Day: May 24, 2023

Philippines Health Officials Try to Build Trust in Routine Vaccines

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Taguig, Philippines —  Seated on his mother’s lap, one-year old Jeon Tyler Ancheta gets vaccinated for measles and rubella. Jeon Tyler lets out a short cry after the needle is pulled out of his arm, but he’s comforted by his mother while a doctor enthusiastically says “good.” There’s a line of parents who brought their kids to get vaccinated at this local health clinic. It’s a positive sign in a country that has a large number of unvaccinated children. The Philippines has about one-million children who have not received a…

Pakistan pins hopes on Chinese help in debt crunch

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Pakistan expects China to roll over more than $2bn in debt due next month, but is still bracing itself for other repayment deadlines that risk tipping the country into default. With a crucial IMF lending programme stalled, Pakistan has about $3.7bn in overseas debt due this month and in June against its current foreign reserves of just $4.3bn.  Two senior Pakistani officials said Beijing had committed to help the country meet two crucial debt repayments in June worth a total $2.3bn by providing fresh funds immediately after Pakistan makes the…

Day After Typhoon Mawar Hit Guam, ‘What Used to Be a Jungle Looks Like Toothpicks’

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HAGATNA, Guam —  Guam residents and officials emerged from homes and shelters Thursday to survey the damage done to the U.S. Pacific territory after a long night of hunkering down as Typhoon Mawar’s howling winds shredded trees, flipped vehicles and knocked out utilities. The central and northern parts of the island received more than 2 feet of rain as the eyewall passed, and most of Guam received about a foot of rain during the storm, said Brandon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The island’s international airport flooded,…

Malaysia Raids Swatch Stores, Seizes Colorful Watches Linked to Gay Pride

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —  Swiss watchmaker Swatch said Tuesday that Malaysian authorities raided its stores and confiscated 164 watches from its Pride Collection. It said Ministry of Home Affairs officials raided its outlets in various malls across Malaysia on May 13 and 14 and seized the watches because they “bore LGBT connotations.” The watches come in a choice of six colors, matching those on the gay pride flag, and have two rainbow loops on their straps. “We strongly contest that our collection of watches using rainbow colors and having a…

Vietnamese activist known as ‘Onion Bae’ sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison

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UPDATED AT 03:00 a.m. ET on 2023-05-25 A court in the central Vietnamese city of Danang sentenced activist Bui Tuan Lam – known as “Onion Bae” – to five years and six months in prison Thursday, along with four years of probation, one of his lawyers Le Dinh Viet told RFA. He was convicted of propaganda under Article 117 of the country’s Penal Code, which carries a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 12, after being found guilty of criticizing the government online. Bui, 39, who ran…

Chinese hacking group spying on US critical infrastructure, Western intelligence agencies say

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Such “living off the land” spy techniques are harder to detect as they use “capabilities already built into critical infrastructure environments,” he added. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Advertisement Microsoft said the Chinese group, which it dubbed “Volt Typhoon”, has been active since at least 2021 and has targeted a number of industries including communications, manufacturing, utility, transport, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education. As opposed to using traditional hacking techniques, which often involve tricking a victim into downloading…

Return of Chinese Tourists to Thailand Has Pros, Cons

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washington —  Thailand’s tourist industry hoped for a quick revival when Beijing ended its zero-COVID policy late last year, unleashing a crush of Chinese travelers freed from pandemic-related travel restrictions. Data from Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports showed that more than 517,000 Chinese travelers visited Thailand during the first three months of 2023, up from 13,700 arrivals during the first quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, Chinese travelers were in the top five groups of foreign arrivals, along with Malaysian, Russian, South Korea and Indian visitors.…

US, Czech Republic Skeptical of China’s Diplomacy to End Ukraine War

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As a Chinese envoy continues talks in Europe after meetings in Ukraine, a senior U.S. State Department official said there is not much indication that China is willing to use its influence in Moscow to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. A Czech lawmaker is also skeptical of China’s peacemaking efforts. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more. Voice of America

Microsoft says China-backed hacker targeted critical infrastructure in US and Guam

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Microsoft said on Wednesday it had uncovered malicious activity by a state-sponsored actor based in China aimed at critical infrastructure organizations in Guam and the United States. Microsoft said it assessed with “moderate confidence” that this Volt Typhoon campaign “is pursuing development of capabilities that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises”. Volt Typhoon has been active since mid-2021. Guam is home to major US military facilities, including the Andersen air force base, which would be key to responding to any conflict…

Chinese companies switch auditors to avoid US delisting risk

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More than a dozen US-listed Chinese companies have switched from auditors in their home country to ones in the US and Singapore since 2022, reducing the risk they could be thrown off American exchanges, a Nikkei Asia analysis shows. Under a 2020 law called the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), Chinese companies can be delisted if their auditors fail to comply with US accounting standards. Those requirements include allowing inspections of auditors by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Beijing resisted the US effort until last year when…