BEIJING: Delays to a long-planned mission by WHO experts to China to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic are “not just a visa issue,” Beijing said Wednesday.
A year after the outbreak started, international health experts were expected to arrive in China this week for a highly politicized visit to explore the beginnings of the virus, which first emerged late last year in the city of Wuhan.
The sensitive mission has been beset by delays and politics, with fears of a whitewash by Beijing.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Wednesday that talks were continuing between the two sides over “the specific date and specific arrangement of the expert group’s visit.”
“The issue of origin-tracing is incredibly complicated. To ensure the work of the international expert team in China goes smoothly, we have to carry out necessary procedures and make relevant arrangements,” said Hua.
She said the country is “doing its best to create good conditions for the international expert group to come to China.”
On Tuesday the head of the World Health Organization told reporters Beijing had not yet finalized permission for the team’s arrival, saying he was “very disappointed with this news” — in a rare rebuke of Beijing from the UN body.
Earlier this week Chinese authorities refused to confirm the exact dates and details of the visit, a sign of the enduring sensitivity of the mission.
The WHO had previously said China has granted permission for a visit by a 10-person team.
Hua said China was “placing great importance and is actively communicating with the WHO.”
Impasse over WHO virus mission ‘not just a visa issue’: China
Impasse over WHO virus mission ‘not just a visa issue’: China
- International health experts were expected to arrive in China this week for a highly politicized visit to explore the beginnings of the virus
- The sensitive mission has been beset by delays and politics
Uganda to shut down Internet ahead of Thursday election: communication authority
- There was no statement from the government on the shutdown
- The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision
KAMPALA: Uganda ordered an Internet blackout on Tuesday, two days ahead of elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule.
“This measure is necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period,” the Uganda Communications Commission said in a letter to Internet providers, verified by government officials to AFP.
There was no statement from the government on the shutdown. The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision.
Uganda shut down the Internet during the last election in 2021 — a vote that was marred by widespread allegations of rigging and state violence against the opposition, led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who is running again for the presidency.
The government repeatedly promised that the Internet would not be shut down during the election, stating in a post on X on January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public.”
The suspension was due to take effect at 6:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued,” the UCC said.
Essential state services were to be exempted from the ban, it added.
