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A lost cause

SNOWING-FREEPIK

In December, the Senate passed a bill on regulating “vaping,” or the sale and use of electronic cigarettes used to “smoke” or “vaporize” nicotine and non-nicotine products. The bill, which is yet to be signed by Malacañang into law, is being questioned by some medical groups, alleging that it paves the way for health risks.

Even the Department of Health (DoH) is against the enactment of the bill, claiming that some of its provisions contradict public health goals and international standards. Unfortunately for those opposed to the vaping bill, time is not on their side. If the President does not veto it soon, the bill will simply lapse into law — questioned provisions and all.

I reckon the matter to be a lost cause for health advocates. Rather than veto the vaping bill, I am inclined to believe the President will actually let it lapse into law. In the first place, had there been strong reservations against its enactment, then executive action would have been swift. But, at this point, I don’t believe such action will be forthcoming.

Why the opposition to the bill? Well, the vaping bill covers the manufacture, use, sale, packaging, distribution, advertisement, and promotion of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENDS/ENNDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The bill makes a regulatory distinction between vaping and cigarette or tobacco smoking.

For one, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and not the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will take the lead in regulating the sale and use of such products as well as setting the standards for such products. Health advocates believe that FDA has greater competence than DTI to assess the safety of vaping items, and thus should be the lead agency in regulating vaping.

Under existing law, sale and use of cigarette and tobacco products are regulated by FDA and not DTI. The DoH is also involved in the process through an inter-agency committee on tobacco. However, if memory serves me, the Philippine Tobacco Institute has challenged in court FDA’s regulatory powers over the tobacco industry, and the matter is still in litigation.

By shifting the regulatory authority over vaping products to the DTI from the FDA, lawmakers in effect are giving support to the tobacco industry’s legal argument that their members should be regulated by the Trade department and not by a health-related agency like FDA. What happens then if the tobacco industry loses it case in court? Will a new law be required to put vaping products under the FDA? Instead of ensuring legislative consistency, it seems that lawmakers are just creating regulatory confusion.

Second, lawmakers have lowered the minimum age for persons allowed to purchase and use vaping products to 18 years from 21 years. Existing regulation on cigarette sale and use, in contrast, is restricted to those 21 years old and above. Why the distinction? Frankly, I cannot understand why legislators lowered the vaping age restriction to 18. What purpose does this serve other than to broaden the vaping market?

Also, vaping products are sold as nicotine- and non-nicotine delivery systems. I do not think sellers will make the strict distinction of selling only non-nicotine products to those aged 18-21. Thus, by lowering the age restriction, the bill now makes nicotine products accessible even to those aged lower than 21. Who benefits from this? And, how does this protect the youth from nicotine use and abuse?

It is not enough that legislators restricted the sale and distribution of vaping products to entities registered with the DTI or the Securities and Exchange Commission. This will not in any way end illicit trade of vaping products online and through social media marketplaces. The unscrupulous will find the means and ways to distribute vaping products, even illegally, for a profit.

Worse, unlike cigarettes and tobacco products, legislators also allowed the advertisement of vaping products, as long as celebrities or social media influencers are not be used as product endorsers; advertisements do not undermine quit-smoking messages; and, advertisements do not encourage non-tobacco or non-nicotine users to use vape. Why even allow vaping products to be advertised in the first place? Advertising serves no other purpose than to market products and boost sales.

I cannot understand why legislators are allowing vaping advertisements after they already banned, in preceding legislation, the advertisement of cigarettes and tobacco products, including their sponsorship of events. Cigarette packs even carry graphic warnings on the hazards of cigarette and tobacco use. I am uncertain if the same is required for packaging of vaping products.

Sad to say, all these concerns are now water under the bridge. In all probability, despite questions on some of its provisions, the vaping bill is as good as law. In just a matter of days, without any presidential action against it, the vaping bill will become law. And I second the opinion of some lawmakers that the vaping bill is more a trade measure than a health measure.

As I have written previously, while I initially supported the creation of the legal distinction between cigarettes and vaping products, I have since changed my mind, having come to the belated conclusion that the two are practically the same. At this point, I prefer that government completely ban all forms or manner of smoking and vaping.

Smoking or vaping, in my opinion, have no known public benefits other than being a source of jobs and government revenue. However, a complete ban is wishful thinking. Such a ban crosses into the realm of freedom of choice and individual rights and liberties. But, I limit my tolerance of the tobacco and e-cigarette industries only because of the jobs and taxes they can generate.

