Organisers pledged to stage safe Games through a strict hygiene protocol. But despite all the assurances, doubts and worries persist…reports Asian Lite News
Around 10,000 volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have quit, partly due concern over coronavirus infections, Japanese organisers said on Wednesday.
“There is no doubt that one of the reasons is the concern over coronavirus infections,” organising committee chief executive Toshiro Muto told reporters in Tokyo.
Olympic organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have pledged to stage safe Games through a strict hygiene protocol. But despite all the assurances, doubts and worries persist, reports DPA.
Volunteers, who make up the largest group of participants, don’t know whether they will be tested, let alone vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“There is zero information about that,” Barbara Holthus, deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, said in an interview. She has signed up as a volunteer for the Olympics.
Another reason pointed by the organisers for the withdrawal of so many volunteers is the Games’ postponement by a year, now set to start on July 23.
Around 1,000 volunteers have also withdrawn in protest against the sexist comments by former organising committee president Yoshiro Mori, who resigned following the scandal.
The 10,000 withdrawals are from the 80,000 volunteers for the competition sites, but organisers say they don’t expect any problems because of that due to the absence of foreign fans.
The support ship Kharg sank on Wednesday morning near the southern Iranian port of Jask on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz….reports Asian Lite News
Iran’s large navy ship Kharg caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Following the spread of the fire on the vessel, the crew safely disembarked, the report said, adding that efforts to save the ship failed, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The support ship Kharg sank on Wednesday morning near the southern Iranian port of Jask on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel has been used in training missions for more than four decades, said the report. It did not give details on the cause of the blaze.
Last week, Indonesia has released an Iranian oil tanker seized by the country’s coast guards earlier this year.
The MT Horse, belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company that had been detained in Indonesian waters since January 24, was released on Friday.
The vessel was released after a legal battle and efforts by senior Iranian officials and “has now resumed its mission”, it added.
In January, Indonesia announced that its coast guard had “seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels for suspected illegal oil transfer in the country’s waters”.
A spokesman for the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, Colonel Bakamla Wisnu Pramadita, claimed the two tankers concealed their identity by not showing their national flags, turning off automatic identification systems and did not respond to a radio call, the Tehran-based Press TV reported.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said at the time that Tehran was “waiting for more reports from the Indonesian government on the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker”.
Herzog, 60, beat former headmistress Miriam Peretz to replace President Reuven Rivlin, who was elected in 2014, reports Asian Lite News
Israel’s parliament elected the even-keeled Labor veteran Isaac Herzog as its 11th president Wednesday, a vote that came as opposition lawmakers scrambled to forge a coalition to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog, 60, beat former headmistress Miriam Peretz to replace President Reuven Rivlin, who was elected in 2014 to the largely ceremonial position decided by the parliament, or Knesset.
Wednesday’s presidential vote came as Israeli politicians from across the spectrum were holding 11th-hour negotiations to cobble together a new administration aimed at ending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s 12 straight years in office.
Benjamin Netanyahu
The Israeli presidency exerts little power, primarily meeting with party leaders after legislative elections and tasking candidates with forming governments. It is the country’s prime minister who wields actual executive authority.
But the president does have the ability to grant pardons — a potentially important function as Netanyahu faces trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
Herzog, who will assume his position on July 9, succeeded over Peretz, 67, a former headmistress who lost two children in Israel’s wars and is known as “the mother of sons”.
The scion of one of Israel’s most prestigious families, Herzog was first elected to parliament in 2003, but was most recently leading the para-governmental Jewish Agency for Israel, an organisation focused on relations with Jewish immigrants and the diaspora.
His election on the day that could see Netanyahu’s rivals make moves to take him down is fitting: in 2015 Herzog carried out a bid to oust the premier, presenting himself as a modest, diplomatic contrast to the bombastic “Bibi”.
The son of Chaim Herzog — Israel’s sixth president and a former ambassador to the United Nations — and nephew of the famed diplomat and statesman Abba Eban, the new president supports the two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians.
During his 2015 campaign he vowed to relaunch a peace process, even saying he was prepared to “remove” Israeli settlements if necessary.
This was two weeks before his first meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels on June 14….reports Asian Lite News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned the United States that it risked “losing a precious friend”, according to media reports.
Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT on Tuesday that “those who corner the Republic of Turkey will lose a precious friend”.
This was two weeks before his first meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels on June 14.
