Taiwan blames 'external forces' for blocking BioNTech vaccine deal. China says it had nothing to do with it
CNN
The Chinese government has denied it obstructed Taiwan's coronavirus vaccine purchase from BioNTech, after the island's health minister revealed that its deal with the German drugmaker fell through at the last minute due to possible "political pressure."
Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Thursday it was "purely fabrication" that Beijing had intervened in BioNTech's vaccine sale to Taiwan, state news agency Xinhua reported. A day earlier, Taiwanese health minister Chen Shih-chung said in a radio interview that Taiwan and BioNTech were about to sign a deal for 5 million vaccine doses in December, when the company suddenly backed out.
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Israel on Sunday received the bodies of three more deceased hostages held in Gaza.
Azaiza knows that he’s lucky to be alive. “My life is worth more now than if I was dead,” he told CNN earlier this month. “A lot of Gazans got killed. Nobody mentions their names.”
More than a month after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza, a key component of his plan has yet to materialize. The plan calls for a multinational force to stabilize the battered enclave, but potential participants say critical details about its mandate are still not finalized.