The Chinese dad making medicine to treat his dying son

Two-year-old Haoyang has likely just months to live – but the only medicine that can help his rare genetic condition is not found anywhere in China and closed borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic mean he cannot travel for treatment.Instead, his desperate father, Xu Wei, has created a home laboratory to create a remedy for the boy himself.“I didn’t really have time to think about whether to do it or not. It had to be done,” the 30-year-old told AFP from his DIY lab in a high-rise apartment building in southwestern Kunming.Haoyang has Menkes Syndrome, a genetic disorder that impacts how copper – which is crucial for brain and nervous system development – is processed in the body.Sufferers rarely survive beyond the age of three.But Xu, who has only high school education and ran a small online business before his son became ill, is determined to give him a fighting chance.“Even though he cannot move or speak, he has a soul and feels emotions,” he said, holding Haoyang in his lap to give him honey mixed in water.After being told the disease was incurable and the only medication that could help ease symptoms was not available in China, he began researching and teaching himself pharmaceuticals.“My friends and family were against it. They said it was impossible”, he remembers.Most online documents on Menkes Syndrome were in English, but undeterred Xu used translation software to understand them, before setting up a home lab in his father’s gym.On discovering copper histadine could help, he set up the equipment to create it himself, mixing copper chloride dihydrate with histidine, sodium hydroxide and water.Blocked by CovidXu now gives Haoyang a daily dose of homemade medicine, which gives the child some of the copper his body is missing.The amateur chemist claims that a few of the blood tests returned to normal two weeks after beginning the treatment.The toddler can’t talk, but he gives a smile of recognition when his father runs a gentle hand over his head.His wife, who didn’t want to give her name, cares for their five-year-old daughter in another part of the city.Menkes Syndrome is more prevalent in boys than girls, and it is estimated one in 100,000 babies are born with the disease globally according to organisation Rare Diseases.There is little information or data available but Xu said pharmaceutical companies have shown little interest as the treatment “does not have commercial value and its user group is small.”Under normal circumstances, he would have travelled abroad to bring back treatments for Haoyang from specialist centres overseas, but China has largely closed its borders since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.Xu felt he had no choice but to make it himself.“At first, I thought it was a joke,” said Haoyang’s grandfather Xu Jianhong.“(I thought) it was an impossible mission for him.”But six weeks after throwing himself into the project, Xu produced his first vial of copper histidine.To test it he first experimented with rabbits and then injected the treatment into his own body.“The rabbits were fine, I was fine, so then I tried it on my son,” he said.Reassured, he then started gradually increasing the dosage.But the medicine is not a cure.Professor Annick Toutain, specialist of rare diseases at the Tours University Hospital in France, said the copper treatment “is only efficient against certain genetic anomalies and if it is administered very early on, in the first three weeks of life.”She said that after that the treatment will alleviate symptoms, “without leading to recovery.”Xu has accepted that it can “only slow down the disease”.Gene therapyHis work has led to interest from VectorBuilder, an international biotech lab, who are now launching gene therapy research with Xu into Menkes syndrome.The company’s chief scientist Bruce Lahn described it as “a rare disease among rare diseases” and said they were inspired after learning about Xu’s family.Clinical trials and tests on animals are planned for the next few months.Xu has even been contacted by other parents whose children have been diagnosed with Menkes, asking him to make treatment for their relatives too – something he has refused.“I can only be responsible for my child,” he told AFP, while health authorities have said they will not intervene as long as he only makes the treatment for home use.Huang Yu of the Medical Genetics Department at Peking University told AFP that as a doctor he was “ashamed” to hear of Xu’s case.He said he hoped that “as a developing country, we can improve our medical system to better help such families.”With a full-time role as an amateur chemist, Xu has little income and relies mainly on his parents.Friends tried to talk him out of his medical efforts but undeterred, the young father is planning to study molecular biology at university and do everything he can to protect his son.“I don’t want him to wait desperately for death. Even if we fail, I want my son to have hope.”


US whistleblower Snowden gets a Russian passport, reports say

Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed the scale of secret surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA), has sworn an oath of allegiance to Russia and received a Russian passport, Tass reported on Friday.
"Yes, he got [a passport], he took the oath," Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's lawyer, told the state news agency Tass.
Snowden, 39, did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment on the report.
President Vladimir Putin in September granted Russian citizenship to Snowden, who fled the US after leaking secret files that revealed the extensive eavesdropping activities of the US and its allies.
Defenders of Snowden hail him as a modern day dissident for exposing the extent of US spying. Opponents say he is a traitor who endangered lives by exposing the secret methods that Western spies use to listen in on hostile states and militants.


Guan Eng wins bid to reinstate award of damages for defamation by Perkasa

The Federal Court has reinstated the High Court’s decision for Perkasa and its president Ibrahim Ali to pay RM150,000 in damages for defamation to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng.In a 2-1 majority decision, the three-member bench led by Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan allowed Lim’s appeal to set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision overturning the High Court’s ruling.Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, who delivered the court’s judgment, held that a public officer, whether he is suing in his official or personal capacity, is not prohibited from bringing an action for damages for defamation.The court awarded RM50,000 in costs to Lim, who is DAP secretary-general and former finance minister.Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli, who dissented, said Lim had filed the defamation suit in his official capacity.He said Lim was not properly represented by a government legal officer as required under the Government Proceedings Act, adding that there was no fiat, or formal authorisation, produced by the law firm representing him.Lim filed the defamation suit in 2012 against seven respondents, claiming that former Perkasa information chief, the late Ruslan Kassim, had published a statement on Perkasa’s website on Oct 1, 2011 implying that he was endangering national security by exposing the country’s secrets to Singapore.On March 26, 2015, the High Court found The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP), its former group editor Syed Nazri Syed Harun, Utusan Melayu (M) Sdn Bhd, its group editor-in-chief Abdul Aziz Ishak, Perkasa, Ibrahim and Ruslan liable for defamation.It ordered Perkasa to pay RM150,000, while NSTP and Utusan were to pay RM200,000 each in damages.On March 5, 2019, Lim pursued his application in the Federal Court to obtain leave to appeal only against Perkasa, Ibrahim and Ruslan. However, at the outset of his appeal hearing in the Federal Court on Sept 22 last year, Lim withdrew his legal action against Ruslan who had passed away.Lim obtained leave to appeal to the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s decision in July 2019.He also withdrew his leave to appeal application against NSTP and Utusan Melayu on March 5, 2019 after the mainstream media agreed to reinstate the High Court decision and to pay RM200,000 each in damages.


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1,810 new cases as death toll passes 400-mark

Another 1,810 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 80,309.Selangor recorded 829 cases, of which 685 or 82.6% were from clusters and close contact screening. 390 cases were from two new clusters, the Sungai Putus and Erima clusters involving Klang and Gombak respectively.This was followed by Sabah with 532 and Kuala Lumpur with 132.Pahang recorded 96, Johor 69, Negeri Sembilan 64, Penang 34, Kedah 22, Perak 12, Labuan eight and Melaka five.Putrajaya, Kelantan and Terengganu recorded two cases each while Sarawak recorded one.Active cases stand at 12,734 with 123 in the ICU and 63 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 937 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 67,173.However, six more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 402.


Turkey going into full lockdown in bid to halt Covid surge

Turkey’s president says a full lockdown will start this week to fight coronavirus infections, marking the country’s strictest measure since the pandemic began.All Turks will be required to stay home under a nationwide full lockdown starting on Thursday and lasting until May 17 to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday.Turkey had so far instituted only partial lockdowns. After the country lifted partial restrictions in March, infections and deaths soared.The country logged 37,312 new Covid-19 infections and 353 deaths in the previous 24 hours on Monday, health ministry data showed, well down from mid-April but still in the top 10 of the world’s highest number of cases.Announcing the new measures on Monday, Erdogan said all intercity travel will require official approval, and a strict capacity limit will be imposed for users of public transport.All schools will shut and move lessons online.Everyone will have to stay indoors except for essential shopping trips and urgent medical treatment. Certain groups including emergency service workers and employees in the food and manufacturing sectors will be exempt.Erdogan told the nation, “At a time when Europe is entering a phase of reopening, we need to rapidly cut our case numbers to below 5,000 not to be left behind. Otherwise, we will inevitably face heavy costs in every area, from tourism to trade and education.”The measures appear to be planned to avoid another spike around the time of traditional family gatherings and celebrations that take place when Ramadan ends in mid-May.The new restrictions come as Turkey has fallen considerably behind its planned inoculation schedule after a quick start in mid-January.It has provided both jabs to around eight million people and is pushing China to speed up delivery of its Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine after securing a deal for 100 million doses.Turkey has also received its first deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and has reached a deal with Russia to start producing Sputnik V locally.


New cases inch past 27,000 as another 86 deaths reported

Another 27,004 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 3,927,437.There were 29,450 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 3,596,453.There are now 296,799 active cases, of which 286,599 or 96.6% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 1,971 (0.7%) are at quarantine centres while 7,856 (2.6%) have been hospitalised.A total of 373 are in ICU with 225 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 58.7%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 42.1%.Another 86 deaths were reported, including 35 who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 34,185.


