Archive for February, 2020

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26/02/2020

Hong Kong to give cash gift of $1,200 to residents

Man wearing a face mask in Hong KongImage copyright REUTERS
Image caption Virus fears are only the latest in a string of troubles for Hong Kong

Hong Kong will hand out cash to adult permanent residents, to help boost spending and ease financial burden.

As part of the annual budget, $10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,280; £985) was announced for about seven million people over the age of 18.

The territory’s economy has been battered by months of violent political unrest, and more recently suffered from the impact of the coronavirus.

The city has had 81 confirmed cases of the virus and two deaths.

“Hong Kong’s economy is facing enormous challenges this year,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Wednesday.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to disburse HK$10,000 to Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption on the one hand, and relieving people’s financial burden on the other,” Mr Chan said.

The individual handouts are part of a HK$120bn relief package to ease the impact of the protests and virus on the economy.

Authorities will also lower public housing rent and there will be rebates in salary and property taxes.

The budget deficit is projected to rise to nearly $18bn by 2021 – a record for the territory.

Protester throwing a tear gas can back at the policeImage copyright AFP
Image caption Hong Kong has seen months of violent protests against the government

Hong Kong had previously announced a relief fund for sectors that have suffered because of the outbreak, including cash handouts for businesses like restaurants and travel operations.

The territory’s economy is suffering from months of political unrest which has seen pro-democracy activists in often violent clashes with the police.

In the last weeks, the threat of the coronavirus spilling over from the mainland has slowed down much of public life and dealt a serious blow to the tourism sector.

The financial hub is also reeling from the ongoing US-China trade war, slowing down trade between the world’s two largest economies.

Source: The BBC

Posted in $1,200, cash gift, give, Hong Kong, residents, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

26/02/2020

Coronavirus pandemic a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’, warns U.S.

SHANGHAI/SEOUL (Reuters) – Asia reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea, as the United States warned of an inevitable pandemic and outbreaks in Italy and Iran spread to other countries.

World stocks tumbled for the fifth day on fears of prolonged disruption to global supply chains, while safe-haven gold rose back toward seven-year highs and U.S. bond yields held near record lows.

Stock markets globally have wiped out $3.3 trillion of value in the past four trading sessions, as measured by the MSCI all-country index.

The disease is believed to have originated in a market selling wildlife in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has infected about 80,000 people and killed more than 2,700, the vast majority in China.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to prepare, saying that while the immediate risk there was low the global situation suggested a pandemic was likely.

“It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when and how many people will be infected,” the CDC’s principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, said on Tuesday.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, advised against referring to a pandemic.

“We should not be too eager to declare a pandemic without a careful and clear-minded analysis of the facts,” Tedros said in remarks to Geneva-based diplomats.

“Using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma, and paralyzing systems. It may also signal that we can no longer contain the virus, which is not true.”

‘DON’T WAIT’

The United States has reported 57 cases of the virus. U.S. President Donald Trump, back in Washington after a visit to India, said on Twitter that he would meet U.S. officials for a briefing on the coronavirus on Wednesday.

Dr Bruce Aylward, head of a joint WHO-Chinese mission on the outbreak, told reporters on his return to Geneva that countries’ preparations should not wait.

“Think the virus is going to show up tomorrow. If you don’t think that way, you’re not going to be ready,” he said. “This a rapidly escalating epidemic in different places that we have got to tackle super-fast to prevent a pandemic.”

Aylward said China’s “extraordinary mobilization” showed how an aggressive public health policy could curb its spread.

The WHO says the outbreak peaked in China around Feb. 2, after authorities isolated Hubei province and imposed other containment measures.

China’s National Health Commission reported another 406 new infections on Wednesday, down from 508 a day earlier and bringing the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 78,064. Its death toll rose by 52 to 2,715.

The WHO said only 10 new cases were reported in China on Tuesday outside Hubei.

South Korea, which with 1,261 cases has the most outside China, reported 284 new ones including a U.S. soldier, as authorities readied an ambitious plan to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of the outbreak.

Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where the virus is believed to have been passed among members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The U.S. military said a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 km (12 miles) from Daegu, had been infected and was in self-quarantine at home.

