12 | Monday, April 19, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY WORLD UN expert Global deaths tears into BBC on bias move past 3m over rights

By LIA ZHU in San Francisco as virus lingers [email protected] An expert has castigated the BBC for framing a television Despite jabs, lockdowns still a weapon interview with him on alleged amid resurgence, especially in S. Asia human rights abuses by China while ignoring human rights vio­ lations by the United States at PARIS — The global COVID­19 home and abroad. death toll passed 3 million on Sat­ Jeffrey Sachs, director of the urday as the pandemic speeds up Center for Sustainable Develop­ despite vaccination campaigns, Countries with the ment at Columbia University and leading countries such as India to highest incomes are president of the United Nations impose new lockdowns to fight Sustainable Development Solu­ spiraling infection numbers. getting vaccinated Representatives of parties to the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action meet in tions Network, said in the inter­ It was the latest grim milestone 25 times faster than Vienna, Austria, on Saturday. PROVIDED BY EU DELEGATION IN VIENNA view that he had expected to talk since the novel coronavirus began about climate change but instead to infect more than 139 million those with the was asked to discuss China’s people, leaving billions more lowest.” human rights. under crippling lockdowns and In her opening question, Emma ravaging the global economy. Clara Ferreira Marques, China urges haste on lifting Iran sanctions Barnett, presenter of the program An average of more than 12,000 a columnist for Bloomberg Newsnight, asked whether the deaths were recorded globally VIENNA — A Chinese envoy on the “proximity talks” with the Unit­ expressed determination to contin­ approach of the administration of every day in the past week, shoot­ Saturday urged all parties to a ed States, Wang said. ue negotiations with a view to com­ US President Joe Biden to China, ing the overall toll past 3 million month alone and Bangladesh and nuclear deal struck between Iran China will continue to work with plete the process successfully as being critical of its human rights on Saturday, according to a tally by Pakistan imposing new shutdowns. and world powers to immediately all the parties to push the US and soon as possible”. while engaging it on climate Agence France­Presse. Udaya Regmi of the Internation­ start negotiations on a specific for­ Iran to resume negotiations on the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister change, “can actually work”. Three million people is more al Red Cross said the “truly fright­ mula to remove sanctions against implementation of the JCPOA for Abbas Araghchi said the talks had “I’m not sure why BBC started than the population of Jamaica or ening” South Asian surge was a the Islamic republic. early and tangible results, he said. entered a new phase, adding that with listing only China’s human Armenia and three times the death “wake­up call to the world”. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the The joint commission resumed its Iran had proposed draft agree­ rights abuses,” Sachs replied. toll of the Iran­Iraq war that raged India launched a nationwide United Nations and other interna­ talks on Thursday in Vienna after a ments that could be a basis for “What about America’s human from 1980 to 1988. vaccination drive in January, and tional organizations in Vienna, blackout struck the Natanz enrich­ negotiations. rights abuses? the Iraq War, And the pandemic is showing no so far more than 122 million peo­ made the appeal in the Austrian cap­ ment facility in central Iran. Iranian “We think that the talks have together with the UK, completely sign of slowing: the 829,596 new ple have been vaccinated across ital after attending a new round of authorities have accused Israel of reached a stage where parties are illegal and under false pretenses. infections reported worldwide on the country. meetings of the Joint Commission of sabotage. able to begin to work on a joint The war in Syria, the war in Lib­ Friday is the highest number yet, The government has ramped up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of The talks are aimed at determin­ draft,” Araghchi told Iranian state ya, the continued sanctions the tally said. testing facilities, as more than 266 Action, or JCPOA, the formal name ing which sanctions the United television. “It seems that a new against civilian populations in The daily average of 731,000 cas­ million tests have been conducted. of the agreement signed in 2015. States should lift and the measures understanding is taking shape, and Venezuela and Iran, walking es registered over the past week In richer countries that have “China has drawn much encour­ Iran has to take in order to rein in its now there is agreement over final away from the Paris Climate was also close to being a record. waged mass inoculation efforts, agement that the joint commission nuclear program. goals.” Agreement for the last four years, India’s capital, New Delhi, went virus numbers have plummeted. has, over the two days, come back to Saturday’s talks were chaired by The talks took place a day after unilateral trade actions that have into lockdown on Saturday as the Britain, which has given 60 per­ its normal track with