Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
News on disease control, CCP, Myanmar
News (1)
Pfizer lets 95 countries and regions use Paxlovid
The United Nations-backed Joint Drug Patent Organization (MPP) on 16 November announced that MPP has reached a drug patent agreement with Pfizer, Inc., which it will license to enable generic drugmakers to sell Paxlovid in 95 low- and middle-income countries around the world.
Companies that want to manufacture Paxlovid can file a complaint with the MPP for approval, whereby the MPP will sublicense the patent to a qualified company that has been approved by the national health agency to produce the drug.
The MPP expects Paxlovid to reach the 95 countries in the next few months.
The agreement between MPP and Pfizer today comes after MPP also had a previous agreement with Merck & Co. to supply molnupiravir formulations to 105 countries around the world.
Merck and Pfizer will not charge companies that make molnupiravir and Paxlovid as long as the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to identify COVID-19 as an international public health emergency.
News (13)
Detailed courses of covid treatment using Paxlovid and molnupiravir
Those who will be taking Pfizer’s medication will have to take both Paxlovid along with ritonavir. Pfizer’s one-course regimen consists of 20 Paxlovid tablets and 10 ritonavir tablets for one patient. 150 mg 2 tablets per dose plus ritonavir 100 mg 1 tablet per dose twice daily for 5 days.
Merck’s one-course regimen contains 40 tablets of 200 mg molnupiravir for one patient, four tablets taken twice daily for five days.
News (14)
FDA expected to approve molnupiravir and Paxlovid in early December 2021
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering emergency approval for molnupiravir and Paxlovid. It is expected to approve molnupiravir in early December 2021 and will approve Paxlovid next
News (15)
Paxlovid actually comprises experimental drug PF-07321332 and HIV drug ritonavir
Source : The Dialog
Paxlovid is a mix of two totally different medicine—the HIV drug ritonavir (a capsule) and an experimental drug PF-07321332 (a tablet).
Ritonavir protects the physique from metabolizing PF-07321332. It acts by being damaged down by the physique first (often known as a sacrificial chemical) to make sure sufficient PF-07321332 reaches the virus intact.
PF-07321332 is a so-called protease inhibitor (as is ritonavir). It blocks the motion of a significant enzyme (protease) and stops SARS-CoV-2 from making copies of itself.
What did the Paxlovid trial in Israel present?
The trial included 1,219 “high risk” adults with COVID who were not in hospital. Every particular person had a minimum of one attribute or underlying medical situation related to an elevated danger of growing extreme covid. One group acquired the therapy, the opposite placebo.
The trial’s interim outcomes confirmed a discount within the danger of hospitalization or demise by 89% within the Paxlovid group in comparison with placebo.
At day 28, there have been no deaths reported within the Paxlovid group, in contrast with ten deaths within the placebo group. Aspect-effects have been comparable in each teams and have been typically gentle.
The corporate stated the outcomes have been so promising it was really helpful no new sufferers wanted to be enrolled into the examination. Pfizer was really helpful to submit the info to the US Meals and Drug Administration for emergency use approval.
Earlier than the drug may very well be utilized in Australia, the Therapeutic Items Administration (TGA) would want to evaluate its efficacy and security.
Simply as importantly, the TGA would want to determine who could prescribe it and below what situations. This may increasingly embrace whether or not it could be out there from GPs, and what kind of affected person danger components can be thought of.
News (16)
Paxlovid to benefit more than half of the world's population
Pfizer announced that it has reached an agreement with the international organization Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to allow other pharmaceutical companies to produce anti-covid drug Paxlovid developed by Pfizer. The oral drug is expected to benefit more than half of the world's population.
The Associated Press reported that Pfizer said in a statement that these oral drugs produced by other pharmaceutical companies will be supplied to 95 countries around the world, covering about 53% of the world’s population.
According to the agreement, Pfizer will not collect Paxlovid royalties from low-income countries, and as long as covid is still recognized as a global public health emergency, Pfizer will not collect royalties from other countries.
However, this agreement is not perfect, because some major countries with severe epidemics are not included in the agreement. For example, Brazilian pharmaceutical companies can produce Paxlovid after obtaining a license and export it abroad, but cannot sell it domestically.
The international non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders also said that the agreement was disheartened because Pfizer did not allow the world to apply this agreement. For example, China, Argentina, Thailand and other countries that can produce generic drugs are excluded.