OLYMPIC WORRIES

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or curtailed for two weeks to stem the virus as concern mounted for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan’s professional baseball teams would play matches without spectators until March 15 due to virus concerns, Kyodo news agency reported.

Japan has nearly 170 virus cases, besides the 691 linked to a cruise ship that was quarantined of its coast this month. Six people have died in Japan, including four from the ship.

There have been nearly 50 deaths outside China, including 11 in Italy and 19 in Iran, the most outside China, according to a Reuters tally.

Iran’s deputy health minister – seen mopping his brow at a televised news conference – was among its 139 coronavirus infections. Cases linked to Iran have been reported across the region.

Kuwait said six new coronavirus cases, all linked to travel to Iran, took its tally to 18, while Bahrain said its infections had risen to 26 after three new ones on a flight from Iran.

The United Arab Emirates, which has reported 13 coronavirus cases, is prepared for “worst case scenarios” as it spreads in the Middle East, a government official said.

In Europe, Italy has become a front line in the global outbreak with 322 cases. Italians or people who had recently visited the country, have tested positive in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.

Two hotels, one in Austria and one in Spain’s Canary Islands, were also locked down after cases emerged linked to Italy. Spain also reported its first three cases on the mainland.

France, with 17 cases, reported its second death.

Source: Reuters

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26/02/2020

Why Delhi violence has echoes of the Gujarat riots

Local residents look at burnt-out vehicles following clashes between people supporting and opposing a contentious amendment to India"s citizenship law, in New Delhi on February 26, 2020Image copyright AFP
Image caption Delhi remains on edge after three days of rioting

The religious violence which has roiled Delhi since the weekend is the deadliest in decades.

What began as small clashes between supporters and opponents of a controversial citizenship law quickly escalated into full-blown religious riots between Hindus and Muslims, in congested working class neighbourhoods on the fringes of the sprawling capital.

Armed Hindu mobs rioted with impunity as the police appeared to look the other way. Mosques and homes and shops of Muslims were attacked, sometimes allegedly with the police in tow. Journalists covering the violence were stopped by the Hindu rioters and asked about their religion. Videos and pictures emerged of the mob forcing wounded Muslim men to recite the national anthem, and mercilessly beating up a young Muslim man. Panicky Muslims began leaving mixed neighbourhoods.

On the other side, Muslim rioters have also been violent – some of them also armed – and a number of Hindus, including security personnel, are among the dead and injured.

Media caption Delhi religious riots: ‘Mobs set fire to my house and shop’

Three days and 20 deaths later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his first appeal for peace. There were no commiserations for the victims. Delhi’s governing Aam Aadmi Party was criticised for not doing much either. Many pointed to the egregious failure of Delhi’s police – the most well-resourced in India – and the inability of opposition parties to rally together, hit the streets and calm tensions. In the end, the rioters operated with impunity, and the victims were left to their fate.

Demonstrators gather along a road scattered with stones following clashes between supporters and opponents of a new citizenship law, at Bhajanpura area of New Delhi on February 24, 2020Image copyright AFP
Image caption More than 20 people have been killed in the rioting

Not surprisingly, the ethnic violence in Delhi has drawn comparisons with two of India’s worst sectarian riots in living memory. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in anti-Sikh riots in the capital in 1984 after the then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. And in 2002, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died after a train fire killed 60 Hindu pilgrims in Gujarat – Mr Modi was then the chief minister of the state. The police were accused of complicity in both riots. The Delhi High Court, which is hearing petitions about the current violence, has said it cannot let “another 1984” happen on its “watch”.

Ashutosh Varshney, a professor of political science at Brown University who has extensively researched religious violence in India, believes that the Delhi riots are beginning to “look like a pogrom” – much like the ones in 1984 and 2002.

Pogroms happen, according to Prof Varshney, when the police do not act neutrally to stop riots, look on when mobs go on the rampage and sometimes “explicitly” help the perpetrators. Evidence of police apathy in Delhi has surfaced over the past three days. “Of course, the violence thus far has not reached the scale of Gujarat or Delhi. Our energies should now focus on preventing further escalation,” he says.

