In the global race against emerging variants of COVID-19, experts say it’s imperative to reach herd immunity quickly by vaccinating as many people as possible. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports on the range of vaccines being used in the U.S. and elsewhere.
…
Month: March 2021
Waves, Smiles but No Cheers as Olympic Torch Relay Kicks Off Under Pandemic Shadow
With waves, smiles and streamers, but no cheers, the Olympic torch relay kicked off Thursday, beginning a four-month countdown to the postponed 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, the first ever organized during a deadly pandemic.
Casting a pall over celebrations already scaled back because of coronavirus measures, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles before the relay began in Fukushima, an area hit hard by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
“For the past year, as the entire world underwent a difficult period, the Olympic flame was kept alive quietly but powerfully,” Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said at an opening ceremony closed to spectators.
“The small flame did not lose hope, and just like the cherry blossom buds that are ready to bloom, it was waiting for this day,” Hashimoto said.
Foreign spectators won’t be allowed in stadiums and it remains unclear how many Japanese will be permitted to attend.
With organizers billing the games as the “Recovery Olympics,” a nod to the disaster as well as the pandemic, Thursday’s runners included many evacuees who fled their homes after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant.
“This town is where I was born and raised, and I never thought a torch relay would be held here,” said Takumi Ito, 31, in Futaba, one of the towns worst hit by the nuclear disaster.
“We are still in the coronavirus pandemic, but I think it’s great we could hold the relay.”
Japan has fared better than most countries, with about 9,000 coronavirus deaths, but Tokyo reported 420 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day figure this month. Polls show the majority of the public oppose holding the Olympics as scheduled.
About 10,000 runners will take part in the four-month relay, which will go through all Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Tokyo 2020 organizing committee executive Toshiro Muto said the first day of the relay had gone smoothly and organizers were able to maintain adequate social distancing among spectators.
Asked by a reporter what organizers planned to do if prefectures where runs are planned declare states of emergency over the spread of the virus, Muto said they would consider alternative celebrations instead of the relay.
No Crowds or Cheering
The relay, culminating with the Olympic opening ceremony on July 23, has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities and top-level athletes have pulled out, citing late notice and worries over the pandemic.
The brief, solemn opening ceremony was held at J-Village in Fukushima, a sports complex converted into a staging ground for workers decommissioning the crippled nuclear power plant.
“For the torch relay viewing, please ensure you are wearing a mask, keep proper distance, don’t stand close to each other and support with things like clapping, instead of using a loud voice,” an announcer said.
Members of the Japanese women’s soccer team were the first to run with the flame, wearing white uniforms decorated with red.
The number of spectators, some waving Olympic flags or carp-shaped cloth streamers, increased throughout the day, ranging from nursery school children in colorful caps to elderly people clapping in front of flowering spring trees.
Most stood far apart from each other on the side of the road and wore masks.
Some runners grinned and posed as they handed off the torch, waving, while others set off to the beat of traditional Japanese drums. One man pushed himself in a wheelchair, the torch mounted in a bracket.
‘You Must Be Joking’
Though Games organizers in Tokyo and Lausanne insist the Olympics will go ahead, doctors and nurses have complained about the strain on hospitals and experts warn about the spread of virus variants.
Japan was the last of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to launch a vaccine drive. Only 700,000 people have been inoculated so far, mostly medical workers.
After the torch relay finished for the day, dozens of protesters gathered in downtown Tokyo, holding placards calling on Japan to scrap the event.
Toshio Miyazaki, 60, who organized the anti-Olympics rally, said he was worried about the spread of the virus due to visiting athletes and officials.
“It’s meaningless to hold the Olympics that no one supports,” said Miyazaki, who works for Tokyo’s metropolitan government.
Japan has spent nearly $300 billion to revive the Fukushima region, but many locals are apprehensive about the Games, as some areas remain off-limits, worries about radiation linger and many have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the stricken plant will take up to a century.
“Fukushima’s recovery is going steadily,” Fukushima governor Masao Uchibori said at the launch ceremony.
“But there are still many people who can’t return to their homes, and many difficult issues such as reviving these areas and rebuilding the lives of their residents,” he said.
A protester driving a van near the relay shouted over a loudspeaker, questioning how the Olympics could contribute to the region’s recovery.
“You must be joking,” the man yelled. “Everyone knows we can’t have the Olympics.”
…
Biden, COVID Vaccines Headline EU Summit
U.S. President Joe Biden makes a guest appearance at the European Union’s monthly summit Thursday, which will also be dominated by tensions over COVID-19 vaccinations and the pandemic’s latest surge in parts of the 27-member bloc.Discussions with Biden might be one of the few upbeat moments during this EU summit, taking place by videoconference because of coronavirus lockdowns in several member states. Both sides want to repair transatlantic ties that frayed under former president Donald Trump.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made that clear in Brussels Wednesday after meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“As President Biden has said, the United States will work closely with our allies and our European Union partners across the continent to address our shared challenges and to meet our shared goal of a Europe whole, free and in peace,” Blinken said.
The last U.S. leader to join an EU summit was former president Barack Obama in 2009.
EU leaders are also discussing ways to boost their vaccine supplies, amid a resurging pandemic in some places. They’re facing mounting criticism from European voters over the bloc’s slow vaccine rollout, which sees it lagging well behind the U.S. and a number of other countries.
The EU’s executive arm has proposed temporarily curbing vaccine exports to ensure its citizens have greater access—and equal treatment by other exporting nations, starting with ex-member Britain.
“Just since the introduction of the export authorization system, some 10 million doses have been exported from the EU to the UK and zero doses have been exported from the UK to the EU,” noted European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. “So if we discuss reciprocity, solidarity and global responsibility, so it’s clear that we also need to look at those aspects of reciprocity and proportionality.”
