Lawyer tells why Najib wants to appoint Queen’s Counsel in SRC appeal

Najib Razak’s lawyer says the former prime minister wishes to appoint a Queen’s Counsel from the UK as such a lawyer would have the experience and expertise to assist him in the complex issues and legal questions surrounding his appeal to strike out his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine in his SRC International case at the Federal Court.In a six-page letter to the secretariat of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat made available to the media yesterday, Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said since the appeal involve complex issues and questions of law which were considered novel in Malaysia and the Commonwealth, Najib required advice and expertise from an experienced Queen’s Counsel who has dealt with such matters before.He said the appointment of a Queen’s Counsel would be on an ad hoc basis after admission is received from the court in Malaysia.He also said they were asking the Federal Court not to set an early hearing date for Najib’s appeal as they needed time to translate the notes and court documents linked to the case from Malay to English, so that the Queen’s Counsel could be briefed on the appeal“Hence, the appellant requires time after receiving the records of appeal to supply the same to the Queen’s Counsel in London,” he said.Shafee added that parties had yet to receive the full record of appeal concerning the case and that there were already 121 volumes of documents from the High Court and the Court of Appeal, indicating that these might increase in the apex court.“Since parties have not been provided with the full record of appeal, the appellant cannot prepare a complete petition of appeal as we have to go through the appeal records,” he said, adding that they would need an extension of time to file the petition of appeal.“Therefore, we believe that fixing an early date to hear his appeal will be greatly prejudicial to the appellant, especially considering the fact that (it) is the final appeal.“The appellant should be given ample time to prepare instead of being rushed into it. The appellant feels his appeal is being rushed for no good reason. Perception is very important to the image of the judiciary,” he added.On Najib’s two appeals, to adduce fresh evidence and the main appeal, Shafee said it was necessary to have separate hearings with a significant time gap between the two processes.“We respectfully seek Yang Amat Arif’s kind consideration for an appropriate allocation of time for both appeals. We gravely doubt any dates in April, May or June can be workable.“However, the additional evidence appeal can be agreed on the current date that has been fixed,” he said.On Monday, the court fixed March 15 and 16 to hear Najib’s appeal to adduce new evidence. The court also set Jan 28 for case management to determine the next step for the main appeal.On Dec 7 last year, the Court of Appeal dismissed Najib’s application to adduce new evidence in his appeal, ruling that Najib had failed to cumulatively satisfy Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act that fresh evidence was required for justice in the case.The next day, the same court upheld the conviction and 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine on Najib for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds.Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who led a three-member bench comprising justices Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, dismissed Najib’s appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on July 28, 2020.The same day, Najib filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Court.


Biden turns 80, but White House in no mood for a party

For the first time in history, a sitting president turned 80 years old in the White House on Sunday but did not celebrate in any public way.
It wasn't until mid-afternoon that First Lady Jill Biden posted an affectionate message, with two photos of the couple dancing in tuxedos and gala attire.
"There's no one else I'd rather dance with than you. Happy Birthday Joe! I love you," Jill Biden tweeted.
It was the sole mention from the White House of the birthday, and with no public event scheduled no indication emerged of how, or even if, the president would celebrate his birthday.
Just a day earlier, the Biden family hosted a large-scale fete at the White House – the wedding of Biden's granddaughter Naomi, which was closed to the press.
Biden does have an important matter to discuss with his family in the coming days – whether he will seek re-election in 2024.
He said at a press conference Nov 9 that he "intends" to run, and said he and his wife will "sneak away" for a week at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas to decide with his family.
He promised to make his decision public in early 2023.
Various recent polls say a majority of Americans do not want Biden to run again.
While influential figures who are over 70 or even 75 years old are ample in the American political landscape, the midterm elections have brought some initial generational change in the Democratic Party.
Nancy Pelosi, 82, announced her decision Thursday not to run for a new term as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Biden underwent a thorough medical checkup about a year ago, and the results concluded that he was "a healthy, vigorous" man who is fit to serve as president.
But the rigors of the Oval Office also have made their mark on Biden, who walks now with a stiffer gait and suffers moments of confusion.


Sorry.