Political scientist Bhanu Joshi and a team of researchers visited constituencies in Delhi ahead of February’s state elections. They found the BJP’s “perfectly oiled party machinery constantly giving out the message about suspicion, stereotypes and paranoia”. In one neighbourhood, they found a party councillor telling people: “You and your kids have stable jobs, money. So stop thinking of free, free. [She was alluding to free water and electricity being given to people by the incumbent government.] If this nation doesn’t remain, all the free will also vanish.” Such paranoia about the security of the nation at a time when India has been at its most secure has “widened” existing ethnic divisions and “made people suspicious”, Mr Joshi said.

burnt-out mosque and shops are seen following clashes between people supporting and opposing a contentious amendment to India"s citizenship law, in New Delhi on February 26, 2020.Image copyright AFP
Image caption Mosques have been vandalised in the clashes

In the run-up to the Delhi elections Mr Modi’s party embarked on a polarising campaign around a controversial new citizenship law, the stripping of Kashmir’s autonomy and building a grand new Hindu temple on a disputed holy site. Party leaders freely indulged in hate speech, and were censured by poll authorities. A widely reported protest against the citizenship law by women in Shaheen Bagh, a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in Delhi, was especially targeted by the BJP’s campaign, which sought to show the protesters as “traitors”.

“The repercussion of this campaign machine is the normalisation of suspicion and hate reflected in WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, and conversations families have among themselves,” says Mr Joshi.

It was only a matter of time before Delhi’s fragile stability would be shaken. On Sunday a BJP leader issued a threat, telling the Delhi police they had three days to clear the sites where people had been protesting against the citizenship law and warned of consequences if they failed to do so. The first reports of clashes emerged later that day. The ethnic violence that followed was a tragedy foretold.

Source: The BBC

Posted in assassinated, BJP's, congested, Delhi, echoes, Gujarat, High Court, Hindu temple, Hindus, Indira Gandhi, mosques, Muslims, neighbourhoods, pogrom, police apathy, Prime minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, religious riots, religious violence, riots, Sikh bodyguards, Uncategorized, vandalised, Violence, WhatsApp, working class | Leave a Comment »

25/02/2020

Breakthrough in 28-year-old Chinese murder case as DNA test leads police to suspect

  • Female medical student’s body was found in a Nanjing sewer in 1992
  • Officers had investigated in vain until a tip-off from police in another city last week
Nanjing police had released a sketch of a male “with a squarish face and big eyes” after the 1992 killing. Photo: Weibo
Nanjing police had released a sketch of a male “with a squarish face and big eyes” after the 1992 killing. Photo: Weibo
Police

in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing say they have cracked a 28-year-old murder case in which a young medical school student was brutally killed.

“For 28 years, a special task force had persistently investigated the case, and it made major developments on February 23. The police caught the killer, surnamed Ma, the same morning,” the police said in a statement published on Weibo on Sunday night.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Nanjing police said they had used DNA testing to confirm the suspect’s identity and had detained him. The prosecutor had yet to make a formal arrest.

Last Wednesday, the force received a lead from police in Xuzhou, about 280km (175 miles) north, who said that there was suspicion over a local family, one of whom they said had a possible motive for the crime. Nanjing police sent a team to Xuzhou to investigate.

The 1992 newspaper notice by Nanjing police had offered a 10,000 yuan reward for information. Photo: Weibo
The 1992 newspaper notice by Nanjing police had offered a 10,000 yuan reward for information. Photo: Weibo
On Sunday, they found that the DNA of Ma, who lives in Nanjing, matched preserved DNA evidence that was collected following the death.
The victim, surnamed Lin, was a student at the former Nanjing Medical School. Her bludgeoned body was found in a sewer on March 24, 1992, but – possibly due to limited resources and technologies at the time – there was no clear lead on who the killer was.

Nanjing police had in 1992 offered a 10,000 yuan reward for leads – then worth US$1,818, or equivalent to five years’ salary for the average Chinese citizen – in a notice in the local Yangtze Evening News.

The notice also gave a sketch and description of the possible offender, described as a “male about 1.7 metres [5ft 7in] in height, about 25 years old, with a squarish face, big eyes, short hair, darker skin, scars or acne on his face, and a sturdy, muscular physique”.

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17 Feb 2020

For years, the unsolved case haunted the police force. In a collection of police stories produced by the Nanjing Publishing House in 2012, former officer Ye Ning wrote that every year on March 24, Lin’s parents visited the medical school’s campus in memory of their daughter.

One year, Ye saw Lin’s parents at the police bureau. “They left in calmness, although sadness and disappointment were written over their faces,” he wrote. “The couple held on to each other, and the umbrella could not shelter them from the rain.”

He was reminded that Lin and her parents still needed justice for her to rest in peace, he wrote.

Lin came from Wuxi, a city less than 200km southeast of Nanjing, one of her former classmates told Legal Daily. Another was quoted as recalling that they had reported to their teacher that Lin had not arrived for their class. The teacher found Lin’s umbrella in a faculty building, and then her body in a sewer.

The classmates said they had immediately informed Lin’s mother after learning that the killer may have been identified. “Lin’s father had died of lung cancer, her younger brother works in Shenzhen and her mother lives by herself in Wuxi,” one of the classmates was quoted as saying.

Ma is now 54 years old and had been running a dog trade business, according to a man quoted by Modern Express who said he had met Ma a few times in the early 2000s.

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29 Aug 2016

The breakthrough in the case raised hopes among the Chinese public that another decades-old Nanjing murder, a notorious dismemberment case, could be solved.

In January 1996, body parts of a student were found boiled, shredded and wrapped in different bags all over the city, nine days after she went missing.

The victim, Diao Aiqing, was a first-year student at Nanjing University. Local police conducted large-scale searches around the city but never found the killer. The case has given rise to urban myths and been analysed in novels and posts on social media.

“I wonder when the Nanjing University case will be cracked, I hope it will be soon,” one person said on Weibo after the news about the Lin case.

The public has compared these Nanjing cases to a high-profile case in Baiyin, central China, in which a serial killer nicknamed “China’s Jack the Ripper” mutilated several of his 11 victims between 1998 and 2002, the youngest of whom was eight years old.

The killer, 54-year-old Gao Chengyong, had created panic during the killing spree. Said to have targeted young women who lived alone, Gao was caught in 2016 after a tip-off and was executed in January.

Source: SCMP

Posted in “China’s Jack the Ripper”, Chinese, dog trade business, Female medical student’s body, leads, murder case, Nanjing, Nanjing Medical School, Nanjing University, Police, sewer, suspect, Uncategorized, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Yangtze Evening News | Leave a Comment »

25/02/2020

South Korea to launch mass coronavirus testing, U.S. pledges $1 billion for vaccine

SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) – South Korea aims to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the centre of a surge in coronavirus cases, as countries stepped up efforts to stop a pandemic of the c that emerged in China and is now spreading in Europe and the Middle East.

More than 80,000 people have been infected in China since the outbreak began, apparently in an illegal wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

China’s death toll was 2,663 by the end of Monday, up 71 from the previous day. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the epidemic in China peaked between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has been declining since.

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However, fast-spreading outbreaks in Iran, Italy and South Korea, and first cases in several Middle East countries, have fed worries of a pandemic, or worldwide spread of the virus.

“We are close to a pandemic, but there is still hope the epidemics in Iran, Italy, South Korea, etc. can be controlled,” said Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Programme at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales.

South Korea has the most virus cases outside China and reported its tenth death and 144 new cases, for a total of 977. President Moon Jae-in said the situation was “very grave”.

In Europe, Italy has become a new front line, with 220 cases reported on Monday, up from just three on Friday. The death toll in Italy is seven.

Global stock markets stabilised on Tuesday after a wave of early selling petered out and Wall Street futures managed a solid bounce after a sharp selloff the previous day on fears about the spreading coronavirus.

“If travel restrictions and supply chain disruptions spread, the impact on global growth could be more widespread and longer lasting,” said Jonas Goltermann, senior economist at research consultancy Capital Economics in London.

PUBLIC ANXIETY

About 68% of South Korea’s cases are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where the outbreak is believed to have begun with a 61-year-old woman. It is not known how she became infected.

The church said it would provide authorities the names of all its members in South Korea, estimated by media at about 215,000 people. The government would test them all as soon as possible, the prime minister’s office said.

“It is essential to test all of the church members,” it said in a statement. Authorities said they were testing up to 13,000 people a day.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have said they may cut back joint training due to the virus, in one of the first concrete signs of its fallout on global U.S. military activities.

The disclosure came during a visit to the Pentagon on Monday by South Korean Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, who said 13 South Korean troops had the virus.