The policy leader of the Pharmaceutical Patent Alliance, Esteban Burrone, said, “We are trying to benefit from the interests of pharmaceutical companies, the timeliness required by generic pharmaceutical companies, and, most importantly, the public health needs of low- and middle-income countries. There is a delicate balance between these three."
Burrone also said that he estimated that each pharmaceutical factory would be able to start producing Paxlovid within a few months.
Ref: https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3738908
News (17) to (23) / Report by : Aung Zaw, The Irrawaddy / https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/commentary/myanmar-regime-looks-to-diplomacy-to-gain-legitimacy.html
News (17)
Sun Guoxiang visits Naypyitaw for the second time, seeking to meet Aung San Suu Kyi
Sun Guoxiang, the Special Envoy of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (PRC), arrived in Naypyitaw to meet Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing over the weekend. It is his second official visit since the junta’s February 1 coup.
The junta’s mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar showed Sun Guoxiang meeting Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in a more modest room.
Unlike Sun Guoxiang’s unpublicized week-long visit in late August, the regime has announced Sun’s visit this time. Only at the end of the August trip did Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson announce that Sun Guoxiang had been in the country, while also calling for the return to a democratic transition in Myanmar.
This visit, Sun Guoxiang will press to meet detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi but if that request is denied, he will likely ask to meet former president U Htin Kyaw, a close associate of Suu Kyi. The regime may allow him to meet U Htin Kyaw but Suu Kyi will make the final call.
News (18)
CCP wants Aung San Suu Kyi released
The message from China is clear: Beijing is not giving up on Aung San Suu Kyi.
Beijing still wants to see Myanmar return to the pre-coup period when the now-ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government and the Myanmar military co-existed and the country was relatively stable.
During his last visit in August, Sun Guoxiang was surprised by the degree of hostility displayed by the coup leader towards the NLD, which many believe is facing possible dissolution. Moreover, the Chinese officials were taken aback by the junta’s hatred for Aung San Suu Kyi.
News (19)
Beijing is not giving up on Aung San Suu Kyi
However, Beijing still hopes that there is a room to negotiate in Myanmar and they are not giving up on Suu Kyi. China has kept up its communications with the NLD, and NLD representatives were invited to take part in virtual conferences on political parties in the Asia region hosted by China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP).
As Sun Guoxiang is Beijing’s official special envoy, he has more leverage with both the regime and the NLD (although China will say that its influence is limited). The message from Beijing is that China is not giving up on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta will ponder whether to allow Sun Guoxiang to meet Suu Kyi during this visit. If not, perhaps that will happen on his next visit.
News (20)
Other CCP's issues of concern in Myanmar
Sun Guoxiang’s latest visit will also focus on border security, the development of ethnic armed organizations along the China-Myanmar border and China-Myanmar cooperation in combating COVID-19.
China is satisfied to see the implementation of a covi vaccination program in Myanmar but is concerned about growing instability and frequent armed clashes close to the Sino-Myanmar frontier in northern Myanmar.
News (21)
CCP is concerned about fighting along Myanmar-PRC border, fears covid spread and influx of refugees
There has been fighting between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Myanmar military near the town of Mong Koe on the Myanmar-China border. The MNDAA is known to be a proxy of China but the recent clashes may have increased uneasiness in Beijing.
A few weeks ago, China pressured the MNDAA to stop fighting but clashes continued. China is worried about the renewed spread of COVID 19 along its border. Beijing is also hosting the Winter Olympics in February and does not want to see an influx of refugees or rising tensions on its southwestern border.
News (22)
Younger policy makers of CCP do not want Min Aung Hlaing's attendance in China-ASEAN Summit
It is curious to learn more about how the younger generation of policy makers in China’s central government view and interpret the evolving political situation in Myanmar. For instance, there are rumors that Beijing wanted to invite the coup leader to attend the upcoming China-ASEAN Summit in China, which President Xi Jinping will attend but it is believed that some elements in the government and the CCP were uncomfortable with the idea of Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attending.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) made the decision to exclude the coup leader from last month’s ASEAN summit, and some countries in the regional bloc remain adamant that he should continue to be excluded from future meetings. It is possible that Beijing will invite the junta foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin in the coup leader’s place.
Vice Senior General Soe Win, deputy leader of the regime’s governing State Administration Council (SAC) and deputy commander of the Myanmar military, is also on the short list to attend the summit. Vice Sen. Gen. Soe Win has issued several orders to annihilate pro-democracy demonstrators and the civilian resistance fighters of the People’s Defense Forces.
