Economic

Tech giants back Biden’s plan to charge them more tax, but loopholes are the industry’s ace in the hole

The US has promised that Amazon and Facebook will fall under the new global tax rules agreed by the G7 nations. But even in countries with rock-bottom rates, megacorporations have effectively paid nothing for years. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed on June 06 to implement a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. Bringing in this minimum rate is a goal of the US President Joe Biden administration, and while it will need to be debated by the G20 and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) later this year, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the agreement as “a historic achievement.” The agreement won’t directly affect companies paying tax in the G7 nations, all of which levy corporate taxes at or above 15% already. However, the Irish government defends their right to avoid the taxman. The Emerald Isle is a friendly place for American multinationals: EU membership, an educated, English-speaking workforce, and a corporate tax rate of 12.5% have lured Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple to set up their European headquarters in Dublin and Cork. These firms are some of the biggest names of more than a thousand US multinationals headquartered in Ireland.
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Putin: China-Russia trade expected to reach $200 bln by 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia-China relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and the two sides are expected to boost bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2024. Russia and China have extensive shared interests, which is an important foundation of deepened bilateral cooperation, and Russia is willing to enhance cooperation with China in more areas, Putin said during a meeting with heads of major international news agencies in St. Petersburg on June 04. The media event was organized by Russia's TASS news agency on the sidelines of the 2021 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Stressing the importance of economic cooperation, Putin said Russia and China managed to keep bilateral trade at levels, above $100 billion for several years in a row, particularly in 2020 despite the impacts brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia and China are also closely cooperating in a variety of fields such as aircraft manufacturing, lunar research, energy, environmental protection, and people-to-people exchanges, Putin said, adding that Russia stands ready to work with China to further synergize the Eurasian Economic Union with the Belt and Road Initiative.
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Nigeria suspends Twitter’s operations ‘indefinitely’ after president’s tweet removed from platform

The Nigerian government has temporarily banned Twitter’s operations in the country after a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari was removed by the social media platform for violating its “abusive behavior” policy. Buhari’s account was also slapped with a 12-hour ban over June 01’s offending post, which referenced the bloody 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War, during which more than one million people died. Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the action against Twitter on June 04, saying the US-based firm’s Nigerian operations would be “suspended indefinitely.” He also cited Twitter’s “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” A ministry spokesperson said the government has asked Nigeria’s TV regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission, to “immediately commence” the process for all social media companies and digital broadcasters to be licensed. In a statement Twitter said it is investigating Nigeria’s “deeply concerning” suspension of its operations, saying it will “provide updates when we know more.” A spokesperson for the platform issued a short statement after Buhari’s tweet on June 01, saying it “was in violation of the Twitter Rules.”
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Turkey has discovered more natural gas in Black Sea, Erdogan says

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of new natural gas deposits in the Black Sea, where Turkey plans to start production in 2023. State energy company Tpao found 135 billion cubic meters of gas at the Amasra-1 offshore well, bringing the total amount of deposits discovered over the past year to 540 billion cubic meters, Erdogan said in televised remarks from the Black Sea coastal city of Zonguldak. No independent audit of total and recoverable gas at either of the finds in the so-called Sakarya field has been made available by authorities. Officials have said Tpao is planning to develop the deposits on its own and won’t need foreign financing. Turkey has ramped up exploration for oil and gas off its coasts in recent years. Erdogan has pitched recent energy finds as a solution to some of Turkey’s long-term economic vulnerabilities, including its energy-import bill that needs to be paid in foreign currency. Turkish explorers last year found 405 billion cubic meters of gas at the nearby Tuna-1 well in Sakarya field, the biggest ever discovery in the Black Sea. Turkey currently imports nearly all of the 50 billion cubic meters of gas it consumes annually.
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Cyberattack forces world's largest meat packer to close plants globally

