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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012543

The second medical team from the mainland consists of 114 members, who will fully cooperate with the HKSAR government in fighting the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

HONG KONG, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — The second team of mainland health experts and workers arrived in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) via the Shenzhen Bay Port on Saturday to work with the HKSAR government in fighting the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

The team is comprised of 114 members, including four critical care medical specialists, four administrative staff members, and 106 sampling workers.

The four critical care specialists will discuss with clinical medical experts in Hong Kong on the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 cases, and share the treatment experience of COVID-19 patients in the mainland.

Also on Saturday, the construction of two community isolation and treatment facilities built with assistance from the mainland began at Penny’s Bay and Kai Tak Pier in Hong Kong, respectively.

Designed and constructed by China State Construction International Holdings Ltd., the two isolation facilities are expected to provide about 9,500 quarantine units when fully operational.

On behalf of the Hong Kong residents, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam expressed her heartfelt thanks to the central leadership for their great attention, care and full support to Hong Kong at the commencement ceremony held at Penny’s Bay quarantine site.

The HKSAR government would like to express its sincere gratitude to the China State Construction International for its professionalism and sense of responsibility in assisting Hong Kong in the fight against COVID-19, Lam said.

Published : February 20, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012487

Bart Gorman, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, has been expelled from Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

MOSCOW, Feb. 17 — Gorman was ordered to leave in response to the “unjustified” expulsion of the minister-counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Washington, the ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement, following media reports earlier in the day.

The U.S. Department of State “defiantly” ignored Moscow’s request to extend the Russian diplomat’s stay at least until the arrival of his successor, she noted.

The minister counsellors forced departure without a replacement aggravated the already critical shortage of personnel in the Russian diplomatic mission amid a “visa war” initiated by the Americans, Zakharova stressed.

She recalled that the United States has demanded the departure of 55 Russian diplomats as well as administrative and technical employees in two stages — by Jan. 30 and by June 30 this year.

“In the understanding of the U.S. administration, the normalization of bilateral relations is a one-way street, where only American interests are ensured and everything else is ignored,” Zakharova said. 

Xinhua

Published : February 18, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012474

Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday reiterated the government’s keenness on dialogue with all political forces to reach a unified vision to ensure a safe exit from the current political crisis.

Al-Burhan on Thursday met at the Republican Palace in Khartoum with Head of the United Nations Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes, the Sovereign Council said in a statement.

“Al-Burhan stressed the government’s keenness and determination to complete the democratic transformation process, conduct free and fair elections and hand the power to an elected government,” the statement said.

For his part, Perthes said the meeting reviewed the consultations being carried out by UNITAMS to settle the Sudanese current crisis, describing his meeting with Al-Burhan as “useful and fruitful.”

Perthes urged for creating a suitable environment for the consultations among the Sudanese parties to allow for rebuilding confidence.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government.

Since then, opposition groups have been staging regular mass protests in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities to demand civilian rule.

On Jan. 10, the UNITAMS launched an intra-Sudanese political process to end the political crisis in Sudan, while on Feb. 13, the mission announced conclusion of the first stage of the consultations.

Published : February 18, 2022

By : Xinhua

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 622.24 points, or 1.78 percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.12 percent and 2.88 percent respectively.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday as investors have been haunted by the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 622.24 points, or 1.78 percent, to 34,312.03. The S&P 500 dropped 94.75 points, or 2.12 percent, to 4,380.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 407.37 points, or 2.88 percent, to 13,716.72.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with technology and communication services down 3.07 percent and 2.96 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Consumer staples and utilities rose 0.91 percent and 0.06 percent, the only two gaining groups.

The market weakness came as Wall Street worried about the Ukraine tensions, experts noted.

On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, registered 248,000 in the week ending Feb. 12, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast initial jobless claims to total a seasonally adjusted 218,000.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower on Thursday with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

On Wednesday, U.S. equities ended mixed with the Dow and the Nasdaq finishing modestly lower, while the S&P finished modestly higher, as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes.

Published : February 18, 2022

By : Xinhua

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New COVID-19 infections across the Americas region fell by 31 percent in the past week, marking a sixth successive week of declines, but deaths are still on the rise, up 5.6 percent, according to a report.

