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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005167

UK economic recovery loses momentum amid staff, supply shortages

Despite a slowdown in output growth during August, service providers signalled a robust and accelerated rise in employment numbers, said the report.

Britain’s private sector companies witnessed a sharp slowdown in output growth during August amid worsening staff and supply shortages, according to a joint report released here Monday.
 

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The headline seasonally adjusted flash composite output index stood at 55.3 in August, down from 59.2 in July, the slowest expansion of output since the private sector returned to growth in March, said the report published by IHS Markit, a London-based global information provider, and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), a British-based global procurement and supply organisation.

“Although the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) indicates that the economy continues to expand at a pace slightly above the pre-pandemic average, there are clear signs of the recovery losing momentum in the third quarter after a buoyant second quarter,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

Williamson said he believes that despite the lift of COVID-19 restrictions, “rising virus case numbers are deterring many forms of spending, notably by consumers, and have hit growth via worsening staff and supply shortages.”

“An abnormally large slowdown in overall activity in August offers a stark warning to the UK economy that the accelerated levels of growth we’ve seen earlier this summer are not sustainable,” said Duncan Brock, group director at CIPS.

“It was the slowest output expansion for six months, and the worst shortages of staff and materials on record are mostly to blame,” Brock added.

In terms of the specific sectors, Britain’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector registered 60.1 in August, down from 60.4 in July and the lowest since March, the data showed.

A waiter is seen at a restaurant in London, Britain, on Aug. 13, 2021.

Despite a slowdown in output growth during August, service providers signalled a robust and accelerated rise in employment numbers, said the report.

“The latest increase in staffing levels was the strongest since this index began in July 1996. Survey respondents typically commented on the need to boost workforce numbers in response to higher order books and depleted business capacity,” said the report.

In addition, the survey showed a rebound in business sentiment to its highest since May, which ended a four-month sequence of falling confidence.

“The mood generally remained buoyant, however, especially amongst service companies as the end of pandemic restrictions improved business activity,” said Brock.

However, “it’s likely that cautious consumers will continue to remain an obstacle for UK businesses until full confidence returns,” he warned.

England lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions since July 19. More than 87 percent of people aged 16 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 76 percent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

Passengers walk at Waterloo train station in London, Britain, on Aug. 5, 2021.

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005165

Russia may sign new contract with Turkey on S-400 missile supply

“Consultations are continuing. I believe they are already at their final stage,” Mikheev said.

Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Monday that it may soon sign a new contract with Turkey on the supply of more S-400 air defense missile systems.

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“Consultations are continuing. I believe they are already at their final stage,” Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev said at the International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2021,” without disclosing details of the possible contract.

Russia and Turkey signed their first deal on the S-400 systems in 2017 and Turkey received the first shipment in July 2019.

Turkey is the first member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to purchase the S-400 systems, which has led to discontent on part of the United States.
 

Washington claimed that the Russian weapons would be incompatible with the NATO system and may collect confidential military information for Moscow.

The S-400 system, designed and manufactured by Russia’s Almaz-Antey arms manufacturer, is capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to 400 km and a height of about 30 km.

At the Army-2021 forum, Mikheev also said that Russia has signed arms export contracts worth a total of 8.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, and that the company is delivering weapons to 61 countries. 

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005164

EU should support countries close to Afghanistan: Greek PM

Greece is protecting its borders, which are also the EUs borders, with respect for human rights, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

The European Union (EU) should support the countries close to Afghanistan to ensure that there will be no additional refugee and migration flows to Europe, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.

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The Greek PM spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone on Friday about the latest developments in Afghanistan.

“I talked to President Erdogan and I believe we have a common interest to ensure that the influx will be limited to as close to Afghanistan as possible,” Mitsotakis told visiting Vice President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, according to an e-mailed press release from his office.

Greece is protecting its borders, which are also the EU’s borders, with respect for human rights, Mitsotakis added.

Meanwhile, Matsola emphasised that Europe will continue to stand by Greece’s side, and with the member states that are on the frontline. The ratification of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum should be a priority, in order to bridge diverging views among member states, she added.

However, Greece and other Mediterranean member states have reservations about the proposed new Pact, Greece’s Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told Real FM radio on Monday.

Greece has asked for fair sharing of accommodation costs, and effective agreements on relocation and returning those non-eligible for asylum, he said.

Since 2015, more than one million people have arrived in Greece after fleeing war zones and extreme poverty, among them, many Afghans.

Most people have continued their journey to other European countries. However, in spring 2016, the borders along the Balkan route to central Europe were closed.

Currently, Greece hosts some 46,000 asylum seekers in state-run structures, according to data released by the Greek Migration and Asylum ministry last week.