News (23)
Japan's special envoy to Myanmar visits Naypitaw and Rakhine State where releases of captives are witnessed
Japan’s special envoy to Myanmar Yohei Sasakawa also arrived in Naypyitaw over the weekend and met the coup leader.
Known to be the godfather of the regime leader, Yohei Sasakawa has enjoyed a long friendship with senior military commanders and successfully mediated a ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Rakhine armed group the Arakan Army before 2020’s general election.
After meeting Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Yohei Sasakawa travelled to Rakhine State where he met with representatives of ethnic political parties. China is said to be concerned about Japan’s motives and economic interests in Myanmar.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Sasakawa’s visit “was not carried out in his capacity as the government representative”, so he is in Myanmar in a private capacity.
The
Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State released a total of 15 policemen and soldiers
on Monday night after a visit by Japan's special envoy to Myanmar Yohei
Sasakawa to the state capital of Sittwe.
The detainees had been arrested
by the group during armed conflict with the Myanmar military.
All 15 men were handed over to
the military in Ponnagyun Township, according to an AA announcement. Among
those released was at least one individual with the rank of captain—medical
officer Ye Lin Soe, it said.
The announcement also said that
the release was carried out on humanitarian grounds and that those freed were
in poor health and in need of urgent medical attention.
It is not known how many
prisoners remain in AA custody.
The announcement came three days
after Sasakawa—also chair of the Nippon Foundation—attended a virtual meeting
with AA leaders. He also met with military chief Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw
on Saturday.
Sasakawa arrived in Sittwe on
Monday and told local journalists that he had been informed that those arrested
by the AA would be released periodically and in groups.
“It is a very good move that
could advance one step further in building trust with one another,” he told
reporters.
The 15 soldiers and police were
freed hours later.
More than one week before
Sasakawa’s visit to Rakhine State, the AA’s spokesperson said clashes were
reported between his group and the Myanmar army in northern
Maungdaw Township after the military had trespassed into AA territory. The
military denied the AA’s claim and said any fighting that took place was likely
with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, another group reportedly active in the
area.
Villagers from northern Maungdaw
said that they witnessed the military sending reinforcement troops to the
region last week after the alleged clash, and were worried about battles
resuming.
The AA and the Myanmar military
engaged in fierce fighting in Rakhine State and southern Chin State for more
than two years but clashes ceased in November 2020 following a mutual but
non-binding agreement.
In June, the AA released more
than a dozen policemen and soldiers who were arrested by the armed group during
a 2019 raid on a Mayu River ferry in Rakhine State’s Rathedaung Township.
Although some of the more than
200 locals charged with violating the Counterterrorism Law in connection with
the AA were freed—including relatives of AA leader Twan Mrat Naing—more than
160 people remain in detention,
according to data compiled by Rakhine civil society organisations.
Relatives of individuals who are
still being kept behind bars have expressed hope that the military will free
those prisoners in the wake of the AA’s latest release on Monday.
Ponnagyun Township local Nyi Nyi
Aung was among five local men arrested nearly two years ago and charged for
allegedly having connections to the AA. His mother Ni Ni Aye told Myanmar Now
on Tuesday that her son was innocent and she hoped the military would allow him
to return home.
“Soldiers and police are among
those who have troubled relationships with the AA. Even they have been freed
now. My son is a civilian who is not involved in anything. So I hope the
military council will release him,” she said.
While the military has been focusing on crushing armed resistance elsewhere in the country since Myanmar’s February coup, the AA and its political wing the United League of Arakan have increased their influence in the region, taking further control of administrative and judicial matters in northern Rakhine State.
News (24)
Myanmar resistance groups claim to have killed more than 70 junta troops in two days
Source : The Irrawaddy / https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-resistance-claims-to-have-killed-more-than-70-junta-troops-in-two-days.html
More than 70 junta troops were reportedly killed during attacks by People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay, Yangon and Ayeyarwady regions on Monday (15 November 2021) and Sunday (14 November 2021).
On Monday, three PDF attacks targeting regime troops were reported in Yangon and an attack on a convoy carrying junta ministers in Ayeyarwady Region.
On Monday afternoon, an armed group ambushed a convoy carrying Dr. Htay Aung, the junta-appointed hotels and tourism minister and Ayeyarwady chief minister U Tin Maung Win on the Chaungtha-Pathein highway in Pathein Township, according to media reports.