World passes threshold of 4.5 million Covid deaths

The world has passed the grim threshold of 4.5 million Covid-19 deaths, according to an AFP tally on Monday, as the virulent Delta variant wreaks havoc globally.Since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, the virus has killed a total of 4,500,620 people, the tally of official sources revealed.Some 10,000 deaths are reported every day in the world, a much lower figure than the highs of January when an average of 14,800 people were being killed daily.But the figure is much higher than at the start of July when some 7,800 daily deaths were registered.With an average of 1,290 deaths per day over the past week, the US has once again become the country with the most new fatalities in the world.Back in January, it had registered as many as 3,380 deaths per day, a figure that had dropped to just 200 by early summer.But it is now facing a wave of the virulent Delta variant, which has spread to the vast majority of countries around the world since it was identified in India in April.The pandemic has already claimed more deaths in 2021 than in 2020, with more than 2.6 million fatalities officially reported since January against just under 1.9 million over the whole of last year.Countries around the world are hoping the vaccines will ease the spread of the virus, but there are huge disparities between rich and poor nations.Just seven doses were administered per 100 people in Africa, against 99 in Europe and 111 in the US.The vaccines are also thought to be less effective against the Delta variant.According to a study published last week by US health authorities, the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna jabs against infection has dropped from 91 to 66% since the strain became dominant in the US.The vaccines remain very effective in preventing severe forms of illness, however.


BN not trying to be a ‘big brother’, but Umno must be the core party, says Khaled

Core parties are still relevant to Malaysian politics to ensure the country’s political stability, says Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin.He said the absence of a core party would lead to disloyalty, with party hopping which would make it difficult to maintain the political stability of the country or state.“Secondly, there will be a lot of ‘bargaining’, a lot of ‘give and take’ to the point that important matters based on the party’s struggles cannot be implemented because there is no core party.“For that reason, Umno needs to contest more than 14 or 15 seats so that it can be the core party. If there is no core party there can be no stability, this is what the people of Melaka have to decide,” he said in a programme streamed on Facebook last night.He was responding to claims that Barisan Nasional (BN) was trying to take on the role of a “big brother” by moving solo in the Melaka state election.Khaled who denied this said BN only wants to restore political stability in Melaka and the country in general through a core party approach.In the election on Nov 20, BN will be contesting all 28 seats, with Umno contesting in 20 seats, MCA seven and MIC one.Of that number, 24 candidates or 86% are new faces with only four incumbents retained.


Bank Negara hikes OPR to 3.00%

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today raised the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 3.00%.
In a statement, it said the ceiling and floor rates of the OPR corridor would be correspondingly increased to 3.25% and 2.75% respectively.
The OPR was lowered to a record 1.75% after the onset of Covid-19 in Malaysia in early 2020.
Last year, it was raised a total of four times by a cumulative 100 basis points to 2.75% – still below the pre-Covid rate of 3.25% seen in March 2019.
Economists had expected BNM to continue increasing the OPR rate to at least 3.00% this year, in line with the strengthening economic performance.
In its statement, BNM said the global economy continued to be driven by resilient domestic demand supported by strong labour market conditions, and a stronger-than-expected rebound of China’s economy.
"Nevertheless, the global economy continues to be weighed down by elevated cost pressures and higher interest rates.
"Headline inflation continued to moderate, but core inflation has persisted above historical averages. For most central banks, the monetary policy stance is likely to remain tight," it said.
In Malaysia, BNM said that latest developments pointed towards further expansion in economic activity in the first quarter of 2023 after the strong performance in 2022.
"While exports are expected to moderate, growth in 2023 will be driven by domestic demand," it said.
"Household spending remains resilient, underpinned by better labour market conditions as unemployment continues to decline to pre-pandemic levels."
It said the pick-up in tourists arrivals was expected to lift tourism-related activities, while further progress in multi-year infrastructure projects would support investment activity.
"Domestic financial conditions also remain conducive to financial intermediation, with no signs of excessive tightening affecting consumption and investment activities," it said.
BNM said risks to the domestic growth outlook were relatively balanced, with upside risks mainly from domestic factors such as stronger-than-expected tourism activity and the implementation of projects including those from the re-tabled Budget 2023.
"Meanwhile downside risks stem from weaker-than-expected global growth and more volatile global financial market conditions," it added.
It said headline inflation had trended lower in recent months, as expected, due to moderating cost factors.
"Both headline and core inflation are expected to moderate over the course of 2023, averaging between 2.8% and 3.8%.
"However, core inflation will remain at elevated levels amid firm demand conditions. Existing price controls and fuel subsidies will continue to partly contain the extent of upward pressures to inflation.
"The balance of risk to the inflation outlook is tilted to the upside and remains highly subject to any changes to domestic policy including on subsidies and price controls, financial market developments, as well as global commodity prices," it said.


Reinfections 3 times more likely with Omicron, South African research shows

A preliminary study by South African scientists published Thursday suggests the Omicron variant is three times more likely to cause reinfections compared to the Delta or Beta strains.The findings, based on data collected by the country’s health system, provides the first epidemiological evidence about Omicron’s ability to evade immunity from prior infection.The paper was uploaded on a medical preprint server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.There were 35,670 suspected reinfections among 2.8 million individuals with positive tests until Nov 27. Cases were considered reinfections if they tested positive 90 days apart.“Recent reinfections have occurred in individuals whose primary infections occurred across all three waves, with the most having their primary infection in the Delta wave,” tweeted Juliet Pulliam, director of the South African DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.Pulliam cautioned that the authors did not have information about the individuals’ vaccination status and therefore could not assess to what extent Omicron evades vaccine-induced immunity. The researchers plan to study this next.“Data is also urgently needed on disease severity associated with Omicron infection, including in individuals with a history of prior infection,” she said.Michael Head, a scientist at the University of Southampton, praised the research as “high quality.”“This analysis does look very concerning, with immunity from previous infections being relatively easily bypassed. Might this all still be a ‘false alarm’? That is looking less and less likely,” he said in a statement.Exponential riseEarlier, top South African scientist Anne von Gottberg, an expert at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, forecast a surge in cases but said authorities expected vaccines would still be effective against severe outcomes.“We believe the number of cases will increase exponentially in all provinces of the country,” she said in a news conference with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa region.“We believe that vaccines will still however protect against severe disease,” she added.“Vaccines have always held out to protect against serious disease, hospitalisations and death.”WHO experts reiterated calls for a rethink on travel bans against southern Africa, given that Omicron had now been reported in nearly two dozen countries and its source remained unclear.“South Africa and Botswana detected the variant. We don’t know where the origin of this could have been,” said specialist Ambrose Talisuna. “To punish people who are just detecting or reporting… is unfair.”In mid-November, South Africa was reporting about 300 cases a day. On Wednesday the country reported 8,561 new cases, up from 4,373 the day before and 2,273 on Monday.


Home brew banned at Aussie Antarctic stations in diversity push

For years, Australian Antarctic scientists have passed down the arcane knowledge necessary to concoct the best home-brewed beer in sub-zero conditions.Despite it becoming easier to transport commercially-made alcoholic drinks to frozen bases over time, the craft of home brewing continued.But Canberra has now rung the final bell on that particular tradition and home brewing will be banned on Australian Antarctic stations, ABC News is reporting.The policy is aligned with the current federal government health guidelines, which recommend consuming no more than 10 standard drinks of alcohol a week.Home brewing will be banned and imported alcohol monitored and rationed.Australian Antarctic expeditioners will now be limited to 10 standard alcoholic drinks a week.The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) says the new policy is part of its responsibility to provide safe, healthy and productive workplaces.The incoming AAD policy “recognises the need to create a comfortable and safe community atmosphere on research stations, with the ability to have a drink while engaging socially and to celebrate special occasions,” the division’s director, Kim Ellis, said.He emphasised that the policy was not a response to any particular incidents, but to the risks associated with living in Antarctica and the difficulties management encounter controlling consumption, hygiene standards and alcohol content.“Antarctica is a unique environment – it’s incredibly cold and incredibly harsh – and very small mistakes can lead to very big consequences,” he said, adding that the ban is an important part of making stations safer.The new policy, which will come into effect next summer, sets out the volume of alcoholic beverages that expeditioners can take to Antarctica as seven cans of full-strength beer per week or 1.5 bottles of wine, or half a bottle of spirits.“Over the years, the amount of home-brew being made had just got more and more, and my job is to provide a safe operating environment. We’re really working at the moment on diversity and equity in the program,” Ellis told ABC News.“The sad truth of it is alcohol makes people lose inhibitions and I am determined that women in our program should feel safe, and part of that is providing an environment where alcohol is controlled.”Ian McLean, a satellite equipment officer, said he was “appalled” by the new policy.“People falling down drunk? If that’s happening it’s not an alcohol issue, it’s a station management problem,” he said.Ellis said the AAD had plans to build a cafe for expeditioners, inspired by what he had seen at an Italian Antarctic station last year.While the Italian station allowed its expeditioners to enjoy alcohol, the social structure revolved around a cafe.“It’s got a coffee machine, it’s got a whipped ice cream machine, a slushy machine, biscotti, chocolate, a tea bar. So we’re going to shamelessly copy that.”Ellis said healthy snacks would also be available, and there were plans to expand cooking and baking courses which were already offered by the AAD’s chefs.It remains to be seen how Aussie polar explorers will react to an evening of Italian cafe culture after a tough day on the ice.


Cops arrest 80-year-old for stabbing 4-year-old at playground

Police arrested an elderly man on suspicion of stabbing a boy with a knife at the playground of a block of flats in Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Noor Dellhan Yahaya, in a statement today, said the 80-year-old suspect stabbed the four-year-old victim, who is his neighbour, in the abdomen and thighs, seriously injuring him.He said police were informed of the incident at 5.39pm. When they reached the scene, the boy had been taken by his family to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre for treatment.“Police also conducted an investigation at the scene and found the suspect hiding in a flat unit.“Further investigations showed that the suspect had a record of psychiatric treatment,” he said.