In this line, lawmakers should strictly limit smoking and electronic cigarette use at least to those 21 years and older. And all sales packs for tobacco and vaping products should carry graphic warnings on the ills of smoking and vaping. Moreover, all forms of sponsorship and advertising should be banned for both tobacco and vaping products. And, the FDA — and not the DTI — should be the lead agency regulating the sale and use of cigarettes, tobacco, and vaping products.

I believe that the ultimate objective of any smoking or vaping regulation should be the protection of public health, to reduce the number of related illnesses and deaths as well as public health insurance and public healthcare costs. While tobacco and e-cigarette industries generate jobs and taxes, this should be secondary to public health considerations.

In this line, regular and electronic cigarettes — whether or not they use nicotine — should be at par, and should be regulated and taxed the same way, or at least subjected to the similar regulations and parameters for sale and use, and marketing. They should both be regulated similarly, for their “negative externalities.” Their tax revenue potential should be incidental.

But lawmakers seem to believe that there is distinction and difference between the two, and chooses to “legislate” that distinction by un-levelling the playing field. As drafted, their proposed law on vaping seems to give unwarranted or undue advantage to the vaping industry vis-à-vis the cigarette industry, by allowing their sale to those aged 18-20 and by allowing advertising.

In Makati City, the Makati Parking Authority has put up “no smoking” and “no vaping” signs on sidewalks in the Central Business District. The city does not make any distinction between the two. After all, second-hand smoke from smokers and vapers alike are also scientifically known to possibly transmit the coronavirus to non-smokers. Simply put, e-cigarettes or vaping products and regular cigarettes are just the two hands of the same body. We shouldn’t treat them differently.

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

Crypto, meme investors learn the hard way: The house always wins

FREEPIK

THE most popular post today on r/wallstreetbets, the besieged citadel of the meme-stock revolution, was a meme depicting three smiling Wendy’s employees saying “Welcome back to work, ‘Diamond Hands.’”

For the uninitiated, “diamond hands” describes a person who holds onto a seemingly foolish investment regardless of price, discounted cash-flow analysis, or the pleas of loved ones to find a better hobby. Through much of the pandemic, this description applied to many of the Redditors laughing at this meme. The joke here is that GameStop, AMC, and other meme investments have suffered such grievous losses that these diamond-handers now must return to gainful employment at places such as Wendy’s, which to be fair is probably paying pretty well these days.

A less-popular and less-safe-for-work post on the subreddit today features a day trader’s new tattoo combining several r/wallstreetbets tropes, including an ape engaged in a sex act. Just to clarify: This is something a human man apparently had inked on his own epidermis, forever. “I didn’t get this to paper hand now you hedgie bastards!” reads the caption. “Moon or dumpster!” Again for the uninitiated, to “paper hand” means to sell like some kind of capital-protecting coward.

These two memes say a lot about how the retail-investing psyche is holding up at a time when the empire (Wall Street, the Fed, universal laws) is striking back without mercy. For many, this whole experience has been nothing but fun times with play money all along. Others have made life-altering poor decisions but still have “No Ragrets.”

Charlie Wells and Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou of Bloomberg News recently caught up with a few of these revolutionaries and found a little less hilarity and a lot more trepidation. Even the guy who got a “STONKS” license plate after a winning bet on AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. — placed one year ago today — now sounds sobered, at least when talking to reporters from Bloomberg News.

As for AMC, it’s reportedly trying to refinance the pricey debt it took on to get through the pandemic, a job made more difficult by meme-investors who piled into the stock and fought the company when it tried to issue more at higher prices.

One of these meme investors wisely paper-handed his stocks as inflation bubbled up and threatened a market pullback. “Where can I put my money — my net worth and wealth — so that it’s not going to lose money?” this person said, describing his thought process to BN. “And then it was like, ‘Well, duh. Crypto.’”

Sounds good, except: oops. Crypto has turned out to be far from a meme-stock hedge, inflation hedge, or anything-else hedge. As Bloomberg crypto maven Stacy-Marie Ishmael writes, wild price swings and serial flams and rug-pulls have some crypto die-hards questioning their convictions lately.

Another investor profiled by BN has proven to be the deftest of all, shifting her winnings from stonks to crypto and finally to NFTs, where she is making a killing for now. But reading her story feels a little like watching somebody advance in an increasingly difficult and complex game of Frogger. You keep wincing with every passing tractor-trailer.

