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Pressure on Victoria After Quarantine Failure

Canada Restricts Dealings With Hong Kong Over New Security Law

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister Francois−Philippe Champagne says Canada is suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong as part of a package of responses to the new security law China has imposed on the territory. In a statement, Champagne says Canada will also treat sensitive goods being exported to Hong Kong as if they were being sent to mainland China. That means outright banning some military−related goods from being traded there. China imposed strict new controls on Hong Kong this week, in what Champagne calls a violation of the “one country, two systems” philosophy that was supposed to last 50 years after Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997. Champagne’s statement says Hong Kong’s place in the global economy was based on that promise and needs to be reassessed. Canada’s moves…

Pressure on Victoria After Quarantine Failure

As swathes of Melbourne enter a third day of new coronavirus lockdowns, the Victorian government is under pressure over the faulty hotel quarantine program.

Premier Daniel Andrews on July 3 took responsibility for the infection protocol breaches in hotels hosting returned travellers.

Victoria recorded another 66 coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the state’s total active cases to 442 with most in Melbourne’s northwest corridor.

It was the only state in the country to record fresh cases, with the federal government voicing concern about Victoria’s impact on the national economy.

Twenty-three people with the virus are in hospital including six in intensive care.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos revealed a “super spreader” is potentially behind the spread of the virus through Melbourne’s lockdown suburbs, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The Victorian opposition has called the hotel quarantine program “a complete disaster” and a failure of government.

The peak body for hotels has rejected criticism for any wrongdoing in the quarantine program, saying the hotels involved had been turned over to the government and did not deserve blame.

Andrews has warned other Melbourne suburbs could also be locked down if infections continue to rise.

Andi Yu in Melbourne

Focus News: Pressure on Victoria After Quarantine Failure

Nasdaq-Listed Chinese Company Cheated Creditors by Using Fake Gold as Loan Collateral

Nasdaq-listed Chinese jeweler Kingold Jewelry Inc. (KGJI) has received 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) loans by claiming to use tons of gold as collateral in the past five years. However, the creditors discovered that some of the gold bars are gilded copper alloy. The loans were protected by insurance issued by Chinese state-run PICC Property and Casualty Company (PICC) and some smaller insurers. But the insurers refuse to pay for the loss of Kingold’s creditors by claiming that the insurance contracts defined that they won’t take care of the loss that was created by the policyholder. However, the creditors emphasized that the insurance agreement ruled that insurers will take responsibility if the gold that is supplied by the policyholder doesn’t meet the standard. Kingold designs and manufactures jewelry. It was…