productive Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary­ Iran said it had started producing been deemed illegal by the WTO.” world’s second­most populous cent of the population at least one and constructive work,” he said. general and political director of the uranium at 60­percent purity. country recorded 234,000 new vaccination dose, now records “China maintains that all US European External Action Service. A spokesman for the Interna­ cases and 1,341 deaths. about 30 deaths a day, compared sanctions should be lifted immedi­ Representatives of China, France, tional Atomic Energy Agency said India now has three times the with 1,200 in late January. ately,” be it sanctions against Iran, Germany, Russia, the United King­ on Saturday that the agency had So the framing of daily cases of the United States, the or its long­arm jurisdiction meas­ dom and Iran attended the meeting. verified that Iran had begun this world’s worst­hit country, and Deep divisions ures on third­party entities and process and that according to this issue is strange. families are clamoring for drugs An opinion piece published on individuals, including those on Chi­ Detailed work needed Teheran the enrichment level was That’s what I’m and hospital beds. Bloomberg’s website on Friday said nese, he said. Mora said on Saturday that 55.3 percent. The daily figures continue to the US, which makes up about 4 China believes that the joint com­ “progress has been made in a far US President Joe Biden said this saying.” peak in the country every day, and percent of the world’s population, mission should continue to focus on from easy task. We need now more would not help resolve the standoff. Jeffrey Sachs, president the government has imposed new has 24 percent of vaccinations. the “more substantive work” of detailed work”. But he added: “We are nonethe­ of the United Nations measures to contain the spread. “By hoarding vaccines, the West­ sanction­lifting through the two Russia’s Ambassador to Austria less pleased that Iran has continued Sustainable Development Some school exams were canceled, ern world has left many in emerg­ major processes — the work of the Mikhail Ulyanov said the “partici­ to agree to engage in discussions.” Solutions Network and others have been postponed ing economies uncovered,” said nuclear implementation and sanc­ pants took note with satisfaction of in the wake of the deteriorating the article, by Clara Ferreira Mar­ tions­lifting working groups, and the progress made so far and XINHUA — AGENCIES situation. ques, a columnist. “While more “I think that the idea that there Some doctors say they are than 848 million doses have been is one party that is so guilty how alarmed at how many young peo­ administered, countries with the can we talk to them is just a ple are now becoming seriously ill highest incomes are getting vacci­ strange way to address this issue.” — like Raj Karan, 38, who fell sick nated 25 times faster than those Czechs expel 18 Russian diplomats The US has serious human while campaigning for elections in with the lowest.” rights issues to deal with, not only the northern city of Lucknow. He Marques said the world needs By REN QI in Moscow rights violations by the US gov­ died soon after. China’s vaccines because they have [email protected] ernment abroad, he said, but also “I am devastated,” his friend filled the vaccine shortage and “continued massive racism”, white Ajay Singh Yadav said. “I could Chinese vaccines are highly effec­ The Czech Republic is expelling supremacism, and “abuse of only see him via a video call.” tive against severe disease, which 18 Russian diplomats identified by incarceration of hundreds of Hopes that South Asian coun­ can significantly reduce the num­ its intelligence network as secret thousands of people in the US — tries might have gone through the ber of people admitted to hospital agents of Russian security services African Americans, people of col­ worst of the pandemic have been with the virus. that have been blamed for a deadly or. So I think that the whole prem­ dashed, with India recording more explosion in the country in 2014. ise of this story is a little bit odd.” than 2 million new cases this AGENCIES—XINHUA The republic, which is a member Sachs, after Barrett interrupt­ of NATO and the European Union, ed several times, said: “The US announced the move on Saturday. always attacks other countries; it Cambodia gets more doses from Sinovac The expulsions — and the allega­ holds itself sacrosanct. It’s really tions that precipitated them — have outrageous, because I know what triggered the country’s biggest row goes on in American foreign poli­ A second batch of the Sinovac servants, teachers, military person­ with Russia since 1989. cy. And I know how abusive it is. COVID­19 vaccine that Cambodia nel, journalists, rubbish collectors “Eighteen employees of the Rus­ And I know what it’s like to live in bought from China has arrived in the and garment factory workers. sian embassy must leave our repub­ Jan Hamacek (left), Czech acting foreign minister, and Andrej Babis, a racist society, which I happen to capital Phnom Penh. By Friday 1.24 million people had lic within 48 hours,” acting Foreign the country’s prime minister, announce the action against Russia in do, where a significant part of Cambodia’s Health Ministry Sec­ been vaccinated