The good news is that none of this seems to be a systemic threat, which is more than you can say for the aftermath of the dot-com or housing bubbles. Even those collapses left us with the internet and shelter. This time around, we might get the blockchain. But something tells me we’re going to miss this entertainment when it’s gone.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

No end in sight, as of now

FREEPIK

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Novel Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and reiterated the call for countries to take immediate actions and scale up their response to treat, detect, and reduce transmission to save people’s lives, per official resources. That was from a regular bulletin issued by WHO almost two years ago.

While the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, some 45 days short of its second anniversary on March 11, 2022, online newsletter Inside History (IH) states that the virus which would spark a pandemic was first reported in (Wuhan) China on Dec. 31, 2019. Halfway across the world, on Jan. 19, 2020, a man who had returned home to Snohomish County, Washington state near Seattle on Jan. 15 after traveling to Wuhan, checked into an urgent care clinic after seeing reports about the outbreak.

The IH report states that, “experiencing a cough, fever, nausea and vomiting, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Jan. 21 that the 36-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19. He was hospitalized, where his condition grew worse and he developed pneumonia. His symptoms abated 10 days later. A nonsmoker, the man had visited family in Wuhan.”

In no time, the Seattle area had become the epicenter of what IH calls an early US outbreak. According to IH, 39 residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, died from complications from the virus in one four-week span. In some cases, relatives of people who died from COVID-19 in January 2020, but didn’t know it at the time, had their deceased relatives’ death certificates amended to show they died from the virus. Additionally, IH reported that according to the CDC, 14 US coronavirus cases were noted by public health agencies between Jan. 21 and Feb. 23, 2020; all patients had traveled to China. The first non-travel case was confirmed in California on Feb. 26, and the first US death was reported on Feb. 29.

The virus rapidly spread, and by May the US economy was in as big trouble as it was during the Great Depression. Businesses and schools closed. Hospitals were overwhelmed and medical frontliners bore the brunt of the pandemic. Face-to-face religious services were limited and, in some cases, canceled outright. Same for sports, culture and entertainment activities.

The initial report from US intelligence agencies monitoring events in China and warning about the dangers of the then developing pandemic had landed on then President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump later denied he was given the report. Much later, in an interview with Bob Woodward, he said he opted not to call the appropriate teams to prepare some kind of an action plan because he did not want “to create panic.” He subsequently downplayed the magnitude of the problem and twisted the issue into a political battle between the Republicans and Democrats with the former not advocating wearing of masks or the lockdowns, and attacking infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. To this day, politicizing COVID-19 has turned into battles between pro-vaccination groups and anti-vaxxers in different part of the US, in so-called Red and Blue states, and other countries.

In the Philippines, data as of Jan. 23, 2022, shows that there have been 3,387,524 cases and 53,406 deaths with recoveries recorded at 3,053,499 since March 2020. Like the rest of the world, Delta was the most dominant variant until the Philippine Genome Center reported that the highly infectious Omicron strain had become the most dominant in the country, based on Jan. 13 and 14 data. Reports state that the Department of Health said two fatalities attributed to the Omicron were both above 60 years old, with comorbidities and unvaccinated.

Various studies about the future of Omicron vary. One South African doctor says the Omicron strain seems to be the “end game of COVID-19.” A Kaiser Health News report dated Jan. 19 however says that “though there are warnings that Omicron won’t be the ‘final’ variant of COVID, a new study says Omicron really could be the final chapter of the pandemic and end the global health emergency as it causes less serious illness and leads to protection against the Delta variant.”

Hardly had the ink dried from that report here comes Fortune’s Grady McGregor in an article dated Jan. 21 that the rise of a so-called “stealth Omicron” sub variant is alarming some scientists who say “it needs its own Greek letter.”

The Omicron sub variant, BA.2, appears to be outpacing other sub-strains of Omicron in some regions of the world, raising fears that even more transmissible versions of the (infectious) Omicron could spark larger COVID-19 waves globally, according to McGregor. Various online reports identify some of these areas: India, Sweden (the initial response of its government to COVID-19 was what some called “dismissive”), the United Kingdom and Denmark, to name a few. McGregor states that Denmark reported that in the two weeks from late December 2021 to mid-January 2022, BA.2 has gone from accounting for 20% of Denmark’s COVID-19 infections to making up 45%. Over that same period, Denmark’s COVID-19 infections have shot to record highs. Denmark is recording over 30,000 new cases per day this week, 10 times more per cases than peaks in previous weeks. It is to be noted that Denmark provides “free” medical care funded by tax revenues. Its government hospitals are patronized more than private sector hospitals by the public. Healthcare funds are distributed in the form of grants to regions and is therefore highly decentralized.

