az 疫苗

🔴Friday March 19th 2021 🔵2021年3月19日星期五 1️⃣EMS: AZ vaccine is “safe and effective” 歐洲藥品管理局：AZ 疫苗“安全有效” The European Medicines Agency said the Oxford University/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine was “safe and effective”, following a review. Many European countries have halted vaccinations with the drug, amid concerns that it increased the risk of blood clots. The World Health Organisation also urged countries to continue using the vaccine, arguing that the benefits far outweigh any risks. 歐洲藥品管理局 (EMA) 表示根據審查後發現，牛津大學/阿斯利康 (Oxford University/AstraZeneca) 的新冠疫苗是“安全有效的”。許多歐洲國家已停止接種 AZ 疫苗，因人們擔心這款疫苗會增加血液凝塊 (形成“血塊”) 的風險。世界衛生組織 (WHO) 仍敦促各國繼續使用 AZ 疫苗，並認為其益處遠大於所有風險。 2️⃣Spain: the sixth country legalising euthanasia 西班牙：第六個合法化安樂死的國家 Spain passed a law allowing adults with “serious and incurable” diseases that cause “unbearable suffering” to choose to end their own lives. It is the sixth country to legalise euthanasia, joining Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The law, passed by the lower house of parliament, is expected to take effect in June. 西班牙通過了一項法律允許患有“嚴重且無法治愈”之疾病的成年人在無法承受痛苦時選擇結束自己的生命。這是將安樂死合法化的第六個國家，加入了比利時、加拿大、哥倫比亞、盧森堡和荷蘭的行列。西班牙國會下議院通過了這項法律並預計將於 (今年) 六月生效。 3️⃣The battered giant: Saudi Aramco’s results 受創的巨人：沙烏地阿美的業績 The world’s largest oil company will report its annual results on Sunday. Every oil firm has had a trying year as covid-19 sapped demand for crude, but Saudi Aramco has faced unique pressures. Its output is set by its main shareholder, the Saudi government. Its yearly dividend, promised to investors in the run-up to its initial public offering in 2019, is a gargantuan $75bn. And the company remains the continued target of violence. Most recently, Houthi militias in Yemen launched drones and missiles against Ras Tanura, Aramco’s largest export facility. Crude prices briefly climbed above $70, providing a rare bright spot. But the suspension of AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine in parts of Europe is now stoking fears that travel, and therefore oil demand, might resume more slowly. That may prompt Saudi Arabia to extend production cuts. Aramco, like its peers, is keen for a return to “normal”. That may be a long way off. 全球最大的石油公司沙烏地阿拉伯國家石油公司 (Saudi Aramco，簡稱沙烏地阿美)，將在本週日公佈其年度財報。由於新冠疫情導致原油需求的下降，每家石油公司都經歷了過去這艱辛的一年，但沙烏地阿美卻面臨著獨特的壓力。它的產量由其主要股東沙國政府來設定。而它在 2019年首度公開募股以前向投資人允諾的年度股息就高達 750億美元。此外，該公司依然是暴力攻擊的目標。近期，葉門 (Yemen，位在中東地區，阿拉伯海與紅海之邊緣) 的胡塞武裝叛亂組織 (Houthi) 便向位於 Ras Tanura 鎮 (沙烏地阿美最大的石油出口港) 發射無人機與導彈。原油價格為此短暫地攀升至 70美金以上，進而提供了一個罕見的亮點。但現在 AZ 疫苗於歐洲部分地區的停用引起了人們對旅行的擔憂，因此石油需求量可能會恢復得更慢。這可能促使沙國延長其減產計畫。像其他同業一樣，沙烏地阿美很渴望能回歸「正常」。但這可能還有很長的路要走。

