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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404533

Chinese Sinopharm jab under fire over ‘safety and efficacy’ concerns

Apr 05. 2021

By by Suresh Perer
The Island/ANN

Expert panel warns against using the unproven vaccine in SL.

In the backdrop of an independent panel of medical experts cautioning against administering the controversial Chinese manufactured Covid-19 Sinopharm jab over “safety and efficacy” concerns, a key body of eminent medical specialists last week warned of the adverse fallout of using an unproven vaccine in Sri Lanka.

In what was described as a “strong warning”, the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) drove home the point that adopting the roll out of any vaccine that’s unproven could reflect adversely on the fight against the pandemic.

“As the expert medical panel concluded there was insufficient data provided to make a determination on the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the Sinopharm vaccine, it was accordingly concluded that this vaccine should not be used in Sri Lanka under the present circumstances”, Dr. Lalantha Ranasinghe, the president of the prestigious body of medical professionals, said.

“Scientific evidence by experts should form the basis of any move to curb the pandemic”, the powerful Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) stressed.

Despite this clear recommendation of a properly-constituted independent expert advisory panel, we are concerned about reports that a newly reconstituted Board of the NMRA appears to have taken an unprecedented step to disregard the expert panel opinion and allowed the import of the vaccine to be used in Sri Lankans”, Dr. Ranasinghe said.

The independent advisory panel appointed by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) on candidate vaccines for use in Sri Lanka, comprised Dr. Rajiva de Silva, Prof. Neelika Malavige, Prof. Arunasalam Pathmeswaran, Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema, Dr. Kanthi Nanayakkara, Prof. Channa Ranasinhe, Dr. Hasitha Tissera and Dr. LakKumar Fernando.

In its ‘conclusion’ in relation to Sinopharm based on data forwarded to the NMRA on 01.03.2021 and 15.03.2021 by the vaccine manufacturer, the expert panel was of the opinion that the data submitted was not sufficient to decide on immunogenicity, safety and efficacy of this vaccine at present and therefore recommends not to use the vaccine until more information is made available and evaluated.

The panel submitted the review report titled “SARS-CoV2 vaccine (vero cell) inactivated manufactured by Beijing Institute of Biological Products” to Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe, NMRA’s Chief Executive Officer on March 17, 2021.

The panel found clarifications provided with regard to regulatory and administrative information to be satisfactory. However, important clinical information that has not yet been provided and their significance for easy reference, the report said.

Saying that it is deeply perturbed over conflicting statements by government sources, the NMRA and the media regarding the Chinese manufactured Sinopharm vaccine, the AMS noted that the panel, after reviewing all the data made available by the manufacturer of Sinopharm, concluded that there is insufficient data provided to make a determination on the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine.

It was accordingly concluded that the Sinopharm vaccine should not be used in Sri Lanka under the present circumstances, the AMS said in a statement.

“We also note with great anxiety and dismay of certain arbitrary appointments and removals being made to the NMRA Board. We strongly believe such moves as an attempt to undermine the scientific basis of vaccine approval and hence it’s safety, efficacy and acceptance by the general public”, it noted.

“As specialists doctors working in the frontline, we do understand the pressing need for safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19 However, we do recognize that any decision on the suitability of a Covid-19 vaccine must be taken on sound scientific evidence in line with practices of stringent regulatory authorities and the World Health Organization”, it stressed.

With Sri Lanka having an enviable record in the uptake of immunization, one should be mindful of any action deleteriously impact the confidence and acceptance of vaccines, the professional body of specialists further said.

The AMS is a strong advocate for a careful, timely and transparent review of candidate vaccines by the NMRA with the support of relevant experts. The first step towards this is to ensure the independence of the National Medicines Regulator is maintained, it added.

“Any decision on controlling, mitigating or eradicating a public health emergency should be taken on a scientific, evidence based methodology by experts”, says Dr. Sumith Ananda, GMOA spokesman.

Adopting a vaccine, whether it’s Chinese, Indian or from whatever country, should not be based on political or commercial interests as it’s a health-related issue. Experts should determine the outcome, not laymen, he noted.

Apart from evaluating a manufacturer’s guidelines, it’s imperative to ascertain whether a vaccine has been approved by the WHO and evidence of its use locally and internationally, he explained.