As in most cases, there are stories behind these figures. Most everyone has personal knowledge of close relatives, friends, office colleagues, neighbors, and others with whom one has had more than just a passing friendship or a mere acquaintance, succumbing to COVID-19 under the most pathetic, depressing, and emotionally wrenching and financially stressful circumstances.

And, as we are now finding out, the pandemic has expectedly created various fundamental changes in a person’s life and his relationships.

One has heard of families becoming closer as they adjust to lockdowns, skeletal work forces, work from home programs, and other sub-relationships outside the home. In a column several months ago, we also referred to family members rediscovering the beauty of spousal and family relationships and their spirituality. There are many such stories of rediscoveries and one can easily associate with them.

In many countries, relationships with the research and medical professions are also undergoing some changes, dictated very often by trust or lack of it. Some unvaccinated patients, for example, ask if they will receive equal treatment compared with the vaccinated.

The whole debate about the affectivity of a dewormer as a prophylactic against COVID-19, has somehow abated but the discussions among chat/online groups continue. The debate has become, in some insistences, heated and caused administrators of these chat groups to intervene to bring the temperature down. Accusations about lack of medical competence to dispense advice, and the credibility and motives of big “pharma” in waging a silent but purportedly well-funded and well-organized campaign against alternative treatments, fly thick and fast.

Relationships with technology have also changed, especially among seniors who have to adjust to the so-called new normal. In developed countries, citizens’ relationships with government are also being strained as populations resist anti-COVID-19 measures, compulsory vaccination, and masking mandates.

More relationships will undergo more basic changes as people become wearier as they experience the daily drudgery of having to comply with various restrictions. We just have to learn to adjust and survive together, or fight each other, and, ultimately, perish together.

 

Philip Ella Juico’s areas of interest include the protection and promotion of democracy, free markets, sustainable development, social responsibility and sports as a tool for social development. He obtained his doctorate in business at De La Salle University. Dr. Juico served as secretary of Agrarian Reform during the Corazon C. Aquino administration.

Not exactly the winner

LUIS MOLINERO-FREEPIK

THE recent award of a Nobel Prize to a Filipina brought out some hidden envy from those aspiring for that prestigious recognition for so long. Anyway, not winning something like the gold medal of a sports competition can still be soothing if one is in the finals, or the short list — the first Filipino to be accepted as a competitor in some hitherto unscaled international meet.

It’s not always necessary to be a winner to draw some consolation in an award not given. Being in a list as a contender can be enough. Sometimes just having been considered for a big prize is a way one insists on being introduced — she was on the list of nominees of an award which went to some other country. Even when there was really no nomination process in this field.

Oscar nominees are promoted and speculated on before the actual awards ceremony itself where the eventual winners are announced. Losers believe that “they almost made it,” even mentioning the number of times they were nominated in the past. The finalists who didn’t get called to the stage can be accorded some tribute in the gracious winner’s speech as part of a tough field of contenders. (Well, I’m still glad I’m up here and not down there.)

Beauty pageants have mastered the art of handing out consolation prizes to non-winners. Before coronation night, titles are handed out for talent, friendliness, and photogenic appeal. Sponsors jump into the show with minor prizes (Ms. Pedicure Nail Polish goes to…) allowing this “winner” to serve as brand ambassadress for beautiful toenails. On the big night itself, the short list of finalists is designated as a “court of honor.” (Small crowns are even provided.) The second placer (or loser by three points) is called the first runner-up. Should the winner be disqualified on morality issues for appearing in a video with only a face mask on and nothing else, the first runner-up gets to wear the crown.

Still, in life, just being stuck in a short list of finalists offers little consolation.

The student used to a soft grading system that attempts to nurture fragile egos (most colorful Halloween costume) eventually discovers the binary nature of winning and losing in the real world. When applying for a job after graduation, he either gets hired or receives a rejection e-mail saying: “Your enthusiasm is as catching as Omicron. You were the third in our list but we’re only hiring two. Should another opening come up, your name is at the top of the list. But don’t hold your breath.”

Political contests, like the one coming up in four months, will declare only a set number of winners for the available positions. There is little joy in losing as a close second. And protests of being cheated don’t even make the headlines as they are too predictable as a response to defeat. They happen too many times. Have you ever heard a concession speech in these parts?

A list of candidates, even in the shortened one found in the printed ballot as approved by the electoral regulators, doesn’t mean much except for the souvenir hoarder who will keep a sample ballot with his name on it as well as records of unwatched debates when he next speaks at a commencement exercise, via Zoom.