WHO chief scientist warns against panic over Omicron

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist on Friday urged people not to panic over the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant and said it was too early to say if vaccines would be need to be reworked.Speaking in an interview at the Reuters Next conference, Soumya Swaminathan said it was impossible to predict if Omicron would become the dominant strain.Omicron has gained a foothold in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe and has reached seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, where it was first identified. Many governments have tightened travel rules to keep the variant out.Swaminathan said Omicron “was highly transmissible” and cited data from South Africa showing the number of cases doubling daily.“How worried should we be? We need to be prepared and cautious, not panic, because we’re in a different situation from a year ago,” she said.“Delta accounts for 99% of infections around the world. This variant would have to be more transmissible to out-compete and become dominant worldwide. It is possible, but it’s not possible to predict.”Much remains unknown about Omicron, which has been detected in more than two dozen countries as parts of Europe grapple with a wave of infections of the more familiar Delta variant.“We need to wait, lets hope it’s milder… but it’s too early to conclude about the variant as a whole,” Swaminathan said.WHO’s emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said there was no evidence to support a change in vaccines to tailor them to Omicron.“Right now, we have highly effective vaccines that are working. We need to focus on getting them more equitably distributed. We need to focus on getting people most at risk vaccinated,” Ryan said at a social media event.WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a United Nations briefing in Geneva that vaccine makers should prepare for the likelihood of adjusting their products.Ugur Sahin, CEO of Germany’s BioNTech, which makes a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, told the Reuters Next conference the company should be able to adapt the shots relatively quickly.Sahin also said current vaccines should continue to provide protection against severe disease, despite mutations.“I believe in principle at a certain timepoint we will need a new vaccine against this new variant. The question is how urgent it needs to be available,” Sahin said.Worrying gaps in vaccinationAustralia became the latest country to report community transmission of the new variant, a day after it was found in five US states.Almost 264 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus since it was first detected in central China in late 2019 and 5.48 million people have died, according to a Reuters tally.Vaccination rates vary from country to country but there are worrying gaps in poorer countries. Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country and once Asia’s Covid-19 epicentre, has fully inoculated only about 35% of its population.In the US, the Biden administration announced measures to guard against the virus spreading. From Monday, international air travellers arriving in the US will have to have obtained a negative Covid-19 test within a day of travel.“We’re going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion,” President Joe Biden said.Fewer than 60% of the US population have been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates among wealthy nations.Aside from wreaking havoc in the travel industry, the clampdown has pounded financial markets and undermined major economies just as they were beginning to recover from the lockdowns triggered by Delta.Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders, who voted for an interest rate hike last month, said on Friday he wanted more information about Omicron before deciding how to vote this month.“At present, given the new Omicron Covid variant has only been detected quite recently, there could be particular advantages in waiting to see more evidence on its possible effects on public health outcomes and hence on the economy,” Saunders said in a speech.Germany said it would bar the unvaccinated from all but essential businesses, and legislation to make vaccination mandatory would be drafted for early next year.Several countries, including Britain and the US, were bringing forward plans to offer booster shots, but, like travel bans, they are controversial.Many scientists say the way to stop the virus spreading is to make sure poorer countries have access to vaccines, not to give blanket booster shots to people in richer countries.


Tanzanians still sceptical as country begins Covid-19 vaccinations

In a major breakthrough for one of the world’s last countries to adopt Covid-19 vaccines, Tanzania’s president kicked off its vaccination campaign on Wednesday by publicly receiving a dose and urging others to do the same.But she immediately met a lot of hesitation from the people of one of Africa’s most populous nations, according to CNN.The East African country’s government under former president John Magufuli had long worried health officials by denying the seriousness of the pandemic and the usefulness of “white man’s” vaccines.Magufuli, who insisted Covid-19 could be defeated with “the power of prayer”, died in March.Opposition leaders insisted he had died of Covid-19 at least one week earlier than announced.But the official story was he had died from heart failure, which he apparently had battled for more than a decade, according to the country’s new president, his deputy, Samia Suluhu Hassan.She has since changed Tanzania’s course on vaccines and received the Johnson & Johnson jab Wednesday, while expressing confidence in the safety of vaccines and saying the country of more than 58 million people will obtain more.The US on Saturday announced the delivery of more than one million doses via the Covax global initiative aimed at supplying poorer countries.Now the Tanzanian government’s challenge is to reverse the scepticism the Magufuli administration promoted about Covid-19 and the vaccines.“Why don’t we consider our traditional solutions? Why do we have to use foreign medicine? Is there something that is hidden here?” asked one resident of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Kelvin Mmari, who told the AP on Wednesday he’s not willing to be vaccinated.The president stressed that the vaccine is voluntary, and many welcomed the arrival of doses.“The action by the president to take a new direction in the battle against the coronavirus has brought relief to Tanzanians,” said Dar es Salaam resident Hawa Bihoga.Tanzania went well over a year without updating its number of confirmed virus cases but has now resumed reporting the data to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which showed 858 cases in the country as of Wednesday, although critics warn that many more people are infected.African countries, hit hard by so-called vaccine nationalism as rich nations prioritise doses for their own citizens, are embracing the need to have more control over vaccine production.Hassan has even pledged to invest in vaccine manufacturing, according to the Africa CDC.As many parts of the continent face a devastating surge of infections, just two African countries still have yet to start Covid-19 vaccinations: Burundi and Eritrea.Burundi, whose late President Pierre Nkurunziza was criticised for downplaying the pandemic, still says vaccines aren’t needed yet.And Eritrea has long been criticised by human rights groups as one of the world’s most closed-off, repressive countries, with no clear picture emerging of how the worldwide pandemic is affecting it.


Authorities brace for double battle as floods claim lives, displace over 11,000

Authorities are bracing for worsening floods nationwide with two deaths recorded and an overnight increase in number of evacuees to over 11,000.Thousands of firefighters in at least three states have been put on standby, joining multiple agencies in evacuation and rescue efforts.There have also been reports of landslides and a halt in traffic due to rising waters at major interstate roads and highways in the last 24 hours, with the meteorological department issuing warnings of continued downpours throughout the week.Daily life also came to a standstill in several major towns in Pahang and Johor, with dozens of video clips shared on social media showing motorists struggling to get out of roads inundated with water.In Pahang, water from the Semantan river in Lancang overflows due to heavy rain, causing the closure of several major roads.One family of four in Johor spent 11 hours in their vehicle after a part of the Kluang-Mersing road was submerged.School teacher Abdul Aziz Jemain’s car was stranded alongside about 40 other vehicles, before they were rescued.Pahang and Johor are currently among the worst-hit states, with Tenaga Nasional announcing the closure of more than 90 power substations for safety reasons as rising waters affect hundreds of homes.In Taman Maran Jaya in Maran, Pahang, water levels have reached the roofs of many houses. Photo: BernamaIn Pahang, the number of evacuees tripled last night to about 5,400 people, from about 1,800 people at 4pm.Pahang police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan told MalaysiaNow that Kuantan has recorded the most evacuees so far.Meanwhile, almost every part of Maran has been submerged, cutting the town off from nearby districts with the Fire and Rescue Department considering the use of helicopters to reach Felda settlements and Orang Asli villages.In Johor, Kluang where thousands were affected by floods last year saw more than 2,500 people evacuated as of yesterday. Other areas where evacuees have been on the rise are Kota Tinggi, Johor Bahru and Kulai.In Johor Bahru, residents of Kampung Kangkar Tebrau are evacuated to temporary flood shelters. Photo: BernamaIn Kelantan, bulldozers were used to lift some 100 4WD vehicles participating in an expedition in Hulu Tembeling, Kuala Krai, after they became trapped by mud on their path. Many of the participants were also forced to spend the night in their vehicles.Floods are an annual affair at this time of the year, but this year will be more challenging for the authorities as multiple agencies are already saddled with battling the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen almost 2,000 new cases each day.Many drivers returning to the city after spending the New Year in their home towns were stuck in standstill traffic on the East Coast Expressway on Jan 3 as floods rose as high as 0.68m in some areas.Authorities are also mindful of the massive floods six years ago which claimed 21 lives and displaced 200,000.Those floods also ravaged villages and townships in Kelantan, which bore the brunt of the property damage – over RM2 billion – caused by the waters in several states.The meteorological department has issued a red alert for several areas in Terengganu, Johor and Pahang, with heavy downpour forecast today and tomorrow.It said the rainy season is expected to last until March.


Calls from PMO, headline tweaking as govt trumpets media freedom index

While top officials in Anwar Ibrahim's coalition government have repeatedly cited a recent media freedom index showing Malaysia's improvement during the previous administration, questions have been raised about the situation on the ground with complaints from a number of newsrooms about political interference in their reports.
A source from a local media organisation said his newsroom had been contacted by a representative from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) over a report on Anwar.
"They asked for the report to be reangled because of the headline," he told MalaysiaNow on condition of anonymity.
"The newsroom complied because they wanted government advertisements."
Reporters Without Borders ranked Malaysia at 73rd place in its annual press freedom index, up from 133rd.
The leap was based on the media situation last year, when Putrajaya was under the short tenure of Ismail Sabri Yaakob until November.
After the coalition government led by Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan coalition took over, questions were raised about Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil and his approach to the media situation in the country.
Several months ago, the Lembah Pantai MP clashed with Malay daily Berita Harian over a report predicting a rise in overnight policy rate, a situation that came to pass last week.
Fahmi, describing the report as slander, had met with the management and editors in order to present his views.
Meanwhile, television channel TV3 cancelled the opposition's slot for a post-Ramadan "takbir raya" at the last minute, citing technical issues.
It also previously deleted a report on social media quoting Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli as saying that people should avoid buying chicken if prices go up too much.
Another source from a local newspaper said the organisation was accused of supporting Perikatan Nasional by political appointees in the government.
"They didn't like our reports and some of our headlines," he said, asking for anonymity as well.
The most recent development saw the PMO's strategic communications director Wan Nurzila Wan Abd Rahman resigning with 24 hours' notice.
The Star had quoted a source in the PMO as saying that Nurzila's resignation was linked to friction with J-KOM over the campaign to promote "Malaysia Madani", the phrase used by Anwar for his coalition government.
An information officer at the government propaganda unit said the situation was still confusing, citing unclear instructions from the Prime Minister's Department about how to proceed, especially on social media platforms.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said a number of his colleagues had been on good terms with J-KOM head Mohammad Agus Yusoff before joining the department.
"They always asked for his views and so on. But after working under him, many are disappointed and even avoid introducing themselves when they meet at events," he said.
On the elections to come in six states, he said there were no clear instructions for the officers on how to carry out their tasks.
He said orders were "mixed up", with no indication of which should be prioritised.
He added that some of his colleagues were regretting their career move, saying it would be better for them to return to writing news.
"They feel like they have no purpose," he said. "They say they should go back to writing – the worst that can happen is that they get scolded by politicians who don't like their reports.
"But now, the politicians are their bosses. There's a big difference."


Israel, Bahrain formalise diplomatic ties

Israel and Bahrain cemented a deal officially establishing relations and signed seven memorandums of understanding Sunday, further opening up the wealthy Gulf region to the Jewish state.The documentation was signed at a ceremony in the presence of other international dignitaries and reporters, an AFP correspondent said, fleshing out a US-brokered deal the two nations had agreed to at the White House on Sept 15.The Israeli delegation, led by National Security Council chief Meir Ben Shabbat, had travelled to Manama from Tel Aviv on the first direct flight between the two countries.US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and President Donald Trump’s special assistant for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz, had travelled to Tel Aviv before joining the Israeli delegation’s flight to Manama.But Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as well as the crown prince and prime minister, were absent from the ceremony, the AFP correspondent said.On Sunday, the two nations’ officials agreed to establish peaceful diplomatic relations and cooperate in the fields of the economy, civil aviation, finance, communications and agriculture, Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement.It also said it would cooperate with Bahrain’s foreign ministry and noted that the two nations had agreed Sunday on the exemption of visa requirements for diplomats.Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif al-Zayani, said that the decision to normalise ties comes from the “belief in the values of tolerance… in a region whose people have suffered from wars and conflicts”.The two sides will be free to open embassies in each other’s countries after the ceremony, Berkowitz said, adding that an Israeli embassy in Manama could open within months.The flurry of diplomacy between some of Washington’s key regional allies has handed Trump a key foreign policy win as he campaigns for re-election ahead of polls in November.‘Great day’Upon arrival in Manama, Israel’s Shabbat said in Arabic it was a “great day”, adding these relations will “most likely benefit both sides”.The Jewish state’s normalisation of ties with the UAE and Bahrain has however outraged the Palestinians, who have called the deals “a stab in the back” and urged Arab states to maintain unity against Israel.Zayani, however, on Sunday stressed that Bahrain calls for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to end the conflict based on a two-state solution.Like Israel, both Manama and Abu Dhabi have vehemently anti-Iran foreign policies and Tehran has slammed the normalisation.The Gulf monarchies have broken decades of Arab consensus that there would be no relations with the Jewish state until it had made peace with the Palestinians.Bahrain, unlike the UAE, has a history of open politics and civil society movements, although rights have been curtailed in the past decade.In a rare display of dissent in the small oil-rich kingdom last month, dozens took to the streets in Abu-Saiba, a Shiite village near Manama, to protest the normalisation.In the wake of the Arab Spring protests in 2011, the Sunni monarchy accused thousands of dissidents from the Shiite majority of receiving orders from Iran.Security talksIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his cabinet on Sunday, lauding what he called the “historic peace agreement” with Bahrain, and saying: “I hope that soon I’ll be able to tell you about more countries.”The premier insists more Middle East states want ties with Israel as priorities have shifted.Countries now value lucrative trade opportunities above positioning on the Palestinian conflict, he has argued.The US and Israeli delegations are expected to head to Abu Dhabi from Manama to take part in a business meeting, according to the US Department of State.Security cooperation is also likely to feature prominently in bilateral relations, with Israel’s Mossad spy agency chief Yossi Cohen visiting Manama earlier this month to meet Bahrain’s security brass.Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia has said it will not normalise ties without a resolution to the Palestinian issue despite signs of rapprochement.But analysts have said Bahrain, heavily linked to Saudi Arabia, would not have agreed to normalise ties with Israel without Riyadh’s blessing.Israel agreed to suspend annexation plans in the occupied West Bank in exchange for normalisation with the UAE, but has expanded settlement activity since the deal was announced.Israel’s parliament on Thursday ratified the agreement with the UAE, and a separate vote on the Bahrain pact is expected once the details are finalised.


Aug 4 decision for 1MDB's bid to obtain documents in suit against Riza Aziz

The High Court today set Aug 4 to deliver its decision on the application by 1MDB and three of its subsidiaries to obtain documents in the US$248 million suit against Hollywood film producer Riza Aziz and two of his companies for allegedly misusing the strategic investment company’s funds.
Counsel Hariharan Tara Singh, representing Riza, Red Granite Pictures Incorporated and Red Granite Capital Limited, said judge Amarjeet Singh set the date after hearing arguments from both parties.
"The decision will be delivered via email," he said when met by reporters.
The plaintiffs’ counsel, Rabindra S Nathan, confirmed the matter.
1MDB and its subsidiaries filed the application on Jan 28, seeking documents including correspondence between fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low and Riza, and documents relating to the receipt and use of US$10,173,104 in funds by Red Granite Pictures and US$238 million by Red Granite Capital.
Based on the supporting affidavits in the application, 1MDB director Mohd Hisyamuddin Awang Abu Bakar said the documents would assist the plaintiffs in proving their claim and enable them to obtain further information to support their claims in the suit.
According to an affidavit-in-reply, Riza said he was advised by lawyers and firmly believed that the documents sought by the plaintiffs were only an attempt to fish for further information.
On May 7, 2021, 1MDB and its subsidiaries sued Riza and his two companies for allegedly receiving around US$248 million in funds which they then misused for their personal gain, including to finance a film and to purchase various properties.
They also claimed that since Riza managed both companies, he would have known that the money originating from 1MDB had been misappropriated for their gain.
Riza, in his defence, claimed that the funds were obtained from a loan from the Saudi royal family or International Petroleum Investment Company and not from 1MDB. He said it was hard for an unknown film producer to obtain loans from banks and that this had compelled him to seek funds from individuals or companies.


Sri Lanka to sue Singapore ship owners over marine pollution

Sri Lankan authorities Sunday said they will sue the owners of a Singapore-registered cargo carrier which has burned for 11 straight days off the island’s west coast and caused some of its worst-ever marine pollution.Police said a criminal investigation was also launched into the blaze aboard the MV X-Press Pearl, which was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid and a huge amount of plastic raw materials.The intense fire, still burning at the rear of the 186m vessel, has destroyed much of the cargo, some of which also fell into the Indian Ocean.Tonnes of microplastic granules have inundated the South Asian nation’s famed beaches, forcing a fishing ban and sparking fears of ecological devastation.Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority (Mepa) said it met with attorney general Sanjaya Rajaratnam on Sunday to plan legal action against the owners of the vessel, its crew, as well as insurers.“We have gone through the details and will be taking action against those responsible,” Mepa chairman Dharshani Lahandapura told reporters in Colombo.She said they were, however, yet to make an assessment of the environmental damage, but she believed it was the “worst marine pollution” Sri Lanka has ever suffered.Fire under controlSri Lanka’s navy chief, Vice-Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne, who was also at Sunday’s talks with the island’s chief prosecutor, said the X-Press Pearl was still on fire, but the blaze was now under control.“It will take a few more days to completely extinguish the fire,” Ulugetenne said, adding that his assessment was that there was no danger of the vessel breaking up.But he ruled out towing it away from Sri Lankan waters until the fire was completely put out and experts examined the vessel for any structural weaknesses.International salvage firm SMIT is leading efforts to douse the flames and is being assisted by Sri Lanka’s navy and the Indian coastguard.The three-month-old ship was heading to Colombo from Gujarat, India. It had previously visited Qatar and Dubai and was due to go to Malaysia and Singapore after calling at Colombo.The 25-member crew, who have already been evacuated from the ship, will be questioned on Monday, police said.Authorities said last week they believed the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak that the crew had been aware of since May 11.“The captain and the crew were in quarantine, but health authorities have told us that we can question them from tomorrow,” Ajith Rohana, a police spokesman, told AFP.“We have already sent samples of polluted seawater and burnt debris from the vessel for a forensic report.”The ship’s owners, X-Press Feeders, said the vessel’s hull remained intact and there was no damage to its fuel tanks.Fishermen have been banned from the 80km stretch of coast, where tonnes of plastic pellets have washed up, sparking a massive clean-up effort.Fisheries minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the government would compensate them for their expected losses.At least 4,500 fishermen were affected at the fishing and tourist resort of Negombo, officials from the Roman Catholic church in the area said Saturday as they pleaded for financial aid.Priest Sujeewa Athukorale told AFP on Saturday that there were also fears of reduced demand for seafood from the area over contamination fears.


Indonesia turns hotels into hospitals as cases continue to rise

The Indonesian government has turned hotels in Jakarta into Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres following the drastic increase in number of cases with hospitals in the province almost reaching full capacity.Jakarta Health Agency public health sector head Fify Mulyani said two hotels, Ibis Style in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta and U Stay Hotel in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, were converted into Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres yesterday.Without mentioning the number of patients being treated there, he said Hotel Ibis could accommodate 212 patients and Hotel U Stay, 140.Meanwhile, Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association chairman Krisnadi in a statement said that 30 hotels in Jakarta had been identified for conversion into temporary hospitals for the treatment and quarantine of Covid-19 patients.On Sept 14, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said 67 hospitals in Jakarta had reached over 70% in terms of use of equipment, beds and medical facilities with an average of almost 1,000 cases reported in Jakarta each day since the end of August.Based on data posted by Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Authority today, a total of 1,238 new positive cases were reported in Jakarta in the last 24 hours.Jakarta has recorded the highest number of cases in the republic at 72,577, with 1,716 fatalities so far.Indonesia today recorded 4,002 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the republic to 282,724.Another 132,496 patients are still being monitored for the viral infection.Between noon yesterday and noon today, 128 more deaths occurred, bringing the cumulative figure to 10,601.


Cambodia confirms it demolished US-built naval facility

Satellite images released last week by a US think tank appeared to show that a US-funded facility at Ream, Cambodia’s largest naval base, had been demolished, said the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.Cambodia denied the report, but on Sunday deputy prime minister and defence minister, Tea Banh, confirmed that the facility was torn down last month. “We relocated it to a new spot. We cannot keep it anymore and the building is already old,” he told AFP. “It will be far better in its new location.”The US is concerned about a growing Chinese military presence in Cambodia, China’s firmest ally in Southeast Asia. The Ream naval base is in a strategic location in the Gulf of Thailand, which gives easy access to the South China Sea.“We have concerns that razing the facility may be tied to Cambodia government plans for hosting People’s Republic of China military assets and personnel at Ream Naval Base,” the Pentagon said.Strong-man Premier Hun Sen has repeatedly insisted Cambodia’s constitution forbids any foreign military bases inside its borders. But he has also said money from Beijing will fund the naval base’s development.One of the world’s longest-serving leaders, Hun Sen has in recent years looked more to Beijing than Washington due to US criticism of his government’s alleged human rights abuses.However, Hun Sen will not be unaware of a growing anti-China backlash from the public, especially in the Sihanoukville and Kampot areas where businesses and casinos are now largely Chinese-owned, and many more are being constructed by Chinese companies, leading to what many locals are calling “a Chinese invasion”.


Malaysia's maintenance culture, falling apart at the seams

For years, Stadium Shah Alam was a household name among football fans who would flock to the massive dome to watch matches between the Red Giants home team and their opponents of the day.
Inaugurated in 1994, the stadium was the venue of the 1998 Commonwealth Games and hosted a number of other international events as well as athletics meets and concerts.
Today, though, the iconic stadium in Section 13 is only a broken shell of its former self.
Even from a distance, the holes in its unique polycarbonate roof left by cracked and shattered panels are obvious.
It also faces a host of other issues including problems with its electrical wiring.
According to Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, it would take some RM250 million to upgrade the once impressive building, managed by Darul Ehsan Facilities Management Sdn Bhd under Menteri Besar Incorporated.
But the stadium is far from the only facility in the country suffering from a lack of maintenance and frequent breakdowns.
Elevators and escalators at public transportation hubs are a prime example.
Late last month, a disabled woman at the Seremban KTM station had to be carried in by auxiliary police as the elevator was out of order.
The lift was eventually repaired after the incident went viral on social media.
Public washrooms and bus stations are also infamous for their lack of maintenance.
For former Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) member Mak Khuin Weng, part of Malaysia's problem with maintenance is due to the lack of an effective inventory system.
"Last time, I had an agreement with Alam Flora about the cleaning of drains, which according to their contract was to be done twice a month," he recalled.
"However, it was not done. Although the contract listed out what MBPJ was paying for, the service was ad hoc because even MBPJ itself does not have a master list of all the drains in Petaling Jaya."
From an industry perspective, facilities management company GFM Services said the design of most of the country's facilities made maintenance a tricky business.
"Materials, building equipment components, parts and so on in the design specifications are often unsuited to the kind of environment and usage to which the facility is exposed," director Zainal Amir said.
"Maintenance management experts and practitioners are often not consulted during the design stage of the facility."
Maintenance management plans could also be improved, Zainal added.
As things stand, he said, they do not conform to the latest best practices, and often ignore the lifespan of the facility in question.
"Budget allocations are not based on proper benchmarking or well-analysed data," he said.
"No proper risk management is conducted to determine the solutions to mitigate possible failures in facility operations."
Mak agreed with Zainal's observation on budgets, saying the government lacks a fundraising culture to keep its infrastructure in good condition.
He said this was unlike the private sector, which carries out marketing activities and raises its own funds.
"The government only collects money and taxes," he said.
"It falls into their lap and their headache is deciding how to spend the money that comes in.
"You might be surprised that they spend only a minimal amount hiring cleaners."
Zainal meanwhile spoke of inefficiencies in the contractor selection process for public facilities and a general lack of awareness among the people about the importance of maintenance.
In terms of contractors, he said the tenders issued had poor specifications that were too vague, including in the matter of qualifications.
"Tenders are also skewed to commercial offers rather than technical capabilities, and are subject to abuse by both the issuers and contractor cartels," he said.
For him, the most effective way to raise awareness is by educating the public from a young age about the importance of a good maintenance culture.


Fast food chains interested in joining Menu Rahmah, says minister

Several major fast food chains have expressed interest in participating in the Menu Rahmah programme to assist the B40 group in the country.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub said they appeared keen to be part of the initiative following the encouraging response to the programme since its launch two weeks ago.
"This is great news for Malaysians as the operators have stated their interest in offering Menu Rahmah offerings after Burger King launched some products under RM5 previously," he told reporters in Kangar yesterday.
He added that several major international fast food chains would make their decisions next week.
"They plan to introduce burgers as their Menu Rahmah offerings as it is easier for customers, especially the youth," he said, adding that there were also businesses in other industries, including textiles and healthcare, who were interested in being part of the initiative.
"There are those who want to introduce ‘Shopping Rahmah Raya’ to help Malaysians prepare for Aidilfitri. This matter will be further discussed to identify what can be offered by those operators," he said.
He said there were also some private clinics interested in introducing "Rahmah" healthcare services, including health tests at prices as low as RM40.
"I will discuss this with the health ministry first. If there are no objections, it will be implemented later," he said.
He said his ministry did not put any pressure on businesses to join the Rahmah programme, but that it had received a huge response from many parties, especially the food sector initially, which then carried over to other sectors.
"This shows that Malaysians are conscientious and love to contribute, they are rushing to be a part of it," he added.


Beijing slams ‘slanderous’ US ‘ineffective Chinese vaccines’ report

The Chinese foreign ministry has reacted with anger at the New York Times after it claimed that countries using Chinese Covid-19 vaccines are now among the most affected by the virus.The NYT published the story last week under the headline: “They Relied on Chinese Vaccines. Now They’re Battling Outbreaks.”The summary of the report said: “More than 90 countries are using Covid shots from China. Experts say recent infections in those places should serve as a cautionary tale in the global effort to fight the disease.”The report named Chile as one of the worst affected countries.Speaking on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, slammed the Times report and claimed that information from Chilean health authorities suggested that China’s exported Covid-19 vaccines are working well, according to RT World News.Citing the head of the Chilean health department, Wang claimed that the NYT report does not reflect the facts. “It is regrettable. The outside world claims that the CoronaVac shot is ineffective without any scientific basis.”He said that if the NYT conclusion about the Chinese vaccines were true, then “surely there would be disastrous consequences in China” where all the vaccines administered are developed within the country.Wang added that “Wise netizens have correctly noted that the slander of China’s vaccine is out of prejudice against Beijing.”He called on US media to stop spreading misinformation about vaccines and instead to promote the availability of affordable vaccines in developing countries.In April, Chile said that data proved the CoronaVac jab to be 67% effective in preventing symptomatic infections of Covid-19. The vast majority of the country’s shots come from the Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech.In its report, the NYT stated that in the Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia, where high levels of immunisation had been achieved primarily using Chinese vaccines, there were alarming new outbreaks.According to their own official data, all four countries now ranked among the nations with the worst Covid-19 outbreaks as recently as last week.Bahrain experienced a severe outbreak which peaked in May, and the other three countries are currently trying to overcome record highs for national daily Covid infections.On Sunday it was reported that at least 10 of 26 Indonesian doctors who died from Covid-19 in June had received both doses of the Sinovac vaccine.Last week, Singaporean health officials publicly expressed concerns about risk reported with vaccines from China following hundreds of Indonesian health workers testing positive for Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine. Singapore is the latest country to cast doubt on the vaccine.China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac shots have both been approved by the World Health Organization.


30.6% of children fully jabbed, 46.7% given first vaccine dose

A total of 1,085,977 children or 30.6% of those aged five to 11 had completed their vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow portal, a total of 1,657,180 children or 46.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.For teenagers aged 12 to 17, a total of 2,907,463 or 93.4% have completed their vaccination while 3,004,613 or 96.5% have received at least one dose.As for the adult population, 16,075,262 or 68.3% have received a booster dose while 22,972,212 or 97.6% have completed two doses.A total of 23,248,104 or 98.8% have received at least one dose of vaccine.Yesterday, a total of 12,667 vaccine doses were administered, of which 4,384 were first doses, 5,188 were second shots and 3,095 were booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine jabs administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 70,737,211.


ChatGPT gets more 'human' as AI wave continues

The company behind the ChatGPT app that churns out essays, poems or computing code on command released Tuesday a long-awaited update of its artificial intelligence (AI) technology that it said would be safer and more accurate than its predecessor.
GPT-4 has been widely awaited ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late November, wowing users with its capabilities that were based on an older version of OpenAI's technology, known as a large language model.
"We've created GPT-4, the latest milestone in OpenAI's effort in scaling up deep learning," a company blog said, adding that the AI technology "exhibits human-level performance" on some professional and academic tasks.
The company said the model is "more creative and collaborative than ever before" and would "solve difficult problems with greater accuracy” than its earlier versions.
With its update, text responses from GPT-4 will be more accurate, and – in future – will come from both image and text inputs in a major leap forward for the technology, though this aspect has not yet been released.
For example, if a user sends a picture of the inside of a refrigerator, GPT-4 will not only correctly identify what is there, but also concoct what can be prepared with those ingredients.
OpenAI said it was working with a partner company, Be My Eyes, to prepare the next advance.
Much of the new model's firepower is now available to the general public via ChatGPT Plus, OpenAI's paid subscription plan and on a AI-powered version of Microsoft's Bing search engine that is currently being tested.
OpenAI is backed by Microsoft, which earlier this year said it would finance the research company to the tune of billions of dollars.
The Windows-maker then swiftly integrated the tech into its Bing search engine, Edge browser and other products.
Microsoft's aggressive adoption of ChatGPT has sparked a race with Google which announced its own versions of the AI technology, with Amazon, Baidu and Meta also wading in, eager to avoid being left behind.
Less 'hallucinations'
OpenAI said that the new version was far less likely to go off the rails than its earlier chatbot with widely reported interactions with ChatGPT or Bing's chatbot in which users were presented with lies, insults, or other so-called "hallucinations."
"We spent six months making GPT-4 safer and more aligned. GPT-4 is 82% less likely to respond to requests for disallowed content and 40% more likely to produce factual responses," OpenAI said.
Founder Sam Altman admitted that despite the anticipation, GPT-4 "is still flawed, still limited, and it still seems more impressive on first use than it does after you spend more time with it."
“The power of the algorithm will increase, but it's not a second revolution," said Robert Vesoul, CEO of Illuin Technology, a French AI start-up.
Vesoul questioned the safety measures taken by OpenAI, which has already been hit by criticism from billionaire Elon Musk that the company is overly curbing speech on its AI in order to avoid more embarrassing responses.
"I am not sure if I want an AI to block responses on unknown topics… Should an AI decide if I smoke or not?” Vesoul told AFP.
Other companies partnering in the rollout of GPT-4 include Morgan Stanley that will use the AI to help guide its bankers and their clients.
"You essentially have the knowledge of the most knowledgeable person in Wealth Management—instantly," said Morgan Stanley Jeff McMillan in a statement.
Other partners include Khan Academy, the online tutoring giant and Stripe, a financial app that will use GPT-4 to fight fraud and for other uses.


Recruitment of doctors doesn't depend on health ministry alone, says minister

The health ministry today said that discussions must be held with other government agencies before any decision on the opening of new posts, as part of efforts to tackle the shortage of healthcare workers and ease congestion at public hospitals.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said talks would continue with bodies such as the Public Services Department and finance ministry before new recruitments are made.
"The health ministry would like to take in every doctor, but if there are no posts and we have no funds, we cannot do this.
"I ask for this matter to be considered," she said in response to a supplementary question from Dr Kelvin Yii (DAP-Bandar Kuching) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
Yii had asked about the government's initiatives to address the shortage of personnel at public hospitals.
The government had also been faced with demands from contract doctors throughout the country who asked to be absorbed as permanent staff.
Zalina, when answering Yii's initial question, laid out seven initiatives to reduce the congestion at government hospitals, including internal audits and digitalisation of the bed management unit.
She said the government was also working with the private sector for outsourcing purposes.
"The waiting time for medical and non-medical procedures can be reduced along with the length of stay and bed occupancy rate, facilitating the flow of patients," she said.
She said the crowds were due in part to a rise in non-infectious diseases and the resulting complications in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.


Teens in Labuan, Klang Valley to receive Covid jabs after Sarawak

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says teenagers in Labuan and the Klang Valley will receive their Covid-19 jabs after Sarawak, which began vaccinating those under 18 today.In a Twitter post, he said the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee had given approval for teenagers to be inoculated against the virus.“Sarawak will begin today starting with 16-17-year-olds and 12-15-year-olds who are at high risk or with chronic medical conditions.“Labuan and Klang Valley will follow shortly. We will be giving the Pfizer vax,” he said.Some 76,400 teenagers in Sarawak began receiving their vaccine jabs today.The group comprises those aged 16 to 17 as well as those aged 12 to 15 who have high-risk diseases.Khairy said yesterday that they would be given the same vaccine dosage as adults.“After this initial group, the vaccine will be administered in stages to those aged 14 and 15, followed by those aged 12 to 13,” he said.


Smoking endgame bill to be tabled on June 12

The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 will be tabled for a first reading in Parliament on June 12, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
"We have completed our engagement sessions with various parties and gathered much input. I would like to reiterate that our decision to table this bill follows the decision made by the Cabinet," she said at a media briefing on the bill yesterday.
She also said that the health ministry had incorporated all 23 proposed amendments and added five new suggestions to the bill.
Zaliha said the ministry also took into consideration the views received during the debate sessions and from the special select committee at the last Parliament session.
"This bill is more comprehensive as it covers not only conventional smoking products but also new ones, including electronic and combustible ones," she said.  She added that the bill still retains the generational endgame (GEG) provision, affecting those born on Jan 1, 2007 onwards.
"The GEG provision will curb the problem of smoking, especially among the youth, which is the main contributor to the country’s economy, and save 2.07 million lives," she said.
Zaliha said the new bill is based on the findings of recent studies that will be tabled in a periodic report before Jan 1, 2025.
"This approach shows that the government is committed to implementing the GEG, which also receives the support of many, including NGOs, professional bodies and associations,” she said.
Regarding the lacuna in the Poisons Act 1952 following the exemption of liquid nicotine used in electronic cigarettes from the law, Zaliha said this could be addressed through controls in terms of advertisement, packaging, sales in educational institutions and so on. She added that all of the issues debated during the tabling of the previous bill, including judicial review, body inspection and extensive enforcement authority, had been amended as recommended by the Special Select Committee on the Tobacco and Smoking Products Control Bill 2022.
Regarding the proposed fine reduction from RM5,000 to RM500, Zaliha said it was not intended to be burdensome but to educate.
She also said that without the GEG provision, the cost of treating smoking-related diseases would escalate to RM8.77 billion, and RM369 million would be needed to treat complications from the use of electronic cigarettes by the year 2030.


Flood forecasts in four states after continuous rain warning

The National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (PRABN) has issued an early flood forecast from Dec 31 for Kelantan and Terengganu and Jan 1 for Pahang and Johor.PRABN, which is under the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), issued the forecast following an alert warning of continuous rain by the Malaysian Meteorological Department yesterday.According to the notification, the districts in Pahang that will be hit by the floods are Maran, Temerloh, Jerantut and the surrounding areas, Kuantan (Sungai Lembing) and Rompin, while in Johor, floods may come in Mersing and the surrounding areas.In Kelantan, the areas likely to be hit by floods are Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Jeli, Tanah Merah, Machang and the surrounding areas, Tanah Merah (Jenob) and Pasir Mas (Rantau Panjang).Floods are also predicted in Terengganu, in Besut, Hulu Terengganu and Dungun.“All disaster management agencies as well as residents in the affected areas are advised to be vigilant,” PRABN said.More information and flood warnings can be found at publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my, PublicInfoBanjir Facebook and Twitter @JPS_InfoBanjir.


12 killed in Myanmar military plane crash

Twelve people were killed when a Myanmar military plane crashed in a central region of the country Thursday, a spokesman for the junta said.The plane, which was carrying six crew and eight passengers, crashed near the city of Pyin Oo Lwin, the spokesman said in a statement to journalists, blaming the cause on “bad weather”.“It lost communications when it was 400m away from a steel factory near the airport,” Zaw Min Tun said in a statement.A senior monk was among those on board, the statement said, adding a team had been able to rescue a boy and a sergeant, who had been sent to a nearby military hospital.Emergency workers were still on the scene, it continued.A picture posted on social media showed the twisted body of a plane lying in a field.Myanmar’s Buddhist monkhood led an earlier struggle against military rule but is split on the coup that ended the country’s nascent democracy, with some prominent religious leaders defending the new junta.Pyin Oo Lwin is home to the Defence Services Academy, where the military’s top brass are trained.Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power in the Feb 1 coup, is a graduate.The military has sought to quell mass anti-junta protests with bloody crackdowns that have killed more than 800 civilians, according to a local monitoring group.This has prompted civilians in some townships to form “defence forces”, while some of Myanmar’s ethnic rebel armies have stepped up offensives against the military.Last month, the Kachin Independence Army – an ethnic rebel group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the military – downed an army helicopter during fierce clashes.Plane crashes are common in Myanmar due to its underdeveloped aviation sector, and Myanmar’s monsoon season has caused problems for commercial and military flights in the past.A military plane crashed into the Andaman Sea in 2017, killing all 122 people on board in one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the country’s history. Authorities blamed bad weather.And in 2015, an Air Bagan passenger plane veered off the runway amid bad weather and heavy rain. A passenger and a person on the ground were killed.