The Brazilian multinational JBS has closed plants in Australia, Canada and the US, driving livestock futures down, pork prices up and sparking global food supply fears. The closures have sent pork prices higher on Chicago's Mercantile Exchange (CME), while cattle owners saw value drop JBS, the world's largest meat producer, has been forced to close a number of its plants around the world as the result of a cyberattack on its servers. In a statement from JBS USA, which is headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, the company said it was targeted by an "organized cybersecurity attack" on June 06. The attack affected "some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems," the statement read. "The company's backup servers were not affected and it is actively working with an Incident Response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible," JBS USA said. JBS Brazil said late on June 01 that it had made "significant progress" and was planning to have the "vast majority" of its operation up and running again on June 02. "Our systems are coming back online and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat," CEO of JBS USA Andre Noguera said.
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Biden widens list of Chinese firms off-limits for investment

President Joe Biden has nearly doubled the list of Chinese companies whose shares are off-limits to U.S. investors in the latest sign he is not softening Washington’s stance toward Beijing. An executive order issued late June 03 says it aims to “solidify and strengthen” an order signed last year by his predecessor Donald Trump by strengthening controls on investments in Chinese companies that the U.S. says are linked to defense and surveillance. The intension is to “ensure that U.S. investments are not supporting Chinese companies that undermine the security or values of the United States and our allies,” the order says. The revised list includes companies that Washington alleges contribute to surveillance of religious and ethnic minorities or to repression and “serious human rights abuses.” Many of the companies on the expanded list already were on a Defense Department blacklist that limits access to American technology and investment. Telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies, China’s big state-owned telecoms companies and China National Offshore Oil Corp. all are on the new list of 59 companies. The earlier list included 31.
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Myanmar banks on edge of a coup-caused collapse

Myanmar’s private banks are teetering as anxious depositors rush to withdraw funds amid coup-caused political instability, concerns about the country’s underlying finances and an emerging shortage of kyat currency notes. Long snaking queues in front of bank ATMs are now a daily sight in the commercial capital of Yangon, causing banks to hand out tokens to 25 or so depositors per day who start lining up to withdraw funds as early as 4 am. As banks impose new restrictions and fees to deter withdrawals, many in Myanmar fear the country’s political turmoil could cause a banking crisis as the local economy seizes up and Western countries impose new sanctions on the junta’s leaders. The run on banks started soon after the military staged its democracy-suspending coup on February 1. The anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) soon thereafter called on bank workers to strike in protest against the coup. Many answered that rebel yellow in the weeks after the coup, a banker revolt that disrupted normal operations, international payments and other financial services. Cognizant of the risks, in March the military aggressively pushed banks to reopen and restore normal services.
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Strategic

Xi wants isolated China to 'make friends'

China's president has called for better international communication to repair the country's coronavirus-hit image and win a battle of narratives with the U.S. and its allies. Xi Jinping's remarks at a study session of the Politburo, the ruling Communist Party's top echelon, on May 31 came amid a deepening feud with Washington and with negative perceptions of China at record high levels in many parts of the world. It is not the first time Xi has called on party cadres and state-controlled media to "tell China's stories well" to the world and present the country in a positive light. But Chinese observers said his latest call was a rare admission of Beijing's isolation that has been exacerbated by aggressive "Wolf Warrior" diplomacy and ineffective propaganda and influence campaigns abroad. It also suggests how Beijing will seek to shift the unfavorable narratives in its ideological and geopolitical wrangling with Western democracies. Xi highlighted the need to "create a favorable external public opinion environment" and strengthen communications "under the new situation" to secure its rise, state news agency Xinhua reported on June 01. The focus would be on improving the party's global image and countering criticism about its omnipresent role in China's development.
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Chinese military faces challenges from falling fertility rate

As the world's largest military, needing hundreds of thousands of new recruits each year, the People's Liberation Army has been affected by China's wider fertility and ageing issues, and tried to counter them. The gathering pace of the PLA's modernization has given its instructors and recruiters the challenge of how to train a newer breed of soldier, experts said. Rather than only orders and scolding, therapy sessions by professional psychotherapists have been brought in since 2011 to ease stress, according to military mouthpiece The PLA Daily. To command and operate increasingly advanced and sophisticated weapon systems, the military recruited more than 120,000 college graduates in 2009 ― the largest intake since the Communist Party regime was established in 1949. That trend has since been the norm, according to the defense ministry. The ministry has started to adjust conscription requirements to make sure they could recruit enough qualified college students. For example, since 2014, it has lowered height requirements from 162cm (5ft 4in) to 160cm for men, and 160cm to 158cm for women, as well as lowering the bar a little for short-sighted and overweight applicants.
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China's top legislature reviews draft law on opposing foreign sanctions