We all understand consolation prizes for what they are: a declaration that somebody better got the big prize one was aspiring for. As a Roman Senator of old puts it — it is a consolation for the wretched to have companions in misery. This is the original and longer version of the succinct nurturer of bruised egos: “misery loves company.”

When we miss out winning a longed-for prize, we end up having to offer the consolation award to ourselves. A coping mechanism allows us to get on with life after even a publicly humiliating defeat. We can move on and rationalize — Who needs all that fame anyway. I prefer a quiet life.

We need to depend on ourselves for the prizes of thankfulness and hope and moving on to other contests. No one else can hand the prize of equanimity to ourselves… and that’s a consolation.

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

IMF warns Fed tightening may delay Asia recovery

REUTERS

TOKYO — Expected interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve may delay emerging Asia’s economic recovery and keep pressure on policymakers to guard against the risk of capital outflows, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Tuesday.

Rising inflationary pressure, China’s economic slowdown and the spread of coronavirus cases from the Omicron variant also cloud the region’s outlook, said Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.

“We are not expecting a US monetary normalization to cause big shocks or large capital outflows in Asia, but emerging Asia’s recovery may be retarded by the higher global interest rates and leverages,” he told Reuters in a written interview.

As worries over a more hawkish Fed roils global markets, investors expect the US central bank to signal on Wednesday its plan to raise rates in March. Markets have priced in a total of four rate increases this year.

Mr. Rhee said there was a risk US inflation could turn out higher than expected, and require a “faster or greater” monetary tightening by the Fed.

“Any miscommunication or misunderstanding of such changes may provoke a flight to safety, raising borrowing costs and resulting in capital outflows from emerging Asia,” he said.

In an updated World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the IMF slashed emerging Asia’s growth projection for 2022 to 5.9% from its October forecast of a 6.3% expansion.

The downgrade was largely due to a hefty 0.8% point cut in China’s 2022 growth estimate to 4.8%, which reflected the impact of property sector woes and the hit to consumption from strict COVID-19 curbs.

“China is still the factory of the world. Weakening of China’s domestic demand will also reduce neighboring countries’ external demand in general,” Mr. Rhee said.

Asia may also see inflation emerge as among risks this year, contrary to last year when delays in economic recovery, as well as muted gains in energy and food prices, kept inflation subdued compared with other regions, he said.

“In 2022, as the recovery strengthens and food prices rebound, the persistent impact of high shipping costs could put an end to the benign inflation Asia has enjoyed in 2021,” Mr. Rhee said.

“Global energy prices are expected to stabilize in 2022 after a large rise in 2021, but they have been volatile lately.” — Reuters

COVID is less severe with Omicron than Delta variant, US study suggests

REUTERS
A TEST TUBE labeled “COVID-19 Omicron variant test positive” is seen in this illustration picture taken Jan. 15. — REUTERS

THE OMICRON variant appears to result in less severe COVID-19 than seen during previous periods of high coronavirus transmission including the Delta wave, with shorter hospital stays, less need for intensive care and fewer deaths, according to a new US study.

However, the fast-spreading Omicron variant has led to record numbers of infections and hospitalizations, straining the US healthcare system.

Despite the steep spike in COVID cases, the percentage of hospitalized patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) during the current Omicron wave was about 29% lower than during last winter’s surge and some 26% lower than during the Delta wave, the study published on Tuesday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found.

The lower COVID-19 disease severity during the Omicron period is likely related to higher vaccination coverage, booster use among those eligible for the extra shots, as well as prior infections providing some immune protection, the study said.

Deaths in the period from Dec. 19 to Jan. 15, when Omicron infections were at a peak, averaged 9 per 1,000 COVID cases, compared to 16 per 1,000 in the previous winter peak and 13 during the Delta wave, the study showed.

The findings were consistent with previous data analyses from South Africa, England and Scotland, where infections from Omicron peaked earlier than in the United States, the CDC said.

Relatively high hospitalizations among children during the Omicron period may be related to lower vaccination rates compared with adults, the agency said. Children under age 5 are not yet eligible for vaccines in the United States and the rate of vaccination among older children lags that of adults.

The study involved analysis of data from a large healthcare database and three surveillance systems to assess US COVID-19 characteristics from Dec. 1, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2022.

