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Lakers prevailed

The Lakers flirted with danger from the get-go. They certainly couldn’t have had a worse start, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schröder — their three primary scorers — all misfiring. And considering their inability to play up to potential, they were fortunate to be down by just 13 at the break; had their defense been any less outstanding, the Warriors would have been able to pad the deficit.

For the Lakers, half time provided much-needed introspection and adjustment. If yesterday’s play-in match ultimately wound up in their favor, it was because of their versatility. They went the small ball route from the third quarter on, sacrificing the playing time of centers Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell in favor of putting Davis at the slot and thereby freeing the lane for incursions by playmakers James and Schröder.

At the same time, the Lakers benefited from their depth. With Schröder continuing to play below par, they possessed the luxury of turning to such notables as Alex Caruso and Wesley Matthews in order to offset the lack of production. That said, they needed extraordinary contributions from their proven one-two punch in Davis and James. The former came up with timely shots en route to 13 points in the fourth period, while the latter — apart from finishing with a triple-double — delivered a 34-foot three-point shot under duress for the game winner.

In the aftermath, the Lakers looked relieved; they knew they dodged a bullet, with scoring champion Stephen Curry starting slow and ending sloppy. Still, the Most Valuable Player candidate did all he could to keep the Warriors close until the final play; double, even triple coverage could not prevent him from putting up a whopping 37 points on six of nine shooting from beyond the arc and 12 of 23 overall.

Considering how much the Lakers had to lean on Davis and James, it’s fair to argue if the exertion will affect their competitiveness in the first round of the playoffs. With the red-hot Suns lying in wait, they need to be at their sharpest simply to keep pace. Else, they may find their confidence exposed as irrational, and their campaign to defend their title meeting an abrupt end.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Vaccine hesitancy makes citizens ‘sitting ducks,’ doctors’ group says

REUTERS
PEOPLE are silhouetted against the Sydney Opera House at sunset in Australia, Nov. 2, 2016. — REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia’s peak medical body on Thursday warned the country’s residents were “sitting ducks” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as business leaders call for the international border to be reopened faster despite a sluggish national vaccination drive.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said it was worried many Australians were delaying getting vaccinated because of the country’s success in stamping out the virus, and urged authorities to roll out a more effective advertising campaign.

“Seeing what is happening overseas where there is a tsunami of COVID and also the development of variants, we’re sitting ducks … until we get a significant portion of the population vaccinated, particularly those over 50,” AMA Vice President Chris Moy told ABC Radio.

Australia closed its international borders in March 2020 to mostly non-citizens and permanent residents, helping keep COVID-19 cases relatively low. It has recorded just under 30,000 cases and 910 deaths.

However, it has reported a spate of small infection outbreaks in recent months linked to health security breaches at hotels where returning travelers are required to serve a two-week quarantine period.

The AMA said vaccine hesitancy increases the risks of those breaches.

Australia’s federal government budget assumes vaccination of the country’s 20 million adult population will be completed by the end of year. The rollout has speeded up in recent weeks — around a third of the 3.3 million doses administered so far were given in the last three weeks — but remains behind many other developed nations.

Industries hit by the pandemic have been pressing the federal government to fast-track border reopening plans from the current schedule of the middle of next year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has so far rejected those requests, citing the emergence of new variants overseas.

Qantas on Thursday said Australia should open its borders once the vaccine rollout is complete, with the airlines aligning the resumption of its international flights based on the country’s immunization drive.

A report in the Guardian newspaper said the global airline industry body IATA is in talks with the Australian government about a new digital certificate that could unlock quarantine-free overseas travel for vaccinated Australians. 

Morrison’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Guardian report. — Reuters

China says US warship illegally enters its territory in S. China Sea

PIXABAY

BEIJING — China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway.

In a statement, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said the USS Curtis Wilbur entered the waters near the Paracel Islands without permission, adding that its ships and planes followed the US vessel.

It added that China opposed the US action, which it said violated its sovereignty and undermined regional peace and stability.

South China Sea has emerged as one of many flashpoints in the testy Sino-US relations, with Washington rejecting what it has called unlawful territorial claims asserted by Beijing in the resources-rich waters. US warships have passed through the South China Sea with increasing frequency in recent years, a show of force against the Chinese claims.