Cancelling HSR the right move

Before travel restrictions were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I flew between KL and Singapore several times a month for work. I must say I am quite familiar with the air travel between both countries.So, when the government last week decided to cancel the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project linking both countries, I felt it was the right move. From day one, I had reservations about the project. First of all, flights between Malaysia and Singapore, particularly from KL, were aplenty (at least before the MCO) and the prices were reasonable due to the intense competition among the airlines plying the route.In fact, the KL-Singapore airspace is among the busiest in the world. It typically takes about two hours or slightly more, for one to arrive in Singapore after factoring in travelling time to KLIA and the check-in process. The HSR promised to cut travelling time to around 90 minutes, only marginally faster. And we still need to factor in the price of the train tickets. Unless there’s critical mass, I believe the HSR ticket would be markedly more expensive than flying.Air travel between Malaysia and Singapore was quick and easy with choices aplenty, at least before the lockdown. From the business travellers’ standpoint, there’s no pressing need to provide alternative transportation.Besides, with Covid-19 now upon us, it is unnecessary, if not irresponsible, to spend a staggering RM43 billion to build the project. So much more can be done by the government with that amount of money, particularly to help the vulnerable groups hit by the pandemic.If I may do some simple arithmetic, RM43 billion if disbursed equally to all 30 million Malaysians, including babies and the elderly, will see each one of us given some RM1,433. A family of four would get RM5,732. Imagine just how much that would mean to the B40 group, hard hit by Covid-19. Of course, that’s not how the HSR costing – or wealth distribution – works, but my simplified calculations are meant to draw attention to the astronomical sums involved.Besides, Malaysia has a knack for building infrastructure because that’s where the politically connected make their money. Just look at the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), which was modelled after Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone but has only become a huge financial burden on taxpayers due to earlier mismanagement and corruption.Some have argued that the HSR would have had an economic spillover effect, especially in towns where the stations would have been built. This argument, while valid, does not address the problem of alleviating the hardship of people throughout the country, not just several towns along the 350km stretch the HSR tracks were planned for.The “spillover effect” would have been addressed by the Gemas ETS project which links KL and JB via rail. Just as KL is now well connected to Ipoh and Penang via the ETS rail service, the Gemas double tracking rail project will connect the federal capital to the southern parts of the peninsula. While the trains are not as fast as the HSR, they provide comfortable alternative transport for those who do not wish to fly or drive.I know a lot of friends who take the ETS to Ipoh, Penang and beyond whether for work or leisure. The comfort and facilities like WiFi make ETS an appealing choice if they want to avoid driving or flying. Towns like Kampar and Batu Gajah have enjoyed the spillover effect from the ease of visitors reaching there and I foresee the same success for the southern stretch of the rail tracks.To me, the HSR is a project whose time has not yet come. I don’t doubt that one day we will need to revive the HSR, perhaps linking Singapore and Kunming in China, an idea floated in the 1990s. For now, there are more pressing matters at hand and Malaysia has made the right choice not to proceed with the project until a more suitable time.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Eight hurt in Jerusalem bus gun attack

A gunman wounded at least eight people aboard a bus carrying Jewish worshippers in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday, Israeli authorities and witnesses said.
The shooter later turned himself into Israeli authorities, according to a statement by the police, which did not identify him. Israeli media reported the assailant was a Palestinian from east Jerusalem.
The Old City houses sites that are holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians and is among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. Israel deems all of Jerusalem its capital – a status not recognised internationally.
The attack took place in the early hours of Sunday, as Jews were leaving Western Wall rites marking the end of the Sabbath.
"Jerusalem is our capital city and a tourist centre for all religions," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement, adding that Israeli security forces would "restore calm".
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any armed factions.
The US State Department said in a statement that it "strongly condemns the terrorist attack", adding that at least five US citizens were among the wounded.
The attack comes a week after the worst outbreak of hostilities in more than a year, when Israeli jets pounded the besieged Gaza Strip in what the military claimed was a pre-emptive attack aimed at preventing an imminent threat to Israel.
At least 49 people were killed in Gaza, including civilians and children, and hundreds more wounded during 56 hours of fighting which also saw more than 1,000 rockets launched towards Israel by the militant Islamic Jihad faction.
Tensions have continued since, with three gunmen killed in a shootout with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Nablus last week.


Mexico mayoral candidate murdered after sharing campaign trail location in Facebook Live video

A mayoral candidate in northern Mexico has been killed on the same day she posted a Facebook Live video sharing her exact whereabouts on the campaign trail and inviting voters to come and speak to her.Alma Barragan was killed while campaigning to be mayor of the city of Moroleon in violence-plagued Guanajuato state. The 61-year-old was a relative newcomer to politics.In a video she posted on social media on Tuesday morning, she named the street she was on and said: “Here I am waiting for you to talk about my proposals.”Less than an hour later she was shot dead on the street.She was running as a member of the Citizen’s Movement Party, and was the third candidate from the party to be killed in the last 15 days.Her death brings the number of candidates murdered nationwide ahead of the June 6 elections to 34.President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the killing was “without doubt” the work of organised crime gangs to scare voters away from the polls.“When there is a lot of abstentionism, the mafias dominate the elections,” he said.Experts say drug gangs want to place sympathetic candidates in high-profile posts in town halls and local governments, so they can extort money from their budgets and operate without interference from the police.Barragan was running on the ticket of the small Citizen’s Movement party, which said in a statement: “It is unthinkable that participating in political life means putting one’s life at risk. This is the most violent election in Mexican history, and in Citizen’s Movement we are not willing to act as if that is normal.”The bloodshed has underlined Lopez Obrador’s difficulty in containing gang-fueled violence, reports Reuters.For the past two months, public security has been seen as the main problem facing Mexico, with two out of three Mexicans saying the government is handling it poorly, according to a survey for newspaper El Financiero published this month.While Lopez Obrador remains popular, support for him is falling. The El Financiero poll showed his approval rating dropped four percentage points between March and April to 57%.His office did not reply to a request for comment on the political violence and how it affected his administration.On June 6, Mexicans nationwide will elect 500 federal lawmakers, 15 state governors and thousands of mayors and local officials.Since the election process began last September, 85 politicians have been murdered, including the 34 who were running for office, according to Etellekt Consultores, which tracks campaign violence.According to Etellekt, most of the victims were candidates for mayorships from parties in opposition to the incumbents.Their deaths have laid bare the deep-rooted ties between organised crime groups and the local officials who protect them.“We’re all fed up that criminals control our streets,” said Abel Murrieta in early May, a former prosecutor and mayoral candidate running on a tough-on-crime platform.In mid May, the 58-year-old was handing out leaflets on a crowded street corner when he was shot 10 times in the face, neck and chest.The state prosecutors’ office did not say how he died, but a video showed him sprawled on the sidewalk, covered in blood and surrounded by spent shell casings.