The regime’s minister was returning to Pathein after attending an opening ceremony for the tourism season at Chaungtha beach.
On Tuesday, the Pathein Western Defence Force (PWDF) claimed responsibility for the attack. It said four civilian resistance forces fought troops in the convoy.
The PWDF said 10 regime troops were killed in the attack. The whereabouts of the two ministers are unknown.
One hour after the ambush, about 40 military vehicles carrying soldiers and police arrived and detained villagers. Regime troops also searched forests, according to media reports.
At least eight junta soldiers and police were killed on Monday during three urban PDF attacks in Yangon, according to resistance groups.
On Monday morning, civilian resistance fighters attacked junta troops at a police outpost in Htantabin Township, Yangon. Three junta police officers, including a captain, were killed.
Video shows the police outpost being attacked by a gunman from a moving vehicle.
The PDF also attacked a police outpost near Thanlyin Bridge in Yangon, killing at least three junta troops.
The PDF attacked a traffic police post near the bridge in Thaketa Township. In the attack, two traffic police officers were killed and another was wounded.
On Monday, the Mogoke PDF attacked regime forces stationed at a high school and police station in the ruby town.
On Monday, a firefight broke out when regime troops searched the forests for resistance fighters
On Sunday, the PDF attacked a military camp and a prison in the township.
In two days, at least 20 regime personnel were reportedly killed.
The National Unity Government’s (NUG) defense ministry said ambushes and attacks on regime troops were reported in several townships in Sagaing Region on Monday.
On Monday morning, 10 junta troops were reportedly killed when the Mingin PDF ambushed around 80 troops and Pyu-Saw-Htee militia members, who are trained and armed by the military, in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region.
Using mines, the PDF attacked regime forces at a police station in Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday. The junta troops were returning after raiding two villages in the township.
Seven junta troops were seriously injured, according to the civilian defense ministry.
Other PDFs ambushed regime troops in Tamu and Wetlet townships, Sagaing Region, on Sunday and Monday. They reported military casualties.
The Pale PDF said two military vehicles were damaged when it mined a convoy of around 37 vehicles on the Pale-Gangaw highway in Pale Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday.
Two vehicles were hit, one of which was destroyed, the Pale PDF said. The military casualties are unknown.
The Pale PDF claimed to have killed about 21 junta soldiers on Sunday when two PDFs ambushed around 80 junta soldiers on foot on the Pale-Gangaw highway.
Two civilian resistance groups on Sunday mined three junta vehicles on the Monywa-Mandalay highway in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region, according to the Chindwin Attack Force.
Two junta soldiers were killed in the attack and two civilians died in random shooting by the regime forces, the civilian resistance group said.
On Monday and Sunday, PDFs said they mined regime troops in Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region.
Last Saturday, four PDFs in Yesagyo attacked, occupied and then burned a police station in the township. Weapons were seized, according to the Yesagyo PDF.
The regime appears to be facing a growing number of attacks from PDFs and ethnic armed groups across the country.
Myanmar Junta's atrocities include murders, kidnappings, looting, destroying homes, committing sexual violence
Meanwhile, the regime has continued its atrocities, including the arbitrary killings of civilians, using civilians as human shields, bombarding residential areas, looting and burning houses and committing sexual violence, especially in Magwe and Sagaing regions and Chin, Shan and Kayah states.
News (25)
Myanmar junta soldiers target shooting two riders per motorcycle
Myanmar’s military regime has imposed new restrictions on motorcycles in certain townships in Yangon, Tanintharyi, Sagaing and Mandalay regions.
The new restrictions are widely seen as an attempt to limit the movements of civilian resistance fighters, who sometimes use motorbikes to carry out shooting and bombing attacks on junta forces.
Under the new rules, two men are now banned from riding on a motorbike together. A male riding on the backseat behind a female driver is also no longer allowed. In a few townships, all motorcycles, as well as three-wheeled bikes, have been banned from the road.
Townships targeted by the motorbike ban include Thanlyin and Hlaing Tharyar in Yangon Region, Dawei and Myeik in Tanintharyi Region, Monywa in Sagaing Region and Kyaukpadaung, Taung Tha, Meiktila, Mahlaing, Wundwin and Thazi townships in Mandalay Region.
