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World Analysis
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international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com
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Covid: US reports record infections as Europe’s Omicron cases also soar
The US and several European countries have reported their highest daily rises in Covid cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads.
More than 440,000 new cases were recorded in the US on Monday, health officials said.
France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and England have also reported record numbers of daily infections.
Officials have said the high figures could be due in part to reporting delays over the Christmas period.
Studies suggest that Omicron is milder than the previously dominant Delta variant, but fears remain that the sheer number of cases stemming from the highly infectious Omicron could overwhelm hospitals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the risk posed by Omicron “remains very high”.
Poland on Wednesday recorded 794 Covidrelated deaths, the highest number in its fourth wave of the pandemic, with more than threequarters of the victims unvaccinated.
In the US, cases recorded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rose by 441,278 on 27 December - by far the highest number of daily cases ever reported to the agency.
The CDC data tracker says US media report the seven-day average rise in infections is now at its highest level since January 2021.
A CDC spokeswoman told news site Politico that the latest infection figures could be overestimated due to lags in testing and test centre closures over the Christmas period, adding that case numbers would “become more stable after the new year”.
The health agency has also expanded its travel warnings for parts of Europe, adding Malta, Moldova and Sweden to a list of countries where travel poses a very high risk of infection.
Travellers are asked to avoid these countries under the CDC’s Level 4 criteria, which a destination receives if it reports more than 500 cases per 100,000 people.
US infectious disease expert Amesh Adalja told the BBC that Omicron could “get round the protection afforded by vaccines” and “affect anybody at will”.
“So we are going to see cases rise,” he said. “The key is to keep this away from high-risk people... we’re really going to have to focus on severe cases and hospitalisations.”
According to a report published by the WHO on Tuesday, the number of new Covid infections of all variants grew by 57% in Europe in the week before 26 December, and by 30% in the Americas.
On Tuesday, France reported 179,807 new infections, Europe’s highest ever number of daily cases.
French Health Minister Olivier Véran warned that “everything suggests” France could see as many as 250,000 daily cases by the start of January.
The French Hospital Federation has said that the “most difficult weeks are yet to come”.
Prime Minister Jean Castex announced new restrictions earlier this week. The country’s booster rollout has ramped up, with more than 23 million people having received a booster to date.
A number of other European countries also reported record daily cases on Tuesday: • Infections in Italy topped 78,000 cases, hitting a new record since the start of the
France reported Europe’s highest ever number of new daily cases on Tuesday, with 179,807 infections
pandemic. It also recorded 202 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 136,753 • Portugal recorded 17,172 new cases • Greece: Health Minister Thanos Plevris called for calm after the country reported 21,657 cases • Health authorities in England reported a record 117,093 cases. Full UKwide Covid data has been unavailable over the Christmas period
In England, pharmacists are warning of patchy supplies of rapid Covid tests following an increase in demand. They say rule changes - meaning people only have to self-isolate for seven days if they test negative on days six and seven - have led to a shortage of lateral flow tests.
Meanwhile, a number of cities - including Paris, London and Berlin - have cancelled official New Year’s celebrations. But some governments have been less willing to bring in nationwide restrictions.
People in France and England have been asked to use their common sense, while the Spanish capital Madrid has said it will go ahead with its celebrations with a cap on the number of attendees at Puerta del Sol square.
Italy, meanwhile, has banned outdoor events and closed nightclubs but there are no restrictions on private gatherings.
Source: BBC
U.S. attempt to hinder Xinjiang’s development under guise of human rights doomed to failure
By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
For some time, some U.S. politicians have repeatedly spread rumors about issues related to northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to create trouble for China under the guise of upholding human rights.
Recently, the U.S. signed the so-called “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” into law, continuing to maliciously confuse right and wrong and defame the human rights situation in Xinjiang in total disregard of facts.
The move constitutes a flagrant provocation against the basic conscience and justice of humanity and gross interference in the internal affairs of China, and has seriously violated international law and the basic norms governing international relations. China is indignant at and strongly opposed to it.