“We should look at the pandemic not from a Sri Lankan viewpoint but from a global perspective”, he added.

Asked for comment, an official knowledgeable on the developments, said the opinion of NMRA’s Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases was not to administer the jab as the data provided was insufficient.

None of the eleven stringent regulatory authorities recommended by the WHO has given the green light to use the vaccine. Neither has the WHO itself approved it, the official, who asked not be named, asserted.

“It is no secret that there’s geopolitics and vaccine diplomacy involved in these matters. However, as it stands the Sinopharm jab cannot be used in Sri Lanka due to critical safety and efficacy concerns”, the official explained.

The panel of experts looked at evidence, but there was no adequate data received for an indepth scientific evaluation to give the go ahead for the jab, he said.

Chinese nationals living in Sri Lanka will be given priority for the Sinopharm vaccine donated by Beijing last week.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404532

China intent on occupying West Philippine Sea – Lorenzana

Apr 05. 2021Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

By Jeannette I. Andrade
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN

The Philippine defense chief on Sunday pressed his attack against the monthlong presence of dozens of Chinese vessels at a reef, accusing China of planning to again occupy maritime features in the West Philippine Sea or areas within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The dispute erupted last month when Manila lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing and demanded the withdrawal from the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef of more than 200 Chinese maritime militia vessels.

The military reported that 44 of them were still moored at the reef last week and nearly 200 more were scattered around other reefs and Pag-asa (Thitu), the biggest island occupied by Filipinos within the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ.

“The continued presence of Chinese maritime militias in the area reveals their intent to further occupy features in the West Philippine Sea,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement on Sunday.

On Saturday, Lorenzana said he was “no fool” to believe the Chinese explanation that the ships were just fishing boats that had taken shelter at the reef due to bad weather, as the embassy had explained.

He said the weather was fine and there was no reason for them to remain at the reef. “Get out of there,” he said in Filipino.

In what is turning out to be a virtual verbal skirmish with the Philippine defense chief, the Chinese Embassy on Saturday evening shot back at Lorenzana for making

“wanton remarks.”

“The Chinese Embassy has taken note of the perplexing statement by Philippine Defense Secretary on Chinese fishing vessels around Niu’e Jiao in the South China Sea,” the embassy said in a statement, calling the reef by its Chinese name.

It maintained its claim that the reef was part of China’s Nansha Islands and a “traditional fishing ground” for the Chinese “for many years.” Nansha is what China calls the Spratlys archipelago, which is composed of reefs, atolls and islets that straddle the South China Sea.

“It is completely normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish in the waters and take shelter near the reef during rough sea conditions,” the embassy said. “Nobody has the right to make wanton remarks on such activities.”

Saying it is “committed in safeguarding peace and stability in the waters,” the embassy expressed hope that Philippine officials “would make constructive efforts and avoid any unprofessional remarks which may further fan irrational emotions.”

In his statement on Sunday, Lorenzana lashed out at the embassy for its “utter disregard” of international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, saying its conduct was “appalling.”

 

Solid ground

In response to the Chinese claims over the reef, he said that the Philippine claims “stand on solid ground, while China’s do not.”

“Its nine-dash line claim is without any factual or legal basis,” he added, referring to China’s sweeping claims to nearly the entire South China Sea. “This, together with its so-called historical claim, was flatly and categorically rejected by the arbitral tribunal.”

In 2016, the international arbitral tribunal ruled to invalidate Beijing’s South China Sea claims and upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its EEZ, including reefs on which the Chinese had built artificial islands which it had turned into military outposts. China rejected the ruling.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said, “China can say what it wants, Philippines will do what it must to keep what’s hers by right.”

“Irrelevant whether we possess commensurate military power to meet the challenge; we will not yield but die—or trigger World War 3. Not a bad outcome; living is overrated. Honor is all,” he said in a post on Twitter on Sunday.

Locsin returned two days earlier from a trip to China for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. No statement about the visit has been released.

Lorenzana reminded China of its obligations under the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, to “refrain from conducting activities that disturb regional and international peace and security.”

China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the declaration and promised to work on a more binding Code of Conduct.

 

Not an exchange for vaccines

Surigao del Sur Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Sunday said Philippine territory was “not for sale nor trade” and “not equivalent” to China’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines.

“We are not ceding any portion of our territory in exchange for the vaccines,” he said in a statement.

China had donated about 1 million shots of the COVID-19 vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

Locsin said, however, that “there is not even the faintest suggestion from China that the vaccines it generously provides has an exchange in mind be it sovereignty or concession.”

“It is just, Wang Yi said, what good neighbors do for each other. Chinese not cheap. It is help extended; no submission expected,” he said in response to a tweet from another person.

—WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND NESTOR CORRALES INQ

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404503

Preparing for the return of tourism

Apr 04. 2021

By CHINADAILY/ANN

Pent-up demand impossible to ignore as time estimates vary for travel recovery

As international travel came to a standstill in 2020, companies in the travel and tourism industries hit a wall. Business dried up to almost nothing.

Now, with vaccination campaigns beginning to pick up speed, plans around travel bubbles falling in place and discussions around vaccination certificates proliferating, there is hope for a big rebound that will supercharge the moribund industry.

The year 2019 saw almost 2 billion international tourism departures around the world. But that number evaporated in 2020, even for domestic travel. The World Economic Forum estimates the travel industry lost $1.3 trillion in 2020.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, or UNWTO, 1 billion fewer international arrivals were recorded in 2020 than in 2019, a plummet of 74 percent. Even during the global crisis of 2009, the decline was just 4 percent.

Malaysia recorded just 4.22 million tourist arrivals in 2020, down from 26.1 million in 2019, while tourism revenues fell 85 percent. Thailand lost 40 million tourists and experienced the worst economic downturn since the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Foreign arrivals in Vietnam fell 79 percent to just 3.8 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

The plunging numbers have forced the industry to adapt.

Singapore’s Blue Sky Escapes is a good example of how the adaptation is playing out. Blue Sky specialized in outbound journeys but had to shift its offerings as COVID-19 hit in February 2020.

“At the onslaught of the virus in February, we were busy dealing with change and cancellation requests,” said Blue Sky Escapes Director Krystal Tan. “Many of the trips we spent months working on were indefinitely postponed or canceled.”

For a short period, Blue Sky focused on wellness staycations, but then social distancing measures kicked in. Blue Sky shifted again to provide virtual experiences.

“It was definitely a big shift for us to pivot from a predominantly outbound travel company to pretty much an events programming company with the virtual experiences,” Tan said. “But we found this to be the most effective way to continue engaging with and growing our community.”

When restrictions began to lift in July 2020, the company went back to offering staycations. It has arranged about 850 staycations and the future is beginning to look brighter.

“Domestic and foreign staycation bookings have picked up a great deal since February 2021 and we are also starting to receive requests for overseas trips for travel in 2022,” Tan said. “This is a huge contrast to 12 months ago－I would say there has been a more than a 100 percent increase.”

The company is starting to see requests for trips to places with more relaxed quarantine measures such as Maldives, Sri Lanka and Dubai.

“We’ve most certainly observed an upward trend based on the number of requests we have received in the last five to six weeks,” Tan said. “The big question is how quickly things will bounce back, with vaccination plans being rolled out at different rates across the globe. It is a given with most of our clients that they will not travel before being vaccinated.”

The entire global industry is pinning its hopes on the billions of people around the world that are eager to travel. If that pent-up demand is freed up, the super-boom the industry needs to recover could come to pass.

But it is unclear when full-scale travel will again happen. A lot of things have to line up first, including vaccinations, some kind of harmonization regarding testing and government regulations.

The World Travel and Tourism Council is optimistic that a rebound is near, particularly as countries open up. Greece, for example, is set to begin opening up on May 14 and the United Kingdom on May 17.

A recent survey in the UK found people planning to spend a big portion of extra savings accumulated during the lockdowns on a personal expense or a trip. Another survey, done in Canada by Mainstreet Research for iPolitics, a Canadian news website, found that 56 percent of Canadians would travel internationally within a year of the pandemic and 81 percent would do so after a year.

The International Air Travel Association, or IATA, is piloting a travel pass that would allow travelers to manage health credentials on mobile devices. The first traveler using the pass arrived in London on a Singapore Airlines flight on March 18. The European Union is working on its own vaccine passport, hoping to have it in place before the summer and the United States is also considering COVID-19 health credentials.