The relations between the two NATO countries have further worsened after US, in its report, highlighted Turkey’s dire human rights record.
“If the United States is indeed our ally, should they side with the terrorists or with us? Unfortunately, they continue to support the terrorists,” reports quoted Erdogan as saying.
Erdogan had previously indicated he intended to mend ties with Biden, last week saying their meeting will be a “harbinger of a new era” in US-Turkey relations.
US President Joe Biden (Photo @POTUS – Twitter)
After taking office in January, Biden waited for three months to call the Turkish leader in April, and that too was also on the eve of recognising the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman empire during World War I.
Last month, Erdogan had condemned Biden for approving the sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel.
The US President was “writing history with bloody hands in this incident where Gaza was attacked disproportionately,” Erdogan said at a press conference elaborating on recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.
“You have forced us to say this. We can’t stay silent on this anymore,” he added.
“Palestinian lands are being washed with blood and cruelty. You are also supporting this,” Erdogan noted.
The concerns were raised in a discussion on Washington’s defence cooperation with Lebanon…reports Asian Lite News
A US Defence Department official has warned of the threat posed by Hezbollah to Lebanon’s stability amid the economic crisis wracking the country, according to reports.
The concerns were raised in a discussion on Washington’s defence cooperation with Lebanon, the Arab News reported.
“Hezbollah’s terrorist and illicit activities threaten Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the Arab News quoted Dana Stroul, deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East, as saying at a conference hosted by the Middle East Institute.
“It (Hezbollah) is more concerned with its own interests than what is best for the Lebanese people,” he added.
The US has provided support for more than 15 years to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), but the increasing influence of the terrorist-designated Hezbollah in Lebanese politics has strained the partnership.
Last week, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that his country looked forward to strengthening bilateral ties with Syria in all areas.
His remarks were included in a letter sent to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to congratulate the latter on winning his fourth seven-year term in last week’s presidential election.
“I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of your re-election as the president of the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic, hoping efforts will continue in the next phase to stabilize your country and restore cohesion among all its areas,” Aoun said.
The Lebanese leader also confirmed deep historical ties between the two countries.
He also wished for the return of the displaced Syrians to their homeland to participate in the development of Syria.
Netanyahu says ready to risk friction with US over Iran
Embattled Israel PM says he is prepared to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities even if the US and other nations succeed in reinstating the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he is prepared to risk tension with the US if that is what it takes to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
The embattled premier, whose political future is in question just 11 days out from a bruising war, said Israel’s biggest threat remains the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran.
He said Israel is prepared to prevent that from happening even if the United States and other nations succeed in reinstating the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.
“If we have to choose, I hope it doesn’t happen, between friction with our great friend the United States and eliminating the existential threat — eliminating the existential threat” wins, Netanyahu said.
US President Joe Biden
He spoke at a ceremony for David Barnea, the new chief of Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Iran has accused Israel of being behind a number of attacks killing Iranian nuclear scientists or sabotaging Iranian nuclear facilities.
Netanyahu’s comments come amid ongoing talks in Vienna between nations seeking to update and reinstate the 2015 agreement, in line with President Joe Biden’s campaign promise. His predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, pulled the US out of the accord in 2018 and imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The deal places curbs on Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions.
Netanyahu staunchly opposes the agreement, arguing that it does not have enough safeguards to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Israel also says the deal must address Iran’s support for militant groups, its military actions across the region and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and says the nuclear deal should be reinstated without any changes.
Netanyahu spoke about Iran on Tuesday as his rivals in the Knesset huddled to try to form a coalition government that would end Netanyahu’s 12-year rule.
The developments come amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas’ militant rulers in the Gaza Strip after a brutal 11-day war that killed more than 250 people, most of them Palestinian.
Hamas, which opposes Israel’s right to exist and is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US and other Western countries, receives millions of dollars of military aid from Iran each year.
The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) of China owes its origin to the Communist Party’s 1950 consolidation of people’s militia groups comprising mainly fishermen and coastal workers of China, writes Prof. Carl Schuster
According to reports, China recently warned the United States that it will face defeat if the two superpowers go to war. This warning is a testimony to what China thinks about its military might.
The threat to the US has come from China in response to the joint military exercise carried out by the US, Japan, Australia, and France last week amidst tension in the East China Sea. Tension is also mounting in the South China Sea with the Philippines refusing to withdraw vessels from the disputed territory.