On 25 October, a local People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Meiktila used a motorcycle to attack a junta patrol with a bomb. The PDF claimed two policemen died and at least five others were injured in the attack.
“The restrictions were introduced on Tuesday. Junta forces have threatened to open fire if they see two males riding on a motorbike together,” said a Meiktila resident who asked not to be named.
Locals in the townships under the new restrictions rely on motorbikes to get around and to transport goods as there are not enough bus routes within their townships and taxis are prohibitively expensive. Now, residents are vulnerable to being shot, arrested or fined by junta forces.
Motorbike taxi drivers face especial difficulties because of the restrictions. “How can we continue to work under these restrictions and earn a living?” said one motorcycle taxi driver from Wundwin Township.
Ref: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-regime-introduces-new-motorbike-restrictions.html
News (26) to (30) / Reporter : Tang Jian / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/11/16/a103270284.html
News (26)
Interview with Yu Maochun: To counter the threat of the CCP, the United States should take "ethics as the bottom line"
Yu Maochun, the former chief China policy adviser of the US State Department, accepted an exclusive interview with this station on October 27. He warned that the CCP is trying to export a totalitarian global governance model to challenge freedom In the world, he also pointed out that the United States needs a clear moral bottom line to fight the CCP and protect people's inalienable rights in this war of freedom and tyranny. The full version of this interview is broadcast on the channel "Interview with Fang Fei" at 9:30 pm on Tuesday.
Yu Maochun commented, "The challenges the CCP has brought to the world are not only economic and military challenges, but more importantly, moral challenges."
He pointed out the CCP’s challenge to world morality and warned that the CCP is playing nationalism with Chinese characteristics and is attempting to export the CCP-centered Marxist-Leninist communist global governance ambitions. Compared with the CPSU’s infringement of the people’s body, the CCP is more radical in taking power by ideologically eliminating dissident thoughts, just like the Xinjiang concentration camps and the persecution of Falun Gong.
News (27)
The world must have a clear moral outlook, understand the stakes and challenges
Yu Maochun commented, "For example, the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong is not only physical torture, unspeakable cruelty, but also a kind of alienation of thinking that makes them not believe what they believe. Yes. This is a very, very huge moral challenge to the modern world. If we want to deal with the Chinese Communist Party, we must have a clear moral outlook, understand the stakes and the challenges we face."
Yu Maochun pointed out that the United States must confront the CCP with a clear moral bottom line. He also believes that the CCP’s expansion seems to have made progress, but it has gradually been isolated internationally due to essential issues, including the handling of issues such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, which has caused the CCP to face historical diplomatic dilemmas.
News (28)
CCP diplomacy is deteriorating
Yu Maochun said, "If the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party want to visit any country in the world, the leaders of that country will not feel happy, because the problems they have to face are whether it is the violation of human rights in Xinjiang, technology and military espionage, Hong Kong or Taiwan issues. I have never seen China’s diplomacy as bad as it is now."
News (29)
Leaders must recognize the essence of the CCP
In response to the CCP’s military expansion and the previous reports of active development of new hypersonic missiles, Yu Maochun is confident that the United States is capable of defeating the CCP, but the premise is that American leaders must have the ability to recognize the essence of the CCP.
Yu Maochun said, "The CCP has made some very advanced (armament) technologies, but there are also many flaws. So I am not very worried. If we have leaders like President Trump and special appointments Pompeo, Secretary of State, knows 100% the nature of the CCP’s threat, then the United States will be unmatched."
When asked whether Pompeo will run for the 2024 presidential election, Yu Maochun smiled and said that he wanted to call him immediately and praised that if Pompeo is elected, he will be a great president.
Yu Maochun, former chief China policy adviser to the US State Department, said, "(Will Secretary of State Pompeo invest in the 2024 presidential election? Can you share your views?) Do you need me to call him and I can call him immediately (if I can That’s great). I’m convinced that if Pompeo is elected, he will become a very, very good president. Whether he is running or not, I will call him after the interview."
News (30)
Totalitarian regime must be fought against
Yu Maochun, who is also born in China, said that he did not deny the Chinese, but took the stand of free men. He hoped that China's 1.4 billion people would have a practical conscience to fight against the CCP’s totalitarian environment and platform. It is not just the United States, but a goal that all the free world wants to achieve.
Yu Maochun stresses, “If a regime is often afraid of its own people and fears the influence of the international community on its regime, that regime has no future.”
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