against the virus, Minister Jan Hamacek said. Prague on Saturday. GABRIEL KUCHTA / GETTY IMAGES this country is racist followed a retary of State Yok Sambath the government said. Prime Minister Andrej Babis said racist president who led an insur­ received the vaccine manufactured Sambath said Cambodia is Czech authorities had “clear evi­ rection on the Capitol.” by Sinovac Biotech at Phnom Penh expected to acquire more than 20 dence” linking officers from Russia’s Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy third European country to expel The “insurrection on the Capi­ International Airport. million doses of vaccine to inoculate SVR, the Foreign Intelligence Ser­ head of the international affairs Russian diplomats recently. Neigh­ tol” he referred to was a violent Cambodia has received more at least 10 million of its 16 million vice, and the GRU, the Main Direct­ committee of the Russian legisla­ boring Poland said on Thursday it attack against the US Congress on than 3.6 million doses of COVID­19 people. orate of the General Staff of the ture’s upper house, described the had ordered out three Russian dip­ Jan 6 by supporters of former vaccines from China and the World The country has registered a total Armed Forces, to the explosion that Czech allegations as absurd, in com­ lomats for “carrying out activities to president Donald Trump trying to Health Organization­led COVAX of 5,771 confirmed cases since the left two people dead in October 2014. ments reported by Russian news the detriment” of the country. overturn his defeat in November’s Facility. start of the pandemic, with 3,311 “We have good reason to suspect agency Interfax. Russia’s response On Saturday, Ukraine said it was presidential election. Many coun­ The kingdom launched an anti­ continuing to receive treatment and the involvement of GRU officers would be proportionate, he said. expelling a senior diplomat at the tries and international organiza­ COVID­19 inoculation drive on Feb with 39 confirmed deaths, the health from unit 29155 in the explosion at Russian Foreign Ministry Russian embassy. tions, some of which specifically 10, focusing on high­risk and vulner­ ministry said on Saturday. the ammunition warehouse in Vrbet­ spokeswoman Maria Zakharova “A senior diplomat of the Russian denounced Trump’s role in incit­ able groups, including frontline doc­ ice” in the country’s east, Babis said. said on Saturday that the Czechs embassy in Kiev must leave Ukraine ing the attack, condemned it. tors and health workers, public XINHUA The New York Times reported in know the consequences that will within 72 hours, starting April 19,” “So the framing of this issue is 2019 that 29155 was an elite unit follow the expulsion of the diplo­ the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. strange. That’s what I’m saying,” inside the Russian intelligence sys­ mats. “Prague is well aware what “We strongly protest against the said Sachs, who was again inter­ tem skilled in subversion, sabotage follows such ‘tricks’,” she said. unlawful detention of an employee rupted by Barnett. “(It’s framed) and assassination. of Ukraine’s consulate general in St by your own country as well as the Babis said he had received the Moscow’s retaliation Petersburg on April 16 and against rest of the world,” she said. information on Friday, without Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in ordering him to leave Russia.” Sachs corrected her: “By the gov­ explaining why it had taken so long. a statement on Sunday that Mos­ Earlier that day, the Russian For­ ernment, not by my own country, “The explosion led to huge materi­ cow’s retaliation will force Prague eign Ministry informed Ukrainian by the government of my country.” al damage and posed a serious threat to fully understand its responsibili­ Charge d’Affaires Vassily Pokotilo of Sachs went on to comment on to the lives of many local people, but ty for destroying the foundation of the expulsion of the consul of Alex­ the urgency for the US and Chi­ above all it killed two of our fellow cit­ normal bilateral ties. ander Sosonyuk, Ukraine’s consulate na, to “clean up their act”. izens, fathers of families,” Babis said. The United States’ embassy in general to St Petersburg. “This is crucial for the sake of the He called the circumstances Prague said on Twitter that Wash­ Sosonyuk had been detained on world. And so of course, we need to “unprecedented and scandalous”. ington “stands with its steadfast ally, Friday by the Russian Federal Secu­ clean up our act, because the Unit­ The alleged Russian link with the the Czech Republic”. rity Service for allegedly obtaining ed States is emitting 15 tons of CO2 explosion was expected to be It added: “We appreciate their classified data from the databases of per person in this country — twice addressed during a previously significant action to impose costs Russian law enforcement agencies what China’s emitting per capita, A second batch of the Sinovac vaccine arrives in Phnom scheduled EU foreign ministers’ vid­ on Russia for its dangerous actions and the Federal Security Service. and the two countries together are Penh on Saturday. LI LAI / XINHUA eo conference on Monday, Hamacek on Czech soil.” about 40 percent of the CO2 emis­ said on Twitter. The Czech Republic becomes the Agencies contributed to this story. sions in the world.”