The World Health Organization has established a Smart Vaccination Certificate Working Group to find ways to align all the different vaccines available around the world. The 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considering a common digital vaccine certificate.

Travel bubbles are also beginning to form. The first emerged in May 2020, with the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Singapore created the Reciprocal Green Lane and the Air Travel Pass, has set up arrangements for Malaysian workers and is in discussions with Australia for a travel bubble. Australia has a one-way travel bubble with New Zealand, which was suspended several times.

In turn, Malaysia is working on setting up bubbles with other countries in the region, but Tourism Malaysia’s director-general Zulkifly Md Said told the media that bubbles cannot be set up unilaterally. “Certain timeframes would allow us to plan, but it is beyond our authority,” he said. “The urgency is not only with us, but with the countries we are talking to.”

Indonesia is planning a one-way bubble for Singaporeans to go to the beach resorts of Batam and Bintan, perhaps as early as April 21. The two islands are a short ferry ride from Singapore and visits are a common weekend getaway for Singaporeans.

While still in the early stages, these developments could set the stage for a much-needed rebound. International and domestic tourism industries have been decimated. Cruises have been suspended. Airlines have cut flights, laid off staff and even gone bankrupt. Hotels are operating well below capacity. Tourist attractions are empty.

“2020 was the worst year in history for air travel demand,” said Albert Tjoeng, the Singapore-based head of corporate communications at IATA. “Our most recent analysis shows that the airline industry is expected to remain cash-negative through this year, a worsening of what we had previously assessed that the industry would turn cash-positive in (the fourth quarter of) 2021.”

The air travel industry alone lost $118 billion through 2020 and demand fell almost 66 percent compared to 2019. And 2021 started off worse, Tjoeng said, noting that there were 78 percent fewer forward bookings in February 2021 than in February 2019.

“We are not expecting passenger demand to return to 2019 levels until 2024,” said Tjoeng.

In 2019, there were around 51 million intraregional visits within ASEAN and the industry would very much like to get some of those travelers back on the road.

CITS Travel in Singapore, for example, is “hoping for bookings starting on the second half of the year with the rolling-out of vaccines”, said Director Paul Yip. “We have still not gotten any bookings.”

The entire industry is certain that a bounce-back boom will happen, but opinions are divided as to when. Estimates range from later this year to 2024, depending on the availability of COVID-19 testing and the willingness of governments to open up.

Breakaway Travel International Ltd, a Hong Kong travel agency, lost about 90 percent of its business and currently has just 10 air ticket bookings, according to Director KP Chan. “We do not expect significant improvement in the current year but hope to gradually recover in 2022,” Chan said.

But even when it rebounds, travel and tourism may have changed forever.

Pretty much the entire industry, from the large cruise lines and airlines to individual operators such as tour guides, will have to adapt. Airlines in countries like South Korea or Australia, for example, are offering “flights to nowhere”－basically touring countries from the sky. Individual tour operators have also had to change the way they do business, much like Blue Sky Escapes in Singapore did.

Kang Dong-won, a tour guide in Hong Kong, has taken to filming weekly virtual tours. He uploads them to his “Mr. Kang in Hong Kong” YouTube channel.

“I believe big-scale package tours are a thing of the past, as travelers will fear being in large groups even in a post-COVID-19 world,” Kang said. “So even when tourists return, it will be in smaller groups and revenue will take a hit. This will probably make returning to being a full-time tour guide more difficult.”

The domestic tourism industry on the Chinese mainland may be an exception, thanks to swift return to some kind of normalcy later in 2020.

The industry went through a blip in early 2021, when the government discouraged trips during Lunar New Year holiday, usually the busiest travel season of the year, after a small spike in COVID-19 cases.

Still, tourism revenue during the Lunar New Year in 2021 reached 301.1 billion yuan ($46.24 billion), higher than the 278.28 billion yuan the industry earned in 2020 when the pandemic lockdowns were in full force, but much lower than the 513.9 billion yuan the industry generated in 2019, according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The China Tourism Academy now expects that 4.1 billion domestic trips will be made in the country this year, up 42 percent from last year.

Travel within China, and eventually out of the country, could lead the way to a global recovery. There were 155 million outbound international tourists from China in 2019, and many of them are eager to get back on the road. Chinese tourists are likely to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into economies around the world.

On March 8, China launched an International Travel Health Certificate that operates via WeChat and shows results of recent tests and vaccinations, but quarantine requirements remain in place.

With the many disparate efforts underway to kickstart the industry, any rebound may be uneven.

In a recent survey, the UNWTO found many industry experts do not expect the industry to return to pre-pandemic levels for two years and say COVID-19 testing, tracing and vaccination certificates will be key components of any rebound. Just 15 percent of respondents to the UNWTO survey expect a rebound next year and 43 percent expect it by 2023. Still, 45 percent of respondents to the same survey say 2021 will be better than 2020.

Despite the uncertainty about the future, it is impossible to ignore the pent-up demand for travel.

Chris Chuang, a lawyer and avid traveler, has not left Hong Kong for more than a year. He has not taken a plane out of the city or even a train into the Chinese mainland, and is eager to get back on the road.

“I love traveling and Italy and Japan are two of my favorite destinations,” Chuang said. “I hope COVID-19 will be over very soon, as I had to cancel six trips in 2020 alone.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404497

Warrants issued for artists, entertainers that called for CDM participation

Apr 04. 2021Photo – dsinfomm.blogspot.com

By Eleven Media/ANN

According to the daily news program from state-owned MRTV channel, warrants under Section 505(a) have been issued for artists and entertainers that had called for participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

According to the daily news program from state-owned MRTV channel, warrants under Section 505(a) have been issued for artists and entertainers that had called for participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

R Zarni, Chan Chan, Chan Myae Maung Cho, Eaindra Kyaw Zin, Khin Wint Wah, Kyaw Kyaw Nanda, Ye Htike, Paing Phyo Thu, Min Maw Kun, Po Po were few amongst the many announced to have been charged.

In the MRTV annoucement, it said that those with warrants issued for them had called for CDM to damage the state’s governance mechanism, for supporting the illegal organization that is the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and for generally inciting the people to disturb the peace and stability of the nation, further stating that more will be announced in the future.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404495

Việt Nam strives to become regional pioneer in reducing ocean plastic waste

Apr 04. 2021Plastic waste on Cam Bình Island, Cam Ranh, the south-central provine of Khánh Hoà in 2019. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Chí Tường

By Viet Nam News/ANN

BERLIN — Việt Nam is striving to become a regional pioneer in reducing ocean plastic waste, attendees heard at a recent virtual meeting of environmental officials from Việt Nam, Germany, Ecuador and Ghana.

At the event, they discussed the holding of a Ministerial Conference set for September to reach a global strategy to end marine litter and plastic pollution, with an aim to ensuring a future with clean seas.

Tạ Đình Thi, Director General of the Việt Nam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, underlined that now is the time for countries to come together to develop a cohesive global framework – with clear milestones, stakeholder roles and responsibilities and progress indicators – to tackle transboundary marine litter and plastic pollution issues.

“Southeast Asia is in a unique position with a significant role to play here, and a new global agreement will provide the essential boost to our regional and national actions against the global plastic crisis,” he added.

Việt Nam has adopted a development strategy to promote the maritime economy in parallel with protecting maritime environment and ecosystems, specifying “Preventing, controlling and significantly mitigating marine environmental pollution; being a regional pioneer in reducing ocean plastic waste” among the country’s objectives for 2030.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), called for transformational action now to put the brakes on plastic pollution.

She affirmed that the UNEP stood ready to support member states’ discussions towards stronger global action on single-use plastics, while urging them and other stakeholders to start the work of eliminating single-use plastics where possible.

According to the organisers, a global agreement is needed to build consensus on the threat of marine litter, in a bid to unlock funding and provide the framework and impetus for action and change at local, national, regional and international levels.

More than 120 countries have some sort of legislation in place to regulate or ban the use of single-use plastics, heard the meeting.

In Africa, 34 of 54 nations have instituted bans on single-use plastics, while the European Union has also introduced a single-use plastics ban as well as an export ban on unsorted plastic waste.