German vaccine panel recommends Covid shot only for sick small children

Germany's vaccine advisory panel on Thursday recommended that Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for children from six months to four years should only be given routinely to those at risk of severe disease from the infection.
The head of the panel of 18 appointees, known as Stiko, said there was no clear case for broad use, citing a lack of data to rule out any rare side effects and no signs of the infection causing severe illness in otherwise healthy children.
The recommendation also covers a version of Moderna's Spikevax vaccine for the age group but that product is in short supply in Germany at the moment, the expert panel said.
"Everything that is done in medicine should have an indication that is as clear as possible," Stiko president Thomas Mertens told journalists in a call.
European regulators in October authorised a low-dose version of Pfizer-BioNTech's first-generation vaccine for children from six months to four years, when given as a three-dose series.


Peru's former prime minister detained on conspiracy charges

Peruvian police arrested an ex-prime minister on Tuesday for allegedly conspiring against the state and joining an attempted "coup" by ousted former president Pedro Castillo, in the latest criminal case targeting a politician in the country.
Former prime minister Betssy Chavez was detained at her home in the southern city of Tacna following a court order, according to local television, more than six months after the leftist Castillo was arrested and jailed on rebellion charges.
Chavez, a former legislator, and other former ministers of Castillo's 17-month-old government are also being investigated as co-conspirators for the crime of fomenting rebellion.
The charges stem from Castillo's announcement last December that he would dissolve Congress and rule by decree just ahead of an effort by lawmakers to vote him out of office. Peru's opposition-led Congress rapidly ousted Castillo and police subsequently arrested him.
Castillo's removal sparked months of angry and sometimes violent protests that left over 60 people dead, largely from indigenous groups. The current government led by President Dina Boluarte, Castillo's former vice president, has denied it committed abuses during the protests while pledging cooperation with the investigations.
A criminal chamber of Peru's Supreme Court issued the arrest warrant for Chavez, the court said on Twitter, while prosecutors filed a request for 18 months of preventative imprisonment.
A lawyer and fierce defender of Castillo, Chavez has repeatedly denied participating in or having knowledge of the alleged coup attempt, as have other former ministers who are also under investigation.


Post-Christmas heavy rain warning

The Malaysian Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rain just after Christmas, with the strong winds and thunderstorms which ravaged the Klang Valley last week moving east towards the Bornean states.It said based on its weather research and forecasting model as well as analyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Global Forecast System, strong winds and rain are expected between Dec 27 and 30.“This will likely cause continuous rain in eastern Johor, eastern Sabah and western Sarawak from Dec 28 to 30.“Strong winds and rough seas are forecast in the South China Sea including the waters off the east coast of the peninsula from Dec 26 to 30,” the department said.Selangor and Pahang bore the brunt of the massive floods which swept across parts of the states this week, displacing tens of thousands and causing millions in losses.So far, 39 people have died with others still missing.


Gerakan agrees to join PN

Gerakan has agreed to join the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.Its president Dominic Lau said the decision was made at a central party leadership meeting in May.“The matter was brought up at the meeting and it was unanimously agreed that we should be with PN.“In fact, we already expressed our willingness (to join PN) to the prime minister,” he said after opening the party’s Negeri Sembilan state delegates conference in Seremban yesterday.He said the party was waiting for a suitable time to discuss the matter with the coalition.He added that Gerakan was now preparing its members for the 15th general election.In the 14th general election, Gerakan performed badly, losing all 11 Parliament and 31 state seats it contested.On June 23, 2018, the party announced that it was quitting Barisan Nasional to become an independent opposition party.


By-election looms in Sabah as Sindumin rep resigns

Former Warisan information chief Yusof Yacob who recently quit the party and declared himself an independent has resigned from his position as a state assemblyman, MalaysiaNow has learnt.Yusof, who left Warisan early this month, tendered his resignation as Sindumin assemblyman today, a source familiar with the matter said.“Yes, YB Sindumin has resigned,” the source told MalaysiaNow. “The vacant seat has to be filled by the end of the term.”It added that the Sabah speaker is expected to make an announcement on the matter soon, “perhaps on Monday”.Yusof said he had decided to quit Warisan as he wanted to help the people in his constituency and the Sipitang district resolve their problems.He won the Sindumin state seat in the 14th general election in a three-cornered fight with a majority of 760 votes.He retained the seat at the Sabah election last year, winning a six-cornered fight with a majority of 424 votes.Speculation of his resignation as an assemblyman had been swirling on social media for days but he had maintained that he never signed a letter of resignation.


China approves first mixed-vaccine trial as Delta spreads

China’s drug regulator has approved the country’s first mixed-vaccine trial, a company involved in the study said, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant raises concern about the efficacy of domestically produced jabs.The trial will test the efficacy of combining an “inactivated” vaccine made by China’s Sinovac with a DNA-based one developed by US pharmaceutical company Inovio, a statement issued on Tuesday said.The statement was put out by Advaccine Biopharmaceuticals Suzhou, Inovio’s trial partner in China.Preclinical work has found that “two different vaccine applications… produce an even stronger and more balanced immune response”, Advaccine chairman Wang Bin said in the statement.There are several types of Covid vaccines, including those using an inactivated or weakened virus to generate an immune response, and more cutting-edge RNA- or DNA-based jabs that use engineered versions of the coronavirus’ genetic code to create a protein that safely prompts an immune response.Five out of the seven vaccines approved in China are two-shot inactivated vaccines.Their published efficacy lags RNA jabs by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have pre-Delta success rates above 90%.The World Health Organization has said there is still not enough data to say whether using two different vaccines together is safe or can boost immunity.Inovio has not published any efficacy data from its global clinical trials. It is the first DNA-based vaccine to be trialled in China.China is battling its worst coronavirus outbreak in months, with officials saying many of those infected had already been vaccinated.This has added to calls for China’s two biggest vaccine producers – state-run Sinopharm and privately owned Sinovac – to provide data proving their jabs work against the Delta variant.Beijing is yet to approve any foreign vaccines for domestic use.


I suggested that Jho Low be charged but Najib asked me to leave, Edge Media boss tells court

The chairman of The Edge Media Group told the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday that Najib Razak asked him to leave his residence in Langgak Duta when he suggested that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low be prosecuted over the stolen 1MDB funds.
Tong Kooi Ong, 63, said during the meeting on March 6, 2015, he suggested that the former prime minister charge Jho Low as the US$700 million belonging to 1MDB was transferred to Good Star Ltd, a company owned by the businessman.
The 43rd prosecution witness said this when questioned by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram at Najib’s trial on the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion from 1MDB.
Sri Ram: Do you recall having a meeting with Najib on March 6, 2015 at about 10.45pm? Why did you go to see Najib?
Tong: Yes, I do. Following the various evidence, the emails we (The Edge team) obtained from former PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) executive Xavier Andre Justo... after analysing them, we were concerned about what was happening.
As I recall, parliamentarian Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir introduced me to Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim. I had a meeting with Azeez at Bangsar Shopping Centre and we shared concerns over 1MDB. Azeez then suggested that I should meet Najib.
Explaining his meeting with Najib, Tong said the former prime minister said that the articles The Edge had been carrying since 2010 were wrong.
Sri Ram: What exactly did you tell him (Najib)?
Tong: I basically explained what was already in our possession – the emails (from) PetroSaudi that Justo had passed to us in Singapore. There were thousands and thousands of emails, but from what we extracted, there was clear evidence that PetroSaudi (which went into a joint venture with 1MDB) wasn’t a company owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was a privately-owned company.
I also told him that the US$1 billion pumped into the joint venture was not based on real evaluation; namely, the oil and gas assets were not owned by PetroSaudi. I explained to him that the valuation was not real. That the money, US$700 million (from the joint venture), went to Good Star. I basically explained that Good Star belonged to Jho Low.
Sri Ram: Did you suggest what should be done with Jho Low?
Tong: Yes, I did. I saw Najib as a friend. I told him that Jho Low had done something wrong and should be investigated and prosecuted. He stole the US$700 million.
Sri Ram: When you told this, what was Najib’s reaction?
Tong: After I told him this, he stood up and went to the door. He opened the door for me to leave.
Sri Ram: And did you leave?
Tong: Yes, of course.
When asked whether The Edge had continued writing articles on 1MDB issues, Tong said they probably wrote even more 1MDB-related articles after the meeting.
Tong also testified that as a consequence of publishing articles related to 1MDB, three other Edge reporters were investigated by the police and were detained overnight in lock-up.
"In fact, I was banned from leaving the country, and I was also investigated by the Inland Revenue Board for money laundering and tax evasion. The Edge’s publication was suspended, but that was lifted by the court," he said.
Najib, 69, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today.


Modi's party set for landslide election win in India's Gujarat state

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was headed for a landslide victory in his home state of Gujarat on Thursday, a big boost to the Hindu nationalist party ahead of general elections due in 2024.
The western industrial state is a bastion of the BJP, which has not lost state assembly elections there since 1995. Modi was Gujarat's chief minister for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014.
The BJP led in more that 80% of seats out of a total 182 in early counting of votes and was on its way to wrest a larger majority than in 2017, when it won 99 seats in the last state assembly elections.
The party was also set to surpass its best results in Gujarat when it won 127 seats in 2002.
Modi remains widely popular in the country, partly due to economic growth and also because of his strong base among India's Hindu majority population, despite critics pointing to rising inflation, unemployment and growing religious polarisation.
He is eyeing a third term as prime minister in 2024 and campaigned extensively across the state in the run up to the Gujarat vote.
The BJP's main opposition in Gujarat came from the Indian National Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which emerged in 2012 out of an anti-corruption movement.
The 137-year-old Congress party led in 26 seats, far below the 77 seats it won in 2017, while the AAP was ahead in nine seats having won none the last time.
In another state election in the small northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the BJP was also hoping to ride on Modi's aggressive campaigning to retain power. The BJP and the Congress were neck and neck for seats in the 68-seat assembly.
Victories in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will come as a welcome boost for the BJP, which lost control of the municipal corporation in the national capital Delhi to the AAP, in results announced on Wednesday.


Party’s over: Deepavali leaves Delhi wheezing in dangerously unhealthy air

The morning after Deepavali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, residents of New Delhi woke up under a blanket of toxic smog and breathed in the most dangerously polluted air of the year so far, after revellers, as usual, defied a fireworks ban.New Delhi has the worst air quality of all world capitals, but even by its sorry standards Friday’s reading was extra bad, as people paid the price for celebrating India’s biggest festival in the noisiest, and most smoky way.The Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 451 on a scale of 500 – the maximum recorded this year – indicating “severe” conditions that affect healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases, according to the federal pollution control board’s guidance.The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air. In Delhi, a city of nearly 20 million people, the PM2.5 reading on Friday averaged 706 micrograms, whereas the World Health Organization deems anything above an annual average of 5 micrograms as unsafe.Airborne PM2.5 can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. And, in India, toxic air kills more than a million people annually.“The firecracker ban didn’t seem to be successful in Delhi, which led to hazardous pollution levels adding on top of existing perennial sources,” Sunil Dahiya, analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.Every year, either government authorities or India’s Supreme Court impose a ban on firecrackers. But the bans rarely appear to be enforced.Making matters worse, Deepavali falls in period when farmers in the Delhi’s neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana burn the stubble left after harvesting to prepare their fields for the next crop.Stubble fires accounted for up to 35% of New Delhi’s PM2.5 levels, according to data from SAFAR’s monitoring system, which falls under the federal Ministry of Earth SciencesA rare spell of clear skies in October due to intermittent rains and winds had helped Delhiites breathe their cleanest air in at least four years.But during winter months pollution levels surge in northern India, as lower temperatures and a drop in wind speed tend to trap pollutants in the air longer.Sick of the lack of commitment to making the capital more livable, Ambrish Mithal, a doctor at the Max HealthCare hospital in New Delhi, vented his frustration over the deteriorating AQI readings.“It’s terrible for those with allergies and asthma. We will continue to squabble over reasons and are doomed to suffer,” he wrote in a post on Twitter.Indian governments are often accused of not doing enough to curb pollution, as they prioritise economic growth to lift living standards in the world’s second-most populated country.On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that India would achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070, but some experts reckoned that target was at least two decades too late.


US won’t stand idly by if Iran gets ‘too close’ to nuclear weapon

The US will not stand idly by if Iran gets too close to a nuclear weapon, US special envoy for Iran Rob Malley said in interview excerpts released on Wednesday ahead of next week’s resumption of talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal.“If they start getting too close, too close for comfort, then of course we will not be prepared to sit idly by,” he told National Public Radio in an interview, according to excerpts released by the US broadcaster. The excerpts did not address what he meant by “too close” nor US options in that case.Indirect talks between the US and Iran are set to resume in Vienna on Monday with the other members of the 2015 nuclear deal – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – shuttling between the two sides because Iranian officials refuse to meet directly with their US counterparts.US President Joe Biden is trying to revive the deal, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for relief from US, UN and EU sanctions. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned the deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions, prompting Iran to begin violating its nuclear limits.“If they choose not to go back into the deal, then obviously we’re going to have to see other efforts – diplomatic and otherwise – to try to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” Malley said in the interview, which was recorded on Tuesday and is scheduled for broadcast on Friday.Malley said that if Iran chose not to revive compliance with the agreement and instead dragged its feet at the negotiating table and continued to accelerate its nuclear program “we’ll have to respond accordingly… the options that are at America’s disposal are, you know, they’re familiar to all.”


Macau casinos' new contracts to sharpen focus on non-gaming activities

Macau's six incumbent casino firms are set to sign new 10-year contracts on Friday to operate in the world's biggest gambling hub, easing fears of investors and executives after a lengthy bidding process that had threatened to end one company's run.
Incumbent operators Sands China, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment, MGM China, Melco Resorts and SJM Holdings beat off a surprise bid from Malaysia's Genting to win the six licences on offer in the Chinese special administrative region.
The new contracts, which will come into effect on Jan 1, 2023, will be signed at Macau's Government House on Friday by CEOs of the casino companies and the territory's officials.
The operators are expected to focus on non-gaming activities in the new term, particularly as Beijing is keen for Macau to diversify away from gambling and attract foreign tourists. Some analysts expect them to make non-gaming investments of up to US$15 billion (RM66.33 billion) cumulatively over the next decade.
The stakes could not have been higher for the six companies, who depend on Macau's gambling industry for their profitability but have been bleeding billions of dollars for most of the past two years due to China's strict Covid-19 rules.
A broader crackdown by Beijing on capital outflows from the mainland in recent years, including arresting well known gambling executives in the former Portuguese colony, has also decimated the once dominant and lucrative VIP sector.
Genting, with its strong non-gaming track record and mass market appeal, was a credible threat for the Macau operators, many executives and analysts have said.
Previous attempts by Macau to diversify have been unsuccessful, with casino operators shying away from investing in non-gaming due to the high costs, particularly as the gambling industry was far more lucrative. Macau's gambling industry currently accounts for more than 80% of government revenues.
But Macau's government laid out conditions in the bidding that it wants the new licence holders to prioritise safeguarding local employment, develop the city's overseas tourism market and boost investment in non-gaming areas, including conferences and Chinese medicine.
While the government's awarding of licenses to incumbents signals stability and continuity for the tens of thousands of local residents employed by them, the companies will face far greater accountability on non-gaming initiatives than in the last 20 years, executives and analysts said.
Operators are expected to invest a total of 100 billion-120 billion Macau patacas (US$12.5 billion-US$15 billion) in non-gaming over the next decade, with Sands and Galaxy each committing around 25 billion patacas, and the rest putting up 15 billion patacas, said DS Kim, analyst at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.
"These projects will bring new players and tourists into the city, who in turn will spend sizable dollars on gambling," he said.
Macau is heavily reliant on Chinese visitors. Tourists from greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, account for more than 90% of total visitation.


El Salvador partnership to build US$1 billion bitcoin mining farm

A public-private partnership in El Salvador will pump US$1 billion (about RM4.6 billion) into creating one of the world's largest bitcoin mining farms, the group called Volcano Energy announced on Monday.
The project will start with an initial US$250 million, backed by "key Bitcoin industry leaders" in collaboration with renewable energy developers, Volcano Energy said in a statement.
El Salvador's state "Bitcoin Office" retweeted the news on its Twitter. The presidential office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Volcano Energy said the funds would go toward an estimated 241MW power generation park using solar and wind energy in the northwestern municipality of Metapan, which will eventually power the bitcoin mining farm.
Bitcoin mining uses high-power computers hooked up to a global network, sucking up massive amounts of electricity in the process. The energy-intensive practice has come under fire from environmentalists who are concerned that it would exacerbate forest loss and climate change.
The announcement comes two years after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared his intention to make bitcoin legal tender.
A Reuters report found adoption among residents has been shaky, while the International Monetary Fund has cautioned against the embrace due to legal risks, fiscal fragility and the speculative market.
Bukele and his bitcoin backers have said the currency can bring jobs, financial inclusion and foreign investment to the country, one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
The El Salvador government will have "a preferred participation equivalent to 23% of the revenues" in the project, Volcano Energy said, with private investors holding 27%.
The remaining 50% will be reinvested back into infrastructure, the statement said, without clarifying the overall ownership structure.
Tether, a startup operating a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, participated in the initial investment, it confirmed in a separate statement, without specifying the amount contributed. It listed Josue Lopez, who was involved with a US$200 million solar energy plant announced last year, as the CEO of Volcano Energy, and Max Keiser, a bitcoin influencer, as its chairman.


60 deaths as new cases dip to 5,586

Another 5,586 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 734,048.Selangor recorded 2,212 cases, Kuala Lumpur 628, Sarawak 513, Negeri Sembilan 501, Melaka 380, Johor 312, Perak 229, Sabah 190, Penang 138, Kelantan 133, Kedah 129 and Pahang 118.Labuan recorded 83 cases, Terengganu 16 and Putrajaya four.Active cases stand at 61,395 with 866 in the ICU and 446 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 4,777 patients were discharged, bringing total recoveries to 667,709.However, 60 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 4,944.