GDP to rebound this year as trade surplus makes biggest jump in over 2 decades

Putrajaya is confident that 2021 will show better economic performance despite the continuing Covid-19 pandemic which has seen rising infections and deaths worldwide prompting a return to lockdowns.In a detailed report on trade performance, it said gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rebound by between 6.5% and 7.5%, higher than the forecasted growth for the Asean-5 grouping.The growth for the group, which puts Malaysia together with Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, is forecasted at 5.2%.It also sees a higher demand for semiconductors and commodity-based products to drive exports this year.The report released by the international trade and industry ministry showed trade surplus last year was the highest in more than two decades despite Covid-19’s impact on the economy.Senior Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said adding to the confidence is the latest Moody’s ratings on Malaysia’s local and foreign currency long-term issuer ratings at A3 with a stable outlook.“This is a testament to the government’s strong fiscal discipline and robust medium-term growth prospects and demonstrates Moody’s confidence in Malaysia as having strong credit standing.“While these are challenging times, the government’s priority is to place the nation firmly on the path of economic recovery, particularly with the 12th Malaysian Plan as the blueprint for sustainable growth founded on sound economic fundamentals and decisive policy measures,” said Azmin, who is the international trade and industry minister.Trade surplus continued a four-year trend of double-digit growth, but last year it expanded 26.9% to RM184.79 billion from the previous year, the biggest jump since 1998.While exports declined by 1.4% in 2020 due to worldwide restrictions on economic activities, they rebounded in the second half of 2020, increasing by 4.8%.There were lower exports to Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Japan, while exports to China, the US, Singapore and Hong Kong recorded growth.At the top in Malaysia’s export market was China, expanding by 12.5% to RM158.6 billion, and contributing 16.2% of total exports in 2020.“The expansion was driven by higher exports of iron and steel products, other manufactures (SSD), E&E products, the manufacture of metal, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, rubber products as well as paper and pulp products,” the report said.A decline in export of electrical products (E&E) to EU nations meanwhile was replaced by rubber, palm oil and palm oil-based products which surged by RM16.44 billion.E&E products held the biggest share of Malaysia’s total exports in 2020 at RM386.11 billion, rising by 3.5% compared to 2019.“The increase was due to higher exports of electronic integrated circuits, apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images and data as well as parts for electronic integrated circuits to support the work-from-home practice,” the report added.The worldwide implementation of health SOPs also was a boon for Malaysia, where exports of rubber products used in personal protective equipment and hand gloves doubled to RM35.26 billion from the previous year.


Innocent until guilty, Anwar responds to calls against 'court cluster' appointments to Cabinet

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said that a person is innocent until proven guilty, responding to calls to exclude MPs facing corruption charges from his future Cabinet.
When asked about the possibility of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi being appointed, Anwar said he would take "everyone's views into account".
"But we know in terms of the law, only after there is a punishment meted out (when a person is proven guilty by the court)... others (who are not yet proven guilty) we can consider," Bernama quoted him as saying after chairing a Pakatan Harapan (PH) meeting at the PKR headquarters.
This comes amid speculation that Zahid is likely to be appointed as Anwar's deputy, triggering a warning from electoral reforms coalition Bersih.
"Bersih strongly objects to the appointment of any person who has an ongoing criminal case against him/her to any Cabinet position as they would raise doubts about the integrity of Anwar's government and tarnish the reputation of our country," said Bersih, adding that PH leaders such as Lim Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman should not be made part of the new Cabinet, either.
Zahid, who as Barisan Nasional chairman committed all 30 of the coalition's MPs to back Anwar as prime minister last week, is facing 47 charges related to criminal breach of trust involving Yayasan Akalbudi.
Prosecutors are applying against his acquittal from another 40 corruption charges related to the foreign visa system scandal.
The court cluster refers to a group of Umno MPs led by jailed former leader Najib Razak and Zahid, who face hundreds of corruption and bribery charges.
PH made the fight against corruption part of its recent election campaign, and its leaders had repeatedly pledged that they would not work with such individuals in any future government.


New infections fall to 721 as 2 more deaths reported

Another 721 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,018,584.
There were 914 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,966,235.
There are now 15,541 active cases, of which 14,812 or 95.3% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 685 (4.4%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 44 are in ICU with 23 in need of respiratory assistance.
Two more deaths were reported, taking total deaths to 36,808.


Bid to call Arul Kanda as witness postponed again as Najib’s lawyer down with Covid

The hearing of the prosecution’s application to call Arul Kanda Kandasamy as a witness in the 1MDB audit report tampering trial has been postponed again as Najib Razak’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has tested positive for Covid-19.Najib’s other lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed said Shafee tested positive for Covid-19 on May 31, causing today’s hearing before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan to be vacated to June 14.“The judge wants to hear the application as soon as possible so there is one additional date that has been fixed, namely on June 14,” he said when met by reporters outside the court.The court was supposed to hear the application on Monday, but it was postponed to today after Shafee was reported to be unwell.The application to call Arul Kanda to testify against the former prime minister was made under Section 63 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.The section states that in a situation where two or more people are charged with an offence under this law, the court may require one or more of them to give evidence as witnesses for the prosecution if a written application is made by the public prosecutor.On May 20, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said Arul Kanda might have information relating to transactions with Najib which would affect the outcome of the prosecution of the former finance minister.Najib, 68, is charged with using his position to order amendments to the final 1MDB audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee to prevent any action from being taken against him.Arul Kanda, 45, is charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report, to protect the former prime minister from being subjected to action.The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre, Putrajaya between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.Both Najib and Arul Kanda were charged under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act 2009, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.