However, the flow of plastic into the ocean continues, and is projected to nearly triple by 2040. — VNS

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404494

New virus cases above 500 for 5th day, another potential wave worrisome

Apr 04. 2021This photo, taken on Friday, shows citizens waiting in line to receive COVID-19 tests at a makeshift testing site set up in front of Seoul Station. (Yonhap)

By The Korea Herald/ANN

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases exceeded 500 for the fifth straight day on Sunday, putting health authorities on alert over another potential wave of virus infections amid spring weather.

The country reported 543 more COVID-19 cases, including 514 local infections, raising the total caseload to 105,279, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The country added four more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,744.

The daily virus cases have stayed above 500 since Wednesday. A third wave of infections here, which began in mid-November last year, has shown little sign of slowing down, with the daily cases having recently stayed in the 300-400s for more than a month after peaking at a record high of 1,241 on Dec. 25.

Health authorities warned of another wave as cluster infections at various facilities, including saunas, hospitals and workplaces, continued. The movement of people has also risen amid warm spring weather.

To contain further spread of the virus, the Level 2 social distancing rules have been extended in the greater Seoul area, home to half of the country’s 51 million, for another two weeks until April 11. The rest of the country will be put under Level 1.5 for the same period.

Under Level 2, gatherings of five or more people are banned, while restaurants and other public facilities are allowed to remain open till 10 p.m.

Since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26, a total of 962,083 people have been given COVID-19 vaccine shots, including 27,298 the previous day.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been given to 855,929 people, while 106,154 received that of Pfizer.

South Korea aims to achieve herd immunity by November.

Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 146 new cases, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital city identified 146 new patients. The southern port city of Busan reported 60 more cases.

The number of new imported cases came to 29, raising the total to 7,679.

The number of patients with serious symptoms across the country reached 99, down from 101 the previous day, the KDCA said.

The total number of people released from quarantine after making full recoveries moved up 393 to 96,589. (Yonhap)

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Taiwan train accident: At least 50 killed, flags to be flown at half-mast from Saturday

Apr 03. 2021

By Katherine Wei
The Straits Times/ANN

TAIPEI – Flags in Taiwan will be lowered to half-mast for three days, starting on Saturday (April 3), to mourn the people who were killed when an express train derailed in a tunnel on Friday morning after hitting a truck that had slid down a bank onto the track.

At least 50 on board the train were killed – the youngest was six years old – and more than 140 injured in the island’s worst rail disaster.

The 408 Taroko Express, carrying four crew members and 492 passengers, was travelling from Taipei to Taitung, where most of its passengers hail from. Many were heading home at the start of the Qing Ming Festival to tend to family graves. One French citizen was among the dead, officials said.

The eight-carriage train derailed just after entering a tunnel in Hualien County. The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said the train hit a construction vehicle that had slipped onto the tracks at the tunnel’s mouth.

Friday’s accident was the deadliest railway accident in Taiwan since the TRA introduced the Tze-chiang limited express, its fastest train category, in 1978. The Taroko Express is a newer model of the Tze-chiang trains.

The crash left four carriages a twisted wreck.

According to the National Fire Agency, some passengers’ bodies were not in one piece when the rescuers arrived, which caused confusion when updating the death toll.

The train’s operator Yuan Chun-hsiu was also pronounced dead. The 33-year-old Taichung native’s death left his family and colleagues in shock.

“I hope he didn’t suffer any pain,” said his mother to Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, who visited the Yuan family after the news of the operator’s death.

Mr Yuan, the youngest child of the family, is survived by his mother, three sisters and wife.

The TRA has organised an emergency response team to handle the accident.

The driver of the truck has been taken to a Hualien police station for questioning, said Hualien County Police Bureau chief Tsai Ting-hsien on Friday afternoon.

The truck’s handbrake was allegedly not engaged properly, the authorities said. The TRA is planning to demand compensation from the company that owns the truck.

“Who knew the truck would just slide down to the tracks 28 minutes later?” said an employee surnamed Chang.

Though allegedly caused by the truck, Friday’s crash has sparked anew longstanding questions about rail safety in Taiwan.

Upon seeing the twisted train in the tunnel, a Red Cross rescuer leading a team of 11 rescuers described the site as a “living hell”. Ambulances were dispatched from Hualien, Yilan and New Taipei City to help the passengers.

The death toll rose as more were pulled from the twisted train carriages, while those uninjured opened exits on the train’s top and hopped down with the help of fire fighters. All survivors were helped out of the wreckage before 7pm.

The TRA said it may take a week for the site to be fully restored.

The Taroko Express is one of the local trains that allow passengers to purchase standing tickets, and the 408 train was a packed train with many passengers standing. They were tossed about by the crash impact.

The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the accident, but it may take between three and six months for a conclusion to surface.

“It could be that the handbrake of the truck wasn’t engaged, or that the handbrake had malfunctioned,” said Yang Hung-chih, who is heading the investigation.

Friday’s accident reminded many of the last serious train accident that happened in October 2018, when a Puyuma train derailed in Yilan, just north of Hualien. The Puyuma accident caused 18 deaths, and over 200 people were injured.

The injured on Friday were sent to at least six hospitals near the crash site.

President Tsai Ing-wen is scheduled to visit the injured in Hualien’s hospitals on Saturday morning, and has expressed her sorrow over the loss of so many people.

“It’s regrettable that an accident happened on the first day of holidays, leading to heavy casualties,” she said at a briefing in Taipei on Friday, vowing to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the collision.

China’s Cabinet-level Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) sent its condolences on Friday evening.

“The mainland is highly concerned about the rescue progress,” said Mr Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the TAO.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404475

Malaysia’s Petronas declares force majeure at Myanmar gas field

Apr 03. 2021The decision came after challenges that resulted in the production rate dropping below the technical threshold of the offshore gas processing plant, Petronas said.

By The Star/ANN

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas said on Friday that its Myanmar unit had declared force majeure on its Yetagun field on Thursday due to depletion of gas production.

The decision came after challenges that resulted in the production rate dropping below the technical threshold of the offshore gas processing plant, Petronas said in a statement.

It added that the unit, PC Myanmar (Hong Kong) Limited (PCML), had temporarily ceased production until further notice at the Yetagun field, located in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar in Blocks M12, M13 and M14.

Country head Liau Min Hoe said the field was already producing well below the minimum capacity of its facilities before the production halt.

“There has been a drastic decline in production level due to subsurface challenges in the field since January 2021 and it has further deteriorated recently,” he said, without giving more details of those problems.

PCML, which has been operating the gas project since 2003, holds a 40.9% participating interest together with an affiliate, while Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise holds 20.5%. Other stakeholders are Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) Limited holding 19.3% and PTTEP International Limited with the remaining 19.3%.

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S. Korea, Japan, US agree on need to quickly resume dialogue with N. Korea

Apr 03. 2021South Korean National Security Adviser Suh Hoon (R) talks with his US and Japanese counterparts — Jake Sullivan (C) and Shigeru Kitamura (L) — at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on Friday. (Capture of the White House National Security Council’s Twitter)

By The Korea Herald/ANN

South Korea, Japan and the United States have agreed on the need to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue as they reaffirmed their joint efforts to quickly resume denuclearization talks with Pyongyang, South Korea’s national security adviser Suh Hoon said Friday.

“South Korea, the US and Japan agreed on the urgency of the North Korean nuclear issue and need for a diplomatic solution to the issue,” Suh told reporters after a three-way meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Shigeru Kitamura.

The three also agreed that “efforts to resume North Korea-US negotiations at an early date must continue,” he added.

Friday’s meeting between the top security advisers of South Korea, Japan and the United States marked the first of its kind since US President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20.

The face-to-face meeting was held at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Washington earlier said the meeting would provide an opportunity to explain the outcome of its ongoing North Korea policy review to the two key US allies in Asia, and also provide Seoul and Tokyo with “another opportunity” to provide their own input into the new US policy on North Kora.

“The US side explained the interim outcome of the ongoing North Korea policy review, and the security advisers of South Korea, the US and Japan held in-depth discussions on various issues related to preparations and implementation of measures for negotiations with North Korea,” Suh said of the meeting.

The US has said its policy review is now in its final stages.

Pyongyang has stayed away from denuclearization talks since its leader Kim Jong-un’s Hanoi summit with former US President Donald Trump, held in February 2019, ended without a deal.

The Biden administration has sought to engage with North Korea since mid-February but says the reclusive nation remains unresponsive to its overtures.

North Korea has said it will continue to ignore US overtures until Washington gives up its hostility toward Pyongyang.