China’s Maritime Militia are very often a party in these disputes due to its bullying tactics along the maritime boundary with Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan. The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) of China owes its origin to the Communist Party’s 1950 consolidation of people’s militia groups comprising mainly fishermen and coastal workers of China.
Its initial role was confined to keeping a close eye on People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s coastal waters and reporting any suspected activities to the Chinese Army (PLA). These militia were recruited, trained, and equipped by the party’s Bureau of Aquatic Products, which authorize former PLA officers [TS1] to train and direct the militias’ operations.
These militia groups operated very close to the maritime boundary till the 1960s. However, their activities started expanding in subsequent years. They started bullying South Vietnamese fishermen in Paracel and Spratly islands in the late 1960s. Their first major victory came in January 1974 when they seized South Vietnam’s Paracel Islands. They engaged the South Vietnam Naval unit with 400 militia troops and captured the islands. This island remained with China ever since.
The PAFMM have been leading the PRC’s bullying in the East and South China Sea from the early 1980s. They threaten the Vietnamese and Filipino fishing ships, which are small, slow, and less robust. The militia threatens these fishing boats with small arms and attacks them with high pressure water cannons, very often sinking them. This is particularly true for Vietnamese fishing vehicles. The Chinese Coast Guards are often seen helping these militia groups in their nefarious activities.
In fact, due to the early gains by this militia unit, China built ‘fishing shelters’ to protect their fishermen in the Spratly islands. Their activities increased further after the US Navy pulled out of the Philippines in 1994. With the help of the PLA, the PAFMM isolated all the neighbouring countries and captured Mischief Reef and Scarborough Shoal. This compelled the US to follow a proactive strategy and support the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Despite all these activities by PAFMM, the Chinese government headed by Chairman Xi Jinping has never accepted any link between PAFMM and China’s military. They claim that they are fishermen. This enables the PRC to deny any involvement of the Chinese government in these scuffles.
The PAFMM do not regularly use firearms or other military weapons so their actions cannot be called an ‘act of war’ which might trigger retaliation. It may also compel Manila to seek US support under the US-Philippine Mutual Defence Treaty. That is why the US calls PRC’s actions ‘Grey Zone Operations’, which means they are acts of aggression, but fall short of military actions that would risk triggering a military response.
The PAFMM still continues with its activities in the East and South China Sea. For occupying an uninhabited island, the PAFMM does the initial seizure posing as fishermen. When other countries confront them with their Coast Guards or other law enforcement agencies, they find themselves confronting an armed militia, which is fully backed by China’s Coast Guard or Navy. The situation can escalate into a full-fledged war if the other party insists on vacating the island.
Such is the highhandedness of China that when an International Arbitration held the Chinese occupation illegal, it refused to abide by the judgment saying all nations should ‘respect’ international law.
At the time of the real war PAFMM may shift to supporting roles like defensive mining. They did this during the PLA Navy exercise in 2014. They would act as one of the many eyes of the fleet, land militia troops in remote areas or covertly land troops before the actual war starts.
A unit of the People’s Armed Forces, PAFMM operates under direct military command for carrying out state-sponsored activities. Although they are locally supported but report to the head of China’s military — Commander-in-Chief Xi Jinping.
The exact number of fishing vessels possessed by PAFMM is not known, but estimates put the figure at around 350, out of which 225 are deployed in the South China Sea. Their vessel hulls are made up of reinforced steel, which are very strong. On the other hand, most of the other fishing vessels in the South China Sea are made of wood or other light materials. The PAFMM vessels are faster, which puts them at an advantageous position in an encounter.
They can ‘bump’ the enemy’s vessel at will with little risk of damaging their own strong hull.
Most of the fishermen from other countries are unarmed, but PAFMM vessels have small arms and, in some cases, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and machine guns. They are rarely used but are available on the vessels.
The PAFMM vessels have water cannons mounted above the pilot house. They aim the spray at the other vessels’ pilot house to blind the crew, but sometimes they aim it at the engine exhaust. Cold sea water hitting a hot engine tends to damage the engine, leaving the craft non-functional in the water. The PAFMM vessel can then do what it wants — bump, ram or just leave.