Australia relocates more Afghan athletes fleeing Taliban rule

Australia has relocated Afghanistan's Olympic flag-bearer Kimia Yousofi and other athletes and their family members fleeing Taliban rule, officials said on Wednesday.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said five Afghan families with "ties to the Olympic movement" had arrived in Australia in recent months following a 12-month project to bring them to safety.
They included dual Olympian and track sprinter Yousofi, who carried Afghanistan's flag at last year's Tokyo Olympics and taekwondo Asian Games medallist Ahmad Abasy, the AOC said.
In all, 31 family members had arrived in Australia - the first in early June and the most recent last week.
"For the families involved, the stress and uncertainty over this time has been enormous," AOC Chief Executive Matt Carroll said in a statement.
"Many have spent time in locations outside Afghanistan and it's wonderful to now have them on Australian soil. All arrived happy, if exhausted."
The AOC liaised with the Australian government to secure visas and flights for the Afghan arrivals while the International Olympic Committee provided financial support during their time in interim locations.
Yousofi thanked the Australian government and the AOC, and said she hoped to compete at next year's Olympics in Paris.
"It's been a journey for me but I am very happy to be here," she said. I am essentially starting a new life here," she added in a statement.
Australia evacuated more than 70 Afghan athletes, family members and officials a year ago as the Taliban swept to power.
Girls and women's sport has since been crushed by the Taliban government's hardline policies.
Men have continued to play sport at community and elite level in the country but women are effectively confined to their homes by a mixture of regulation and intimidation.
Abasy said in the statement that sport was the "natural right" of every human being.
"Unfortunately, now in Afghanistan, sports have a gender perspective and girls are denied the right to sports," he added.
"This is a great loss for the sport of Afghanistan and the world."


Ismail Sabri is BN’s candidate for PM, say Umno duo

Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been picked as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the post of prime minister, according to two BN MPs.Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman and Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said said the decision was reached by consensus at a meeting of BN MPs in Kuala Lumpur last night.“Yes, Ismail Sabri. We have crossed the number of 111 (parliamentary majority) with support from Bersatu, PAS,” Tajuddin told reporters after the BN meeting at the World Trade Centre.He said Umno and BN decided to nominate Ismail as he was “friendly” to all parties.Azalina said Ismail, who is also BN chief whip, was BN’s choice as he was viewed as the most agreeable to all MPs.“He technically holds the highest (position) next to the (Umno) president, and he was also a deputy prime minister.“In that sequence he looks the most agreeable for all of us, so we hope for the best,” she said.Earlier, the Umno Supreme Council also held a special meeting at the same venue to discuss the party’s candidate for prime minister, whose name will be submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.Leaders of political parties had been summoned to Istana Negara for an audience with the king, believed in connection with the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun had also asked MPs to submit a letter each to Istana Negara on their choice of candidate to be nominated as the ninth prime minister.The letter must be submitted to Istana Negara by 4pm in order to be taken into consideration.


Israeli plane was doing product demo, says Singapore firm

A Singapore-based engineering company today said the plane thought to be equipped with intelligence gathering technology that had landed at a Singapore army base on Monday was a Boeing 737 used for a commercial product demonstration.ST Engineering said the aircraft had operated out of ST Engineering Aerospace facilities in Paya Lebar, and that the demonstration was carried out solely within Singapore airspace and territorial waters, Bernama reported.“The demonstration for ST Engineering Aerospace by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been completed and the plane is preparing to depart Singapore,” it qouted an ST spokesman as saying.MalaysiaNow earlier quoted a defence journal as well as a flight tracking site as showing that the Boeing 737-400 aircraft owned by Israel Aerospace Industries-Elta (IAI-Elta), a defence contractor for Tel Aviv, had hovered over Singapore airspace for about four hours on May 24 before landing at the Paya Lebar airport, a former US army base.A check on air traffic website Flightradar24 showed that the aircraft with the registration number 4X-AOO was still in Israeli airspace on May 18.A day later, the plane flew over much of the Klang Valley at an altitude of about 29,000 feet – way above the 15,000-foot control of airspace by Malaysian authorities – before heading to Singapore.Defence news journal Defence Security Asia had speculated that the plane could be carrying sensitive radar and reconnaissance equipment and testing a “new system”.The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said earlier today that it was in discussion with the transport ministry and reviewing all technical data on the matter.The report of the plane’s presence in the region had created anxiety in Malaysia, where anti-Israeli sentiments have been running high in the wake of renewed violence in the occupied territories.Malaysia is a strong advocate of the Palestinian cause, and unlike its neighbour Singapore, has no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.