The U.S. military said a woman who tested positive for the virus had visited one of its bases in the hard-hit city of Daegu. It was the first infection connected to U.S. Forces Korea, which has about 28,500 American troops on the peninsula.

The U.S. military urged troops to “use extreme caution” off base, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should avoid non-essential travel to South Korea.

IRAN ISOLATION

Outside mainland China, the outbreak has spread to about 29 countries and territories, with a death toll of about three dozen, according to a Reuters tally.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman reported their first new coronavirus cases, all in people who had been to Iran where the toll was 14 dead, media said, and 61 infected.

The outbreak threatens to isolate Iran further. The United Arab Emirates, which has 13 virus cases, suspended all flights with Iran for at least a week, state media said.

Iraq extended an entry ban on travellers from China and Iran to those from five other countries over virus fears, its health ministry said.

In Japan, which has reported four deaths and 850 cases mostly linked to a cruise ship, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said it was too early to talk about cancelling the Tokyo Olympics due to start on July 24.

The United States pledged $2.5 billion to fight the disease, with more than $1 billion going toward developing a vaccine, with other funds earmarked for therapeutics and the stockpiling of personal protective equipment such as masks.

China reported a rise in new cases in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak. But excluding those, China had just nine new infections on Monday, its fewest since Jan. 20.

With the pace of new infections slowing, Beijing said restrictions on travel and movement that have paralysed economic activity should begin to be lifted.

“Low-risk areas … are to restore order in production and life, cancel transport restrictions and help enterprises,” state planner official Ou Xiaoli told a briefing.

Source: Reuters

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25/02/2020

Gui Minhai: Hong Kong bookseller gets 10 years jail

Mr Gui Minhai on a placardImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Mr Gui has been in and out of Chinese detention for years

A Chinese court has sentenced Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai to 10 years in jail for “illegally providing intelligence overseas”.

Mr Gui, who holds Swedish citizenship, has been in and out of Chinese detention since 2015, when he went missing during a holiday in Thailand.

He is known to have previously published books on the personal lives of Chinese Communist Party members.

Rights groups condemned the “harsh sentence” and called for his release.

He was one of five owners of a small bookstore in Hong Kong who went missing in 2015. It later emerged that they had been taken to China. Four were later freed, but Mr Gui remained in Chinese detention.

In delivering its verdict, the Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court said that his Chinese citizenship had been reinstated in 2018. China does not recognise dual citizenship.

Sweden’s foreign minister on Tuesday called for Mr Gui’s release, referring to him a “citizen”.

“We have not had access to the trial,” said Ann Linde in a tweet. “[We] demand that Gui be released and that we have access to our citizens to provide consular support.”

But according to a Reuters report, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said consular arrangements had been put on hold because of the latest coronavirus outbreak, and would be restored once the health problem was “resolved”.

Zhao Lijian added that Mr Gui’s “rights and interests… [had] been fully guaranteed”.

Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday also called for Mr Gui to be released immediately and said the charges were “completely unsubstantiated”.

A forced confession?

Mr Gui first made headlines in 2015 when he vanished from Thailand and resurfaced in China.

After his disappearance, there were allegations that he had been abducted by Chinese agents. Chinese officials, however, say Mr Gui and the four other men all went to China voluntarily.

The bookseller ultimately confessed to being involved in a fatal traffic accident more than a decade earlier – a confession supporters say was forced.

He served two years in prison but he was arrested months after his release while he was travelling to the Chinese capital of Beijing with two Swedish diplomats.

China later released a video interview featuring Mr Gui. In it, he accused Sweden of “sensationalising” his case. It is not uncommon for Chinese criminal suspects to appear in “confessional” videos.

Earlier in 2019, Sweden recalled its ambassador to China Anna Lindstedt, who was accused of brokering an unauthorised meeting between Angela Gui – the daughter of Mr Gui – and two Chinese businessmen.

Ms Gui – who has been vocal in campaigning for her father’s release – said one of the men had pressured her to accept a deal where her father would go to trial and might be sentenced to “a few years” in prison, and in return she would stop all publicity around her father’s detention.