Britain warns against the EU’s proposed curbs, which are also dividing member states. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said countries need to work together in confronting the pandemic.
“I will make it clear at our meeting this week that I do not support actions that would disrupt vital supply chains and undermine vaccine production when the situation remains so fragile,” Martin said.
Some EU countries also want changes to the bloc’s current method of distributing vaccines —another divisive issue that also promises to make this summit a difficult one.
…
Cameroon Record Seller Keeps Vinyl Alive With Unique Collection
Cameroonian music lover Paul Tchana opened a tiny record shop in the early 80s and built a collection of more than 5,000 original vinyl records. When compact discs arrived, his little record store struggled but eventually became a kind of museum, with customers going there to learn about music history. Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this report by Anne Nzouankeu in Yaounde.
…
Russia Launches COVID Disinformation Campaign, Targets Western Vaccines
U.S. officials say Russian state media is citing false reports to undermine faith in Western COVID vaccines to promote Russia’s own Sputnik V vaccine. Daria Dieguts has the story.Camera: Artyom Kokhan
…
AstraZeneca Issues Revised Information on COVID-19 Vaccine
The ongoing drama surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford took another turn late Wednesday when the drugmaker released updated information about its effectiveness.The new information, based on its late-stage clinical trial involving more than 30,000 participants in the United States, shows the two-dose regimen is 76% effective in preventing symptomatic coronavirus.The latest figures revised an announcement made by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant on Monday that the vaccine was 79% effective against the virus. Those claims were thrown into doubt just hours later when a key U.S. government oversight agency, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, said AstraZeneca “may have included outdated information” from the late-stage clinical trial, “which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.”The statement from the independent board of experts was just the latest setback for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which has had a troubled international rollout. Several European countries had recently stopped use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because of reports that it was associated with blood clots in recipients. South Africa stopped using the shot due to concerns about its efficacy against a local variant of the virus. The country sold at least a million of its Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccines to the African Union.However, the European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug approval body, has said the vaccine is safe and does not raise the overall risk of blood clots. Canada’s federal health agency announced Wednesday that it is updating the label on vials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with information about “very rare reports of blood clots,” but continued to stand by the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness against COVID-19.The World Health Organization has subsequently recommended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against variants of the coronavirus, and said it considers the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks.The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been the leading choice in the developing world because of its low cost and simple storage requirements.The latest twist in the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine saga comes as the United States and Brazil reach new milestones in the yearlong pandemic. According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. has now surpassed 30 million total cases, the most of any nation, while Brazil has gone beyond the 300,000 fatality mark.Globally, more than 124.6 million people have been infected, including more than 2.7 million deaths.
…
Hong Kong Vaccination Drive Struggles to Gain Public Trust
Hong Kong’s sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust.Hong Kong on Wednesday suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on bottles were found in one of two batches of the vaccine.For now, Hong Kong residents can only get the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, which is reported to have an efficacy rate of 62%, compared with Pfizer’s 97%. Wariness toward the Sinovac shot has grown after seven people who were vaccinated with it died, though authorities say the deaths were not linked to the vaccine.When the government launched the vaccination drive in February, 66-year-old Chan Yuet Lin was eager to get inoculated. A mainland Chinese immigrant in the semi-autonomous city, she hoped vaccination would help her eventually visit her family in the Chinese mainland, whom she had not seen since the pandemic began, without enduring onerous quarantines.But after seeing reports on television that several people with chronic illnesses had died days after having the Sinovac vaccine, Chan decided against getting inoculated.”I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Right now with my health condition I don’t think I can get the shot, I will wait and see,” she said, adding that she planned to seek her doctor’s advice at her next appointment.Since vaccinations began on Feb. 26, about 5.7% of Hong Kong’s 7.2 million residents have gotten inoculated — a far cry from a goal of vaccinating 70%. The slow uptake trails Singapore’s. It started giving COVID-19 shots just days before Hong Kong and has administered vaccines to more than 13% of its population of 5.7 million.The government has expanded the range of people who can get the shots, allowing those 30 and above after initially prioritizing those 60 and older, and employees from essential industries. It is considering giving the shots to anyone older than 16.Slow progress on vaccinations could slow the city’s economic recovery. Hong Kong is still grappling with coronavirus outbreaks and stringent social distancing measures that are especially hard on bars, restaurants and the tourism industry. The jobless rate climbed to 7.2% in February, the highest level since 2004.Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and health officials are urging people to get vaccinated. They insist the shots, including the Sinovac vaccine, are safe. Hong Kong, a former British colony, relies heavily on tourism but has been closed to foreign visitors since March 2020 and Lam has said social distancing precautions and border controls can only be relaxed after most people have gotten the shots.”If we can’t control the epidemic, there’s nothing we can do about the economy,” she told lawmakers last week.In this Monday, March. 22, 2021, photo, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam receives the second dose of the Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine at a Central Government office in Hong Kong.Hesitancy toward the vaccines partly reflects growing mistrust of the government, as Beijing has asserted growing influence following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Authorities have arrested and jailed dozens of pro-democracy activists under a tough new national security law.Some residents are worried by the seven deaths that occurred after Sinovac shots.”According to the government, none of the deaths are related to the vaccine. Most of the patients had cardiovascular conditions, so there must be some association, but the government seems to be trying to dissociate it,” said Belinda Lin, a Hong Kong resident in her 30s.”It’s an issue of responsibility, the willingness to take responsibility – I haven’t seen this yet,” said Lin, who does not plan to get the vaccine as she says there is a lack of studies showing long-term effects.”From what we’ve seen in the news so far it seems like people have more side effects from the (Sinovac) vaccine that’s less effective,” said Agnes Wong, a sales executive in Hong Kong who also had no immediate plans to get vaccinated.Unease over the vaccines, which were developed in under a year using varying levels of clinical trials, are not confined to Hong Kong.In Europe, reports of problems with blood clotting following the AstraZeneca shot raised concerns. So have questions over some of AstraZeneca’s clinical data.The number of people who have booked but failed to show up for their Sinovac vaccine appointments currently stands at around 20%, up from about 11% a week into the program. That compares with a 5% no-show rate for the Pfizer shot before those were halted.A staff member in a protective suit directs a HSBC staff to a temporary testing center for COVID-19 near the entrance to the HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong, March 17, 2021.Martin Wong, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-authored a survey published in January that showed only 37% of Hong Kong residents were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. He says the technology used, a manufacturer’s track record and reports of side effects can all affect willingness to get the shots.The government has advised people with chronic illnesses to ask their doctors before getting the COVID-19 vaccines. That can be difficult for many underprivileged Hong Kong seniors, said Ivan Lin from the rights advocacy group Society of Community Organization.”The public health system should be more proactive in providing advice,” said Lin. “For many of these elderly, their long-term illnesses are taken care of by public hospitals where appointments take place every three months, so they are not able to get (timely) medical advice.”Policies that would reward people for getting vaccinated are essential, says Wong.”New incentives may be required such as exemptions from certain travel bans or issuance of a certificate of vaccination that can be used for different purposes,” he said.Lam, the city’s leader, has said the government might considering such measures, such as relaxing certain social distancing restrictions. Hong Kong is also discussing with Chinese authorities on easing restrictions for travelers who are vaccinated.That might work for some.Bilal Hussain, a doctoral student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, signed up to receive his first shot of the Sinovac vaccine after learning that China had eased its policy to allow foreign workers and their families to apply for visas into the country.Hussain’s wife and 5-year-old son are in China. He hasn’t seen them since January 2020.”I’m hoping that maybe in the near future, China will open up their borders for students who have been vaccinated,” he said.
…
Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay Starts in Fukushima’s Shadow
The Olympic torch relay will start in Fukushima on Thursday, kicking off a four-month countdown to the Summer Games in Tokyo, delayed from 2020 and the first-ever organized during a global pandemic. Some 10,000 runners will take the torch across Japan’s 47 prefectures, including far-flung islands, starting from the site of the 2011 quake and tsunami that killed about 20,000 people, highlighting the government’s “Reconstruction Olympics” theme. The first section will not have spectators to avoid large crowds, and roadside onlookers elsewhere will have to wear masks and socially distance along the way as Japan battles the deadly virus and scrambles to vaccinate its people. Casting a pall over the celebrations, North Korea on Thursday launched at least two projectiles suspected to be ballistic missiles, officials in the region said, the first such test reported since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga assured reporters in Tokyo the government was cooperating with the Tokyo metropolitan government and the International Olympic Committee to host a secure Games.Local people wait for torchbearers to arrive at the torch relay route of the first section of the Fukushima Torch Relay in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 25, 2021.”We will do our utmost in terms of coronavirus measures and continue to work with related areas to contain the spread of infections and hope to work towards a safe and secure Games,” Suga said. The starting ceremony will be held at J-Village in Fukushima, a sports complex converted into a staging ground for workers decommissioning the crippled nuclear power plant that caused tens of thousands to flee. On Thursday, members of the Japanese national women’s soccer team will use the Olympic flame, flown in from Greece, to light the torch. The relay, which will culminate with the Olympic opening ceremony on July 23, has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities and top-level athletes have pulled out, citing late notice and worries over the pandemic. The opening ceremony — originally planned for thousands of fans as a celebration of Japan’s recovery — will be closed to the public. It will feature a drum concert and dance performances by a group of residents from Fukushima, followed by a children’s choir. Japan has fared better than most countries during the pandemic, with fewer than 9,000 coronavirus deaths. But a third wave of infections has pushed the numbers to record highs, triggering a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas that was lifted this week.The majority of the public are against the Olympics being held as scheduled, polls show, and Japan is the slowest among advanced economies with its vaccination rollout. At Fukushima, J-Village will be decorated with local flowers arranged using Japan’s traditional ikebana techniques. Japan has spent nearly $300 billion to revive the disaster-hit region. But many locals are apprehensive about the Games, as areas around the plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning will take up to a century and cost billions of dollars.
…
Lakers Great and Hall of Famer Baylor Dies Aged 86
Former Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers forward Elgin Baylor died of natural causes at the age of 86 on Monday, the NBA franchise announced.Baylor, the number one draft pick in 1958 and Rookie of the Year in 1959, spent 14 seasons with the Lakers. He is enshrined in the Hall of Fame and was considered one of the greatest players to never win a championship.A gifted shooter and rebounder despite his 6 ft 5 in frame, Baylor still held the record for most individual points in a single game in the NBA Finals when he scored 61 points against Lakers’ arch rivals, the Boston Celtics, in 1962.”Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend. And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans,” his wife Elaine said in a statement.Baylor’s number 22 jersey was retired and hangs in the rafters of Staples Center while the 11-times NBA All-Star was immortalized in a statue that stands outside the arena.”Elgin was THE superstar of his era, his many accolades speak to that,” Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss said.”He was one of the few Lakers players whose career spanned from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.”But more importantly he was a man of great integrity, even serving his country as a U.S. Army reservist, often playing for the Lakers only during his weekend pass.”After his retirement, Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz before he was hired as the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, spending 22 years in that role.”RIP to the NBA’s first high flyer, Lakers legend and Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor,” former Lakers guard and former team president Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.”Before there was Michael Jordan doing amazing things in the air, there was Elgin Baylor.”
…
Facebook Finds Chinese Hacking Operation Targeting Uyghurs
Hackers in China used fake Facebook accounts and impostor websites to try to break into the computers and smartphones of Uyghur Muslims, the social network said Wednesday.The company said the sophisticated covert operation targeted Uyghur activists, journalists and dissidents from China’s Xinjiang region, as well as individuals living in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Syria, Australia, Canada and other nations.The hackers tried to gain access to the computers and phones by creating fake Facebook accounts for supposed journalists and activists, as well as fake websites and apps intended to appeal to a Uyghur audience. In some cases, the hackers created lookalike websites almost identical to legitimate news sites popular with Uyghurs.The accounts and sites contained malicious links. If the targets clicked on them, their computers or smartphones would be infected with software allowing the network to spy on the targets’ devices.The software could obtain such information as victims’ locations, keystrokes and contacts, according to FireEye, a cybersecurity firm that worked on the investigation.Hundreds targetedIn all, fewer than 500 people were targeted by the hackers in 2019 and 2020, Facebook said. The company said it uncovered the network during its routine security work and has deactivated the fictitious accounts and notified individuals whose devices may have been compromised. Most of the hackers’ activities took place on non-Facebook sites and platforms.”They tried to create these personas, build trust in the community, and use that as a way to trick people into clicking on these links to expose their devices,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy.Facebook’s investigation found links between the hackers and two technology firms based in China but no direct links to the Chinese government, which has been criticized for its harsh treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. FireEye, however, said in a statement that “we believe this operation was conducted in support” of the Chinese government.China has imprisoned more than 1 million people, including Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, in a vast network of concentration camps, according to U.S. officials and human rights groups. People have been subjected to torture, sterilization and political indoctrination, in addition to forced labor, as part of an assimilation campaign in a region whose inhabitants are ethnically and culturally distinct from the Han Chinese majority.
…
EU Tightens Vaccine Exports to Ensure Supply for Europe
As expected, the European Union (EU) Wednesday announced it will tighten export controls to ensure that there are more COVID-19 shot supplies for its citizens as health officials say the pandemic is getting worse on the continent.At a news conference in Brussels, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said the plan is designed to guarantee that more vaccines produced in the Europe are available for its own citizens before they can be shipped for exports.EU and Pfizer-BioNTech Sign Deal for 4 Million More DosesAdditional doses to be delivered before the end of MarchUnder the new policy, export licenses will be granted of based on reciprocity and “proportionality” — the epidemiological situation, vaccination rate and access to vaccines in the destination country.The move comes a week after European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen expressed frustration that the EU was exporting more vaccines than it was receiving from some countries — specifically Britain, which has received about ten million doses of European-made vaccines and sent nothing back.EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides insisted the new policy was not about punishing anyone but comes as the pandemic continues to worsen in Europe, with the numbers of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths on the rise.Meanwhile, Hong Kong has suspended use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it discovered some packaging defects in one shipment. Hong Kong authorities say they had received a letter from BioNTech, Pfizer’s German-based partner, about problems it discovered with the seal on a batch of individual vials.The neighboring gambling city of Macau is also suspending the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine due to the packaging issues. U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center says there are now about 124.2 million total COVID-19 infections, with more than 2.7 million deaths. The United States leads the way in both categories with 29.9 million total infections and 543,849 deaths.
…
Zimbabwe Musicians Find Alternative Ways to Earn a Living
Zimbabwe’s musicians have been struggling to make a living since the coronavirus pandemic prompted the government to ban concerts and other entertainment to prevent the spread of the virus. Some have even left their music behind and turned to farming. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mazowe, Zimbabwe.Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
…
European Union Considers Vaccine Export Limits
The European Union will introduce a proposal Wednesday that could allow it to restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccine manufactured within the 27-nation bloc for six weeks.The legislation is aimed at addressing an acute shortage of vaccine across the continent that has slowed the inoculation effort in many EU nations. Many European nations have grown especially frustrated with British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, which has cut its planned deliveries by more than half in the first quarter of 2021. Europe is facing a third wave of the coronavirus that is once again overwhelming hospitals and prompting a new round of lockdowns. The situation threatens to aggravate already tense relations between the EU and its former member, Britain. The proposed legislation could seriously disrupt supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Britain, which is a major recipient of EU exports. EU and Pfizer-BioNTech Sign Deal for 4 Million More DosesAdditional doses to be delivered before the end of MarchMeanwhile, Hong Kong has suspended use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it discovered some packaging defects in one shipment. Hong Kong authorities say they had received a letter from BioNTech, Pfizer’s German-based partner, about problems it discovered with the seal on a batch of individual vials. The neighboring gambling city of Macau is also suspending the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine due to the packaging issues. U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center says there are now about 124.2 million total COVID-19 infections, with more than 2.7 million deaths. The United States leads the way in both categories with 29.9 million total infections and 543,849 deaths.Brazil is second with 12.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 298,676 deaths, including a new single-day record of 3,251 deaths.India also posted a record number of COVID-19-related deaths Wednesday with 275, its highest single-day number since December 31, as well as more than 47,000 new coronavirus infections since November 12.
…
Years-Long US Pressure Campaign Chokes Huawei’s Growth
When Joe Biden took office as president, the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies saw at least a glimmer of hope that the U.S.-led campaign to shut it out of international markets might be eased somewhat. Once a global leader in smartphone sales, Huawei has seen its market share outside China plummet since the Trump administration began choking off its supply of technology key to producing modern 5G handsets. Likewise, the company’s business installing mobile telecommunications infrastructure, and especially new 5G-capable systems, has been severely damaged by a U.S. campaign against it.Biden had not signaled that he would be particularly easy on China — his appointment of China hawk Katherine Tai as U.S. Trade Representative confirmed that. But Huawei and other Chinese firms thought that, if nothing else, the two countries could step back from a Trump-era trade war footing.Huawei Executive Back in Court to Fight US ExtraditionUS wants Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Chinese telecom’s founder and chief financial officer of the company, extradited to face fraud chargesBiden tightens restrictionsEarlier this month, Huawei’s prospects for relief dimmed considerably when the Biden administration announced that it would not only continue some of the Trump administration’s export bans, but would tighten them.“The Biden administration appears to be maintaining the final Trump policy regarding which Huawei-related export licenses to approve or deny, which is more restrictive than the 2020 license policy,” said Kevin Wolf, a former assistant secretary of commerce for export administration in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.Now a partner with the law firm Akin Gump in Washington, Wolf added, “In order to make the license policy consistent and level the playing field, it has amended 2020 licenses limiting their scope so that they align with the final Trump license policy. In particular, licenses for shipments for items ‘for use in or with 5G devices’ will be denied or revoked.”Contentious MeetingAdditionally, on the eve of the first high-level meeting between Biden administration officials and representatives of Beijing, the Commerce Department announced that it had issued subpoenas to a number of Chinese companies as part of an investigation into national security threats. Beijing Slams US Blacklisting of Chinese CompaniesChina’s commerce ministry on Saturday said it ‘firmly opposes’ the move, which will affect the country’s biggest chipmaker, SMIC, and vowed to ‘take necessary measures’ to safeguard Chinese companies’ rightsThe action stemmed from a 2019 executive order by Trump allowing the executive branch to prohibit purchases of technology deemed to present a national security threat. The Commerce Department did not name the companies it is investigating, but many experts assume that Huawei was among them.The next day, in a contentious meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Yang Jiechi, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office of the Chinese Communist Party, blasted the U.S, saying, “It abuses so-called notions of national security to obstruct normal trade exchanges, and incite some countries to attack China.”Origins of banBeginning in fits and starts in 2019, a broad swath of export bans eventually cut Huawei off from an array of technologies that had been essential to the company’s operations. The U.S. push began partly in response to then-President Trump’s lengthy trade battle with China, and partly in response to very real national security concerns related to allowing Huawei to become a dominant player in global 5G — the next generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks.U.S. intelligence agencies have long asserted that Huawei is closely connected to the Chinese government. That, combined with the fact that Chinese law specifically requires companies to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services in collecting data, pushed U.S. officials to warn that Huawei components could potentially be used to create “backdoor” access for Beijing into sensitive government and private sector systems.Huawei says, ‘yes’Huawei officials have repeatedly expressed their frustration at being publicly treated as an arm of the Chinese government. Last week Andy Purdy, chief security officer for Huawei Technologies USA, told Bloomberg News that if the Biden administration is concerned about the company, “we hope that the U.S. government will partner with us and not point to the Chinese government, because Huawei speaks for Huawei.” Huawei Running Out of Smartphone Chips under US Sanctions Huawei is at the center of US-Chinese tension over technology and security, and the feud has spread to TikTok and WeChat Many industry experts, though, remain very dubious about the company’s protestations of independence. “The Chinese government may not speak for Huawei,” said Jim Lewis, senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But when the Chinese government speaks to Huawei, Huawei says, “‘Yes.’”Broad impactThe Trump administration’s assault on Huawei was scattershot at times, but ultimately it was brutally effective.All Huawei phones had used the Android operating system made by Google, but in May of 2019, Google announced that it would comply with the administration’s order and refuse to license its operating system to any new phones made by the Chinese firm.U.S. microchip giants Intel and Qualcomm were likewise banned from selling their most advanced technology to the company, all but eliminating its ability to produce cutting edge handsets. The export restrictions also barred contract chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., the world’s largest, from selling advanced chips to Huawei.According to International Data Corporation, a business intelligence firm, as its chip supply dried up, Huawei’s share of the global smartphone market cratered. In the second quarter of 2020, Huawei shipped an industry leading 20.2% of handsets, but by the fourth quarter its share had dropped to just 8.6%.Other analysts predict that before 2021 is over, that number will have been halved again, to around 4% of the market.5G dominance bluntedThe pressure on allies to avoid Huawei’s 5G infrastructure offerings has also been broadly successful. Huawei to Build First European 5G Factory in France to Soothe Western Nerves Huawei’s new French plant would create 500 jobs; Chinese firm says plans not part of ‘charm offensive’ Most major U.S. allies have barred national telecommunications firms from using Huawei-made equipment in their rollout of 5G services and some, like Britain, have committed to the expensive process of replacing existing Huawei components within their systems.Lewis, of CSIS, agreed that Huawei has been “shut out” of most major U.S. allies’ 5G systems, but said that the U.S. pressure campaign hadn’t been the only factor in making that happen.Over the years, there have been multiple charges leveled against Huawei of shady practices, and not all of them from Washington. A 2019 report revealed that British telecom firm Vodaphone had found hidden “backdoor” vulnerabilities in Huawei’s equipment. The company has also been accused of multiple instances of industrial espionage.“Some of it had to do with just telling people, hey, you need to look closely at Huawei, and it’s their own independent assessment,” Lewis said. “The Europeans have been looking at Huawei as a risk since before the Trump administration. So in some ways, Huawei is caught by its own practices.”
…
Virus-Hunting Team Studies Bat Illnesses and Risk to Humans
Research is ongoing, but it’s thought the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, may be a zoonotic disease that first appeared in bats. A team in the Philippines studies diseases carried by bats in hopes of preventing future pandemics. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Producer: Arash Arabasadi
…
Plan for COVID-19 as Chronic, but Manageable Threat, Experts Say
Vaccines to combat COVID-19 are on the cusp of turning the tide of the global pandemic. But experts say not to expect total victory. While things may never again get as bad as they have been the last year, experts expect that in time, COVID-19 will become a chronic, but manageable, threat. Societies need to plan for how to cope with inevitable resurgences, they say. “We’re not going to see cases plummet to zero. That’s magical thinking,” said epidemiologist Michael Mina of Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Which is why I really think it’s important for us to take a step back as a society and just ask the question, what do cases mean? How are they going to impact us?” Here to stay There are several reasons why the coronavirus behind COVID-19 is not likely to disappear anytime soon. First, rates of vaccine hesitancy are declining but still high. In a FILE – Healthcare workers get ready to collect samples during proactive testing of migrant workers at their work place, amid the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Samut Sakhon province in Thailand, Jan. 27, 2021.A recent poll found 18% of U.S. health care workers were not planning to get vaccinated, and another 12% were undecided. Meanwhile, vaccine access is extremely unequal around the world. Many countries may not get any vaccines at all this year. That leaves vast areas where the coronavirus can continue to spread and mutate. “The longer transmission happens around the world, new variants are going to develop,” said Geoffrey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California (USC) Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Variants have already arisen that undermine the effectiveness of the vaccines. It is not yet clear what impact they will have in vaccinated populations. “We’re not out of the woods at all,” Joyce said. Plus, scientists do not know how long immunity lasts from vaccines or from infection. The virus could resurface in several months even in people who have been vaccinated. “It does seem likely that there will be flare-ups or some kind of resurgence,” said Duke University health policy expert Hemi Tewarson. The next round If so, what happens then? Another lockdown? Most experts say no. “I just don’t think we have… the appetite to continue to shut down the economy,” Nandakumar said. “We have to find a smart way to live with the virus.” FILE – A nearly empty Carnaby Street in London, Nov. 6, 2020 during a lockdown which shuttered restaurants, hairdressers and clothing stores.Some limited version of the restrictions currently in place may make a comeback in a flare-up, but most of life will go on, said health economist Kate Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. “We may limit large gatherings. We may focus on outdoor activities. People may need to modify how they interact with each other, but the new normal is something that we can really live pretty comfortably and happily with,” she said. Some places are considering whether vaccinated people can forego the restrictions. In Israel, vaccinated people get a “green pass” that gives them permission to go to indoor bars, gyms, concerts and other places where unvaccinated people are barred. Others are considering it. Some employers may consider requiring employees to get vaccinated in order to come back to the office or work with the public. The idea is controversial, however. On the one hand, offering special privileges to the vaccinated gives hesitant people an incentive. But it is not yet clear whether vaccinated people can still get asymptomatic infections and spread the virus, even if they do not get sick themselves. Some early studies suggest that the vaccines cut transmission, as well, but the case is not closed. There are also civil liberties issues. While getting vaccinated is still optional, “is it really optional if you’re then banned from doing things if you don’t opt in?” Baicker said. It also means people have to share sensitive medical information. And while vaccines have been authorized for emergency use, they have not been fully approved, which involves a higher level of scrutiny. “I think these are important questions about privacy of medical information and who should mandate what… I don’t think that policymakers or the public have worked through yet,” Baicker said. The trade-off between public health and personal liberty may be a tough sell in the United States, with its live-free-or-die streak, USC’s Joyce said. “But if you look at what we do at schools,” he added, “almost every state in the country has some immunization rules for school. Your kids can’t come unless they get particular vaccines… because we think the societal benefit is worth it. So, I don’t see why this is a different argument.” FILE – Students wear masks as they work in a fourth-grade classroom at Elk Ridge Elementary School in Buckley, Wash., Feb. 2, 2021.Protect the vulnerable and move on On the other hand, experts say, maybe restrictions will not be necessary once enough of the most vulnerable people are vaccinated. So far, more than half of the deaths from COVID-19 have been among people 75 years or older. This group has been the top priority for vaccination, and should remain so, Joyce said. When the vast majority of the elderly and vulnerable are protected, “then you don’t have overcrowded hospitals. You don’t have death rates that are frightening. And then it’s a manageable virus,” he said. Younger people still get sick and die of COVID-19, but at much lower rates, Joyce noted. “It’s not something you want to get, but it doesn’t require massive shutdowns,” he said.Public health officials hope to get cheap, widely accessible testing up and running to keep an eye on where the virus is spreading and what variants there are. “When you start seeing an emergence of cases, you go in with an extra vaccine effort. You go in with extra testing, and you try to contain it, as opposed to trying to lock everything down,” Tewarson at Duke University said. Hopefully, the number of people getting sick will soon drop to the level where public health departments can handle them like any other outbreak. “We can actually do contact tracing that we couldn’t do when the epidemic was just too rampant,” Joyce said. “When you have smaller numbers, you can isolate this person — Got it. Here’s a cluster. Let’s lock down this particular group — as opposed to shutting down schools” and everything else.
…
Haiti Awaits FIFA Decision on Whether to Relocate Belize Match After Team Held Up at Gunpoint
Haiti Soccer Federation officials are awaiting the decision of FIFA, the international governing body for football, on whether a Haiti-Belize World Cup qualifier will be held Thursday in Port-au-Prince. Tessier Jeanty, communications director for the Haitian Soccer Federation (Federation Haitienne de Futbol, FHF), told VOA a FIFA security expert met with Haitian and Belize team officials Tuesday afternoon. The FIFA security expert arrived in Haiti Tuesday morning and toured the capital to evaluate the security situation after Belize’s team bus was held up at gunpoint on Monday. The incident happened as the team made its way from the Toussaint Louverture international airport to their hotel.Upon Belize’s ?? arrival to Haiti ?? for their World Cup Qualifier, their police escort was stopped by armed “insurgents”This is the video going around on social media.Match is set for March 25. Belize has put out an official statement. pic.twitter.com/B3Z0gTfW16— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) March 23, 2021The athletes, who were not harmed in the incident, described the harrowing scene during an interview with a Belize television station. They said high-powered rifles were aimed at their bus. “Suddenly, we saw so many motorcycles with a lot of men and they were armed. You know, they stopped the bus and all we see, they were talking to the police. After that, we wanted to know what was happening. The next, they wanted us to turn back, pointing their guns at the police. So we don’t know what to do,” recalled Ian “Yellow” Gaynair, who plays defense for the Belize national team. “Some of us were doing some video and they pointed on the bus and said cut out the video, so we had to cut the video, pull the curtain,” Gaynair said. “All of us were really traumatized, fearing we didn’t know what would happen. Next thing we thought they would even want to come on the bus.” The armed men on motorbikes were members of a renegade group called Fantom 509, comprising disgruntled current and former police officers. The U.S. State Department described them as criminals on Twitter.#PortAuPrince#Haiti: The criminal organization known as Fantom 509 is currently active in Delmas and Petionville. The group is known for violence and the ability to relocate quickly. Avoid travel to these areas. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks. https://t.co/NpUjSlG2zRpic.twitter.com/sD2yTib70O— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) March 22, 2021“The criminal organization known as Fantom 509 is currently active in Delmas and Petionville. The group is known for violence and the ability to relocate quickly. Avoid travel to these areas. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks,” the U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Consular Affairs tweeted. Belize team official Marlon Kuylen immediately reported the incident to FIFA and CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football).“We’ve told them in no uncertain terms that we want to get our players out of the country. However, the match commissioner is arriving tomorrow to assess the situation and decide what happens from there,” Kuylen told the Belize television station. The Belize Football Federation later issued a statement expressing “disappointment and disgust.“Football Federation of Belize registers its anger & disappointment after its delegation was attacked by armed men in #Haiti en route from airport to hotel today. pic.twitter.com/2UUaSaawjP— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) March 23, 2021Kuylen said his players are having a hard time concentrating on the upcoming match. “The players, they are frazzled. They cannot focus on playing. We were supposed to go training … and they don’t want to leave the hotel,” he said. “Our security is not guaranteed and what if we win and the crowd gets out of control again, who’s to say that we will be safe?” Two officials from FHF went to check on the Belize players in the evening, according to a statement posted in French on its Facebook page. “Jacques Letang … and Yvon Sevère paid a visit of solidarity to team Belize to assure its members of that the FHF supports them,” the statement said. FIFA has not yet responded to VOA’s request for comment on the incident. The spike in violence in Haiti has alarmed both Haitian and international officials. Last week, Fantom 509 staged two jailbreaks, looted a car dealership and set fire to tires, blocking streets. Jeanty of FHF told VOA it is unfortunate that insecurity in the country, which has become a part of daily life for most Haitians, now risks jeopardizing the national team’s ability to play at home. “Haiti already has some factors working against it and now this complicates things even further,” Jeanty said. As for Haiti’s beloved national team, most of the players, such as goalie Johny Placide, only began arriving in Port-au-Prince Tuesday morning. The majority currently play for European league teams. “They weren’t even aware of what happened yesterday,” Jeanty told VOA. “We have six players who arrived this morning. And we have three players arriving [Wednesday] — because they are traveling from Armenia. I’m talking about Donald Guerrier, Soni Mustivar and Alex Junior Christian. They are ready to win for Haiti, but it’s shocking for them to see the images of what happened [on Monday].” Jeanty told VOA the FIFA security expert, a former military official from Barbados, would send his report to FIFA and CONCACAF Tuesday night. “After the meeting, we will not know immediately whether or not the match will go on in Haiti. He will send a report to CONCACAF and FIFA and those officials will issue a statement based on what the report advises,” Jeanty said. In the meantime, Haiti’s soccer federation is appealing to the public to refrain from violence. “Haitians must understand: if there is any kind of attack against this match, we can kiss Haiti soccer goodbye,” FHF secretary general Carlo Marcelin said in an interview with Haitian radio station Magik 9 Tuesday. The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
…
Global TB Fight Set Back 12 Years by COVID Pandemic, Doctors Warn
Ahead of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, doctors are warning that progress in the global fight against the disease has been set back more than a decade by the coronavirus pandemic.In nine countries with a high prevalence of TB — including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Tajikistan and Ukraine — diagnosis and treatment fell by an average of 23%, according to Health workers screen people for tuberculosis and leprosy in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums, in Mumbai, India, Dec. 1, 2020.Tuberculosis killed 1.4 million people worldwide in 2019. The report from the Stop TB Partnership says that in 2020, “COVID-19 overtook TB globally as the most common cause of death from an infectious disease, but in low- and middle-income countries, TB deaths remain far higher than those from COVID-19. As the number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 grows, the number of COVID-19 deaths decrease while TB will continue to kill roughly 4,000 people every day.”Like COVID-19, tuberculosis is a disease of the lungs, though it is caused by bacteria rather than a virus. “A lot of the people that are dealing with TB — doctors, nurses, health-care workers, providers — were shifted from TB to COVID,” explains Ditiu.Hospital wards used for TB patients were rapidly converted into emergency COVID-19 units. As countries imposed lockdowns to fight the pandemic, TB diagnosis and treatment were again hit hard.“Usually, people with TB are the ones that are most vulnerable and are the ones that have a lot of difficulties in reaching health care. And one of the reasons can be distance, can be money, poverty — and other barriers. These things were actually exacerbated by COVID,” Ditiu said.Many patients are badly infected by the time they reach any clinic or hospital. “A lot of the clinicians are saying that they are observing … very, very bad forms of tuberculosis that they didn’t see in many years. These bad forms of TB mean that mortality will be higher. It also means that transmission within the household will be bigger,” Ditiu told VOA in an interview Monday.Doctors say there is an opportunity to claw back lost progress. The coronavirus pandemic has forced healthcare providers and communities closer together. By combining testing, contact tracing and treatment for COVID and TB, both diseases can be tackled at the same time.Medical staff clad in protective gears prepare to administer the vaccine for tuberculosis and oral polio vaccine for babies at a community health center in Surabaya, Indonesia on June 30, 2020.The report from the Stop TB Partnership praises India’s efforts to identify and tackle the decline in diagnosis and treatment at an early stage.
“Bi-directional screening of TB and COVID-19 took place in people displaying influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections. Contact tracing systems and testing for TB linked to COVID-19 contact tracing were quickly set up. Private sector TB care facilities were reopened, and digital tools were rolled out to help people with TB stick to treatment regimens, among other measures,” the report notes.Scientists say urgent investment also is needed in new TB vaccines and treatments.
…
Press Freedom Group Sues Facebook Over Misinformation, ‘Hate Speech’
Press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is suing Facebook in France, saying the social media platform spreads misinformation. The suit was filed Monday with the Paris public prosecutor. “Reporters Without Borders accuses Facebook of ‘deceptive commercial practices’ on the grounds that the social media company’s promises to provide a ‘safe’ and ‘error-free’ online environment are contradicted by the large-scale proliferation of hate speech and false information on its networks,” the group said in a press release. Specifically, the group says Facebook allows “hate speech” against the media, as well as misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The group said Facebook allowed posts that were insulting and threatening against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as targeting the TV program “Quotidien” and a regional newspaper, L’Union. Facebook said in a statement that it “has zero tolerance for any harmful content on our platforms,” Bloomberg reported. “Over the last few years, we’ve tripled the size of our safety and security team to 35,000 and built artificial intelligence technology to proactively find and remove harmful content,” the statement continued, according to Bloomberg. “While nobody can eliminate misinformation and hate speech from the internet entirely, we continue using research, experts and technologies to tackle them in the most comprehensive and effective way possible.” Should RSF win its case, the decision could have global repercussions for Facebook, as its terms of service are similar worldwide. Any change in France could trigger changes elsewhere. Facebook and other Big Tech companies have been under intense pressure to stop what some call misinformation. In December, the EU proposed new regulations that could hit companies with fines of up to 6% of their global revenue for not complying with orders to remove content deemed violent hate speech, according to Bloomberg.
…
Global TB Fight Set Back 12 Years by COVID Pandemic, Doctors Warn
Ahead of World Tuberculosis Day Wednesday, doctors are warning that progress in the global fight against the disease has been set back more than a decade by the coronavirus pandemic. Henry Ridgwell reports.
Video editor: Rod James
…
Nigeria Sustains Tuberculosis Progress Despite Global Pandemic Setbacks
Campaigners against tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs, say the coronavirus pandemic has rolled back years of progress in treating TB. But Nigeria — one of the countries hardest hit by the disease — has managed to maintain its progress, as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
Camera: Emekas Gibson
…
Extremist Groups Thrive on Facebook Despite Bans
A new outside report found that Facebook has allowed groups — many tied to QAnon, boogaloo and militia movements — to glorify violence during the 2020 election and in the weeks leading up to the deadly riots on the U.S. Capitol in January.
Avaaz, a nonprofit advocacy group that says it seeks to protect democracies from misinformation, identified 267 pages and groups on Facebook that it says spread violence-glorifying material in the heat of the 2020 election to a combined following of 32 million users.
More than two-thirds of the groups and pages had names that aligned with several domestic extremist movements, the report found. The first, boogaloo, promotes a second U.S. civil war and the breakdown of modern society. The second is the QAnon conspiracy, which claims that Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against the “deep state” and a sect of powerful Satan-worshipping pedophiles who dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government. The rest are various anti-government militias. All have been largely banned from Facebook since 2020.
But despite what Avaaz called “clear violations” of Facebook’s policies, it found that 119 of these pages and groups were still active on the platform as of March 18 and had just under 27 million followers.
Facebook acknowledged that its policy enforcement “isn’t perfect,” but said the report distorts its work against violent extremism and misinformation.
The company said in a statement that it has done more than any other internet company to stanch the flow of harmful material, citing its bans of “nearly 900 militarized social movements” and the removal of tens of thousands of QAnon pages, groups, and accounts. It added that it is always improving its efforts against misinformation.
On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are slated to testify before Congress about extremism and misinformation on their platforms.
Facebook has tightened its rules against violence, hate and misinformation in the past year. In October, it banned QAnon groups across its platform. Before that, it would remove them only if they expressly supported violence. It has also banned extremist and militia movements and boogaloo groups with varying degrees of success.
For instance, while Facebook banned “Stop the Steal” groups from its platform, Avaaz — like The Associated Press — found that such groups and the #stopthesteal hashtag remained active on the platform after the purge.
Facebook’s failures, Avaaz said, “helped sweep America down the path from election to insurrection.”
According to the report, the social network provided a “fertile ground” for misinformation and toxicity that contributed to radicalizing millions of Americans, helping create the conditions in which the storming of the Capitol became a reality.
…