The authors said one limitation of the study was that it was unable to exclude incidental infections in which patients admitted for other reasons test positive for COVID while in the hospital. That may inflate hospitalization-to-case ratios and affect severity indicators. — Reuters

China’s coronavirus blame game fizzles over infection by mail theory

REUTERS

EVER since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government quashed a COVID-19 outbreak in the central city of Wuhan roughly two years ago, it has repeatedly sought to blame virus outbreaks on foreign sources. The latest target is international mail.

Worries surged in China last week that overseas parcels could be tainted with coronavirus still potent enough to infect those who came into contact with it. It began with officials saying Beijing’s first Omicron infection was a woman who handled a letter from Canada. That led local officials in the southern city of Guangzhou to order all residents who got overseas mail over a four-day period to get tested, and the State Post Bureau to warn people to be extra careful with parcels.

Social-media users immediately began to ridicule the theory, with one doctor writing on the Twitter-like Weibo service that it would become an international joke. The post later disappeared from the doctor’s verified account. Thousands of netizens liked another lengthy missive on a popular verified account belonging to a virologist who explained the science behind why the virus was extremely unlikely to spread via international mail.

China then appeared to change course. He Qinghua, an official at the National Health Commission, told a press briefing over the weekend that experts don’t have enough evidence to say that non-frozen items from abroad were transmitting COVID-19. He added that the coronavirus mainly spreads through close contact between people, echoing the official stance of the World Health Organization.

The abrupt reversal in tone shows the pressures facing Chinese authorities in managing the official narrative as they look to contain mounting Omicron outbreaks while also hosting a successful Winter Olympics, which starts next week. China’s propaganda organs have long touted the Communist Party’s handling of the pandemic — marked by its strategy to eliminate any outbreaks — as superior to the West, a stance now facing scrutiny as strict lockdowns and mass testing generate more angst among the nation’s 1.4 billion people.

While the National Health Commission had the expertise to refute the parcel claim immediately, it may have waited to see which position had more prominent backers in the party because of China’s “toxic political context” even though the theory was “mercilessly mocked,” said Dominic Meagher, a political scientist and head of Australasia Strategy Group.

“The single-party system makes everything hyper-political because any question about competence goes immediately to the legitimacy of the entire system of rule,” he said.

‘BLACK HANDS’
The consequences for any missteps on the virus are severe. Mr. Xi has come down hard on local officials as he looks to avoid the heavy criticism the government received even within the country over its handling of the first outbreak in Wuhan, including accusations that it intentionally withheld information that could’ve saved lives.

His government dismissed top party leaders of Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, early in the pandemic. That trend has continued ever since, with 26 officials punished in Xi’an over a flareup that prompted the city of 13 million people to completely lock down for a month.

Apart from hitting out at local officials, authorities have regularly pointed the finger overseas — part of a playbook that extends beyond the virus. During sometimes-violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Beijing accused the US of using a “black hand” to make trouble rather than addressing concerns about an erosion of political freedoms.

Days after the WHO declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic in March 2020, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Twitter that the US army may have had a role in spreading the virus. “Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” he wrote.

Last summer, as US intelligence agencies prepared a report on the origins of the virus ordered by the Biden administration, the ministry regularly raised questions about American biolabs. A favorite target was Fort Detrick in Maryland, the same US facility that the Soviet Union falsely claimed in the 1980s was the source of the virus causing Aids.

Blaming foreigners for the virus is beneficial in other ways. The strategy suggests that Mr. Xi’s government has everything under control and provides a ready excuse for any cases that break through China’s defenses.

It also serves to stoke nationalism among a population burdened by the COVID-zero policy, which has required a litany of sacrifices. Lockdowns have caused food and healthcare shortages like those seen recently in Xi’an and in Tianjin, a port city near the capital.

The people of China face frequent demands for virus tests and health codes to enter apartment blocks, shopping malls and subways. Earlier this month, the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planner, urged people to skip long trips over the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, forcing the cancellation of much-anticipated family reunions.

“Beijing wants its citizens to blame COVID lockdowns on foreigners rather than on the Chinese government itself,” said Neil Thomas, a Washington-based analyst of Chinese politics and foreign policy at Eurasia Group. “Blaming COVID outbreaks on foreign mail is just one more example of the Xi Jinping administration’s concerted effort to use assertive nationalism to boost its public legitimacy.” — Bloomberg

Mekong region sees 224 new species despite intense threat

BANGKOK — A devil-horned newt, drought-resilient bamboo and a monkey named after a volcano were among 224 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region in 2020, a conservation group said on Wednesday, despite the “intense threat” of habitat loss.