Source: The BBC

Posted in 10 years, Ambassador, Amnesty International, Beijing, bookseller, Chinese capital, chinese communist party, Hong Kong, jail, Ningbo Intermediate People's Court, Reuters report, Sweden, Swedish citizenship, Swedish diplomats, Thailand, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

25/02/2020

Tesco completes China exit with 275 million pound stake sale

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco (TSCO.L) has completed its exit from China with the 275 million pound sale of its joint venture stake to state-run partner China Resources Holdings (CRH).

Having struggled to crack the Chinese market, Tesco established the Gain Land venture with CRH in 2014, combining the British group’s 131 stores in China with its partner’s almost 3,000.

The disposal of its 20% stake allows Tesco to further simplify and focus the business on core operations, it said on Tuesday, adding that the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The deal is scheduled to complete on Feb. 28.

Shares in Tesco were up 0.7% at 0816 GMT, extending its gains over the last year to 12.4%.

“This extra 275 million pounds of ‘forgotten value’ should be accretive to most street valuations,” said Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne.

After costly exits from Japan and the United States and the sale of its South Korean business, Tesco signalled in December a further retreat from its once lofty global ambitions by starting a review of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia – its last remaining wholly owned businesses in Asia.

A sale of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia would mean Tesco’s only remaining overseas operations, apart from Ireland, would be its central European division, comprising stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

The Asian exit could be one of the last acts of Tesco CEO Dave Lewis, who will be succeeded by Ken Murphy in October.

Bernstein’s Monteyne expects Tesco to start a 1 billion pound share buyback programme in its 2020-21 financial year.

“With this transaction and the possible sale of Thailand and Malaysia, Tesco’s biggest short-term concern could be how to efficiently return cash to shareholders,” he said.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Britain’s biggest retailer, Business, China, China Resources Holdings (CRH), completes, Czech Republic, exit, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, South Korean, Tesco, Tesco (TSCO.L), Thailand, Uncategorized, United States | Leave a Comment »

25/02/2020

Donald Trump in India: Seven killed in Delhi violence during visit

Seven people have been killed in Delhi in protests against India’s controversial new citizenship law, as US President Donald Trump made his first official visit to the country.

Violence has erupted again in parts of north-east Delhi, which saw deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the law on Monday night.

Two journalists have been attacked and BBC reporters in the area say mobs are throwing stones and shouting slogans.

There are fears of further clashes.

Mobs in parts of north-east Delhi are throwing stones at each other, and the situation remains tense, according to BBC correspondents.

A policeman and six civilians have died in Delhi’s deadliest violence since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) – which critics say is anti-Muslim – was passed last year.

Around 150 people, including 48 policemen, are reportedly injured.

Policemen stand on a vandalised road following clashes between supporters and opponents of a new citizenship law, at Bhajanpura area of New Delhi on February 24, 2020, ahead of US President arrival in New Delhi.Image copyright AFP

“There are around 200 people, some are holding the Indian flag in their hands, others are holding saffron flags, generally associated with right-wing Hindu groups. They are chanting Jai Shri Ram [hail Lord Ram],” BBC Hindi reporter Faisal Mohammed said.

The crowd was also shouting “shoot the traitors”, our reporter added.

Correspondents say the timing of the unrest is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he hosts the US president and the violence has taken the spotlight away from Mr Trump’s visit.

Where is the violence?

It broke out in three Muslim-majority areas in north-east Delhi on Sunday and has continued since.

The violence in the area has seen protesters firmly split along religious lines, BBC reporters at the scene say.

Both sides have blamed each other for starting the clashes.

A man supporting a new citizenship law throws a petrol bomb at a Muslim shrine during a clash with those opposing the law in New Delhi India, February 24, 2020Image copyright REUTERS
Image caption The violence in the Muslim-majority areas in north-east Delhi began on Sunday

The violence has been linked to a BJP leader, Kapil Mishra, who had threatened a group of protesters staging a sit-in against the CAA over the weekend, telling them that they would be forcibly evicted once Donald Trump had left India.

The clashes spilled into Monday and police fired tear gas shells and led baton charges to disperse the stone-throwing crowds. TV footage showed flames and smoke billowing from buildings.

Eyewitnesses said they saw charred vehicles and streets full of stones in areas like Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh on Tuesday morning. Police were allowing people to enter only after checking their identity cards. Some Metro stations have also been shut.

Who are the dead and injured?

