing ethical and legal lines when it suited their purposes, and Pompeos behavior was in keeping with that. No Advertising - No Government Grants - No Algorithm - This Is Independent Media The report states that Pompeos violations of the Act relate to his changing U.S. Department of State (State Department) policy to allow himself to speak at the RNC and thereafter using his official authority while giving that speech to promote President Trumps candidacy. The report found that Pompeo had made this change to department policy against the advice of department lawyers. He sought an exception to the rule prohibiting overseas campaigning by U.S. citizens employed by the government, and the exception was made only for himself so that he could speak to the Republican National Convention while in Jerusalem. Pompeo claimed then and later that he was speaking only in his personal capacity, but no other government employee would have been permitted to act as he did. It was impossible to miss that Pompeo abused his authority to bend the rules so that he could deliver a campaign speech to a partisan gathering. When he made the policy change that permitted the speech, he was acting in his official capacity: To facilitate that political activity, Secretary Pompeo had to exercise his official authority to amend the policy. That he did so to promote President Trumps reelection is a manipulation of official businessin this case, State Department policyfor the purpose of benefiting a candidate for partisan political office. When he was speaking to the convention while on official business outside the country, he was acting in his capacity as secretary of state. The OSC concluded that he was acting in an official capacity because he focused almost all of his speech on the administrations foreign policy record, thereby using his official authority in furtherance of President Trumps reelection. Previous secretaries of state had been careful not to appear at partisan conventions in the past to avoid creating any impression that they were engaging in prohibited political activities. This was appropriate not only in order to comply with the law, but also to protect the State Department from being used as a tool in a partisan campaign. This was a practice that secretaries of state from both parties observed, and it was only with Trump and Pompeo that it was abandoned. Because the secretary of state is supposed to represent the entire country to the world, it is harmful to the department and the country if the head of the department is perceived to be nothing more than a partisan shill. That is exactly what happened during Pompeos tenure. There have been much worse examples of elite impunity, of course, ranging from the lack of accountability for illegal torture under the Bush administration to the leniency shown to David Petraeus following his conviction for revealing classified information. Provided that a person is prominent and influential enough, he can commit crimes that earn ordinary government employees years or decades in prison while he receives only a slap on the wrist. Someone like Gina Haspel can go from running a black site where detainees were tortured to running the CIA while encountering remarkably little resistance along the way. High-ranking national security officials tend to be given the benefit of the doubt and are held to a more lenient standard than their subordinates when it is the senior officials that should be held to the most stringent standards of all. The OSC stated that it was releasing the full documentation of its findings to deter similar violations in the future, but no one is going to be deterred when there are no practical consequences for any of the lawbreakers identified in the report. As the report makes clear, the lack of accountability for violating the Hatch Act is baked into the existing rules, as there is currently no mechanism for holding senior administration officials accountable for violating the law. Trump officials Hatch Act violations may seem like minor instances of abusing power for political advantage, but they are part of a larger political culture that excuses powerful and well-connected people involved in corruption and lawbreaking. They represent a violation of the public trust, and they were attempts to leverage control of government office to exercise corrupt influence on the electoral process. Especially when the lawbreakers will face no formal penalties for their wrongdoing, it is imperative that they pay a price for it in the realm of public opinion. Daniel Larison is a contributing editor at Antiwar.com and former senior editor at The American Conservative magazine. He has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago. Follow him on Twitter @DanielLarison and at his blog, Eunomia, here. Bala Ramasamy The cover of the second volume of "Jikji," currently kept at the National Library of France / Courtesy of Cheongju Jikji Korea Organization By Park Han-sol Cheongju city government in North Chungcheong Province and two of France's national institutions will launch a joint scientific project to analyze "Jikji Simche Yojeol," better known as "Jikji" the world's oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type. The city signed a memorandum of understanding, Friday, with the National Library of France, where the only extant original copy of "Jikji" is kept, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). The analysis of the book's materials and its state of preservation will be carried out by the Cheongju Early Printing Museum, Chungbuk National University's paper-based artifacts preservation center and CNRS's conservation and analysis center. The research findings will be announced via international academic journals and conferences. Through this collaborative research, Cheongju will push ahead with its project to produce some 60 faithful copies of "Jikji" that can reflect the condition of its original paper material and printing method. Although the city mulled over the project back in 2007, it then failed to come to fruition due to the lack of technology necessary for detailed analysis of the pages without damaging the original. The Buddhist text was published late during the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom in 1377, at Cheongju's Heungdeok Temple 78 years before the Gutenberg Bible, which was widely known as one of the earliest books printed using mass-produced metal type in Europe. The artifact was enlisted on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2001. The book was first acquired by Collin de Plancy, a French consul in Seoul, in the late 19th century. Later, it went into the hands of collector Henri Vever, whose death prompted its donation to the National Library of France in 1952. The original metal type print had two volumes, but only the second has survived. Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words "Omicron SARS-CoV-2" in this illustration taken, Nov, 27. Reuters-Yonhap South Korea said Saturday that it will restrict visa issuance and arrivals from eight African nations, including South Africa, starting the next day to block the inflow of the new Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. It said South Africa and seven other nearby countries Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi will be re-listed as closely watched nations, subject to visa restrictions and tougher quarantine requirements. All arrivals from those regions must go through mandatory 10-day quarantine at designated facilities, with three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests during the period. The measure takes effect from Sunday, they added. A list of injured students at Korea University who took part in the April Revolution in 1960 / Courtesy of CHA By Park Han-sol The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) will step up its efforts again to enlist two of Korea's grassroots protests on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, three years after it was stalled over a China-Japan dispute. One set of documents comprises official and private archives governmental records, media and investigative reports, photos and videos that testify to the April 19 Revolution, a nationwide protest in 1960 against the Rhee Syng-man government for rigging an election. The movement resulted in the end of Rhee's 12-year rule. Another historical archive up for registration features records produced by the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, Japanese Legation and the participants of the Donghak Movement, an armed peasant uprising that took place in 1894. It was led by followers of the Donghak religion, now known as Cheondoism, in the name of social equality and anti-colonialism. If the application process goes as scheduled, UNESCO's final decision on their inclusion will be announced in 2023. The CHA initially pushed for the inscription of these archives on the Memory of the World Register in 2017, but the application had to be put on hold for more than three years as UNESCO's Executive Board sought to reform its policies in regards to registration and review procedures. Such a decision came after the organization added Chinese documents about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in which Japanese troops were said to have killed as many as 300,000 soldiers and civilians in the former Chinese capital to its list in 2015. This drew heavy protests from Japan, which called it a "politicized decision" and even briefly withheld its funding for UNESCO the following year. The new policy, approved last April, stipulates that once UNESCO's Secretariat announces the general outline of the contents of the historical documents submitted by each country, other nations can file an objection. Before the item can move further down the review procedures for the Executive Board's final approval, a diplomatic discussion must be held between countries of interest, and mediated by a third party if necessary. Korea has, at present, a total of 16 entries in the UNESCO list, including the Hangeul handbook "Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon" and historical records on Gwangju's May 18 pro-democracy movement in 1980. National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug delivers a keynote speech on democracy and political polarization at the 143rd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly at IFEMA in Madrid, Saturday. Courtesy of Office of Speaker at National Assembly By Kwon Mee-yoo National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has been seeking cooperation with parliamentary heads of other nations to support the Korean government's efforts to stabilize the supply of raw materials, in relation to a recent urea shortage here. Park, currently attending the 143rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Madrid, Spain, held talks with IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, as well as his counterparts from various countries including Oman, Bahrain, Indonesia, Nepal, Switzerland and Georgia. Especially for the Middle Eastern countries, Park urged them to broaden their export portfolios to Korea. During a meeting with Khalid bin Hilal Al Mawali, chairman of the Consultative Assembly of Oman, Saturday, Park thanked Al Mawali for Oman's export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Korea and asked him to bridge Omani urea producers with Korea, as Oman is one of the world's top urea exporters amid the global supply chain reshuffle. Al Mawali replied that he would highlight the urea trade between the two countries, adding that he hopes to cooperate further with Korean companies in the fields of renewable energy as well as tourism, logistics, mining and agriculture. National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, right, holds a meeting with his Omani counterpart Khalid Bin Hilal Al Mawali, left, at IFEMA in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, during the 143rd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly. Courtesy of Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly Lee Soon-ja, center, the widow of Chun Doo-hwan, and other bereaved family members enter the Seoul Memorial Park to attend Chun's cremation ceremony, Saturday. Yonhap By Lee Hae-rin The apology by the widow of Chun Doo-hwan for past wrongdoings inflicted by the former dictator has only refueled the anger of victims of the bloody suppression of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, as Chun's side made it clear that the massacre was not subject to the apology. Former first lady Lee Soon-ja made the apology during Chun's funeral in Seoul, Saturday, four days after he died of a type of blood cancer. The former Army general, who seized power through a military coup in 1979 and served as president from September 1980 to February 1988, was responsible for the brutal suppression of Gwangju citizens but went to his grave without ever making an admission of guilt or an apology. In a speech as a family representative, Lee said, "On behalf of my husband, I would like to deeply apologize, especially to those who suffered pains and scars during his time in office." Lee's apology was initially assumed to be for the victims killed in the May 1980 uprising. But civic groups related to the movement, including those of bereaved families, criticized it for being vague and incomplete, saying they couldn't accept the apology. Then Chun's former secretary Min Jeong-ki told local reporters that Lee was not talking about Gwangju. "Lee clearly said 'during his time in office,'" Min told reporters hours after Lee's remark, at Seoul Memorial Park where the cremation took place. He explained that the Gwangju incident took place before his presidency, which officially began on Sept. 1, 1980. When asked to specify "those who suffered pains and scars," Min replied, "There are students who participated in (other) pro-democracy protests and died during torture by police (during Chun's term) He was not directly responsible but he was the president anyway." In light of this, the civic groups said Lee's apology was even more meaningless and only worsened their pain. "It seems Lee made the apology reluctantly and unwillingly because of the growing public criticism," Choi Hyung-ho, the head of Seoul branch of The May 18 Memorial Foundation, told The Korea Times, Sunday. "A truthful apology would require Chun's family coming to and kneeling at the victims' graveyard." Choi said what matters the most is the uncovering the whole truth about the movement, such as whether Chun ordered the shooting from military helicopters on citizens which Chun kept denying despite witnesses coming forward and forensic evidence of bullet holes high up in buildings and patients admitted to hospitals with injuries consistent with being shot from above. "Also a relevant law should be revised to recover assets accumulated illegally by Chun's aides during his term," he said. The two leading presidential candidates remained neck and neck with each other in the latest survey released Sunday. Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party, earned 38.9 percent support, while Lee Jae-myung, the candidate for the ruling Democratic Party, had 36.1 percent support in the poll conducted by Embrain Public. Yoon's lead of 2.8 percentage points was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The survey was conducted on 1,020 adults on Friday and Saturday. Coming in at a distant third place was Ahn Cheol-soo, representing the minor opposition People's Party, at 6.1 percent. Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party was next at 5.6 percent. (Yonhap) Korea needs to reintroduce strict measures South Korea is facing a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections amid the spread of the potentially more transmissible Omicron variant throughout the world. The new variant, if unchecked, could deal a severe setback to the country's efforts to return to normalcy. The situation has been aggravated since Nov. 1 when the country eased quarantine measures and social distancing rules to ensure a gradual return to normal life under the "Living with COVID-19" scheme. The new daily infection cases remained high at 3,928 Sunday although they fell slightly from Saturday's 4,068. The number more than doubled in a month, hitting the record daily high of 4,115 Wednesday. Medical experts predict the figure will rise further during this winter. More worrisome is that the number of deaths and critically ill patients has continued to grow. The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic reached a record daily high of 56 Sunday. Seriously ill patients also hit the highest level of 647. As things stand now, it seems difficult to contain the ever-persistent virus without tightening the quarantine system and reintroducing strict social distancing guidelines. The Moon Jae-in administration should take immediate and bold action to respond effectively to the raging virus. On Monday it plans to unveil a series of quarantine measures against the pandemic. First of all, the health authorities should make all-out efforts to prevent the Omicron variant from finding its way into the country. On Sunday, the country imposed an entry ban on all foreign arrivals from eight African countries, including South Africa where the new strain was first detected. The ban is necessary, but not sufficient. It is still unknown if the Omicron variant is more dangerous or contagious than the Delta stain. Yet it is necessary to take strong preventive measures before it is too late. More importantly, the government must focus on treating critically ill COVID-19 patients to prevent their deaths. For this, it is urgent to increase hospital beds. Out of 714 beds set aside for seriously ill patients in hospitals in Seoul and its metropolitan area, 610 are already occupied. More than 1,200 patients are waiting for hospitalization. The problem is more serious in some provincial areas where beds are no longer available. If new infections continue to surge, there will be an acute shortage of hospital beds. The authorities should also expand medical facilities and supply more doctors and nurses to better treat COVID-19 patients. The government promised to do so whenever there was a spike in new infections. But it has yet to deliver on this promise. It even failed to make thorough preparations for the "Living with COVID-19" program. It is, however, never too late to take appropriate measures to avoid a possible collapse of the healthcare system. It is equally important to speed up vaccine booster shots, especially for the elderly and other high-risk groups. About 79 percent of South Koreans have so far been fully vaccinated. But it is tricky to achieve herd immunity because the efficacy of vaccines is on the decline as time goes by. Most of all, the people might have to endure a potential return to stringent quarantine and social distancing rules. It is also necessary for the government to provide more financial support to small businesses and the self-employed who will be hit hard by the resurgence of the coronavirus. We have a long way to go before exiting the dark tunnel. Deoksu Palace circa 1910-20 Robert Neff Collection By Robert Neff On Nov. 22, 1897, Empress Myeongseong was finally laid to rest in her tomb just outside of Seoul. The Independent a newspaper published in Seoul declared that the funeral was a "remarkable event [that] will never be forgotten by those who took part in it in any capacity." It added, "We are glad the great function passed off without any hitch and that the weather was so favorable." The newspaper, however, was not quite telling the truth. There had been many hitches both before and during the event. Shortly after her murder, the spirit of the empress was said to have grown restless and appeared in the room where her remains were kept. Two servants were literally frightened to death at least according to one newspaper account. When her remains were moved to Deoksu Palace in September 1896, there were further fatal incidents. A pallbearer was crushed while carrying the hearse and a small boy was killed as the procession passed the front of the palace. A couple of days later, the main beam of the palace's front gate fell and seriously injured a workman. Finding a suitable site for her tomb also caused a great deal of trouble and, undoubtedly, was expensive. It seems that when the location and date were finally settled upon, no one consulted with Mother Nature. The road leading from the East Gate to the Imperial Tomb was washed away by heavy rains and, according to The Independent, "at many points no bridges could be seen." Near the assassination site of the Korean empress in Gyeongbok Palace, circa 1908 Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection Yun Chi-ho, was especially critical of the government's efforts and the amount of corruption involved in the funeral. "Several hundreds of acres were bought around the Royal Grave and 20,000.00 were spent in planting trees thereon, in the two years past. Not a single tree is alive now. Next Spring the rascals will again squeeze a large amount of money out under the same pretext of planting trees which never live!" There was also a great deal of petty jealousy. A little over a week before the funeral, The Independent reported: "The Prime Minister, Sim Suntak, has been appointed Scrubber of the Coffin of Her Majesty... It may be a great honor for Mr. Sim to scrub the Imperial coffin, but some people doubt whether he can do it thoroughly. He is too feeble to use a brush and towel effectively." For additional protection and possibly to give the event a grander appearance additional soldiers were brought in from the provinces. According to The Independent, the regents in Hwanghae, Ganghwa Island, and Cheongju each sent 100 soldiers while Pyongyang was ordered to send 200. An American visitor and possibly his guide at the "Queen's grave" in 1922 Robert Neff Collection Yun gives a different description of the soldiers brought in temporarily for the funeral: "Two thousand coolies [laborers] have been hired at the rate of 2 for a dollar, for the occasion under the name of ["reserves"]. These coolies, dressed in tight trousers open wide where they ought to be closed, armed with rusty rifles which they used as sticks, were one of the innumerable evidences of the rottenness of the present administration." Apparently there were no foreign guests in the palace during the final preparations, so we are forced to rely heavily upon Yun's observations, which were recalled carefully in his diary considering it was his own private diary, he wrote truthfully and with very little political tact. "While the coffin was being taken out of the bier, a eunuch openly "sleeved" the fruits which were placed in front of the coffin. It maddened me to see this sacrilegious proceeding and if I had authority I would have given the rascal a lesson not to be easily forgotten." This was not the only food-related issue that infuriated him. "Food was plentiful. Hundreds of tickets were given out to persons who had no business to be fed by the King. I could easily have gotten a meal ticket but, as I had no connection with service, I preferred to go hungry." It is interesting that Yun refers to the Korean monarch as king as Gojong was made emperor about five weeks earlier. Yun was not the only disgruntled witness to the funeral procession there was also Horace N. Allen, the American minister to Korea. Years later, in his books and memoirs, Allen's description of the event were generally neutral. But in his immediate report to the State Department he was less than tactful. First he complained about having to go to the palace just before dawn where he endured "a long and tedious wait in the cold" as he and the other foreign representatives watched the start of the funeral procession and paid their respects to the emperor. There was obviously tension in the air especially in regards to the Japanese representative. Allen explained: "As the Korean Government had sent a Special Envoy to be present at the funeral of the Dowager Empress of Japan last year, the Japanese Government appointed their Minister to Korea to represent them officially at this funeral as Special Envoy." An American visitor to the "Queen's grave" in 1922 Robert Neff Collection By agreement, the foreign representatives were to meet at 2 p.m. at the Foreign Office and join Emperor Gojong's procession to the tomb. But when they arrived, they discovered that the procession had already departed. According to Allen, the emperor, "feeling chagrinned at the long delay he had caused us in the morning, started off an hour earlier so as to be on time." Allen chose to look at it as a blessing as "not knowing of this change we were spared the necessity of making a part of the procession." As for the accommodations at the tomb, The Independent reported that each diplomat was "provided with newly finished rooms with the necessary furniture" and every effort was made to ensure they were comfortable. Allen reported that the diplomats "were quartered in neat little 8x8 foot paper rooms, each containing a narrow cot and each room having to do duty for four persons." As for the fine dinner at the tomb, which Allen described in his book as being "elaborate," in his report seems to have been a diplomatic disaster. "We were served with dinner, at which occasion, owing to the lack of order and arrangement, the Japanese Envoy was placed in such an undignified position that he had to complain of it." The Japanese envoy was not the only bone of contention at the funeral so too were the Russian soldiers. At the palace, Yun noted that the emperor was "guarded by a number of Russian soldiers" and the Korean soldiers on guard were ordered to "turn around, facing the wall lest they might see the Imperial face!" Allen added that "one notable feature of the [funeral] was that four Russian non-commissioned officers constantly remained by His Majesty's chair and no one was allowed to approach without permission." The main gate of Deoksu Palace, circa 1906 Robert Neff Collection By Ahn Ho-young Korea's Supreme Court rendered its final ruling on the case brought by victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation of Korea against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Corp. in October, 2018. Since then, relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been in a deep freeze. Japan insists that Korea is not complying with international law, in particular the Claims Agreement concluded between the two countries in 1965. The Korean government counters that it has to respect the ruling of the independent court here. It was against such a backdrop that the Japanese government imposed an embargo that impacted Korean companies on the export of essential parts for manufacturing semiconductors, a key export item for Korea, in July, 2019. Several months later, the South Korean government responded by declaring that it would suspend the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) agreement between the two countries as a countermeasure against the Japanese embargo on semiconductor parts. Several Japanese officials and politicians sought my views on the suspension of the GSOMIA agreement at the time. I said I was deeply concerned and disappointed by Korean government's action. I swiftly added that I had been equally concerned and disappointed by the action taken by the Japanese government earlier in July. This was because the Japanese action violated a delicate firewall existing between the issues of history and the issues of cooperation in other areas. The observance of the firewall had enabled Korea and Japan to develop bilateral relations to mutual benefit for several decades irrespective of issues of history flaring up between the two countries from time to time. I was recently reminded of these exchanges with Japanese colleagues two years ago, as I read an interview with Yoshimasa Hayashi, the new foreign minister of Japan. Hayashi gave a press conference on Nov. 11, the day he was inaugurated. His answer to the question on Korea-Japan relations appeared to me to be along the following lines; "Korea-Japan relations are very important and must get sufficient attention. But, it will have to wait until issues of history are first be resolved, for which Korea must provide an answer." The first part was encouraging to me. With respect to the second part, I wonder if Hayashi could have gone a step further, as a leading member of "Kochikai," one of the most moderate factions within the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has typically supported a dovish foreign policy, including diplomatic engagement with Korea. For example, he could have said: "I urge the Korean government to provide an answer to the forced labor issues. In the meantime, I will not be bogged down by these issues, because there are so many other urgent issues Korea and Japan must address together. I will go ahead and engage the Korean government to jointly address them." In fact, such an approach is what we need, given the current geopolitical and economic situation in Northeast Asia and beyond. At the same time, such an approach would have worked as a stronger and far more effective incentive for the Korean government to diligently seek solutions for issues on history as well. In fact, there are a large number of issues which the two countries can engage in for mutual benefit, starting from some multilateral ones. One such issue is Korea joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). As a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, China and Chinese Taipei, apply for accession to the CPTPP, there is an increasing call for Korea to join it as well. One of the challenges facing Korea is Japan's presumed sabotage of its accession, as Tokyo tries to link this to the issues of history. Hayashi, for example, could declare that such a presumption is misplaced. Another possible multilateral forum where Korea and Japan could further strengthen cooperation is the Quad. I have long argued through this page as to why Korea must seriously consider participating in Quad activities. Sato Masahisa, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense in Japan's House of Councillors was recently asked by a Korean newspaper about his views on Korea joining the Quad, comprising the United States, Japan, India and Australia. He answered "Japan will welcome Korea joining the free world camp, even if we will continue to have questions about Korea's credibility." I am often reminded of all the efforts we used to make together between Korea and Japan at multilateral fora. Korea's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the 1990s owed a lot to the advice and cooperation we used to get from our Japanese colleagues, including Makoto Taniguchi, who was the OECD's deputy secretary-general at the time. During the Great Recession of 2008, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) emerged as a key institution for the global financial system, and was dubbed "the fourth pillar" of the architecture of global economic governance. In the process of joining the FSB, Korea again enjoyed the support and cooperation of Japanese officials, including Ambassador Yoichi Otabe, who used to be the G20 sherpa for the Japanese prime minister at the time. Were there no issues of history at the time of Korea's accession to the OECD or the FSB? There were. However, officials of Korea and Japan at the time were mindful of the advantage of adhering to the aforementioned firewall. Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is president of the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi will build a plant that can produce 300,000 vehicles annually in Beijing for its electric vehicle unit, authorities in the capital said on Saturday. The plant will be constructed in two phases and Xiaomi will also built its auto unit's headquarters, sales and research offices in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, the government-backed economic development agency Beijing E-Town said on its official WeChat account. Beijing E-Town said it anticipated the plant reaching mass production in 2024, a goal announced by Xiaomi's Chief Executive Lei Jun in October. In March, Xiaomi said it would commit to investing $10 billion in a new electric car division over 10 years. The company completed the business registration of its EV unit in late August. The company has been opening thousands of stores to spur domestic sales growth for its smartphone business but eventually intends to use these shops as a channel for its plans to sell electric vehicles. (Reuters) A gas station attendant stands next to a newspaper headline in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday. AP-Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul The Korean stock market is awaiting updates over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. As the local stock market correlates very closely with moves in major indexes, investors are highly likely to react negatively following the U.S. and European stock markets' falls last week. Crude oil prices and Treasury yields plunged on Wall Street as a new strain known as the Omicron variant prompted fears of renewed social restrictions. As the market slides, investors are being advised to move their money into stocks of companies related to vaccine production, work-from-home, food delivery and games, analysts said, Sunday. Last week on Wall Street, Pfizer partner BioNTech and Moderna made gains on the back of the Omicron variant. Moderna said it is testing to see if a higher booster dose of its vaccine would provide protection against the new virus strain. From left are Samsung Electronics mobile chief Koh Dong-jin, consumer business chief Kim Hyun-suk and semiconductor business chief Kim Ki-nam / Korea Times file By Baek Byung-yeul Three Samsung Electronics CEOs those in charge of semiconductors, home appliances and IT and mobile communications will remain in their positions despite the upcoming year-end management reshuffle expected to take place this week, sources knowledgeable about the issue said, Sunday. "Samsung will keep on its three CEOs who are responsible for its three major pillars. But the company will diversify its executives' pools by expanding the promotion of low- and medium-ranked executives for the reshuffle," one of the sources said. Samsung's business structure comprises three major units Device Solutions overseeing its semiconductor business, IT & Mobile Communication supervising mobile devices and Consumer Electronics for TVs and home appliance products and each unit has been led by one of the three CEOs Kim Ki-nam, Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk, since 2018. People queue to get on the Air France flight to Paris at OR Tambo's airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 26. AP-Yonhap Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa. The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could stall a global recovery from the nearly two-year pandemic. Israel said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country and reintroduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology to contain the spread of the variant. The two linked cases of Omicron detected in Britain were connected to travel to southern Africa, British health minister Sajid Javid said. Johnson laid out measures that included stricter testing rules for people arriving in the country but that stopped short of curbs on social activity other than requiring mask wearing in some settings. "We will require anyone who enters the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result," Johnson told a news conference. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a media briefing on the latest COVID-19 update in the Downing Street briefing room, central London, Nov. 27. AFP-Yonhap People who had come into contact with people testing positive for a suspected case of Omicron would have to self-isolate for 10 days and the government would tighten the rules on wearing face coverings, Johnson said, adding the steps would be reviewed in three weeks. The health ministry in the German state of Bavaria also announced two confirmed cases of the variant. The two people entered Germany at Munich airport on Nov. 24, before Germany designated South Africa as a virus-variant area, and were now isolating, said the ministry, indicating without stating explicitly that the people had travelled from South Africa. In Italy, the National Health Institute said a case of the new variant had been detected in Milan in a person coming from Mozambique. Czech health authorities also said they were examining a suspected case of the variant in a person who spent time in Namibia. Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, is potentially more contagious than previous variants of the disease, although experts do not know yet if it will cause more or less severe COVID-19 compared to other strains. England's Chief Medical Officer, Chris Witty, said at the same news conference as Johnson that there was still much uncertainty around Omicron, but "there is a reasonable chance that at least there will be some degree of vaccine escape with this variant". The variant was first discovered in South Africa and had also since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong. A KLM airplane landed from Johannesbourg is parked at the gate E19 at the Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, Nov. 27. AFP-Yonhap Flights to Amsterdam Dutch authorities said 61 of around 600 people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for the coronavirus. Health authorities were carrying out further tests to see if those cases involved the new variant. One passenger who arrived from South Africa on Friday, Dutch photographer Paula Zimmerman, said she tested negative but was anxious for the days to come. "I've been told that they expect that a lot more people will test positive after five days. It's a little scary the idea that you've been in a plane with a lot of people who tested positive," she said. Financial markets plunged on Friday, especially stocks of airlines and others in the travel sector. Oil prices tumbled by about $10 a barrel. It could take weeks for scientists to understand fully the variant's mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it. Travelers queue at a check-in counter at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, after several countries banned flights from South Africa following the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant Omicron, Nov. 27. AFP-Yonhap Travel curbs Although epidemiologists say travel curbs may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally, many countries around the world including the United States, Brazil, Canada and European Union nations announced travel bans or restrictions on southern Africa on Friday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State Department added on Saturday to Washington's previously announced travel restrictions, advising against travel to eight southern African countries. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Saturday that the administration will take it "one step at a time," when asked about additional travel restrictions. "For now we've done what we think is necessary," Harris said. Also on Saturday, Australia said it would ban non-citizens who have been in nine southern African countries from entering and will require supervised 14-day quarantines for Australian citizens returning from there. Japan and Britain said they were extending travel curbs to more African countries, while South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Oman, Kuwait and Hungary announced new travel restrictions. South Africa is worried that the curbs will hurt tourism and other sectors of its economy, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, adding the government is engaging with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider. Omicron has emerged as many countries in Europe are already battling a surge in COVID-19 infections, and some have re-introduced restrictions on social activity to try to stop the spread. Austria and Slovakia have entered lockdowns. People queue to be tested for COVID-19 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 27. AP-Yonhap Israel will host the Miss Universe beauty pageant in the Red Sea resort of Eilat on Dec. 12 despite imposing travel restrictions to try to stave off the Omicron coronavirus variant, Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said on Sunday. On Saturday, Israel announced that it was banning foreigners from entering the country, but Razvozov on Sunday told reporters that participants in the Miss Universe pageant would be granted waivers while possibly undergoing PCR testing every 48 hours and other precautionary measures. "This is an event that will be broadcast in 174 countries, a very important event, an event that Eilat, too, is very much in need of," he said before Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. "We will know how to manage this event. So, by using the waivers committee, we will have events like this, to which the country already committed itself and cannot cancel." In televised remarks at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel needs "to clamp down" on its borders to keep the country "open internally." Israel has confirmed one case of infection from the Omicron coronavirus variant. (Reuters) The Dakar rally will be raced across the daunting deserts of Saudi Arabia again in 2022 with organisers on Sunday revealing the full route that exploits the depths of the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter). The January 1-14 endurance test will be a third Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia, a country accused by the international community of a poor human rights record. But it will also be the 44th edition of the rally itself, with 1,065 participants aboard 578 vehicles racing across 8,375km of treacherous routes in the various categories. The landscape and backdrop of the course is similar to the last edition, and it begins and ends after 12 stages in the port city of Jeddah. From canyons and cliffs in the Neom region to stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, the race also takes in the Red Sea coastline and the mysterious Empty Quarter. (AFP) Extortion of avocado growers in western Mexico has gotten so bad that 500 vigilantes from a so-called "self-defense" group known as United Towns, or Pueblos Unidos, gathered Saturday and pledged to aid police. The vigilantes gathered for a rally in the town of Nuevo Urecho, in the western state of Michoacan, armed with AR-15s and other rifles, as well as a motley collection of shotguns. They said that drug cartels like the Viagras and the Jalisco cartel have been charging avocado growers 'war taxes' of about $1,000 per acre ($2,500 per hectare). Tired of the extortion demands and kidnappings, growers and farmers formed the group in 2020, and it now claims to have almost 3,000 members. (AP) In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. Representative Mark Takano, left, is greeted by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Nov. 26. AP-Yonhap The Chinese army has carried out a "naval and air force combat readiness patrol" near the Taiwan Strait following a contentious visit to the island by a group of American lawmakers, a spokesperson said. Tensions between Beijing and Washington have soared over the fate of democratic self-ruled Taiwan, which China has vowed to one day retake, by force if necessary. A group of American lawmakers arrived on the island Thursday offering support for the Taiwanese authorities, who Beijing accuses of seeking independence for the island. In response, the Chinese army on Friday carried out "a naval and air force combat readiness patrol in the direction of the Taiwan Strait," a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement. "This is a necessary measure in response to the current situation in the Taiwan Strait," they added, pledging the army would "protect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation." "The army will continue to be on high alert and take all necessary measures to counter, at any time, any interference by external forces and any conspiracy by separatists aiming at the so-called 'Taiwan independence'." No other information about the drills was given. In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, U.S. Representative Mark Takano, center left, chats with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen near other members of the U.S. delegation at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Nov. 26. AP-Yonhap Azure Cloud Application Architect State of Connecticut Judicial Branch East Hartford The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch is seeking an Azure Cloud Application Architect (Information Technology Enterprise Technologist) for the Information Technology Division, Application Development and Support Unit. Qualified applicants will possess experience in the specific functional area of IT Software Development. The successful candidate must have hands-on experience with cloud application development and working with complicated enterprise applications in the cloud with a focus on security. The preferred candidate will work with Web developers and administrators to architect and define the standards for a secure environment to support cloud-based application. The selected candidate will also participate to develop and support future strategies for Microsoft 365 products and services. Qualified candidates should be familiar with Cloud Based applications and able to design and implement new projects utilizing Microsoft .NET, and Microsoft Cloud technologies like Microsoft Power Automate Microsoft Power Apps MS Dataverse (Cloud Databases) MS Dynamics 365 Visual Studio 2017 or above MS SQL Server 2016 and SQL Azure databases Developer proficiency includes: In-depth knowledge of at least one of the .Net languages (vb.net or C#) Knowledge with Windows DevOps architecture Experience with Data structure and data flow Experience in working with SOA and APIs Develop Identity aware applications using Active Directory, ADFS and Azure-AD Additional skills expected are: Excellent organizational, analytical, planning and technical skills Analyze requirements and prioritize and delegate tasks among team members Build solutions that integrate with other systems from demos and proofs-of-concept to deploy and support the finished product Share architecture and development best practices with team members Provide technical guidance and mentor others in areas of expertise Additional skills would be a plus: Knowledge of Azure DevOps Knowledge of PowerShell scripting Experience with eSignature Web UI & Responsive design principles In addition to the required qualifications, the successful candidate must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written. The selected candidate must have the ability to manage the workload for projects and support daily on-going activities, resolve problems during and after working hours and a willingness to coordinate with other teams and work effectively with all levels of technical and non-technical staff and management is necessary. The qualified candidate will possess excellent technical skills along with the ability to foster a team environment. Upon satisfactory completion of the initial probationary period, hybrid remote work may be available. Salary Range: $95,984 - $127,007/year plus State of Connecticut benefits. New employees begin at the minimum. The starting salary for existing state employees may be higher than the minimum, in accordance with existing Judicial Branch policy. The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch offers its employees a top notch array of health and retirement benefits including but not limited to: paid holidays, vacation, sick and personal leave, group life insurance, 457 Deferred Compensation, voluntary flexible spending account programs, discounted auto and home insurance policies and long and short term disability. EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING General Experience: Twelve (12) years of experience in information technology (IT), programming, systems/software development or another IT related field demonstrating a growing and broadening base of knowledge and experience. Special Experience: Three (3) years of the General Experience must have been at the expert working level with responsibility for performing a full range of highly complex technical support functions. Substitutions Allowed: 1) College training in management information systems, computer science, electrical engineering or information technology related area may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equaling six (6) months of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelors degree. 2) A Masters degree in management information systems, computer science, electrical engineering or information technology related area may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience. 3) Relevant certification in management information systems, computer science, electrical engineering or information technology related area may be substituted for up to six (6) months of the general experience. SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Incumbents may be required to travel within the State in the course of their daily work. Applications must be received by December 26, 2021. Applications must be submitted through the on-line application site. Resumes or paper applications will not be accepted. Careers at the Branch play an essential role for the public and society. Our meaningful, challenging, and interesting positions have a long-lasting effect that serves to advance justice and ultimately provides for the greater good of all. Please reference posting number 21-4000-023 AA/EOE recblid soj6czwx3zmqcv6l8n8l6tzr33fj2v Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, a designated Level 3 Medical Home, is the largest federally qualified health center network in New York State, and the second largest in the nation. It includes eight primary care sites, 40 school-based health centers and dental clinics, four day care centers, the nation's largest dental residency program, and New York State's largest behavioral health program. The network also includes 12 community medicine sites providing care to disenfranchised New Yorkers, comprehensive HIV services, chemical dependency programs, and a family support center that offers educational, vocational, and other social support programs. Learn more about Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, and interact with us on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Position Summary: We have an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Admin Assistant. In this role, the successful candidate The Administrative Assistant/Intake Specialist will provide support to the Family Support Services Department. He/she will assist with greeting and engaging community members, making outreach calls, assessing needs, screening for program or benefit eligibility, providing direct services to clients when requested or needed, scheduling appointments, making referrals ad completing necessary documentation and administrative tasks. Minimum Qualifications: To qualify you must have a High School Diploma required; Associate's preferred Bilingual English/Spanish required Computer literate: Outlook, Word, Excel Strong interpersonal skills Preferred Qualifications: Good interpersonal skills. Commitment to helping others. Two years of experience working with immigrant population. Qualified candidates must be able to effectively communicate with all levels of the organization. Family Health Centers at NYU Langone's network provides its staff with far more than just a place to work. Rather, we are an institution you can be proud of, an institution where you'll feel good about devoting your time and your talents. NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of recruiting and employment. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender dysphoria, national origin, age, religion, disability, military and veteran status, marital or parental status, citizenship status, genetic information or any other factor which cannot lawfully be used as a basis for an employment decision. We require applications to be completed online. If you wish to view Family Health Centers at NYU Langone's EEO policies, please click here. Please click here to view the Federal "EEO is the law" poster or visit https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/ofccpost.htm for more information. To view the Pay Transparency Notice, please click here. Since its launch in 1993 with a collection of six essential handbags, Kate Spade New York has always stood for optimistic femininity. Today, the brand is a global life and style house with handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, footwear, gifts, home dcor and more. Polished ease, thoughtful details and a modern, sophisticated use of colorKate Spade New Yorks founding principles define a unique style synonymous with joy. Under the vision of creative director Nicola Glass, the brand continues to celebrate confident women with a youthful spirit. Kate Spade New York is part of the Tapestry portfolio a global house of brands powered by optimism, innovation, and inclusivity. Job Title: Sales Associate Primary Purpose: The successful individual will leverage their proficiency in retail to Client & Service Expert: Achieves individual sales goals. Develops strong product knowledge across all categories. Responsible for ensuring exemplary customer service by delivering the ultimate kate spade Experience. Able to develop a personal connection with guests through effective use of the selling skills. Building Brand Equity: Understand and communicate the kate spade new york aesthetic, brand philosophy and lifestyle to the customer. Demonstrate interest and ability to work as part of a team. Operational Excellence: Execute operational tasks as per company directives. Accurately processes all POS transactions. Adhere to and apply visual directives, ensure that store standards are executed daily. The accomplished individual will possess... Professional selling skills and exceptional interpersonal skills Prior luxury goods experience preferred Proactive ability to multi-task and prioritize Works well in a team environment An outstanding professional will have... Bachelors degree in related field preferred Physical requirements Available to work store schedule, as needed, including evenings and weekends Standing for extended periods of time Able to safely lift boxes up to 40 pounds Comfortable climbing ladders Our Competencies for All Employees Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results. Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect. Creativity : Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings. Interpersonal Savvy : Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably. Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything. Perseverance : Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; seldom gives up before finishing, especially in the face of resistance or setbacks. Dealing with Ambiguity : Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isnt upset when things are up in the air; doesnt have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty. Our Competencies for All People Managers Strategic Agility : Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans. Building Effective Teams : Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team. Managerial Courage : Doesnt hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and actionable positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary. Kate Spade is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people. All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicants or employees qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration. These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law. Visit Kate Spade atwww.katespade.com. Regional Junior doctors of Assam join protest against delay in NEET-PG counselling Guwahati, Nov 27 (PTI) | Publish Date: 11/27/2021 11:21:24 AM IST Junior doctors of government medical colleges of Assam on Saturday staged protests against the delay in conducting NEET-PG 2021 counselling, claiming it has increased the workload of the already overburdened resident doctors. The protests were a part of a nationwide call by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) for suspension of out-patient department (OPD) services at hospitals from November 27. The protesting doctors at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here said the delay in the counselling process is leading to excess work pressure. We understand that the process got delayed due to the pandemic. But the delay has been too long. We demand that the counselling be completed at the earliest. COVID has put an extra workload on us and on top of it, we are having to work with half of our positions remaining vacant. We hope those in authority understand our problem, a protesting junior doctor said. Another doctor, participating in a similar protest at Fakruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital at Barpeta, said, We are looking forward to January 6 when the Supreme Court will hear the case again and hope that a final verdict is delivered. Junior doctors of medical colleges and hospitals at Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tezpur also joined in the nationwide stir. They refrained from attending OPD services and staged demonstrations in the hospital premises, displaying placards in support of their demands. The medical fraternity body had called for the nationwide strike over the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling process after the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the process will be further postponed by four weeks as it was reconsidering the Rs eight lakh annual income criteria for determining the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category for reservations in admissions. The Association had urged the Centre and the Supreme Court to take necessary measures for expediting counselling and admission besides fast-tracking the court proceedings on an urgent basis. The apex court has fixed January 6 as the next date for hearing. It is hearing a batch of pleas filed by students challenging the Centre and Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) July 29 notice providing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) and 10 per cent for EWS category in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-PG) admissions for medical courses for the current academic year. On October 25, the Centre had assured the top court that the counselling process of NEET-PG examination will not commence till the court decides the challenge to the proposed reservations in PG All India Quota seats (MBBS/BDS and MD/MS/MDS) from the current academic year 2021-22. The apex court had on October 21 asked the Centre whether it would like to revisit the limit of Rs eight lakh annual income fixed for determining the EWS category for reservation in NEET PG admissions and sought answers to some pin-pointed questions on the issue. Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-21 17:59:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close File photo taken in 2014 shows Frank Hawke speaking during an event commemorating the 35th anniversary of exchanges between Chinese and American scholars in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua) by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- On Feb. 23, 1979, twenty-five-year-old Frank Hawke arrived at snow-covered Beijing Capital Airport with seven other U.S. students. They were the first group of American students to study in the People's Republic of China since the two countries officially normalized their diplomatic relations on Jan. 1, 1979. Hawke, who has lived and worked more or less continuously in Beijing over the past 40 years, is now the director of the China Program for the Stanford Graduate School of Business, located at the Stanford Center at Peking University. STUDY AND TEACHING IN PEKING UNIVERSITY Hawke's interest in China was sparked by two Sinologists at Stanford -- John Lewis and Harry Harding, when the economics undergraduate took some of their courses in contemporary Chinese politics. After graduating from his bachelor's program, he decided to pursue an academic career in Chinese studies and started to learn Chinese. "When I arrived in China, I actually spoke very little Chinese. I could maybe recognize some characters, but that was really about all," laughed Hawke, who speaks very fluent Mandarin with a Beijing accent now. After a short stay at the Beijing Language Institute upon arrival, Hawke was admitted to the Department of World Economy at Peking University. "Classical economist, Professor Hong Junyan became my mentor. He was a wonderful man. He treated us very kindly and was very much aware that we were a long way from home," said Hawke. Hawke was supposed to go back to Stanford after a year in Peking University, but he didn't. "I wasn't ready yet to go back because I felt that there was so much yet to learn," he said. Hawke then taught neoclassical economics at Peking University for one semester at the invitation of Hong. NEGOTIATIONS FOR CHINA'S FIRST AUTOMOBILE JOINT VENTURE After teaching in Peking University, Hawke joined a company called Unison International, which helped American companies do business in China. With Unison, one of the most famous deals Hawke participated in was the Beijing Jeep Corporation, the first Sino-foreign auto joint venture between American Motors Corporation, one of Unison's clients, and Beijing Auto Works. "I was the one facilitating on the ground, attending all the negotiations. I was providing a lot of advice in the context of the negotiations," said Hawke. "That was a very interesting negotiation," he said, adding that "every little detail had to be negotiated. Finally, we got it done in 1983." When China opened its doors to the global market in 1978, a motor car was still a novelty for Chinese, but now China becomes the top player both in auto manufacturing and sales, with cars being almost a household necessity. CONTRIBUTION TO CHINA'S AGRICULTURE In 1997, IMC Global, a world's leading producer of phosphate and potassium fertilizers, hired Hawke to serve as the president of its Asia subsidiary. That job gave him lots of opportunities to go around China and talk to not only Chinese phosphate producers, but also a great number of Chinese farmers. "That was really a lot of fun for me to be able to talk to Chinese farmers and learn about their lives and how we could help them improve their crop yields, not only by providing these very important fertilizers, but also in discussing how to farm more scientifically," said Hawke. "We were supplying something China badly needed, Chinese farmers badly needed, as the Chinese say, Feiliao Shi Liangshi De Liangshi (fertilizer is the food for the grain)," he said. In 2011, Hawke was offered his second job in agriculture -- to run East Asian operations for the International Potato Center, which is headquartered in Lima, Peru. What impressed Hawke most was "Chinese farmers were extremely friendly, always willing to answer our questions, always willing to learn." "That gives you a sense of accomplishment that you're working with people who really want to listen and maybe learn something." WITNESS OF CHINA'S RAPID GROWTH From 1979 onwards, Hawke has witnessed China growing at a very rapid rate, which is, as the World Bank described, "the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history." There were "rationed coupons for everything," as the Chinese government had to make sure that everybody had the basic necessities, he said. The nation at the time could not produce enough grains and various kinds of foods for her people, such as meats, eggs, and so on. "When the ration coupons went away, I think that was a sign that things turned the corner. So that was a milestone, obviously," he said. In the past 40-plus years, more than 700 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, contributing to over 70 percent of global poverty reduction. "I have great confidence in China. I have great confidence in the Chinese people. I think the key to China's future is to unlock the genius of the Chinese people," said Hawke. CALL FOR PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES Talking about the current strained U.S.-China relations, Hawke said the two countries "should be in a better position to understand the other side" after 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties. The world's two largest economies can "still disagree, but we can disagree with respect out of mutual understanding," he said, noting that both sides should learn each other's history and culture. "One way to avoid mistakes, to avoid tragedy is by having very robust people-to-people relations. I would like to see more exchange students, more people going back and forth in all fields; it's extremely important," he said. "It's nice to have lived through a past worth telling," Hawke said of his China stories in retrospect. Enditem (Xinhua correspondents Hu Yousong, Liu Jie contributed to the story.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 00:02:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) by Ahmed Shafiq LUXOR, Egypt, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This bustle and hustle around the temple and other archaeological sites in Luxor was more palpable especially when and after Egypt reopened the city's ancient Avenue of Sphinxes on Friday after years of renovation work. Visitors from different countries filed through the 2,400-year-old ancient walkway with 1,057 ram-headed and man-headed sphinxes lining both sides of it. Egypt aspires to use the reopening of the historical avenue to promote Luxor as the largest open museum in the world and highlight its distinct diverse tourist and archaeological potentials. "The place is rich in culture and history ... It is very exciting to closely see the ancient Egyptian civilization," Ray Rasmany, a U.S. young man, told Xinhua as he walked through the Karnak Temple. Rasmany, who visited Egypt for the first time, said the country is safe and the people are friendly, adding anti-COVID-19 measures are well applied in the country. As one of the key sources of income for Egypt, tourism accounts for about 12 percent of the country's GDP. It brought Egypt a record 13 billion U.S. dollars in revenues in 2019 with the arrival of more than 13 million tourists. The peak came after a few years of decline in tourism caused by a Russian plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015 that left 224 dead, and a later EgyptAir plane crash in May 2016 that killed all 66 people on board. Later, tourism in Egypt began to decline again because of the COVID-19 pandemic and relevant lockdowns worldwide. "A boom has been seen in tourism here after Russia resumed in August direct flights to Egyptian tourist cities after a six-year ban following the explosion of a Russian airliner," Alaa al-Sahaby, owner of a hotel in Luxor, told Xinhua. The middle-aged man noted that the precautionary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing vaccination campaigns and the government's decision to resume tourism activities helped revive the ailing sector. "My hotel is unexpectedly fully booked ... This is almost the case with most of the other hotels across Egypt, not only in Luxor," al-Sahaby told Xinhua. He expressed hope for Chinese tourists to come back soon to Luxor, saying the Chinese tourists used to come in large numbers and spend well in the city. "Chinese tourists prefer cultural tourism. That is why they prefer to visit Luxor. A real boom will happen if Chinese tourists will visit again," the hotel owner noted. Egypt's official statistics showed China became the fourth largest source of tourists to Egypt in 2017, and according to the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, more than half a million Chinese tourists visited Egypt in 2018. For 2021, Egypt targets revenues of 6 billion dollars to 9 billion dollars in tourism and hopes to receive more than 6 million tourists. Egypt received about 3.5 million tourists during the first half of 2021, while the total revenues were about 4 billion dollars, according to the tourism ministry's data. Enditem Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Tourists take selfies at the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt, on Nov. 26, 2021. The Karnak Temple Complex in Upper Egypt's monument-rich city of Luxor is buzzing with tourists, as the North African country has witnessed a revival in tourism after a long recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 02:50:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People wearing masks walk in London, Britain, Nov. 25, 2021. More than 10 million coronavirus cases have been recorded in Britain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official figures released Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Ying) In a press conference at Downing Street on Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all travellers entering Britain must take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival, and must self-isolate until they receive a negative test result. LONDON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in Britain, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Saturday. He said the cases, detected in Chelmsford and in Nottingham, are "linked" and the two individuals are now self-isolating along with their households while further tests and contact tracing take place. In a press conference at Downing Street on Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all travellers entering Britain must take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival, and must self-isolate until they receive a negative test result. Meanwhile, rules on face coverings will be tightened up in shops and public transport, he said, adding that these measures are "temporary and precautionary" and will be reviewed in three weeks. Downing Street have subsequently tweeted: "Face coverings will become compulsory on public transport and in shops. But not including hospitality." People wearing masks ride the London Tube in London, Britain, Nov. 25, 2021. More than 10 million coronavirus cases have been recorded in Britain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official figures released Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Ying) "There are many things that we just cannot know at this early stage," Johnson said, noting that it does appear Omicron spreads very rapidly. He warned that the "extensive mutation...might at least in part reduce the effectiveness of our vaccines". The "targeted measures now" will "buy time for our scientists" to know what they are "dealing with", as well as facilitating more booster jabs in arms and keeping pressure off the National Health Service (NHS), he said. Four more countries have been added to Britain's travel "red list" effective from 0400 GMT on Sunday: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. The British government has previously added South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia to the country's travel red list. Flights from these nations to Britain have been suspended until 0400 GMT on Sunday when hotel quarantine is up and running. Passengers arriving in Britain from these countries from 0400 GMT on Sunday will be required to book and pay for a government-approved hotel to quarantine for 10 days. The British government has urged anyone who has arrived from these countries recently to get tested. Omicron, also called B.1.1.529, has also been identified in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Israel and possibly in other countries and regions. A growing number of countries and regions are suspending flights from southern African countries due to the new variant, which has sparked serious concern among scientists and researchers and triggered a massive slump of stocks in Asia, Europe and the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2 to be "of concern", its most serious level, and officially gave it the Greek name Omicron. The WHO has asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to fight the new variant. Scientists are still unclear whether existing antibodies would react well to Omicron, which has 32 spike protein mutations, more than previously found variants. The country reported another 39,567 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,110,408. A woman wearing a face mask walks in London, Britain, Nov. 25, 2021. More than 10 million coronavirus cases have been recorded in Britain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official figures released Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Ying) Britain also recorded another 131 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 144,724. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. More than 88 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 80 percent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 29 percent have received booster jabs, or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. A man wearing a mask walks in London, Britain, Nov. 25, 2021. More than 10 million coronavirus cases have been recorded in Britain since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official figures released Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Ying) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 07:24:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People wait at the departure hall at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 28, 2021. The Israeli government decided on Sunday to ban the entry of foreign nationals into the country in an attempt to stop the spread of a new variant of COVID-19. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government decided on Sunday to ban the entry of foreign nationals into the country in an attempt to stop the spread of a new variant of COVID-19. The announcement came after a late-night cabinet meeting in which the cabinet discussed reinstating restrictions against the pandemic. The decision to close the country for foreigners will last for 14 days. In addition, phone-tracking technology will be put to use again in order to trace people who are obligated to quarantine. Israel has so far confirmed one case of the Omicron variant that was first detected in South Africa. In addition, a list of 50 African nations have been labeled as "red," forbidding Israelis to travel to them. Israelis arriving from the continent are obligated to stay in quarantine. All Israeli nationals who have arrived from Africa in recent days will likely be tested in the coming days as a precautionary measure. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it will be distributing hundreds of home COVID-19 tests to civilians who have returned from those countries. Quarantine hotels which were closed until recently, will be re-opened. "We are currently in a period of uncertainty," said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the start of the cabinet meeting. Bennett said his goal is to maintain "an open Israel with a functioning economy and open education system." The new strain is believed to be more contagious than previous ones. It is still unclear how effective vaccines are against Omicron. This week, Israel began vaccinating children from the age of five. The public response has so far been lackluster. More than 8,100 Israelis have died of the virus since March 2020. There are currently over 7,000 active cases, with 120 people critically ill in hospital. Enditem People wait at the departure hall at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 28, 2021. The Israeli government decided on Sunday to ban the entry of foreign nationals into the country in an attempt to stop the spread of a new variant of COVID-19. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) People wait at the departure hall at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 28, 2021. The Israeli government decided on Sunday to ban the entry of foreign nationals into the country in an attempt to stop the spread of a new variant of COVID-19. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 16:35:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A herder drives his livestock by the Sayram Lake as they head for a winter pasture in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 26, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders load their livestock onto a truck as they move to winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 24, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders and their livestock pass under the Guozigou Bridge as they head for winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Aerial photo taken on Nov. 27, 2021 shows a herders' settlement in Sarbulak Township, Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Aerial photo taken on Nov. 25, 2021 shows herders driving their livestock along an expressway as they head for winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders have food at a replenishment site in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders drive their livestock to winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders and their livestock pass under the Guozigou Bridge as they head for winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders load their livestock onto a truck as they move to winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 24, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders drive their livestock to winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Herders and their livestock pass under the Guozigou Bridge as they head for winter pastures in Huocheng County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Nov. 25, 2021. Local herders in Huocheng County are moving their livestock to winter pastures as the weather gets colder. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 16:35:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Nov. 22, 2021 shows wind turbines of the De Aar wind power project invested by China's Longyuan Power and its South African partners in De Aar, South Africa. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran) BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a keynote speech to the opening ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Monday via video link. Attaching great importance to China-Africa relations, Xi has been consistently pushing for the building of the China-Africa community with a shared future. The following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard. June 21, 2021 In a phone conversation with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Xi said that China is ready to work with Tanzania to consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen mutual support, jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and make positive contributions to the building of the China-Africa community with a shared future. Photo taken on April 9, 2020 shows the Dar es Salaam Port undergoing upgrading of port berths 1 to 7 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (Xinhua) June 17, 2020 "In the face of COVID-19, China and Africa have offered mutual support and fought shoulder to shoulder with each other," Xi said at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19. "In the face of COVID-19, China and Africa have enhanced solidarity and strengthened friendship and mutual trust," Xi added. "To help Africa achieve sustainable development is what matters in the long run. China supports Africa in its effort to develop the African Continental Free Trade Area and to enhance connectivity and strengthen industrial and supply chains. China will explore broader cooperation with Africa in such new business forms as digital economy, smart city, clean energy, and 5G to boost Africa's development and revitalization," he said. A staff member unloads Chinese medical supplies from an airplane at the Kotota International Airport in Accra, Ghana, April 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Zheng) June 25, 2019 In a congratulatory letter for the opening of the Coordinators' Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC, Xi said the FOCAC Beijing Summit is a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations. He said he hopes that the two sides will uphold the principle of consultation and collaboration for shared benefits, enhance communication and synergy, deepen solidarity and cooperation, and make solid progress in pushing for the implementation of the FOCAC Beijing summit's achievements and joint construction of the Belt and Road. In doing so, he added, the two sides can continuously improve the well-being of the 2.6 billion people in China and Africa and make unremitting efforts to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future. Photo taken on Nov. 8, 2020 shows a view of the Karuma hydropower project under construction in Kiryandongo district of Uganda. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) Sept. 3, 2018 Delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC, Xi said, "With similar fate in the past and a common mission, China and Africa have extended sympathy to and helped each other throughout all the years. Together, we have embarked on a distinctive path of win-win cooperation." "Marching on this path, China has followed the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests. China has stood with African countries. Together, we have worked in unity and forged ahead," Xi said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 18:32:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), delivers an important speech at a CMC conference on military-talent-related work in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 26, 2021. The conference was held from Nov. 26 to 28 in Beijing. (Xinhua/Li Gang) BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed thorough promotion of military talent cultivation to support and lead the progress in strengthening the armed forces. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks when speaking at a CMC conference on military-talent-related work, which was held from Friday to Sunday. Enditem Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), meets with representatives attending a CMC conference on military-talent-related work in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 26, 2021. The conference was held from Nov. 26 to 28 in Beijing. (Xinhua/Li Gang) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 20:21:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- Launched in November 2013, the Chang'an trains have become a vital transport link between Europe and the city of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. The city was also where Zhang Qian, an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD), started his mission to the Western regions over 2,000 years ago, which eventually led to the opening of the Silk Road. -- The Chang'an trains are the busiest among all 70-plus routes of the China-Europe freight train service, connecting Xi'an with Central Asian and European destinations, including 45 cities in Belt and Road countries. -- In 2020, Xi'an became a distribution center for the China-Europe freight train service, realizing the interconnections between the inland city and major sources of goods in China, such as the Yangtze River Delta in the east and the Pearl River Delta in the south. by Xinhua writers He Zhanjun, Li Hua and Jiang Chenrong XI'AN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- With Christmas just a month away, a company in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has been producing at full speed and capacity, with LCD TVs rolling off the assembly line one after another. These TVs are then loaded onto cross-border freight trains and hit the shelves of numerous stores in Europe in roughly two weeks, ready for the influx of holiday shoppers. "Thanks to the stable and efficient operation of the Chang'an trains, the delivery time is cut by half," said Qian Xilong, general manager of the Xi'an CCG Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. "Sea shipping is still unpredictable due to the global COVID-19 situation, so many foreign buyers have shifted their orders to me," he added. Launched in November 2013, the Chang'an trains have become a vital transport link between Europe and the city of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. The city was also where Zhang Qian, an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD), started his mission to the Western regions over 2,000 years ago, which eventually led to the opening of the Silk Road. As of Nov. 20, the Chang'an trains had conducted a total of 10,963 trips. They are the busiest among all 70-plus routes of the China-Europe freight train service, connecting Xi'an with Central Asian and European destinations, including 45 cities in Belt and Road countries. A China-Europe freight train gets ready to leave for Kazakhstan from Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) "Over 70 Chang'an trains are running every day, more than doubling the number in 2019," said Shao Bo'er, general manager of the company that oversees the operation of the Chang'an trains. The trains have provided strong support for international anti-pandemic cooperation. In 2020, some 56,000 tonnes of medical supplies were transported to Europe via the Chang'an trains. There was a time when some trains came back to Xi'an with empty cars. But now, every returning train is fully packed, said Sun Yimin, director of the administrative committee of Xi'an International Trade and Logistics (ITL) Park. Cookware from Germany, milk powder from the Netherlands and agricultural products from Central Asian countries are among the most popular imports delivered by the trains, according to Sun. To build a highly efficient and low-cost international trading channel, the ITL Park has collaborated with both local and international logistics companies, including DHL and DB Schenker, to create global freight lines. Because of the opening of a German fast line, the journey from Xi'an to Hamburg now takes 10 days, just three days more than air shipping. Imported vehicles arrive by a China-Europe freight train at a container terminal in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, June 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) In 2020, Xi'an became a distribution center for the China-Europe freight train service, realizing the interconnections between the inland city and major sources of goods in China, such as the Yangtze River Delta in the east and the Pearl River Delta in the south. According to Sun, cargo from 29 provincial-level regions is assembled and distributed in Xi'an through multimodal transport such as rail-land transportation. Shaanxi Siying, a computer monitor manufacturer once based in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen, moved to Xi'an in 2018. "I chose Xi'an because of the Chang'an trains," said the company's founder Zhang Yiming. "In Shenzhen, it used to take more than a month to transport my products to Central Asia by sea, but now it only takes seven days by train." For western Chinese cities, the China-Europe freight trains offer a new logistics channel and help local businesses tap the potential of overseas markets. According to Li Mingyuan, mayor of Xi'an, the freight train service is changing the industrial pattern of inland cities and boosting the opening-up of the ancient city of Xi'an. Aerial photo taken on Aug. 12, 2020 shows a China-Europe freight train leaving for Milan, Italy with anti-pandemic supplies from the Xinzhu Railway Station in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Yuan Jingzhi) Statistics show that in 2020, the total value of foreign trade of Xi'an reached 347.38 billion yuan (54.33 billion U.S. dollars), with a year-on-year increase of 7.2 percent. Qian, of the CCG company, also moved his plant from Shenzhen in 2019 to the comprehensive bonded zone in the Xi'an ITL Park and is very proud of his timely and smart decision. "We have quadrupled our sales in one year thanks to the Chang'an trains," he said. "Many of my peers are envious of me now." (Video reporter: He Zhanjun, Li Hua, Jiang Chenrong; video editor: Zhou Sa'ang, Zhu Jianhui) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 20:37:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A worker assembles a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker assembles a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker assembles a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers adjust pianos at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers assemble pianos at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker tunes a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker checks piano parts at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers tune pianos at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker assembles a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker wipes a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Pianos are displayed at a production base of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers assemble pianos at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers transfer a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker adjusts a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker tunes a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker marks on wood for piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Workers tune pianos at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker assembles a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A worker cleans a piano at a production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, Nov. 23, 2021. The production factory of Parsons Music Corporation in Yichang is one of the largest piano manufacturing bases in the world. More than 2,000 piano-makers here carefully process, adjust and assemble pianos to bring musical joy to the world. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 23:24:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang attends a virtual conversation jointly held by the Carter Center and the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations in Washington, D.C., the United States, Sept. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "This trend contradicts the development of the modern world. It is impossible to prevent the shaping of a global polycentric architecture but could strain the objective process," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov say, adding "China and Russia firmly reject this move." WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian ambassadors urged to stop using "value-based diplomacy" to provoke division and confrontation at this critical time that stronger coordination and cooperation are in urgent need in addressing an array of global challenges including the COVID-19 and climate change. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov made the remarks in their co-authored article Respecting People's Democratic Rights published on The National Interest website on Friday. Calling the upcoming U.S.-led so-called online "Summit for Democracy" "an evident product of its Cold-War mentality," the ambassadors said the event will "stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world, creating new 'dividing lines.'" "This trend contradicts the development of the modern world. It is impossible to prevent the shaping of a global polycentric architecture but could strain the objective process," they said, adding "China and Russia firmly reject this move." The ambassadors noted peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom are common values of humanity. Democracy is not a prerogative of a certain country or a group of countries, but a universal right of all peoples. "It can be realized in multiple ways, and no model can fit all countries," they added. Whether a country's path works depends on whether it meets the country's realities, follows the trend of the times, and brings about economic development, social stability and progress, and better lives for the people, the article said. "Ultimately, it relies on the support of the people and will be proven by its contribution to human progress." "Therefore, a basic criterion of democracy should be about the people, i.e. whether the people have the right to govern their country, whether their needs are met, and whether they have a sense of fulfillment and happiness," the ambassadors wrote. "If the people are only awakened when casting their votes and sent back to hibernation when the voting is over, if they are served with sweet-sounding slogans in campaigns but have no say after the election, if they are wooed during canvassing but left out in the cold after that, this is not a genuine democracy," they added. File photo taken on April 15, 2016 shows Anatoly Antonov during an interview with Xinhua in Moscow, Russia. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi) What China has is an extensive, whole-process socialist democracy, which reflects the people's will, suits the country's realities, and enjoys strong support from the people, the article said. Russia is a democratic federative law-governed state with a republican form of government, the article said, noting that democracy is the fundamental principle of Russia's political system. "Democracy is not just about domestic governance; it should also be reflected in international relations. A truly democratic government will support democracy in international relations. It will not foster hegemony and division abroad while building democracy and unity at home," the ambassadors said, noting "the path to prosperity of nations goes through respectful cooperation with each other, despite some differences in views on particular issues." They said the sovereignty, security, and development interests of a country should not be violated, noting that interfering in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of fighting corruption, promoting democratic values, or protecting human rights, hindering their development, wielding the big stick of sanctions, and even infringing on their sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity "go against the UN Charter and other basic norms of international law and are obviously anti-democratic." International affairs should be handled in accordance with the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and decided in the spirit of true multilateralism, the ambassadors said. "Seeking supremacy and putting oneself always first are acts of hegemonism and unilateralism, and are obviously anti-democratic." There has seen no shortage of wars and turmoil worldwide to prove that spreading "democracy," its political system, and values against other countries' will severely undermine regional and international peace, security, and stability, the ambassadors said, adding bombings of Yugoslavia, military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, and "democratic transformation" do nothing but harm. They called on countries to focus on running their own affairs well, instead of condescendingly criticizing others. "Certain foreign governments better think about themselves and what is going on in their homes. Is it freedom when various rallies in their countries are dispersed with rubber bullets and tear gas? It does not look very much like freedom," said the ambassadors. Faced with an array of global challenges, countries urgently need to strengthen coordination and cooperation for common progress, especially today when the international community needs to improve cooperation between all countries to counter the pandemic, foster economic development, and neutralize cross-border threats, said the ambassadors. "China and Russia call on countries: to stop using "value-based diplomacy" to provoke division and confrontation; to practice mutual respect and win-win cooperation in international relations, and to work for harmonious coexistence between countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and development levels," concluded the ambassadors. Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 13:22:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council Information Office has issued a white paper on Friday detailing the country's cooperation with Africa in the new era. China-Africa economic cooperation has expanded rapidly in scale and extent in nearly a decade, injecting impetus to the continent's development and bringing tangible benefits for people from both sides. The following facts and figures offer a glimpse of the achievements of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. -- China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa's trade with China in the continent's total external trade has continued to rise, which exceeded 21 percent in 2020. -- China has increased its imports of non-resource products from Africa, and offered zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items exported to China by the 33 least-developed countries in Africa. -- China's imports in services from Africa have been growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent since 2017, creating close to 400,000 jobs for the continent every year. -- By the end of 2020, direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa had surpassed 43 billion U.S. dollars. -- China has established over 3,500 companies of various types across the continent, with private companies gradually becoming the main investment force in Africa. More than 80 percent of their employees are locals, and they have directly and indirectly created millions of jobs. -- To date, China has established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, and signed 72 bilateral and multilateral agricultural cooperation agreements. -- By the end of 2020, more than 200 Chinese companies had an investment stock of 1.11 billion U.S. dollars in agricultural sector in 35 African countries. The investments cover areas such as planting, breeding and processing. -- As of October 2021, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System had 42 indirect participants in Africa, covering 19 African countries. The People's Bank of China has signed successive currency swap agreements with the central banks of South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria, to a total amount of 73 billion yuan (about 11 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 21:29:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the African Union (AU) Commission has hailed the comprehensive Africa-China partnership across a range of areas, especially fruitful cooperation in healthcare, ahead of a key meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). "Thank you to the government of China for the excellent cooperation. Thank you to all those who are working behind the scenes on building a better and stronger relationship between China and Africa, between the government of China and the African Union Commission," AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development Amira Elfadil told Xinhua ahead of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, slated for Nov. 29-30 in Senegal's capital Dakar. She underscored that this year's edition of the FOCAC meeting comes days after the AU Commission marked the structural completion of the China-aided future headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an essential part of the healthcare initiative adopted at the FOCAC Beijing Summit in September 2018. "This celebration is happening just days before the FOCAC meeting. So, it is very good that these two very important events are taking place almost the same time," Elfadil said. "We appreciate very much this commitment, this collaboration and the honoring of the commitment from China to the AU Commission, under the support we are getting within the area of health, especially to our Africa CDC," she said. The AU commissioner, in particular, hailed the China-Africa partnership in the health sector as a testament to the win-win collaboration, which needs to be further strengthened. "We would like it to continue for the future and to be a very positive partnership, looking to the health and wellbeing of all Africans and building this partnership in the area of health and health security and fighting pandemics," Elfadil said. She commended the Chinese government as "a very committed and reliable partner" of the AU in its endeavors for the betterment of the African continent. "We appreciate very much this partnership and we would like it to be a partnership for a better Africa and a prosperous Africa and part of fulfilling our dream for the Africa we want," Elfadil added. A white paper released Friday by China's State Council Information Office said the upcoming FOCAC ministerial is expected to produce plans for friendly Sino-Africa cooperation in the next phase. The white paper, titled "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals," hailed the meeting as an important diplomatic event for China and Africa to discuss cooperation plans and promote common development, saying it will be of great importance in promoting post-pandemic economic recovery and development in Africa, China and the world at large. Together the two sides will plan and discuss the outcomes to be adopted at the meeting regarding key areas including health, investment and trade, industrialization, agricultural modernization, climate change responses and digital economy, the white paper added. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-29 00:01:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RABAT, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Morocco will suspend all regular international passenger flights for two weeks over concern about the new COVID-19 variant Omicron. The suspension will come into effect starting Monday's midnight, the Moroccan Monitoring Committee of COVID-19 said Sunday in a statement. The decision has been taken due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, so as to preserve Morocco's achievements in managing pandemic, it added. The Moroccan Ministry of Health reported 116 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to 949,648. The ministry also reported one fatality from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country's death toll to 14,774. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 08:34:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SYDNEY, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, as two major entry ports of the country, have introduced 72-hour isolation requirements for all international arrivals as health authorities scramble to sequence for the new Omicron variant in arrivals from southern African countries. NSW health authorities confirmed on Sunday morning two of 14 arrivals from southern African countries had tested positive for COVID-19 and had begun urgent genomic sequencing for the Omicron variant. The variant, believed to be more infectious than all previous strains, was first detected in South Africa and flagged as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday. All recent arrivals from nine southern African countries were urged by NSW health authorities to self-isolate for 14 days, while passengers from flights with positive cases would be quarantined in a special health facility. Despite mounting fears, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the state would stick to its reopening plans "for the moment". "This is a reminder that there is a long journey to go, and we think we have always had a fair and balanced approach," Perrottet told local news outlet Sky News. On Saturday afternoon Australian federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that non-residents would not be able to enter Australia from nine southern African countries and all flights from these countries would be suspended for 14 days as a "matter of precaution". Dr. Deborah Cromer at the Kirby Institute of University of New South Wales (UNSW) said while it is "unsettling" the emergence of a new variant was not unexpected. "Viruses constantly mutate and take on new forms, and the level of existing immunity against a new variant is key in determining the impact an emerging strain will have," said Cromer. She said that border closures would only help buy time for scientists to determine the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the new variant. "Closing borders may buy us some time to gather the data to answer these questions (vaccine efficacy against Omicron), however, as we have seen previously with both the original strain and with Delta, a virus will ultimately find its way past these barriers," she said. No cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in Australia. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 14:11:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close An Afghan man counts money at Sarai-e-Shahzada, a main exchange market in central area of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Nov. 27, 2021. Afghanistan's national currency afghani has continued to devalue to a lowest against the U.S. dollar in years, multiplying Afghan people's financial woes. (Photo by Aria/Xinhua) by Farid Behbud KABUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's national currency afghani has continued to devalue to a lowest against the U.S. dollar in years, multiplying Afghan people's financial woes. Ordinary people believe the situation increased their economic sufferings particularly amid skyrocketing prices of food and other basic commodities. "The exchange rate is changing daily. There is no control at exchange market and there is no plan to control the rate. You know, the afghani devaluation directly increases the prices of food items and other basic commodities as we import daily necessities from outside," Mauloddin, who like many Afghan people goes in one name, told Xinhua. "My income is in afghani, the price of goods are increasing but, of course there is no change in my income. I want the Taliban administration to do something, and to find a solution for economic crisis," said the owner of a small business from the northern Samangan province. Afghani was recently traded at 96.40 for one U.S. dollar in Sarai-e-Shahzada, a main exchange market located in central area of the capital Kabul, marking the lowest exchange rate in two decades. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August and set up a Taliban-led caretaker government on Sept. 7, the Asian country has been faced with multiple economic problems. In particular, economic situation has worsened over the impact of the United States freezing of over 9 billion U.S. dollars in assets belonging to Afghanistan's central bank, plus a halt of funds by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). United Nations officials in Afghanistan have repeatedly warned that Afghanistan's banking and financial systems are on the brink of collapse. They outlined a series of solutions to the crisis, including deposit insurance, adequate liquidity for the banking system and credit guarantees and loan repayment delay options for the real economy, according to UN sources. "The continuous fall of the national currency has added to our economic hardships, I can not afford to buy basic daily necessities and food for my family to survive the upcoming harsh winter," Abdul Shah, a Kabul resident who works as a driver, told Xinhua. Shah said that many households had survived decades-long violence and war but are severely affected by the recent economic crisis and currency devaluation. "Many cash-strapped families fell victim to the recent economic situation. The U.S. puts pressure on Afghanistan's banks to press the Taliban administration but the situation is continuing to press the ordinary people," he said, adding, "The recent economic situation is insufferable. We are facing a harsh winter while people cannot buy firewood and coal to keep themselves warm." Official data showed that about 54.5 percent of Afghans were living under the poverty line in 2019, and the figure soared to 72 percent in 2020. At the beginning of 2020, the afghani was traded at some 76 for one U.S. dollar, and at 77 in this year's January, 81 in July and 90 in mid-August. "The Taliban should find a solution for economic problems, they should control the exchange rate," Wahidgul Shinwari, a money exchanger, told Xinhua. "They should hire economic experts and advisors" in order to solve the economic problems, said Shinwari, who believes there are still good experts having not left the country. "The majority of Afghan people are now waiting for relief support from abroad, because they lost their income in recent months," said Shinwari, noting that "government employees did not receive their salaries in the past several months too." In a move to control the currency devaluation, the central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank injected 10 million U.S. dollars into the local exchange market on Nov. 15, but failed to arrest the currency weakening. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) recently announced that the humanitarian response in Afghanistan is scaling up with improved funding and access to life-saving aid. From Sept. 1 to mid-November, UN partners and non-governmental organizations have provided 7.2 million Afghan people with food assistance, according to data provided by the UN officials. The Taliban caretaker government has repeatedly called upon the United States to unfreeze the Afghan central bank's assets. Recently it said it would soon pay out the salaries for three months to hundreds of thousands of government employees. Enditem Photo taken on Nov. 27, 2021 shows people at Sarai-e-Shahzada, a main exchange market in central area of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's national currency afghani has continued to devalue to a lowest against the U.S. dollar in years, multiplying Afghan people's financial woes. (Photo by Aria/Xinhua) Photo taken on Nov. 27, 2021 shows people at Sarai-e-Shahzada, a main exchange market in central area of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's national currency afghani has continued to devalue to a lowest against the U.S. dollar in years, multiplying Afghan people's financial woes. (Photo by Aria/Xinhua) Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 15:08:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SYDNEY, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities of Australia's state of New South Wales on Sunday afternoon confirmed two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant after conducting urgent genomic sequencing from overseas travelers. The state, where the country's biggest international airport locates, said on Sunday morning that two of 14 arrivals from southern African countries have tested positive for COVID-19, and urgent genomic sequencing for the Omicron variant has begun. The variant, believed to be more infectious than all previous strains, was first detected in South Africa and flagged as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday. Health authorities said the two cases, both coming to Sydney from southern Africa on the evening of Saturday, underwent testing on arrival and tested positive for COVID-19 late Saturday night. The two people were asymptomatic and are in isolation in the Special Health Accommodation. Both the cases are fully vaccinated. The two passengers were amongst 14 travelers from southern Africa who arrived in Sydney via Doha. The remaining 12 passengers are undertaking 14 days of hotel quarantine in the Special Health Accommodation. Around 260 passengers and air crew on the flight are considered close contacts and have been directed to isolate. Before the two cases were confirmed to be infected with the new variant, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet warned that it is inevitable new variants will enter Australia, and said the government is taking a precautionary approach to the new variant. The state already introduced some new measures from midnight Saturday including mandatory hotel quarantine for travelers who have been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi, and Seychelles during the 14-day period before their arrival in NSW. Those who has already arrived in NSW from any of the nine African countries within the previous 14 days must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, said the NSW health authorities. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 19:28:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan police have arrested eight suspected criminals in the northern Kunduz and Takhar provinces, officials said Sunday. In a crackdown on crime, the police rounded up five criminals who were involved in murder, kidnapping and robbery from Kunduz province on Sunday and the suspects are being investigated, provincial government official Matihullah Rohani said. Three more criminals were arrested from Taluqan city, capital of neighboring Takhar province on Saturday night, provincial government official Ansarullah Ansari said. The Taliban-led administration has vowed to improve security and ensure law and order across the war-torn Afghanistan. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 19:45:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DHAKA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The sixth batch of gifted COVID-19 vaccines from the Chinese government to Bangladesh has arrived in Dhaka, the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh said on Saturday. This new batch of Sinovac vaccines arrived on Thursday, after five batches of gifted Chinese vaccines which were delivered in May, June, August and October this year, the embassy said in a Facebook post. In the fight against the coronavirus, China and Bangladesh have always been standing together, supporting and assisting each other in times of difficulties and challenges, said the embassy. Both daily cases and deaths of COVID-19 have fallen significantly in Bangladesh in recent months as vaccinations increased thanks largely to the support from China. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health, more than 95 million vaccine doses have so far been administered in Bangladesh, with a large part of them being Chinese vaccines. Of them, 58.87 million people received at least the first dose while 36.19 million received both doses as of Saturday. Bangladesh began the vaccine rollout with Indian supplies in January but later ran into supply shortages. In June, the vaccination drive resumed largely with Chinese Sinopharm vaccines. Mushtuq Husain, adviser to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health, has said that China's contribution was of immense help to Bangladesh in sustaining its mass inoculation drive and assuring lower mortality in any future wave. "We appreciate all of China's great contribution to our effort against the pandemic and hope our friendly cooperation will continue for years to come," said the official. Bangladesh reported 155 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths on Saturday, taking the tally to 1,575,579 and the death toll to 27,975, the DGHS said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 20:04:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua, Zhang Jianhua VIENTIANE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China-Laos railway will bring new opportunities and provide huge momentum in strengthening Laos' economy, Valy Vetsaphong, vice president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and advisor to the Lao prime minister, has said. The streamlined bullet train, or electric multiple unit (EMU) train for the China-Laos railway, arrived at the newly-built Vientiane station on Oct. 16. Valy took a trial run of the EMU on the railway on Nov. 18. "It will be a historic moment for the opening of the railway in Laos," said Valy after the tour. "The outlook, especially the roof, is Lao style, and the decoration embodies Lao and Chinese cultures, conforms to the characteristics of the Laos-China railway. The stations are nicely built." The railway "will convert Laos from being geographically disadvantaged, by taking advantage of its location, to a regional land-linked hub," said Valy. The railway will be an important piece of infrastructure that increases the nation's transportation connectivity with other parts of the region, Valy told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that many business operators will switch to exporting products by using the railway, which is expected to cut the cost of transport through Laos by 30 to 40 percent compared to traveling by road. The China-Laos railway will lay a new foundation for the introduction of foreign investment, and Laos will take the advantage to participate in the regional and global industrial chain. "The railway will result in the growth of many industries like tourism, trade and investment, especially in the processing industry, and it's going to help a lot for Laos' post-pandemic recovery," Valy said. Firstly, when the railway is operational, Laos' tourism industry is expected to benefit greatly from the expected rise in rail passenger traffic. "Business owners must prepare to welcome an influx of visitors under new normal conditions. They must improve their facilities and services standards. Laos has a lot of places where tourists can experience untouched nature and culture. With its rich natural resources and biodiversity, Laos can offer an opportunity to promote nature-based tourism," she said. Addressing the opening of the National Assembly (NA) on Nov. 1, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh said Laos needs to consider the steps to take to reopen the country, including the start of services on the China-Laos railway. Meanwhile, many provinces in Laos are preparing for the return of tourists. Visitor attractions and accommodation will be restored and upgraded after being closed for months during the COVID-19 outbreak. "A second opportunity lies in organic agriculture production. Many investors are interested in growing and setting up factories in Laos to process agricultural products for export, because clean agriculture production is in high demand (while Laos meets its requirements)," said Valy. "From a personal perspective, we must develop and improve more organic agricultural production for export to regional and international markets," she said. The China-Laos railway "will not only benefit bilateral trade, but also benefit other countries that want to export products to China or even Europe, as using the railway could save both time and money," Valy said. She said a third opportunity lies in the processing industry. "For some products, even we can not provide parts of raw materials here, but they can process, assemble, export and ship them by rail to China and even beyond China to Europe through China-Europe Railway Express." She said the railway has highlighted Laos' geographical advantages, and that industries including finance and health care can also find development opportunities in Laos. The China-Laos railway is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub. The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards. The construction of the project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and operational in December 2021. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 20:17:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will make an official visit to Singapore on Monday, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry said Sunday. The visit at the invitation of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be Ismail Sabri's first visit to the neighboring country since he assumed office in August. The visit comes with the commencement of the air and land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore beginning on Monday, the ministry said in a statement. "The leaders will discuss Malaysia-Singapore bilateral cooperation, including new opportunities for effective recovery from the impacts of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Both prime ministers will also be exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern," it said. The VTL allows fully vaccinated travelers from both countries to cross the border between the neighboring countries via land and air links following certain standard operation procedures (SOPs). Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 22:49:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has banned international visitors who have travel histories from eight African countries in the last 14 days, to prevent transmission of the new, more contagious variant of coronavirus Omicron to the country, an official said on Sunday. Arya Pradhana Anggakara, spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said the eight countries are South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, and Nigeria. "If any foreigners from those countries come, they will be immediately refused at the immigration checkpoint" Anggakara added. This Southeast Asian country also temporarily suspended visits and limited stay visas for citizens of those countries. The policy is to take effect on Nov. 29. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 23:56:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Home Ministry on Sunday decided to bar nationals from all African countries from entering the country for the time being, citing the threat posed by the new Omicron coronavirus variant. "Considering the high risks from the new variant of the coronavirus, we instructed our immigration offices on Sunday not to allow citizens of all the African countries, except those with official or diplomatic passports, to enter the country with immediate effect," Phanindramani Pokharel, the ministry's spokesman, told Xinhua. "Initially we instructed them verbally, and it will be formalized soon," he said, adding the ministry has not set any deadline for the new rule as the threat of the new variant is being examined globally. The World Health Organization declared on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2, first identified in South Africa, to be "of concern," its most serious level, and officially gave it the Greek name Omicron. In September, Nepal reopened the on-arrival visa service for foreign tourists fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a view to reviving the tourism sector. Pokharel made it clear that even vaccinated tourists from African countries would not be allowed into Nepal for the time being. "African nationals who have already received Nepal's visas from Nepali embassies abroad won't be allowed to enter Nepal either," he said. Nepal neither has direct air links with African countries currently, nor has received a large number of African tourists. Pokharel said no decision has been made on Nepali nationals and citizens of non-African countries who arrive in Nepal via Africa. Nepal has been hit twice by the coronavirus, but it has seen daily new infections declining in recent months. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-29 00:44:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province are determined to tap the economic potential of the province through the development of special economic zones (SEZs), chief executive officer (CEO) of the KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) said on Sunday. The investment-friendly policies of the KP government and efforts of the KPEZDMC have enabled the province to attract foreign and local investments, CEO Javed Iqbal Khattak told the country's state news agency Associated Press of Pakistan. The province has now five economic zones including the Rashakai SEZ being constructed under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said, adding that the management of the company is following highly business-friendly policies to facilitate the investors. He said that work on other SEZs in other parts of the province is also passing through different stages, and the KPEZDMC has also mobilized investment of 165 billion Pakistani rupees (about 934 million U.S. dollars) through new and existing economic zones, and since March 2020 has allotted 357.61 acres of land to investors. "The company is committed to providing world-class industrial infrastructure and facilitating investors through its industrial facilitation offices," he added. He said that the company is working on sector-specific industries in the economic zones, with a special focus on minerals, jewels, marble, and fruit and vegetable. For fruit and vegetable, the economic zones' sites are situated adjacent to the districts known for the production of various fruits and vegetables, where the horticultural products would be value-added for both domestic and export purposes, he added. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-28 10:38:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MEXICO CITY, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Jamaica received 200,000 doses of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine recently, half of which were donated by China with the remainder purchased by the Jamaican government, the Jamaica Information Service said Thursday. "These greatly appreciated Sinopharm vaccines demonstrate the value of the evolving relationship which Jamaica shares with China and is in keeping with the collective efforts to respond to an ever-changing environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," Prime Minister Andrew Holness said at an official handover ceremony in Kingston. Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Tian Qi said the act represented the goodwill of the Chinese government and its people in supporting Jamaica's response to the pandemic. "We are glad to continue supporting our Jamaican friends and sharing our technology. Chinese medicines have been widely used in the world and have proven safe and effective. We are sure it will assist Jamaica's efforts to promote its vaccination program for the safety and health of the Jamaican people," Tian said. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith expressed her thanks to Ambassador Tian "for what we have been able to achieve as partners and as friends between our countries." "We are looking forward to our continued friendly cooperation and strategic engagement in the interest of our people as we seek to recover from this pandemic, recognizing that no one is safe until everyone is safe," she said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-29 07:10:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close International travelers wearing face masks walk out of the arrivals hall at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on Nov. 28, 2021. Two people in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa have tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the Ontario provincial government on Sunday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) OTTAWA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two people in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa have tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the Ontario provincial government on Sunday. The two people recently traveled to Nigeria. "Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation," according to a statement issued by Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore on Sunday. "The Ontario COVID-19 Genomic Network is continuing to actively monitor for all potential variants circulating in the province, including the Omicron variant, and is conducting genomic sequencing on 100 percent of eligible COVID-19 positive samples." According to the World Health Organization, the variant was reported by South Africa on Nov. 24, with the first confirmed case coming from a specimen collected on Nov. 9. On Friday, several countries, including Canada, announced travel restrictions for southern African countries. Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement that he has spoken with his provincial counterpart about the new cases. "This development demonstrates that our monitoring system is working," he said. "As the monitoring and testing continue with provinces and territories, it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada." On Friday, the Canadian government announced it will ban the entry of foreigners who may have traveled through South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini in the past two weeks. Enditem International travelers wearing face masks wait to enter a COVID-19 testing site after arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Nov. 28, 2021. Two people in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa have tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the Ontario provincial government on Sunday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) International travelers wearing face masks walk with their luggage carts to a COVID-19 testing site after arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on Nov. 28, 2021. Two people in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa have tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the Ontario provincial government on Sunday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua) THE Congress of South African Unions (Cosatu) has revealed plans to engage the government on behalf of Zimbabweans that are likely to be deported due to expiry of the Special Dispensation Permits (ZSP) on December 31. This follows an announcement last week by South African minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, who said following deliberations, the SA government had decided that it would not renew ZSP permits, and would give its holders one year to apply for other visas. At the expiry of this 12-month period, those who are not successful will have to depart the republic or be deported, Gungubele said last week. But yesterday Cosatus International relations secretary Sonia Mabunda-Kaziboni said the organisation would find ways to assist the affected Zimbabweans through negotiations with the SA government. Right now we are trying to help comrades with the ZSP issue. Its not looking good, especially because the government has already made a declaration but well try to see if theres a way to get an extension at least, Mabunda-Kaziboni said. She said she would advise after the engagement with the leadership today (Monday), but indicated that it was a very tricky situation for the union. Indications are that the government of SAs decision was prompted by the sporadic threats and demonstrations by South Africans who opposed the renewal of Zimbabwean permits. The SA government reportedly fears the possibility of uncontrollable xenophobic attacks on Zimbabweans once it announces the extension of the ZSP permits. This was after South Africans launched a campaign dubbed #NotoZimbabweanpermits extension. Zimbabwe Community in South Africa (ZCSA) leader, Ngqabutho Mabhena last week said his organisation would engage the SA government on its decision to stop extending the permits. Newsday Direct flights between South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK) will resume next week, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said on Sunday. Spokesperson Clayson Monyela said British Airways would resume direct flights to South Africa from Tuesday, with the first flight to London on Wednesday. It will be one daily flight to Cape Town and OR Tambo International Airport [ORTIA], Virgin flies three times a week into ORTIA. They have not stopped theirs, Monyela said in a tweet. The United Kingdom High Commission in South Africa said entry would still be restricted to United Kingdom/Irish nationals and those with residence rights would need to undertake 10 days quarantine in a government approved hotel. The United Kingdom (UK) imposed a travel ban on South Africa and other five southern African countries with effect from November 26, following the detection of a new Covid-19 variant known as Omicron first detected in Botswana and subsequently South Africa. The other countries on the UK red list were Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Botswana said the Omicron variant was detected on four foreign nationals who had entered the country on November 7, on a diplomatic mission. They tested positive for Covid-19 on November 11 as they were preparing to return. Botswana Health Minister Dr Edwin Dikoloti said the country has recorded 15 more Omicron variant cases, taking the country's tally to 19. One of the cases was a South African who was in the country visiting family. In a televised national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was deeply disappointed in the reaction to SA regarding the Omicron variant He said there was no scientific justification for keeping imposing restriction on South Africa. The emergence of the Omicron variant should be a wake-up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue. We have said that vaccine inequality not only costs lives and livelihoods in those countries that are denied access, but that it also threatens global efforts to overcome the pandemic, Ramaphosa said. He added that the restrictions were unjustified and unfairly discriminated against South Africa and southern African countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. We call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our southern African sister countries to urgently reverse their decisions and lift the bans they have imposed before any further damage is done to our economies. IOL The Miss Tourism board has made a shock U-Turn and reinstated Chipo Mandiudza, who had only reigned for two days before she was dethroned over nudes scandal. She was crowned on October 19 at a ceremony in Bulawayo, which was followed by controversy after her supposedly nude pictures made rounds on social media platforms. In the pictures were screenshots from a video in which Mandiudza looks like she was in gyrating dances clad in skimpy outfits. Mandiudza reportedly wrote to the Miss Tourism board tendering her resignation. But the model fired back at the board and revealed in the media that she was forced to resign. In a press statement released by Miss Tourism Zimbabwe board chairperson Busi Dube-Muleya, said Mandiudza a marketing student at Lupane State University has been restored as reigning queen till the next contest. It is common cause that in the last edition of the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe beauty pageant, the crown had been awarded to Chipo Mandiudza upon her successful virtual competing against other contestants, Dube-Muleya said. Subsequent to her winning of the top chair, Chipo was disqualified on account of inappropriate personal materials that went into the public domain. The Miss Tourism Zimbabwe pageant carries the name of the countrys tourism sector and for this reason, we apply the highest standards on pageant contestants on moral uprightness. As and when disciplinary measures will have been taken against a contestant, there is room for an appeals process in our disciplinary and grievances procedures. After Chipo had hurriedly handed us her resignation letter she automatically became suspended from the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe throne. She then formally appealed, presenting all the photographic materials that had caused the disciplinary measures against her during, which period the deadline for the Miss Tourism International entry lapsed thereby deeming it impossible for Chipo to compete. The Miss Tourism board has carefully looked at all the photographic images presented by Chipo on appeal. That process proved that though inappropriate, in fact on all the photos that caused the public stir, there was no nudity. Accordingly, the Miss Tourism Board reconsidered the circumstances and determined that Chipo Mandiudza be restored back to the throne with immediate effect as the reigning Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2021 until the next MTZ pageant. Mandiudza will represent Zimbabwe in the Miss Tourism International search that will be held virtually due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The global finals will be held on December 15. Standard TEACHERS and Primary and Secondary Education minister Evelyn Ndlovu will today meet in Harare under the cloud of threats to boycott public school examinations that are scheduled to begin today. Teachers have registered their displeasure over disparities in salaries with other government workers, among several other issues about their conditions of service. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou confirmed the meeting yesterday, saying it would include government and other stakeholders in the educations sector. Zhou said it would discuss several issues, including that of teachers threatening to boycott invigilation of the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) O and A Level examinations if they were not paid for the services. Its a final meeting that would apprise the minister of an array of challenges affecting teachers such as pathetic salaries and the need to restore the purchasing power parity of teachers salaries to the pre-October 2018 position of an average of US$540, Zhou told NewsDay yesterday. While this is a sole responsibility of the Public Service Commission (PSC), the line ministry needs apprisal so that it can inform the PSC, Cabinet and Treasury to address the issue as a matter of urgency. The issue of contract/payment for invigilation will be discussed. The current united front position of teachers is that no contractual agreement/payment, no Invigilation unless Zimsec is brought to pay teachers for the invigilation of public examination under its auspices, and teachers will not invigilate such examinations, Zhou said. Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu said the issue of boycotting of Zimsec examinations would come up for discussion, among several other issues affecting teachers. But he said the decision to boycott would be up to individual teachers to make. To us, the contracts have to do with individual teachers, but at the moment, what we are engaged with is the discussion on the issue of examination management and related allowances. We are not going to look at invigilation only, Ndlovu said. We are looking at all various issues. The new curriculum is dictating that there be continuous assessment, which then makes examinations only a component of 30%, and with that, it means every teacher, who has been involved, is an examiner and in that instance, we are introducing a new paradigm, where we are asking the authorities now to introduce a policy that recognises the new paradigm that will remunerate all those involved in all those activities. That level of engagement will see us tomorrow (today) engaging the ministry together with other stakeholders to concretise them on that. Our position has always been that we want teachers paid for invigilation, but we have not yet said we are going to boycott invigilation. He said during todays meeting, teachers would make appropriate claims against government. The boycott position has not been communicated, and it will come to that if we have challenges along the way. At the moment, let us cross that bridge when we see it, Ndlovu said. Smaller unions like the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe have already made their position clear that their members will boycott invigilating the examinations as long as there was no written agreement to pay them for the services. Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro last week made it clear that if teachers boycotted invigilation of examinations, government will use anyone to invigilate them. Ndoro also said there were several non-unionised teachers that could invigilate for free. Last year, government used school ancillary staff and villagers to invigilate the examinations after teachers boycotted. Newsday Europe carbon price hits new record WTOP EU carbon price hits record. By AFP LONDON Petroleumworld 11 25 2021 European carbon prices surged Thursday to a record peak, one day after Germany's new coalition government indicated it could set a floor for the market. Just before midday, prices hit an all-time pinnacle at 74.39 euros per tonne, extending Wednesday's record-breaking run. Carbon trading, a key way to prevent climate change, involves companies buying the right to pollute from others who have a lower carbon footprint. Germany's centre-left SPD, Greens and liberal FDP presented their plans on Wednesday for the eurozone member nation's next ruling coalition. Climate protection features prominently in the coalition accord, with the Greens getting their way on bringing Germany's exit from coal forward to 2030 from 2038. "The carbon price ... was boosted by the coalition deal agreed between the SPD, Greens and FDP parties in Germany, which will give high priority to carbon pricing," noted Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht. "The coalition intends to campaign for a minimum price in the EU. If no agreement can be reached at EU level, national measures ... are to ensure a carbon price of 60 euros." ______________________________________ Mexico's economy shrank 0.4% in Q3: official data Luis Cortes/Reuters Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador(AMLO) By AFP MEXICO CITY Petroleumworld 11 25 2021 Mexico's economy, the second largest in Latin America, shrank by more than initially estimated in the third quarter of the year amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, data showed Thursday. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.4 percent in the three months to September from the previous quarter, compared with a preliminary estimate of a 0.2 percent decline, the national statistics agency INEGI said. The contraction followed four consecutive quarters of growth in an economy rebounding from a deep slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. On a year-on-year basis, economic growth slowed to 4.5 percent in the third quarter, INEGI said. Even so, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters that his government was sticking to its forecast of economic growth of around 6.0 percent for the whole of 2021. Mexico's economy contracted by 8.5 percent in 2020 in the worst slump since the Great Depression some nine decades ago, as soaring coronavirus infections led to restrictions on economic activity. ________________________________ EU ministers back bloc's Big Tech clampdown justin Tallis/AFP The European Uinon has led the charge on cracking down on Big Tech By AFP BRUSSELS Petroleumworld 11 25 2021 European Union member states on Thursday agreed their common position on two landmark legislations that could set unprecedented oversight on Big Tech. Ministers from the EU's 27 member countries agreed the texts at a meeting in Brussels, which will serve as their marching orders in negotiations with the European Parliament that should start early next year. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and its companion Digital Markets Act (DMA) were proposed by the European Commission last year and are intended to give Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft never seen limitations on the way they do business. The versions approved on Thursday stayed quite close to the original proposals, while the drafts making their way through parliament are expected to make the demands on Big Tech much tougher. France, as the next holder of the EU presidency in January, will spearhead the talks and French President Emmanuel Macron has made a deal on the laws a priority for his country's six-month term. The two texts are "perhaps the most important in the history of digital regulation", said French Digital Affairs Minister Cedric O as he arrived for talks in Brussels, referring to a "historic day". The DSA is an attempt to harmonise rules against illicit content online and would impose stiff sanctions for any failure to takedown illegal speech or block sales of counterfeit products. The DMA meanwhile is a complete rewrite of current competition rules for Big Tech companies and would hand them a list of specific Do's and Don'ts on how they do business. CCIA, the lobby for Big Tech, said the DSA would provide welcome clarity on the rulebook for online content in Europe. On the DMA, however, "it remains to be seen whether the Council's hard work ultimately will translate into a more competitive Europe," it said. ________________________________ 'No progress' on eve of Iran nuclear talks: UN agency Reuters One of the steps away from the deal came earlier this year when Iran began restricting some IAEA inspections activity. By Jastinder Khera / AFP VIENNA Petroleumworld 11 26 2021 The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday there had been "no progress" in talks with Tehran on disputes over the monitoring of Iran's atomic programme, just days before talks restart on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a quarterly meeting of the agency's board that talks he held in Tehran on Tuesday were "inconclusive" despite being "constructive". Grossi had sought to tackle constraints put on IAEA inspections earlier this year, outstanding questions over the presence of undeclared nuclear material at sites in Iran, and the treatment of IAEA staff in the country. "In terms of the substance... we were not able to make progress," Grossi told reporters, saying that the lack of agreement had come "in spite of my best efforts". Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told Iranian television his team "tried until the last moment" but there is still work to be done. Among other officials in Tehran, Grossi met Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Amir-Abdollahian put a positive gloss on the talks, telling the official Irna agency on Wednesday that a "common declaration" had been reached which would be published "as soon as possible". -'Foot-dragging'- Grossi's visit came ahead of the scheduled resumption on Monday of negotiations between Tehran and world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 deal that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. The United States said it was "disappointed" by the outcome of Grossi's visit and said it was ready to negotiate in Vienna. "But of course Iran's failure to cooperate is a bad sign about their seriousness in a successful conclusion to our negotiations," a State Department spokesperson said. The remaining members of the accord -- France, Germany, the UK, China, Russia and Iran -- will attend with the US taking part indirectly. The deal has been gradually disintegrating since former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018. The following year Iran retaliated by starting to move away from its commitments under the deal, also known as the JCPOA. The US negotiator for the JCPOA talks Rob Malley warned that Washington would not "sit idly" if Iran delayed progress at the talks. "If (Iran) continues to do what it appears to be doing now, which is to drag its feet at the nuclear diplomatic table and accelerate its pace when it comes to its nuclear program... we'll have to respond accordingly," Malley told US broadcaster NPR. At the IAEA Board of Governors' meeting, the EU issued a joint statement saying it was "deeply concerned at the inconclusive outcome of the discussions" with Grossi. Russia's representative meanwhile said it supported Grossi's "intent to continue working with the Iranian side and call for Tehran to do the same". -'Excessively invasive'- One of the steps away from the deal came earlier this year when Iran began restricting some IAEA inspections activity. Iran and the agency currently have a temporary agreement that gives the IAEA access to monitoring equipment at Iran's nuclear facilities. However, the Agency has warned that the agreement is not a durable solution and Grossi said he was "close to... the point where I would not be able to guarantee continuity of knowledge" of Iran's nuclear programme if it continued. Grossi also said he had raised concerns while in Tehran about security checks on IAEA inspectors which the agency has described as "excessively invasive". He noted that the IAEA and Iran had a legal agreement "which is intended to protect inspectors from intimidation, from seizure of their property". "Our Iranian colleagues have instituted a number of measures which are simply incompatible" with this, he said. jsk-sk-sct/jh Agence France-Presse ________________________________ Oil settles down Friday $10/bbl in largest daily drop since April 2020 By Laura Sanicola and Jessica Resnick-ault / Reuters LONDON Petroleumworld 11 26 2021 Oil prices plunged $10 a barrel on Friday, their largest one-day drop since April 2020, as a new variant of the coronavirus spooked investors and added to concerns that a supply surplus could swell in the first quarter. Oil fell with global equities markets on fears the variant, could dampen economic growth and fuel demand. The World Health Organization has designated the new variant, which it named Omicron, as "of concern," according to the South African health minister. The United States, Canada, Britain, Guatemala and European countries are among those to restrict travel from southern Africa, where the variant was detected. read more Brent crude settled down $9.50 , or 11.6%, to $72.72 a barrel, a weekly decline of more than 8%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $10.24 on Friday, or 13.1%, at $68.15 a barrel, declining more than 10.4% on the week in high volume trading after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. "The market is factoring in a worst case scenario situation in which this variant causes massive demand destruction," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Both contracts fell to a fifth week of losses and their steepest falls in absolute terms since April 2020, when WTI turned negative for the first time amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut. News of the variant caused ructions in a market previously caught between producer and consumer nations. "The biggest fear is that it will be resistant to vaccines and be a massive setback for countries that have reaped the benefits from their rollouts," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. OPEC+ is also monitoring developments around the variant, sources said on Friday, with some expressing concern that it may worsen the oil market outlook less than a week before a meeting to set policy. read more Scientists have so far only detected the Omicron variant in relatively small numbers, mainly in South Africa but also in Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel, but they are concerned by its high number of mutations which could make it vaccine-resistant and more transmissible. read more Drug makers Pfizer and BioNTech said if necessary they would be able to redesign their shot within 6 weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days. read more South Africa's foreign ministry said it would speak to Britain to try to get it to reconsider its travel ban. "Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries," Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement. Oil prices rose early in the week as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) suggested it could taper production in response to a strategic release from large consuming countries that are members of the International Energy Agency. read more Such a release was likely to swell supplies in coming months, an OPEC source said, based on findings of a panel of experts that advises OPEC ministers. read more The forecasts cloud the outlook for a Dec. 2 meeting when the group will discuss whether to adjust its plan to increase output by 400,000 barrels per day in January and beyond. "OPEC's initial assessment of the co-ordinated (stockpile) release and the sudden appearance of a new variant of the coronavirus raises serious concerns about economic growth and the oil balance in coming months," PVM analyst Tamas Varga said. ______________________________________ If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been identified in a citizen from Italy's southern Campania region, who returned to Milan from Mozambique "some days ago," Italian news agency ANSA has reported. The patient, an employee at an international company, "had been vaccinated with two doses," ANSA reported. On Sunday, the Campania region said in a statement that a "citizen returning from southern Africa has tested positive, as did his family of five people ...All his contacts have been immediately placed in isolation as a precautionary measure." "The genome was sequenced at ... Sacco Hospital in Milan from a positive sample taken from an individual coming from Mozambique. The patient and his family contacts are in good health," said the National Institute of Health on Saturday. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2 to be "of concern," its most serious level, and officially gave it the Greek name Omicron. The WHO has asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to fight the new variant, Xinhua news agency reported. 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