A draft law on countering foreign sanctions was submitted June 07 to the ongoing 29th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, for second reading, with a spokesperson saying the move demonstrated the country's resolution to safeguard national sovereignty, dignity and core interests, and oppose Western hegemonies and power politics. "Certain Western countries, out of political manipulation and ideological bias, have recently been using various pretexts, including the issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong, to slander and suppress China, especially by imposing so-called 'sanctions' on relevant Chinese state organs, organizations and public servants," according to the spokesperson's office of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The Chinese government this year announced several countermeasures against entities and individuals of the countries concerned. The annual work report of the NPC Standing Committee approved at the fourth session of the 13th NPC in March this year highlighted that one of the top legislature's main tasks for the year ahead is to "upgrade its legal tool kit for meeting challenges and guarding against risks in order to oppose foreign sanctions, interference, and long-arm jurisdiction."
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Russia to US: Lift sanctions on space sector or we'll exit space station

The head of Russia's space agency on Jun 7 suggested Moscow would withdraw from the International Space Station in 2025 unless Washington lifted sanctions on the space sector that were hampering Russian satellite launches. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, was addressing parliamentarians ahead of a summit in Geneva later this month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden. Rogozin said Moscow was struggling to launch some of its satellites because of US sanctions which meant Russia could not import certain microchip sets needed for its space programme. "We have more than enough rockets but nothing to launch them with," Rogozin said, in a rare admission by a senior Russian official that Western sanctions are seriously impeding the development of a given industry. "We have spacecraft that are nearly assembled but they lack one specific microchip set that we have no way of purchasing because of the sanctions." Rogozin, who is under personal US and EU personal sanctions, said Russia could withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025 unless Washington lifted the sanctions against Russian space contractors soon.
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Israeli opposition heads agree to form gov’t, boot Netanyahu out

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has informed the country’s president that he can form a coalition government, a move that would bring an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 years in power. Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, was tasked with forming a government by President Reuven Rivlin after Netanyahu again failed to put together his own coalition following Israel’s fourth election in less than two years. In a statement shared on Twitter on June 02, Lapid said he had informed Rivlin of the deal. “This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn’t. It will do everything to unite Israeli society,” he said shortly before a midnight deadline (21:00 GMT). Lapid, a former TV presenter and a secular centrist, won the crucial support of hardline religious-nationalist Naftali Bennett, a technology multi-millionaire who has held a number of government portfolios including the defence ministry, on May 30. Under the coalition agreement, Bennett and Lapid would rotate the role of prime minister, with Bennett taking up the post for the first two years and Lapid the final two. The agreement still needs to be voted on in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, where it requires majority support before the government can be sworn in.
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N. Korean leader calls for meeting to review battered economy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said June 05 that Kim expressed appreciation that a lot of works were being sped up thanks to the “ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance” demonstrated by the party and his people. But he also said there was a need to correct “deflective matters” and called for a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party’s Central Committee to review overall state affairs for the first half of 2021. North Korea’s battered economy has deteriorated further amid pandemic border closures, which significantly reduced trade with China, its major ally and economic lifeline. Following a meeting last month in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a joint statement that Washington would take a “calibrated and practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy” with Pyongyang. But North Korea has questioned the sincerity of the proposals.
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NATO calls for crunch talks with Russia as Moscow unveils armed forces shakeup in response to military bloc’s activity on borders

Russian army chiefs have been asked to join Western counterparts for discussions on how to de-escalate the tense standoffs on the country’s borders, with NATO’s general secretary calling on Moscow to meet as a matter of urgency. Jens Stoltenberg told Berlin’s Die Welt that he felt there is a desperate need for constructive dialogue as part of the NATO-Russia Council. The body has not met for 19 months, with Moscow saying it sees little point in talks given current tensions. “We invited the Russian government to a new meeting over a year ago, but there was no positive reply,” he said. “The ball is now on Russia’s side. I would like to invite Russia again to take part in a meeting of the Council as soon as possible” the official added. In April, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, rejected claims that his country was uninterested in participating in bilateral talks with NATO. “Our colleague Mr Stoltenberg declares that Russia refuses to work in the Russia-NATO Council,” Lavrov said the last time the issue came up. Instead, he insisted that “we do not refuse to work, we just don’t want to sit there and hear about Ukraine.”
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UN ‘outraged’ as death toll in Burkina Faso attack rises to 132