The US Navy said later on Thursday the USS Curtis Wilbur “asserted navigational rights and freedoms” near the Paracel Islands, over which China, Taiwan and Vietnam all claim sovereignty.

“The unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage is not permitted by international law,” the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement. — Reuters

US weighs changes to COVID-19 travel restrictions

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has been weighing changes to sweeping travel restrictions that bar much of the world’s population from coming to the United States, but has reached no decisions, government and industry officials told Reuters.

European Union (EU) countries agreed on Wednesday to ease COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-EU visitors ahead of the summer tourist season, a move that could open the bloc’s door to all Britons and to vaccinated Americans.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved a European Commission proposal from May 3 to loosen the criteria to determine “safe” countries and to let in fully vaccinated tourists from elsewhere, EU sources said.

Biden administration agencies have been holding meetings for more than a month and reaching out to industry officials about when and how they could begin to unwind the travel restrictions first imposed in early 2020 in response to COVID-19 that bar much of the world’s population from entering the United States.

Asked whether the United States would allow vaccinated Europeans to enter, a White House spokesman said there were no changes in travel restrictions planned at the moment.

The US Travel Association said it hoped the “European Union’s risk-based, science-driven plan to reopen international travel will hopefully spur the US to heed the many calls for a plan and timetable to safely reopen our borders.”

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told a news conference on Wednesday that any decision to lift restrictions “ultimately is a public health decision and there is an interagency process and obviously the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)” is taking a leading role.

Mr. Buttigieg added: “There are two ways of looking at this — one is to look at countries, the other is to look at travelers,” in terms of trying to maximize safety and allow for more travel.

A coalition of US and European travel, airline, union, business and airport groups has called for a full reopening of the US-UK air travel market “as soon as safely possible” — and hopes both government will lift restrictions by early June.

Nearly all of Europe still bans most US travelers from visiting, while Britain allows American visitors but requires a 10-day quarantine on arrival and two COVID-19 tests.

Since early 2020, the United States has barred nearly all non-US citizens who have recently been in the UK and much of Europe, as well as China, Iran and Brazil. This year, Washington added South Africa and India to the list. — Reuters

Thailand to prioritize vaccines for workers to revive economy

REUTERS

THAILAND is adding workers to the front of the vaccination queue in an effort to buttress the economy as a raging COVID outbreak threatens to delay plans to reopen borders for foreign tourists.

Millions of employees under the social security program in Bangkok, the nation’s capital and financial hub, and nine provinces with large economies will get their shots along with other priority groups, including senior citizens and individuals with underlying conditions, according to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha.

“This group is an important engine to the nation’s economy,” Mr. Prayuth said late Wednesday. Workers in other provinces will be able to get inoculated as more vaccines become available, he said.

Thailand has administered about 2.4 million shots and its pace of vaccinations has been slow due to limited supply of jabs. The nation of almost 70 million people has so far focused on health-care and front-line workers, and residents in regions that have an ongoing outbreak, or are preparing to reopen for vaccinated tourists this year.

Thailand has slashed its growth outlook for this year, citing the delay in reopening borders to foreign tourists and slow pace of vaccination. The economy may expand between 1.5% and 2.5% this year, less than the 2.5%-3.5% forecast in February, the National Economic and Social Development Council said Monday.

Mr. Prayuth’s administration expects the delivery of millions of doses of vaccines starting in June to help kickstart its mass rollout program. Bangkok, the epicenter of the current outbreak, aims to inoculate 70% of its residents by July, while Phuket, a resort island gearing up for a July tourism reopening, also sets a similar target for the islanders.

“Thailand’s plan to reopen Phuket to vaccinated tourists from July 1 and to expand that program to a number of other provinces, including Bangkok, in October appears ambitious to us,” Barclays Plc economists Brian Tan and Shreya Sodhani wrote in a report Wednesday. “In our base case, we think Phuket will reopen for tourism in September, followed by a few more provinces in December. We expect Bangkok to be reopened last, and only late next year.” — Bloomberg

A year into the pandemic, small businesses are still solidifying digital marketing efforts

PIXABAY

By Patricia B. Mirasol 

Wanderskye, a travel and everyday essentials brand, beefed up its digital presence to keep afloat during the pandemic. 

“Social media has been our ally …,” said Wanderskye Chief Executive Officer Bianca S. Larrañaga. “When the pandemic hit, we didn’t stop our social media efforts and made sure we kept our presence felt despite what’s happening in the world.”  