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005161

U.S. engages with Taliban daily as Aug. 31 deadline approaches

“We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels,” U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said when asked about talks with the Taliban over the extension issue.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that the United States is engaging with the Taliban on a daily basis as the ongoing Afghan evacuation faces the Aug. 31 deadline.

President Joe Biden on Monday left open the possibility of extending the ongoing evacuation beyond Aug. 31, the date he previously set to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.

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Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, however, made clear in an interview with Sky News that such extension would be unacceptable.

At a White House briefing, Sullivan told reporters that the United States has been consulting with allies and the Taliban on evacuation issues.

“We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels,” he said when asked about talks with the Taliban over the extension issue. “I’m not going to get into the details of those discussions here to protect those discussions, which are covering a wide range of issues.”

Sullivan added that the United States is consulting the Taliban “on every aspect of what’s happening in Kabul right now” and would continue those conversations.

“As the president has said before, we believe that we have time between now and the 31st to get out any American that wants to get out,” he said, while noting “the president will ultimately make his decision about the precise shape and scope of this operation.”

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said later in the day that the United States had discussed the issue of Kabul airport with the Taliban.

“There is actually an agreement between and among all these actors, of course between the United States and our partners and allies, but also with the Taliban, that all of our interests would be served with a functioning airport,” he told reporters during a daily briefing.

According to media reports, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson would use the virtual summit of Group of Seven (G7) held on Tuesday to push Biden to extend the Aug. 31 deadline to exit the country. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said that additional time is needed to complete the evacuation.

The United States and its allies have been scrambling to evacuate personnel from Afghanistan since the Taliban entered Kabul on Aug. 15.

Sullivan said the U.S. and coalition aircraft had evacuated over 16,000 people in the last 24 hours.  

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005160

Eight in ten want U.S. employers to require COVID-19 vaccination: NABE survey

A “substantial majority” of respondents, 79 percent, is in favor of employers requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to the workplace, according to a National Association for Business Economics (NABE) survey.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents are in favor of employers requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to the workplace, according to a National Association for Business Economics (NABE) survey released Monday.

A “substantial majority” of respondents, 79 percent, is in favor of employers requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to the workplace, showed the semiannual economic policy survey, administered between Aug. 2 and Aug. 10.

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Fourteen percent of respondents are opposed to such a policy, according to the survey, which summarizes the responses of 227 NABE members.

The survey showed that 25 percent of respondents indicates that their employers are requiring employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to the workplace, while 33 percent report their employers are not requiring employees to be fully vaccinated.

NABE President Manuel Balmaseda, who is also chief economist at CEMEX, noted that panelists’ views are “split” on whether fiscal and monetary policies are ‘too stimulative,’ or ‘about right’.”

While 49 percent of respondents believe current fiscal policy is ‘too stimulative,’ nearly as many – 45 percent – indicate current policy is ‘about right,’ the survey showed. Similarly, a slight majority – 52 percent – of panelists believes current monetary policy is too stimulative, compared to 47 percent who say it is about right.

Looking forward, more than half (52 percent) of the respondents expect the Fed will start tapering asset purchases by the end of 2021. Almost three-fourths of the respondents (74 percent) believe the Fed should raise interest rates by the end of 2022.

The panelists’ views on whether current monetary policy should address the recent spike in inflation are split, the survey showed. Slightly less than half (47 percent) believe the central bank should not take action, while 49 percent think it should.

Among that 49 percent, there is disagreement as to which primary tool policymakers should use to tackle inflation: 26 percent suggest tapering asset purchases, 5 percent suggest interest rates should be raised, and 18 percent believe that both tools should be implemented.

In addition, only 23 percent believe that the risks to the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target are “balanced;” 58 percent sees them as skewed to the “upside,” while 15 percent believe they are tilted to the “downside.” 

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005159

U.S. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths continue to climb

The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (133,056) increased 14.0 percent compared with the previous 7-day moving average (116,740), according to the latest CDC weekly report.

 U.S. COVID-19 new cases, hospitalizations, deaths continue to climb due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, showed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (133,056) increased 14.0 percent compared with the previous 7-day moving average (116,740), according to the latest CDC weekly report.

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As to the new hospital admissions, the current 7-day average for Aug. 11-Aug. 17 was 11,521, a 14.2 percent increase from the prior 7-day average (10,088) from Aug. 4- Aug. 10, said the report.

New admissions of patients with confirmed COVID-19 are currently at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, and Washington.

The current 7-day moving average of new deaths (641) has increased 10.8 percent compared with the previous 7-day moving average (578).

Nationally, the combined proportion of cases attributed to Delta is estimated to increase to 98.8 percent, said the report.