The discoveries listed in a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) include a new rock gecko found in Thailand, a mulberry tree species in Vietnam, and a big-headed frog in Vietnam and Cambodia that is already threatened by deforestation.

The 224 discoveries underlined the rich biodiversity of the Mekong region, which encompasses Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and was testament to the resilience of nature surviving in fragmented and degraded natural habitats, WWF said.

“These species are extraordinary, beautiful products of millions of years of evolution, but are under intense threat, with many species going extinct even before they are described,” said K. Yoganand, WWF-Greater Mekong’s regional lead for wildlife and wildlife crime.

The area is home to some of the world’s most endangered species, at risk of habitat destruction, diseases from human activities and the illegal wildlife trade.

A United Nations report last year said wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia was creeping back after a temporary disruption from coronavirus restrictions, which saw countries shut borders and tighten surveillance. — Reuters

In Anthony Davis’s return, Lakers top Brooklyn Nets

BROOKLYN Nets guard James Harden (13) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. — REUTERS

LEBRON JAMES totaled 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Los Angeles Lakers led most of the way and recorded a 106-96 over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night in New York.

The Lakers led for the final 37:45, improved to 2-1 on their six-game road trip and welcomed Anthony Davis back after the center had missed 17 games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Davis had a dunk on the game’s first possession and finished with eight points in 25 minutes. The Lakers had gone 7-10 without him.

James made 14 of 21 shots and highlighted his league-leading 22nd 30-point showing with consecutive thunderous dunks midway through the fourth.

Malik Monk hit six 3-pointers and added 22 points as the Lakers shot 47.2%. Russell Westbrook added 15 points and Carmelo Anthony chipped in 13.

James Harden notched a triple-double of 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but it was not nearly enough as the Nets dropped to 2-3 since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained left knee on Jan. 15.

Patty Mills added 15 points and DeAndre’ Bembry contributed 12 as the Nets shot 42%, lost for the ninth time in 15 games and dropped to 2-7 in their past nine home games.

After the Lakers missed their first eight shots of the fourth, Westbrook hit a layup and James then intercepted a pass from Harden and coasted in for a windmill dunk with 6:58 left. On the next possession, James intercepted a pass by Brooklyn’s James Johnson and soared in for a one-handed dunk to make it 100-85.

James then hit another layup with 4:03 remaining for a 104-89 lead after Stanley Johnson intercepted a pass by Harden near midcourt.

The Lakers ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run for a 33-25 lead when James hit a layup at the buzzer. Los Angeles opened a 42-29 lead with about nine minutes left in the half when Monk and Anthony hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Lakers led 62-53 at half time.

A free throw by Harden got the Nets within 71-70 with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter, but the Lakers surged ahead again, taking an 86-76 lead on a layup by Westbrook with 2:28 remaining and a 92-78 lead into the fourth. — Reuters

Świątek outlasts Kanepi to set up semifinal date with Collins

IGA ŚWIĄTEK of Poland celebrates after winning her Women’s quarterfinal match against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Day 10 of the Australian Open, at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Wednesday. — REUTERS

MELBOURNE — French Open winner Iga Świątek managed to temper her frustrations and rally from a set and a break down in brutal heat to overpower Estonian Kaia Kanepi (4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3) on Wednesday to reach her first Australian Open semifinal.

Poland’s Świątek will next meet 27th-seeded American Danielle Collins, who earlier defeated Frenchwoman Alize Cornet (7-5, 6-1), for a place in Saturday’s final at Melbourne Park.

In their first career meeting, Świątek wasted breakpoint chances in each of Kanepi’s first three service games and it was the Estonian who converted her first chance in the seventh game to nose ahead.

Świątek saved four setpoints in the ninth game that lasted 16 minutes but could not stop Kanepi from taking the opener on her ninth opportunity after another lengthy game.

“In the first set I had so many breakpoints, I felt like I missed my chances because she broke me on her first breakpoint,” Świątek said on court.

“I was pretty annoyed. That was a mistake because I should have been focused on the future, on the next ball.”

Kanepi, 36, appeared set to progress beyond the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time when she broke early in the second, with a frustrated Świątek slapping herself and slamming her racquet on court.

The Estonian did most of the damage with her powerful double-handed backhand, leaving Świątek rooted to the spot and watching helplessly as the winners screamed past.

But the 2020 Roland Garros champion, who committed 12 double faults in the match, regained her composure and raised her level in a second set tie-breaker to level the contest at 1-1.