China places greater importance to claims on the South China Sea because of its strategic location. The political and strategic payoff is bigger in the South China Sea compared to the East China Sea and the risks and operational difficulties are less. The South China Sea is easier to dominate. The PAFMM base in Sanya is closer to the disputed territories in the South China Sea than the PAFMM base in Guangzhou to the Senkaku. They must pass through Taiwan to reach Senkaku.
The PRC’s military bases and airfields are closer to the disputed territory in the South China Sea than they are from the US bases in Japan. The East China Sea is not strategically located. The US and Chinese bases are equidistant from Senkaku. Also, Japan’s Coast Guard is stronger than those of Vietnam and the Philippines, China’s main target in the South China Sea. The PAFMM gets greater support in the South China Sea from the Chinese military establishments compared to the East China Sea.
China wants to dominate the South China Sea because that would give Beijing strategic advantage against Taiwan and Japan, before risking a conflict over the Senkaku. Xi always goes for an easy target that he believes can be achieved with minimal risk and costs.
Traditional thought in Chinese military believes in isolating the enemy and establishing an advantageous geo-political and military superiority before engaging in a war. Also, the best leader is the one who achieves ‘victory’ without fighting. China has secured much of the South China Sea and is using the PAFMM to expand its control without firing a shot. It has worked so far. However, doing that around the Senkaku may prove to be difficult and expensive.
(Commissioned out of the NROTC unit at the University of South Carolina in 1974, Captain Schuster served in a variety of US and international posts both at sea and ashore before his retirement in 1999. He was a qualified Joint Staff Officer, Foreign Area Officer and Strategic Planner at retirement. The views expressed are personal).
Both Pakistan and Russia have been working to materialise Putin’s visit….reports Asian Lite News
After Pakistan and Russia signed a fresh agreement to lay a gas pipeline, prospects of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting Islamabad for the very first time were on the cards.
The project, previously named The North-South Gas Pipeline, has now been renamed as Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline, in which a gas pipeline will be laid from Pakistan’s Karachi city to Kasur.
It is a flagship project between the two countries, which intends to remove the memories of rivalry of the Cold War and bring both countries on the road to bilateral ties.
Both Pakistan and Russia have been working to materialise Putin’s visit.
In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Islamabad after a gap of at least nine years.
As per official details, Lavrov came with a message that Moscow was willing to extend all possible help to Islamabad and create pathways for bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has already extended a formal invitation to President Putin.
Experts have said that with the signing of the Pakistan Steam Pipeline agreement, the visit of President Putin has become even more significant and important.
Pakistan is anxious to have President Putin inaugurate the groundbreaking of the gas pipeline project, which is expected to be held later this year or in early 2022.
Pakistan and Russia are also seeking more avenues of cooperation.
As per sources, Russia is keen on selling arms to Pakistan, something it avoided in the past because of opposition by India.
It is pertinent to mention that both countries have been holding regular joint military exercises since 2016.
Russia and Pakistan are also in close contact in the peace process and ongoing regional security issues including Afghanistan.
The Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline is a stepping-stone in normalisation of relations between the two countries, which has been strained for years due to Cold War rivalry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
The project was originally signed in 2015. However, it could not be initiated due to possible sanctions by the US on Russian companies.
Initially, Russia was to built 100 per cent of the pipeline under the “build, operate and transfer” model.
However, with the new and amended agreement, Pakistan will have at least 74 per cent stakes.
The total cost of the project is around $2.25 billion. It will be beneficial in meeting the gas shortage in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Analysts say that the project not only has economic significance but also holds great strategic importance for Pakistan.
Once the Bangladesh newspapers disclosed the vaccine price, it became an issue in Sri Lanka, which is supposedly paying US $15 per dose for the same vaccine….reports Rahul Kumar
China pricing its Sinopharm vaccine differently for its different partners in South Asia has raised a ruckus. Allegations that Bangladesh is paying US $10 per dose while Sri Lanka is paying US $15 per dose for the Sinopharm vaccine has sparked a debate in both the countries.
In a news report, Bangladesh newspaper, The Daily Star, said that Bangladesh is buying 1.5 crore doses of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine, which has been approved by the cabinet committee on government purchase. The newspaper added: “Immediately after the meeting, chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, a Cabinet Division official told reporters at a briefing that they were purchasing the vaccine at $10 per dose.”
Once the Bangladesh newspapers disclosed the vaccine price, it became an issue in Sri Lanka, which is supposedly paying US $15 per dose for the same vaccine.