Digital sales through the brand’s website and shopping platforms like Shopee now make up 40% of Wanderskye’s total monthly sales. Prior to the pandemic, that figure was 5%, as most sales were made through mall terminals alongside retail shops such as The Travel Club. 

THE RIGHT CHANNELS
Digital marketing includes leveraging websites, search engines, social media, and e-mail to reach customers. 

“It is about choosing the right channels for your brand, depending on your target market,” said Vanya P. Tantoco, freelancer and owner of digital agency Z Digital Studios. Where social management is for brand consistency (which helps with platform algorithms), ad placement or management is for reaching more potential customers and yielding better sales. 

Online consumer behavior has evolved a year into the pandemic, with more Filipinos embracing e-commerce. An April 2021 by ShopBack, an Asia Pacific pre-shopping portal, found that 92% of Filipino shoppers purchase from online marketplaces such as Amazon, Lazada, and Shopee and another 71.3% buy from other online platforms — such as brand websites and social media — when they offer exclusive brand promotions, wider selections, and better discounts. 

This is a jump from the findings of an April 2020 report by We Are Social, Hootsuite, and Kepios, which found that 23% of Filipino Internet users spent more time shopping online.  

KEY INDICATORS 
Numbers and results are important indicators of digital marketing success, said Reiner Cadiz, chief executive officer of digital marketing agency iAdvertise Solutions, in a May 17 webinar organized by The Manila Times.  

“No matter how great the product, no matter how great the service of a company, if no one sees the content the company puts up, then all that effort is wasted,” he said in the vernacular. 

The agency’s sister company, iWatch, has community of more than 600,000 members to help newbies gain the traction needed to garner results online. The numbers provided by their team, Mr. Cadiz said, are both guaranteed and organic, translating to real leads and sales.  

Among the clients in iAdvertise’s roster is digital banking solutions provider PearlPay Solutions, whose explainer YouTube video generated 2.4 million views with the help of the agency. 

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Results don’t happen overnight, cautioned Ms. Tantoco. “What’s challenging for us is whenever clients expect immediate results,” she said. “They feel like since digital is fast-paced, they can expect changes in 24 hours when, in fact, it’s more than that.”  

Z Digital Studios sets expectations at the onset by having a minimum number of months for every contract, the better to monitor each account’s growth and set better key performance indicators each month. “It’s really the process of putting your brand into the intricate webspace and finding the right spot for your audience to find you and get results,” said Ms. Tantoco.   

Among the clients of Z Digital Studios is Wanderskye, which is solidifying its marketing strategies and adding Google Ads as a new growth channel. “We understand the need to reach our customers digitally to make it easy for them to buy our products without leaving their homes,” Ms. Larrañaga  said. “This way, we’ll be able to be where our customers need us when they need us.” 

Bitcoin struggles for footing on worries over China, leverage

TOKYO – Bitcoin regained some ground on Thursday from the previous session’s brutal slide to four-month lows but was weighed down by concerns over tighter regulation in China and unease over the extent of leveraged positions in the cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin, the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency , rose 8.75% to touch $40,000, after plunging 14% on Wednesday to its lowest since late January.

Smaller rival ether was up 6.6% at $2,600 at 0630 GMT, but in extremely volatile trading after its 28% tumble on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s declines in both digital assets were their biggest daily percentage moves in more than a year as investors rushed to exit trades that until recently were heartily outperforming traditional markets such as stocks and bonds.

The latest catalyst was a statement by Chinese financial industry groups on Tuesday banning institutions from offering cryptocurrency registration, trading, clearing, and settlement.

But bitcoin had been under pressure for almost a week after a series of tweets from carmaker Tesla’s chief Elon Musk, a major cryptocurrency backer, chiefly his reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment.

While Beijing has taken steps before to block access domestically to cryptocurrency exchanges, its latest directive was broader.

It bans the use of cryptocurrencies in payment and settlement, and prohibits institutions from providing crypto-related products or exchange services between cryptocurrencies and the yuan or foreign currencies.

Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, pointed to how $9.13 billion of cryptocurrency positions had been liquidated across exchanges over 24 hours, and $532 billion in total volume transacted.

“It’s too early to say if the rebound we’ve seen off the lows in crypto has legs, but as we roll into Asian trade, I question if we will get a chance to catch our breath or is there more volatility in store?” he said.

