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.
Hamas has announced that the next hostage release scheduled for Saturday will be postponed, alleging Israel had failed to abide by the terms of the agreement.
Three male Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners were freed in the fifth round of exchanges between Israel and Hamas Saturday as Israel expressed concern about the appearance of the released captives.
Hamas on Friday released the names of three Israelis it said it would release from Gaza on Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted US President Donald Trump a golden pager during their meeting in Washington on Tuesday, an Israeli political source told CNN.
Life in northern Gaza is desperate – there is no water, no electricity and so much rubble that there’s barely enough space to put up tents. Yet many Palestinians are determined to stay and rebuild – even if US President Donald Trump wants them out of the enclave so he can create a Middle Eastern “riviera.”
A Palestinian toddler who doctors say only has days to live without urgent medical treatment was evacuated from Gaza by the Jordanian military on Monday, in a special mission after Israel had repeatedly delayed her evacuation.
Israel and Hamas are expected to release another round of Gaza hostages and Palestinian prisoners as part of their ceasefire deal. Follow for live updates.