Complacency around mask wearing, travel and indoor gatherings created a perfect opportunity for the Omicron variant to spread rapidly throughout the Americas, said Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Carissa Etienne.

“Reduced public health measures were insufficient to reduce the scale of this wave. And now we’re dealing with the consequence: a rise in infections is driving a surge in deaths,” Etienne said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

New COVID-19 infections across the Americas region fell by 31 percent in the past week, marking a sixth successive week of declines, but deaths are still on the rise, up 5.6 percent, according to a weekly report of the PAHO, an international public health agency.

Deaths have increased for six consecutive weeks, according to the report.

Over the last week, the Americas reported 3.3 million new cases and more than 34,000 COVID-19-related deaths. In North America, the United States recorded the highest number of 17,000 deaths in the subregion, according to the report.

Published : February 18, 2022

By : Xinhua

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Starting from Thursday, Switzerland has dropped most of its measures in place to contain the pandemic: Masks are no longer mandatory in shops and restaurants; people don’t need to show a COVID certificate to enter indoor venues; and the restrictions on the size of private gatherings and large events are also lifted.

Swiss President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has tested positive for COVID-19,  said a government statement on Thursday.

“At the end of Wednesday afternoon, the President of the Confederation Ignazio Cassis underwent a PCR test in view of his participation in the Munich Security Conference. The test came back positive and the president went into self-isolation this morning as soon as he learned of the test result,” the statement said.

It added that Cassis has no symptoms and is in good health, and will continue his work from home until Sunday.

A sign reminding people to keep social distance is seen on the door of a supermarket in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Nie Xiaoyang)

“Until then, he will not participate in any planned events and will therefore not attend the Munich Security Conference, which will take place on Friday and Saturday this week,” the statement said.

Starting from Thursday, Switzerland has dropped most of its measures in place to contain the pandemic: Masks are no longer mandatory in shops and restaurants; people don’t need to show a COVID certificate to enter indoor venues; and the restrictions on the size of private gatherings and large events are also lifted.
 

Photo taken on Jan. 22, 2020 shows an exterior view of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Liu Qu)

Published : February 18, 2022

By : Xinhua

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The death toll from landslides and floods in the Brazilian city of Petropolis in Rio de Janeiro state rose to 97, including six children, local authorities said Wednesday.

SAO PAULO, Feb. 16  — “It was the worst rain since 1932, with 240 mm in just over two hours,” Claudio Castro, the Rio de Janeiro state governor, told reporters after visiting the disaster area.

Heavy rains on Tuesday in the mountainous city, located about 68 km north of the city of Rio de Janeiro, triggered more than 50 landslides. In six hours, Petropolis received more rainfall than expected for the entire February, which prompted the mayor’s office to decree a state of public disaster.

The city’s Secretary of Civil Defense Gil Kempers said in a press conference earlier that 21 people were rescued and the number of missing people still remains unknown.

Trucks began to arrive in Petropolis with donations for over 500 evacuees.

Meanwhile, the city received a weather alert for more intense deluges on Thursday and Friday, amid the rainy season in the southeastern region of Brazil. 

Xinhua

Published : February 17, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012446

Ukraine on Wednesday celebrated the national Day of Unity to consolidate people amid the crisis in the country. Some Western media had claimed that Russia could invade Ukraine on Feb. 16.

KYIV, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) — In a televised address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainians are different, but they all are united by the desire to live in peace, happiness and with their loved ones.

“We are all united by one desire: to live in peace, happily, as one family, with children, with parents. And we have every right to all this. Because we are at home, we are in Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukrainians mark the Day of Unity to show the “friends and enemies” that Ukraine is united even in hard times.

“Ukrainians have rejected their differences and are uniting in the face of possible threats. For a successful future. We know how to do it, and our unity is our best weapon,” Shmyhal wrote on his official Telegram channel.

Within the framework of the celebrations, Ukrainian enthusiasts unfolded a 200-meter-long national flag at the Olympic stadium in Kyiv.

The blue-and-yellow flags were waved on government buildings, private houses and cars across the country to show the unity of the people.

Children in many schools and kindergartens were asked to wear vyshyvanka, traditional Ukrainian ethnic clothing decorated with embroidery patterns.