The slide forced some investors to close out leveraged positions in cryptocurrency derivatives, which caused prices to fall further and knocked digital assets down into a lower trading range, traders said.

James Quinn, managing director at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency private wealth manager, said there wasn’t that much evidence of extended leverage in these cryptos and that the selling reflected huge crowded positions in ether.

Ether was up six-fold until the selloff, stealing a march over bitcoin this year after being widely used in non-fungible tokens on digital art platforms.

“To me, this is just as much of a spot led selloff as it is a reflection of people de-leveraging futures and swaps products,” Quinn said.

“Sometimes a market event is looking for a cause. I think this is about positioning. Over the long term, maybe it’s positive because a very crowded trade from a lot of new entrants means there are a lot of new entrants.”

Bitcoin may fall a little further but is likely to stabilise around $30,000, said Justin d’Anethan, head of exchange sales at Diginex, a Singapore-based digital asset market.

Digital assets have been on a wild ride this year as a growing number of retail and institutional investors bet that bitcoin and other crypto currencies will gain mainstream acceptance, but large price swings are common. Bitcoin is up 27% so far this year, and intra-day volatility has spiked to near 300% this week.

Prominent crypto backers such as MicroStrategy Inc’s CEO Michael Saylor, Ark Invest’s Chief Executive Cathie Wood and Musk indicated their support for bitcoin as it plunged on Wednesday.

While some retail traders saw missed opportunities in the slide, others saw the rout as a chance to pick up digital assets on the cheap.

“Bitcoin broke down technically,” said Michael Oliveri, an independent New York-based equity trader who was formerly a partner at First New York Securities.

“It was an easy short setup actually. I’m annoyed I didn’t short it. I wouldn’t chase it now.”

Milko Markov, an independent London-based trader, said he had been buying ether.

“Those with a bit more experience in the crypto market know two cardinal rules: don’t leverage and dollar cost average,” he said. – Reuters

Hong Kong court denies jury trial to first person charged under national security law

STOCK PHOTO

HONG KONG – The first person charged under the national security law in Hong Kong will face a trial without jury, the city’s High Court ruled on Thursday, in a landmark decision which marks a departure from the global financial hub’s common law traditions.

Police say Tong Ying-kit, carried a sign reading “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” and drove his motorbike into officers during a protest on July 1, knocking several down on the narrow street before falling over and getting arrested.

It was the first day on which the national security law was in force. The law punishes anything authorities deem as secession, separatism, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Mr. Tong, 24, was among more than 300 demonstrators against the new law who were arrested that day, and was charged with inciting separatism and terrorism.

In February, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng informed the defendant’s legal team his trial will be heard by three judges appointed for national security cases, instead of a jury, citing “the personal safety of jurors and their family members”.

Mr. Tong then filed for a judicial review of the decision.

Judge Alex Lee at the High Court rejected the application, saying in a written judgement on Thursday “there is nothing inherently unreasonable in directing a trial by a panel of three judges sitting without a jury, when there is a perceived risk of the personal safety of jurors and their family members or that due administration of justice might be impaired”.

Hong Kong’s Judiciary describes trial by jury as one of the most important features of the city’s legal system, a common law tradition designed to offer defendants additional protection against the possibility of authorities overreaching their power.

Article 46 of the new law – drafted by Beijing, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party and conviction rates are close to 100% – states three instances where juries can be scrapped: protecting state secrets, cases involving foreign forces and protecting the personal safety of jurors.

Mr. Tong has also been repeatedly denied bail. Hong Kong’s common law has traditionally allowed defendants to seek release unless prosecutors can show lawful grounds for their detention.

In another departure from common law practices, the burden is now placed on the defendant to prove they will not break the law if released on bail.

The trial is due to start on June 23.

New Zealand’s Ardern delivers welfare boost in annual budget as economy rebounds

WELLINGTON – New Zealand on Thursday lifted welfare benefit rates and promised billions of dollars more towards addressing rising inequality in its annual budget, as it predicted smaller deficits and a faster economic recovery from COVID-19.

The budget for the 2021 fiscal year allocated funds towards housing, healthcare, education and infrastructure, while also targeting issues like child poverty, climate change and welfare of the indigenous Maori.

The highlight, however, was a hike in the weekly benefit rates by up to NZ$55 per adult, which the government said was the largest income increase in a generation.

