Home Blog Page 82

Foreign automakers see their chance in Japan with electric vehicles

antnews24
-
0
Foreign automakers see their chance in Japan with electric vehicles

While the trend is unlikely to make a big dent in overall sales, it highlights a perception that many domestic automakers have been slower to embrace battery EVs, focusing instead on hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cells and alternative fuel for internal combustion engines.

“I wanted to buy something that would be best for the environment,” said the 30-year-old, who runs a company in Tokyo selling farm produce.

Toyota has committed 8 trillion yen ($69 billion) on electrification up to 2030 and expects to sell around 3.5 million battery EVs worldwide by then. That represents around a third of Toyota’s current annual auto sales, according to Reuters.

Stellantis (STLA.MI), the owner of the Peugeot brand that Abe bought, is also expanding its line-up in Japan, with two new models going on sale this year.

They are being joined by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), which this month said it is returning to Japan 12 years after it left because of poor sales. Japanese drivers will be able to order its Nexo SUV hydrogen fuel cell EV and its Ioniq 5 midsize crossover battery EV from May.

To bolster its chance of success this time round, the South Korean company has tied up with a car sharing service operated by online social gaming company DeNA Co (2432.T) and insurance company Sompo Holdings (8630.T) to let Hyundai owners rent out their zero emission cars.

Germany’s Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) predicts half its cars will be battery EVs by then.

Nine tenths of the five million cars sold annually in Japan are from domestic firms such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and Nissan Motor Co .

But while overall car sales in Japan, not including small light vehicles, dipped 3.2% last year, sales of foreign models rose 1.7%. Imports of battery EVs jumped almost three times to a record 8,610 vehicles, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.

Analysts estimate around half of those were Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) cars. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, is one of the foreign makers that see a battery-EV opening in Japan.

It plans to sell more than a dozen such models in Japan by 2024, including cheaper Audi and Volkswagen sports utility models this year that will target a broader swathe of consumers, country manager Matthias Schepers told a news conference in January.

It expects battery EVs to account for a third of Audi sales, or around 10,000 vehicles, in Japan for 2025, he said. The VW group will expand the installation of fast chargers to 250 of its own showrooms by the end of this year, he said.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

antnews24
-
0
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have urged Myanmar’s military to follow a five-point “consensus” it agreed to last year at a crisis meeting of the bloc’s leaders to address deadly unrest that followed a coup, according to Reuters.

Below is the peace commitment that Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and the leaders of ASEAN’s nine other states signed at the Jakarta meeting, which came two months after the military launched a crackdown on opponents to its coup, prompting international condemnation and sanctions.

1. That all violence in Myanmar be halted immediately.

2. That parties concerned engage in constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.

3. That a special envoy of the ASEAN chair facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

4. That ASEAN provide humanitarian assistance.

5. That the special envoy and delegation visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.

Japan eases border controls criticised by business, educators

antnews24
-
0
Japan eases border controls criticised by business, educators

Japan will ease border controls imposed to counter the pandemic, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday, softening measures that have been among the strictest imposed by wealthy nations and have been slammed by business and educators.

According to Reuters, about 150,000 foreign students have been kept out of Japan, along with workers desperately needed by an ageing nation with a shrinking population, prompting warnings of labour shortages and damage to its international reputation.

From March, authorities will raise the number of people allowed to enter to 5,000 a day, from 3,500 now, Kishida told a news conference.

For Kishida, who faces a crucial election in July, deciding when and how to change the measures has been tricky, said political analyst Atsuo Ito.

“If you look at the overall situation now, they’re meaningless: you can get the virus anywhere. But as a result of having them, he got a lot of public support,” he said.

If they’re not changed, Ito added, “the result over the long term is that Japan is going to be left behind the rest of the world.”

“We will permit the entrance of foreigners except for tourists,” he said. Measures would be eased gradually and depend on a number of conditions, including the infection rates in other nations, Kishida said.

The period of mandatory quarantine will be reduced to three days in some conditions, from seven days now, he said, adding that in some cases there would be no requirement to quarantine.

