China daily news

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden will express their deep concern about human rights violations in China in a joint statement to be released after a Japan-US summit next week, Japanese government sources said Saturday. The summit, scheduled for Friday in Washington, comes as the Biden administration ramps up criticism of China's treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and actions concerning Hong Kong. Suga has said those issues must be addressed based on basic human rights principles. It would be rare for Japanese and US leaders to single out human rights issues in China in a joint statement. Tokyo and Washington are now arranging the wording of the planned statement. It is almost certain that China would express strong protest against such a statement as interference in its domestic affairs. While the United States and Europe have imposed sanctions on China over the Uyghur issue, Japan remains cautious about following suit. Suga will ... » Learn More about Biden-Suga statement to express concern about human rights in China

Naga Sadhus (Hindu holy men) take a holy dip in the waters of the Ganges River on the day of Shahi Snan (royal bath) during the ongoing religious Kumbh Mela festival, in Haridwar on April 12, 2021. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP) NEW DELHI — Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked on Monday to take a holy bath in India’s Ganges river, even as the nation racked up the world’s highest tally of new daily coronavirus infections . With 168,912 new cases, India accounts for one in six of all new infections globally, although the figure is still well below the U.S. peak of nearly 300,000 new cases on Jan. 8. In the northern city of Haridwar, nearly a million devotees thronged the banks of the Ganges, a river many Hindus consider holy, to participate in the months-long ‘Kumbh Mela’ or pitcher festival. “The crowd here is surging…the police are continuously appealing to people to maintain social distancing,” police official Sanjay Gunjyal told Reuters at the site. By ... » Learn More about India’s daily coronavirus infections are world’s highest but crowds gather for festival

Shares in tech giant Alibaba climbed more than six percent Monday as the ecommerce titan reassured investors that a record $2.78 billion antitrust fine imposed by China would have little impact on its operations. However, concerns that officials had not finished with a crackdown on the sector weighed on big-name firms including Tencent and JD.com. Ant Group, whose planned record-shattering $35 billion Hong Kong-Shanghai IPO was shelved late last year amid the Chinese crackdown on Big Tech, separately announced a restructuring plan but vowed to "ensure business continuity". Regulators slapped Alibaba with the penalty on Saturday after a months-long probe concluded it had been abusing its dominant market position. But in a conference call to investors on Monday, Alibaba's board suggested the fine marked the end of the investigation, with chairman Daniel Zhang saying the penalty  would not have a "negative impact" on business operations. The government has cracked down on major ... » Learn More about Alibaba shares soar as it plays down hit from record $2.78 billion fine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Staff at the Russian prison holding hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are threatening to force feed him, his allies said on Monday, warning he had lost 15 kg since he arrived at the facility last month. Navalny, 44, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced a hunger strike at the end of March in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. They say they have offered him proper treatment, but that he has refused it, insisting that he wants to be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility, a request they have declined. Navalny, whom the West says has been wrongly jailed and should be freed, was moved to a prison clinic earlier this month after complaining of a high temperature and a bad cough. On Monday, his Twitter account, which his allies use to provide updates based on information from his lawyers who regularly visit him, said he ... » Learn More about Russian prison threatens to force feed hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny: allies

GENEVA (Reuters) -The COVAX vaccine facility has delivered nearly 38.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 102 countries and economies across six continents, six weeks after it began to roll out supplies, according to a statement on Thursday. The programme offers a lifeline to low-income countries in particular, allowing them in the first instance to inoculate health workers and others at high risk, even if their governments have not managed to secure vaccines from the manufacturers. But there have been some delays, the GAVI vaccine alliance and World Health Organization said in a statement. Reduced availability of delayed some deliveries in March and April, and much of the output of the Serum Institute of India, which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, is being kept in India, where daily infections surpassed 100,000 for the first time on Monday. The Caribbean island of St. Lucia became the 100th country to receive vaccines through COVAX. Iran, also battling a record rate of ... » Learn More about COVAX vaccines reach more than 100 countries, despite supply snags