Gunmen have killed at least 132 people in Burkina Faso’s volatile north, the government said, as the United Nations chief condemned “the heinous attack” and called on countries to step up the fight against “violent extremism”. The assailants struck during the night on June 04, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province, which borders Niger. They also burned homes and the village market, according to a government statement on June 05. The victims included seven children. Another 40 residents were also wounded, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura told reporters. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the killings “barbaric” and said the Burkinabe people “must remain united and solid against these obscurantist forces”. No group has claimed responsibility so far. The overnight assault was the deadliest recorded in years in Burkina Faso. Since 2015, the West African country has struggled to fight back against increasingly frequent and deadly attacks from groups linked to al-Qaeda and more recently to ISIL (ISIS).
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Germany calls for abolition of EU foreign policy vetos

The European Union cannot allow itself to be "held hostage" in its foreign policy by single nations exercising their veto rights, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on June 07. His remarks are being widely seen as a rebuke directed at Hungary, which in recent months has blocked several foreign policy measures agreed on by almost all other member states. Speaking at a conference of Germany's ambassadors in Berlin, Maas said: "We can't let ourselves be held hostage by the people who hobble European foreign policy with their vetoes." "If you do that, then sooner or later you are risking the cohesion of Europe," he said, adding: "The veto has to go, even if that means we can be outvoted." His comments come after the junior minister at Germany's Foreign Ministry, Miguel Berger, criticized Hungary by name on Twitter for blocking a number of measures and called for "a serious debate on ways to manage dissent." In April, Hungary blocked an EU statement criticizing China's new security law in Hong Kong, which many countries see as restricting freedoms in the former British colony.
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Germany warns: AI arms race already underway

An AI arms race is already underway. That's the blunt warning from Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas. "We're right in the middle of it. That's the reality we have to deal with," Maas told DW, speaking in a new DW documentary, "Future Wars — and How to Prevent Them." It's a reality at the heart of the struggle for supremacy between the world's greatest powers. "This is a race that cuts across the military and the civilian fields," said Amandeep Singh Gill, former chair of the United Nations group of governmental experts on lethal autonomous weapons. "This is a multi-trillion-dollar question." This is apparent in a recent report from the United States' National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. It speaks of a "new warfighting paradigm" pitting "algorithms against algorithms," and urges massive investments "to continuously out-innovate potential adversaries." And you can see it in China's latest five-year plan, which places AI at the center of a relentless ramp-up in research and development, while the People's Liberation Army girds for a future of what it calls "intelligentized warfare." As Russian President Vladimir Putin put it as early as 2017, "whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world."
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Afghan losses mount, Taliban gain ground amid international pullout

Casualties among Afghan troops have been "shockingly high" amid a surge in attacks by Taliban militants in recent days, a senior government official said on June 07. Fighting that is now raging in 26 of the country's 34 provinces has killed or wounded at least 150 Afghan troops over the past 24 hours, the officials said in comments carried by Reuters news agency. The deaths and injuries come as the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency since being ousted as rulers in a 2001 US-led invasion, exploit the dwindling security brought about by the foreign forces' withdrawal from the country. The government says territorial clashes have increased as the US continues to pull out its remaining troops in an operation scheduled to be completed by September 11. Other NATO troops, including German ones, also began officially pulling out of the country on May 1. According to officials, Taliban insurgents have captured two more districts since the start of the withdrawal, now holding nine from the total of 388 in the country. The violence comes as talks between the government and the Taliban largely stall amid mutual accusations of failing to halt attacks against civilians.
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China urges closer Afghanistan ties as U.S. withdrawal looms