The change comes, Kishida said, as the number of coronavirus infections have shown signs of declining, meaning Japan needed to start preparing for a new phase.

Still, semi-emergency measures in place for some 17 regions will remain until March 6, he said.

U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel commended the decision, saying in a statement it would benefit foreign students who wanted to come to Japan while still protecting public health.

Japan, which has effectively been sealed off to non-residents for two years, briefly eased its border controls late in 2021 but tightened them again just weeks later as the Omicron variant emerged overseas.

Japan currently designates 82 nations as “high risk” and requires a week of quarantine, including three or six days at a hotel, for many. Two weeks of quarantine were required until mid-January.

Kishida and his government have hailed the tight border controls for buying Japan time as Omicron surged around the world, and a vast majority of the public supports them.

Yet with the variant now widespread in Japan, which is struggling to roll out booster shots, business leaders and some politicians have warned the measures are obsolete.

Babies born to mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy have less risk for hospitalization

antnews24
-
0
Babies born to mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy have less risk for hospitalization

Babies born to mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy have less risk for hospitalization due to the virus, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The study found that infants younger than six months old were 61% less likely to be hospitalized if their mothers received a 2-dose COVID-19 vaccine, according to the report. 

Last year, the CDC officially recommended COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women. Health experts told Fox News studies show that pregnant women infected with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of severe complications and death. 

“While it is very understandable that women who are pregnant are concerned about putting anything extraneous in their bodies, women must understand that getting COVID in pregnancy is far worse,” said Dr. Aaron Glatt, an infectious disease expert and chair of the department of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau on Long Island.

“There are no data that suggest that COVID-19 vaccination is dangerous in pregnancy, but there are several studies documenting that getting COVID-19 in pregnancy can be fatal,” added Glatt, who also serves as the chief of infectious diseases and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 

According to Foxnews, the CDC recommended that women who are trying to conceive, are pregnant or are breastfeeding get vaccinated after finding that mothers who are vaccinated are likely to pass on the immunity protection against the virus, the report said. 

“The CDC study has reaffirmed the additional benefit of COVID vaccination for pregnant moms: protection for the newborn child up to 6 months of age,” said Dr. Michael Nimaroff, senior vice president and executive director of Ob/Gyn services for Northwell Health in New York. He was not part of the study. 

According to the CDC report, the researchers studied 379 newborns under the age of six months at 20 different children’s hospitals across 17 states from July 2021 to January 2022. According to the CDC, 84% of the 176 babies hospitalized with COVID-19 were born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine. 

The study also noted that 88% of babies with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units were born to unvaccinated mothers. The mother of one infant who died during the study was not vaccinated, the authors of the report noted. 

The Food and Drug Administration has not authorized COVID-19 vaccinations for children under five years of age. 

This presents a potential problem for infants younger than six months old who the public health agency said are at risk of life-threatening complications from a COVID-19 infection, such as acute respiratory failure, the study noted. 

“COVID vaccination in pregnancy has been recommended for some time both due to its safety in pregnancy as well as the increased risks of symptomatic COVID infection to both the mom and her developing child,” Nimaroff, also chairman of the department of Ob/Gyn at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center on Long Island, New York, told Fox News.

The CDC did note in the report that “protection was higher among infants whose mothers were vaccinated later in pregnancy” and that further studies are needed comparing the timing of vaccination before pregnancy and during pregnancy.

The CDC report also said that pregnant women, those breastfeeding and those trying to conceive should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations.

North Korea celebrates late Kim’s birthday in new alpine city without military event

antnews24
-
0
North Korea celebrates late Kim’s birthday in new alpine city without military event

North Korea has celebrated the 80th birthday anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un’s late father with a music concert and fireworks in a refurbished holy city, but no missile launch or military parade, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.

North Korea conducted a record seven missile tests in January, and has warned it may resume testing intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons for the first time since 2017 amid stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States.

Analysts have said Pyongyang could use key holidays, including the upcoming 110th birthday anniversary on April 15 of Kim’s late grandfather and national founder, Kim Il Sung, to carry out a major weapons test.

