Reuters: World

'I don't trust it:' Vaccine hesitancy lingers even as China COVID cases surge Headhunter Candice knows the COVID-19 infections engulfing Beijing and much of China will soon hit her home of Shenzhen city, but she would rather face it without a vaccine booster, saying she fears potential side effects more than the virus. The 28-year-old took two doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac last year, hoping it would make travel easier, but she has since grown more sceptical, citing stories from friends about health impacts, as well as similar health warnings on social media. "I don't trust it," she said, speaking on the condition that only her first name be used. Candice said she has refused to participate in recent vaccination drives organised by her local community. read more

Exclusive: Sam Bankman-Fried to reverse decision on contesting extradition Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to appear in court in the Bahamas on Monday to reverse his decision to contest extradition to the United States, where he faces fraud charges, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. The 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul was indicted in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday and accused of engaging in a scheme to defraud FTX customers by using billions of dollars in stolen deposits to pay for expenses and debts and to make investments for his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC. His decision to consent to extradition would pave the way for him to appear in U.S. court to face wire fraud, money laundering and campaign finance charges. read more

In COVID-hit Beijing, funeral homes and crematoriums are busy Hearses bearing the dead lined the driveway to a designated COVID-19 crematorium in the Chinese capital on Saturday while workers at the city's dozen funeral homes were busier than normal, days after China reversed tight pandemic restrictions. In recent days in Beijing the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has hit services from catering to parcel deliveries. Funeral homes and crematoriums across the city of 22 million are also struggling to keep up with demand as more workers and drivers testing positive for coronavirus call in sick. China is yet to officially report any COVID deaths since Dec. 7 when the country abruptly ended many key tenets of its zero-COVID policy that had been championed by President Xi Jinping, following unprecedented public protests against the protocol. read more

Elon Musk restores Twitter accounts of journalists after suspensions draw backlash Elon Musk reinstated the Twitter accounts of several journalists that were suspended for a day over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire's plane. The reinstatements came after the unprecedented suspensions evoked stinging criticism from government officials, advocacy groups and journalism organizations from several parts of the globe on Friday, with some saying the microblogging platform was jeopardizing press freedom. A Twitter pollthat Musk conducted later also showed that a majority of the respondents wanted the accounts restored immediately. read more

Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two Japan on Friday unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China and ready it for sustained conflict, as regional tensions and Russia's Ukraine invasion stoke war fears. The sweeping, five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, will make the country the world's third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who described Japan and its people as being at a "turning point in history", said the ramp-up was "my answer to the various security challenges that we face". read more

Nine dead, 25 missing after landslide hits Malaysia campsite A landslide killed at least nine people as they slept at a campsite in Malaysia early on Friday, officials said, with search teams scouring thick mud and downed trees for about two dozen people still missing. The landslide in Selangor state, on the outskirts of capital, Kuala Lumpur, occurred about 3 a.m. (1900 GMT) on the side of a road near an organic farm with camping facilities, the state fire and rescue department said in a statement. More than 90 people were caught in the landslide and 60 had been found safe, with 25 still missing, according to a message on social media by the National Disaster Management Agency. In addition to the nine dead, seven were injured, it said. read more

Biden to blacklist China's YMTC, crackdown on AI chip sector The Biden administration on Thursday plans to add Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC and 21 "major" Chinese players in the artificial intelligence chip industry to a trade blacklist, broadening its crackdown on China's chip industry, the Commerce Department said. YMTC, long in the crosshairs of the U.S. government, will be added to the list over fears it could divert U.S. technology to previously blacklisted Chinese tech giants Huawei and Hikvision. The move will bar YMTC's suppliers from shipping U.S. goods to it without a difficult-to-obtain license. The 21 Chinese AI chip entities being added to the trade blacklist, which include Cambricon and CETC, will face an even tougher penalty, with the U.S. government effectively blocking their access to technology made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment. read more

China's COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said on Wednesday, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike in cases. The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. 2 economy. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. read more

Harry accuses Prince William of screaming at him, his aides of leaking stories Prince Harry and his wife Meghan piled fresh criticism on the British royal family in new episodes of their Netflix documentary series released on Thursday, accusing his elder brother Prince William of being part of media attacks. William, now heir to the throne, had screamed at him when he discussed leaving his official royal role almost three years ago, Harry said, while he also added he believed the press were responsible for Meghan having a miscarriage. read more

Morocco airline cancels World Cup fans flights, citing Qatar restrictions Morocco's national airline said it was cancelling all flights it had scheduled for Wednesday to carry fans to Doha for the World Cup semi-final, citing what it said was a decision by Qatari authorities. "Following the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform customers of the cancellation of their flights operated by Qatar Airways," the airline said in an emailed statement. The Qatari government's international media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. read more

Biden signs marriage equality act to tune of Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors' U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday at a jubilant celebration that featured U.S. singer Cyndi Lauper performing "True Colors" in front of thousands of supporters on the White House lawn. The new law provides federal recognition to same-sex marriages, a measure born out of concern that the Supreme Court could reverse its legal support of such relationships. Cheers erupted from the crowd as Biden signed the bill. read more

U.S. close to providing Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine - officials The United States is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, a decision that could be announced as soon as this week, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday. Ukraine has asked its Western partners for air defenses, including U.S.-made Patriot systems, to protect it from heavy Russian missile bombardment including against its energy infrastructure. Ground-based air defense systems such as Raytheon Technology Corp's (RTX.N) Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles. read more