Six civilians and one policeman have been killed in the violence so far.

“One of the seriously injured is a senior police officer. He has now been moved to another hospital for specialised treatment,” an official said.

Two journalists belonging to the NDTV news channel were badly beaten while they were out reporting on Tuesday morning.

Shahid Alvi, an auto rickshaw driver, died because of a bullet injury he suffered during the protest. His brother Rashid told BBC Hindi that Shahid was married just a month ago.

“He was shot in the stomach and died while we were taking him to the hospital,” he said.

Another victim has been identified as Rahul Solanki.

His brother, Rohit Solanki, told BBC Hindi that he died after being shot as he tried to escape from a mob.

“He had gone out to buy groceries when he was suddenly surrounded. He was shot at point blank range. We tried taking him to four hospitals but we were turned away,” he said.

What are officials doing?

Delhi’s freshly re-elected Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, called on the federal government to restore law and order.

“There are not enough police on the streets [in the affected areas]. Local police are saying they are not getting orders from above to control the situation, and they are not able to take action,” he told reporters.

The capital’s police force reports directly to Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.

Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in-charge of Delhi’s police forces, is holding a meeting with Mr Kejriwal to discuss the situation.

Protesters seen during clashes between a group of anti-CAA protestors and supporters of the new citizenship act, near Maujpur and Jaffrabad metro station on February 24, 2020 in New DelhiImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption The police and protesters fought pitched battles on the streets of Delhi

What is the citizenship act about?

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants amnesty to non-Muslim immigrants from three nearby Muslim-majority countries.

The new law has raised fears that India’s secular status is at risk.

Critics say it discriminates against Muslims. But the government says the protests are unnecessary as it only seeks to give amnesty to persecuted minorities.

Protests so far have been largely led by Muslim women and men, but a lot of Hindus have also joined them.

Media caption ‘Our son was shot dead by police’

Source: The BBC

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25/02/2020

After raucous welcome in India, Trump clinches $3 billion military equipment sale

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that India will buy $3 billion worth of military equipment, including attack helicopters, as the two countries deepen defence and commercial ties in an attempt to balance the weight of China in the region.

India and the United States were also making progress on a big trade deal, Trump said. Negotiators from the two sides have wrangled for months to narrow differences on farm goods, medical devices, digital trade and new tariffs.

Trump was accorded a massive reception in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state on Monday, with more than 100,000 people filling into a cricket stadium for a “Namaste Trump” rally.

On Tuesday, Trump sat down for one-on-one talks with Modi followed by delegation-level meetings to try and move forward on issues that have divided them, mainly the festering trade dispute.

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  • U.S. first lady Melania Trump visits ‘happiness’ class at Delhi school

After those meetings, Trump said his visit had been productive with the conclusion of deals to buy helicopters for the Indian military. India is buying 24 SeaHawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin equipped with Hellfire missiles worth $2.6 billion and also plans a follow-on order for six Apache helicopters.

India is modernising its military to narrow the gap with China and has increasingly turned to the United States over traditional supplier, Russia.

Trump said the two countries were also making progress on a trade deal, which had been an area of growing friction between them.

“Our teams have made tremendous progress on a comprehensive trade agreement and I’m optimistic we can reach a deal that will be of great importance to both countries,” said Trump in remarks made alongside Modi.

The two countries had initially planned to produce a “mini deal”, but that proved elusive.

Instead both sides are now aiming for a bigger package, including possibly a free trade agreement.

Trump said he also discussed with Modi, whom he called his “dear friend”, the importance of a secure 5G telecoms network in India, ahead of a planned airwaves auction by the country.

The United States has banned Huawei, arguing the use of its kit creates the potential for espionage by China – a claim denied by Huawei and Beijing – but India, where telecoms companies have long used network gear from the Chinese firm, is yet to make a call.

Trump described Monday’s rally in Ahmedabad and again praised Modi and spoke of the size of the crowd, claiming there were “thousands of people outside trying to get in..

“I would even imagine they were there more for you than for me, I would hope so,” he told Modi. “The people love you…every time I mentioned your name, they would cheer.”

In New Delhi, Trump was given a formal state welcome on Tuesday at the red sandstone presidential palace with a 21-cannon gun salute and a red coated honour guard on horseback on a smoggy day.

HUG GETS TIGHTER

India is one of the few big countries in the world where Trump’s personal approval rating is above 50% and Trump’s trip has got wall-to-wall coverage with commentators saying he had hit all the right notes on his first official visit to the world’s biggest democracy.

They were also effusive in their praise for Modi for pulling off a spectacular reception for Trump.

“Modi-Trump hug gets tighter,” ran a headline in the Times of India.

But in a sign of the underlying political tensions in India, violent protests broke out in Delhi on Monday over a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims and is a further attempt to undermine the secular foundations of India’s democracy. They say the law is part of a pattern of divisiveness being followed by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

At least 7 people were killed and about 150 injured in the clashes that took place in another part of the capital, away from the centre of the city where Modi is hosting Trump.

In his speech on Monday, Trump extolled India’s rise as a stable and prosperous democracy as one of the achievements of the century. “You have done it as a tolerant country. And you have done it as a great, free country,” he said.

Delhi has also been struggling with high air pollution and on Tuesday the air quality was moderately poor at 193 on a government index that measures pollution up to a scale of 500. The WHO considers anything above 60 as unhealthy.

Source: Reuters

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24/02/2020

Economic Watch: In two-front battle, corporate China gears up operation restoration

BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) — With the positive trend of containing the outbreak of novel coronavirus illness (COVID-19), China is meticulously expanding business operations with a precise approach that attaches different priorities to regions in light of their health risks.

A total of 11 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday outside Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak, while 24 provincial-level regions didn’t report newly confirmed cases, according to the National Health Commission Monday.

As more provincial-level regions have been reporting no newly confirmed cases for longer streaks, more local governments are starting to lower their emergency response to fast-track the restoration of economic and social order.

While high-risk regions still need to be fully committed to epidemic prevention and control, regions with relatively low risks are encouraged to focus on forestalling cases brought in from elsewhere and comprehensively restoring the order of production and life, said a meeting Sunday.

Coastal province Fujian has divided the 88 cities and counties into four groups, ranging from regions with over ten infections to regions with none, and adopted differentiated measures to better fight the outbreak and mitigate the impact on the economy.

Changting County in Fujian, for instance, which has no confirmed cases of infection, has seen most of the key enterprises resume production.

The country has pledged efforts such as arranging customized trains for migrant workers, smoothing the traffic, enhancing credit support and alleviating social security burden on employers to bring enterprises back on track.

Shanghai Municipality has rolled out 28 policies to provide targeted fiscal support, tax and fee cuts, as well as epidemic-prevention supplies for local enterprises, ferrying them through rough patches.

Foreign companies will also benefit from the supportive policies and be treated on the same footing as other types of enterprises, said Xu Wei, spokesperson for the Shanghai municipal government.

The operation resumption rate of 51,000 foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai is nearly 70 percent, while that of the regional headquarters of 217 multinational companies is as high as 93 percent.

Wyeth Nutrition, a Sino-U.S. joint venture with its headquarter in Shanghai, is operating at its capacity to supply infant formula in China.

“The local commerce department has built a green channel for us, ensuring smooth operation of our supply chains and product delivery in the Yangtze River Delta,” said Cao Jingheng, vice president of the company.

Foreign firms and firms are high on the agenda of Chinese government agencies when formulating preferential policies.

The Ministry of Commerce has promised to strengthen services and guarantees to foreign-funded enterprises while the General Administration of Customs vowed efforts to optimize the port business environment and promote reciprocal market opening up.

Now with the country gradually heading back to work, many are confident that the potential economic blow brought by the national production halt is expected to be only a short-term, one-off hit against China’s solid economic foundation.

The epidemic might disturb economic activities in the first quarter of this year, but the economy is likely to steady shortly after the epidemic is contained, as the unleashing of pent-up demands will make up for previous weak economic performance, said Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Saturday that she expects China’s economy to “return to normal in the second quarter” of 2020.

“As a result, the impact on the world economy would be relatively minor and short-lived,” Georgieva said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Beijing, Central bank, corporate China, COVID-19, epidemic, Fujian, gears up, hubei province, International Monetary Fund, Ministry of Commerce, National Health Commission, operation restoration, People's Bank of China, Shanghai Municipality, Uncategorized, Wyeth Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

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