China is urging closer security and economic cooperation with Afghanistan in an apparent effort to bolster its influence in the region as the U.S. and its allies prepare to withdraw their forces from the country. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that foreign ministers from China, Afghanistan and Pakistan met via video conference on June 03 and agreed that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan should be carried out in a responsible and orderly manner to prevent the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan and the return of “terrorist forces.” China has long resented the presence of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan but is equally wary of the country becoming a haven for insurgents that could threaten security in its Xinjiang region that shares a narrow border with Afghanistan. It has sought to invest in Afghan resources, particularly copper, but constant fighting between the government, the Taliban and other groups has largely held back such projects. China has also sought to boost already close ties with Pakistan through its Belt and Road initiative, but the country’s economic weakness and security problems have blunted the success of that drive.
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China sets record for activity near Senkaku Islands

Chinese government vessels were spotted just outside Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea for a record 112th straight day on June 4, the Japan Coast Guard said. In the latest instance, four Chinese Coast Guard ships were observed off Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture. The previous record of 111 days in a row in the contiguous zone there was set between April and August 2020. As of June 3, there had been 18 instances of Chinese government vessels intruding into Japanese territorial waters this year. The Japan Coast Guard said it is using cutters to monitor the activity because Chinese ships have frequently moved close to Japanese fishing boats. Japanese authorities have also voiced concern about the presence of increasingly large Chinese Coast Guard ships in those waters. China’s Coast Guard had 40 vessels with displacements of 1,000 tons or more in 2012, but that figure increased to 131 in 2020, according to an estimate by the Japan Coast Guard based on publicized information. The Japan Coast Guard has only 69 cutters with displacements of 1,000 tons or more.
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Putin says Russia ready to continue peace treaty talks with Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin said June 04 that his country is ready to continue talks with Japan toward a postwar peace treaty despite speculation that a constitutional amendment last year would prohibit Moscow from committing to negotiations to resolve a territorial dispute with Tokyo. "Both Russia and Japan share a strategic interest in concluding a peace treaty," Putin said in response to a question from Kyodo News President Toru Mizutani during an online press conference involving top officials of major press agencies from around the world. "We are ready to continue negotiations," he said. It was the Russian leader's first reference to the continuation of the bilateral peace treaty talks since the constitutional change took effect in July last year barring the country from ceding territory to a foreign power. In June 04's press conference, Putin reiterated that "security-related issues" are hindering the peace treaty negotiations, alluding to the possibility that the United States, Japan's security ally, would deploy missiles on Japanese territory and threaten Russia. Japan has not provided a clear answer on that security concern so far, Putin said.
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US spying claims roil Europe

France, Germany and other European countries demanded answers May 31 following reports the US spied on its allies using Danish underwater cables, as questions mounted over whether Denmark knew about the operation. In an investigative report on May 30, Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) and other European media outlets said the US National Security Agency (NSA) had eavesdropped on Danish underwater internet cables from 2012 to 2014 to spy on top politicians in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The NSA got access to text messages, telephone calls and internet traffic including searches, chats and messaging services - including those of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, then-foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then-opposition leader Peer Steinbruck, DR said. French President Emmanuel Macron and Merkel said May 31 they expected explanations from both Washington and Copenhagen. "This is not acceptable between allies, and even less between allies and European partners," said Macron after the two leaders talked via video conference.
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It's getting harder to extend monitoring deal with Iran, IAEA chief says

It is becoming harder for the U.N. nuclear watchdog to negotiate extensions to its monitoring deal with Iran that cushioned the blow of Tehran downgrading cooperation with the agency, its Director General Rafael Grossi said on June 07. "I think it's becoming increasingly difficult," Grossi said when asked how likely it is that the two sides will again extend the agreement later this month. The two sides announced on May 24 that they were extending the three-month accord by a month.
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U.S. boosts Taiwan's COVID-19 fight with vaccines as senators visit

The United States will donate 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan as part of the country's plan to share shots globally, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said on June 06, offering a much-needed boost to the island's fight against the pandemic. Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic cases but has been affected like many places by global vaccines shortages. Only around 3% of its 23.5 million people have been vaccinated, with most getting only the first shot of two needed. Speaking at Taipei's downtown Songshan airport after arriving on a three-hour visit with fellow Senators Dan Sullivan and Christopher Coons, Duckworth said Taiwan would be getting 750,000 doses as part of the first tranche of U.S. donations. "It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognise your urgent need and we value this partnership," she said at a news conference after the group arrived from South Korea. She did not give details of which vaccines Taiwan would get or when. Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters he was hoping to find out soon which firm's shots they would get.
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Bangladesh helps out cash-strapped Sri Lanka with $200m loan