According to Reuters, Kim attended a gathering of government, military and ruling Workers’ Party officials which took place on Tuesday in front of the statue of Kim Jong Il in Samjiyon City to commemorate the anniversary, a major holiday called the Day of the Shining Star in North Korea, KCNA said.

Dubbed the “holy land of revolution” by KCNA, the northern alpine town of Samjiyon is near the border with China and Mount Paektu, the holy mountain where Kim’s family claims its roots.

However, it was rare that North Korea held such celebrations in the remote region.

The young leader has sought to transform the city into a massive economic hub, by building new apartments, hotels, a ski resort and commercial, cultural and medical facilities.

The project has been a key initiative to foster a “self-reliant” economy amid sanctions over nuclear and missile programmes, and Kim has made multiple visits touting it as a “socialist utopia” and “epitome of modern civilisation.”

Kim laid flowers at the statue during the meeting but KCNA did not release any of his remarks. Ri Il Hwan, a senior party official, gave a speech vowing to uphold the late strongman’s mantra of self-reliance, KCNA reported.

“The meeting showed well the firm will and enthusiasm of the participants to … build a people’s paradise prospering with self-reliance on this land,” KCNA said.

The celebrations also included fireworks and a music performance, but no military events, as has been the case in the past.

A U.S. think tank said last week that commercial satellite imagery showed possible preparations for a military parade which could display new missiles or other military advances. read more

KCNA released a photograph of thousands of people wearing a olive green or grey suit in the gathering, with the Kim Jong Il statue and a snowy forest in the backdrop.

State television footage also showed crowds of ordinary citizens wearing masks and watching fireworks, as well as a group of party officials attending a concert.

Those holidays come at a sensitive time as South Korea is set to hold a presidential election on March 9, with formal campaigns starting this week.

Outgoing President Moon Jae-in has warned a restart of North Korea’s nuclear weapon or long-range missile tests could “instantly” send the peninsula back into crisis.

Atlanta is getting a new area code

antnews24
-
0
Atlanta is getting a new area code

Thousands of Verizon service customers received an alert Tuesday from their provider announcing a new area code for the Atlanta area. 

According to 11alive, Verizon said the new 943 area code will be activated in a month, adding customers could check out the phone numbers available on its dedicated website verizon.com/943overlay. However, some customers have expressed hesitancy over the message, questioning if it is a scam.

According to the Georgia Public Service Commission, it’s the first new area code in metro Atlanta since 470 was introduced in 2010. The area code perhaps most synonymous with Atlanta, 404, was the original statewide area code for Georgia in 1947. The 770 and 678 area codes arrived in the 90s.

Atlanta’s current area codes are reaching their limit as most 10-digit combinations have been used up, according to data provided by the North American Numbering Plan Administration. The agency previously notified the Georgia Public Service Commission that the current collection of Atlanta area codes can be expected to be exhausted by the second quarter of 2023. 

According to the commission, 943 “is expected to fulfill Metro Atlanta’s needs for 10 years.”

The area covered by 943, according to the commission, will include Alpharetta, Duluth, Dunwoody, East Point, Forest Park, Gainesville, Griffin, Lawrenceville, Mableton, Marietta, Peachtree City, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Smyrna and Tucker.

South Korea to give out rapid tests as omicron shatters record

antnews24
-
0
South Korea to give out rapid tests as omicron shatters record

South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant.

Health officials on Wednesday reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases. The figure represents more than a 20-fold increase from the levels seen in mid-January, when omicron emerged as the country’s dominant strain, and some experts say the country could see daily cases of around 200,000 in March, according to AP.

More than 86% of South Koreans have been fully vaccinated and 58% have received booster shots. Health officials plan to offer fourth vaccination shots at nursing homes and other long-term care settings starting later this month.

The country also started offering Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine at hospitals and public health offices this week, adding another tool in a mass immunization campaign that has mainly depended on Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.