Washington in bid to rejoin UNHRC to go after rights violators

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that the US will seek to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).President Donald Trump withdrew the US in 2018, after accusing the UNHRC of hypocrisy and bias against Israel, the Washington Examiner reports.Elections for three-year membership on the 47-member council are due at the UN General Assembly in October.“The US is committed to a world where those who commit human rights abuses are held accountable,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.“President Biden is committed to a foreign policy that unites our democratic values with our diplomatic leadership, centered on the defence of democracy and the protection of human rights.”At the time of the US withdrawal, then-UN ambassador Nikki Haley said, “We take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights. The council ceases to be worthy of its name after ignoring abuses in Venezuela and Congo.”The council, set up in 2006, has a stand-alone item on the Palestinian territories on its agenda every session – the only issue with such treatment – in which it routinely adopts resolutions condemning alleged violations by Israel in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have opposed this as bias.Blinken acknowledged an “unacceptable bias against Israel” at the UNHRC and condemned “rules that allow countries with atrocious human rights records to occupy seats”.He said the US will try to “improve” the council’s shortcomings. “From investigations into abuses in Syria and North Korea to promoting rights for women and LGBTQI persons and other minorities, and combatting racism and religious persecution, the Human Rights Council must support those fighting against injustice and tyranny.”Olivia Dalton, a spokesman for the US Mission to the UN said. “We recognise the UNHCR has its flaws, but the only way we can ensure it fulfils its important mandate is by being at the table as an observer and working with our partners and allies to make it better.”Britain, China and Russia are among the members, as are the Philippines and Venezuela which are under formal scrutiny by the council.“Those countries with the worst human rights records should not be members of this council,” Blinken said. “We will continue to call out abuses in places like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Iran.”He reiterated the US call on Russia to release opposition figure Alexei Navalny as well as hundreds of others detained during protests over his imprisonment.He said Washington would denounce atrocities in Xinjiang, China’s western region where activists say ond million Muslim Uighurs are held in camps.And he acknowledged rights issues at home, saying the US would work to combat both systemic racism and economic injustice.


Wildfires rage in France, thousands evacuated from homes

Wildfires tore through the Gironde region of southwestern France on Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of 10,000 residents, some of whom had clambered onto rooftops as the flames got closer.
Black-and-orange skies, darkened by the smoke billowing from forests and lit up by the flames, were seen across the area as the fires continued to burn out of control despite the efforts of firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft.
Fires, which have razed about 6,200 hectares (15,320), have now crossed in the neighbouring Landes region.
France, like the rest of Europe, has been struggling this summer with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record. Dozens of wildfires are ablaze across the country, including at least eight major ones.
"Prepare your papers, the animals you can take with you, some belongings," the Gironde municipality of Belin-Beliet said on Facebook before evacuating parts of the town.
In the nearby village of Hostens, police had earlier been door to door telling residents to leave as the fire advanced. Camille Delay fled with her partner and her son, grabbing their two cats, chickens and house insurance papers.
"Everyone in the village climbed onto their rooftops to see what was happening - within ten minutes a little twist of smoke became enormous," the 30-year-old told Reuters by telephone.
Firefighters said more evacuations were likely. Even so, some Hostens residents were reluctant to abandon their homes.
"It's complicated to go with the dogs and we cannot leave them here," said Allisson Horan, 18, who stayed behind with her father.
"I'm getting worried because the fire is in a plot of land behind ours and the wind is starting to change direction."
Numerous small roads and a highway were closed.
Heatwaves
More than 57,200 hectares have gone up in flames so far in France this year, nearly six times the full-year average for 2006-2021, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows.
"The fire is creating its own wind," senior local official Martin Guespereau told reporters, adding that efforts to fight it were made more difficult by how unpredictable it was.
Sweden and Italy are among countries preparing to send help to France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
He repeated calls for everyone to be responsible - nine out of 10 fires are either voluntarily or involuntarily caused by people, he said.
The Gironde wildfire is one of many that have broken out across Europe this summer, triggered by heatwaves that have baked the continent and brought record temperatures.
In Portugal, nearly 1,200 firefighters backed by eight aircraft have battled a blaze in the mountainous Covilha area some 280km (174 miles) northeast of Lisbon that has burned more than 3,000 hectares of forest since Saturday.
Spain and Greece have also had to tackle multiple fires over the past few weeks.
The Gironde was hit by major wildfires in July which destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced almost 40,000 people from their homes.
Authorities believe the latest inferno was a result of the previous fires still smouldering in the area's peaty soil.
Fires were also raging in the southern departments of Lozere and Aveyron. In the Maine et Loire department in western France, more than 1,200 hectares have been scorched by another fire.


Putin accuses West of wanting Russians 'to kill each other' in mutiny

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ukraine and its Western allies of wanting Russians to "kill each other" during a revolt by mercenaries of the Wagner group, which stunned the country with an aborted march on Moscow over the weekend.
In his first address to the nation since the rebels pulled back, Putin said he had issued orders to avoid bloodshed and granted amnesty to the Wagner fighters whose mutiny served up the greatest challenge yet to his two-decade rule.
"From the start of the events, on my orders steps were taken to avoid large-scale bloodshed," Putin said in a televised address, thanking Russians for their "patriotism".
"It was precisely this fratricide that Russia's enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western patrons, and all sorts of national traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other," Putin said.
Putin also thanked his security officials for their work during the armed rebellion in a meeting that included Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a main target of the mutiny.
"Civilian solidarity showed that any blackmail, any attempts to organise internal turmoil, is doomed to fail," Putin said.
He added that Wagner fighters could choose whether to join the Russian army or leave for Belarus, or even return to their homes.
"Today you have the possibility to continue serving Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defence or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and close ones... Whoever wants to can go to Belarus," Putin said in his address.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had earlier defended his aborted mutiny as a bid to save his mercenary outfit and expose the failures of Russia's military leadership – but not to challenge the Kremlin.
The rogue warlord's first audio message since calling off his troops' advance on Moscow was released as Russian officials attempted to present the public with a return to business as usual.
'Internal Russian affair'
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said officials were monitoring "very closely" the turmoil in the nuclear-armed nation.
"We did have and were able to have in real-time – through diplomatic channels – conversations with Russian officials about our concerns," he said.
But the State Department said Ambassador Lynne Tracy in Moscow had contacted Russian officials "to reiterate what we said publicly – that this is an internal Russian affair in which the US is not involved and will not be involved".
Fighting continued in Ukraine, where Kyiv's forces claimed new victories in their battle to evict Russian troops from the east and south of the country, but in the Russian capital, authorities stood down their enhanced security regime.
Prigozhin, who did not reveal from where he was speaking, said in an online audio message that his revolt was intended to prevent his Wagner force from being dismantled, and bragged that the ease with which it had advanced on Moscow exposes "serious security problems".
"We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow power in the country," Prigozhin said, boasting that his men had "blocked all military infrastructure" including air bases along their route towards a point less than 200km from Moscow.
Belarus option
Prighozin called off the advance and pulled out of a military base his men had seized in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, a nerve centre of the war in Ukraine, late on Saturday after mediation efforts from Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko was due to speak on the turmoil soon, according to his unofficial Telegram channel Pul Pervogo.
Prigozhin said Lukashenko had offered him a way of keeping the Wagner outfit – a key element in Russia's military machine in Ukraine and in African and Middle East hotspots – operational.
Saturday's extraordinary sequence of events – Russian military bloggers report that Wagner shot down six Russian helicopters and a command and control plane during their advance – has been seen internationally as Russia's most serious security crisis in decades.
The Kremlin was at pains to stress that there had been a return to normal.
The Wagner headquarters in Saint Petersburg said it remained open for business, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the firm would continue to operate in Mali and the Central African Republic.
Officials in Moscow and the Voronezh region south of the capital lifted "anti-terrorist" emergency security measures imposed to protect the capital from rebel assault.
'Happy day'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a morale-boosting trip to troops fighting Russian forces near the city of Bakhmut, the site of some of the most intense battles in the conflict, and touted his force's military progress.
"Today, our soldiers made progress in all areas, and this is a happy day," Zelensky said Monday in his regular evening address.
Military leaders said their forces were making progress in the south and east of the country.
"We are knocking the enemy out of its positions on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut," eastern ground force commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said. "Ukraine is regaining its territory. We are moving forward."
Near Bakhmut, residents in the frontline town of Druzhkivka, which is also in Donetsk, told AFP that four explosions had rocked a residential district overnight.
The blasts severed water and sewage pipes, shattered windows and threw up stones that hit yards and roofs, but municipal authorities said no one was hurt.
"It was a 'fun' night, we haven't had this for a long time, it's been quiet for a month or so," said 66-year-old Lyubov, showing off the new hole in her cement-shingled roof.


Driver charged after Australia's worst bus accident in decades kills 10 wedding guests

A man was charged with dangerous driving on Monday after at least 10 wedding guests were killed when the bus they were travelling in crashed at a roundabout in Australia's worst bus accident in almost 30 years, police said.
Twenty-five people were injured in the accident around 11.30pm (1330 GMT) on Sunday near the town of Greta, about 180km northwest of Sydney, police said.
The bus carrying 35 passengers left the road and flipped onto its side at a roundabout after a wedding in the Hunter region, a rural area famous for its vineyards and wedding spots.
Police said the driver, a 58-year-old man, had been taken to hospital for mandatory drug testing. He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his "deepest sympathies" to the families of the people killed and injured.
"All of us know the joy of going to a wedding... they are some of the happiest times that you can have. For a joyous day like that in a beautiful place to end with such terrible loss of life and injury is so cruel and so sad and so unfair," Albanese told reporters.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said police were treating it as a single-vehicle accident and the cause may not be known for some time.
The bus had been pulled upright after a "delicate operation", given dead passengers were inside, she said.
'Too close to home'
The two worst bus accidents in the country were head-on collisions within two months of each other in 1989 that killed 35 and 21 people, both in NSW state. Eighteen people died in 1973 when a tourist bus plunged down a slope after a brake failure.
Residents of the area gathered to pay tributes and lay flowers near the scene of the accident.
"When we heard about it this morning, it was like, Oh my god! It's way too close to home. And a wedding, one of the happiest days of your life and turns into one of the most tragic days of your lives," Kim Greko told reporters.
The Wandin Valley Estate winery which hosted the wedding was closed on Monday, a public holiday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
"We are deeply saddened to hear of the bus crash overnight that has claimed the lives of some of our guests," ABC reported, citing a statement from the vineyard.


Ex-Goldman banker’s wife testifies in husband’s defence at 1MDB trial

The wife of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng on Monday testified in her husband’s defence at a US trial over the looting of hundreds of millions of dollars from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund between 2009 and 2014.Ng, Goldman’s former chief for Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-corruption law. Prosecutors say he helped his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds and bribe officials to win business for Goldman.Ng, 49, has pleaded not guilty. He argues that some US$35 million he received from Leissner, which prosecutors characterise as kickbacks from the scheme, was actually the proceeds of a legitimate business venture between the two men’s wives.Ng’s wife, Lim Hwee Bin, testified on Monday that shortly after Ng began working for Leissner in the mid-2000s, she invested 48 million yuan – about US$6 million at the time – at a Chinese company owned by the family of Leissner’s wife, Judy Chan.Lim’s testimony came on the second day of the defence’s case in the trial, which began in early February.Lim said she and Chan had a falling out in 2011, and Chan told her to divest her share, which had appreciated substantially. In 2012, Chan told her she was ready to transfer US$26 million, Lim testified.When asked by Ng’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo if the money Chan said she would send to Lim came from 1MDB, Lim replied, “Not at all.”“It had to come from Judy and her family,” Lim said.A lawyer for Chan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Leissner, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to similar charges, testified in February that the investment Lim made in Chan’s Chinese business was a “cover story” that he and Ng concocted to explain the kickback payment so that the banks processing the funds would not grow suspicious.The charges stem from one of the biggest financial scandals in history, in which US prosecutors say US$4.5 billion of the $6.5 billion Goldman raised for 1MDB was diverted to government officials, bankers and their associates through bribes and kickbacks.Goldman in 2020 paid a nearly US$3 billion fine and arranged for its Malaysian unit to plead guilty in US court.


No conclusive link between athlete’s death and Covid-19 jab, says health ministry

The health ministry today said there was no conclusive proof that the death of national archer Haziq Kamaruddin was linked to his Covid-19 vaccination, a day after his sudden passing at age 27.Dr Zahari Noor of the ministry’s forensic medicine services said a post-mortem showed that Haziq had died of complications arising from clogged blood vessels due to coronary artery atherosclerosis.“Further investigations are being carried out, including waiting for the results of several lab analyses.“There is currently no proof that his death was directly related to his Covid-19 vaccination,” Zahari said in a statement.He also said the post-mortem was carried out after a Covid-19 test showed negative results.Haziq, who had competed in the London and Rio Olympics in 2012 and 2016, was said to have collapsed and lost consciousness early yesterday morning.He represented Malaysia at various levels for a decade and won many medals, including a gold medal at the 2011 Asian Grand Prix in Laos and a bronze medal at the 2019 Asia Cup in the Philippines.


Sweden sees first case of baby infected with Covid-19 in the womb

A baby who tested positive for Covid-19 two days after birth was confirmed infected in the womb, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday, quoting Swedish doctors.This is the first case in Sweden in which a baby was infected with Covid-19 during the mother’s pregnancy.Subsequent tests showed that the baby had developed its own antibodies against the virus.As there are onlh few cases where babies have been confirmed infected in the womb, the findings have been published in the scientific journal British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.The 27-year-old mother was admitted to the university hospital in Malmo last year after displaying Covid-19 symptoms. She also had abdominal pain and fetal movements were reduced.Doctors decided to perform an emergency cesarean section as the baby was showing signs of lack of oxygen and declining heart rate.“We had no reason to believe that the child was infected, but it is routine to test after two days if mother has Covid-19.“We were surprised when we got the test result, as the child was otherwise fine,” Philip Tannenberg, a doctor in paediatrics, said in a press release.Subsequent tests proved the baby was infected in the womb, said another doctor at the hospital, Mehreen Zaigham.“We studied the placenta under a microscope and could observe viral protein in all the areas of the placenta that were most affected. We also noticed that the placenta was infected on both the baby’s and the mother’s side,” Zaigham said.“Until two weeks before the mother fell ill, the fetus’ growth was normal and routine check-ups did not show any infection. Therefore, we see a clear connection between the infection and the effect on the placenta.”Zaigham said the case proved that the placenta can be affected even if the mother has only a mild infection. “It may be that we need to rethink the monitoring of pregnant women who have Covid-19 and consider them a clearer risk group than we do today.”This echoes a recommendation that the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare issued last week, that pregnant women who are infected in week 22 or later should be considered as belonging to a risk group, as they risk giving birth prematurely.The case also revealed other valuable detail, as other tests showed the baby had developed its own antibodies, Tannenberg said.“During the first year, children are usually dependent on antibodies from the mother, but here we were able to show that the child formed its own antibodies against the virus.”


Face masks to remain compulsory despite dip in Covid cases, govt says

Malaysians will not be allowed to ditch their face masks any time soon despite the dip in number of Covid-19 infections, as the government says the practice will be part of other compulsory SOPs.Deputy Health Minister II Aaron Ago Dagang cited a study on SOP compliance conducted by the health ministry’s research division in October which found that 95% of respondents were still practising health measures and strongly agreed that the new norms should be continued.He also referred to an article issued by the University of Texas on Jan 26 stating that the use of face masks could reduce infection through respiratory fluids in both lab and clinical studies.“However, the use of face masks must be accompanied by compliance with SOPs such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing,” he said during the oral question time in the Dewan Rakyat.“Therefore, both these methods should be part of the new norm for every individual even though Malaysia has transitioned to the endemic phase. This needs to be continued.”He was responding to Mohamaddin Ketapi (Bersatu-Lahad Datu) who asked when the health ministry would loosen restrictions such as the wearing of face masks and physical distancing given that a number of countries in Europe, especially in the UK, no longer require the use of face masks.But Aaron stressed the importance of adhering to SOPs in light of the new Omicron variant.“Countries like the US and UK are urging their citizens to increase the use of face masks and physical distancing,” he said.He also said that 3,011 people had been issued compounds for failing to wear a face mask while 3,080 had been fined for not observing a minimum safe distance.