Bangladesh is offering $200 million worth of credit to Sri Lanka, changing its image from helped to helper nation while flexing newfound economic muscle. Once thought of as an economic disaster, Bangladesh has seen annual economic growth over the past decade rumbling along at a robust 7% while significantly increasing exports and building foreign currency reserves thanks to steady remittance earnings. "In the last fiscal year [ended June 2020], we have been able to achieve real [gross domestic product] growth of 5.2%, which is the highest in Asia," Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told parliament on June 03 when submitting a new fiscal budget. "We are capable enough," he said at a June 04 news conference, adding: "In 2019, we said the days are coming when we will offer loans to other countries. In the future we won't take out loans; rather we will lend." Bangladesh has $45 billion in foreign reserves, an amount large enough to fund imports for six months. It now finds itself able to loan debt-burdened Sri Lanka $200 million through a currency swap mechanism to shore up the island nation's $4 billion reserves.
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Medical

WHO chief backs ‘pandemic treaty’ to counter future outbreaks

The head of the World Health Organization has called for speedily launching global negotiations to agree on an international treaty on pandemic preparedness, as part of sweeping reforms envisioned by member states. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told its annual ministerial assembly on May 31 that the United Nations health agency faced a “serious challenge” to maintain its COVID-19 response at the current level and required sustainable and flexible funding. Earlier in the day, health ministers agreed to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the capacity of both the WHO and countries to contain new viruses. The ministers from the WHO’s 194 member states will meet from November 29 to decide whether to launch negotiations on the pandemic treaty. “The one recommendation I believe will do the most to strengthen WHO and global health security is the recommendation of a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response which could also strengthen relations between member states and foster cooperation. This is an idea whose time has come,” Tedros said.
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WHO seeks to avoid stigmas

COVID-19 variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatizing nations where they were first detected, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced May 31. The new system applies to variants of concern - the most troubling of which four are in circulation - and the second-level variants of interest being tracked. "They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion," said Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead. Under the new system, the variants of concern take on the following names: The hitherto so-called variant B.1.1.7 first reported in the UK becomes Alpha; the B.1.351 first discovered in South Africa becomes Beta, while the P.1 found in Brazil becomes Gamma. The so-called variant B.1.617 found in India is split into sub-lineages, of which the B.1.617.2 variant of concern becomes Delta. The B.1.617.1 variant of interest is called Kappa. Besides these names, there are two other scientific names in use for each mutation, while different geographic names have been used to describe the same variant. The lineage names such as B.1.1.7.2 will still continue to be used in scientific circles, for the mutation information that their name conveys.
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Fauci urges China to release medical records of Wuhan lab workers

Joe Biden's chief medical adviser has called on China to release the medical records of nine people whose illnesses might provide vital clues into whether COVID-19 first emerged as the result of a lab leak. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, told the Financial Times that the records could help resolve the debate over the origins of a disease that has killed more than 3.5m people worldwide. The records in question concern three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology who reportedly became sick in November 2019, and six miners who fell ill after entering a bat cave in 2012. Scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology subsequently visited the cave to take samples from the bats. Three of the miners died. "I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019," Fauci said. "Did they really get sick, and if so, what did they get sick with? "The same with the miners who got ill years ago ... What do the medical records of those people say?
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Japan gives more than 1 million vaccines to Taiwan

Tokyo is donating more than one million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan, Japan’s foreign minister announced June 04, as Taipei struggles to secure jabs, accusing China of interference. The move is likely to stir controversy with Beijing, which views democratic and self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and works to keep the island diplomatically isolated. “We have received requests from various countries and areas for the provision of vaccines,” Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters in Tokyo. “At this point, we have finished the arrangement for the request from Taiwan. And we will deliver free of charge 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines that have been produced in Japan,” he added. He said the vaccine would be handled through the territory’s embassy equivalent and would arrive in Taiwan late on June 04. In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry welcomed the move, pointedly emphasizing that the neighbors “share the universal values of freedom and democracy.” It comes as Taiwan battles a sudden surge of cases after having one of the world’s best pandemic responses.
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