月: 2021年11月

1. Japan has confirmed its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The government says the infected person recently arrived from the southern African country of Namibia. The man in his 30s tested positive for the coronavirus, on Sunday, at Narita Airport near Tokyo. He has been quarantined at a designated facility since his sample was sent for analysis.
2. The head of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says the company could have a new vaccine for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in less than 100 days. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said if the current coronavirus vaccine protects less, Pfizer needs to create a new vaccine. He noted that the company has already started work for the vaccine.
3. Indirect talks between the United States and Iran on salvaging the 2015 nuclear agreement have resumed following a 5-month hiatus. The latest round of negotiations kicked off in Vienna on Monday, with European Union officials and others serving as mediators. The talks are the first since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi—an anti-US hardline conservative—took power in August.

1. Japan is putting back in place an entry ban on new foreign arrivals, citing the potential danger of the Omicron variant. This suspends the recent easing of measures for foreign students, business people and technical trainees. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio unveiled the measures on Monday. He said, “I decided to put entry restrictions in place for foreigners from all over the world starting on Tuesday, as an emergency measure. We are aiming to avoid the worst situation from occurring in this country.”
2. A Japanese government survey has found that more than 80 percent of universities across the country say they planned to make more than 70 percent of the classes available during the second half of the current academic year in-person classes. The plans were made amid a decline in the number of coronavirus cases.
3. The Japanese government is aiming to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign-made vaccines. It’s ramping up funding for domestic development to better prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks and other epidemics.

1. Russian media are reporting that the death toll from an accident in a Siberian coal mine has risen to at least 52. Authorities believe a gas explosion likely occurred. The accident happened in the Kemerovo region on Thursday. Local authorities say 285 workers were in the mine at the time. More than 200 managed to escape.
2. The European Union’s executive body has proposed that from March, entry to the bloc should be limited to people vaccinated against COVID-19. The European Commission announced an updated framework for travel on Thursday. It said, “Member States should allow in only vaccinated, recovered or essential travellers.
3. Britain has recorded more than 10 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. It is the first country in Europe to surpass the 10 million mark. The nation is home to a population of about 67 million people. The daily number of new cases in the country has continued to reach around 40,000 recently.

1. A small boat packed with migrants capsized in the English Channel on Wednesday, killing dozens of people. French authorities say 27 people were confirmed dead and two are in serious condition. It is not known where the victims came from.
2. Sweden’s first female prime minister has announced her resignation hours after being elected to the post on Wednesday. Magdalena Andersson’s move followed her coalition’s collapse after parliament rejected its budget bill.
3. Soaring inflation in Turkey is having devastating effects on the economy. The country’s currency has dropped to an all-time low against the US dollar, threatening to further erode consumers’ purchasing power.

1. The Japanese government has decided to release state oil reserves for the first time, after the United States announced the same move to help curb the spike in crude oil prices.
2. The United Nations has ordered the evacuation of family members of its international staff from Ethiopia, as fighting escalates between the government and ethnic minority forces.
3. Chinese and Russian defense ministers have agreed to strengthen the two countries’ military cooperation through joint drills and patrols.

1. South Korean media say former President Chun Doo-hwan died on Tuesday. He was 90. The general-turned politician seized power in a 1979 military coup following the assassination of then President Park Chung-hee. Chun was inaugurated as president the following year. He ruled the country with an iron fist until 1988.
2. A British newspaper says China fired a missile from a hypersonic weapon over the South China Sea in a test of the system this summer. China reportedly carried out a test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon, which travels at more than five times the speed of sound, with the ability to maneuver in flight. The weapon is believed to be difficult to intercept.
3. US President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve Chair. Powell took the job in 2018, when former President Donald Trump was in office. Under Powell, the central bank managed to steer the economy through the pandemic-induced slowdown by loosening its monetary policy in March 2020.

1. A vehicle plowed through a holiday parade in the mid-western U.S. state of Wisconsin on Sunday. Local police say some people have been killed and more than 20 individuals have been injured. Children are reportedly among the victims.
2. The International Olympic Committee says its president, Thomas Bach, has held a video call with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. Peng has reportedly not been seen in public since she made a sexual assault allegation against former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. The IOC announced on Sunday that the Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Emma Terho, and another member who has known Peng for many years joined the 30-minute call. Peng reportedly thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being and explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing.
3. North Korea has reacted sharply to a resolution by a United Nations committee condemning human rights violations in the country. A spokesperson for North Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement through the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday. The statement says North Korea categorically rejects the resolution of the United States and other “hostile forces” as “a grave infringement upon the sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the prestigious image” of the country. The statement says the countries picking on North Korea’s “human rights issue” are “unexceptionally the worst violators of human rights,” citing racial discrimination, violence against women and police violence among others.

1. Major League Baseball two-way star Ohtani Shohei has been named this year’s Most Valuable Player in the American League. He is the second Japanese to win the award following Suzuki Ichiro in 2001.
2. Japan’s financial regulator is arranging to issue another business improvement order to Mizuho Financial Group and its banking unit in response to a series of system failures earlier this year. Mizuho plans to consider whether the group’s president and CEO should resign.
3. Honda Motor s.ays it expects three of its plants in Japan to return to normal operations in early December following production cutbacks partly resulting from a global shortage of semiconductors.

November 18, Thursday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline
1. A report by a US Congressional advisory panel calls for an urgent military buildup in the Indo-Pacific to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued its annual report on Wednesday. The report notes that China has been modernizing its military for nearly 20 years, and is now capable of “air and naval blockade, cyberattacks and missile strikes against Taiwan.”
2. Leading pro tennis players have expressed concerns about Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who is reported missing after alleging sexual assault by a former leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Peng, who won doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014, posted on social media this month that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex with him despite her repeated refusal, and that they later had a consensual relationship.
3. Members of the European Union have begun full-fledged discussions on creating a rapid deployment force to respond to crises. At a news conference after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell referred to a large number of migrants gathered on the border between EU-member Poland and Belarus.

1. US President Joe Biden says four discussion groups will be created, so that talks between the United States and China can continue. The two sides are trying to prevent bilateral tensions from escalating. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first virtual summit earlier this week. During the three-and-a half-hour meeting, they agreed to try to prevent the bilateral rivalry from escalating into a conflict by continuing their discussions.
2. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize the emergency use of its antiviral COVID-19 pill. Pfizer made the announcement on Tuesday. It is seeking approval of the drug to treat high-risk adult coronavirus patients who have developed mild to moderate symptoms. The company says the oral antiviral is designed to block the replication of the virus. It would be used in combination with the HIV drug ritonavir.
3. The city authorities of Beijing are stepping up coronavirus restrictions ahead of the Winter Olympics to be held in February. Starting on Wednesday, all people arriving in Beijing must present negative coronavirus test results taken within the previous 48 hours. Beijing continues its tight restrictions on the entry of people from areas where any community infection has been confirmed in the past two weeks.