“Previous economic downturns have made inequality worse. We’re taking a different approach,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement, releasing the “Wellbeing” budget.

“By investing in those who need it the most, we are driving the recovery by reducing need, at the same time as providing stimulus for our economy.”

New Zealand’s economy has seen a rapid rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, but ample fiscal and monetary stimulus in 2020 has exacerbated long-standing issues of inequality, making it arguably the biggest political challenge facing Ardern’s centre-left government in its second term in office.

Critics have slammed policies that widened the wealth gap and had called on the government to use this budget to tackle these issues.

The Treasury predicted a budget deficit of NZ$15.127 billion ($10.84 billion) for the fiscal year ending June, compared to the NZ$21.576 billion seen in its half-year fiscal update in December. The deficit peaks at 5.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in June 2022 before declining to 0.6% of GDP by June 2025.

Net debt will peak at 48% of GDP in 2023 compared to the 52.6% forecast made in December, according to the budget.

New Zealand’s GDP was expected to reach 2.9% in 2021 and gradually increase to 4.4% by 2023.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the budget strikes a balance between “securing the economic recovery and keeping a lid on the debt.”

Ratings firm S&P Global said the budget met its expectations and the country was recovering quicker than most advanced economies, though warned debt levels would remain elevated for some time.

“Given the pace of recovery, we believe the government’s credit metrics can withstand further negative shocks to the economy and its fiscal position at the current rating level,” S&P said in a statement.

 

ECONOMIC REBOUND

While New Zealand’s economy contracted in the final quarter of last year, recent improvements in business confidence and an unexpected fall in the unemployment rate to 4.7% in the March quarter have pointed to an economic rebound.

Unemployment is forecast to fall back to 4.2% by 2024 from the 5.2% forecast in 2021, with an extra 200,000 people seen entering employment over the next four years.

This recovery was helped by a record NZ$50 billion COVID fund released in the budget last year, backed by the central bank’s massive NZ$100 billion quantitative easing programme and low interest rates.

But these measures, coupled with housing shortages, sent property prices soaring, forcing the government to step and announce cooling measures.

The Treasury said it was now expecting a sharp drop in house price inflation to 0.9% by June next year, from a peak of 17.3% in June 2021.

Ardern’s popularity soared with her response to the pandemic, which has kept nationwide cases to barely 2,500 and helped secure her Labour Party’s emphatic election win last year. But opinion polls since show her support slipping.

Opposition National Party leader Judith Collins slammed the budget saying it did not reassure businesses.

“All New Zealanders are feeling the pinch right now – not just those on jobseeker benefits and the minimum wage – so where is the plan to take the entire country back to prosperity?” Collins questioned. – Reuters

ByteDance founder to step down as CEO, hand over to college roommate

source: https://www.bytedance.com/en/

Zhang Yiming will step down as chief executive of TikTok-owner ByteDance, leaving the task of navigating a rising number of Big Tech regulations worldwide to college roommate, long-time colleague and current human resources head Liang Rubo.

In an employee memo on Thursday – first reported by Reuters and later disclosed by the firm – Mr. Zhang said the change would “enable me to have greater impact on longer-term initiatives”.

He will move to a “key strategy” position at the end of the year, ByteDance said in a statement.

Mr. Zhang, who did not address his role as chairman, in the memo called Liang “an invaluable partner” with “strengths in management, organization, and social engagement”.

ByteDance’s biggest management shake-up since its launch in 2012 comes less than a month after its chief financial officer, Shouzi Chew, became CEO of flagship short-video app TikTok.

It also comes as Chinese regulators increase scrutiny of the country’s biggest technology firms. In April, they slapped e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd with a $2.8 billion fine for anti-competitive practices, and last year suspended fintech affiliate Ant Group’s initial public offering.

Anti-trust regulators have also told Tencent Holdings Ltd they are preparing to fine the gaming giant as much as $1.55 billion, Reuters reported that last month.

Mr. Zhang, who turned ByteDance into a social media force, in the memo said he was not a social person and lacked the skills of an ideal manager. He also blamed the day-to-day challenges of a CEO as being a hurdle to research and innovation.

“I’m more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles, and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people,” Zhang, 38, wrote in the memo.

“Similarly, I’m not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible.”

 

TRANSITION

Mr. Zhang owns 20% to 30% of ByteDance and holds over 50% of voting rights, people with knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters. ByteDance did not comment on Zhang’s stake.