Pattaya – A foreign couple got their pickup truck stuck when a portion of road near an under construction water drainage area gave way yesterday. Rescue workers were notified of the incident yesterday (April 11 th ) in North Pattaya. The Pattaya News arrived at the scene to find a white pickup truck stuck with both front wheels lodged in the road near a water drainage construction site. The road surface had been filled iin with some soil to make an entrance into a restaurant. The foreign couple told The Pattaya News they were heading to the restaurant during a rain storm yesterday. Their names were not released to the press. After the couple finished their meal, they were exiting from the restaurant in their pickup truck, when the road surface gave way. They came down from their pickup truck and called for help from emergency services. Law Enforcement officials said they will look into the cause of the collapse of the road and speak with the construction ... » Learn More about Foreign couple gets their pickup truck stuck after road gives way near under construction water drainage in Pattaya

IPOH: Ramadan bazaars are allowed in Perak, says state local government committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi. “Traders at the bazaars must strictly adhere to Covid-19 standard operating procedure. “All local councils will determine the locations for the bazaars and to ensure the SOP is followed, ” she said yesterday. Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said 25 locations in the city had been earmarked for the bazaars. “There will be 1,065 trading lots this year, with each to be placed about 3m apart. “Traders must wear face masks and gloves and are also required to get anti-typhoid jabs and attend food-handling courses, ” he said. He added that the city council’s public health and council services unit and enforcement department would be monitoring the bazaars to ensure SOP compliance. “There will be mandatory body temperature check and hand sanitisers at the entry point, ” Rumaizi said, adding that cashless payments would be introduced at most locations to ... » Learn More about Perak, Negri and Melaka allow bazaars

IT must now be said. The skeptics and Sinovac naysayers have been right all along. The Chinese vaccines against Covid-19 — be they Sinovac or Sinopharm — have low effectiveness rate and can reasonably be refused by prospective vaccinees on the grounds of efficacy and safety. According to The Associated Press, China’s top disease control official has admitted to the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines. Gao Fu, the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines is low, and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” he said at a conference in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Saturday. The official admission seems incongruous with the current primacy of President Xi Jinping as Chinese leader. Mr. Xi has been unbending and unyielding on his policy decisions even when they turn out to be duds as with his missteps in claiming all of the ... » Learn More about From the horse’s mouth: Chinese vaccines have low effectiveness

BACOLOD CITY –– Amid requests for a stricter quarantine status, Negros Occidental will remain under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) until April 30. Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he was informed that Negros Occidental could not revert to general community quarantine (GCQ) because its COVID-19 infections had not reached the required level for that classification. Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III relayed to him the message that the COVID-19 average daily attack rate should be seven percent and above, and the two-week daily growth rate should be 200 percent to be considered at high risk. Densing said Negros Occidental’s average daily attack rate as of April 8 was at 1.97 percent, and its two-week daily growth rate was 107 percent which was considered moderate. Lacson, however, pointed out that the COVID-19 situation in the province had been alarming and that the number of infections was rising. “Why do we have to wait for 200 percent (growth rate) or a ... » Learn More about Negros Occidental remains under MGCQ despite rising COVID-19 cases

Banglamung, Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand – A driver and his passenger who survived after their car overturned in Banglamung today believe they have been helped by the driver’s special famous religious amulets. Rescue workers were notified of the accident at 6:00 A.M. this morning (April 12 th ) in the Baan Pusai – Khao Maikaew sub-strict. Police, rescue workers and The Pattaya News arrived at the scene to find the overturned white sedan on the side of the road in heavy undergrowth. The driver, Mr. Jujin Petchatananon, 54, and his passenger Mr. Kitsada Jantarat, 33, both escaped the wreckage without a single scratch. Mr. Kritsada told The Pattaya News, “When we arrived at a curve that was poorly lit just before dawn, we lost control of the vehicle before crashing into the brush and overturning.” “We believe that we have been protected from injury by my famous religious amulets that were on my necklace and have been in my family for generations, protecting my ancestors ... » Learn More about Two people survive Pattaya accident with no injuries, claim religious amulets saved them