While experts say omicron appears less likely to cause serious illness or death compared to the delta variant, which rattled the country in December and early January, hospitalizations have been creeping up amid the greater scale of outbreak.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Seoul’s No. 2 official behind President Moon Jae-in, said officials will start distributing free rapid test kits next week at kindergartens, elementary schools and senior care facilities, including nursing homes and neighborhood welfare centers, to strengthen protection for unvaccinated children and high-risk groups.

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye said schools will be getting enough kits for students to use twice a week, but added that such tests won’t be mandatory.

“We ask for students to be tested at home with the rapid antigen test kits on the evenings of Sunday and Wednesday before coming to school,” Yoo said during a briefing. “When testing positive from those tests, please visit the local health office to get PCR (lab) tests.”

Health workers have diagnosed a daily average of 60,230 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, which translates to 116.64 infections per 100,000 people, as the national caseload grew over 1.55 million.

The fast-developing omicron surge has left officials debating whether the country should maintain strict social distancing rules, including a six-person limit on private social gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants.

Struggling business owners have called for the measures to be removed, questioning whether they are meaningful when cases are growing rapidly.

But health experts warn that easing social distancing may allow transmissions to veer further out of control, which would further stretch worn-out health and government workers and threaten high-risk groups and children younger than 12 who have yet to be vaccinated.

The country has already eased quarantine restrictions significantly starting this month to prevent major disruptions at workplaces and essential services, which may occur if huge numbers of people are constantly forced into isolation.

There are also concerns that transmissions could worsen as campaigning and political rallies began on Tuesday ahead of the March 9 presidential elections.

Prime Minister Kim said officials will consider both the pandemic’s growing economic strain and threats posed by the omicron surge before announcing new social distancing measures on Friday.

While omicron more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had COVID-19 previously, experts say vaccination and booster shots still provide strong protection from serious illness and death.

Officials hope that the Maryland company’s protein vaccine, which is similar to shots used for years against the common flu or hepatitis B, would appeal to people who have been hesitant to use other vaccines based on newer technologies.

Korean Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet

antnews24
-
0
Korean Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet

Korean Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet. The jet arrived in Seoul, South Korea, on February 13. The airline has confirmed that it will begin operations with its newest addition to the fleet sometime in March.

Korean Air’s first 737 MAX 8 jet is by now 2.8 years old. Delivery was delayed as South Korea only recertified the MAX in November last year following the type’s extensive grounding, according to Simpleflying.

Korean Air has an order for a total of 30 of the 737 MAX 8, placed in November 2015. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between now and the end of 2028. Along with the MAXs, the airline also ordered an additional 777-300ERs, putting the total value at $4 billion at list price.

The airline intends to have six of the aircraft in service before the end of the year. It will then add the other 24 over the course of the next five years, adding to a potentially combined Korean super-carrier fleet if the merger with debt-ladened Asiana goes through.

The jet, registered as HL8348, began its journey from Boeing’s facilities in Seattle on Friday. It then traveled via Anchorage and Tokyo Narita, landing at Seoul Gimpo at 17:07 local time on Sunday.

During the suspension of the 737 MAX, Boeing has worked to improve the functioning of the aggressive MCAS responsible for two fatal crashes, along with improved pilot training and other enhanced safety features.

The Korean flag carrier says it has added its own precautions to bring the plane safely into service. The airline told the Korea Herald that it has dispatched a veteran crew of engineers to perform routine checks on the aircraft.

Furthermore, it has allocated the operation of the plane to pilots who have over 7,000 flight hours. South Korea’s Transportation Ministry has also stated it intends to monitor the MAX closely and join airlines’ flight simulations and tests for review. A spokesperson for Korean Air said,

U.S. has accused China of backing away from free-trade commitments

antnews24
-
0
U.S. has accused China of backing away from free-trade commitments

The United States has accused China of failing to meet its commitments to the World Trade Organization and says it is exploring new ways to combat aggressive Chinese trade practices.

In its annual report on Chinese compliance with WTO rules, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Wednesday that China isn’t keeping the promises it made to open its markets to foreign competition when it joined the 164-country Geneva-based agency in 2001, according to AP.