The U.S. total COVID-19 infections are over 37.8 million with more than 629,000 deaths, according to a tally updated Monday afternoon by the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Sunday, 51.5 percent of the total U.S. population were fully vaccinated, showed CDC data. 

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005158

Biden urges unvaccinated Americans to receive shots amid rapid spread of Delta variant

“Today Im calling on more companies in the private sector to step up with vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people,” President Joe Biden said.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday urged unvaccinated individuals to receive their shots amid the rapid spread of highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.

Biden made the remarks after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its full approval to the Pfizer vaccine earlier in the day.

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“So let me say this loudly and clearly: If you’re one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the FDA, it has now happened,” said Biden.

“The moment you’ve been waiting for is here,” he said. “It’s time for you to go get your vaccination and get it today. Today.”

The president also encouraged businesses to require vaccinations among employees.

“Today I’m calling on more companies in the private sector to step up with vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people,” Biden said Monday.

Asked if the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will lead to any additional vaccine mandates from the Biden administration, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during the press briefing on Monday, “I expect there will be more, sure, as we’ve said all along.”

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said during a Pentagon briefing on Monday the Department of Defense would move forward with requiring all U.S. military service members to be vaccinated now that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has full FDA approval.

In recent weeks, the Biden administration has rolled out vaccine requirements among federal workers, members of the armed forces, federal medical facilities and nursing home workers.

As of Sunday, 51.5 percent of the total U.S. population were fully vaccinated, showed CDC data. 

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005157

Negotiations underway as Taliban deploys forces to only province out of its control

Negotiations are underway in Afghanistan on the situation in the eastern Panjshir province, the only province still out of Talibans control, as the Taliban said it has sent forces to the region but will try to resolve the issue peacefully.

— Negotiations are underway in Afghanistan on the situation in the eastern Panjshir province, the only province still out of Taliban’s control.

— Media reports said one Afghan was killed and three others wounded on Monday as a firefight broke out between Western security forces and unidentified gunmen at Kabul airport.

— The Taliban said it has appointed an acting head for Da Afghanistan Bank, the country’s central bank.
 

Since the start of the U.S.-led troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1, the Taliban has been advancing quickly on the battlefield. During the past two weeks, the group has captured most of Afghanistan’s territory, gaining control of 33 out of the country’s 34 provinces.

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A Taliban spokesman said on Monday that the group has deployed forces around Panjshir.

“Mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have moved towards Panjshir from Badakhshan, Takhar and Baghlan provinces and stationed. Salang Highway is opened to traffic and enemy is besieged inside Panjshir,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.

Mujahid said the Taliban is trying to resolve the Panjshir issue peacefully.

He said the Taliban has now cleared and taken control of Pul-e-Hisar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in northern Baghlan province bordering Panjshir.

Local media Tolo News reported on Saturday that anti-Taliban forces have seized the three districts on Friday, but the Taliban recaptured Banu on Saturday.

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After the Taliban captured the capital Kabul on Aug. 15, many government security forces moved to Panjshir and formed a group called National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, according to Ali Maisam Nazary, a purported spokesman for the group.

People work at a bakery in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2021.

Earlier on Monday, Nazary said the group was ready to fight and defend Panjshir but at the same time negotiate with the Taliban.

“We have always favored peace over war and we will use everything we have to establish a peaceful Afghanistan. Yet, this stance should not be considered a sign of weakness. We are prepared to respond to any aggression and defeat it, and our 40 year track record is enough proof for this,” Nazary tweeted on Monday.

“The National Resistance Front’s conditions for lasting peace in Afghanistan: decentralization of power and resources, multiculturalism, democracy, moderate Islam, and equal rights and freedom for all citizens,” he twitted.

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On Saturday, Head of the High Council for the National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah and former President Afghan Hamid Karzai met with elders from Panjshir in Kabul to seek ways to peacefully solve the issue.

“We met with the elders, religious scholars, representatives and commanders of Panjshir Province in my residence in Kabul. We discussed the current developments in the country, and ways of supporting peace and stability,” Abdullah wrote on twitter.

On the same day, Abdullah and Karzai also met with some members of the Taliban political office who recently returned to Kabul from Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar.

Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, several Afghan officials and Ahmad Massoud, the son of former anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud also traveled to Panjshir after President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country on Aug. 15.

Photo taken on Aug. 22, 2021 shows foreign forces at the entering gate of Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

In a separate development, media reports said one Afghan was killed and three others wounded on Monday as a firefight broke out between Western security forces and unidentified gunmen at Kabul airport.

Media reports quoted the German military as saying that German and U.S. troops were involved in the gunfight that erupted at one of the gates of the airport.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan said in a statement on Facebook later on Monday that all flights at Kabul’s airport will be suspended until further notice, urging the public not to come to the airport until flights resume.

