Biden

The ASEAN-US summit held virtually in late October. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The US is planning to host an in-person summit between US President Joe Biden and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in Washington in January 2022. ASEAN sources have said that the US has proposed holding the summit in the third week of January and is discussing the date with ASEAN members. Ahead of the summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit some of the ASEAN countries, including Indonesia and Thailand, in December. The summit would be the first face-to-face meeting between Biden and ASEAN leaders since he took office in January this year. During the virtual ASEAN-US summit held in late October, President Biden said that the US will provide 102 million USD to support ASEAN’s efforts in coping with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other issues./. VNA …

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Starting in December, travel from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, will be prohibited, senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong told a news conference. Thailand will not allow travelers from these countries to register to travel to Thailand starting on Saturday, he said. The announcement comes as the U.S. and other countries in Asia tighten borders over worries about the B 1.1.529 variant. The World Health Organization designated it the latest "variant of concern," saying it may spread more quickly than other forms. "We have notified airlines and these countries," Opas said adding that travelers from other African countries will not be allowed to use the country's quarantine-free travel scheme for vaccinated travelers. Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the country will tighten border controls for the southern African nations of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, requiring a 10-day quarantine for any entrants. The new …

[Read more...] about Thailand joins list of nations to ban entry from African countries over Covid Omicron variant

The United States has additionally offered Vietnam over two million Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine jabs, bringing its total donations to the Southeast Asian country to more than 18 million doses. “Another shipment of 2,074,410 doses of Pfizer vaccine arrived in Hanoi early this morning,” the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam said in its verified Facebook page on Friday. The U.S. has so far donated over 18 million vaccine doses to Vietnam through COVAX as part of its steadfast commitment to support Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19, the embassy said. “And more are on the way!” it added. The two countries have cooperated to improve Vietnam’s capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, based on their long-term cooperative relationship, according to the embassy. The U.S. has aided nearly US$1 billion to Vietnam over the past years for develop health infrastructure development, and the former has also committed $26.7 million as support for Vietnam to respond to the pandemic. In …

[Read more...] about US donates two million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

The United States has given Vietnam over two million more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses, bringing its total vaccine donations to the Southeast Asian country past 20.5 million shots. “2,075,580 Pfizer vaccine doses were successfully delivered to Ho Chi Minh City,” the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said on its verified Facebook account on Saturday. This latest shipment followed 2,074,410 doses of the same vaccine which were sent to Hanoi on Friday. “We will keep working with Vietnam as a trusted partner to beat back COVID-19,” the embassy said, adding the total vaccine donations from the U.S. have surpassed 20.5 million jabs. Based on their long-term cooperative relationship, the two countries have worked together to improve Vietnam’s capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the embassy said. Along with nearly US$1 billion provided to Vietnam over the past years for health infrastructure development, the U.S. has also committed $26.7 million as support for Vietnam to deal with …

[Read more...] about US donates 2 more million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

The United States has given Vietnam over two million more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses, bringing its total vaccine donations to the Southeast Asian country past 20.5 million shots. “2,075,580 Pfizer vaccine doses were successfully delivered to Ho Chi Minh City,” the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said on its verified Facebook account on Saturday. This latest shipment followed 2,074,410 doses of the same vaccine which were sent to Hanoi on Friday. “We will keep working with Vietnam as a trusted partner to beat back COVID-19,” the embassy said, adding the total vaccine donations from the U.S. have surpassed 20.5 million jabs. Based on their long-term cooperative relationship, the two countries have worked together to improve Vietnam’s capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the embassy said. Along with nearly US$1 billion provided to Vietnam over the past years for health infrastructure development, the U.S. has also committed $26.7 million as support for Vietnam to deal with …

[Read more...] about US donates over 2 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

More countries imposed travel restriction to try to seal themselves off. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in Southern Africa, is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease. "Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection," WHO said. It said understanding the level of severity of Omicron "will take days to several weeks". The detection of Omicron triggered global alarm as governments around the world scrambled to impose new travel curbs and financial markets sold-off, fearing the variant could resist vaccinations and upend a nascent economic reopening after a two-year global pandemic. In its statement, the WHO said it was working with technical experts to understand the potential impact of the variant on existing …

[Read more...] about Omicron variant detected in more countries as scientists race to find answers

Japan said on Monday it would close its borders to foreigners, as the world's third-largest economy joined Israel in taking the toughest measures against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, which the WHO said carried a "very high" global risk of surges. Markets regained some composure as investors awaited further details of the variant, after having sunk last week on fears that it could bring fresh curbs, threatening a nascent economic revival from a two-year pandemic. Potentially more contagious than prior variants, Omicron, first identified in southern Africa, has been found in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and Scotland. The Omicron variant is likely to spread internationally, bringing "severe consequences" in some areas, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised its 194 member nations. "The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high," said …

[Read more...] about Japan, Israel bar foreigners as WHO flags global risk from Omicron

ASEAN sources have said that the U.S. has proposed holding the summit in the third week of January and is discussing the date with ASEAN members. Ahead of the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit some of the ASEAN countries, including Indonesia and Thailand, in December. The summit would be the first face-to-face meeting between Biden and ASEAN leaders since he took office in January this year. During the virtual ASEAN-US summit held in late October, President Biden said that the U.S. will provide 102 million USD to support ASEAN’s efforts in coping with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. Source: VNA …

[Read more...] about U.S. proposes in-person summit with ASEAN in January 2022

First reported to the World Health Organization in South Africa less than a week ago, the new strain has rapidly spread everywhere from Africa to the Pacific, and from Europe to Canada, causing dozens of countries to announce travel restrictions. The severity of the economic impact will depend on how dangerous the variant proves to be, and how well existing vaccinations stand up to it. That has meant that even with the most favorable scenarios in mind, economists are already revising their 2022 forecasts downwards. The International Monetary Fund, which expects growth of 4.9 percent for the next year, has been insisting for months that the coronavirus and its variants remain the main threat. The economic impact could be "modest," in the order of 0.25 percentage points on global growth in 2022, if Omicron causes "relatively mild symptoms" and the vaccines are "effective," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at Oxford Economics. In the worst-case scenario, in which Omicron …

[Read more...] about Omicron variant raises new fears for pandemic-hit world economy

Vietnam faces the risk of not fulfilling its growth targets. The situation requires extraordinary efforts and solutions. Vietnam’s growth rate in Q3/2021 was the lowest in recorded history. During this time, the number of unemployed workers has been the highest. Vietnam faces the risk of not fulfilling its growth targets. The situation requires extraordinary efforts and solutions. Since Hanoi lifted social distancing measures in early October, the capital city’s streets have become bustling again. It is similar for other cities throughout the country. Generally, people, however, have become more cautious about spending. According to the General Statistics Office, total retail sales of consumer goods and services for four months from August to October are -19.8%, - 33.7%, - 28.4% and -19.5%, respectively, compared to the corresponding months of last year. This is a huge decrease as this index always increased by 10% in the previous years. In Ho Chi Minh City, where a strict …

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