Voicing similar complaints about China, President Donald Trump slapped taxes on about $360 billion worth of Chinese imports to the United States — tariffs the Biden administration is still imposing.

To reduce tensions, the U.S. and China reached a so-called Phase 1 trade agreement in January 2020. Among other things, the Chinese agreed to step up purchases of U.S. farm exports — benefiting Trump supporters in the American heartland.

But Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Trade calculated in a report last week that China has bought only 57% of U.S. exports it had to committed to purchase.

“China has instead retained and expanded its state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade,” said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. “China’s policies and practices challenge the premise of the WTO’s rules and cause serious harm to workers and businesses around the world.’’

Among other things, the United States repeated longstanding accusations that China uses subsidies and regulations to favor its own companies at the expense of foreign competitors; floods world markets with cheap steel, aluminum and other products; and forces U.S. and other foreign companies to hand over prized technology as the price of access to Chinese markets.

The U.S. report said: “China’s leadership appears confident in its state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade and feels no need to conform to global norms.”

The U.S. trade office said it is continuing to talk to China about “obtaining real change in its economic and trade regime.” And it is working with allies — and through the WTO — to put pressure on the Chinese government. Without offering specifics, the report said the U.S. is also exploring new ways “to use domestic trade tools strategically as needed in order to achieve a more level playing field with China for U.S. workers and businesses.’’

Xi urges Hong Kong to get control as Hong Kong is facing its worst outbreak

antnews24
-
0
Xi urges Hong Kong to get control as Hong Kong is facing its worst outbreak

Coronavirus patients lay in hospital beds or open-air tens amid record numbers of infections as Hong Kong doggedly adheres to its “zero-COVID” strategy, and China’s leader Xi Jinping said the local government’s “overriding task” was to control the situation.

According to AP, Hong Kong is facing its worst outbreak of the pandemic, topping 2,000 new COVID-19 cases each day this week. The city government has already instituted strict rules banning gatherings of more than two households.

But health care facilities are beginning to overflow, and the city’s Caritas Medical Center was forced Wednesday to treat some patients in beds outside the building. Others were waiting in tents, some appalled by the government’s response to the outbreak.

By contrast, the city-state of Singapore, which is similarly sized to Hong Kong with a population of some 5.7 million compared to 7.5 million, undertook strict lockdown measures early in the pandemic but is now pursuing a “living with COVID” approach.

The number of new cases per capita in Singapore has skyrocketed with the arrival of omicron, with 1,911 new cases per million people reported on Monday, versus 66 per million in Hong Kong, according to Our World in Data.

But people testing positive who have no symptoms or only mild symptoms just need to self-quarantine at home, and even those who have more severe symptoms are told to see a physician for medical advice before going to the hospital.

“The reason why our society has become chaotic like this today is all because of this policy. The organizational skill of the government has made Hong Kong people feel so hopeless,” said Daisy Ho, a 70-year-old homemaker.

Xi directed Vice Premier Han Zheng to express to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam the concerns that Chinese Communist Party leaders have about the city’s ongoing outbreak, according to Wen Wei Po, a pro-Beijing news outlet.

Zheng said the Hong Kong government “should earnestly assume the main responsibility and regard the rapid stabilization and control of the epidemic as the current overriding task,” the report said.

China’s central government agencies and neighboring Guangdong province will provide Hong Kong with resources to fight the outbreak, including rapid antigen tests, medical expertise and supplies, Zheng said.

China has been able to control the virus within its borders by maintaining a strict “zero tolerance” policy that involves total lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and mass testing millions of people. The strategy seeks to contain outbreaks as soon as they are detected.

Lam has stuck to the strategy despite geographical and other differences between Hong Kong and other parts of China. Last week, the entire upscale Discovery Bay neighborhood in Hong Kong was ordered to undergo testing after authorities found traces of the virus in its sewage.

The comments from Xi and Zheng were the latest pressure from Beijing for her to stay the course.

Thousands of people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19 and are waiting to be admitted into hospitals or isolation facilities, said Dr. Sara Ho, the chief manager for patient safety and risk management at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority.

1...818283...141Page 82 of 141
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv