Day: July 9, 2021

As Indonesia deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Biden administration on Friday is sending the nation 3 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.

“In addition to the vaccines we’re also sending, we’re moving forward on plans to increase assistance for Indonesia’s broader COVID-19 response efforts,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki during a briefing to reporters Friday.

“We recognize the difficult situation Indonesia currently finds itself in with a surge of COVID cases. And our thoughts are with those affected by this surge.”

Indonesia is battling a record-breaking surge in new cases and deaths due to the highly contagious delta variant.

A senior administration official told VOA the shipment was one of the largest batches the U.S. had donated. In total, the U.S. has allocated 4 million doses for Indonesia, with the remaining 1 million doses to be shipped “soon.”

The administration is also sending 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Moldova, the first batch of U.S. vaccine shared with Europe. In addition, 1.5 million Johnson & Johnson doses will be sent to Nepal, and 500,000 Moderna doses to Bhutan.

Indonesia surge    

During a Friday press conference, Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi confirmed the shipment.

“This is the first shipment through the COVAX mechanism,” Marsudi said, referring to the United Nations vaccine-sharing mechanism.

 

Indonesia, with only about 5% of its population fully vaccinated, relies heavily on Chinese vaccines. The country has procured 108.5 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine but is seeing rising infection rates among medical workers fully vaccinated with it.

After several fully inoculated medical personnel had died from COVID-19, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Friday the government would give 1.47 million health workers a shot of the Moderna vaccine.

“The third jab will only be given to health workers, because health workers are the ones who are exposed to high levels of virus every day,” he told a press conference. “They must be protected at all costs.”

The Indonesian government authorized the Moderna vaccine for emergency use last week.

Broader COVID-19 response efforts  

The senior White House official said that in addition to providing vaccines, the administration is moving forward on plans to increase assistance for Indonesia’s broader COVID-19 response efforts.

“To date, we have provided more than $14.5 million in direct COVID-19 relief to Indonesia, including $3.5 million to help vaccinate Indonesians quickly and safely,” the official said.

 

The official added that support from the U.S. Agency for International Development had also provided Jakarta with public health education, training for thousands of health workers, funding for a national COVID-19 information website that has reached more than 36 million people, COVID-19 testing equipment, 1,000 ventilators and nearly 2,000 hand-washing stations.

The 4 million-dose vaccine shipment to Indonesia is part of the 80 million doses the U.S. has allocated to help countries in need, on top of the 500 million doses it has committed to COVAX.

Activists say it is not enough.

“We need far more from the United States and other countries that have surpluses to share,” said Tom Hart, acting CEO of the ONE Campaign, a nonprofit group that fights global poverty and disease.

According to CDC data, most U.S. states have administered at least 75% of the first vaccine doses allocated to them.

Hart pointed out that in some countries, less than 1% of people have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We have locked up in the United States and the G-7 and other EU countries the global supply of the very thing to end this pandemic,” Hart said. “And so far, not sharing at nearly the pace or scale that we need to reach what’s the global herd immunity that will make all of us safe.”

Responding to a question from VOA about plans to donate more doses, White House press secretary Psaki said the U.S. is already the largest contributor. Of the 1 billion doses pledged by wealthy nations of the G-7, some 580 billion are from the U.S.

“The president has made clear that we will continue to build from here, and we’re working on manufacturing capacity around the world and in the United States and we will continue to contribute even beyond the billion doses,” Psaki said.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

Myanmar’s post-coup ruling State Administration Council has, since the last week of February, been arresting family members of dissidents in an effort to pressure the dissidents to turn themselves in, according to dissidents, lawyers helping those charged, and an official of the opposition National Unity Government.

Family members of activists, politicians, and officials involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement, they say, have been arrested and imprisoned by SAC. Some, they say, were beaten and tortured by security forces for failing to provide information about dissidents who have evaded arrest.

“Arresting innocent family members is a coercive act. We strongly condemn this,” Aung Myo Min, the NUG’s human rights minister, who has spent three decades defending human rights, told VOA June 30.

VOA made repeated attempts to get a comment from the SAC for this report but was unable to do so.

SAC security forces began arresting dissidents’ family members during the last week of February, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.  While there were only a few cases in February and March, according to the AAPP, more than 30 family members were arrested in April.

The AAPP said that as of June 22, at least 85 family members of dissidents have been arrested since the Feb. 1 coup in Myanmar, with 29 released and 53 still in custody. The total includes 41 girls or women ages 2 to 75 years old.

Tin Htut Paing, a well-known activist in Yangon’s working-class North Okkalapa township told VOA June 23 that his mother, Mi Ngal, both of whose sons are activists, was beaten and arrested by SAC forces May 2.

According to Tin Htut Paing, who has been evading arrest and is in hiding, he heard from his father that his mother had been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment under the country’s legal code.

“Although my mother had not committed any crime, was sentenced by the military court to a maximum sentence,” he said.

“As North Okkalapa township is under military rule, no appeal can be lodged of the sentence handed down by the military court,” he said.

“Imprisoning my innocent mother was a manifestation of the atrocities of the military,” Tin Htut Paing added.

Another activist, Zarni Kyaw, told VOA three of his family members had been arrested because of his actions.

Zarni Kyaw, 41, a protest leader, left his township in central Myanmar after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Three weeks later, soldiers came to his home and arrested his 80-year-old father, 49-year-old sister and 60-year-old uncle, he told VOA.

“My dad is a retired military personnel and had served for Tatmadaw [the Myanmar military] for many years. But they don’t care and appreciate his service,” said Zarni Kyaw, who is now training with opposition Karen National Union forces.

The whereabouts of family members arrested by the military council are not easy to find out. They were not sent directly to prison, but some were detained in military-owned buildings, and some faced lengthy interrogations at the detention centers, activists and lawyers say.  In some cases, other family members did not know where the detainees were being held until they were sent to prison after days of harsh interrogations, according to lawyer Zarli Aye.

“Some of them were detained for more than a month during interrogation and then were sent to prison,” said Zarli Aye, a member of a “Lawyers for You” team formed in early March to provide free assistance for those arrested.

“When we met with them [arrested family members] in prison, I was told they were forced to call the fugitives to persuade them to come back. Soldiers used various methods against the prisoners when they failed to follow what soldiers asked,” she said.  She said some were beaten and denied food and water for a period of days, and a young girl was threatened with rape.

The lawyers’ group is assisting 20 arrested activists’ family members being held in Yangon’s Insein Prison, but no one has been convicted yet. All cases are being heard in special courts inside the prison, Zarli Aye said.

While the law does not allow anyone to be held for more than 24 hours, since the coup, many people, including activists’ relatives, have been detained illegally for several days with no reason given. Zarli Aye also said these prisoners are not receiving a fair trial  after they have been charged.

“They have been subjected to human rights abuses since before the trial. They were detained for several days without remand. They are not allowed to see family members and to receive food from outside, even after being sent to prison. Also judges impose restrictions on us during the court hearings. My questions to police officers who filed complaints in the case were rejected by judges very often,” Zarli Aye said.

The SAC’s arrests of fugitives’ family members do not seem to be succeeding; activists feel sorry for those arrested but remain determined to continue their fight.

Zarni Kyaw understands his three family members would be released if he surrendered for arrest but still plans to join the Karen National Liberation Army, the military branch of the KNU.

“Joining the KNU and fighting with them is the best way to overthrow the military regime. I hope my father would agree with my decision,” he told VOA.

Tin Htut Paing, the activist whose mother was arrested, has made a similar decision, saying that he expects the opposition to win and on that day, “those unjustly detained with my mother will be released.”

 

 

Source: Voice of America

Karmic fortune has arrived to the digital art market, with a kaleidoscopic splash of colors and the face of a revered Thai monk offering portable Buddhist good luck charms to tech-savvy buyers.

Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — virtual images of anything from popular internet memes to original artwork — have swept the art world in recent months, with some fetching millions of dollars at major auction houses.

CryptoAmulets is the latest venture to chase the craze, with founder Ekkaphong Khemthong sensing opportunity in Thailand’s widespread practice of collecting talismans blessed by revered monks.

“I am an amulet collector and I was thinking about how I could introduce amulets to foreigners and to the world,” he told AFP.

Collecting amulets and other small religious trinkets is a popular pastime in Buddhist-majority Thailand, where the capital Bangkok has a market solely dedicated to the traders of these lucky objects.

Their value can rise thousands of dollars if blessed by a well-respected monk.

Despite being a digital format, Ekkapong wanted CryptoAmulets to have the same traditional ceremony as a physical piece, which is why he approached Luang Pu Heng, a highly regarded abbot from Thailand’s northeast.

“I respect this monk and I would love the world to know about him — he is a symbol of good fortune in business,” he said.

Luang Pu Heng last month presided over a ceremony to bless physical replicas of the digital amulets, which show a serene image of his face.

He splashed holy water onto his own visage as his saffron-robed disciples chanted and scattered yellow petals on the altar where the portraits were mounted.

‘We just tried to simplify it’

One challenge was trying to explain the concept of NFTs to the 95-year-old abbot, who assumed he would be blessing physical amulets.

“It’s very hard so we just tried to simplify it,” said Singaporean developer Daye Chan.

“We said to him that it’s like blessing the photos.”

Transforming amulets into crypto art also means the usual questions of authenticity plaguing a talisman sold in a market are eliminated, he added.

“There are so many amulets being mass produced… All the records could be lost and these physical items can be easily counterfeited,” Chan said.

