Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Vietnam is on high alert and bracing for a rise in coronavirus cases, after local media reported that infections have been detected in the capital, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands region.
The country’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phu warned on Wednesday that every province and every city was at risk, adding that the new “wave” appeared to be different to that seen in Vietnam earlier this year.
Plans mooted to pool strategic resources and lessen west’s dependency on China
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance could be expanded to include Japan and broadened into a strategic economic relationship that pools key strategic reserves such as critical minerals and medical supplies, according to centre-right MPs working internationally to decouple the west from China.
The coronavirus crisis has revealed the west’s key strategic dependencies on China, and plans will be announced shortly under Five Eyes auspices for a major increase in production of rare and semi-rare metals from Australia, Canada, and America in order to reduce dependency on Chinese stocks.
Global Witness campaigners warn of risk of further killings during Covid-19 lockdowns
A record number of people were killed last year for defending their land and environment, according to research that highlights the routine murder of activists who oppose extractive industries driving the climate crisis and the destruction of nature.
More than four defenders were killed every week in 2019, according to an annual death toll compiled by the independent watchdog Global Witness, amid growing evidence of opportunistic killings during the Covid-19 lockdown in which activists were left as “sitting ducks” in their own homes.
Decision to fire Benny Tai, a tenured law professor, goes against previous ruling by the university senate
A prominent Hong Kong professor and pro-democracy campaigner has been fired by his university, in a move that he and other critics described as a devastating blow to academic freedom in the city.
It came amid growing fears that city authorities may try to delay upcoming elections to Hong Kong’s legislative council, where pro-democracy candidates expect a strong showing. The vote could be postponed for up to a year, on grounds of a spike in coronavirus cases, local media reported.
Julie Palmer, partner at business advisory and restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, says:
The success of Greggs has been the envy of the high street in recent years, however, even the bakery chain hasn’t been immune to the impact of Covid-19 which has forced its stores to close and eaten away at its top line.
For Greggs, achieving rent reductions from landlords will be first on the tick list, and indeed this has been a priority for many on the high street. But once these costs have been reduced its push to return to success will begin. And given its track record of marketing & PR success with its famous vegan sausage roll, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another high profile campaign on the horizon that captures the sentiment of a nation experiencing seismic change.
Let’s have a look at today’s corporate news. Greggs, Britain’s biggest bakery chain (known for its vegan sausage roll) has warned that sales won’t get back to pre-pandemic levels for as long as physical distancing continues.
But it’s fared better than other retailers: sales are now running at 72% of the 2019 level. All of its 2,050 stores reopened by July, after being forced to close during the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on 23 March. Greggs made a £65.2m loss before tax in the first half, compared with a £36.7m profit a year ago.
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges in his first trial linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal- a landmark conviction that could lead to decades in jail.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in relation to what is one of the world’s biggest financial frauds, in which billions of dollars were allegedly looted from a state fund set up to promote development. The scandal shook Malaysian politics, led to the ousting of Najib’s Umno party after 61 years in power, and prompted a series of investigations in countries around the world.
Owners hope the friendly shortfin eel, which delighted children in Whangārei for 35 years, made it out to sea during deluge
A shortfin eel named Eel McPherson, who was beloved by a New Zealand city for 35 years, has bid bon voyage to its backyard pool and disappeared during a once-in-500-years flood.
The eel was kept by a Whangārei man, George Campbell, for decades – first at a fish museum that he ran during the 1990s and later at his home – said Campbell’s granddaughter, Alyce Charlesworth.
The US consulate general in Chengdu was closed on Monday as Chinese authorities entered through the front entrance to take over the premises. China ordered the closure in response to Washington's order for the Chinese consulate in Houston to be shut.
Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people from the central city of Danang and reimposing disease-prevention measures after four local coronavirus cases were detected, the first to be recorded in the country for more than three months.
Life had returned to normal for many in the country, which had been praised widely for taking quick action to contain Covid-19 and was on the brink of reaching 100 days without any new local infections. On Saturday, however, a 57-year-old man was confirmed to have tested positive, in the first community infection since April.
The US embassy in Seoul has posted a video on Twitter of Harry Harris visiting a barbershop to remove his moustache months after his facial hair became the subject of unusual criticism. The US ambassador says he shaved it off because of the summer heat and having to wear a face mask.
He has faced criticism for his moustache before. Commentators have said his facial hair reminded South Koreans of that of Japanese governor generals when Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910-45
Troops posted outside building as Chinese authorities take over diplomatic mission
Chinese authorities have taken over the US consulate general in Chengdu, marking the diplomatic mission’s official closure and a new low point in ties between the world’s largest economies.
At dawn on Monday, the American flag outside the consulate was lowered while police held back crowds that had gathered over the weekend to watch. At 10am, the mission was closed, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Annual Gallup survey casts doubt on Mike Pompeo’s claim that the US is ‘perfectly positioned’ to lead the free world in rivalry with China
Germany is the most admired country in the world for the third year running, leaving the US in a tight battle for distant second place with China and Russia, according to a new global leadership poll.
The annual poll, conducted by Gallup, casts more doubt on US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s claim on Friday that the US was “perfectly positioned” to lead the free world in a new ideological rivalry with the Chinese Communist Party.
New sprawling development near Phnom Penh could prompt environmental catastrophe, including for the capital’s water systems
The destruction of critically-important wetlands by politically-connected developers in Cambodia threatens to flood more than one million Phnom Penh residents, ruin the city’s wastewater system, force hundreds of families from their homes, and trigger environmental devastation, a new report has warned.
The sprawling Tompoun/Cheung Ek wetlands, just south of Phnom Penh, play a vital role in sustaining the Cambodian capital, acting as a natural store of 70% of its rain and wastewater and providing livelihoods for the more than 1,000 families who live, farm and fish in the area.
Those of us who have resettled in the US and other countries all left someone very close to us behind
On 19 July 2013 the Australian government announced that those who arrived by boat seeking safety would never reach the mainland. The effect of this policy is beyond description and I am still haunted by the memories of the time myself and hundreds of others were held captive on Manus Island.
The concept of a system ruining people’s lives is not easy to understand. It is complex, destructive and manipulative and every aspect is highly politicised. It is a form of systematic torture, the scars of which are not obvious, but they are real and will affect a person for the rest of his or her life.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened an emergency politburo meeting after a person suspected of having Covid-19 returned from South Korea after illegally crossing the border this month, state media said on Sunday.
Door forced open after consular staff move out to heckling by anti-communist protesters
A group of men who appeared to be American officials were seen forcing open a back door of the Chinese consulate in Houston as a US closure order took effect at 4pm on Friday.
Australia says China’s claims to disputed islands are ‘invalid’ and are not consistent with UN convention on law of the sea
Australia has declared “there is no legal basis” to China’s territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea, marking an escalation of recent tensions with Beijing and bringing Canberra further in line with Washington.
Beijing is flexing its muscles on multiple fronts but Trump’s retreat from world leadership leaves it ill-placed to helm a fightback
The confrontation between the US and China is gathering pace with each passing week. In the past few days, the Chinese consulate in Houston has been shuttered amid allegations it was a spy hub, and the US mission in the south-western city of Chengdu was closed in retaliation, on similar grounds.
The FBI has started arresting Chinese researchers at US universities with suspected links to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), one of whom temporarily took refuge in the consulate in San Francisco, before surrendering.
Move by Beijing comes in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston earlier this week and amid worsening relations between the countries
Beijing has ordered the closure of a US consulate in south-western China, in a move that escalates tensions between the two countries to a new level.
On Friday, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said it had ordered the US consulate in Chengdu, in Sichuan province, to cease all operations. Authorities notified the US of China’s decision to revoke its consent for the consulate to operate, according to a notice on the ministry’s website.
Chairs of eight parliamentary foreign affairs committees say new security law infringes human rights
The chairs of eight parliamentary foreign affairs committees from across Europe have written to the Chinese government in opposition to Hong Kong’s new security law, saying it infringes on “basic human rights” in their countries.
The joint statement by the committee chairs – from countries including Germany, the UK, Belgium, Latvia, Norway and the European parliament itself – shows a network of parliamentarians is being constructed to shift European governments towards a harder stance on China’s abuse of human rights.