Today’s News 06 July 2021 (Tuesday)

A. NAVY NEWS/COVID NEWS/PHOTOS Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

B. NATIONAL HEADLINES Title Writer Newspaper Page 1 ‘C-130 in tip-top shape’ M Punongbayan P Star 1 2 Court junks all ‘pork’ scam cases vs Revillia K Subingsubing PDI A1

C. NATIONAL SECURITY Title Writer Newspaper Page 3 Duterte urged to amend current baseline law T Santos PDI A5

D. INDO-PACIFIC Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

E. AFP RELATED Title Writer Newspaper Page 4 Hard task after crash: Identifying the dead J Andrade PDI A1 5 Death toll in C-130 crash rises to 50 M Sadongdong M Bulletin 1 Zambo hospital coverts birth unit to treat M Bulletin 5 6 plane crash victims 7 Probe of C-130 crash begin D Reyes M Times A1 8 Duterte honors crash victims J Ruson D Tribune A1 Search, retrieval ops end, Plane crash final V Reyes Malaya B1 9 count: 49 soldiers, 3 civilian dead Safer military assets vowed as PAF crash P Journal 3 10 death toll up 11 ‘Full probe into C-130 crash underway’ A Dalizon P Journal 7 12 Romualdez assures safer military assets R Pacpaco P Tonight 1 C-130 pa ng AFP grounded, humanitarian D Franche Ngayon 2 13 ops apektado BARMM gov t nakiramay sa pagbagsak ng R Benez Ngayon 9 14 ’ C-130 15 ‘Black box’ ng C-130 hanap D Franche Ngayon 2 16 Full investigation sa C-130 crash, iniutos G Garcia PM 2

F. CPP-NPA-NDF-LCM Title Writer Newspaper Page Plot to kill NTF-ELCAC spokespersons D Reyes M Times A5 17 bared NTF-ELCAC bares CPP-NPA-NDF smear P Gutierrez P Journal 2 18 job ‘Operation Delta’ 19 NPA ‘hitman’ killed G Masculino Tempo 2 Operation Delta ng CPP-NPA, ibinunyag ng D Franche Ngayon 2 20 ‘ ’ NTF-ELCAC 21 ‘Oplan Delta’ ng CPP-NPA vs NTF-ELCAC D Franche PM 2 officials

G. MNLF/MILF/BIFF/ASG Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

H. EDITORIAL-OPINION-COMMENTARY-SPECIAL Title Writer Newspaper Page 22 Fear of plane crash, or in-flight infection F Pascual P Star 4 23 Truth behind the crashes P Star 4 24 Soon to be a CPP-NPA-free community D Tribune A5

I. ONLINE NEWS Title Link NATIONAL NEWS PHL end-May debt up 24.5%, breaches https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/05/phl- 25 P11 trillion end-may-debt-up-24-5-breaches-p11-trillion Gov t wants more China-funded https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146061 26 ’ ‘ ’ projects in PH Briones: World Bank inadvertently https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/briones-world- 27 inflicts harm on DepEd, PH gov’t by bank-inadvertently-inflicts-harm-on-deped-ph- releasing ‘outdated’ report govt-by-releasing-outdated-report/ Duterte lauds 75 years of PH-US ties https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/duterte-lauds- 28 75-years-of-ph-us-ties/ Pilot face-to-face classes may happen https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/pilot-face-to- 29 soon, says Palace face-classes-may-happen-soon-says-palace/ Taal continues to emit high levels of https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145962 30 SO2 gas Tropical depression 'Emong' maintains https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/06/tropical- strength as it is about to exit PAR depression-emong-maintains-strength-as-it-is- about-to-exit-par/ 31

NAVY NEWS New PH baselines law most https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/new-ph- 32 inexpensive, effective means in baselines-law-most-inexpensive-effective- enforcing Arbitral award – Jardeleza means-in-enforcing-arbitral-award-jardeleza/ AFP RELATED Survivors jumped off C-130 before it https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/04/asia/philippi 33 exploded in deadly crash, witnesses say nes-air-force-plane-crash-intl-hnk/index.html Death toll in Sulu military plane crash https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/death-toll-in- 34 climbs to 52 sulu-military-plane-crash-climbs-to-52/ Soldiers in Sulu plane crash shall not https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146071 35 ‘ have died in vain’: PRRD Duterte visits Zamboanga City to honor https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/05/dute 36 soldiers who died in C-130 crash rte-visits-zamboanga-city-to-honor-soldiers- who-died-in-c-130-crash/ 37 ‘Sorrowful’ Duterte wants more AFP https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/07/05/sor funds after Sulu plane crash rowful-duterte-wants-more-afp-funds-after- sulu-plane-crash/ What made the C-130 crash? The https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/05/what 38 Palace wants to know -made-the-c-130-crash-the-palace-wants-to- know/ C-130 in tip-top shape https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/07/06 39 ‘ ’ /2110474/c-130-tip-top-shape Arevalo: C-130 in Sulu crash followed https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/natio all protocols; AFP determined to know n/794105/arevalo-c-130-in-sulu-crash- 40 ‘what really happened’ followed-all-protocols-afp-determined-to-know- what-really-happened/story/ Military ends rescue and retrieval ops https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/7/5/AFP 41 with 52 dead in C-130 plane crash in -Sulu-plane-crash-death-toll.html Sulu C-130 black box now found AFP https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1456078/c-130- 42 — chief black-box-now-found-afp-chief Probe of C-130 crash begins https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/06/news/ 43 national/probe-of-c-130-crash-begins/1805908 6-day period of mourning as C-130 https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/05/6- 44 crash fatalities rise to 52 day-period-of-mourning-as-c-130-crash- fatality-rises-to-50/ Crashed military plane tried to land with https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/07/05 45 incomplete set of wheels — witness /2110334/crashed-military-plane-tried-land- incomplete-set-wheels-witness Lorenzana slams 'baseless' allegations https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/lorenzana- 46 on tragic Sulu crash slams-baseless-allegations-on-tragic-sulu- crash/ Caught on cam: Video shows horrifying https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/caught-on-cam- 47 PAF C-130 cargo plane crash in Sulu video-shows-horrifying-paf-c-130-cargo-plane- crash-in-sulu/ Sulu plane crash underscores need to https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146020\ 48 modernize military Velasco vows to push for PAF fleet https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146010 49 modernization Senators call for thorough probe of PAF https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/senators-call- 50 military plane crash for-thorough-probe-of-paf-military-plane-crash/ Lower House officials join national https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/lower-house- 51 mourning over death of 50 soldiers officials-join-national-mourning-over-death-of- 50-soldiers/ PAF probe team now in C-130 crash https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145994 52 site in Sulu Davao City deploys doctors to treat https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/davao-city- 53 troopers hurt in C-130 crash deploys-doctors-to-treat-troopers-hurt-in-c- 130-crash/ Ill-fated C-130 plane transported https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/ill-fated-c-130- 54 medical gear, staff to BARMM plane-transported-medical-gear-staff-to- barmm/ Hontiveros to gov’t: Give proper military https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/hontiveros-to- 55 honors for PAF plane crash victims govt-give-proper-military-honors-for-paf-plane- crash-victims/ CPP-NPA lone goal is to grab power: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146047 56 ex-NPA cadre NTF-ELCAC bares CPP-NPA-NDF s https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1146048 57 ’ ‘Operation Delta’ NPA hitman killed in Negros Oriental https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/npa-hitman- 58 clash with State troopers killed-in-negros-oriental-clash-with-state- troopers/ 9 alleged Abu Sayyaf members https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/05/21/abu- 59 surrender in Sulu, says military sayyaf-surrender-philippine-military-sulu INDO-PACIFIC NEWS Int'l community joins PH in mourning https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145967 60 deaths of crash victims White House offers 'deep condolences' https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/white-house- 61 to PH over Sulu plane crash offers-deep-condolences-to-ph-over-sulu- plane-crash/ Biden marks 'independence' from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 62 COVID-19, but pandemic remains a /covid-19-biden-marks-independence- threat pandemic-remains-threat-15156734 The Bipartisan Consensus on China https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/07/the- 63 Isn’t Enough bipartisan-consensus-on-china-isnt-enough/ China FM fights back as US, UK vilify https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227 64 China of manipulating intl organizations 869.shtml China’s promised infrastructure billions https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast- 65 yet to arrive in the Philippines, five asia/article/3139861/chinas-promised- years on infrastructure-billions-yet-arrive China's role growing in North Korean https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021 66 denuclearization /07/103_311597.html How a peace forum in China became an https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/ 67 international war of words article/3139905/russia-and-france-blazing- onstage-row-beijing-over-whether HK's financial hub role has not changed https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227 68 by slightest degree after national 846.shtml security law is implemented: Carrie Lam National security law: new threat as https://www.scmp.com/news/hong- Hong Kong independence activists shift kong/politics/article/3139920/national-security- 69 from street protests to the arts and law-new-threat-hong-kong-independence media for separatist promotion, security chief warns Chinese officials: 'Plenty more to be https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Chinese- 70 done' on Hong Kong security officials-Plenty-more-to-be-done-on-Hong- Kong-security 100,000 people leave Hong Kong over https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/100-000- 71 security law people-leave-hong-kong-in-past-year-over- beijing-national-security-law-vdjgksxtz Asia industry group warns privacy law https://www.reuters.com/world/china/facebook- 72 changes may force tech firms to quit google-twitter-say-could-quit-hong-kong-over- Hong Kong proposed-data-laws-wsj-2021-07-05/ Why Japanese communists snubbed https://www.scmp.com/week- 73 China’s party on its centenary asia/politics/article/3139887/japanese- communist-party-snubs-chinas-communist- party-centenary 80 missing after Japan landslide; search https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/j 74 races time, weather apan-landslide-death-toll-rain-rescue- 15156640 Shizuoka faces high risk of more https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 75 disasters 0705_19/ Police test surveillance balloon for https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 76 Tokyo Games 0705_17/ Pandemic anxiety, frustration over https://the-japan- 77 Games reflected in Tokyo election news.com/news/article/0007553144 Japan-South Korea storm clouds https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-South- 78 Moon's decision on Olympic visit Korea-rift/Japan-South-Korea-storm-clouds- Moon-s-decision-on-Olympic-visit Kim warns North Korea food crisis https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at- 79 threatens state security crossroads/Kim-warns-North-Korea-food- crisis-threatens-state-security North Korea Faces Worsening https://www.voanews.com/east-asia- 80 Economic Woes amid COVID pacific/north-korea-faces-worsening-economic- Lockdown woes-amid-covid-lockdown ‘Cruel reality’: ex-security chief says https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/artic 81 independence not up to people of le/3139911/cruel-reality-ex-security-chief-says- Taiwan alone independence-not-people Taiwan blasts Beijing's 'one country, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4240 82 two systems' as facade to annex nation 618 Thai PM Prayut in self-isolation after https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/t 83 close contact with businessman who hailand-pm-prayuth-self-isolation-covid-19- later tested positive for COVID-19 phuket-15158628 Malaysian parliament to meet from Jul https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 84 26 to pave the way for hybrid sitting: malaysia-parliament-reconvene-jul-26-aug-5- Prime minister's office covid-19-pmo-15158420 Myanmar forces kill 25, as source https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast- 85 reveals raid on Japanese diplomatic asia/article/3139812/myanmar-forces-kill-25- staff source-reveals-raid-japanese After pressuring telecom firms, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 86 Myanmar's junta bans executives from after-pressuring-telecom-firms-myanmar-junta- leaving bans-executives-15156750 Myanmar rights violations under https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- 87 scrutiny from new task force pacific/myanmar-rights-violations-under- scrutiny-new-task-force-2021-07-05/ Pakistan-China relationship is a factor https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227 88 for stability in the region and beyond: 878.shtml Pakistani Ambassador Government needs to increase support https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/government- 89 for critical minerals projects in Australia needs-to-increase-support-for-critical-minerals- projects-in-australia/ Taliban aim to present written peace https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- plan at talks as soon as next month - pacific/exclusive-taliban-aim-present-written- 90 spokesman peace-plan-talks-soon-next-month- spokesman-2021-07-05/ 91 Fawning, Complacent West Paved https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fawning- China's Path complacent-west-eased-china-path-power- matthew-syed-vbwftw52g Megatanker that blocked Suez Canal to https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 92 be released /suez-canal-egypt-hapan-mv-ever-given- 15156614 DEFENSE NEWS Philippine military plane crash highlights https://www.scmp.com/week- 93 ageing, stretched equipment asia/politics/article/3139927/philippine-military- plane-crash-highlights-countrys-ageing ISIS evil still threatens world Locsin in https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/05/isis- 94 – Rome meet evil-still-threatens-world-locsin-in-rome-meet/ Cyberattack on US IT firm's software https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 95 0705_26/ Scale, details of massive ransomware https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/04/mas 96 attack emerge sive-ransomware-attack-498089 Ransomware Hackers Demand $70 https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/0 Million In Bitcoin, Claim Massive U.S. 7/05/ransomware-hackers-demand-70-million- 97 Attack As Biden Investigates Possible in-bitcoin-claim-massive-us-attack-as-biden- Russian Involvement investigates-possible-russian-involvement/ Killer Flying Robots Are Here. What Do https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/05/killer- We Do Now? flying-robots-drones-autonomous-ai-artificial- 98 intelligence-facial-recognition-targets-turkey- libya/ The Future of Space Exploration https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/07/the- 99 Depends on the Private Sector future-of-space-exploration-depends-on-the- private-sector/ The Case for Less Nuclear, and More https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/case- 100 Diesel, Submarines for the U.S. Navy less-nuclear-and-more-diesel-submarines-us- navy-189071 US Marines Say Unit Costs for CH-53K https://news.usni.org/2021/07/05/marines-say- 101 Heavy Lift Helicopter Dropping unit-costs-for-ch-53k-heavy-lift-helicopter- dropping US Marine Corps Wants a Digital https://news.usni.org/2021/07/05/marine- 102 Blueprint Locker for Access to 3D corps-wants-a-digital-blueprint-locker-for- Printing Plans Anywhere access-to-3d-printing-plans-anywhere Report to Congress on Chinese Naval https://news.usni.org/2021/07/05/report-to- 103 Modernization congress-on-chinese-naval-modernization-9 China Naval Modernization: Implications https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2098 for U.S. Navy Capabilities Background 3365/china-naval-modernization-implications- 104 — and Issues for Congress for-us-navy-capabilities-background-and- issues-for-congress-july-1-2021.pdf Taiwan's Defense Strategy Needs a https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/taiwans- 105 Strong Reassessment defense-strategy-needs-strong-reassessment- 189242 China urges global efforts to tackle https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202107/1227 106 'biggest' cybersecurity threat posed by 875.shtml the US China Strengthening Survivability of https://defense.info/featured- 107 Nuclear Capable Missiles story/2021/07/china-strengthening- survivability-of-nuclear-capable-missiles/ How 23 giant Chinese rockets could https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/arti 108 save world from asteroids cle/3139914/how-23-giant-chinese-rockets- could-save-world-doomsday-asteroid PLAN-M self-propelled howitzers fire http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0705/c90000- 110 high explosive shells 9868340-4.html China Copied And Stole Its Way To https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/07/china- 111 Becoming A Military Juggernaut copied-and-stole-its-way-to-becoming-a- military-juggernaut/ Eye on India: Chinese prez promotes https://www.hindustantimes.com/world- border commander to rank of general news/eye-on-india-chinese-prez-promotes- 112 border-commander-to-rank-of-general- 101625505311467.html Japan's No. 2 raises possibility of https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International- 113 joining US in defending Taiwan relations/Indo-Pacific/Japan-s-No.-2-raises- possibility-of-joining-US-in-defending-Taiwan Japan and Australia to boost defense https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/07/05 114 ties, Japanese ambassador says /national/japan-ambassador-australia-defense- ties/ New USFK commander pressed on https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/ 115 OPCON transfer by SK defense 05/national/defense/Opcon-USFK-US-Forces- minister Suh Korea/20210705165500637.html South Korea Conducts Submarine- https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 116 Launched Ballistic Missile Test news/2021/07/south-korea-conducts- submarine-launched-ballistic-missile-test/ South Korea, US tilting toward https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021 117 downsizing combined drill /07/205_311635.html Singapore Army commissions TPQ-53 https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 118 S-band WLR system detail/singapore-army-commissions-tpq-53-s- band-wlr-system Singapore Army showcases new self- https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 119 propelled 120 mm mortar system detail/singapore-army-showcases-new-self- propelled-120-mm-mortar-system US, Indonesia building maritime training https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/07/us- 120 base on Batan indonesia-building-maritime-training-base-on- batan/ Indonesia forges global relationships to https://ipdefenseforum.com/2021/07/indonesia 121 boost defense industry -forges-global-relationships-to-boost-defense- industry/ Brunei Introduces New Insitu Integrator https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/202 122 Unmanned Aerial System 1/07/brunei-introduces-new-insitu- integrator.html Indian Army prepared to face any https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de challenge fence/country-completely-safe-indian-army- 123 prepared-to-face-any-challenge-rajnath- singh/articleshow/84140229.cms How India Is Modernizing its Deadly https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/how- 124 Nuclear Weapons Arsenal india-modernizing-its-deadly-nuclear-weapons- arsenal-188998 India: CDS, IAF Chief take separate https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de 125 stance on theatre command fence/cds-iaf-chief-take-separate-stance-on- theatre-command/articleshow/84078831.cms India to maintain warships in Gulf zone https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de to aid merchant ships fence/india-to-maintain-warships-in-gulf-zone- 126 to-aid-merchant- ships/articleshow/84133181.cms Pakistan Says India was Behind Recent https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/pakistan- 127 Bomb Blast in Lahore says-india-was-behind-recent-bomb-blast-in- lahore/ The ADF needs knowledge if it’s to https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-adf- 128 shape, deter and respond needs-knowledge-if-its-to-shape-deter-and- respond/ Betting, fretting and getting—buying and https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/aspis- 129 flying the F-35 decades-betting-fretting-and-getting-buying- and-flying-the-f-35/ Russia’s Armata Tank to be Serially https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29955/Rus 130 Produced from 2022 sia___s_Armata_Tank_to_be_Serially_Produc ed_from_2022 More Than 1,000 Afghan Troops Flee https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/07/05/a 131 Taliban Into Tajikistan fghan-troops-flee-taliban-into-tajikistan/ Israel Takes U.S. Military Weapons And https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/07/israel- 132 Makes Them Even Deadlier takes-u-s-military-weapons-and-makes-them- even-deadlier/ Global Britain: Why the United Kingdom https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/global-britain- 133 Needs ASEAN why-the-united-kingdom-needs-asean/ War Questions: How Effective Is the https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/war- 134 Iron Dome questions-how-effective-iron-dome-189233 No-first use nuclear policy https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/07/05/no- 135 first-use-nuclear-policy/ Future Wars Will Be Fought on the https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/future- 136 ‘Hyperactive Battlefield’ wars-will-be-fought-%E2%80%98hyperactive- battlefield%E2%80%99-189096 Where Is the Sage of Air Power https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/where- 137 Doctrine? sage-air-power-doctrine-189241 COVID NEWS ‘NCR cases on flat trend but ICUs in https://manilastandard.net/news/top- 138 Davao, Iloilo at risk’ stories/358967/-ncr-cases-on-flat-trend-but- icus-in-davao-iloilo-at-risk-.html New, possibly more infectious Covid-19 https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/07/ 139 strain detected in more than 30 705392/new-possibly-more-infectious-covid- countries 19-strain-detected-more-30-countries Study finds Delta strain in India 8 times https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/06/study-finds- 140 less sensitive to COVID-19 vaccine delta-strain-in-india-8-times-less-sensitive-to- antibodies covid-19-vaccine-antibodies/ Unvaccinated people are potential https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/unvaccinated- 141 ‘variant factories’ – experts people-are-potential-variant-factories-study/ Israel data 'preliminary signal' Delta https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/06/israel-data- 142 variant can bypass vaccine: expert preliminary-signal-delta-variant-can-bypass- vaccine-expert/ Singapore advises people to avoid https://www.hindustantimes.com/world- 143 exercising for a week after vaccination news/singapore-advises-people-to-avoid- exercising-for-a-week-after-vaccination- 101625488534999.html Delta variant of coronavirus keeps https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/ 144 growing in Korea 05/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-Delta- Variant/20210705182800294.html Indonesia turns to telemedicine for https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/i 145 COVID-19 as hospitals struggle ndonesia-covid-19-telemedicine-hospitals- delta-variant-15158220 Indonesia seeks more oxygen for https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/i 146 COVID-19 sick amid shortage ndonesia-seeks-more-oxygen-for-covid-19- sick-amid-shortage-15158150 Australians trapped in COVID-19 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 147 vaccine 'Hunger Games', says top /covid-19-australians-trapped-vaccine-hunger- official games-says-official-15157958 Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020- 148 Across the World coronavirus-cases-world- map/?srnd=coronavirus Covid map: Where are cases the https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105 149 highest? Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid- 150 vaccine-tracker-global- distribution/?srnd=premium-asia

J. OPINION/EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Title Link 151 The truth behind the crashes https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/07/06/2 110448/editorial-truth-behind-crashes 152 A leader worth his salt should welcome https://opinion.inquirer.net/141776/a-leader- ICC investigation worth-his-salt-should-welcome-icc- investigation 153 Righting the course for Philippines’ https://adrinstitute.org/2021/07/03/righting-the- COVID-19 resilience course-for-philippines-covid-19-resilience/ 154 Ransomware as political weapon https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/06/opinio n/editorial/ransomware-as-political- weapon/1805878 155 Biden's troubled Southeast Asia policy https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Biden-s- needs a reboot troubled-Southeast-Asia-policy-needs-a-reboot 156 CCP drone threats must be countered https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/ar by Taiwan chives/2021/07/06/2003760358 157 The Shocking Enormity of Russia’s https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/05/russia- Botched Pandemic Response pandemic-response-failure-sputnik-vaccine- third-wave-covid-deaths-delta-variant-anti- vaxxers/ 158 Why US-Russia reconciliation will be https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article difficult despite warmer relations /3139824/why-us-russia-reconciliation-will-be- difficult-despite-warmer 159 The Economic Fundamentals of https://www.project- Chinese Communism’s Successes and syndicate.org/commentary/economic- Failures fundamentals-of-chinese-policy-failures-by- nancy-qian-1-2021-07 160 What Australia can learn from its own https://www.scmp.com/week- diplomatic history with China asia/opinion/article/3139834/china-australia- relations-what-canberra-can-learn-gough- whitlam 161 From Gaza to Xinjiang, Israel is https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/From-Gaza-to- increasingly in China's crossfire Xinjiang-Israel-is-increasingly-in-China-s- crossfire 162 India making the right moves as it https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2021/07/ reaches out to Pakistan and the Taliban 05/commentary/world-commentary/india-looks- west/ 163 When Will China Rule the World? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/202 sd Maybe Never 1-07-05/when-will-china-s-economy-beat-the- u-s-to-become-no-1-why-it-may-never- happen?srnd=premium-asia

PHL end-May debt up 24.5%, breaches P11 trillion BYBERNADETTE D. NICOLAS JULY 5, 2021 3 MINUTE READ Abulhasan Ibama, who has lived in Baseco, Tondo, Manila, for 19 years, is one of the recipients of a housing unit at Basecommunity. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on Monday inaugurated the Basecommunity housing project, the in-city townhouse project for poor families, giving homes to 229 families. The project, with 229 two-story units of 42 square meters floor area, is one of City Hall’s housing projects for indigent families. Construction on Basecommunity started in December 2020.

THE national government’s outstanding debt breached the P11-trillion mark in May as it ballooned to a new record high.

The government’s debt stock as of end-May hit P11.07 trillion, soaring by 24.5 percent from P8.89 trillion a year ago, according to the data from the Bureau of the Treasury.

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The Treasury said a strong peso prevented the debt stock from further swelling, resulting in a slight month-on-month uptick of 0.7 percent from P10.991 trillion as of end-April this year.

Year-to-date, the national government’s outstanding debt swelled by 13 percent from the end-2020 level of P9.795 trillion.

Domestic borrowings comprised 71.5 percent of the total debt stock while the remaining 28.5 percent came from foreign sources.

Broken down, domestic debt as of end-May reached P7.9 trillion, jumping by 31.2 percent from P6.03 trillion a year ago.

PHL end-May debt up 24.5%, breaches P11 trillion | Bernadette D. Nicolas (businessmirror.com.ph) Gov’t wants ‘more’ China-funded projects in PH By Azer Parrocha July 5, 2021, 8:31 pm

China-funded Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge (File photo courtesy of Sec. Mark Villar)

MANILA – Malacañang is currently satisfied with the pace of the country's big-ticket projects funded by China even as many of them have yet to break ground or be approved.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark as he shrugged off criticism that only a fraction of China’s USD24-billion (PHP1.2 trillion) loans and investment pledges for the administration's “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program has materialized.

“Well, we want more but we’re satisfied po kasi dati wala (because before there weren’t any),” Roque said in a Palace press briefing on Monday.

Amid criticism over the country’s China policy, Roque said trade and tourism relations between the Philippines and China greatly improved since the start of the Duterte administration.

“Talagang dumami po iyong mga investments natin. Of course, nagpandemya, so, iyong pagdating po ng mga turista natigil pero bago po nagpandemya, nakita na natin iyong mabilis na pagtaas ng mga turismo galing po sa Tsina (We really had more investments. Of course, there is a pandemic, so our tourism was temporarily halted, we saw a spike in tourist arrivals from China),” he said.

On June 22, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the China-funded Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is 93 percent complete and set to be open this month.

Costing PHP1.46 billion funded by a grant from the People’s Republic of China, the new Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge would have four lanes and will be a 506.46-meter pre-stressed concrete rigid frame bridge with corrugated steel webs, replacing the temporary two-lane box truss bridge made of modular steel components dismantled in 2019.

Aside from Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, the PHP3.3-billion Binondo-Intramuros Bridge is also funded by a grant from China.

Villar said the construction of the bridge is now 70 percent complete while substantial completion is expected by December this year.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech last month expressed confidence that his administration's ambitious Build, Build, Build infrastructure program, which complements China’s Belt and Road Initiative, “will reap long-term benefits for our peoples”. Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio earlier said only less than 5 percent of China's promised USD24 billion in loans and investments have come to fruition.

He emphasized a need to reassess the administration’s pivot to China, noting that Beijing seemed to be merely “promising something, but not delivering”. (PNA

Gov’t wants ‘more’ China-funded projects in PH | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph)

Briones: World Bank inadvertently inflicts harm on DepEd, PH gov’t by releasing ‘outdated’ report

Published July 5, 2021, 6:19 PM by Merlina Hernando-Malipot

The Department of Education (DepEd) has finally broken its silence on the report released by the World Bank saying that more than 80 percent of Filipino learners “do not know what they should know.”

In a statement issued Monday, July 5, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the World Bank report on education inadvertently inflicted harm not only on DepEd but also on the overall image of the Philippine government.

Briones explained that as a matter of public knowledge, the governments of member nations “own and direct” the World Bank.

“The function of the World Bank is to serve the development interests of its members, not to inflict harm,” Briones said. “If DepEd is to continue to regard the World Bank as a true development partner in education, I believe DepEd deserves a public apology. No less,” she added.

Briones: World Bank inadvertently inflicts harm on DepEd, PH gov’t by releasing ‘outdated’ report – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Duterte lauds 75 years of PH-US ties

Published July 5, 2021, 10:45 PM by Argyll Cyrus Geducos President Duterte lauded the relations between the Philippines and the United States of America (USA) as the two countries celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations on July 4.

President Duterte delivers a message for the 75th anniversary of the inauguration of the Third Philippine Republic and establishment of the Philippines-United States of America (USA) Diplomatic Relations on July 4. (RTVM Screenshot)

Duterte made the statement as the country celebrated the 75th anniversary of the inauguration of the Third Philippine Republic on July 4 that coincided with the Philippine- American Friendship Day.

In a taped message posted by Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) on its YouTube channel a day after the occasion, President Duterte conveyed his greetings on the occasion by renewing the Philippines’ friendship with the USA.

“As we celebrate this milestone year, let us seize this opportunity to renew our enduring friendship and value a robust alliance that serves our shared interest,” he said.

Duterte lauds 75 years of PH-US ties – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Taal continues to emit high levels of SO2 gas

By Ma. Cristina Arayata July 5, 2021, 10:29 am

MANILA – Taal Volcano continues to emit high levels sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas and steam-rich plumes in the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Monday.

In the past 24 hours, Taal generated 17 volcanic earthquakes, including one volcanic tremor that lasted for 45 minutes, and 16 low frequency volcanic earthquakes caused by movements or eruptions of magma from the volcano.

On June 4, the SO2 emission averaged 22,628 tonnes/day -- the highest ever recorded in Taal.

Plumes, on the other hand, rose as high as 2,500 meters. Taal Volcano has been under Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest) since July 1 which means that there is magmatic intrusion at its main crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions.

Phivolcs reminded the public that the Taal Volcano Island is a permanent danger zone, and entry into the island as well as into the high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel towns must be prohibited due to the hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami should strong eruptions occur.

Phivolcs earlier recommended complete evacuation in the TVI, Taal Lake, Agoncillo, Batangas (Banyaga, Bilibinwang), and Laurel, Batangas (Gulod, Boso-Boso, Lakeshore Bugaan East).

All activities on Taal Lake should not be allowed, Phivolcs said on Monday.

Communities around the Taal Lake shores are advised to take precautionary measures against possible airborne ash and volcanic smog, and prepare for possible evacuation should unrest intensify.

According to the United States Geological Survey, volcanic smog poses a health hazard by aggravating preexisting respiratory ailments.

Likewise, prolonged exposure to SO2 may cause sore throat and difficulty in breathing, according to the Department of Health. (PNA)

Taal continues to emit high levels of SO2 gas | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph)

Tropical depression 'Emong' maintains strength as it is about to exit PAR

Published July 6, 2021, 6:20 AM by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz (PAGASA) The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) tropical depression “Emong” is expected to leave the country’s area of responsibility on Tuesday morning, July 6.

It is currently over the sea off the southern tip of Taiwan or about 165 kilometers northwest of Itbayat, Batanes at around 4 a.m.

As tropical cyclone wind signal number 1 remains hoisted over Batanes, strong winds may continue to prevail over the province.

“Winds will gradually weaken in the coming hours as the tropical depression moves away from extreme northern Luzon,” PAGASA said.

As of 5 a.m., Emong maintained its maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph while moving northwestward at 25 kph.

“The high movement speed of Emong, the weak nature of its circulation, and the frictional effects of Taiwan’s rugged terrain prevents it from further intensifying,” PAGASA said.

“Emong is forecast to maintain its strength until it makes landfall over the coast of Fujian or Guangdong in southeastern China this morning or afternoon,” it added.

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Tropical depression 'Emong' maintains strength as it is about to exit PAR – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

New PH baselines law most inexpensive, effective means in enforcing Arbitral award – Jardeleza

Published July 5, 2021, 2:21 PM by Richa Noriega ADVERTISEMENT The enactment of the new baselines law is the “most inexpensive and effective means” to enforce the South China Sea Arbitral award won by the country against China, retired Supreme Court associate justice Francis Jardeleza said on Monday, July 5.

Jardeleza has submitted a letter to President Duterte last June 5, to certify as urgent a bill amending the Republic Act No. 9522 or the country’s baselines law to enforce the arbitral award on the South China Sea issue.

West Philippine Sea (FILE PHOTO FROM AFP)

ADVERTISEMENT Jardeleza served as the Solicitor General during the Aquino administration that challenged China’s excessive claims over the disputed territory.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision in favor of the Philippines. China, however, has ignored the ruling and insisted on its historic claims to the territory.

During the online forum on Monday, Jardeleza said the existing baselines do not clarify the “meets and bounds” of the island features that the country is claiming in the West Philippine Sea.

“We proposed to the President to consider the [new] baselines law, the baselines law is a long standing law that defines the meets and bounds or sukat ng ating tinatawag na (the size of our so –called) baselines. The existing baselines law doesn’t clarify the meets and bounds or sukat na lahat ng mga features na kine-claim natin sa (size of all the features that we are claiming in the) West Philippine Sea,” the former Supreme Court associate justice explained.

New PH baselines law most inexpensive, effective means in enforcing Arbitral award – Jardeleza – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Philippine Air Force plane crash death toll rises to 50 By Sophie Jeong and Yasmin Coles, CNN Updated 0718 GMT (1518 HKT) July 5, 2021

CNN retraces the wild chase that followed the assassination of Haiti's president Manila, Philippines (CNN)Fifty people were killed when a Philippine Air Force plane crashed in the southern Philippines on Sunday, the country's worst military air disaster in decades.

The C-130 military plane was transporting troops from Cagayan de Oro, in Mindanao, to Sulu province when it missed the runway on the island of Jolo, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported, citing Armed Forces Chief Cirilito Sobejana.

Smoke billows from the crash site in Patikul village, Jolo in the southern Philippines on July 4, 2021. The plane, which was carrying 96 military personnel and crew, crashed into nearby Patikul village at 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday (11:30 p.m. ET). "Minutes after the crash, troops and civilian volunteers rushed to the site for search and rescue. Per eyewitnesses, a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground sparing them from from the explosion caused by the crash," according to a press release by Joint Task Force Sulu. All victims have now been accounted for. Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, a spokesman for the military, said 47 army personnel died, while 49 survived the crash and are being treated in hospitals. Three civilians on the ground were killed and four were injured, Arevalo said.

Philippines plane crash: At least 50 killed in C-130 military aircraft disaster - CNN

Death toll in Sulu military plane crash climbs to 52

Published July 5, 2021, 7:45 PM by Martin Sadongdong ADVERTISEMENT Two soldiers who were critically wounded when a Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 cargo plane crashed in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday, July 4, succumbed to their injuries on Monday, July 5, raising the death toll to 52.

BURNING AIRCRAFT. An aircraft carrier, said to be a Philippine Airforce C-130H, crashed in Patikul, Sulu Sunday, July 4. (Marawi City Bayan Patrol/MANILA BULLETIN)

This was confirmed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo.

ADVERTISEMENT “May namatay na dalawa today increasing the total from 47 to 49 (Two more died today increasing the total from 47 to 49),” Arevalo told reporters.

Lorenzana said the updated tally was as of 6 p.m. Monday.

Earlier, the military reported that three civilians were also killed in the plane crash.

Forty-seven military personnel and four civilians were also injured and are now being treated in various hospitals in Zamboanga City and Sulu.

Death toll in Sulu military plane crash climbs to 52 – Manila Bulletin.

Soldiers in Sulu plane crash ‘shall not have died in vain’: PRRD

By Azer Parrocha July 5, 2021, 9:35 pm

SALUTE FOR SACRIFICES. President Rodrigo R. Duterte salutes a wounded soldier who survived during the C-130 crash in Sulu following the conferment of the Order of Lapu-Lapu with the Rank of Kampilan at the Camp Navarro General Hospital, Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City on Monday (July 5, 2021). Duterte assured families of 49 soldiers killed in the plane crash that their sacrifices will not go in vain. (Presidential photo by King Rodriguez)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday assured the families of soldiers killed and injured in the recent Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 plane crash that their sacrifices will not go in vain.

Duterte made this assurance during his visit to the AFP Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM) gymnasium in Zamboanga City to honor casualties in the military plane crash in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday.

“The life of a soldier is always valuable, whether in the fields of fighting or events such as this. They died for our country and for that I am very grateful to those who died and those who helped,” he said in his speech.

He said the national government would provide protection and assistance to the fallen soldiers’ families, including expenses for their daily living and tuition to fund their children’s education.

“The most important thing is that itong namatay (those who have died)…they shall not have died in vain. They died for our country and it behooves upon us to continue the help when they were allowed as they are now in heaven,” he added.

Duterte also vowed to provide a bigger budget for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“This I promise you soldiers, I have said this before, we are still working on it, pero gusto ko maglagay ng malaking pera para sa (but I want a bigger budget for the) Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

He cut short his speech, saying he was “at a loss of words” and did not want to end up weeping.

“I am as sorrowful as you and as commander-in-chief, ako yung pinaka nasasaktan (I am the most hurt). I am at a loss of words,” he said.

Meanwhile, Duterte also visited the Camp Navarro General Hospital (CNGH) also in Zamboanga City to award the Order of Lapu-Lapu with the Rank of Kampilan to injured soldiers.

He later proceeded to the Naval Forces for Western Mindanao (NAVFORWEM) to lead the symbolic Conferment of the Order of Lapu-Lapu with the Rank of Kalasag to the fallen soldiers.

By virtue of Executive Order (EO) No. 35 signed on 28 July 2017, the Order of Lapu-Lapu Kampilan and Kalasag medals are awarded to officials and personnel of the government, as well as private individuals, who were seriously wounded or suffered great loss of property and to those who lost their lives, in the pursuit of the President’s campaign or advocacy. Reports from the AFP showed that C-130 plane carrying nearly a hundred passengers was set to transport troops from Cagayan de Oro City to Sulu when the pilots failed to regain power and missed the runway.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the death toll from the mishap has climbed to 52 with the addition of two military fatalities. Previously, only 47 soldiers and three civilians were reported dead. (PNA)

Soldiers in Sulu plane crash ‘shall not have died in vain’: PRRD | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph)

LATEST ‘Sorrowful’ Duterte wants more AFP funds

after Sulu plane crash A “sorrowful” President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday honored 49 soldiers who died from a plane crash in Sulu and pledged to grant more benefits for military personnel before he bows out of office in June 2022.

Duterte flew to the Naval Forces for Western Mindanao in Zamboanga City to visit the remains of the soldiers who perished in the fiery crash of the C-130 military plane in Patikul on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

'Sorrowful' Duterte wants more AFP funds after Sulu plane crash | Latest | Daily Tribune

What made the C-130 crash? The Palace wants to know BYSAMUEL MEDENILLA JULY 5, 2021 1 MINUTE READ Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque The government is now investigating the cause of the crash of the military plane, which crashed in Sulu over the weekend.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered a probe into the crash of the C-130 plane, which killed at least 50 military personnel and civilians on the ground and injured 49 others.

He noted among the issues to be looked into is why the newly acquired aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) malfunctioned.

To recall, a newly acquired Black Hawk chopper also crashed in Tarlac last month.

Roque said President Duterte would first wait for the outcome of the investigation before deciding what to do with the rest of the Air Force’s new air assets.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo lamented the incident, which killed several soldiers.

“We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the relatives and friends of those who died while we pray with the families for the speedy recovery of those injured,” Panelo said in a news statement.

He called for prayers for the victims of the mishap.

For its part, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) urged the public to remember the contribution of the said soldiers.

“As the old saying goes, our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them,” FFW President Sonny Matula said.

“The sacrifices of these workers in the defense establishment will always be remembered by a grateful nation,” he added.

What made the C-130 crash? The Palace wants to know | Samuel Medenilla (businessmirror.com.ph)

Arevalo: C-130 in Sulu crash followed all protocols; AFP determined to know ‘what really happened’ By JOVILAND RITA, GMA News Published July 5, 2021 3:01pm Updated July 5, 2021 4:25pm The C-130 aircraft that crashed in Sulu which left 50 people dead followed all the protocols, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said Monday.

advertisement At a press conference, Arevalo said the cause of why the aircraft went out of the runway is still being investigated.

We are determined to find out what really transpired in this very tragic incident because according to available information the aircraft followed the specified protocol,“ he said.

These protocols” involve the approach speed and the landing spot of the aircraft, he added.

According to Arevalo, some pilots will assist in the investigation to determine how the crash occurred.

But what is yet to be determined is what caused the aircraft to go out of the runway. This is going to be determined by a select group of tested pilots who will be“ the one to assist in the conduct of the investigation, he added.

The AFP will also look into the blackbox or the flight data” recorder that will help the investigation.

Overloading

Asked about the speculation on overloading, Arevalo said they have to wait for the result of the investigation to confirm if the flight really exceeded the desired number of passengers.

He said he is not privy of the loading capacity of the aircraft. According to him, there were 96 people based on the flight manifest including three pilots and five crew members. Arevalo said the condition of the facility including the runway, equipment, weather, and skills of the pilots will be included in the investigation.

Citing information from the witnesses, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu Major General William Gonzales said the aircraft was able to make a landing but aborted.

Nag-attempt itong mag-land. Nag-touch down pero na-abort. So nag-attempt ito ulit na mag-elevate o lumipad para mag-turn around ulit, he said in an interview on“ GTV s Balitanghali. ” (The aircraft’ attempted to land. It touched down but aborted. So again it attempted to elevate or fly to turn around again.)

Just a bit higher than the trees, the aircraft flew 800 meters then it crashed, Gonzales added.

The Philippine Air Force plane crashed around 11:30 a.m. Sunday as it was making a landing in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul.

According to Arevalo, at least 47 military personnel and three civilians on the ground were killed in the crash.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has called for an investigation into the incident. — RSJ, GMA News

Arevalo: C-130 in Sulu crash followed all protocols; AFP determined to know ‘what really happened’ | GMA News Online (gmanetwork.com)

Investigators recover black box of ill-fated C-130

By: John Eric Mendoza - @inquirerdotnet

INQUIRER.net / 08:04 AM July 06, 2021

TRAGEDY SITE Military officers inspect the site in Patikul, Sulu province, where a Philippine Air Force Lockheed C-130 plane carrying troops crashed on Sunday. — REUTERS

MANILA, Philippines — The black box of the ill-fated C-130 plane that crashed in Sulu has already been found, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Cirilito Sobejana said on Tuesday.

The recovery of the black box, which is essentially a flight recorder, was hoped to bring answers to questions as to what transpired in the last minutes of the C-130 flight before it missed the Sulu runway on Sunday, leaving 52 people dead and scores more wounded. “Opo, kahapon ng umaga at around 11 o’ clock in the morning,” Sobejana said over Teleradyo when asked when the aircraft’s black box had already been found.

(Yes, it was found yesterday at around 11 o’ clock in the morning.)

Investigators recover black box of ill-fated C-130 | Inquirer News

Probe of C-130 crash begins By Dempsey Reyes

July 6, 2021 1170 FAREWELL President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go pay their last respects to soldiers killed in the plane crash in Sulu. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

THE Philippine Air Force transport plane that crashed in Jolo, Sulu on Sunday appeared to have followed the proper landing procedure before it overshot the runway, the Armed

Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Monday.

Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the AFP spokesman, said an investigation of the crash, which killed 52 people aboard the C-130 Hercules, was underway.

Fifty-one other passengers, mostly soldiers on their way to deployment in Sulu, survived.

"We are determined to find out what really transpired in this very tragic incident because according to available information, the aircraft followed the specified protocol regarding the approach speed, the landing spot and... that part of the runway where it landed,"

Arevalo told reporters.

He refused to speculate on the circumstances of the crash including the possibility that the plane was overloaded.

"Just like you, we are very much and keenly interested in determining what happened because that's all that we can do... accidents like this do happen, we are sad about that,"

Arevalo said.

Part of the AFP's investigating team arrived in Jolo on Monday morning. One of its first tasks is to retrieve the C-130's black box or flight data recorder. 0:00/00:00

The plane was carrying 96 passengers, most of them soldiers fresh from military training. Arevalo said the plane took off from the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and landed in

Cagayan de Oro City's Lumbia airport to drop off the party of Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., who assumed command of the Army's 4th Infantry Division stationed there.

From Lumbia airport, the plane flew on to Jolo.

Probe of C-130 crash begins | The Manila Times

6-day period of mourning as C-130 crash fatalities rise to 52 BY RENE ACOSTAANDJOVEE MARIE DE LA CRUZ JULY 5, 2021 5 MINUTE READ The tail of the ill-fated C-130 plane which crashed in Patikul, Sulu. (PHOTO FROM JOINT TASK FORCE SULU) The military went on official mourning on Monday by putting the Philippine flag at half- staff in all of its camps across the country as it began its investigation into the crash of a C-130 plane in Sulu on Sunday where nearly half of the soldiers onboard perished.

The six-day mourning—where the country’s tricolor is placed at half-mast in all camps and military installations around the country —was ordered by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana who was on his way to Sulu following the mishap involving the military’s troop and cargo transport plane.

The Department of the National Defense (DND) and AFP both said that the ill-fated aircraft has 96 military personnel in its flight manifest, excluding the three pilots and five aircrew.

Both also reported that out of the official number, 49 soldiers died in the mishap the mishap, while 49 others were injured or wounded. Three civilians, who lived near the crash site, were also killed while four others were injured. The fatality count climbed Monday evening after the military reported that two soldiers who were earlier reported injured expired while undergoing treatment in a Zamboanga hospital.

Although the official investigation is already ongoing, the military initially reported that the plane, with tail number 5125, was attempting to land at the airport in Jolo, Sulu, when it crashed past 11 a.m., Sunday, at Sitio Aman, Barangay Bangkal in the town of Patikul, also in the province.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) said the ill-fated C-130 plane, which took off from the PAF’s headquarters at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City for Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City, and subsequently ferried personnel to Sulu, figured in mishap “upon its landing in Jolo.”

6-day period of mourning as C-130 crash fatalities rise to 52 | Rene Acosta and Jovee Marie de la Cruz (businessmirror.com.ph) Crashed military plane tried to land with incomplete set of wheels — witness John Unson (Philstar.com) - July 5, 2021 - 2:41pm KORONADAL CITY, Philippines — A Tausug woman said Monday she saw only one set of the side wheels of the C-130 military plane protruding while descending on the airport before it crashed Sunday in Sulu province.

Alicia Jamdan, residing in Barangay Bangcal in Patikul, near the spot where the Hercules C-130 plane full of soldiers fell and burst into flames, told Catholic Station dxOM via a phone-patched interview she is certain the large Hercules C-130 aircraft crashed due to a mechanical problem.

29 killed after Air Force plane crashes in Sulu With all 96 passengers accounted for, Sulu plane crash death toll now at 50

“We could see from our village planes landing and taking off from the nearby Jolo airport. It was my first time to see a plane landing with an incomplete set of wheels coming out while going down on the runway,” Jandan told Catholic Station dxOM on Monday morning.

The accident caused the deaths of at least 50 soldiers, including the plane’s eight- member crew led by pilots Major Emmanuel Makalintal, Major Michael Vincent Benolerao and 1Lt. Karl Joseph Hintay.

Their subordinates, Air Force Sergeants Donald Badoy, Jan Neil Macapaz, Michael Bulalaque, Jack Navarro and Airman 1st Class Fortunato Regidor and a military nurse, 1Lt Sheena Alexandrae Tato, also died in the crash.

Bangsamoro Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said Monday they were saddened with the incident.

“The government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao share with the grief of the families of the fatalities in the plane crash,” Sinarimbo, BARMM regional spokesperson, said.

North Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza and South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. have separately condoled with the families of the plane crash victims via media outfits in central Mindanao.

“We are praying for the families of the departed, praying for them to overcome their pain. We also pray for the injured who are now in hospitals. We are wishing for their immediate recovery,” Mendoza said.

Sinarimbo said the BARMM health ministry is extending assistance to the injured soldiers confined in hospitals in Sulu, a component province of BARMM.

Crashed military plane tried to land with incomplete set of wheels — witness | Philstar.com

Caught on cam: Video shows horrifying PAF C-130 cargo plane crash in Sulu

Published July 5, 2021, 12:16 PM by Martin Sadongdong ADVERTISEMENT A raw footage taken moments before a Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 transport aircraft crashed in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday, July 4, made rounds on social media and sent chills to netizens who have watched it.

Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, holds a virtual press briefing on July 5, 2021 to give updates on the investigation on the C-130 military cargo plane which crashed in Patik, Sulu a day before. (Screenshot from virtual press briefing / MANILA BULLETIN)

In a 1:47-minute long video posted on Facebook by Aksyon Radio Iloilo, an unidentified man captured the final moments of the crashed C-130 aircraft with tail number 5125 with 96 military personnel onboard. The incident killed 47 military personnel and three civilian residents, and injured 53 others including 49 soldiers.

In the video, the cargo plane was seen landing at the Jolo Airport in Sulu which borders Patikul town. However, the man taking the video noticed that the plane suddenly went missing as he started shouting: “Nahulog sir (It fell down, sir.)

Military personnel on the runway were seen rushing towards the plane where it was believed to have fallen down as thick smoke enveloped the crash site.

Caught on cam: Video shows horrifying PAF C-130 cargo plane crash in Sulu – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Senators call for thorough probe of PAF military plane crash

Published July 5, 2021, 11:20 AM by Hannah Torregoza Senators on Monday, July 5, sought a thorough investigation into the military plane crash in Sulu and the immediate release of available assistance to the families of the soldiers affected in the incident.

“This is indeed a devastating incident for our Filipino soldiers who brave the frontlines every day to carry out their duty of protecting and serving their fellowmen,” Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said in a statement.

“As we urge full assistance to their bereaved ones, we also seek a thorough investigation on the cause of the crash and to find ways to avert another tragedy,” Pangilinan added.

ADVERTISEMENT Senator Grace Poe, likewise, called on authorities to exhaust all remedies to rescue the missing and extend assistance to the soldiers’ family.

“We mark this terrible loss of life with a reminder of the sacrifices our brave Filipino soldiers make each day in the name of duty to serve the country,” Poe said.

“At the right time, we expect a thorough investigation of the incident to see what can be done to avoid a repeat of the tragic crash and to put in place measures to make our military planes safe,” she said.

“We pray for the speedy recovery of those who survived but are injured, and pray for the lessening of the pain that they are feeling right now. We thank all of them for their service to the Filipino nation,” Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, III said on his part.

Sen. Joel Villanueva echoed the call: “We trust that the circumstances that led to the crash will be thoroughly probed as ordered by Defense Secretary (Delfin) Lorenzana before our air assets are allowed to fly again.”

“No Filipino soldier, who lays his life for our country, should die from our military hardware,” Villanueva stressed.

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, also condoled with the families of the victims in the crash.

“Before the Senate even thinks of exercising oversight on the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) procurement of their air assets under the AFP modernization program, as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, I would rather that we pause to pray for the souls of those who perished in that newly acquired billion-peso, ill- fated C-130 plane as well as for the full and speedy recovery of the injured passengeres,” Lacson said.

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa also said he opts to wait for the results of the investigation of the Department of National Defense (DND) before he lays the blame on the antiquated military aircrafts. “It’s about time that we in the legislature take a second hard look at the reality that lives lost from these so-called ‘flying coffins’ or ‘widow makers’ are priceless compared to the foreign debt that we may incur as a result of military modernization,” Dela Rosa stressed. [Hannah L. Torregoza]

Senators call for thorough probe of PAF military plane crash – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Lower House officials join national mourning over death of 50 soldiers

Published July 5, 2021, 7:23 PM by Ben Rosario ADVERTISEMENT As grief enveloped the nation over the death of 50 soldiers during a C-130 crash in Sulu, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco vowed to strongly push for an upgrade and modernization of the country’s air assets, saying that what happened on Sunday, July 4 must not occur again in the future.

Velasco led congressional leaders in extending sympathies to the bereaved family of the newly-trained soldiers who perished in the crash landing of the military aircraft that carried at least 97 passengers, most of them soldiers to Patikul town.

“There are simply no words that can be said to console those left behind by our brave military personnel, as well as the three civilians who died as a result of this disaster,” Velasco said.

ADVERTISEMENT “I can only give my word that we in the House of Representatives will include in the 2022 budget the modernization of the PAF’s fleet as well as ensure the proper training of personnel in handling modern equipment,” the House official stated.

The Speaker also called for a review of PAF pilots’ protocols as well as an inquiry on the safety of runways around the country, especially in the provinces.

House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman also issued statements extending their condolences to the AFP and the family of the dead soldiers.

“Full government assistance and benefits should be extended to the loved ones of our fallen soldiers and survivors the soonest time possible,” said Romualdez.

Lower House officials join national mourning over death of 50 soldiers – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

PAF probe team now in C-130 crash site in Sulu

By Priam Nepomuceno July 5, 2021, 4:02 pm

(Photo of C-130 crash site in Patikul, Sulu courtesy of AFP)

MANILA – The investigating team of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) is now at the crash site in Patikul town, Sulu to start its investigation on the ill-fated C-130H "Hercules" cargo aircraft which claimed the lives of at least 47 military personnel and three civilians last Sunday.

"As of now, the investigating team has already arrived in the area to conduct its own investigation. It would have arrived last night but due to the absence of running lights in Sulu, their trip was rescheduled early this morning," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in an online press conference Monday.

Arevalo said the AFP is determined to find out what really transpired in Sunday's tragic incident. According to available information, the aircraft followed the specified protocols regarding "approach speed (and) the landing spot".

"What is yet to be determined is what caused the aircraft to (go out of) the runway. This is going to be determined by a select group of tested pilots who will be the ones to assist in the conduct of the investigation," he added.

Arevalo assured the public that the AFP will be very transparent in the conduct of the investigation as the military is interested in determining what really happened and will use all inputs gathered in the course of the investigation to prevent such incident from happening again.

"Just like you, we are very much and keenly interested (in) determining what happened because all that we can do, all that (is) humanly possible for us to ensure that will not happen (again)," he said.

The AFP spokesperson also appealed to the public to avoid speculations or spreading news that are unverified regarding the incident because this would not help the current situation.

"Likewise, we would like to inform you that apart from the eyewitnesses accounts and data that the control tower in Sulu might have in their possession, we are also going to look for the black box or the flight data recorder which we are fortunate that this C-130 has so we have already cordoned the area to ensure the integrity of the pieces of evidence and other materials, all objects that could help us determine what transpired exactly in this particular tragic incident," he added.

Other aspects of the investigation include looking at the facility, equipment, weather and skill of the pilots.

"All these will have to be taken into consideration and I would not want to venture on any of those yet until and unless the investigation (has) been out," the AFP spokesperson said.

Arevalo said the C-130 involved in the mishap is in tip-top shape even if it is not brand-new.

"It's not brand-new but it's in very good condition. As a matter of fact, when it was delivered to the AFP it (had) more than 11,000 flying hours remaining and when this accident happened it still had around 11,000 flying hours remaining before the next maintenance of this aircraft," he added.

Also, Arevalo said there is no truth to rumors that the aircraft is defective, adding that all its pilots are all rated, seasoned, and experienced in flying the C-130.

He said the C-130 is one of the sturdiest, strongest aircraft in the country's inventory. Arevalo said the AFP is willing to share the results of the investigation provided it will not affect national security.

"We assure our people that we are transparent indeed and the result of the investigation are available when completed, it's just that not all results of (the) investigation are for public consumption, but if there are specific issues that they would like to know with regard to a particular incident and that will not affect national security we are very willing to share that to the public," he added.

The aircraft was one of the two C-130H acquired through a grant from the US government that arrived in the country last January 29. It was formally welcomed to the PAF fleet during a ceremony at the Villamor Air Base, Pasay City on February 18.

The C-130 is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft.

Arevalo said they are still yet to release the names of the survivors as not all the families of the fallen soldiers have been informed about the fate of their loved ones.

"We have not yet completed the necessary information or giving of information to the relatives of those who were deceased, it takes a process for us to (give this) information," he added.

This includes having priests or ministers in the scene so that they can explain the incident or circumstances, a medical practitioner preferably a doctor along with a close relative who can look or check the condition of the family member who will receive the said news.

"But we are assuring them that they are going to receive the necessary support and assistance that they deserve and also we are going to give the benefits that are due our soldiers because they died in line of duty," Arevalo said.

He added that AFP chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana has also given instructions to make sure that the fastest and most efficient way is utilized in identifying the victims so that their families can be informed immediately.

Arevalo said that Sobejana will be proceeding to Sulu in "due time".

As this developed, AFP public affairs office chief Navy Capt. Jonathan Zata, in a message to reporters, said Sobejana has approved and directed all military camps to lower their flags to half mast for six days starting Monday.

"For those camps with the wake of fatalities, (this) will continue until the internment," he added.

Aside from the 47 military personnel killed in the crash, three other civilians also died in the C-130 mishap, bringing the death toll to 50.

Some 49 military personnel and four civilians are undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the crash in various hospitals in Sulu and Zamboanga City.

Around 96 people are recorded in the C-130's flight manifest, including three pilots and five aircrews. "If there (is) any need for higher level medical treatment, attention or facilities that are necessary to treat our wounded soldiers, the AFP is willing to bring them to Manila," Arevalo said.

The AFP spokesperson also thanked airline companies like Philippine Air Lines for expressing its intentions to help in the medical evacuation of the wounded personnel.

"And of course, Air Asia which is an auxiliary reserve training unit of the PAF who also expressed a willingness to help in the medical evacuation," he added.

Arevalo also said that all air, sea, and land transportation assets of the AFP are focused on the ongoing retrieval operations.

Following the crash, the AFP spokesperson said all remaining C-130s in the PAF fleet will be grounded.

Prior to the accident, the PAF had four C-130s in its fleet, including the one that crashed and two undergoing maintenance.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Monday said he has directed the director of Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to coordinate with local military units responding to the scene so that they can deploy assets that can help in the ongoing retrieval operations.

Also, he added the PNP is ready to extend whatever help it can to the families of the affected soldiers and civilians. (with reports from Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)

PAF probe team now in C-130 crash site in Sulu | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph) 45 dead as Air Force plane crashes in Sulu

By Dempsey Reyesand Al Jacinto July 5, 2021 6960

BLACK SUNDAY Wreckage of the plane are scattered at the crash site in Patikul, Sulu. Inset photo shows a soldier with one of the victims. The military plane was carrying 92 Philippine Army personnel. PHOTO COURTESY OF PONDOHAN TV UPDATED 01:10 AM JULY 5, 2021

An Air Force plane carrying nearly a hundred passengers overshot the runway while landing at the Jolo airport in Sulu on Sunday and crashed, leaving 45 people dead.

About 50 of the passengers were injured.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said 92 people were aboard the C130, including the three pilots and five crew members.

Most of those aboard were Army soldiers who were reporting for duty in Sulu, and there were some civilians, Lorenzana said in a statement.

As of 6 p.m. on Monday, 29 bodies have been recovered. Joint Task Force Sulu said 17 others were missing.

45 dead as Air Force plane crashes in Sulu | The Manila Times

Mindanao, News Davao City deploys doctors to treat troopers hurt in C-130 crash

Published July 5, 2021, 5:15 PM by Antonio Colina IV ADVERTISEMENT DAVAO CITY – Six doctors and a nurse here were deployed to Zamboanga City at 11:50 a.m. Monday, July 5, to provide assistance in the treatment of soldiers injured in the C-130 aircraft crash in Patikul, Sulu last Sunday that killed 47 military personnel and three civilians.

Mayor Sara Duterte said here during her program over Davao City Disaster Radio (87.5) that the team of volunteer health workers came from the government-run Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in this city.

She said the city government of Davao was extending support to Zamboanga as a sister city and that it was constantly communicating with the Zamboanga city government to ask how it could help.

ADVERTISEMENT Ninety-two soldiers were on board the ill-fated C-130 aircraft which was bound for Jolo, Sulu from Cagayan de Oro City.

Duterte said the city government of Davao offered its deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in the plane crash.

She said the Philippine flag would be flown at half-mast here from July 5 to July 9 in honor of those who died in the tragedy.

“We are also offering our prayers to the survivors. May you find strength and comfort in the millions of Filipinos who share your grief and pain,” she added.

ADVERTISEMENT Duterte said the volunteer doctors have arrived in Zamboanga City and will be taken care of by Mayor Beng Climaco for the entire duration of their mission there.

According to Climaco, the team composed of burn specialists and surgeons also brought medical supplies needed for the patients.

They are Dr. James David and Dr. Kent Antolin, emergency medicine specialists; Dr. Ali Pendaliday, an orthopedic specialist; Dr. Jikko Superioridad, a general surgeon; Dr. Kalvin Estañero, an anaesthesiologist; Dr. Marvie Aguro, neurosurgeon; and nurse Aljimar Kahal.

ADVERTISEMENT Duterte said that sending volunteer medical doctors to Zamboanga City will not hamper the efforts of this city to address the COVID-19 crisis because the frontline health workers who are attending to the infected patients are internal medicine doctors and infectious disease specialists.

Duterte said that she was informed that some of the 50 soldiers who perished in the crash came from Davao but it remains unclear if they are residents of this city or other provinces of this region.

“It’s better to wait for the list from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and give them enough time to notify the families,” she said.

Davao City deploys doctors to treat troopers hurt in C-130 crash – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Ill-fated C-130 plane transported medical gear, staff to BARMM

Published July 5, 2021, 3:05 PM by Zea Capistrano DAVAO CITY – The ill-fated C-130 plane that crashed in Sulu while carrying 96 soldiers, mostly fresh graduates from military training, Sunday, July 4, had transported medical equipment and government employees under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Ministry of Interior and Local Government (BARMM-MILG) three weeks ago. “Just three weeks ago, we boarded the same C-130 which was generously lent to us by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, to ferry our management team and some medical equipment and supplies for the island provinces,” said Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, minister of the MILG and head of BARMM Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (BARMM-READi), in a statement Sunday.

“The AFP also fetched our team in Tawi-Tawi after we were stranded there for a couple of days. These soldiers have been very generous and accommodating. Little did we know that a tragedy of this nature will later happen,” Sinarimbo added.

Ill-fated C-130 plane transported medical gear, staff to BARMM – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Hontiveros to gov’t: Give proper military honors for PAF plane crash victims

Published July 5, 2021, 2:44 PM by Hannah Torregoza ADVERTISEMENT Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, July 5 urged the government to bestow proper military honors for the soldiers who died in the C-130 plane crash in Sulu upon their burial. Hontiveros also asked the government to ensure that all the benefits due their fam ilies would be released immediately.

“I extend my sincerest condolences to the bereaved families of the victims of the C130H plane crash in Sulu. Our hearts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. Their sacrifice and bravery to secure our freedom will never be forgotten,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros to gov’t: Give proper military honors for PAF plane crash victims – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

NTF-ELCAC bares CPP-NPA-NDF’s smear job ‘Operation Delta’

July 5, 2021, 5:57 pm

MANILA – Knowing their early demise is inevitable, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) created ‘Oplan Delta’, a series of slanderous attacks targeting National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokespersons. During the NTF-ELCAC regular virtual press conference, Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, NTF-ELCAC spokesperson on Social Media and Sectoral Concerns, said an intelligence report indicates Oplan Delta was hatched recently in Quezon City by National United Front Commission (NUFC) head Nathaniel Santiago of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Other high ranking party members of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) like Maria Sol Taule who acts as a lawyer for NPAs and the party-list group KARAPATAN participated in the meeting according to the intel report.

Badoy added that a committee was formed against each NTF ELCAC spokesperson to spread propaganda and “to create the most outrageous lies with the goal of inflicting the most damage on the spokesperson assigned to that committee in a bid to destroy our credibility”.

“The committees in charge of me, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Undersecretary Joel Egco and Atty. Marlon Bosantog were under special instructions to intensify their black propaganda and demolition jobs on us because they suspect we will be running for public office in next year’s elections,” Badoy said.

She said the recent unearthing by the NTF-ELCAC of Oplan Delta “comes as no surprise to us.”

“It has come at the heels of assassination plots specifically targeting NTF-ELCAC officials particularly its spokespersons and that was momentarily thwarted by government law enforcers in Sta. Rosa, Laguna early this year when armed elements of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s liquidation squad were neutralized by the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” she added.

National Security Adviser and NTF-ELCAC vice-chairman, Hermogenes Esperon Jr., also blasted the CPP- NPA-NDF for targeting the spokespersons of the NTF-ELCAC.

Don’t shoot the messenger

He said the Oplan Delta is a sign of desperation among the terrorist groups, as they can no longer justify their atrocities.

“Don't shoot the messenger. Kasi kung yung spokesperson ang inyong titirahin, mas mababa na yung antas ng usapan. Kung mag ga-gather sila ng (Because if you will attack the spokespersons, the level if discussion is lower. If you gather) information about the spokespersons and probably even the people involved in the National Task Force ELCAC, including me, then sige kung meron kayong makuha, but parang wala na ba kayong masagot sa aming mga sinasabi at yung messenger na ang inyong pinupuntirya (then go ahead get information on us but are you running out of answers to our queries and you are now targeting our messengers)?” Esperon stressed.

Esperon said all the NTF-ELCAC spokesperson and personnel are ready for any slanderous attacks.

“They have run out of reasons, and therefore, ang masasabi ko lang ay merong sense of desperation sa parte nila (I can sense of desperation on their part). Let it be, let it be. Nakahanda naman tayo diyan (We are ready),” he added.

Jeffrey Celiz, a former CPP-NPA-NDF official for 21 years who goes by the name of Ka Eric Almendras, also confirmed that the plot by the CPP-NPA-NDF to demonize the NTF ELCAC spokespersons -- as revealed by Badoy -- is true. Celiz said this is based on the terrorists’ history and capability to destroy government leaders, as well as the entire government.

Badoy, meanwhile, said among the agreements reached were the “gathering and dissemination of information by all front organizations -- particularly the law firm of terrorists -- KARAPATAN, about NTF- ELCAC officials with the express goal of besmirching our reputations in order to discredit the Task Force.”

Demolition jobs on civil groups

She also exposed that NUFC -- whose main mandates are the mobilization of various sectors, alliance building in urban centers and the infiltration of government through the party-list groups -- also directed their front organizations to perform equivalent demolition jobs on civil organizations that actively educate the Filipino people about the CPP-NPA-NDF.

“All these poisons emanate from the CPP-NPA-NDF Central Committee that issued a memo entitled ‘PADUGUIN SA LIBONG SUGAT ANG PASISTANG REHIMENG DUTERTE! ILUNSAD SA BUONG BANSA ANG PARAMING TAKTIKAL NA OPENSIBA” calling for an intensified tactical offensive across the country to specifically target the NTF-ELCAC and its officials. Hand in hand with that memo is the deployment of their murder squads -- sparrow units targeting NTF-ELCAC officials,” Badoy said.

“And if you think that the threats on our lives are going to stop us from shining the glaring light of truth on each of you, you are so wrong on so many levels and ways that I don’t even know where to begin telling you how wrong you are. We have married our destinies with the job of putting an end to the grievous harm and suffering you have caused our people. Death is a small price to pay to seeing our country finally free of this 52-year terrorist scourge,” she added.

Badoy said the task force has evidence to prove the existence of the Oplan Delta.

“If the other side, the CPP-NPA-NDF, deny the existence of this ‘Oplan Delta,’ I challenge them. I challenge Maria Sol Taule and Nathaniel Santiago, to deny the existence of this plan, because we have incontrovertible proof about it,” she said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)

NTF-ELCAC bares CPP-NPA-NDF’s smear job ‘Operation Delta’ | Philippine News Agency (pna.gov.ph)

NPA hitman killed in Negros Oriental clash with State troopers

Published July 5, 2021, 2:35 PM by Glazyl Masculino ADVERTISEMENT BACOLOD CITY – An alleged notorious member of the Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter with the military in Sitio Pitik- Pitik, Barangay Luz, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Sunday, July 4.

The Army identified the fatality as Randy Tapales, who was reportedly linked to various killings in Guihulngan City, including the fatal ambush on Corporal Mark Anthony Quiocson in Barangay Luz on July 1, 2020; Civilian Active Auxiliary (CAA) Mico Dinoy, who was also killed in Barangay Luz last Jan. 28; and two civilian swine traders, Jemer Pondador and Romeo Dunggoan, who were killed in Barangay Magsaysay last July 21, 2020. Tapales also had two murder cases based on the records of the Guihulngan City Police Station, according to the Army.

ADVERTISEMENT Troops of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) encountered last Sunday at least five unidentified armed men believed to be members of the Sparu and SYP Platoon, Central Negros 1, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (KR-NCBS), through the strong information network in Guihulngan City against the NPA.

The firefight lasted for five minutes which resulted to the death of one rebel and recovery of several firearms and a hand grenade.

No casualties were reported on the government side.

Lt. Col. Melvin Flores, 62nd IB commander, expressed his sincerest sympathies and condolences to the family of the slain rebel.

“Another life was wasted because of the NPAs’ deception and lies. However, justice was also served to the families who were victims of this communist terrorist hitman,” Flores said.

NPA hitman killed in Negros Oriental clash with State troopers – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

9 alleged Abu Sayyaf members surrender in Sulu, says military ABS-CBN News Posted at Jul 05 2021 06:26 PM MANILA — Nine alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group surrendered to authorities in Talipao town, Sulu, the Philippine military said Monday.

The Joint Task Force Sulu said in a statement the bandits turned themselves in at the Philippine Army's 1101st Infantry Brigade Headquarters, with two M-16 rifles, two Garand rifles, and a caliber .38 pistol.

According to 2nd Special Forces Battalion commander Lt. Col. Jooney Jay Businos, one of those who surrendered is a deaf-mute who joined the terrorist group when he was a teenager.

He was 32-years-old when he gave himself up after being under ASG leader Radulan Sahiron's group, Businos said.

Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, said those who yielded will undergo long-term rehabilitation and enroll in livelihood programs. Last March, 14 Abu Sayyaf Group members also surrendered with their firearms to the military in Sulu.

9 alleged Abu Sayyaf members surrender in Sulu, says military | ABS-CBN News

White House offers 'deep condolences' to PH over Sulu plane crash

Published July 5, 2021, 2:01 PM by Roy Mabasa ADVERTISEMENT The United States government has conveyed its “deep condolences” to the Philippines following the crash of a C130H plane that killed 50 people, mostly army soldiers, and injured several dozens of others in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday, July 4, 2021.

Office of the President of the United States (via White House website)

ADVERTISEMENT In a message released by the White House on Monday (Sunday in Washington, D.C.), National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States “stand shoulder to shoulder” with its Philippine ally and expressed readiness to provide support to the government’s response effort. “On behalf of the United States, I offer our deep condolences to the people of the Philippines regarding the tragic plane crash in which several dozen service members were killed. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and the families of those who were lost. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Philippine allies at this difficult time and are ready to provide all appropriate support to the Philippines ’ response effort,” Sullivan said in the statement.

Hours after the deadly crash took place before noon on Sunday, US Embassy Charge d’Affaires John Law said the Embassy is extending medical support to the Philippine armed forces and expressed its readiness to provide additional help.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of those who passed away in the crash in Sulu. The U.S. Embassy is assisting @dndphl in providing medical support and stands ready to provide further assistance,” Law tweeted.

ADVERTISEMENT The C130 Hercules plane with tail number 5125 that crashed in Sulu was one of the two military aircraft that was turned over to the Philippines by the United States early this year as part of its military assistance to the country.

According to the Philippine Air Force, the plane took off from Villamor Air Base to Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro and subsequently ferried personnel who were supposed to serve and augment the 11thInfantry Division in Sulu.

White House offers 'deep condolences' to PH over Sulu plane crash – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Biden marks 'independence' from COVID-19, but pandemic remains a threat United States President Joe Biden poses for a selfie with guests after delivering a speech during Independence Day celebrations on the South Lawn of the White House on Jul 4, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds) 05 Jul 2021 09:46AM WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden celebrated United States Independence Day on Sunday (Jul 4) with an upbeat assessment of a country he said is roaring back to post-pandemic life, even if COVID-19 has yet to be fully "vanquished". Speaking before a festive crowd of 1,000 guests on the White House South Lawn, Biden drew a comparison between the declaration of independence from the British Empire in 1776 and today's rapid recovery from the coronavirus.

"Two hundred and forty five years ago, we declared our independence from a distant king. Today, we are closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus," he told the crowd of invited military members and essential workers. "We've gained the upper hand against this virus," he said. But he added: "Don't get me wrong: COVID-19 has not been vanquished. We all know powerful variants have emerged, like the Delta variant."

Biden marks 'independence' from COVID-19, but pandemic remains a threat - CNA (channelnewsasia.com)

The Bipartisan Consensus on China Isn’t Enough

By JIMMY QUINN

Chinee and American flags along Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol during a visit by then- Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2011. (Hyungwon Kang/Reuters) The House debates the EAGLE Act, an insufficient Democratic effort to counter Beijing. aS the Biden administration made clear that it would adopt many aspects of the Trump administration’s approach to China, it seemed as though a new bipartisan consensus had emerged on countering Beijing.

And to a large extent, one has. Both parties have begun emphasizing the need to push back on the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to exercise more influence in the world. The Senate has passed a massive bipartisan legislative package that would reform and grant funding to U.S. technological research and development to that end. The Senate bill, despite its many faults and omissions, has the backing of Democrats and Republicans working in concert to meet the geopolitical challenge of the moment.

But unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the House’s companion legislation. The House Foreign Affairs Committee last week held markup sessions on the EAGLE Act, a China bill conceived by the panel’s Democrats to mirror the parts of the Senate package that don’t involve technology. (The House already passed legislation mirroring the Senate bill’s provisions on scientific research funding last month.)

MORE IN CHINA  Go Figure, China Isn’t Keeping Its Promises on Climate Change  Jackie Chan Says He Wants to Join ‘Magnificent’ Chinese Communist Party  Can We Handle the Truth of the COVID-Origin Probe?

For all the bipartisan agreement on certain fundamental aspects of China policy — particularly Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang — there remain significant schisms between the two parties about how to address the challenge. “Unfortunately, Democrats passed up the opportunity to work on a meaningful, bipartisan legislation to counter the threats of the Chinese Communist Party and instead made it another green energy bill,” said Representative Michael McCaul, the panel’s top Republican.

In addition to their complaints that the EAGLE Act puts money into an unaccountable U.N. climate fund, McCaul and his colleagues charge that Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Gregory Meeks and other Democrats are rushing through the bill despite its failure to address the CCP’s egregious behavior on the international stage. In response, these Republican critics have proposed a dizzying number of amendments — the committee’s website lists 98 — to toughen the House legislation, which is essentially guaranteed to pass out of the Democratic-controlled committee. But their proposals, for the most part, will not make it into the final bill.

China Policy: Congress’s Bipartisan Consensus Ineffective | National Review

FM fights back as US, UK vilify China of manipulating intl organizations

By Global TimesPublished: Jul 05, 2021 07:11 PM Chinese Foreign Ministry refutes Western countries' accusations of China for controlling and weaponizing international organizations and promoting an "authoritarian approach to multilateralism," saying China has always opposed bullying, respects diversity and fairness.

China is firmly committed to upholding and practicing genuine multilateralism, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said during a routine press briefing Monday.

"China's multilateralism is about a win-win cooperation, not a zero-sum game; it's about fairness and justice, not bullying; It's focused on action, not words; and we respect diversity," Wang said.

Wang's remarks came after US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield recently said that China exerts influences in the UN and "promotes an authoritarian approach to multilateralism."

The UK parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee made a similar accusation in late July. The committee said China was attempting to seize control of and "weaponize" important international organizations. They also accused China of "bullying" other countries to back its position or its candidates for top positions and using "financial leverage to shift policies away from the cooperation the organizations were created to promote," media reported.

Wang said the claims made by the US and the UK are pure slander.

The international community has its own opinions on who practices hegemony and unilateralism in the international arena, who uses international organizations when it suits them and abandons them when it doesn't, and who uses financial hegemony to suppress other countries. Wang said. .

FM fights back as US, UK vilify China of manipulating intl organizations - Global Times

China’s promised infrastructure billions yet to arrive in the Philippines, five years on

Bloomberg Published: 3:59pm, 5 Jul, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP Near the centre of Manila, construction workers are now rushing to complete a US$69- million

China -funded bridge by the end of this year after repeatedly missing deadlines.

China’s promised infrastructure billions yet to arrive in the Philippines, five years on | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

How a peace forum in China became an international war of words

Kinling Lo Published: 8:10pm, 5 Jul, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP

Top diplomats from the UN s Big Five powers erupted into a war of words over global governance during a Beijing conference on the weekend, reflecting bigger ideological battles on the international stage. ’ “ ”

How a peace forum in China became an international war of words | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

HK's financial hub role has not changed by slightest degree after national security law is implemented: Carrie Lam

By Global TimesPublished: Jul 05, 2021 05:43 PM

Passers-by look at a banner celebrating the centennial of the Communist Party of China and the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland above the entrance to the office for safeguarding national security of the central government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Wednesday. Photo: cnsphoto

Hong Kong's role as financial hub "has not swayed by the slightest degree" since implementation of the national security law for the city, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Monday at a forum that celebrates one-year anniversary of the legislation, the chinanews.com reported.

"The national security law is an important turning point for Hong Kong to turn from chaos to management, and its effect as being a mainstay for Hong Kong is without doubt," Carrie Lam said.

To support her conclusion, Carrie Lam cited a number of statistics to show Hong Kong's financial achievements in the past year. For example, Hong Kong's newly listed stocks had raised funds of more than HK$500 billion ($64.35 billion), up more than 50 percent compared with the previous year.

Besides, the Hong Kong dollar market recorded net inflows last year. From July to October 2020, more than HK$300 billion flowed into the Hong Kong dollar system. The city's banking deposits also increased by more than 5 percent currently compared with last year.

Those figures are proof that investors have not refrained from investing in Hong Kong because of the new legislation, but are more confident and interested in Hong Kong's financial prospects after they see that the national security law has made the city return to stability, Carrie Lam said.

One year after the national security law was implemented for a city which was once troubled by social riots, the chief executive of Hong Kong has stressed on several occasions recently that Hong Kong's role as the world's financial hub has been strengthened in the past year.

She notedrecently that Hong Kong can play important roles in mainland's financial development, such as facilitating the yuan's internationalization and helping finance mainland companies, indicating a trend of increased connectivity between Hong Kong and mainland's financial markets.

The clarification also came at a time when some overseas media platforms continue to heap slander on the legislation, using terms such as "destroying" to criticize the reform.

According to Carrie Lam, those accusations are "ungrounded" based on last year's facts and statistics. "They only showed the speakers' hypocrisy, prejudice and double standards," she said at the forum.

HK's financial hub role has not changed by slightest degree after national security law is implemented: Carrie Lam - Global Times

Chinese officials: 'Plenty more to be done' on Hong Kong security Zheng Yanxiong vows 'no compromise' with those causing unrest in name of freedom

Hong Kong police have sought to stop residents from memorializing a man who last week stabbed a policeman and then himself. © Reuters

Chinese officials: 'Plenty more to be done' on Hong Kong security - Nikkei Asia

Japanese Communist Party snubs China’s Communist Party on centenary, saying it is ‘not worthy’ of name

Julian Ryall + FOLLOW Published: 6:30pm, 5 Jul, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP

The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has doubled down on its efforts to distance itself from its erstwhile ideological ally in Beijing, refusing to congratulate the Chinese

Communist Party on the centenary

of its founding on July 1. Instead, JCP chairman Kazuo Shii used the anniversary to lambast China’s government in a series of tweets.

Japanese Communist Party snubs China’s Communist Party on centenary, saying it is ‘not worthy’ of name | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Shizuoka faces high risk of more disasters

Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan continues to face a risk of more disasters, after being hit by deadly mudslides during the weekend.

A warning against mudslides remains in place for Atami City in the prefecture.

Japanese weather officials say that since Wednesday Shizuoka Prefecture and the southern Kanto region have already had more rain than they would normally have during the entire month of July.

The officials also say rain clouds have developed and emerged over limited areas, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast in the Hokuriku and Chugoku regions. At least 30 millimeters of rain per hour and thunder are forecast for western Japan up to Monday evening and for eastern Japan up to nighttime.

In a 24-hour period, a maximum of 80 millimeters of rain is expected in Hokuriku, Sanin and Tokai, and a maximum of 50 millimeters is expected in northern Kyushu.

Weather officials are warning of mudslides, floods in low-lying areas and swollen rivers.

People are being advised to check information released by municipalities and weather forecasts, so that they can evacuate quickly and take other safety measures if necessary.

Shizuoka faces high risk of more disasters | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Kim warns North Korea food crisis threatens state security Leader assuages public with removal of key party officials and weight loss

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks to the Workers' Party Politburo on July 5. He appears to have lost some weight since the beginning of the year. © KCNA via Reuters YOSUKE ONCHI, Nikkei staff writerJuly 6, 2021 05:35 JST

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced key party officials for their failure to deal with a protracted food shortage, noting that they put the security of the state and safety of the people at risk.

Kim warns North Korea food crisis threatens state security - Nikkei Asia

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North Korea Faces Worsening Economic

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea s coronavirus lockdown has taken a major toll on its economy. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, has hinted at a humanitarian crisis. Some fear the situation could get much’ worse.

North Korea may be the only nation to claim it is COVID-19-free. But even it now admits a worsening pandemic-related crisis.

Last week, Kim Jong Un vaguely warned of a mysterious grave incident suggesting a major coronavirus lapse. He also recently acknowledged food shortages, comparing the situation to a devastating 1990s“ famine. ”

Robert Lauler is with the Daily NK, a Seoul-based news outlet with sources in North Korea. There s worries that there will be another Arduous March type of situation," he said. “ ’ ‘ ’ The Arduous March refers to the period of mass starvation during the rule of Kim s father, the late Kim Jong Il, which may have killed millions. “ ” It s impossible’ to say how bad the situation is now. There are no signs of mass starvation. But Lauler said the prices of food and certain luxury items from China have’ skyrocketed amid North Korea s toughest-in-the-world lockdown.

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North Korea Faces Worsening Economic Woes amid COVID Lockdown | Voice of America - English (voanews.com)

. ‘Cruel reality’: ex-security chief says independence not up to people of Taiwan alone

Published: 9:30pm, 5 Jul, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP

Taiwan s former security chief Chiou I-jen has warned that declaring independence is not up to its people alone, saying that is the cruel reality of the situation facing the ’ self-ruled island “ ” .

‘Cruel reality’: ex-security chief says independence not up to people of Taiwan alone | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Taiwan blasts Beijing's 'one country, two systems' as facade to annex nation

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Saturday (July 3) stated in a TV interview that Beijing’s "one country, two systems" framework is fake, and it is really intended to annex Taiwan.

Chiu appeared on the Taiwan political TV program "San Guo Yan Yi" (三國演議) to discuss issues regarding Hong Kong and the Chinese Communist Party. He said that the 2019 Hong Kong protest was a watershed moment in which residents took to the streets and demonstrated against the controversial anti - extradition bill.

The deputy minister mentioned that the Hong Kong government was pressuring Taiwan's representative offices in Hong Kong and Macau to sign a “one China” commitment letter. This would have given validity to Beijing’s “one China” principle, which Taiwan would never accept, he said. Chiu also pointed out that the Hong Kong government did not require other foreign embassies to sign such a document.

Our staff in Hong Kong did not break any local laws or regulations while carrying out their duties, Chiu said, adding that the Taiwan office will remain open with the help of 50 local staff members.

He said that Hongkongers have an affinity for Taiwan, as demonstrated by Hong Kong students enrolling in Taiwanese universities and increasing bilateral trade. The deputy minister also said that he hopes Taiwan will become the new home for Hongkongers as Beijing tightens its control over the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

As Hong Kong’s representative office in Taipei is currently closed, Hong Kong residents in Taiwan can contact the Taiwan-Hong Kong Services and Exchanges Office for any assistance, Chiu said.

Taiwan blasts Beijing's 'one country, two systems' as facade to annex nation | Taiwan News | 2021-07- 05 17:49:00

After pressuring telecom firms, Myanmar's junta bans executives from leaving A draft cybersecurity law would give Myanmar's ruling junta sweeping new powers to access user data and block websites. (Photo: AFP/STR)

05 Jul 2021 09:15AM(Updated: 05 Jul 2021 09:25AM)

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 Bookmark Senior foreign executives of major telecommunications firms in Myanmar have been told by the junta that they must not leave the country without permission, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

A confidential order from Myanmar s Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD) in mid-June said senior executives, both foreigners and Myanmar nationals, must seek special authorisation to leave the country, the’ person said.

A week later, telecom companies were sent a second letter telling them they had until Monday (Jul 5) to fully implement intercept technology they had previously been asked to install to let authorities spy on calls, messages and web traffic and to track users by themselves, the source said. Reuters has not seen the orders.

The directives follow pressure on the companies from the junta, which is facing daily protests from its opponents and a growing number of insurgencies to activate the spyware technology.

READ: 'No regrets': Myanmar dissidents evade junta with life on the run A spokesman for the military did not answer multiple requests for comment. The junta has never commented on the electronic surveillance effort, but announced soon after seizing power its aim to pass a cybersecurity Bill that would require telecoms providers to provide data when requested and remove or block any content deemed to be disrupting "unity, stabilisation, and peace". It also amended privacy laws to free security forces to intercept communications.

After pressuring telecom firms, Myanmar's junta bans executives from leaving - CNA (channelnewsasia.com)

Myanmar rights violations under scrutiny from new task force Reuters

Myanmar soldiers walk along a street during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 28, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

July 5 (Reuters) - A new task force was launched on Monday to investigate evidence of human rights violations in Myanmar more than five months after the military army ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plunged the Southeast Asian country into turmoil.

Myanmar rights violations under scrutiny from new task force | Reuters

Pakistan-China relationship is a factor for stability in the region and beyond: Pakistani Ambassador By Xie Wenting and Bai YunyiPublished: Jul 05, 2021 07:58 PM

Editor's Note:

China and Pakistan are "iron brothers." Through the past seven decades, the two countries have built an All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with flourishing bilateral relations. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi interviewed Pakistani Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque (Haque), on the CPC, bilateral relations, vaccines as well as the pandemic that is still haunting the world.

Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China Photo: Li Hao/GT

GT: This year marks the Communist Party of China (CPC) centenary. Based on your own observation, how do you evaluate the performance and development of the CPC over the past 100 years?

Haque: Let me first congratulate the people of China and the CPC for achieving the historic milestone of 100 years of the CPC. The Party has played a key role in China's development, starting from its liberation to poverty alleviation, which is a miracle. It is a historic feat by the CPC to lift almost 800 million people out of poverty.

CPC's policies are people-centric aimed at the wellbeing of the people of China. We are also grateful to the CPC for its strong support to China-Pakistan friendship.

GT: The CPC has been under vigorous attack from the West in recent years. What do you think are the reasons for those attacks? Some even said a growing CPC and China are a threat to the region. What do you think of this view?

Haque: When you have success, you will have attacks from your detractors. Don't worry about that. That's part of the game.

China's rise is peaceful. Its international relations are based on mutual respect and cooperation. China always supports multilateralism, international cooperation, and solidarity. We take pride in our relationship with China which is based on warm sentiments and shared values.

Pakistan-China relationship is a factor of stability in the region and beyond. Regional peace is important for development of our people, so that's why we promote friendly neighborly ties in our region.

A subway train enters the station in Lahore, Pakistan on October 26, 2020. This is the first subway line in Pakistan built with help from China. Photo: Xinhua

GT: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. How do you evaluate relations between the two countries over the past seven decades? How do you predict the future development of bilateral ties?

Haque: Pakistan-China relations are very unique and special. Over the past seven decades, the two countries have formed a close and friendly brotherhood. Today we are strategic partners and cooperate in almost every field. This year is a milestone in our relationship as we are celebrating 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Our bilateral ties enjoy support at the highest level and have been nurtured over the years by successive generations of our leadership and people. This is the essence of our strong ties. We hope that in the next 70 years, we will take this relationship to even greater heights.

GT: Some Western media outlets wrongfully speculated that the CPEC is doomed amid increasing terror attacks. What's your response?

Haque: There are detractors of both Pakistan and China and they obviously don't like our friendship. There are countries which do not like the peaceful rise of China, so there will always be these critics and voices. But we are not worried about that because China- Pakistan friendship is rock solid.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor constitutes an important element of our economic and investment cooperation. For us, it's a project which has transformed Pakistan's landscape. Few days back, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mr. Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi had a meeting with the Ambassador Nong Rong in which he reaffirmed our commitment to CPEC and assured that Pakistan would make all efforts necessary for the timely completion of all projects.

GT: Some political analysts believe China and Pakistan's close relationship will intensify the conflict with or lead to a confrontation with India. What's your view?

Haque: No. I think our relationship is not directed against a third country. Pakistan is part of South Asia and we always strive to have good relationship with all countries of South Asia. Our neighborhood policy is based on the philosophy of co-existence with all our neighbors peacefully. This is also China's approach.

A resident receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, at a vaccination center in Karachi, Pakistan on April 1. Photo: IC

GT: The COVID-19 global pandemic is still engulfing the world. What efforts has Pakistan made to prevent cross-border transmission of the deadly virus? What are the challenges?

Haque: Pandemic has affected all the countries in the world. Pakistan was no exception. The government took very prudent and timely measures not only to protect lives and control the spread of the virus but also to ensure economic stability in Pakistan.

We have been able to control the virus and the situation is stable now. The next challenge is to vaccinate the majority of the population of our country.

The vaccination campaign has started in Pakistan for which we are grateful to China for its support. China helped Pakistan during our difficult times by providing essential relief goods. Now it has provided us with vaccines. The overwhelming majority of vaccines being used in Pakistan are Chinese made.

Pakistan-China relationship is a factor for stability in the region and beyond: Pakistani Ambassador - Global Times

Government needs to increase support for critical minerals projects in Australia 5 Jul 2021|Gavin LockyerNorth of 26° south

Australia has a huge amount to gain from taking advantage of its natural abundance of critical minerals and positioning itself as a world leader in their production. But the federal government hasn t yet landed on the right formula for providing support to ensure that as many of these projects get off the ground as possible. ’ Critical minerals, as defined by Geoscience Australia, are metals and non-metals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity,‘ geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors . ’

They include rare-earth’ elements such as the neodymium and praseodymium that Arafura Resources will produce from its Nolans project in the Northern Territory and a long list of other minerals that you might not have heard of. Since the onset of Covid-19, the imperative for governments to shore up supplies of these minerals has only increased. Recent shortages of semiconductors have highlighted that China s control of a large proportion of the global supply of rare earths and other critical minerals leaves the rest of the world vulnerable. ’ But there is no silver-bullet solution.

The markets for many of these minerals are far from transparent, projects typically carry high upfront capital costs, and the companies progressing them usually have small market capitalisations. This combination means commercial banks are reluctant to provide debt funding, while funding projects entirely with equity is usually out of the question as it is excessively dilutive for shareholders.

That s where government support is so crucial. Arafura is lucky here, because after an extensive time working with the government s Export Finance Australia (EFA) and with the Northern’ Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), we have non-binding letters of support proposing senior debt facilities of up to $200 ’million from EFA and $100 million from NAIF.

Government needs to increase support for critical minerals projects in Australia | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)

Government needs to increase support for critical minerals projects in Australia 5 Jul 2021|Gavin LockyerNorth of 26° south

Australia has a huge amount to gain from taking advantage of its natural abundance of critical minerals and positioning itself as a world leader in their production. But the federal government hasn t yet landed on the right formula for providing support to ensure that as many of these projects get off the ground as possible. ’ Critical minerals, as defined by Geoscience Australia, are metals and non-metals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity,‘ geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors . ’

’ They include rare-earth elements such as the neodymium and praseodymium that Arafura Resources will produce from its Nolans project in the Northern Territory and a long list of other minerals that you might not have heard of.

Since the onset of Covid-19, the imperative for governments to shore up supplies of these minerals has only increased. Recent shortages of semiconductors have highlighted that China s control of a large proportion of the global supply of rare earths and other critical minerals leaves the rest of the world vulnerable. ’ But there is no silver-bullet solution.

The markets for many of these minerals are far from transparent, projects typically carry high upfront capital costs, and the companies progressing them usually have small market capitalisations. This combination means commercial banks are reluctant to provide debt funding, while funding projects entirely with equity is usually out of the question as it is excessively dilutive for shareholders.

That s where government support is so crucial. Arafura is lucky here, because after an extensive time working with the government s Export Finance Australia (EFA) and with the Northern’ Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), we have non-binding letters of support proposing senior debt facilities of up to $200 ’million from EFA and $100 million from NAIF.

Government needs to increase support for critical minerals projects in Australia | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)

EXCLUSIVE Taliban aim to present written peace plan at talks as soon as next month Reuters 00:00 00:00

 Summary  Afghan gov't welcomes move to 'understand what they want'  Warring sides resume long-stalled peace talks in Qatar  Discussions to be 'accelerated' in coming days -Taliban  Taliban seizing ever more territory as foreign forces go

KABUL, July 5 (Reuters) - The Taliban plan to present a written peace proposal to the Afghan government side as soon as next month, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgents said even as they make major territorial gains in the breach left by departing foreign forces.

EXCLUSIVE Taliban aim to present written peace plan at talks as soon as next month | Reuters

Ransomware Hackers Demand $70 Million In Bitcoin, Claim Massive U.S. Attack As Biden Investigates Possible Russian Involvement

I cover breaking news.A group of Russian-speaking hackers have claimed responsibility for a massive ransomware attack over the holiday weekend that hit 200 U.S. firms and hundreds more worldwide, with the group demanding $70 million in bitcoin to restore the companies’ data in the latest debilitating cyberattack to hit the U.S. this year.

US President Joe Biden said agencies will investigate possible Russian involvement in the attacks.

AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES KEY FACTS

The ransom was posted on Sunday on a blog ordinarily used by REvil, a major Russian-speaking ransomware group who recently extorted $11 million from the world’s largest meat processor, JBS, after wiping out one fifth of U.S. beef production.

The group claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack—whereby hackers encrypt a user’s data and demand money for the key needed to decrypt it— executed Friday, which it says has affected more than 1 million computer systems.

Ransomware Hackers Demand $70 Million In Bitcoin, Claim Massive U.S. Attack As Biden Investigates Possible Russian Involvement (forbes.com)

ISIS evil still threatens world–Locsin in Rome meet BYRECTO MERCENE JULY 5, 2021 3 MINUTE READ Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. delivers his intervention at the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS on June 28, 2021 in Rome. The 83-member coalition was established in September 2014 with the goal of degrading and ultimately defeating Daesh/ISIS. The Philippines became the 75th member of the coalition in 2018. THE ISIS is “far from destroyed,” and has resurfaced in other parts of the world after being driven out of Middle East havens, so all nations desiring to be rid of the evil force must continue cooperating, the Philippines’s top envoy said at a recent global forum on the terrorist threat.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., noted that, “It had taken the Coalition six years to take back Raqqa. It took us six months,” referring to the time it took Philippine military authorities, with some help from allies, to rout the ISIS when it tried to overrun Marawi City in 2017.

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Locsin made the statement as his intervention during the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ ISIS on June 28, 2021 in Rome.

In 2017, a homegrown extremist alliance swore allegiance to ISIS, and, on May 23 of that year, launched a takeover of Marawi. The siege took government troops by surprise.

The Philippine military waged ground assaults and airstrikes to defeat them, in fighting that dragged on for five months, from May to October 2017.

The Battle of Marawi marked the first time that militants aligned with Islamic States (IS) joined forces to claim territory in Asia-Pacific, notably with combat techniques and media strategies imported from IS’s operations in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS evil still threatens world–Locsin in Rome meet | Recto Mercene (businessmirror.com.ph)

The Case for Less Nuclear, and More Diesel, Submarines for the U.S. Navy

July 4, 2021 Topic: U.S. Navy Region: Global Blog Brand: The Reboot Tags: NavyU.S. NavyMilitaryTechnologyWorldSubmarinesDiesel Submarines

If it does things wisely, the U.S. Navy can turn technical shortcomings to strategic and political advantage. by James Holmes

Here's What You Need To Know: Adding American boats would impart mass to the fleet—further easing the challenge of keeping enough boats plying the deep. The more subs in the rotation, the shorter voyages can be. Bottom line, having the fleet make its home near likely Asian hotspots would solve many ills, as would expanding and diversifying logistics arrangements

What madman would propose adding diesel submarines to the U.S. Navy’s all-nuclear silent service?

There are a few. The topic came up at an early March hearing before the U.S. House Seapower and Force Projection Subcommittee. Representatives from three teams that have compiled competing “Future Fleet Architecture” studies convened to debate their visions with the committee. Published by the Navy Staff itself, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and the MITRE Corporation, the studies explore everything from overall ship numbers to the types of hulls comprising the future fleet to the mix between manned and unmanned platforms.

Navy potentates will now evaluate and compare the studies. The end product will be an official navy statement about force-structure questions, useful to Congress as lawmakers determine how many—and which—ships, planes, and armaments to fund. One consensus, however, already unites the protagonists to this debate: the U.S. Navy needs more of just about everything. The navy estimates it needs 355 vessels to fulfill its missions in increasingly contested settings, principally around the margins of Eurasia. That portends about a 30 percent boost to the force.

The Case for Less Nuclear, and More Diesel, Submarines for the U.S. Navy | The National Interest Report to Congress on Chinese Naval Modernization

July 5, 2021 8:37 AM

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The following is the July 1, 2021 Congressional Research Service Report, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress. From the report

In an era of renewed great power competition, China s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has become the top focus of U.S. defense planning and budgeting. China s navy, which China has been steadily’ modernizing for more than 25 years, since the early to mid-1990s, has become a formidable military force within China s near-seas region, and’ it is conducting a growing number of operations in more-distant waters, including the broader waters of the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and waters’ around Europe.

China s navy is viewed as posing a major challenge to the U.S. Navy s ability to achieve and maintain wartime control of blue-water ocean areas in the Western Pacific the first such challenge’ the U.S. Navy has faced since the end of the Cold War. China’ s navy forms a key element of a Chinese challenge to the long-standing status of the United States— as the leading military power in the Western Pacific. Some U.S. observers are’ expressing concern or alarm regarding the pace of China s naval shipbuilding effort and resulting trend lines regarding the relative sizes and capabilities of China s navy and the U.S. Navy. ’ China s naval modernization effort encompasses a wide’ array of ship, aircraft, and weapon acquisition programs, as well as improvements in maintenance and logistics, doctrine, personnel’ quality, education and training, and exercises. China s navy has currently has certain limitations and weaknesses, and is working to overcome them. ’ China s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is assessed as being aimed at developing capabilities for addressing the situation with Taiwan militarily,’ if need be; for achieving a greater degree of control or domination over China s near-seas region, particularly the South China Sea; for enforcing China s view that it has the right to regulate foreign military activities in its 200-mile maritime exclusive economic ’ zone (EEZ); for defending China s commercial sea lines of communication’ (SLOCs), particularly those linking China to the Persian Gulf; for displacing U.S. influence in the Western Pacific; and for asserting’ China s status as the leading regional power and a major world power. ’ Report to Congress on Chinese Naval Modernization - USNI News

China Strengthening Survivability of Nuclear Capable Missiles 07/04/2021 By Debalina Ghoshal

Nuclear deterrence is not about just possession of nuclear weapons, but making adversaries believe that the state is capable of launching a nuclear strike.

If nuclear deterrence is needed to be strengthened, then nuclear forces need to be made survivable.

China, for years have worked towards strengthening the survivability of its nuclear capable missiles for three reasons.

One being the strengthening of nuclear deterrence, second, making its ‘no-first use’ nuclear doctrine more credible, and third, to make its ‘limited deterrence’ strategy more credible.

In July 2021, reports came in that China was building “sprawling network” of silos for ballistic missiles.

Though many reports claimed the silos are being built for intercontinental range ballistic missiles (ICBMs) like the DF-41, it is too early for such an analysis.

China’s DF-5/5A/5B/5C ICBMs are liquid fueled missiles and are better off if silo- launched.

This is because liquid fueled missiles need longer time for launch preparation and hence, not ideal for road/rail mobility.

At a time when China has focused on solid fueled missiles for increased survivability, it has also focused on strengthening the credibility of the DF-5 category ICBM systems.

Since they are liquid fueled ballistic missiles, these missiles have a high launch weight to throw weight ratio, enabling the missile to travel longer distances.

Liquid fueled missiles are heavier and, therefore, able to negate the range restrictions imposed by multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). Payload capacity of the DF-5 category ICBMs is also heavy and thus, these categories of missile systems can carry more number of lighter warheads.

The payload capacity of the DF-5 category ICBMs is more than that of the DF-31 and the DF-41 category ICBMS given the need to enable the latter two ICBMs to be mobile and rugged proof. Again, some of these silos could also be a “warm” reserved status as seen in the case of Minuteman ICBMs that have around fifty silos in such status- that is the silos do not host the missiles at the moment. China has concentrated on both road/rail mobile ICBMs and also silo based ones to ensure there is a credible amalgamation of missiles that are mobile or in static position but with strengthened survivability.

China has for years focused on developing dummy silos to confuse adversaries in times of crisis against real silos.

Silo-based missiles, assuming they are liquid fueled, and have greater launch preparation time than solid fueled missiles, can be put on high trigger alert in times of crisis that could lead to catastrophic nuclear launches.

Revisionist states like China would not mind a nuclear attack on their territory, if they know they could launch devastating nuclear strikes on their adversaries.

However, should there be a ‘launch under attack’ scenario for China, silo-based missiles could be the best option for counter-strike launch. Moreover, silo-based missile systems given their static position have better networking with command and control than mobile missiles and are hence, more responsive.

China Strengthening Survivability of Nuclear Capable Missiles | Defense.info

How 23 giant Chinese rockets could save the world from ‘doomsday’ asteroid

China s space programme

could ’one day save the world, with massive rockets travelling for years to defend the planet from huge asteroids capable of wiping out entire cities, according to a government-backed study.

How 23 giant Chinese rockets could save the world from ‘doomsday’ asteroid | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Self-propelled howitzers fire high explosive shells (4) (China Military Online) 13:12, July 05, 2021

Vehicle-mounted howitzers attached to an artillery detachment with the Marine Corps under the PLA Navy fire high explosive shells at mock targets during a live-fire training exercise on June 11, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Shang Wenbin)

Self-propelled howitzers fire high explosive shells (4) - People's Daily Online

China Copied And Stole Its Way To Becoming A Military Juggernaut

By Robert Farley Published July 4, 2021 As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) emerged from war and revolution in 1949, it became apparent that the Chinese economy lacked the capacity to compete with the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. in the production of advanced military technology. Transfers from the Soviet Union helped remedy the gap in the 1950s, as did transfers from the United States and Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. Still, the Cultural Revolution stifled technology and scientific research, leaving the Chinese even farther behind.

China Copied and Stole Its Way to Becoming a Military Juggernaut - 19FortyFive

Eye on India: Chinese prez promotes border commander to rank of general The promotion of Xu Qiling as general comes in the backdrop of the ongoing tension along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. By Sutirtho Patranobis I Edited by Amit Chanda UPDATED ON JUL 05, 2021 10:49 PM IST

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday promoted four senior military officers including the commander of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) western theatre command (WTC) ground forces to the rank of general. The WTC oversees the disputed Sino-India border, and is China’s largest theatre command. Commander of the PLA’s WTC Xu Qiling, 59, was among the four to have been promoted as general, Xinhua news agency reported. He reports to Gen Zhang Xudong, the overall head of the WTC. “Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has promoted four senior military officers to the rank of general, the highest rank for officers in active service in China,” the Xinhua report said. Xi presented certificates of the orders he signed to them at a ceremony held by the CMC in Beijing on Monday. Besides Xu, the other officers promoted were the Commander of PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, Wang Xiubin, Commander of the PLA Army, Liu Zhenli, and the Commander of the PLA Strategic Support Force, Ju Qiansheng.

Eye on India: Chinese prez promotes border commander to rank of general | World News - Hindustan Times

New USFK commander pressed on Opcon transfer by Suh

Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook, far left, and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the new head of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), center, salute during the new USFK commander’s change-of-command ceremony at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, Friday. [NEWS1]

Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook asked Gen. Paul LaCamera, the new commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), to help speed along the transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from the United States to Korea, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

LaCamera replaced Gen. Robert Abrams as head of the USFK, Combined Forces Command and the United Nations Command in a change-of-command ceremony Friday at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, attended by Suh and Adm. John Aquilino, chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

In a meeting Monday to review the progress of Opcon, Suh called for consultations between top USFK officials, including its new commander, and the two countries’ defense and military authorities to accelerate the Opcon transfer “based on the firm Korea-U.S. alliance,” according to Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense.

The Defense Ministry said that the participants of the Opcon meeting “shared the view that all military- level efforts should be united so that the conditional Opcon transition can be carried out at the appropriate time, while firmly maintaining the alliance's combined defense posture.”

The top military officials also “reaffirmed the South Korean government and military’s commitment to the transfer of Opcon” and further reviewed and evaluated the “the South Korean military’s securing of core military capabilities and the alliance's ability to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats."

Suh told the meeting that advancing the Opcon transition “is a key national task of our government,” and also “an essential task to achieve responsible national defense.”

President Moon Jae-in asked LaCamera to pay attention to such pending alliance issues as the transition of wartime Opcon and the return of the land used by the U.S. Army's base in Yongsan District, central Seoul, during a luncheon at the Blue House last Thursday.

New USFK commander pressed on Opcon transfer by Suh (joins.com)

Home»News»South Korea Conducts Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Test

South Korea Conducts Submarine- Launched Ballistic Missile Test

South Korea tested for the first time a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submerged barge last week.

Daehan Lee 04 Jul 2021 According to local media Yonhap TV News, the test was a success. This paves the way to the Republic of Korea (ROK) entering the “elite club” of countries able to design and field its own SLBMs. North Korea is arguably the 7th country in the world to have acquired this technology. All countries that have designed SLBMs so far are nuclear states. South Korea is notably the only country that will possess SLBMs without strategic nuclear weapons. Details about the test are not fully open to the public, but it was reportedly conducted with a variant of Hyunmoo 2B missiles that can be fired within the range of 500 km. The ROK Navy expects to enhance strategic functions against North Korea by taking advantage of K-SLBMs (locally known as Hyunmoo 4-4) after the Moon-Biden press conference confirmed that both countries agreed to lift the ROK-U.S. Missile Guidelines on May 2021. Hyunmoo 2B ballistic missile Another Korean media suggested that the actual cold launch test from the 3,000 tons Dosan Ahn Chang Ho-class (KSS III Batch 1) submarine is imminent, as the first submarine, capable of carrying K-VLS (Vertical Launching System) launchers for SLBMs, is known to be delivered to the Republic of Korean Navy within this month. The media quoted an informed source of the Korean military who said:

“The submarine Dosan Ahn Chang Ho only has torpedo decoy and SLBM launchers to test still, whereas tests of main equipment functions and sea trials have been completed. I heard that the submarine could be delivered to the Navy this month only after finishing the launching system test.” Since the ROK Navy reportedly conducted its SLBM test-firing from a submerged barge this time and successfully completed a land-based launch test in the end of last year, the local press has speculated that the actual launch from the first 3,000 tons submarine (from a dived position) could be executed sooner or later, as Yonhap News Agency reported. In regard to this, an informed source from the military showed reservations and assumed a wait-and-see attitude to the media: “I assume that the Navy is still not in the phase of being able to launch SLBMs from a dived submarine. As far as I know, however, technical development to acquire necessary capabilities is ongoing.”

South Korea Conducts Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile Test - Naval News

South Korea, US tilting toward downsizing combined drill Posted : 2021-07-05 15:58 Updated : 2021-07-05 19:51

Lawmakers from liberal parties hold a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, calling for the suspension of a South Korea-U.S. combined military exercise, scheduled for August. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

Seoul wants low-key exercise to incentivize Pyongyang to return to talks

By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea and the United States are likely to scale down their annual summertime military exercise in what seems to be a move not to provoke North Korea.

Citing multiple government sources, the local daily Donga Ilbo reported, Monday, that Seoul and Washington had reached a broad consensus on carrying out the drill in the second week of August on a scale similar to one in March, which proceeded as a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) with no outdoor drills.

It also said the U.S. government seems to have accepted the South Korean administrations opinion that a large-scale military exercise could adversely affect possible future denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea.

Should it be staged as reported, the allies will then not have held a large-scale field training exercise since 2018.

Whether and how to hold the summertime combined training has been seen as a yardstick on North Korea charting its course between staging a provocation and returning to dialogue.

In that respect, the Moon Jae-in administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have floated the idea of downsizing or even suspending the upcoming annual exercise as a "carrot" for the resumption of the stalled North Korea denuclearization talks. Pyongyang regularly responds to the drill with harsh rhetoric, calling it a rehearsal for invasion.

In May, Moon mentioned the impossibility of a full-scale drill, citing the COVID- 19 pandemic, although many believe that this was a last-ditch effort to improve inter-Korean ties before his presidency ends in May next year.

In addition, 76 lawmakers from three liberal political parties ― the Open Minjoo Party, the Justice Party and the DPK ― called for the suspension of the exercise, last week, to incentivize North Korea to return to talks.

In response to the report, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Monday that nothing had been decided yet on the combined exercise.

"The timing, scale and exact method for the upcoming exercise have not been finalized," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said during a press briefing.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Defense told Radio Free Asia that there had been no change in the schedule for the military drill.

South Korea, US tilting toward downsizing combined drill (koreatimes.co.kr)

Singapore Army commissions TPQ-53 S-band WLR system by Kelvin Wong The Singapore Army has commissioned the Lockheed Martin TPQ-53 weapon locating radar (WLR) system to replace its current fleet of X-band (8–12.5 GHz range) ThalesRaytheonSystems TPQ-36 and TPQ-37 WLRs that have been in service since 1986 and 1991 respectively.

The new radar system was commissioned by defence minister Ng Eng Hen at Headquarters 6th Singapore Division/Headquarters Sense and Strike (HQ 6 Div/HQ SS) at Mandai Hill Camp on 28 June. Unlike the US Army, which operates the type under the AN/TPQ-53 designation and integrated on five-tonne M1083 6×6 medium tactical vehicles (MTVs), the radar's active array assembly in the Singapore version is mounted on a four-wheeled trailer and towed by a MAN TGS 6×6 truck.

The Singapore Army is replacing its fleet of ThalesRaytheonSystems TPQ-36 and TPQ- 37 weapon locating radars with Lockheed Martin's TPQ-53 system. (MINDEF)

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) noted that the new system provides improved acquisition and target identification of rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) threats out to a maximum range of up to 60 km – up from 50 km previously – along with improved accuracy. Unlike the earlier radar systems that can only operate in staring mode, the TPQ-53 can operate in both rotating and staring modes for operations that require all- round force protection.

“This provides early warning, protects forces on the ground, and enables swift destruction of hostile threats,” said MINDEF in a 30 June statement.

“The [radar] has improved locating accuracy to better deliver counter attacks on enemy artillery forces,” it added, noting that the highly automated system requires about 30% less manpower to operate as compared with its predecessors. “This also enhances situational awareness and increases survivability of ground troops.”

Singapore Army commissions TPQ-53 S-band WLR system (janes.com)

Indonesia forges global relationships to boost defense industry IPDForum July 03, 2021 Top Stories 0 Comment Tom Abke Indonesia, as part of its ongoing diplomacy with current and potential defense industry partners, recently announced discussions between its officials and their counterparts in Romania and South Africa. The talks parallel Jakarta’s efforts to upgrade the capabilities of its Armed Forces and to integrate advanced technology into its defense industry.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Regional Forum Security Policy Conference on May 27, 2021, Indonesia’s director general of defense strategy, Rodon Pedrason, emphasized the importance of capacity building and technology transfer for closing the capabilities gap in new and developing technologies and for “building the trust that enables developing countries to take advantage of these technologies.”

Two days earlier, Pedrason was among the Indonesian defense officials who met with a Romanian delegation to discuss boosting the nations’ defense cooperation, as well as possible collaboration on a technology transfer project for the Indonesian military, according to Indonesia’s Defense Ministry, known as Kemhan.

The talks followed 2020 visits by personnel from Indonesia’s embassy in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, to Romanian defense firms, including a helicopter manufacturer and firearms and ammunition makers.

A defense cooperation agreement between Indonesia and South Africa also is nearing completion, according to a June 2021 Kemhan news release.

The countries work together to design, manufacture and sell armored vehicle systems, such as the one pictured, for the Indonesian Armed Forces. The collaboration dates to a 2019 agreement between Indonesia’s state-owned defense firm, PT Pindad, and South Africa’s Paramount Group, a global aerospace and technology company.

Jakarta has big ambitions for restocking the Indonesian military, online magazine Defense News reported May 10, 2021. These include requests for a dozen diesel- electric submarines for the Navy, as well as improvements to existing vessels, and new fighter squadrons for the Air Force. The plans emphasize domestic production.

The fourth quarter of 2020 also saw a flurry of similar outreach by Indonesia to other countries, according to The Jakarta Post newspaper. A defense cooperation agreement was signed with Sweden in September; talks were held with France in October to perform defense equipment upgrades; and acoustic torpedo countermeasures — jammers and decoys — were imported from Turkey in November.

Tom Abke is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.

Indonesia forges global relationships to boost defense industry | Indo-Pacific Defense Forum (ipdefenseforum.com)

Brunei introduces new Insitu Integrator unmanned aerial system

His Highness Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei getting briefed on the Insitu Integrator UAS. Photo c/o Infofoto through The Scoop.

The Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) has unveiled its latest asset in the form of new Integrator unmanned aerial system (UAS) delivered by American company Insitu Inc.

The new Integrator UAS was presented to the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam and Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah as part of the 60th anniversary of the armed forces.

US Charge d’Affaires Emily Fleckner and Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation Commander Randall Jones were present in the ceremony and met with His Majesty the Sultan.

The Integrator UAS would allow the RBAF to have a more effective and integrated maritime security surveillance capability as part of maintaining peace and security in the region. The Integrator, made by Insitu Inc, a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, is considered as one of the most versatile UAS in its class, with a modular design to suit mission requirements.

The Integrator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has a length of 2.5 meters, a wingspan of 4.9 meters, a maximum takeoff weight of 74.8 kilograms, and a maximum payload weight of 18 kilograms.

Sensor options may include an EO telescope with high-zoom day FMV, dual imager using MWIR/EO day and night FMV, ViDAR maritime surface search, laser designators and rangefinders, and others.

The Integrator UAV has an endurance of more than 24 hours, a maximum ceiling of 5,940 meters, and a maximum speed of more than 90 knots.

Brunei introduces new Insitu Integrator unmanned aerial system - Asia Pacific Defense Journal

How India Is Modernizing its Deadly Nuclear Weapons Arsenal

July 4, 2021 Topic: India Nuclear Weapons Region: India Blog Brand: The Reboot Tags: Nuclear WeaponsMilitaryTechnologyWorldIndia

India has one of the world's younger nuclear weapons programs, but has already developed an array of ballistic missiles to accompany its nukes.

by Michael Peck

Here's What You Need to Remember: India is also developing the Nirbhay ground-launched cruise missile, similar to the U.S. Tomahawk. In addition, there is Dhanush sea-based, short-range ballistic missile, which is fired from two specially- configured patrol vessels. The report estimates that India is building three or four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, which will be equipped with a short- range missile, or a bigger missile with a range of 2,000 miles.

How India Is Modernizing its Deadly Nuclear Weapons Arsenal | The National Interest

Pakistan Says India was Behind Recent Bomb Blast in Lahore The explosion took place near the residence of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed. By Zarar Khan July 05, 2021

A rescue worker examines the site of an explosion in Lahore, Pakistan on June 23, 2021. In a news conference on July 4, 2021, in Islamabad, Moeed Yousuf, Pakistan’s national security advisor, accused India of orchestrating the bombing. Pakistan’s national security advisor has accused India of orchestrating last month’s deadly car bombing in the eastern city of Lahore, saying Sunday that an investigation has shown it was organized by an Indian intelligence operative.

In a news conference in Islamabad, Moeed Yousuf said the probe showed that the man was an Indian citizen living in India who works for that country’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He did not name the alleged mastermind.

“Through the forensic analysis, electronic equipment, which has been recovered from these terrorists, we have identified the main mastermind and the handlers of this terrorist attack. And we have no doubt in informing you that the main mastermind belongs to RAW, lives in India and is an Indian citizen.” He said Pakistan will continue its efforts to expose India’s sponsorship of such attacks internationally.

The explosion took place outside the residence of anti-India militant leader and Lashkar-e-Toiba founder-chief Hafiz Saeed, who himself has been designated a terrorist by the U.S. Justice Department and has a $10 million bounty on his head. India accuses Saeed of helping mastermind the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 170 people at several locations, including the luxury Taj Hotel.

Saeed was unharmed in the powerful explosion in Lahore’s Johar Town neighborhood that killed three and wounded 24.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. India and Pakistan routinely accuse the other of carrying out clandestine attacks on the other’s territory. Saeed is a highly-wanted suspect in India, and Pakistan has been criticized by India and the U.S. for not taking stronger action against him.

Punjab police chief, Inam Ghani, said that all those involved in the bombing have been arrested, including an Afghan who lived in Pakistan and actually parked the explosives-laden car at the site of blast.

Pakistan Says India was Behind Recent Bomb Blast in Lahore – The Diplomat

The ADF needs knowledge if it’s to shape, deter and respond 5 Jul 2021|Neil Hart

There’s no shortage of rhetoric about Australia’s changing strategic environment, and the key thread is that the possibility of major conflict in our region can no longer be considered remote.

More likely than a great-power confrontation are operations in the ‘grey zone’, a cold war rather than a hot one. Already we’ve seen many of the hallmarks of a cold war— economic and political coercion, propaganda and espionage, cyberattacks and information activities.

Australia should always be ready for high-end conflict, but talk of war is creating a Thucydidean distortion in the reprioritisation of defence funding towards armed capabilities at a time when the capabilities that inform adversaries’ decision-making and deter them from conflict have never been more important.

Overinvestment in weapons could also lead to insufficient enhancement of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities needed to respond decisively with offensive systems in a conflict. Re-equipping the ADF should also ensure that it has capabilities that allow us to pierce the information fog of grey-zone activities so we can work to avoid conflict.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has said a conflict triggered by China’s claims over Taiwan ‘should not be discounted’. Notwithstanding China’s goal of unification, and its 2005 ‘Anti-Secession’ law to legitimise the use of force against Taiwan if it approaches independence, we have gone 16 years without movement on policy.

It’s likely that China would require a change in the status quo within Taiwan to trigger the use of force, and it knows that would bring a United States response, given Washington’s longstanding position and the warning from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US is committed to Taiwan being able to defend itself.

China’s probable way forward is a continuation of its regional engagement, encouragement and coercion with a focus on using economic and political levers. From the Pacific to the Antarctic, and from Africa to Asia, Beijing is seeking to extend and entrench its influence.

The ADF needs knowledge if it’s to shape, deter and respond | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)

ASPI’s decades: Betting, fretting and getting—buying and flying the F-35 5 Jul 2021|Graeme Dobell20 years of ASPI

ASPI celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This series looks at ASPI’s work since its creation in August 2001.

When ASPI began its work, the F-35 joint strike fighter was Australia s biggest and most expensive program ever. (Now that label has passed back to the submarines.) ’ The F-35 arrived 10 years late. (The Attack-class submarine program exhibits similar tardiness.)

The F-35 is now slowly delivering what Australia wants. Because of the delay, Australia spent $6 billion on an interim Super Hornet capability, later topped up with another $3 billion on Growler electronic-warfare aircraft. The interim has become more like a 20- plus-year force structure‘ element’ . ‘ ’ Australia decided to work with the Pentagon s F-35 Joint Program Office to develop the F- 35s to replace its fleets of F-111s (due to leave service in around 2010) and F/A-18s (due to retire between 2012 and 2015). ’

The bet was a big deal for Australia s future air combat capability, as Aldo Borgu explained in 2004; it was the biggest of calls and a deal with many elements. Joining the JSF project‘ was partly’ motivated ’by the chance to develop the nation s aerospace industry, to have Australian firms supplying individual components as part of a global supply chain. ’

The JSF was still a paper plane , Borgu wrote, a US program driven by costs and not by requirements . ‘ ’ ‘ To confront the’ key question Is the JSF good enough ? the chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Marshall Angus Houston, published an ASPI paper arguing for a true fifth generation, stealthy, multi-role,—‘ single-seat, single-engine,’ — fighter aircraft . In explaining why it was a better bet than other candidates, such as the F/A-22, he argued ‘that the F-35: ’  promised the margin of capability we require for the tasks we intend for it  was the most network-enabled capability on offer  would be ‘truly multi-role, giving us great operational flexibility and cost ’ effectiveness‘ “ ” ’  could be acquired‘ in operationally meaningful numbers within the available budget ’ ‘ ’  would be able to be supported in service at lower cost than any alternative  had the best growth potential, at lowest on- production‘ base ’  offered‘ the potential for a significant and long-termgoing cost industry to us, … progra becausem that of its should large exceed in value and’ benefits the conventional offset arrangements of any alternative‘ .

Houston s final line’ was: The conclusion is clear.

The RAAF’ s course was set.‘ And in all the dogfights’ that followed, the service seldom wavered from that conviction. ’ By 2006, though, Canberra was starting to worry about the unacceptable risk of a capability gap arriving before the F-35. The eventual answer was to buy 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets, the successor to the RAAF s F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet. ‘ ’ Australia would spend in excess of ’$4.1 billion to acquire this fourth generation stopgap aircraft , Andrew Davies wrote in 2007, yet the big risk of a generation gap remained: We could conceivably‘ find ourselves faced with a difficult decision towards the end of“ next ” decade.’ We could have a mix of Super Hornets and barely viable Hornets and be ‘ desperately waiting for JSF capability to become affordable and mature.

In 2014, Canberra was about to decide whether to spend between $8 billion’ and 10 billion on the new F-35, cementing it as the main instrument of Australian airpower for decades into the future. After several false starts, Davies and Harry White wrote, we re now reaching the main decision point. Despite management issues, enormous complexity, and significant cost ‘and schedule overruns, the’ plane seemed to be on track to‘ come’ into service by the end of the decade. ’

ASPI’s decades: Betting, fretting and getting—buying and flying the F-35 | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)

More Than 1,000 Afghan Troops Flee Taliban Into Tajikistan STAFF WRITER WITH AFP JULY 5, 2021More than 1,000 Afghan troops fled into neighboring Tajikistan in the early hours of Monday after clashes with the Taliban, the Central Asian country’s national security committee said.

Taliban militants have launched several major offensives in northern Afghanistan in recent weeks as US and international troops withdraw from the country, including seizing its main crossing into Tajikistan last month. On Monday, Tajikistan’s national security committee said that 1,037 Afghan government troops had fled into the ex-Soviet country “in order to save their lives” after clashes with the Taliban during the night.

“Taking into account the principle of good neighborliness and adhering to the position of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the military personnel of the Afghan government forces were allowed to enter Tajik territory,” the committee said in a statement distributed by Tajikistan’s state information agency Khovar. It said the Taliban had taken “full control” of six districts of the Badakhshan province bordering Tajikistan in Afghanistan’s northeast.

Several hundred Afghan troops had already crossed into Tajikistan after the Taliban unleashed its onslaught in early May.

The militants have seized dozens of Afghanistan’s districts, raising fears that the Afghan military will collapse once US and international troops complete their withdrawal from the country in September. US President Joe Biden has ordered the departure of all US forces from Afghanistan by this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that triggered the invasion.

More Than 1,000 Afghan Troops Flee Taliban Into Tajikistan – The Defense Post

Global Britain: Why the United Kingdom Needs ASEAN

Now is the time for British businesses to look to Southeast Asia and help make the

‘Global Britain’ slogan a reality. By Edward Parker July 05, 2021

Credit: DepositphotosADVERTISEMENT

The United Kingdom is out of the European Union. It now faces an uncertain future alone in the world. To avoid isolation, the U.K. must now focus its efforts on building closer ties with Asia, where the fastest growing economies reside.

The EU had the advantage of being a large trading bloc but out of the EU the U.K. is now more nimble and able to build up its bilateral relations. While China and India get most of the focus in the U.K., Southeast Asia should not be ignored. The diverse and distinct region represents a range of opportunities for British business, and London can advance its interests by taking a regional approach in addition to pursuing bilateral activities.

There are good reasons for London to direct its attention toward Southeast Asia. The 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion, and ASEAN is now the world’s fifth-largest economy and the third-largest in Asia. With a population of 630 million people and a land mass covering more than 1.7 million square miles, the sheer scale of the region and the number of young working age people is staggering. With its combined trade value, ASEAN is the fourth-largest trading entity in the world after the EU, the United States, and Japan.

And while Europe and the U.S. face relative stagnation, ASEAN is powering ahead. Disparate and diverse, yet integrating rapidly, ASEAN’s total GDP is now almost four- and-a-half times larger than it was in 2000. Taken as a whole, ASEAN is predicted to be the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050. This is a huge untold growth story. The future does not belong to those who wait and see, but to those that grasp opportunities and look beyond their own shores and horizons. Put simply, not trading and doing business in ASEAN would be to miss out on a golden opportunity.

ASEAN’s economic emergence is a reminder that there is more to Asia’s story than the rise of China and India. The story of modern-day Southeast Asia is much less well understood by businesses, investors, and the public at large in the U.K. The Chinese growth story is slowing as the country matures, and Northeast Asian societies are aging. India and South Asia have their own developmental challenges. Southeast Asia is less discussed yet is a hugely dynamic region.

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Today, if we look at the ten countries of ASEAN in order of economic size – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei – they form a diverse family of countries that are integrating rapidly. They do more trade put together between them today than the rest of the world does with the whole of ASEAN. Despite economic disparities, different cultures, languages, and ethnicities, this family of nations share many similar threads of history and evolving economic trends today. These economies vary vastly in economic development and economic opportunity, but all are growing at rapid rates and have a shared story of economic emergence. They, therefore, present a golden opportunity for British businesses and investors wanting to do business in one of the fastest-growing regions of the world.

Global Britain: Why the United Kingdom Needs ASEAN – The Diplomat

No-first use nuclear policy 5 July 2021 Author: Editorial Board, ANU Since the election of Joe Biden in 2020, much of the world has breathed a collective sigh of relief as we have witnessed what appears to be a return to ‘pre-Trump normalcy’ in the United States. One of the greatest foreign policy challenges that faces the Biden administration, however, is recovering US credibility in Asia, which was severely undermined by his predecessor Donald Trump.

From the standpoint of US allies in the region, a concerning aspect of Trump’s rise to the presidency was his loose talk about nuclear weapons and apparent openness to utilising them against adversaries. While most allies have long emphasised the immense benefits of the US security guarantee and its attendant nuclear umbrella, Trump’s rise to power rendered alliance relationships potential liabilities. These concerns among allies in the region were significantly elevated in 2017, when Trump began to entertain the prospect of launching a pre-emptive — albeit non- nuclear — strike against North Korea. He supposedly even went so far as to order an evacuation of US servicemen and their families from Seoul — an injunction that was ultimately not carried out by US officials in South Korea. His apparent willingness to engage in conflict with a nuclear-armed North Korea was reinforced rhetorically as he threatened ‘fire and fury’ against Kim Jong-un’s regime. These developments had US allies (and non-allies alike) in the region beleaguered by the prospect of nuclear war in the region. Their concerns were reinforced by Trump’s predilection to appoint family members — with little to no foreign policy expertise — as official advisors. The notion that a US-initiated conflict with North Korea, entailing probable commitment by American allies, might be informed in part by the likes of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner was a severe indictment of alliance management. The election of Joe Biden allayed some of the concerns of US allies. But the fact that Trump received over 70 million votes in the election and may run again for president in 2024 means that his tenure cannot be easily viewed as an unfortunate aberration. What can Biden do during his presidency to restore confidence among American allies in the region, and restore US credibility in the aftermath of the Trump administration? In our lead article this week, Van Jackson makes a compelling case for the United States to establish a no-first use policy on nuclear weapons. This would entail a pledge from Washington that its nuclear arsenal would not be used as a means of warfare except in the event that it was first subject to a nuclear attack by an adversary. While there is already some momentum behind such a policy amongst Democrats, Biden has taken no concrete steps towards implementing it and it has yet to be legislated by Congress.

No-first use nuclear policy | East Asia Forum

Where Is the Sage of Air Power Doctrine?

July 4, 2021 Topic: U.S. Air Force Region: Global Blog Brand: The Reboot Tags: A-10F-35U.S. Air ForceAir PowerMilitary Theory

Black Female WWII Unit May Receive Congressional Medal

Clausewitz felt little need to prove that armies should exist, Corbett that navies should ply the oceans, or Mao that guerrillas and other irregular fighters should bestride the field. Where is the expert on air? by James Holmes

Here's What You Need to Remember: Aviators need a common vocabulary and understanding of the wild blue to debate how best to configure air forces and deploy them for tactical, operational, and strategic gain. Without that foundation partisans of contending schools of thought about air warfare tend to fling volleys of assertions and counter-assertions at one another.

Where Is the Sage of Air Power Doctrine? | The National Interest

‘NCR cases on flat trend but ICUs in Davao, Iloilo at risk’ posted July 06, 2021 at 01:30 am by Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta

The COVID-19 infection rate in the Philippines is already “generally” on a flat trend, the OCTA Research Group has said, but warned intensive care units in Davao and Iloilo are currently at risk of being overloaded. OCTA, citing the COVID Act Now Metrics, said the Philippines had an infection rate of 0.93, indicating that the trend was “generally flat.”

Broken down into smaller units, Metro Manila has a rate of 0.84 which indicates a “downward trend” for new cases.

The area is currently under a general community quarantine with some restrictions until July 15, 2021.

A flat trend is also seen in Bacolod with 1.04, while a “slow upward trend” is being recorded in the cities of Cebu with 1.30, Davao with 1.36, and Iloilo with 1.14, said OCTA.

In terms of the positive test rate, the Philippines has a “high” rate of 11 percent, along with Davao City with 16 percent and Iloilo City with 19 percent.

“Adequate” rates were seen in Metro Manila with 6 percent and Cebu City with 7 percent.

Low utilization

Meanwhile, ICU utilization was considered “low” in the Philippines, the National Capital Region (NCR), Cebu City, and Bacolod.

A different scenario was seen in the cities of Davao and Iloilo, with their rates above 85 percent indicating that the ICUs are "at high risk of being overloaded in case of a COVID-19 surge."

According to the OCTA Research Group, the COVID Act Now uses risk metrics developed with the Harvard Global Health Institute and Harvard Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics with collaborations from Bloomberg, Apple, and Microsoft, among others.

New fatalities

At the same time, the Philippines logged on Monday 5,392 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total to 1,441,746, as 10 laboratories were not able to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.

Based on data in the last 14 days, the 10 non-reporting laboratories contribute, on average, 0.70 percent of samples tested and 1.40 percent of positive individuals.

The DOH also reported 43 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 25,192. The DOH also reported 6,477 persons who recently recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 1,364,960.

The DOH also reported 51,594 active cases, of which 91.1 percent were mild, 3.8 percent were asymptomatic, 1.5 percent were critical, 2.1 percent were severe, and 1.57 percent were moderate.

The DOH reported that, nationwide, 56 percent of the ICU beds, 46 percent of the isolation beds, 43 percent of the ward beds, and 34 percent of the ventilators, were in use.

‘NCR cases on flat trend but ICUs in Davao, Iloilo at risk’ - Manila Standard

New, possibly more infectious Covid-19 strain detected in more than 30 countries

By New Straits Times - July 5, 2021 @ 11:44pm A new strain of Covid-19 has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks, the Health Ministry highlighted in a tweet today. - Bernama file pic KUALA LUMPUR: A new strain of Covid-19 has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks, the Health Ministry highlighted in a tweet today.

"The Lambda strain was reported to have originated in Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world," it said.

The tweet linked a report which said the strain is believed to be more transmissible than Delta, previously believed to be the most infectious strain of Covid-19.

The report said the strain is baffling scientists and has been linked to 81 per cent of Peru's cases since April.

Meanwhile, other news reports have quoted experts as saying studies show Lambda is more transmissible and deadlier than any of the previous variants.

Nick Cater of the Menzies Research Centre was quoted as saying the Delta variant had a 38 per cent mortality rate but Lambda was even more concerning as it seems to be more infectious.

He also said the variant showed a resistance to antibodies created by the CoronaVac vaccine.

Pablo Tsukayama, a molecular microbiologist at the Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, agreed that the Lambda variant spreads faster than any other variant before it.

"We had 200 Lambda infections in December. By the end of March, it made up half of all samples taken in Lima. Now three months later, we are looking at more than 80 per cent of all infections nationwide," he was quoted as saying.

New, possibly more infectious Covid-19 strain detected in more than 30 countries (nst.com.my)

.

Unvaccinated people are potential ‘variant factories’ – experts

Published July 5, 2021, 11:38 AM by Jaleen Ramos Individuals who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) do not only risk their own health but are potential “variant factories,” experts said. (AFP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Unvaccinated people are potential variant factories. The more unvaccinated people there are, the more opportunities for the virus to multiply,” Dr William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN.

He warned that populations of unvaccinated people give the virus the chance not only to spread but also to change.

“When it does, it mutates, and it could throw off a variant mutation that is even more serious down the road.”

Andrew Pekosz, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explained that as mutations come up in viruses, the ones that persist are the ones that make it easier for the virus to spread in the population.

“Every time the viruses changes, that gives the virus a different platform to add more mutations. Now we have viruses that spread more efficiently,” he told CNN.

The are already several variants of the coronavirus around the world including the the B.1.1.7 or Alpha variant that was first seen in England, the B.1.351 or Beta variant first spotted in South Africa, and the Delta variant or B.1.617.2 first detected in India.

The World Health Organization had earlier advised that “the more we allow the virus to spread, the more opportunity the virus has to change.”

“Every time we see the virus circulating in the population, particularly a population that has pockets of immune people, vaccinated people, and pockets of unvaccinated people, you have a situation where the virus can probe,” Pekosz added.

In the United States, only 18 states have fully vaccinated more than half their residents, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of June 27, the Philippines has so far recorded a total of 2,527,286 Filipinos who have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Unvaccinated people are potential ‘variant factories’ – experts – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Israel data 'preliminary signal' Delta variant can bypass vaccine: expert

Published July 6, 2021, 5:42 AM by Agence-France-PresseJERUSALEM – Rising coronavirus cases in Israel, where most residents are inoculated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, offer “a preliminary signal” the vaccine may be less effective in preventing mild illness from the Delta variant, a top expert said Monday. An Israeli girl receives a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from the Magen David Adom during a campaign by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality to encourage the vaccination of teenagers, on July 5, 2021, in Tel Aviv. Israel is now urging more 12- to 15-year-olds to be vaccinated, citing new outbreaks attributed to the more infectious Delta variant. JACK GUEZ / AFP

But Ran Balicer, chairman of Israel’s national expert panel on Covid-19, stressed it was “too early to precisely assess vaccine effectiveness against the variant” first identified in India in April that is surging across the globe.

That is partly due to the overall low number of cases among fully vaccinated Israelis, and because exposure to the virus and the likelihood of being tested are not evenly distributed across the population, further complicating efforts to reach conclusions about the data.

Balicer, also the chief innovation officer at Clalit, Israel’s largest health maintenance organisation (HMO), told AFP that the Delta variant’s emergence as the “dominant strain” in the country has led to a “massive shift in the transmission dynamic”.

Israel’s vaccine rollout that began in December was one of the world’s fastest, making the Jewish state a closely-watched case study on whether mass inoculation offers a path out of the pandemic.

Vaccinations had brought transmission down to about five local new cases per day, but that figure has risen to around 300 in recent days, with the Delta variant raging.

About half of the daily cases are among children, and half are among mostly vaccinated adults.

“To some extent that could be expected since 85 percent of Israeli adults are vaccinated,” Balicer said.

“But the rates in which we see these breakthrough cases make some believe they extend beyond that expected point and suggest some decrease in vaccine effectiveness against mild illness — but not severe illness — is likely.”

The number of severe cases among vaccinated Israelis has risen in recent days from roughly one every two days up to five cases per day, Balicer said.

He said it was also too early to draw conclusions about the vaccine’s effectiveness against serious illness caused by the Delta variant.

But, he added, experts “remain hopeful that the vaccine effectiveness against serious illness will remain as high as it was for the alpha strain” identified for the first time in Britain in December.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Sunday, ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting, that “with the Delta variant running amok,” Israel may have to reintroduce certain restrictions that were lifted last month to curb transmission.

Balicer said it was unlikely Israel could contain rising cases without further restrictions being reimposed, but voiced hope they would be mild and that Israel’s “vaccine wall” of inoculated citizens will help reduce further spread.

“It is encouraging that we still maintain zero deaths for the last twelve days,” he further said.

Israel data 'preliminary signal' Delta variant can bypass vaccine: expert – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Singapore advises people to avoid exercising for a week after vaccination

 This preventive measure comes after a vaccinated 16-year-old boy suffered a cardiac arrest while lifting weights at a gym By hindustantimes.com | Written by Ayshee Bhaduri | Edited by Meenakshi Ray, Hindustan Times, New Delhi PUBLISHED ON JUL 05, 2021 06:10 PM IST Singapore health authorities on Monday updated existing guidelines on post- vaccination care, asking individuals to avoid strenuous exercise for a week after they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, as a “further precautionary measure”. This new measure is meant especially for adolescents and men below the ages of 30, reported Bloomberg.

Singapore advises people to avoid exercising for a week after vaccination | World News - Hindustan Times

Study finds Delta strain in India 8 times less sensitive to COVID-19 vaccine antibodies

Published July 6, 2021, 5:49 AM by Xinhua ADVERTISEMENT NEW DELHI, India — A study conducted on 100 healthcare workers across three centers in India has found the Delta variant eight times less sensitive to antibodies generated by the COVID-19 vaccine, a local media report said Monday.

The study, named “Sars-Cov-2 B.1.617.2 Deltavariant Emergence and Vaccine Breakthrough: Collaborative Study”, also found that the variant has a much higher capacity to infect more people.

The collaborative study from India was conducted along with scientists from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.

“The B.1.617.2 Delta variant not only dominates vaccine-breakthrough infections with higher respiratory viral loads compared to non-delta infections but also generates greater transmission between fully vaccinated healthcare workers, as compared to other variants B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant) or B.1.617.1 (Kappa variant),” the findings of the study revealed.

The study said the Delta variant is less sensitive to neutralizing antibodies from recovered individuals, with “higher replication efficiency” as compared to the Alpha variant.

Study finds Delta strain in India 8 times less sensitive to COVID-19 vaccine antibodies – Manila Bulletin (mb.com.ph)

Delta variant of coronavirus keeps growing in Korea

People line up to get tested for Covid-19 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Monday. After five people, including karaoke hostesses, tested positive positive over the weekend, the city sent text messages for all people who worked or visited karaoke bars from June 14 to July 2 to get tested for Covid-19 regardless of whether they had symptoms. [NEWS1]

The total number of Delta variant patients reached 416 in Korea, as health authorities raised their guard against the more contagious strain of the coronavirus.

"As of Sunday, 416 people have been confirmed with the Delta variant, with more cases added from mass infections within the community,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said during a briefing on Monday.

Health authorities have been updating the numbers for variant cases once a week on Tuesdays. Last Tuesday, a total of 263 people had been infected with the Delta variant. That shows that the number increased by more than 150 people in less than a week.

The Delta variant was found in nine people in a cluster of infections tied to foreign teachers at English-language hagwon (cram schools) in several schools in Gyeonggi cities.

The number of coronavirus patients related to this cluster reached more than 307 as of Monday, adding fears that more Delta patients could be found.

Jeong stressed, though, that the Delta detection rate is especially high among imported cases.

“The rate of fully vaccinated people [in Korea] remains low at around 10 percent, so it is extremely important to complete vaccinations while suppressing the inflow of the Delta variant as much as possible, as well as expanding the inoculation of first shots as much as possible.”

Sohn Young-rae, a senior health official from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, also warned that the Delta variant is “rapidly increasing” in Korea.

"The Delta variant is detected in around seven out of 100 new Covid-19 patients," Sohn said in an interview with TBS radio on Monday.

“The Delta variant accounted for less than 1 percent two months ago, but it has increased up to 7 percent now," he said.

The Delta variant, common in India, is believed to have 1.6 times higher transmission power than the Alpha variant.

The proportion of Delta out of the four virus variants — Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta — increased from 7.3 percent in April to 12.8 percent in May, and 18.2 percent last month.

A total of 2,492 cases of new virus variants were confirmed in Korea as of last Monday — with 2,075 people have been infected with the Alpha variant, followed by 263 with the Delta variant, 143 with the Beta variant and 11 with the Gamma variant.

To fight against a recent spike in Covid cases, including the highly transmissible Delta variant, health authorities announced strengthened preventive measures to be applied especially in the greater capital area, home to half of the country’s 51 million population.

All passengers coming from Indonesia, where the Delta variant is spreading, must present a negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result to board flights to Korea, effective from Sunday, July 4. This includes Koreans as well.

The number of Covid-19 confirmed cases among travelers from Indonesia came to 240 in the past four weeks, including 132 Korean nationals.

Health authorities earlier added India and Indonesia to a list of countries for which quarantines will be mandatory, even if the travelers are fully vaccinated.

Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 700s for the third day in a row on Monday, the highest number of cases reported on a Monday since the peak of the third wave of Covid-19 in January. Virus figures on Mondays are usually lower due to fewer tests conducted over the weekend.

The country reported 711 new Covid-19 cases Monday, including 644 local infections, raising the total caseload to 160,795.

Last week, average daily Covid-19 cases in Korea increased by more than 30 percent compared to the week before, and most patients were people in their 20s in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The KDCA said the daily average of local infections last week was 655, up 33.2 percent from a week earlier.

With more than 80 percent of new infections coming from Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon, patients in their 20s and 30s have been on a steep rise.

A total of 1,114 people in their 20s were confirmed in the Seoul metropolitan area from June 27 to July 3. This is 16.4 people per 100,000 — a 76 percent increase over the previous week's 9.3 people per 100,000.

“The number of patients in the metropolitan area is increasing rapidly, especially those in their 20s and 30s,” the KDCA commissioner said.

Delta variant of coronavirus keeps growing in Korea (joins.com)

Indonesia seeks more oxygen for COVID-19 sick amid shortage Medical workers wheel oxygen tanks at Dr Sardjito Central Hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Jul 4, 2021. A number of COVID-19 patients died amid an oxygen shortage at the hospital on the main island of Java following a nationwide surge of coronavirus infections. (Photo: AP/Kalandra) 05 Jul 2021 02:19PM JAKARTA: Parts of Indonesia lack oxygen supplies as the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients who need it increases, the nation's pandemic response leader said on Monday (Jul 5), after dozens of sick people died at a public hospital that ran out of its central supply.

Due to an increase of three to four times the amount (of oxygen) needed, the distribution has been hampered, said Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating maritime affairs and investment“ minister.The government is asking oxygen producers to dedicate their full supply to medical needs” and will import it if needed, Pandjaitan said at the virtual news conference.

This statement comes after Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikit said the government guaranteed oxygen supply for COVID-19 patients on Jun 26.

READ: COVID-19: Indonesia ramps up oxygen output after dozens die amid scarcity At least 63 COVID-19 patients have died during treatment at Dr Sardjito General Hospital in Yogyakarta city since Saturday 33 of them during the outage of its central liquid oxygen supply even though the hospital switched to using oxygen cylinders during that period, hospital spokesman Banu Hermawan— said.

Their deteriorating condition contributed the most to their deaths, Hermawan said.

“ ” The hospital s central oxygen supply was operational again at 4.45am on Sunday, after 15 tonnes of liquid oxygen were delivered. Medical oxygen comes in liquid and compressed forms. ’

Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said the hospitals needed more oxygen than before because of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the province.

We need more oxygen supply. But it does not mean there is no supply at all, he said.

“Indonesia seeks more oxygen for COVID-19 sick amid shortage - CNA (channelnewsasia.com)”

Australians trapped in COVID-19 vaccine 'Hunger Games', says top official Australia's vaccination drive has been hampered by low supply as the country battles a growing COVID-19 outbreak. (File photo: AFP/Saeed Khan)

05 Jul 2021 01:25PM SYDNEY: Getting vaccinated in Australia is like "the Hunger Games" a top health official admitted on Monday (Jul 5), as the country battles scarce supplies during a growing COVID- 19 outbreak.

A vaccine shortage has led to panicked efforts by people looking to get jabbed, said Brad Hazzard, health minister for the country's most populous state New South Wales.

Advertisement "It is almost a sense now of the Hunger Games of people chasing vaccine," he said of desperate residents turning up at mass vaccination centres or making regular calls to medical facilities in the hope of securing an appointment.

Set in a dystopian future, the wildly popular Hunger Games books and films saw a group of young people selected annually to participate in a televised battle to the death.

READ: Australia's New South Wales says next 2 days 'critical' as COVID-19 outbreak grows Just 7 per cent of Australia's roughly 25 million residents have been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest proportions for any developed nation.

The country's conservative government bet heavily on AstraZeneca, and developing a homegrown vaccine, which failed in trials.

Many Australians have shunned the available AstraZeneca offering - now only recommended for those aged over 60 - and tried to secure appointments to get the Pfizer- BioNTech shot.

But the odds have not been in their favour as efforts to get more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and other vaccines remain hampered by late decisions on ordering and limited global supply.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under growing pressure to increase the vaccination rate, as an outbreak in locked-down Sydney grew to more than 300.

Australians trapped in COVID-19 vaccine 'Hunger Games', says top official - CNA (channelnewsasia.com) Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across the World Updated: July 19, 2021, 8:21 AM GMT+8

Tracking Covid-19  Vaccine Tracker  Global Cases  U.S. Cases  U.S. Regions Brazil 2,578 92,137 N/A N/A

U.K. 1,971 83,363 3,434.9 2.5

U.S. 1,844 103,185 1,440.3 2.8

France 1,652 87,707 N/A 6.0

Germany 1,138 46,720 819.0 8.0

Russia 1,028 41,457 1,082.3 8.1

India 315 23,717 335.5 0.5

Japan 119 6,690 131.3 13.1

Mainland China 3 66 N/A 4.3

Testing data as of July 16, 2021, 6:13 PM GMT+8 Sources: OECD for number of hospital beds (2016 for the U.S., 2017 for other countries), government agencies and the COVID Tracking Project via Our World in Data for testing data (various recent dates) (reported in the past 45 days) and the U.S. Census Bureau for population figures (2019).

The world is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 infections, as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 190 million people and killed more than 4.0 million globally since late January 2020. Efforts many countries took to stamp out the pneumonia-like illness led to entire nations enforcing lockdowns, widespread halts of international travel, mass layoffs and battered financial markets. Recent attempts to revive social life and financial activities have resulted in another surge in cases and hospitalizations, though new drugs and improved care may help more people who get seriously ill survive.

Getting to a Flatter Curve  The first 548 days with more than 100 confirmed cases

 Asia

 Other Show deaths 

01002003004005001 yrDays since 100 confirmed cases1001,00010,000100,0001,000,00010,000,00030,000,000CasesMainland ChinaFranceU.K.Hong KongU.S.AustraliaBrazilIndiaRussiaTaiwanNew Zealand Note: JHU CSSE reporting began on January 22, 2020, when mainland China had already surpassed 500 cases. Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering 190,355,824 Confirmed cases worldwide 4,088,069 Deaths worldwide

Jurisdictions with cases confirmed as of July 19, 2021, 8:21 AM GMT+8

 1–99

 100–999

 1,000–9,999

 10,000–99,999

 100,000–999,999

 1,000,000–9,999,999

 10 million or more Where deaths have occurred Deaths Cases

U.S. 609,018 34,078,832

Brazil 542,214 19,376,574

India 413,609 31,106,065

Mexico 236,240 2,654,699

Peru 195,047 2,092,125

Russia 145,975 5,884,593

U.K. 128,985 5,455,043

Italy 127,867 4,287,458

Colombia 116,307 4,639,466

France 111,662 5,929,929

Argentina 101,549 4,756,378

Germany 91,369 3,752,236

Iran 87,161 3,523,263

Spain 81,096 4,100,222

Poland 75,215 2,881,424

Show more  Note: Totals for Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. include overseas territories and other dependencies. Cases and deaths for cruise ships have been separated in accordance with JHU CSSE data. More Coverage From Bloomberg  Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter  Stories about the coronavirus outbreak from Bloomberg News  Virus Update from Bloomberg News  The Future of Travel in the Covid Era  How Covid Is Shifting Human Behavior Around the World  The Covid Resilience Ranking

The epicenter of the pandemic has continued to shift throughout the year, from China, then Europe, then the U.S., and now to developing countries like Brazil. Cases globally surpassed 10 million in late June, but ever since infections have been multiplying faster. The U.S. and India have the most infections, accounting for more than a third of all cases combined.

Global Cases Added Per Day New cases: 472,593 Jan 21, 2020 Jul 17, 2021

U.K.

New cases: 54,183

Jan 21, 2020 Jul 17, 2021 India

41,157 Brazil

34,339 Russia

24,590 Iran

15,139 U.S.

12,960 France

10,949 Germany

1,309 Mainland China

33 Note: On February 14, 2020, Hubei officials changed their diagnostic criteria, resulting in a spike in reported cases.

Countries took drastic measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 on their homefront— with varying degrees of success. More than 140 governments placed blanket bans on incoming travelers, closed schools and restricted gatherings and public events, according to data compiled by Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Bloomberg reporting.

As countries loosen lockdowns in an effort to reboot their economies, many have seen a resurgence of infections. The number of new daily cases in the U.S. rose to record highs after some states relaxed social distancing requirements. Even places that successfully contained infections earlier in the year, like China and South Korea, have seen cases bubble back up. Theories that warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere would bring relief appear to be unfounded.

How the Outbreak Spread Country by Country  Seven-day rolling average of new deaths and cases

 Asia

 Other Show cases 

Mar 2020Jan 2021Jul 1700.5K1.0K1.5K2.0K2.5K3.0K3.5K4.0KNew deaths by dayU.S.IndiaRussiaU.K. Note: Shown are the 15 places with the highest totals of confirmed cases, as of July 17. Negative values resulting from governments revising their totals have been excluded from rolling average calculations.

The “worst is yet to come” given a lack of global solidarity, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said at a briefing in Geneva on June 29.

In May, the WHO emphasized the need for a plan that includes testing for the virus and its antibodies, effective contact tracing and isolation, and community education. Antibody tests on the market that could potentially indicate a person’s immunity have been unreliable so far. Researchers and drugmakers are racing to develop treatments that could hold the key to recovery.

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir is one of the first widely used drugs for Covid- 19. It received an emergency use authorization from U.S. regulators in May, after a trial found it sped recovery by about four days in hospitalized patients. It was also part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s treatment after he tested positive for the coronavirus in early October, along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s antibody cocktail and the generic drug dexamethasone.

Vaccines are also in development, though the study of one leading candidate from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is on hold in the U.S. while regulators investigate a potential safety issue.

Coronavirus: Mapping Covid-19 Confirmed Cases and Deaths Globally (bloomberg.com)

Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country

By The Visual and Data Journalism Team BBC News Published 2 days ago Share

Related Topics

 Coronavirus pandemic

IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with about 190 million confirmed cases and more than four million deaths across nearly 200 countries.

The US, India and Brazil have seen the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by France, Russia, Turkey and the UK. Very few places have been left untouched. mapped

Zoom to

Show 188,929,646cases4,066,629deaths 33,800,000 Circles show number of confirmed coronavirus cases per country.

Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies Figures last updated 16 July 2021, 09:25 BST

In the table below, countries can be reordered by deaths, death rate and total cases. In the coloured bars on the right-hand side, countries in which cases have risen to more than 10,000 per day are those with black bars on the relevant date. data in detail

Scroll table to see more data

*Deaths per 100,000 people

Filter:

New Cases

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100

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Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

US 605,665 185.2 33,821,831 JAN 2020 JUL 2021

Brazil 538,942 257.3 19,262,518

India 412,531 30.5 31,026,829

Mexico 235,740 186.8 2,629,648

Peru 194,845 609.1 2,088,143

Russia 143,657 98.6 5,810,335

UK 128,593 191.5 5,281,098

Italy 127,840 210.9 4,278,319

Colombia 114,833 231.2 4,583,442

France 111,429 171.5 5,833,341

New Cases

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Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Argentina 100,695 227.0 4,719,952

Germany 91,346 109.9 3,748,379

Iran 86,592 105.9 3,464,055

Spain 81,084 173.7 4,069,162

Poland 75,191 198.3 2,881,151

Indonesia 70,192 26.2 2,726,803

South Africa 65,972 114.2 2,253,240

Ukraine 55,114 124.6 2,315,565

Turkey 50,415 61.2 5,507,455

Romania 34,245 175.6 1,081,467

Chile 34,207 182.6 1,594,496

Czech Republic 30,335 284.4 1,670,583

Hungary 30,013 309.2 808,661

Canada 26,436 71.3 1,429,707

Philippines 26,314 24.7 1,490,665

Belgium 25,208 219.5 1,102,069

Pakistan 22,720 10.7 983,719

Ecuador 21,872 128.0 472,722

New Cases

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Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Bulgaria 18,163 257.6 422,797

Netherlands 17,790 104.3 1,767,763

Iraq 17,707 46.1 1,466,529

Bolivia 17,375 153.0 459,579

Bangladesh 17,278 10.7 1,071,774

Portugal 17,187 167.6 920,200

Tunisia 17,009 147.1 526,487

Egypt 16,425 16.7 283,490

Japan 14,966 11.8 831,741

Sweden 14,643 146.8 1,093,923

Paraguay 14,120 203.0 442,207

Greece 12,795 121.6 450,512

Slovakia 12,524 229.7 392,000

Switzerland 10,863 127.4 707,357

Austria 10,727 120.6 652,660

Jordan 9,872 99.1 759,686

Guatemala 9,834 57.0 327,755

Bosnia and 9,665 290.8 205,267 Herzegovina New Cases

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Nepal 9,463 33.7 662,570

Morocco 9,418 26.1 549,844

Croatia 8,233 198.1 361,218

Saudi Arabia 8,006 23.8 503,734

Lebanon 7,882 114.9 549,427

Honduras 7,391 77.1 277,974

Serbia 7,078 101.4 718,093

Panama 6,674 159.8 419,829

Malaysia 6,613 21.0 880,782

Israel 6,443 76.9 849,654

Moldova 6,219 153.5 257,766

Afghanistan 5,983 16.1 137,853

Uruguay 5,865 170.0 378,041

Georgia 5,503 137.5 382,734

North Macedonia 5,487 263.4 155,866

Ireland 5,018 104.1 280,784

Azerbaijan 4,990 50.2 337,801

Costa Rica 4,857 97.2 388,298

New Cases

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100

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Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

China 4,848 0.3 104,193

Armenia 4,556 154.3 226,949

Slovenia 4,425 213.0 258,045

Lithuania 4,404 157.2 279,572

Ethiopia 4,350 4.0 277,443

Myanmar 4,346 8.1 212,545

Dominican Republic 3,907 36.8 336,144

Algeria 3,895 9.2 149,906

Kenya 3,746 7.3 191,020

Sri Lanka 3,661 17.2 280,543

Kazakhstan 3,600 19.7 536,089

Palestinian Territories 3,585 73.7 315,504

Oman 3,498 72.4 289,042

Venezuela 3,339 11.6 289,362

Belarus 3,297 34.9 431,112

Libya 3,249 48.6 214,568

Thailand 3,032 4.4 372,215

Zambia 2,991 17.2 182,129

New Cases

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Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Sudan 2,774 6.6 36,986

Latvia 2,542 131.8 138,041

Denmark 2,540 44.2 303,469

El Salvador 2,477 38.6 82,605

Albania 2,456 85.2 132,629

Zimbabwe 2,418 16.7 78,872

Namibia 2,270 92.7 109,356

Kosovo 2,268 122.9 107,883

Uganda 2,249 5.3 89,080

Kuwait 2,174 52.5 382,084

Kyrgyzstan 2,154 34.2 146,292

Nigeria 2,126 1.1 169,074

South Korea 2,051 4.0 175,046

Syria 1,902 11.2 25,814

United Arab Emirates 1,885 19.6 656,354

Cuba 1,726 15.2 263,086

Montenegro 1,621 258.2 100,567

Bahrain 1,379 87.9 267,619

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Yemen 1,366 4.8 6,967

Cameroon 1,324 5.3 80,858

Malawi 1,301 7.2 41,498

Botswana 1,274 56.5 86,133

Estonia 1,271 96.1 131,681

Senegal 1,209 7.6 48,270

Jamaica 1,136 38.7 50,913

Mozambique 1,057 3.6 94,733

Cambodia 1,052 6.5 65,500

DR Congo 984 1.2 45,211

Finland 978 17.7 99,212

Trinidad and Tobago 969 69.7 35,428

Angola 951 3.1 40,530

Madagascar 934 3.6 42,479

Australia 912 3.7 31,628

Luxembourg 819 135.5 72,632

Ghana 806 2.7 98,114

Norway 796 14.9 133,876

New Cases

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10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Uzbekistan 789 2.4 118,380

Somalia 781 5.2 15,081

Taiwan 759 3.2 15,346

Mongolia 716 22.6 144,492

Eswatini 698 61.4 20,693

Rwanda 616 5.0 51,625

Suriname 602 104.5 23,861

Qatar 599 21.5 223,911

Mali 529 2.8 14,496

Guyana 506 65.0 21,274

Mauritania 503 11.4 22,187

Haiti 487 4.4 19,374

Malta 420 95.6 31,834

Cyprus 383 44.3 88,457

Lesotho 338 16.0 12,153

Belize 332 86.7 13,644

Ivory Coast 319 1.3 48,999

Cape Verde 294 54.1 33,180

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Guadeloupe 274 68.5 17,809

Réunion 256 29.0 33,295

Bahamas 256 66.4 13,274

Maldives 215 41.7 75,622

Vietnam 207 0.2 42,288

Niger 194 0.9 5,555

Nicaragua 193 3.0 8,767

Gambia 188 8.2 6,610

Guinea 184 1.5 24,298

Papua New Guinea 179 2.1 17,340

Mayotte 174 67.0 19,451

Chad 174 1.1 4,959

Congo 172 3.3 12,933

Burkina Faso 169 0.9 13,530

French Guiana 163 57.6 28,681

Gabon 162 7.6 25,245

Djibouti 155 16.2 11,622

Liberia 148 3.1 5,306

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Comoros 146 17.5 4,002

French Polynesia 144 51.9 19,058

Togo 134 1.7 14,426

Andorra 127 164.9 14,239

Curaçao 126 77.4 12,537

Equatorial Guinea 123 9.4 8,828

South Sudan 117 1.1 10,917

Sierra Leone 113 1.5 6,122

Tajikistan 110 1.2 14,000

Aruba 108 102.0 11,199

Benin 107 0.9 8,244

Martinique 98 26.1 12,807

Central African 98 2.1 7,142 Republic

Gibraltar 94 278.8 4,518

San Marino 90 266.4 5,094

Saint Lucia 87 47.8 5,455

Channel Islands 86 50.4 6,383

Seychelles 77 79.3 17,005

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Fiji 74 8.4 13,886

Guinea-Bissau 70 3.7 3,998

Liechtenstein 59 155.6 3,061

Barbados 48 16.7 4,230

Antigua and Barbuda 42 43.6 1,267

Sao Tome and Principe 37 17.5 2,400

Singapore 36 0.6 62,852

Saint Martin 34 91.2 2,659

Monaco 33 85.3 2,655

Bermuda 33 52.6 2,525

Eritrea 30 0.9 6,382

Iceland 29 8.6 6,555

Isle of Man 29 34.5 1,907

New Zealand 26 0.5 2,804

Timor-Leste 25 2.0 9,997

Tanzania 21 0.0 509

Turks and Caicos 18 47.8 2,444 Islands

Mauritius 18 1.4 1,858

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

Diamond Princess 13 712 cruise ship

St Vincent and the 12 10.9 2,258 Grenadines

Burundi 8 0.1 5,764

British Virgin Islands 8 26.9 1,602

Laos 4 0.1 3,187

Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 5.7 544

Brunei 3 0.7 282

Bhutan 2 0.3 2,380

Cayman Islands 2 3.1 620

MS Zaandam cruise 2 9 ship

Saint Barthelemy 1 10.2 1,005

Faroe Islands 1 2.1 905

Grenada 1 0.9 161

Montserrat 1 20.0 21

Vanuatu 1 0.3 4

Dominica 0 0.0 199

New Cases

0

10

100

1k

10k

Country Deaths Death rate*Total Cases **

New Caledonia 0 0.0 129

Anguilla 0 0.0 111

Greenland 0 0.0 65

Falkland Islands 0 0.0 63

Vatican 0 0.0 27

Saint Pierre and 0 0.0 26 Miquelon

Solomon Islands 0 0.0 20

Marshall Islands 0 0.0 4

Samoa 0 0.0 3

Kiribati 0 0.0 2

Micronesia 0 0.0 1

Palau 0 0.0 0

Show more

This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country.

** The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average. Due to revisions in the number of cases, an average cannot be calculated for this date.

Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies and UN population data Figures last updated: 16 July 2021, 09:25 BST ADVERTISEMENT Note: The map, table and animated bar chart in this page use a different source for figures for France and the UK from that used by Johns Hopkins University. US figures do not include Puerto Rico, Guam or the US Virgin Islands.

Confirmed cases have been rising steeply since the middle of last year, but the true extent of the first outbreaks in 2020 is unclear because testing was not then widely available. The 100 millionth Covid case was recorded at the end of January - about a year after the first officially diagnosed case of the virus.

Deaths have also been rising, however official figures may not fully reflect the true number in many countries. Data on excess deaths, a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected based on the previous few years, may give a better indication of the actual numbers in many cases.

Who has vaccinated the most? Several coronavirus vaccines have been approved for use, either by individual countries or groups of countries, such as the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the 193 countries and territories administering vaccines and publishing rollout data, 67 are high-income nations, 101 are middle-income and 25 low-income. The map below, using figures collated by Our World in Data - a collaboration between Oxford University and an educational charity - shows the total number of doses given per 100 people, mostly first doses.

Global vaccine rollout Click or tap the map Reset

Total doses per 100 people

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Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

World 45.8 3,572,787,631

China 98.9 1,431,420,634

India 28.4 391,340,491

US 100.5 336,054,953

Brazil 56.8 120,726,752 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Germany 101.4 84,989,850

UK 121.9 81,438,892

Japan 52.7 66,714,528

France 92.2 62,321,355

Turkey 73.1 61,621,806

Italy 99.2 59,966,908

Indonesia 20.4 55,819,781

Mexico 40.9 52,704,960

Russia 34.5 50,383,638

Spain 106.1 49,585,197

Canada 117.4 44,293,659

Poland 85.6 32,413,199

Argentina 57.8 26,134,815

Chile 126.8 24,248,545

Colombia 44.5 22,624,568

Pakistan 9.8 21,660,650

Saudi Arabia 61.9 21,556,314

South Korea 41.3 21,157,612

Morocco 55.8 20,584,812

Netherlands 103.7 17,773,305

United Arab Emirates 163.7 16,194,526

Philippines 12.8 14,074,514

Thailand 19.4 13,533,717 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Malaysia 40.5 13,107,681

Belgium 108.4 12,560,860

Israel 126.6 10,959,633

Portugal 103.8 10,579,259

Hungary 105.1 10,155,466

Bangladesh 6.1 10,108,224

Peru 30.2 9,954,429

Australia 37.8 9,631,807

Greece 91.7 9,560,592

Sweden 94.4 9,536,164

Czech Republic 87.3 9,346,397

Cambodia 55.3 9,242,925

Romania 47.3 9,092,141

Dominican Republic 83.6 9,066,151

Austria 98.4 8,866,474

Switzerland 94.0 8,133,486

Cuba 68.6 7,767,601

Kazakhstan 38.9 7,303,180

Ecuador 39.1 6,890,876

Iran 7.8 6,530,124

Singapore 110.1 6,440,735

Sri Lanka 30.0 6,431,100

Denmark 108.2 6,266,892 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Serbia 79.6 5,415,434

Finland 89.4 4,951,925

Ireland 99.5 4,912,457

Egypt 4.7 4,851,349

Norway 88.3 4,785,937

Taiwan 19.3 4,603,639

South Africa 7.6 4,535,222

Jordan 44.1 4,498,748

Uruguay 128.3 4,458,394

Azerbaijan 41.8 4,242,727

Vietnam 4.3 4,185,623

Slovakia 73.3 4,003,639

Venezuela 14.1 4,000,000

Nigeria 1.9 3,938,945

Mongolia 119.4 3,912,996

Ukraine 8.9 3,899,890

Nepal 12.8 3,730,344

Uzbekistan 10.6 3,541,442

Myanmar 6.4 3,500,000

Qatar 120.6 3,474,944

El Salvador 52.8 3,422,214

Bolivia 26.7 3,117,521

Croatia 69.9 2,870,866 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Costa Rica 51.2 2,606,791

Algeria 5.7 2,500,000

Lithuania 90.4 2,459,605

Kuwait 55.6 2,375,455

Bahrain 130.8 2,224,916

Tunisia 18.7 2,206,980

Ethiopia 1.8 2,090,997

Bulgaria 27.3 1,896,574

Panama 41.3 1,781,542

Oman 33.9 1,728,618

Laos 23.5 1,708,981

Lebanon 24.8 1,690,521

Slovenia 78.2 1,626,072

Zimbabwe 10.6 1,575,539

Angola 4.7 1,558,201

Kenya 2.9 1,550,389

New Zealand 29.1 1,404,343

Ghana 4.1 1,265,306

Latvia 67.0 1,264,433

Honduras 11.8 1,172,830

Guatemala 6.4 1,146,477

Iraq 2.7 1,087,866

Uganda 2.4 1,079,943 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Belarus 11.4 1,073,282

Albania 36.6 1,052,108

Estonia 79.1 1,049,416

Afghanistan 2.6 1,024,168

Palestinian Territories 18.8 958,519

Cyprus 103.2 916,819

Mauritius 70.9 901,530

Ivory Coast 3.3 861,278

Moldova 20.7 834,527

Paraguay 11.6 826,642

Senegal 4.9 823,610

Guinea 5.9 770,688

Malta 162.0 715,447

North Macedonia 34.2 713,114

Sudan 1.5 677,957

Rwanda 5.0 646,909

Luxembourg 101.3 633,974

Maldives 103.9 561,748

Mozambique 1.6 508,184

Bhutan 63.1 487,060

Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.3 470,218

Iceland 136.7 466,434

Malawi 2.2 428,407 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Libya 6.2 425,119

Niger 1.7 423,335

Fiji 46.9 419,998

Tajikistan 4.2 397,694

Trinidad and Tobago 26.9 375,924

Guyana 46.2 363,442

Togo 4.2 347,246

Montenegro 48.5 304,655

Yemen 1.0 297,405

Jamaica 9.8 290,382

Georgia 7.3 289,399

Botswana 12.1 284,676

Timor-Leste 21.3 281,283

Equatorial Guinea 19.9 279,112

Armenia 8.8 260,813

Somalia 1.6 249,790

Zambia 1.3 243,818

Kosovo 12.6 243,428

Sierra Leone 2.8 225,380

Suriname 37.9 222,377

Madagascar 0.7 197,001

Mali 1.0 196,862

Mauritania 3.9 182,642 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Kyrgyzstan 2.7 173,700

Barbados 58.8 168,955

Nicaragua 2.5 167,500

Namibia 6.6 166,616

Cameroon 0.6 163,921

Congo 3.0 163,742

Belize 37.0 147,080

Seychelles 142.0 139,625

Syria 0.7 131,221

Jersey 129.4 130,793

Cape Verde 22.5 124,958

Brunei 27.7 121,241

Isle of Man 137.6 116,977

Bahamas 24.9 97,992

Liberia 1.9 95,423

Cayman Islands 144.8 95,136

Comoros 10.5 90,880

Guernsey 132.2 88,656

Bermuda 131.4 81,845

Central African Republic 1.6 78,685

Gibraltar 232.2 78,233

DR Congo 0.082 73,764

Gabon 3.3 72,351 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Andorra 88.4 68,329

Antigua and Barbuda 67.0 65,656

Samoa 31.3 62,161

Eswatini 5.2 60,069

Faroe Islands 120.4 58,843

Lesotho 2.6 56,322

South Sudan 0.5 55,915

Saint Lucia 29.6 54,361

Benin 0.4 52,563

Papua New Guinea 0.6 51,170

Greenland 89.5 50,826

Turks and Caicos Islands 117.1 45,342

San Marino 132.7 45,050

Gambia 1.8 43,557

Saint Kitts and Nevis 79.8 42,432

Turkmenistan 0.7 41,993

Dominica 55.6 40,004

Monaco 99.0 38,849

Sao Tome and Principe 17.2 37,716

Liechtenstein 95.0 36,244

Grenada 31.2 35,072

Burkina Faso 0.2 33,960

Tonga 27.1 28,667 Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Djibouti 2.7 26,796

Solomon Islands 3.7 25,628

St Vincent and the Grenadines 23.0 25,509

Guinea-Bissau 1.3 25,012

Chad 0.1 24,459

British Virgin Islands 75.5 22,837

Cook Islands 107.8 18,942

Anguilla 113.0 16,951

Vanuatu 4.6 14,026

Nauru 97.4 10,556

Saint Helena 130.0 7,892

Tuvalu 40.5 4,772

Falkland Islands 126.5 4,407

Montserrat 53.9 2,695

Niue 75.2 1,216

Pitcairn 100.0 47

British Indian Ocean Territory 0 0

Burundi 0 0

Eritrea 0 0

Haiti 0 0

Kiribati 0 0

North Korea 0 0

South Georgia and the South 0 0 Sandwich Islands Location Doses per 100 people Total doses

Tanzania 0 0

Tokelau 0 0

Vatican 0 0

Show more

This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country. Total vaccinations refers to the number of doses given, not the number of people vaccinated. It is possible to have more than 100 doses per 100 population as some vaccines require two doses per person.

Source: Our World in Data, ONS, gov.uk dashboard

Last updated: 16 July 2021, 10:53 BST

Overall, China and India have administered the highest number of doses, with about 1.4 billion and 390 million respectively. The US ranks third, with more than 335 million. But when breaking the figures down by doses per 100 people in countries with a population of at least one million, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel top the list.

Most countries are prioritising the over-60s, health workers and people who are clinically vulnerable. Some countries have secured more vaccine doses than their populations need, while other lower-income countries are relying on a global plan known as Covax, which is seeking to ensure everyone in the world has access to a vaccine.  How fast is vaccination progress around the world?

Where are cases still high? With many countries now having started widespread vaccine rollouts, the number of daily cases is stable in most regions.

Here's a breakdown of the situation by region: Asia Asia was the centre of the initial outbreak that spread from China in early 2020, but the number of cases and deaths there was initially lower than in Europe and North America. However, the recent surge in cases in India and elsewhere is changing the picture. In India, the official death toll is more than 400,000, while it has recorded more than 30 million cases - second only to the US. Elsewhere, Indonesia is recording an average of more than 40,000 new cases every day at the moment and hospitals there have seen oxygen shortages. As the chart below shows, other countries in Asia have also seen recent spikes in cases.

Latin America In Latin America, Brazil has recorded over 19 million cases and more than 500,000 deaths - the world's second highest official death toll. Mexico has seen the fourth highest number of deaths in the world, with over 230,000, and is currently experiencing another surge in cases. Peru now has the fifth highest toll with more than 190,000 deaths, but the highest number of deaths by population size - more than 600 deaths for every 100,000 people. In Cuba, a steep rise in the number of new cases is one of the reasons behind protests that have erupted in the country recently.

Europe The UK and some other European countries are now seeing a rise in cases once again, driven by the Delta variant of the virus. Russia is currently seeing more than 20,000 new cases every day and over 700 deaths - the highest daily death figures the country has seen since the pandemic began. Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Greece are among the other countries currently seeing a spike in cases, as the chart below shows. However, the pace of Europe's Covid-19 vaccination campaign has picked up and lockdowns are being eased in many countries.  How is Europe lifting lockdown restrictions?

North America The US has recorded about 34 million cases and over 600,000 deaths - the highest figures in the world. Daily cases and deaths in the US have been falling since May but there are now signs that cases may be on the up again. The death rate in Canada is far lower than its neighbour's and it is currently seeing a relatively low number of daily cases.

Middle East Several countries in the Middle East have had severe outbreaks of the virus, with Iran and Iraq seeing the highest numbers of deaths. Iran has the highest official death toll in the region and the country is currently seeing another rise in daily cases. Neighbouring Iraq is also seeing a new spike in cases. Israel has rolled out a highly successful vaccination programme, but recently re- imposed a requirement for masks to be worn indoors after an increase in cases.

Africa Africa has seen more than six million cases and 150,000 deaths - but the true extent of the pandemic in many African countries is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 2.2 million cases and 65,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent, according to official figures. Morocco has recorded about 550,000 cases and Tunisia is not far behind with 525,000. Ethiopia and Egypt are both approaching 300,000 cases.  Coronavirus in Africa tracker

Oceania Australia and New Zealand have been praised for their response to the pandemic, with both countries having seen comparatively few deaths. But there is new concern in Australia where record cases of the Delta variant have prompted major cities, including Sydney, to go into lockdown. Elsewhere in the region, Fiji is currently seeing a spike in infections, taking the total number of cases there to nearly 14,000.

How did coronavirus spread? Covid-19 was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China, in late 2019 but the outbreak spread quickly across the globe in the first months of 2020. It was declared a global pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020. A pandemic is when an infectious disease is passing easily from person to person in many parts of the world at the same time.

 UK LOOK-UP: How many cases in your area?  TESTING: What tests are available?  SYMPTOMS: What are they and how to guard against them?  VACCINE: How do I know the Covid vaccine is safe?

About this data The data used on this page comes from a variety of sources. It includes figures collated by Johns Hopkins University, data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, national governments and health agencies, as well as UN data on populations. When comparing figures from different countries it is important to bear in mind that not all governments are recording coronavirus cases and deaths in the same way. This makes like for like comparisons between countries difficult. Other factors to consider include: different population sizes, the size of a country's elderly population or whether a particular country has a large amount of its people living in densely-populated areas. In addition, countries may be in different stages of the pandemic.

Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country - BBC News

A leader worth his salt should welcome ICC investigation

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:04 AM July 06, 2021 Like vaccine research, the International Criminal Court proceedings are based on evidence and open to international scrutiny. It brings to light the sufferings inflicted by the cruel perversions of political power, attested to, at the cost of often heroic courage, by the severely disadvantaged. The wheels of justice do grind exceedingly slow, but the day of reckoning does come and Lady Justice writes on the wall, and is in no hurry, for redress is accomplished without calendar.

Secretary Harry Roque has his work cut out for him, for the usual obfuscations could backfire as the world looks on. In the interest of transparency and accountability, a leader worth his salt would take this on the chin and welcome any investigation.

ADVERTISEMENT The specter of terrorism is a frequent justification of authoritarian governments, but this has not exempted them from blame, thanks to those implementing their directives. Joseph Conrad does not mince words: “Everybody’s worried about terrorism. Well, there’s really an easy way. Stop participating in it. Terrorists and policemen come from the same basket.” Daily news would bear out that this is not an exaggeration. The administration’s ultimate defense is that it is doing its best, that the system of justice is in working order, that there’s no need for outsiders to look in. However, as Churchill said, doing its best is not good enough. Sometimes we have to do what is required.

A leader worth his salt should welcome ICC investigation | Inquirer Opinion

One Simple Method To Keep Your Blood Sugar Below 100 07/19/2021 | 67,743 views | Video time: 12 minutes As a matter of fact, by using the breakthrough research of professor James Freeman, George Reilly has not only reduced his severe Type-2 Diabetes complications but also helped more than 37,839 Type 2 diabetes patients achieve healthy blood sugar levels.

Professor James Freeman has found that thousands of Type-2 Diabetes sufferers in Japan have used this safe, drug-free and 100% natural method to achieve normal blood sugar levels. This 'Method' as used by experts in Japan, offers Type-2 diabetes relief that has as much, if not more, scientific evidence of their effectiveness than that of big pharma manufactured drug cocktails. Learn More About This Surprisingly Easy Method In The Presentation By George Reilly. George Reilly also reveals how eating one so-called healthy veggie could spike blood sugar levels. By using this method that involves using simple kitchen ingredients, George Reilly has not only changed his life but also helped 37,839 + people in finding the way to healthy blood sugar levels. In a moment you’ll see the evidence with your own eyes. This breakthrough method has now helped 37,839 diabetes type 2 sufferers alleviate the symptoms of the disease Pay close attention and watch this video until the end because it will be taken down in days and you can’t find this information anywhere else. George Reilly has to show you an alternative to toxic drug treatments and all the side effects that go with them. This choice is now entirely yours.

This 1 Blood Sugar 'Method' Keeps Blood Sugar Normal - Relieves Type 2 Diabetes In Just A Few Weeks (fastaegis.shop)

Righting the course for Philippines’ COVID-19 resilience

Paco A. Pangalangan, Executive Director, Stratbase ADR Institute

In a recent interview, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he was pissed at a recent Bloomberg study that ranked the Philippines 52nd among 53 economies in terms of COVID-19 resilience. “ ” However, the ones that should really be pissed by the country s poor pandemic resilience are the over 9 million Filipinos that remain unemployed or underemployed during the prolonged lockdown or the thousands more that are infected by’ COVID-19 each day due to the government s inefficient vaccination, testing and tracing efforts.

According to Bloomberg’ s COVID Resilience Ranking, the Philippines score of 45.3 was the second to the last on the index, ahead only of Argentina s 37. The indicators used to compute the ranking include:’ people covered by vaccines; lockdown ’severity; one-month cases per 100,000; total deaths per million; positive test’ rate; 2021 GDP growth forecast; universal healthcare coverage; and human development index.

Given these indicators, the Philippines low ranking should come as no surprise. After all, we have been under a constant state of lockdown for over a year, we are in the longest recession since the Marcos era, only 2.38%’ of the population has been fully vaccinated, and we recently saw an uptick in the number of new cases logged each day.

Diwa Guinigundo, former deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), furthermore warned that while early green shoots have emerged, the country s recovery remains fragile. Warning further that as downside risks continue to exist in the form of a renewed spike in local transmission“ due to the new variant and the possible reimposition’ of lockdowns. ”

Speaking at a virtual event organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute with the country s top business leaders, Guinigundo underscored that economic recovery post-pandemic requires a well-coordinated mix of policy responses, specifically new and fresh approaches. In ’ addition, he also emphasized how the private sector could capitalize and play a major role in rebuilding our economy.

Righting the course for Philippines’ COVID-19 resilience – Stratbase ADR Institute

Ransomware as political weapon July 6, 2021 LAST Friday, about 1,000 companies all over the world came under ransomware attack, causing at least one big supermarket chain in Sweden to temporarily lose access to the checkouts in 800 of its stores.

In the United States, the networks of at least 200 companies were compromised, according to cybersecurity experts.

Cyberextortionists infiltrated the system of software supplier Kaseya to gain access to the data management systems of the company's clients.

Although the financial loss from the attack was inconsiderable, the global digital industry was, nevertheless, alarmed by its scope and the ease with which it breached firewalls.

Worse, the experts believe that the attack was a probing one, a broad hint from its perpetrators that they could strike at random and with more devastating effect next time.

Blame immediately fell on the Russian ransomware syndicate REvil/Sodinikibi, which the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has linked to a similar strike on a major global meat processor last May.

That the attack was launched just days before the United States celebrated its Independence Day may be far from coincidental. The Biden government has been calling out Russia for tolerating, if not outright sponsoring, cybercriminal gangs.

During the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva last month, the Russian leader flatly denied his country was behind cyberattacks on US businesses and government agencies.

Biden warned Putin the United States would respond to any cyberattack instigated by Moscow. "I looked at him and said: 'How would you feel if ransomware took the pipelines from your oil fields?'" the US president revealed to reporters after the meeting.

The two leaders did agree to cybersecurity talks in the future with Biden suggesting to Putin that 16 sectors, including critical infrastructure, be "off limits" to cyberattacks.

Global cyberwar

Last week's attack may be Putin's thinly veiled dare for Biden to back up his threat of a cyber counterstrike. Putin wants Biden to "show me what you've got."

We could be looking at the beginnings of global cyberwar, and it's a frightening thought.

Ransomware as political weapon | The Manila Times

CCP drone threats must be countered by Taiwan

 By Yao Chung-yuan 姚中原

For several years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to use its range of advanced fighter jets to provocatively probe — and even cross — the Taiwan Strait median line. The PLA has also used aerial drones, which it classifies as “strategic weaponry,” to slip into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), although on a less frequent basis.

In October last year, the PLA flew a drone into Taiwan’s southwesterly ADIZ for the first time. Taiwan’s military used radar and ground-to-air missiles to track the uncrewed aircraft.

In March, the PLA used a new type of aerial reconnaissance drone, the Guizhou Soar Dragon, which again flew into Taiwan’s southwesterly ADIZ and was given radio warnings to leave the vicinity.

During a meeting at the Legislative Yuan in April, the Coast Guard Administration publicly confirmed that Chinese drones have been regularly flying circuits around Taiwan’s Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), and it did not rule out that the uncrewed vehicles were tasked with collecting military intelligence.

According to Taiwanese media reports, China’s domestic drone program might have achieved a fresh technological breakthrough in March. Xian-based drone manufacturer Zhongtian Feilong claims to have successfully completed a test flight of a new uncrewed aerial mother ship, dubbed an “airborne aircraft carrier” by its maker, which is purportedly capable of releasing nine smaller drones to carry out reconnaissance, swarm attacks and other tasks.

CCP drone threats must be countered by Taiwan - Taipei Times

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The Shocking Enormity of Russia’s Botched Pandemic Response A massive third wave is spreading unchecked, anti-vaxxers are rampant, and the Kremlin’s vaccine diplomacy has failed.

A Russian healthcare worker administers a dose of Sputnik V vaccine at a vaccination center in the GUM department store in Moscow on July 2. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

JULY 5, 2021, 3:57 AM

MOSCOW—As I write this, Russia is firmly in the grip of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day, there are about 22,000 reported new infections—twice as many as during the peak of the first wave in May 2020—and more than 600 deaths. The new Delta variant of the virus, which Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin says is responsible for 90 per cent of new infections in the Russian capital, has caught Russia almost completely unawares. Despite having access to the brain power and resources of one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, Russian authorities have repeatedly squandered almost every chance to beat the pandemic. Their massive, bloated propaganda apparatus failed to do the one job it was designed for: Get the message out. Instead, the pandemic has exacerbated the crisis of trust between the Russian government and citizens. Now, the campaign for parliamentary elections in September could make fighting the pandemic even harder, since the ruling United Russia party may be even more reluctant to impose unpopular measures such as lockdowns.

Russian independent observers and journalists—including me and my colleagues at Meduza— already knew something was terribly off with Russia’s handling of the pandemic in late spring of 2020. We had looked at the numbers and recognized that COVID-19 deaths were being underreported in many regions of Russia. According to the official statistics at the time, tens of thousands of Russians were dying in 2020 of a mysterious pneumonia epidemic unrelated to COVID-19. This was hardly plausible. The more likely explanation: Russian regional authorities were writing off the majority of COVID-19 cases as “community-acquired pneumonia.”

The Incomprehensible Enormity of Russia's Botched Pandemic Response (foreignpolicy.com)

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China-Australia relations: what Canberra can learn from Gough Whitlam and its own diplomatic history | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

India making the right moves as it reaches out to Pakistan and the Taliban

 The Indian government outraged Pakistan with its August 2019 decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its constitutionally guaranteed autonomy and reduce its status to a union territory that was directly administered by the national government. | AFP-JIJI  Jul 5, 2021 NEW DELHI – Recent conciliatory moves by India’s nationalist government on its western flank have rightly aroused global interest. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s calculus appears relatively simple. Faced with continued Chinese aggression on India’s northern frontier and a likely Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, improving relations on the country’s western flank, with Pakistan, seems prudent.

In recent weeks, there have been reports of secret back-channel talks between Indian and Pakistani security officials — facilitated by the United Arab Emirates — aimed at easing bilateral tensions. A February 2021 ceasefire along the Line of Control separating Indian and Pakistani forces in the disputed Kashmir region has so far held, permitting an atmosphere of near-normalcy in the area.

India has also been talking to the Taliban, which it long derided as surrogates for the Pakistani Army, reflecting the increasing likelihood that the mullahs will reclaim power in Kabul following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in September. Furthermore, India has kept two of its consulates in Afghanistan closed since last year, a long-standing Pakistani demand that it had resisted for two decades.

And in late June, Modi’s government held surprisingly amicable talks in New Delhi with 14 mainstream Kashmiri political leaders. Almost all of them had been arrested during the government’s crackdown in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that began in August 2019, and had been demonized by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party since then.

All of this points to a policy shift by a government conscious of the pressures on India’s northern frontier. Chinese troops have failed to disengage since the spring of 2020, when they advanced across disputed territory in the Ladakh region and later provoked a military encounter that took the lives of 20 Indian soldiers. With China doggedly refusing to withdraw, despite 11 rounds of talks, India’s insistence on restoring the status quo ante looks increasingly forlorn.

Hostility with China is likely to endure, in which case India cannot afford escalating tensions to its west. Indian-Pakistani relations are at their lowest level in recent times, owing to a series of incidents, beginning with the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008 and culminating in the 2019 Indian air strike on Balakot in Pakistan.

And the Indian government outraged Pakistan with its August 2019 decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its constitutionally guaranteed autonomy and reduce its status to a “union territory,” directly administered from Delhi. The Pakistani government subsequently mounted a worldwide campaign, working especially with Islamic countries but also at the United Nations, to censure India and force it to rescind the move.

Modi had remained implacable until recently, so the over three hour meeting with Kashmiri leaders was a surprise development. The leaders, who included four former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, spanned the spectrum of the region’s main political parties. The Modi government had previously denounced some of them as corrupt dynasts, accusing them of milking the state for their own benefit. But now they were welcomed with sweet words and deferential protocol by Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah (India’s second most powerful politician) and other senior officials.

The government’s crackdown in Jammu and Kashmir has not achieved any of its proclaimed objectives — namely, to inaugurate a new era of peace and development, eliminate terrorism, break the political grip of a few families and hasten the region’s integration with the rest of the country. But it would be wrong to see the government’s recent talks with the Kashmiri leaders as an admission of defeat.

The discussions focused on three issues. One was an agreement to carry out, with the Kashmiri parties’ cooperation, a new demarcation of the state’s political constituencies, which will likely enhance the Jammu region’s representation in the state assembly. The other agenda items were elections across Jammu and Kashmir and restoration of its statehood.

Rather than a defeat for the Indian government, therefore, the talks seem to have shifted the goalposts. The Earth-shattering news in August 2019 was the abolition of Article 370 of India’s constitution, which guaranteed Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomous status. But that matter was not even discussed, because it was deemed to be sub judice (petitions on the matter are pending before the Supreme Court). Instead, the main issue was restoration of statehood, which the government had in any case promised “at an appropriate time.” This could lead to a politically viable trade-off, whereby the central government gives Jammu and Kashmir statehood if state leaders agree to go quiet on Article 370 and leave the matter to the judiciary. If that happens, as seems likely, Kashmiris will have the illusion of wresting a concession while the Modi government’s real victory — the revocation of autonomy two years ago — goes unchallenged by the Kashmiri parties.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s global campaign against India to restore the state’s autonomy has gone nowhere. Pakistan’s leaders have their own reasons for wanting to resume dialogue with India, but they needed to see some movement from Modi’s government to justify it. Talks with Kashmiri leaders leading to something like the restoration of statehood may constitute enough progress to warrant further discussions. The Indian government will thus chalk up another win if it enters new bilateral talks without making any real concession on the preconditions that Pakistan has been loudly declaiming for two years.

These recent developments are early moves in a slowly unfolding regional chess game. The situation in Afghanistan, the implications of China’s close economic ties with Pakistan through the Belt and Road Initiative and the evolution of the insurgencies led by both the Afghan Taliban and its Pakistani equivalent have yet to play themselves out. Simmering Kashmiri militancy could boil over, while Pakistan — if it is unable or unwilling to stem terror attacks from its territory on Indian targets — could again prove duplicitous in its peace overtures.

There are too many unknowns for any side to have victory in sight. But for now, at least, India appears to be making the right moves.

Shashi Tharoor, a former U.N. under-secretary-general and former Indian minister of state for external affairs and minister of state for human resource development, is an MP for the Indian National Congress. ©Project Syndicate, 2021

India making the right moves as it reaches out to Pakistan and the Taliban | The Japan Times

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