Interestingly, the pricing of the vaccine has now become an issue in Bangladesh as well. Once the news reports were out about the pricing and the quantity in Bangladesh, the Finance Ministry had to send out a text message to reporters requesting them not to mention the price in the “greater interest of the country”.
Also, Bangladesh Health Minister Zahid Maleque declined to disclose the price of the vaccine. He said: “As the purchase committee has approved the proposal, we hope that the procurement agreement between the two countries will be signed very soon”.
On the other hand, Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror quoted Professor Channa Jayasumana, State Minister for Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals that there is no such agreement between China and Bangladesh to give the vaccine at $10 to Bangladesh. He added that the procurement agreement for Bangladesh is still under discussion.
Providing a price comparison between vaccines that Sri Lanka has bought till now, the newspaper said: “A stock of 20 million of China’s Sinopharm vaccines is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka next month. It is reported that Sri Lanka has purchased one dose of the vaccines for $15. However, Sri Lanka is reported to have purchased one dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for $5.50.”
The Sri Lankan government too had to fire-fight the controversy over vaccine prices.
Dr Asela Gunawardena, Sri Lanka’s DG of Health Services rose to defend the government, saying that the country had obtained the Sinopharm vaccines at the minimum cost. He said: “The prices of COVID-19 vaccines range from US $18-$40. The prices are subject to changes due to numerous reasons”.
As the media raised the price issue, and the social media set it further aflame in both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the Chinese embassy in Colombo stepped in to control the damage.
In a tweet, the embassy said that it clarified the pricing with the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh and Sinopharm. The tweet said: “We checked with Chinese Embassy in Dhaka as well as #Sinopharm group. FYI: Bangladesh Health Minister has clarified last week that their procurement agreement including pricing is not finalized yet. The fake news on social media has already disturbed their ongoing negotiation.” Besides this statement, the tweet was accompanied with a “Fake News” banner.
Chinese vaccines have been caught in a web of controversy. Covid-19 vaccines from China have been battling allegations from various quarters that these are not effective enough. The controversy was further compounded in April when George Gau – the head of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) himself said at a press conference in April, that: “We will solve the problem that current vaccines don’t have very high protection rates”.
The Sinopharm vaccine had been granted emergency approval by the World Health Organization (WHO) only on May 7 this year, to alleviate the global vaccine crunch. The idea behind granting recognition to the Chinese vaccine also was to address the issue of vaccine inequity as the developed world had cornered the global supply of vaccines.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Most of the current hot spots are clustered in China, where a growing demand for meat products has driven the expansion of large-scale…reports Asian Lite News
China, Japan, Philippines and Thailand may turn into “hotspots” favourable for bats that carry coronaviruses and conditions in these places could become ripe for the disease to jump from bats to humans, finds a new study.
The study, published in the journal Nature Food, showed that this is because of the global land-use changes including forest fragmentation, agricultural expansion and concentrated livestock production.
Most of the current hot spots are clustered in China, where a growing demand for meat products has driven the expansion of large-scale, industrial livestock farming.
Further, parts of Japan, the north Philippines and China south of Shanghai are also at risk of becoming hot spots with further forest fragmentation, while parts of Indochina and Thailand may transition into hot spots with increases in livestock production, according to a team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Polytechnic University of Milan and Massey University of New Zealand.
Visitors are seen at the sightseeing spot Asakusa, in Tokyo, Japan, June 21, 2020. Japan on Friday completely lifted its request for people not to travel across prefectural lines, with the move met by a return of passengers to airports and train stations. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi/IANS)
“Land use changes can have an important impact on human health, both because we are modifying the environment, but also because they can increase our exposure to zoonotic disease,” said Paolo D’Odorico, Professor of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley.
While the exact origins of the SARS-CoV-2, virus that caused Covid-19, remain unclear, the disease likely emerged when a virus that infects horseshoe bats was able to jump to humans — either directly through wildlife-to-human contact, or indirectly by first infecting an intermediate animal host, such as the pangolin.
Horseshoe bats are known to carry a variety of coronaviruses, including strains that are genetically similar to ones that cause Covid-19 and SARS.
“While we are unable to directly trace the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from wildlife to humans, we do know that the type of land use change that brings humans into the picture is typically associated with the presence of these bats who are known to carry the virus,” D’Odorico said.
The study used remote sensing to analyse land use patterns throughout the horseshoe bat’s range, which extends from Western Europe through Southeast Asia.