Relevant actions of the U.S. have nothing to do with human rights, but are completely political manipulation and economic bullying. By imposing sanctions upon enterprises in Xinjiang, the U.S. vainly attempts to cause “forced unemployment” and “forced poverty” for the region, drag people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang into poverty, seclusion and backwardness, and eventually destabilize the region and impede China’s development.
Such misdeeds that violate market rules and business ethics will only sabotage the stability of global industrial and supply chains, disrupt international trade order, and damage the interests and credibility of the U.S. itself.
The essence of Xinjiang-related issues is the issue of countering violence and terrorism, deradicalization, and anti-separatism. The so-called allegations of “genocide” and “forced labor” in Xinjiang are nothing but vicious lies concocted by anti-China forces in the West, including the U.S.
At the 48th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, nearly 100 countries voiced their support for China’s position regarding Xinjiang in various ways, including releasing joint statement, making separate speeches, and sending joint letter, stressing that Xinjiang-related issues are purely China’s internal affairs that should not be interfered in by any other country and expressing opposition to interference in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of human rights.
These sonorous and forceful voices of justice have proven again that justice naturally inhabits people’s hearts.
The absurd accusations made by the U.S. against Xinjiang are clearly scotched by the fact that people of various ethnic groups in the region are enjoying unity, harmony, common progress, and happy lives.
At present, Xinjiang is in an optimal period for development in its history. People of all ethnic groups in the region are closely united as family members, just like pomegranate seeds that stick together, and working together to create a better and happier life.
Every family living in the vast areas both north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang has stable livelihood and steady monthly income. Meanwhile, the income of people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang has increased continuously, their living standards have been improved with each passing day, and their sense of gain, happiness, and security has been significantly enhanced.
Just like what international personages who have visited Xinjiang and witnessed the region’s development said, people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are equal and united, and they jointly develop and build the region and share a happy life; the traditional cultures of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are rich and splendid, and the local people’s freedom of religious belief is protected and respected; and Xinjiang’s human rights development and progress are obvious to all.
No human right is more important than the right to a happy life, and employment is pivotal to people’s wellbeing.
In recent years, Xinjiang’s policy system that protects people’s employment and labor rights has been further improved, while the region’s scale of employment has expanded constantly. Besides, the region’s employment structure is continuously optimized, and its workforce quality has witnessed a significant increase.
From 2014 to 2020, the total employed population in Xinjiang grew from about 11.35 million to 13.56 million, up by 19.4 percent.
While vigorously boosting local employment, Xinjiang safeguarded people’s legitimate rights and interests strictly according to law, such as workers’ equal right to employment, right to remuneration for labor, right to social insurance and welfare, right to rest and holiday, and right to occupational safety, constantly strengthening the protection of the rights and interests of workers.
The accusation of “forced labor” in Xinjiang has no credibility at all, said Zamir Ahmed Awan, deputy director of the Center for Chinese Studies, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan.
Xinjiang has well-established employment policies, said Awan, who has visited Xinjiang many times.
Acting as human rights “preacher” and “judge”, some people in the U.S. always make irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation of other countries in a condescending manner. Ironically, it is the U.S. that is a habitual criminal repeatedly committing the crime of forced labor.
Its several hundred years of trafficking, abusing and discriminating against black slaves has made forced labor an indelible stain on its history of pursuing prosperity. Even to this day, there are still about 500,000 children working in the agricultural sector in the U.S., and between 240,000 and 325,000 women and children are victims of sexual slavery in the country.
During the past five years, up to 100,000 people were trafficked into the U.S. for forced labor annually.
By falsely accusing China of the crimes and evil deeds the U.S. itself has committed, the U.S. is gauging the heart of a gentleman with its own mean measure out of ulterior motives.
Xinjiang-related issues are purely China’s internal affairs that brook no external interference. No matter how hard the U.S. tries to cook up lies about and stir up trouble in Xinjiang, it can never stop the resolute steps of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang toward a better life or hinder China’s firm strides along its development path.