Świątek suffered two more breaks in the decider but managed to break 115th-ranked Kanepi four times, sealing the three-hour contest on her second match point when the Estonian sent a backhand wide for her 62nd unforced error.

“I’m really glad that I have my voice because I was shouting so loud,” Świątek said.

“This match was crazy and without the energy in the stadium, I think it would’ve been really hard to win it.” — Reuters

Morocco fights back to beat Malawi and reach Cup of Nations quarters

YAOUNDE — Achraf Hakimi curled in a long-range free kick as Morocco came from behind to beat Malawi (2-1) in the last-16 of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday and stay on course for their first African title in over 45 years.

Fullback Hakimi’s precise strike completed the turn around at the Ahmadou Ahidjou Stadium after Youssef En-Nesyri had equalised on the stroke of halftime.

Malawi went ahead early after a world-class goal from Frank Mhango, who hit a speculative left-footed effort from some 40 metres out and watched in delight as the swerving ball caught out Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and crashed into the top of the net.

Morocco will meet either Ivory Coast or Egypt in their quarter-final in Yaounde.

After a tournament littered with upsets, Malawi threatened to cause another as Mhango produced an astonishing effort in the seventh minute.

He then had another chance from a quick counterattack in the 23rd minute to double the lead as the lowly ranked Malawi, participating in only their third Cup of Nations finals and getting past the first round for the first time, looked to shake up their heavily fancied opponents.

However, they quickly retreated after that and lived a charmed life, as they defended tenaciously, with goalkeeper Charles Thom producing several unorthodox saves to keep his side’s lead intact.

Yet he let a header from En-Nesyri slip through his hands for Morocco’s equalizer two minutes into first-half stoppage time and there was little he could do about the rocket-like free kick from Hakimi.

In between, there were several close shaves as Sofiane Boufal missed an easy chance and substitute Ryan Mmaee struck wide from close range.

Morocco, who won their only Cup of Nations in 1976, have had a horror run at the tournament since they reached the 2004 final and lost to hosts Tunisia. In six tournaments since they have only reached the quarterfinals once.

Egypt and the Ivory Coast meet in their last-16 clash in Douala on Wednesday. — Reuters

Stadium stampede kills eight in Africa Cup of Nations soccer match

YAOUNDE — At least eight people died and 38 were injured in a stampede when fans stormed a stadium hosting an Africa Cup of Nations soccer match in Cameroon’s capital on Monday, the government said.

Images shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed a panicked crowd trying to squeeze through a narrow entrance gate at the newly built Olembe stadium in Yaounde that was hosting a round of 16 game between Cameroon and Comoros.

One video showed dozens of fans scrambling over the stadium fence as a police officer walked by.

The stampede comes as a heavy blow for the tournament, which had grown in excitement on the pitch in recent days thanks to some match upsets but which was under scrutiny for a lack of readiness beforehand.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and insecurity caused by a separatist insurgency also complicated preparations.

Work on the 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium continued right up to the start of Africa’s top soccer tournament, prompting the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s soccer governing body, to hold an emergency meeting to discuss cancelling the competition altogether.

“CAF is currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired. We are in constant communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organising Committee,” it said in a statement.

THE SHOCK, THE WEIGHT
High school teacher Vanessa Tchouanzi had come to see the match on Monday night with her friend, Veronique, who was also a teacher. Tchouanzi was barely able to get her words out as she recounted her experience over the phone to Reuters.

At the entrance to the stadium, crowds were still milling about just moments before the start of the game. Some were waiting to take COVID-19 tests.

As Tchouanzi tried to enter the stadium, ticket collectors became overwhelmed by a rush of people trying to get into the ground before kickoff.

“They shoved the gate and people started coming in in droves. The police were there, but the mass of people was stronger,” Tchouanzi said.

Tchouanzi and Veronique were knocked to the ground. Squeezed by the rush, Tchouanzi lost consciousness before someone pulled her up and away from the crowd.

A few minutes later, Tchouanzi found Veronique on the ground, unresponsive with a weak pulse. She was rushed to hospital but died soon after.

“She couldn’t take the shock, the weight of all those people,” Tchouanzi said through a flood of tears.

The government did not give any information on the cause of the crush or whether fans were allowed into the stadium without tickets. It is not clear why the match went ahead after the disaster.

Following a low turnout in the first round games at brand new stadiums, Cameroon authorities have thrown open stadium gates, organized mass transport and given out free tickets to lure fans.

Cameroon beat 10-man Comoros Islands (2-1) to advance to the quarterfinals. — Reuters

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