In addition, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry launched the Train of Unity from Ukraine’s western city of Rakhiv to the eastern city of Mariupol that carried the Ukrainian flag through different regions across the country.

The ambassadors of the European Union countries laid flowers on the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv to mark the Day of Unity, showing their support for Ukraine, and paying tribute to all who have fallen in the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

Some Western media had claimed that Russia could invade Ukraine on Feb. 16. Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexiy Reznikov said that the situation on the Ukrainian borders remains stable.

Published : February 17, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012444

China remains a strong magnet for foreign investment in a pandemic-jolted world, as revealed by the latest data, and experts believe the trend will continue thanks to the country’s continued opening-up and improved business environment.

BEIJING, Feb. 16 — After hitting a record high last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 11.6 per cent year on year to 102.28 billion yuan in January, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has said. In U.S. dollar terms, the inflow went up 17.6 per cent to 15.84 billion dollars.

The growth last month was the fastest and the first double-digit increase for the same period since 2016.

Experts called the results hard-won and said they reflected China’s undented attraction for foreign capital amid external uncertainties.

Last year’s robust FDI momentum sustained into this year as global capital flows accelerated and domestically the country’s stable economic fundamentals, improved business environment and new foreign-investment law reassured foreign investors, said Zhang Jianping with the MOC’s research institute.

A recent MOC survey showed that 94.9 per cent of over 3,000 foreign businesses operating in China have a largely optimistic outlook.

China has ramped up efforts to further open up the economy. Shortened negative list for foreign investment came into force on Jan. 1, with off-limit items cut to 31 from 33 a year ago. Notably, the foreign capital cap in the auto industry was removed, and manufacturing restrictions in pilot free trade zones were also reduced to zero.

In January, foreign investment in the service industry went up 12.2 per cent year on year, while the inflow to high-tech industries surged 26.1 per cent.

Liu Xiangdong, a researcher with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the rapid growth in high-tech and service investment mirrors an ever optimized economy and the newly important role of foreign capital in the country’s economic landscape.

Looking forward, while the pandemic will still weigh on the global economy, experts believe China’s FDI inflow can maintain the impetus this year despite the high comparable base in 2021 and the possibility of softened transnational investment activities around the world.

MOC spokesperson Shu Jueting has said China will further expand its high-level opening-up, enhance its services for foreign-funded firms and projects, and make more efforts to optimize the business environment in 2022.

The ministry will guide more foreign capital to invest in emerging fields, including advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy conservation, environmental protection and the digital economy, Shu said.

Part of the country’s FDI impetus will also come from the less tapped central and western regions, which saw FDI inflows up significantly by 46.2 per cent and 42.2 per cent, respectively, in January.

Foreign businesses investing in those areas can have much lower operating costs and enjoy various policy supports, such as tax breaks, Zhang said, stressing that there is huge potential for boosting foreign investment.  

Xinhua

Published : February 17, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012443

Forty-three percent of Americans say they “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” of the job Joe Biden is doing as the U.S. president, while roughly 53 percent note they “somewhat disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of it, according to a recent poll.

Two-thirds of Americans say that the United States is on the wrong track, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

A new Politico-Morning Consult poll found only 34 percent of the respondents believe the country is going in the right direction.

Forty-three percent of Americans say they “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” of the job Joe Biden is doing as the U.S. president, while roughly 53 percent note they “somewhat disapprove” or “strongly disapprove” of it, according to the poll.

It also showed only 39 percent of Americans say they approve of Biden’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 41 percent give it a poor rating, with 16 percent calling it “just fair.”

A man wearing a face mask walks on a street in Manhattan of New York, the United States, Jan. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

A growing number of states in the country, which has reported the world’s highest coronavirus infections and deaths, have eased COVID-19 restrictions amid a decline in daily new cases after a surge driven by the Omicron variant.

“Omicron cases are declining, and we are all cautiously optimistic about the trajectory we are on,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a virtual briefing on Wednesday. “We want to remain vigilant to do all we can so that this trajectory continues.”

The Politico-Morning Consult poll was conducted on Feb. 12-13 with a sample size of 2,005 registered voters. The full survey has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Published : February 17, 2022

By : Xinhua