🔴Friday March 12th 2021 🔵2021年3月12日星期五 1️⃣Pakistan: banning TikTok…too 巴基斯坦：也…跟著禁止抖音 Pakistan became the second country in south Asia, after India, to ban TikTok, a short-video app. The Peshawar High Court, which issued the ruling, said that the app promotes “immoral and objectionable” content that does not align with Pakistani values. It follows a previous ban of the Chinese-owned app in October, which was enforced only for a fortnight. 巴基斯坦 (Pakistan) 成為了僅次於印度、第二個禁止短視頻應用程式 TikTok (抖音) 的南亞國家。做出該裁決的 Peshawar (巴國一地區) 高等法院表示：該應用程式所宣傳/表達的內容與巴基斯坦的價值不符，且內容屬於“不道德和令人反感的”。在此前，巴國曾在 (去年) 10月禁止了這個中資的 App，不過當時的禁令僅持續了兩週。 2️⃣Nordic countries calling STOP on the AZ jab 北歐國家暫停使用 AZ 疫苗 Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended vaccinations with the AstraZeneca-Oxford covid-19 jab after a Danish woman developed a blood clot and died after receiving the shot. This week at least five other European countries stopped inoculations from the same vaccine batch over similar concerns. The European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s regulator, said there is “no indication” that vaccination caused blood clotting. An investigation is underway. 丹麥、挪威和冰島暫停了阿斯利康 - 牛津 (AstraZeneca-Oxford) 的新冠疫苗之接種 (計畫)，因此前一名丹麥婦女在注射了該劑疫苗後出現了血塊、之後死亡。在本週，至少有五個歐洲的其他國家出於類似考量而停止了同一批 (號) 疫苗的接種。歐洲藥品管理局 (European Medicines Agency，一歐盟附屬機構，專職藥品評估) 表示：“沒有跡象”表明接種疫苗會導致血液凝固。(關於上述之) 調查正在進行中。 3️⃣The Quad: an Indo-Pacific countries’s club 四方安全對話：美澳日印的「印太俱樂部」 Three years ago China’s foreign minister dismissed the Quad, a bloc comprising America, Australia, Japan and India, as “sea foam in the Pacific”, whose ideas “will be short-lived.” Yet the Quad—which was established in response to growing Chinese power—has survived and thrived. Its foreign ministers have met thrice in the last two years. Today it holds its first-ever leaders’ summit, a virtual gathering of Joe Biden, America’s president, and Scott Morrison, Suga Yoshihide and Narendra Modi, the prime ministers of Australia, Japan and India, respectively. The leaders will discuss everything from the climate crisis to the pandemic, including an initiative to ramp up vaccine manufacturing in India to counter Chinese influence. But hard power will not be far from their minds. Indian and Chinese troops remain locked in a Himalayan stand-off. Lloyd Austin, America’s defence secretary, will embark tomorrow on a trip to South Korea, Japan and India to continue the discussion in person. 三年前，中國外長輕蔑地把美國、澳洲、日本、印度所組成的「四方安全對話 (Quad)」形容成「太平洋上的浪花」，其價值思想只是一時的 (原文為：這個世界上，各種話題層出不窮、花樣翻新，就像太平洋和印度洋上的浪花，一時引人耳目，轉瞬歸於平寂)。然而，為了因應中國實力不斷增長而成立的 Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) 不但得以維持，還繁榮發展。在過去兩年內，四方的外交部長已舉行了三次會議。在今天，它更將破天荒首度舉行由美國總統拜登、日本首相菅義偉、澳洲總理莫里森 (Scott Morrison) 以及印度總理莫迪 (Narendra Modi) 等人親自出席的領導人線上高峰會。他們討論的議題將橫跨氣候危機到新冠疫情，其中包括了一項為應對中國影響，而旨在印度擴充疫苗產能的倡議。不過，(軍事上) 硬實力的考量仍是他們的顧慮點。被困在喜馬拉雅山區的中、印軍隊仍僵持中。美國國防部長奧斯丁 (Lloyd Austin，美國陸軍退役上將) 將於明天出訪南韓、日本和印度，並親自出席對話的討論。