Japan s prime minister announced Wednesday an additional US$800 million contribution to the UN-backed initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries, a four-fold increase of Japanese funding for the COVAX program.
The governments of Sweden, Spain, Australia, and other states have pledged to donate millions more dollars and Covid-19 vaccine doses to the Covax scheme in a summit which secured pledges that exceed its $8.3 billion objective.
The Chinese government has lashed out at references to China in joint statements made yesterday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minis
During a wide-ranging interview, China's most high-profile diplomat admits he has almost no information about the espionage trial of Australian writer Yang Hengjun in Beijing.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has insisted relations with close ally Australia are not going to be negatively impacted by China. The Ardern government has been accused of going soft on Beijing in order to profit from better trade relations with the East Asian nation. Ardern has also been holding annual talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to discuss trade, security and the challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the…