Suh said he highlighted the positive effect a good inter-Korean relationship may have on denuclearization talks with the North.

“We underlined the importance of engagement with North Korea in the denuclearization process, coordinated strategy between South Korea and the United States and the virtuous cycle between inter-Korean relations and denuclearization negotiations,” he said of his bilateral talks with Sullivan.

“The US side explained the progress so far with regard to its North Korea policy review and agreed to continue consulting with us throughout the remainder of the review process,” he said.

Suh also held bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart, Kitamura.

“South Korea and Japan agreed to play constructive and active roles in the process of the US North Korea policy review, and agreed on the importance of cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue,” he told reporters.

The South Korean official said the bilateral and trilateral talks provided an opportunity for the three countries to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

“South Korea, the US and Japan also discussed global issues such as climate change and agreed to strengthen their cooperation based on their shared values. As a result, I believe the three countries were able to hold strategic dialogue on various issues of mutual interest through this trilateral security advisers’ meeting,” Suh said. (Yonhap)

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Vienam’s aviation authority proposes resumption of international flights

Apr 03. 2021Vietnam Airlines will resume some international routes from April 1 to June 30. VNA/VNS photo

By Viet Nam News/ANN

HÀ NỘI — The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted a plan on the reopening of international flights in three stages to the Ministry of Transport (MoT)

Only ‘combo’ flights for Vietnamese citizens will resume in the first phase. Vietnamese carriers will work with partners, diplomatic missions, and localities arranging quarantine areas. A combo ticket includes a flight ticket, COVID-19 testing, quarantine, living cost, and vehicle to pick passengers up from the airport to hotels for quarantine.

The second phase is set to begin from July, with regular flights bringing passengers to Việt Nam restarted. After arrival, entrants including Vietnamese citizens and foreigners have to stay in quarantine.

Flights will initially be on routes between Việt Nam and Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China). The number of weekly flights arriving in Việt Nam will total 24, with up to 7,000 passengers going into quarantine.

The third phase may start in September, depending on the COVID-19 vaccination process in Việt Nam and an assessment on herd immunity after that. Passengers on the flights need not go to quarantine upon arrival as “vaccine passports” will be in place.

The CAAV said that the plan will be applicable to countries and territories that accept the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines Việt Nam has authorised for use.

Võ Huy Cường, CAAV’s deputy director, said: “Flights will only be licensed after the quarantine reception plan is agreed by the locality.”

To do so, the airline must submit a flight plan that must include the local approved quarantine admission plan where the airport is located.

CAAV said the deployment market included countries and territories that have announced the acceptance of the COVID-19 efficacy of the same vaccine that Việt Nam has announced for widespread application.

Accordingly, there will be no centralised isolation required for passengers who test negative for SARS-CoV-2 using Real-time PCR technique for between three and five days before entering Việt Nam and with the vaccinated certificate from their government-approved vaccination establishments or under the World Health Organization (WHO) vaccination facility system for COVID-19.

Passengers after entry must declare to the local authorities their place of residence and isolate themselves for seven to 14 days while passengers who do not have a certificate of negative test for SARS-CoV-2 and vaccinated certificates must be on a paid quarantine package for 14 days.

On March 17, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc requested related ministries and branches to review and study the reopening of international routes step by step, preparing plans to deploy the application of “vaccine passports” and controlled trade.

A “vaccine passport” is known as an immunisation certificate in the form of a carry-on document or information published online to confirm an individual’s vaccinated status. In that case the individual can be allowed to travel to another country with no quarantine requirements after entry.

China was the first country to recognise the application of COVID-19 vaccination results to remove all restrictions and quarantine requirements for people who have been vaccinated while travelling within China.

The United States and Europe also supported such a solution and they were working on an agreement on the effectiveness of one or more vaccines against COVID-19.

Responding to the plan, Vietnam Airlines said it would resume international routes between Hà Nội – Narita (Tokyo, Japan), Hà Nội – Incheon (Seoul, South Korea), Hà Nội – Sydney and HCM City – Sydney (Australia), from April 1. In addition, the national airline also planned to launch package flights from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (China) after being licensed from the authorities.

Nguyễn Minh Mẫn, head of communication and marketing of TST Tourist Company, told local media the move would be a positive signal for the tourism industry. — VNS