Mr. Zhang in the memo said he will work with Liang over the next six months to ensure a smooth transition. He did not mention whether he would give up his voting rights.

“Based on previous experience it’s likely we could see a slowdown of investment in new businesses, while they could pay more attention to old businesses as the new management team needs some time for adjustment,” said Shawn Yang, managing director of Blue Lotus Capital Advisors.

Mr. Liang, not a household name in China, studied and roomed with Mr. Zhang at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. He also worked with Mr. Zhang at real estate website 99fang.com prior to joining ByteDance. Mr. Liang on his LinkedIn profile said he is a ByteDance co-founder.

In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Mr. Liang said he looked forward to continuing working with his colleagues, and that the new role represents a “huge challenge” and places “a lot of pressure” on him.

 

IPO

ByteDance, which employs over 100,000 people worldwide, had been preparing for a much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) this year, but halted plans in April.

“I think it’s possible that Mr. Zhang is concerned that after the IPO he would see a ballooning of his wealth and get a lot of attention from the media. It is hard to be a rich person in China. You don’t get as much recognition,” said Beijing-based technology analyst Li Chengdong.

Mr. Zhang is the latest in a small group of founders of Chinese tech firms to move away from day-to-day management.

Colin Huang, founder of e-commerce firm Pinduoduo Inc , stepped down as chief executive in 2020 and as chairman in March. The 41-year-old, who owns about 30% of Pinduoduo, will also give up his super voting rights.

Nine-year-old ByteDance’s previous big organizational shake-up occurred last year, when Mr. Zhang appointed Chairman Zhang Lidong and Chief Executive Kelly Zhang at ByteDance’s China business.

ByteDance’s TikTok has sought to distance itself from Beijing after the United States raised national security concerns over the safety of the personal data it handles.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration sought to force ByteDance to divest control of the app. A U.S. plan to sell TikTok’s American operations to a consortium that included Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc languished, however, after ByteDance launched successful legal challenges.

Trump says New York criminal probe is in ‘desperate search of a crime’

U.S. President Donald Trump — REUTERS/LEAH MILLIS/FILE PHOTO

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked New York state’s attorney general for launching a criminal probe of his family business, saying he was “being unfairly attacked and abused.”

“There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime,” Trump said in a statement, adding that “we will overcome” any attempt at prosecution.

The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, which has been investigating whether the New York City-based Trump Organization falsely reported property values to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits, said on Tuesday its probe was no longer purely civil.

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA,” Fabien Levy, a spokesman for James, said in a statement, using the abbreviation for “district attorney.”

Trump on Wednesday assailed the investigation as politically motivated.

“The attorney general of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me,” the Republican former president said. James is a Democrat.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been investigating Trump’s pre-presidency business dealings for more than two years.

Vance’s office has said in court filings it was investigating “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct” at the Trump Organization, including tax and insurance fraud and falsification of business records.

Separately, the New York Times reported late on Wednesday that the office of the New York Attorney General had been criminally investigating Allen Weisselberg, the CFO of the Trump Organization, for months over tax issues, and had notified the company about it in a January letter.

The investigators have examined whether taxes were paid on fringe benefits that Trump gave him, including cars and tens of thousands of dollars in private school tuition for at least one of Weisselberg’s grandchildren, according to the newspaper. – Reuters

‘We are waiting to die’: hope wanes for world’s poor after India halts vaccine exports

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

NAIROBI/KUALA LUMPUR — When John Omondi received his coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination last month, the Kenyan taxi driver counted himself one of the lucky ones. 

Now, he’s not so sure — victim of a vaccine export freeze by mega-producer India that has dashed hopes of protection for millions of poor people caught in the pandemic. 

“It was a good day when I got the vaccine. I needed it because of my age and my work,” explained Mr. Omondi, 59, as he navigated the busy roads of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. 

“I am supposed to get my second dose in June, but there aren’t any more vaccines and I am worried I may be less protected, especially against all these variants,” he said. 

“Without the vaccine, it’s like we are waiting to die.” 

Kenya is one of dozens of developing countries whose national vaccine rollout plans have suffered a blow after India, the world‘s biggest vaccine maker, curbed exports to meet surging domestic demand. 

With a population of 50 million, the East African country has received about 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) through COVAX, a global vaccine-sharing program to aid poor nations. 

But India’s export ban means Kenya‘s second batch of 3 million doses — expected in June — is unlikely to arrive, leaving the country scrambling for alternatives. 

“If we had the vaccines, we would have started the second phase of our deployment plan. The reality on the ground is that we don’t have the vaccines when we expected them,” said Patrick Amoth, acting director general at Kenya’s Health Ministry. 

“We are hopeful the situation in India will be normalized soon … but we are also working on other streams to be able to get other vaccines like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.” 

SHORTAGES, DELAYS 

From Kenya and Ghana to Bangladesh and Indonesia, poor nations reliant on COVAX have no option but to halt vaccination drives and delay second doses due to the export curb. 

SII, the largest vaccine supplier for COVAX, suspended exports in March, and Indian officials say they expect no meaningful resumption before October — at the least. 

The result: a world short of some 190 million doses by the end of June, according to the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, which is coordinating the COVAX scheme. 

The shortage will leave poor countries even further behind, experts say, increasing vaccine inequity and complicating global efforts to tame a virus already spawning powerful variants. 

“We are concerned that the deadly spike in India is a precursor to what will happen if those warnings remain unheeded,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. 

“Cases are exploding and health systems are struggling in countries near — like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives — and far, like Argentina and Brazil.” 

ASIA 

Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and South Korea are among Asian countries hit by the vaccine delays from India, where more than 25.5 million people have died in the pandemic. 

Indonesia launched its immunization campaign in January — aiming to reach 181.5 million of its 270 million people this year – and curb an epidemic that has killed more than 48,000. 

But it has only received 6.4 million doses through COVAX — just over half its promised allocation, official data shows. 

“The impact is big and our vaccination targets could be delayed. We are nervous about potential new waves,” said Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia. 

Indonesia has turned to China for extras and pushed hard for a vaccine patent waiver to ramp up production and ensure some tilt towards equity as the entire world competes for jabs. 

Bangladesh has had to halt even its first doses. 

The South Asian nation expected to get 5 million doses every month from neighboring India for the first half of this year — so far, just 7 million have landed, said officials. It also received 3.2 million AstraZeneca doses from India as gift. 

Bangladesh has now approved the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use and 500,000 doses landed from China last week. 

The nation, with a population of some 160 million and host to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, will also receive about 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine next month under COVAX. 

AFRICA 

As for Africa — it is the world’s least vaccinated continent, with most of its 54 countries dependent on COVAX. Despite making up 14% of the global population, African countries account for only 1% of administered doses globally. 

The continent had planned to vaccinate 30–35% of its population by the end of the year, and 60% within the next two to three years — an elusive goal if shortages continue. 

Ethiopia, for example, planned to vaccinate 23 million of its 115 million population this year. So far, it has received 2.2 million doses from the 9 million requested from COVAX. 

“What we encounter is a small number of doses and then a ban,” said Meseret Zelalem, secretary for Ethiopia’s COVID-19 vaccination program, referring to India’s curb. 

“We need to knock (on) every door and every window to look for a different opportunity to really shield our population.” 

Ms. Meseret said China had donated 300,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, and authorities were looking to buy other brands, too. 

Gregory Rockson, founder of Africa-wide healthcare provider mPharma, said they were already feeling the effects of the export ban in his home country of Ghana. 

“Our entire vaccine timeline has been pushed back,” he said, predicting a similar scenario would hit other African countries. 

“Hopefully more vaccination candidates will be approved and there will be more options, then it will be less a supply concern and more an in-country distribution concern,” he added. 

UNICEF and many charities are calling on rich nations to donate their surplus doses to COVAX, rather than squander the stockpile on less-vulnerable children. 

UNICEF’s Ms. Fore said G7 countries could donate about 153 million doses if they shared only 20% of their available supply over June, July and August. 

This could be done while still meeting commitments to vaccinate their own populations, she said. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) is also urging vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer and Moderna to make shots available to the COVAX scheme earlier than planned, to ensure vulnerable populations such as health workers and elderly are protected. 

“We need doses right now and I call on them (vaccine manufacturers) to bring forward deliveries as soon as possible,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. 

“Only by working through COVAX can we quickly get vaccines to those health workers that have been on the frontlines of this pandemic for more than a year.” — Nita Bhalla and Beh Lih Yi /Thomson Reuters Foundation 

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