Meanwhile, the Taliban said on Monday that it has appointed an acting head for Da Afghanistan Bank, the country’s central bank.

The Taliban appointed Hajji Mohammad Idress as acting head of the central bank to “align and arrange banking procedures and find solution for people’s trade problem,” Taliban’s spokesman Mujahid wrote on his social media account.

Also on Monday, Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed told media that the country has issued visas to 4,000 people including the Afghan cricket team, foreigners and Afghan nationals over the last few days in the wake of the unstable situation in Afghanistan.

Answering a query, the minister said Pakistan has not decided about hosting a new wave of refugees because it is already hosting about 3 million Afghan refugees in the country. “However, we are facilitating those who are reaching our borders.”

He said Pakistan is in contact with Afghan Taliban leaders following the release of members of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghan jails, and the Afghan Taliban leaders have assured them that they will not let their soil be used against Pakistan.

Regarding the recent development in Afghanistan, many believed that the withdrawal of the U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan has not only made things tough for the people of Afghanistan but also created a refugee crisis by displacing over half a million Afghans.

“The United States should shoulder the responsibility of refugees and provide them financial support in order to somewhat clear the mess it has created. It should realize why the people are suffering,” former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar told Xinhua.

Afghan refugees ride on a donkey-cart on the outskirts of Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Aug. 22, 2021.

Published : August 24, 2021

By : xinhua

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005155

Asean sees a drop in new Covid-19 cases

The number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia crossed 9.39 million, with 76,446 new cases reported on Monday, lower than Sunday’s tally of 81,948. The region also saw 1,941 additional deaths, a decrease from Monday’s 2,549, taking total coronavirus deaths to 208,115.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered that the price of the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests should be cut to a range between 450,000 and 550,000 rupiah (THB1,037-1,268) from the previous maximum of 900,000 rupiah set by the Health Ministry.

The government decided to cut RT-PCR test prices following heated debates that the tests were considered too expensive.

Widodo also ordered that the results of the tests must be available within 24 hours as the country needs to speedily tackle the raging virus.

Meanwhile, the Philippines reported 18,332 new cases and 151 deaths on Monday, bringing cumulative cases in that country to 1,857,646 patients and a total 31,961 deaths so far.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Public Health Ministry and the Fiscal Policy Office to immediately distribute allowances and “hazard” salaries to front-line medics after several doctors and nurses threatened to quit their jobs due to delayed payments.

Published : August 24, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005153

Ardern defends elimination goal as New Zealand outbreak grows

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defended her Covid-19 elimination strategy as she further extended a strict, nationwide lockdown to counter a worsening outbreak of the delta strain of the virus.

The entire country will remain at Level 4 restrictions, the highest level of lockdown, until midnight Aug. 27, Ardern told a news conference Monday in Wellington. That means the lockdown, initially put in place for three days, will now be in force for at least 10 days. Largest city Auckland, the epicenter of the outbreak, will remain at Level 4 for at least two weeks, until midnight Aug. 31.

“We do need more information, we need more certainty,” Ardern said. “We don’t want to take any risks with delta.”

The delta variant is testing New Zealand’s elimination strategy because it is so much more transmissible than the first iteration of the virus and has a shorter incubation period, giving contact tracers less time to find and isolate positive cases before they become infectious. In neighboring Australia, which is also struggling to contain a delta outbreak, Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to abandon his Covid-Zero strategy once 70% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

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Ardern said her government still plans to “stamp out” the current outbreak, which on Monday grew by 35 cases to a total of 107.

“For now, the elimination strategy is the right thing for New Zealand,” she said. “We can only look at what’s best for us and we know an elimination strategy has worked for New Zealand before. Going into next year, let’s continue to get advice. We are constantly learning, constantly adapting.”

Sydney has now been in lockdown for two months and the city’s six million residents are wearying of it as authorities implement tougher stay-at-home restrictions in some areas, including nightly curfews. There were 818 new cases detected in New South Wales state on Monday.

Melbourne is in its sixth lockdown and today recorded 71 new cases.

New Zealand and Australia have both had slow vaccine rollouts, leaving them vulnerable to delta. According to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, only 24% of all Australians and 20% of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated.

New Zealand has so far run a successful elimination strategy, defined as having zero tolerance for new cases. The South Pacific nation has recorded fewer than 2,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and just 26 deaths.

Ardern said early estimates suggest the transmission rate in the current outbreak — the number of people that each case infects on average — may be six or greater. It needs to be less than one to stamp the virus out, “so we have some way to go yet,” she said.

There were over 320 locations of interest and more than 13,000 contacts recorded. At this stage, cases have only been identified in Auckland and Wellington, but there are contacts all over the country, Ardern said.

Published : August 24, 2021

By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Matthew Brockett