NFTs use blockchain technology — an unalterable digital ledger — to record all transactions from the moment of their creation.

“For our amulet, even a hundred years later, they can still check back the record to see what the blockchain is,” Chan said.

But founder Ekkaphong would not be drawn on the karmic effectiveness of digital amulets, compared to their real-life counterparts.

“They are different,” he said.

On the CryptoAmulets website online gallery, different inscriptions are written in Thai — “rich,” “lucky” or “fortunate,” for instance — around each of the tokens.

They are priced on a tiered system in ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, and are currently selling for between $46 and $1,840.

Sales have been slow ahead of Sunday’s purchase deadline, with only 1,500 tokens sold out of the 8,000 available, and with Thais making up most of the buyers.

Thai chef Theerapong Lertsongkram said he bought a CryptoAmulet because of his reverence for objects blessed by Luang Pu Heng, which he says have brought him good fortune.

“I have had several lucky experiences such as winning small lottery prizes… or being promoted on my job,” said Theerapong, who works in a Stockholm restaurant.

“I did not know anything about NFTs before, but I made the decision to buy it as I respect Luang Pu Heng so much,” he told AFP.

But fellow collector Wasan Sukjit — who adorns the interior of his taxi with rare amulets — has a harder time with the concept.

“Amulets need to be something physical, something people can hold,” he scoffed.

“I prefer the ones I can hang on my neck.”

 

 

Source: Voice of America

Thai government officials Friday announced a seven-hour overnight curfew in the capital, Bangkok, and at least six surrounding provinces as COVID-19 surges in the nation.

The announcement came following a lengthy meeting of Thailand’s Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). In a televised statement, CCSA spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said the curfew will run from 9pm to 2am beginning Monday, July 12.

The curfew includes the closing of public transportation networks and all businesses except supermarkets, restaurants, banks, pharmacies and electronics stores which are considered essential.

People have been asked to work from home and leave their houses for only essential purposes, and public gatherings of more than five people are prohibited. Non-essential travel has been banned as well.

Thailand reported 9,276 new daily cases and 72 deaths Friday, as it battles a severe third wave of infections.

Those new restrictions come as Vietnam Friday enacted a two-week lockdown on movement in Ho Chi Minh City to battle a its own growing COVID-19 outbreak. Hanoi also announced plans to vaccinate 50 percent of its adult population by the end of the year and set a goal of vaccinating 70 percent of its population by next March.

The country of 100 million had registered fewer than 3,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as of April. As of Friday, Vietnam had 24,810 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 104 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.

France battles delta variant

Meanwhile, France’s health minister said Friday he expects the highly contagious delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 to become the dominant strain in the nation by Saturday.

In an interview with French radio, Health Minister Health Minister Olivier Veran said the delta variant, originally identified in India, already accounted for nearly 50 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in France as of Thursday. The variant has been found to be as much as 60 percent for contagious that the original virus.

Veran also said he expects a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections to hit France, as soon as later this month. He said senior government ministers will meet Monday to discuss the threat and will consider, among other actions, the possibility of making vaccinations compulsory for health workers and care takers.

White House sends vaccines to Moldova

Also on Friday, White House officials told VOA the United States is sending 500,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. The officials said the shipment will be the first of the U.S. commitment to send 60 million doses of vaccine to Europe.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

KUALA LUMPUR— The upcoming Uzbekistan presidential elections is one of the most important socio-political events this year which is of key importance for further sustainable development of the country and the entire Central Asian region as a whole, in the medium and long term.

In recent years, within the framework of building a democratic, open and competitive New Uzbekistan, huge work has been carried out in ensuring the fundamental rights of citizens to vote and to be elected to representative bodies.

“Consistent measures have been taken to strengthen the legal basis for free and fair elections held on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot openly and publicly.

“At the same time, the electoral legislation of Uzbekistan is being dynamically improved on the basis of national practical experience accumulated during periodically organised elections, as well as taking into account international standards,” said the Uzbekistan embassy in Malaysia in a statement to Bernama.

According to the statement, three steps of development of the electoral legislation of New Uzbekistan was taken, including choosing the path of codification of electoral legislation.

It said in 2019, the Electoral Code was adopted, replacing five previously disparate electoral laws that were in force.

“The Electoral Code was developed with the participation of all political forces and parties of the country, and civil society institutions, on the basis of a nationwide discussion,” it added.

The second step will be ensuring the independence of activities of election commissions at all levels, namely creating more favourable legal conditions for political parties for campaigning, and organising all-party election events, including mass ones, for conducting an election campaign.

The third step will be the formation of legal conditions for fair elections.

“The third step also envisages a number of other novelties that eliminate the technical and organisational issues identified during the previous elections.

“In general, they serve to democratise electoral legislation and practice, taking into account the generally recognised international principles of holding fair and truly democratic elections,” said the statement.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK