Luna Blaise, who plays Olive on NBC's "Manifest," talks about the return of Olive's family and its impact, and also hints at what's yet to come on the drama.
Camped out in bare offices, President Joe Biden's new White House team has spent its first three days scrambling for things like binder clips and IT support -- oh, and trying to save the country from multiple crises.
Authorities have received some reports of adverse events arising from the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, said a Singapore health official.
While his girlfriend’s mother was sleeping, a man got aroused by her exposed breast and molested the woman.
Foreign forces ignored a deadline to pull out of Libya as scheduled Saturday under a UN-backed ceasefire deal, highlighting the fragility of peace efforts after a decade of conflict.
Canada said its officials have met online with former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who has been held in China for more than two years in a case related to an executive of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Canada’s Foreign Ministry said officials led by Ambassador Dominic Barton were given “on-site virtual consular access” to Kovrig on Thursday. Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been confined since Dec. 10, 2018, just days after Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the founder of the Chinese telecommunications equipment giant.
The US government’s top infectious disease expert said on Friday that former president Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic “very likely” cost lives.“I don’t want that job to be a sound bite but … you could see that when you’re starting to go down paths that are not based on any science at all, and we’ve been there before, I don’t want to rehash it, that is not helpful at all,” Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN in an interview.Fauci, made a senior adviser to President Joe Biden on Covid-19, blamed a lack of coordination between federal and state authorities for allowing infections to spread throughout the country. The US has already registered more than 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths and is on track to exceed half a million by the end of February.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, whom the Senate confirmed on Friday, made pandemic assistance his first priority to address the mounting loss of life.“What we saw a lot of was saying, ‘OK, states, do what you want to do,’ and states were doing things that clearly were not the right direction,” Fauci said.Many US states, he added, “want to have the capability of making their own decisions, but they also need resources, and they need help”.Fauci spoke as US health authorities confront thousands of Covid-19 deaths a day and face the possibility that the numbers will escalate as new, possibly more contagious, variants of the coronavirus that causes the disease emerge in the country.Throughout the pandemic, Trump, who left office on Wednesday, played down its severity and often insisted that the contagion was dying out. He refused to promote mask-wearing, which Biden addressed in his first full day in office with an executive order requiring the wearing of masks in all federal buildings and on public transport. Dr Fauci’s 2021 Covid-19 forecast for AmericaTrump also promoted unproven scientific remedies, including the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.In a bid to speed up vaccination in the US, Biden plans to mobilise the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard to set up as many as 100 sites around the country within the next month to deliver the shots, The Washington Post reported, citing a draft document by the administration.US vaccinations started nearly six weeks ago, but fewer than six doses have been administered for every 100 people as of Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.“We must help the federal government move further and faster to eradicate the devastating effects of the coronavirus,” Austin said in his “Day One Message to the Force”.“To that end, we will also do everything we can to vaccinate and care for our workforce and to look for meaningful ways to alleviate the pressure this pandemic has exerted on you and your families.”In another break from Trump, Fauci also said this week that the US would not withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s health agency, as the Trump administration had intended.Trump and many of his allies in Congress had accused the WHO of bungling its early response to the outbreak because it was too deferential to China.More from South China Morning Post: * Joe Biden orders masks, travel quarantine in new US war on Covid-19 * Dr Anthony Fauci ‘sure’ coronavirus vaccinations will be mandatory in hospitals and schools * Trump: Americans will develop ‘herd mentality’, coronavirus vaccine weeks away * Joe Biden plans immediate executive actions as Donald Trump era endsThis article Top US medical adviser Fauci says Trump’s coronavirus approach ‘very likely’ cost lives first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
The government will impose a cap of eight distinct visitors per household per day from 26 January, amid a rise in the number of COVID-19 community cases.
The tiny clinking vials supervised by silent PPE-wearing technicians belie the excitement inside the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, a major player in the fight against coronavirus.
The new head of Hong Kong’s Bar Association has called the arrest of 55 opposition figures an attempt to intimidate the city’s democratic movement, and warned against attacks on his colleagues in pro-Beijing media.Just hours after Paul Harris became the group’s new chairman, an editorial in Ta Kung Po on Friday accused the veteran human rights barrister of having a political mission to fulfil, after he called for the national security law to be amended.In a wide-ranging interview with the Post, Harris expressed concern over the sweeping Beijing-imposed law, and said he was keen to rebuild a dialogue with the mainland, as he set out his vision for the association’s future.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.Police arrested 55 opposition figures this month for taking part in an unofficial primary race to determine who would run in the Legislative Council elections, and alleged the polls amounted to subversion because one of the founders, former university law scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting had suggested the ultimate aim was to force the government to resign.But Harris disagreed, and said it was “fairly obvious” the arrests were an abuse of the law, adding common sense would suggest those who took part in the polls did not necessarily endorse Tai’s views. Some, he noted, had even spoken out against the plan.“So to arrest them all was, to my mind, deliberate intimidation of the democratic movement,” he said, adding the city should have a better system to handle complaints following the anti-government protests in 2019.But Harris also described himself as a “rule of law man”, and “very much against violent demonstrations”.Immediately after being elected unopposed on Thursday, Harris said he intended to lobby the Hong Kong government to change some of the provisions in the security law. Outgoing Bar Association chairman calls for renewing of contacts with BeijingWhile he did not dispute that every place should have a national security law, Harris said he found some of the provisions incompatible with the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.“I found the national security law profoundly offensive because it said certain people’s actions can’t be challenged in the court of law,” said Harris, referring to the exemption for mainland law enforcement agents from the local court’s scrutiny when they are exercising their duty.“I believe that the essence of the rule of law is that whoever you are, the law is above you,” he said.The law also stripped people in Hong Kong of their rights to a jury trial in serious cases, and allowed them to be sent to the mainland for court proceedings.Harris said he had not had a chance to speak to other Bar Council members, but he would try his best to bring them on board. While the decision ultimately lies with Beijing, he believed the Hong Kong government and pro-Beijing figures could help start a dialogue.The new chairman was part of the Bar’s delegation that visited Beijing in 2008, but its relationship with the mainland has deteriorated rapidly over the past three years.He noted any resumption of ties would be in Beijing’s hands, and noted that his predecessor, Philip Dykes, “tried really hard. He was met with a great wall”.Harris also spoke against attacks on judges, calling those assaults “cowardly and disgusting”, and said those found in some pro-Beijing newspapers – including one which suggested a judge had ruled against the police because he was friendly with the barrister of the other party – were “preposterous”.As attacks from the pro-Beijing side have also begun to mount on lawyers, including the Bar Association, he feared that could be one reason they had turned to him to take up the chairman post.Harris was worried the pressure had deterred some people, who were Hong Kong Chinese, to throw their hats in the ring. Bar Association questions Beijing’s legal power to enact national security lawHailing from the same discipline as Dykes, Harris has defended some of the most vulnerable asylum seekers and activists in the city’s courts.When the Oxford-educated barrister was chairing the human rights committee for the English Bar in the 1990s, Dykes reached out to set up a watchdog in Hong Kong.Since then, he had moved his practice to Hong Kong while working on setting up the advocacy body on the side.In 1995, Harris founded the Human Rights Monitor, a major advocacy organisation.More from South China Morning Post: * Hong Kong national security law: 53 former opposition lawmakers, activists arrested; authorities accuse them of plot to ‘overthrow’ government * Hong Kong national security law: four big questions raised by mass arrests of 53 opposition figures * Mass arrests point to Hong Kong’s quickening transition to a second-tier Chinese cityThis article Arrest of Hong Kong opposition figures a ‘fairly obvious’ abuse of law, says new head of city’s Bar Association first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
China’s banking and insurance regulator said on Friday that the investigation into fintech giant Ant Group would not undermine the company’s business development and was not a move against private firms, a reference to increased scrutiny of both Ant and its affiliate Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of the South China Morning Post.Liang Tao, vice-president of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), said at a press conference that investigations by financial regulators into internet platform companies were not aimed at any specific company.“These measures will not impact the development of their normal businesses,” Liang said, adding that banks and insurance agencies are encouraged to continue their cooperation with internet platforms, including those ordered to correct their business practices. Liang also credited internet platforms with helping to advance fintech technologies and improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of financial services in China.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Ant Group’s insurance chief quits amid fintech industry shake-outThe regulator’s assurances came two days after Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, made his first public appearance in nearly three months. The entrepreneur, one of the wealthiest people in China, had not been seen since he gave a controversial speech at a Shanghai financial forum on October 24 that compared China’s traditional banks to pawn shops.Liang’s words of reassurance are another attempt from regulators to alleviate widespread market concerns over the fate of Alibaba’s business empire, ranging from e-commerce to financial services, in the world’s second-largest economy. The company’s share price took a tumble in December after an investigation was launched by the State Administration for Market Regulation. The stock surged 8.5 per cent in Hong Kong after Jack Ma reappeared this week.Last month, People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, ran an editorial that downplayed the political significance of the antitrust investigation. “The strengthening of anti-monopoly supervision will not bring about a ‘winter’ in the industry, but rather a new starting point for better and healthier development,” the article said.More from South China Morning Post: * Ant Group kicks off the overhaul of its fintech operations under the watchful eyes of China’s central bank and financial regulators * Ant Group fintech rival JD Digits restructures amid Beijing’s Big Tech crackdown * Alibaba antitrust probe presents new challenges for China’s regulators 12 years after implementation of anti-monopoly law * China fintech: banking and insurance watchdog CBIRC lays out ways it may punish risky consumer finance companiesThis article China’s top banking regulator says probe into Ant Group will not undermine its development and isn’t targeting private firms first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
From the upcoming impeachment trial of Donald Trump to the massive coronavirus stimulus package, a power-sharing impasse and a brewing showdown over the filibuster, Chuck Schumer faces the challenge of his political career as US Senate majority leader.
The long-delayed RTS Link promises to be a game-changer in easing congestion at the Causeway, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Pfizer on Friday committed to supply up to 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year to a World Health Organization-backed effort to get affordable shots to poor and middle-income countries. The deal is a boost to the global program known as COVAX, as wealthy nations have snapped up most of the millions of coming shots. The commitment, announced at a virtual press conference held by the Geneva-based WHO, is seen as important because Pfizer and its partner BioNTech last month won the first vaccine emergency authorizations from WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"I'm an American!" a young Russian under the username Neurolera exclaims in English on the popular video-sharing app TikTok as she explains how to impersonate a tourist to avoid arrest at a street demonstration.
A construction firm, its director and an engineer have been found guilty of charges relating to the fatal collapse of an expressway viaduct in 2017.
Russia and the United States drew closer Friday to extending a nuclear pact ahead of the fast approaching expiry date of the last arms control accord between the former Cold War rivals.
A decision to turn a chilly underground parking garage into an overnight billet for National Guard troops in Washington to protect President Joe Biden's inauguration has stirred an uproar.
An investment boom in institutions of higher education is taking place in Guangdong province, one of China’s biggest manufacturing hubs and its up-and-coming hi-tech region with grand ambitions to rival Silicon Valley in the United States.Guangdong will open 11 new universities this year, with more to come in the next few years. In Shenzhen city, the local government announced that it would invest 150 billion yuan (US$23.21 billion) to build 20 new universities and colleges by 2025, with an aim of boosting the number of full-time students on campus in the city to 250,000 from about 103,800 now.Government-backed subsidies and funding have been splashed out to support the higher education blueprint. Three universities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) – a megapolis comprising nine cities in mainland China, including Shenzhen, as well as the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions – received a combined annual budget of around 29 billion yuan in 2020.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.In China’s quest to be self-sufficient in technology, access to top-tier talent is an urgent requirement. While China has attracted some overseas talent to the mainland, its higher education plans indicate that it hopes to take a home-grown approach to cultivating talent.Several Hong Kong universities are also flocking to set up operations in the GBA.Five-year plan: China moves to technology self-sufficiencyThe Chinese University of Hong Kong opened a Shenzhen campus in 2014, which was soon regarded as Shenzhen’s top university, with independence in teaching, teacher recruitment and its curriculum.The construction of a 30.7 billion yuan Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus in Foshan city was included in Guangdong’s 2020 development plan.At least two other Hong Kong universities are expanding in Guangdong – City University in Dongguan and the Open University in Zhaoqing.The central and provincial governments are being very aggressive in supporting the expansion of higher education in the GBA, said Simon Zhao, associate dean of BNU-HKBU United International College’s Division of Humanities and Social Sciences.“Based on China’s science and technology strategy and the current scale of investment, the gap between higher education institutions in the GBA and the top universities in Hong Kong and the West will close rapidly,” he said. “Of course, this also depends on China’s continued opening up and success in easing the tech decoupling with the US.”The [US-China] trade war is a good thing for us because it lets China see the hidden dangers and risks to its tech securityShenzhen University professorBeijing’s plan is to transform this southern region of 71.2 million people into a hi-tech powerhouse to rival California’s Silicon Valley by 2035.On top of this, Shenzhen, home to many of China’s Fortune 500 companies, especially tech-sector ones such as Huawei Technologies, ZTE, DJI and Mindray, already has a rich ecosystem of start-ups, business incubators and accelerators in tech, biotech, health-tech and innovation.“More than 10 years ago, when I chose to join Shenzhen University, I did not think that Shenzhen’s economy, technology sector nor local higher education could leap ahead so fast,” said a professor who received his PhD and worked in the US for many years until the late 2000s, declining to be identified. “Shenzhen’s funding for higher education is very substantial, especially for research and development in the basic disciplines of science and engineering.“The [US-China] trade war is a good thing for us because it lets China see the hidden dangers and risks to its tech security. Without sanctions against Huawei and semiconductors, Chinese tech industries would have no idea how the West sees them.“The trade war is actually a huge boost to the Chinese government’s strategy to invest huge amounts in original research, understanding that neither technology-related mergers and acquisitions, nor copycat [production], can ensure China’s rise.”At the same time, Guangdong’s higher education still lags far behind Beijing’s ambitions to be more competitive in the areas of science and technology.In the 2020 QS World University Rankings, Hong Kong had five universities in the top 100, while the mainland had six – mostly in Shanghai and Beijing. No Guangdong-based university cracked the top 300.And Guangdong’s gross enrolment ratio – the proportion of young people receiving higher education – was 46 per cent in 2019, below the national average of 51.6 per cent, according to government data.However, Guangdong’s 2019 figure represented significant growth from just 28 per cent in 2010.More from South China Morning Post: * Chinese capital Beijing sets sights on building ‘trillion yuan’ hi-tech manufacturing clusters * China revamps trade negotiation team ahead of possible fresh talks with Biden administration * China GDP: what is it and why is it important? * Leading Hong Kong university denies gutting China studies centre long favoured by overseas scholars * China jobs market still seen as weak, unstable even as unemployment rate returns to pre-coronavirus levelThis article China’s hi-tech hub Guangdong sees higher education investments boom in bid to rival Silicon Valley with home-grown talent first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Imams across Britain are helping a drive to dispel coronavirus disinformation, using Friday sermons and their influential standing within Muslim communities to argue that Covid-19 vaccines are safe.
Thousands of people in Brazil protested on Saturday against President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, on the anniversary of the Chinese city of Wuhan beginning its 76-day lockdown.