Uighur lawyers collecting new evidence to back ICC case

Lawyers fighting to take China to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for persecuting Uighurs said Wednesday they were gathering new evidence to be handed to prosecutors “early in the new year”.The Hague-based ICC’s chief prosecutor earlier this week turned down a request by exiled Uighurs to probe China for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.Fatou Bensouda’s office said in its annual report Monday it was unable to act because the alleged acts happened on the territory of China, which was not a signatory to the tribunal’s founding Rome Statute.But lawyer Rodney Dixon said a legal team was now gathering further evidence in ICC member countries outside China.“To put into simple terms, if somebody is arrested in Tajikistan unlawfully by Chinese officials and forced over the border into a detention camp where they are then persecuted, then the first act, the arrest takes place in an ICC member state,” Dixon said.It gave the court “jurisdiction over all the following connected acts into China”, Dixon told an online press conference, held on the sidelines of the ICC’s annual member states meeting.“That is the evidence that we are currently gathering, to show where the crime either started or ended in an ICC member state.”Bensouda’s report had said that there was “no basis to proceed at this time” on separate claims of forced deportations of Uighurs back to China from Tajikistan and Cambodia.Dixon said the evidence will be provided to the prosecutor “as soon as we can, early in the new year”.China has called the accusations baseless and says the facilities in the northwestern Xinjiang region are job training centres aimed at steering people away from terrorism.The ICC has no obligation to consider complaints filed to the prosecutor, who can decide independently what cases to submit to judges at the court, set up in 2002 to achieve justice for the world’s worst crimes.


Kedah assembly to dissolve on June 28

Kedah ruler Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah has consented to the dissolution of the state assembly effective June 28 to pave the way for state polls.
Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said he was granted an audience by Sultan Sallehuddin yesterday to seek his consent for the dissolution of the state assembly.
"His Royal Highness gave his consent for the dissolution of the 14th Kedah state assembly on June 28, 2023," he told a press conference in Alor Setar.
Sanusi said the existing state government would act as a caretaker government until after the state election.
The Kedah state assembly will be dissolved six days before the expiry of its term on July 4.
The assembly sat for the first time on July 3, 2018 after the 14th general election (GE14) on May 9, 2018.
At GE14, Pakatan Harapan (PH) which contested using the PKR logo formed the Kedah government after winning 18 out of 36 state assembly seats, while PAS secured 15 seats and Barisan Nasional three.
In November 2018, Guar Chempedak assemblyman Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail announced his departure from Umno and became an independent before joining Bersatu, increasing PH's seat tally in the assembly to 19.
Bersatu subsequently left PH, and two PKR assemblymen announced they were leaving the party to become independent representatives on May 12, 2020.
Lunas assemblyman Azman Nasrudin and Sidam assemblyman Robert Ling Kui Ee also expressed their support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the leadership of then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
This, coupled with the withdrawal of support by the four Bersatu assemblymen, meant that then menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir had lost his majority support in the state legislative assembly. He announced his resignation on May 17, 2020.
PN then formed the state government with 23 seats, comprising PAS (15) and Bersatu (four) with the support of BN (two) and two independent representatives, namely the former PKR assemblymen. Sanusi took his oath of office on May 17, 2020.
Meanwhile, Mukhriz who is Jitra assemblyman, and Anak Bukit assemblyman Amiruddin Hamzah were dropped from Bersatu on May 28, 2020 and joined Pejuang which was founded by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Two former PKR assemblymen who became independents announced that they were joining Bersatu in September 2020.
Following GE15 last November and the formation of the federal government with the participation of BN, PN had 21 seats without the support of two BN assemblymen.
On Dec 18, Gurun assemblyman Johari Abdul of PKR announced that he was vacating the seat with immediate effect.
Belantek assemblyman Mohd Isa Shafie of PAS meanwhile died after suffering from a bacterial infection in the heart, lungs and kidneys on June 14.
In the Kedah state assembly, PN now has 20 seats (PAS-14, Bersatu-six), PH 10 (PKR-five, Amanah-three, DAP-two), BN two and Pejuang two, while the two seats left by Johari and Isa remain vacant.


Virgin Galactic completes first commercial rocket plane flight to space

A three-man crew from Italy soared more than 80km above the New Mexico desert on Thursday aboard a Virgin Galactic rocket plane, the company's first flight of paying customers to the edge of space since British billionaire Richard Branson founded the venture in 2004.
The two Italian air force officers and an aerospace engineer from the National Research Council of Italy made the brief suborbital ride with three Virgin Galactic crew members, two of whom piloted the vehicle, VSS Unity, once it was launched at high altitude from the belly of its twin-fuselage carrier plane.
About 75 minutes after leaving the ground with its mothership, the Unity spaceplane safely glided back to its starting point on a runway at Spaceport America, a state-owned complex near the aptly named New Mexico town of Truth or Consequences. Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility.
The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years fraught by development setbacks.
Branson founded the company with renowned aerospace mogul Burt Rutan in a venture that grew out of the 2004 Ansari X Prize competition won by Rutan's experimental spaceplane - forerunner of the SpaceShipTwo design of Unity.
Virgin becomes the latest commercial enterprise, along with Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and fellow billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX, catering to wealthy customers willing to pay large sums of money to experience the exhilaration of supersonic rocket speed, microgravity and the spectacle of the Earth's curvature from space.
Italian science misson
The "Galactic 01" mission of the Italian team flying on Thursday, however, was billed as a scientific one, with the three men planning to collect biometric data, measure cognitive performance and record how certain liquids and solids mix in microgravity conditions.
For Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei the flight was also part of his astronaut training for a future mission to the International Space Station.
Joining him on Thursday were two Italian colleagues - Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, a physician and flight surgeon, and Pantaleone Carlucci, a research council member acting as flight engineer and payload specialist.
Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile.
The gleaming white rocket plane was borne aloft at around 10.30am EDT (14300 GMT) attached to the underside of its transport jet, VMS Eve, as the carrier plane took off from Spaceport America near the New Mexico town of Truth or Consequences.
Reaching its launch-altitude point roughly 45,000 feet (13.68km) above the ground, Unity was then released from the mothership and fell away as the pilots ignited the vehicle's engine to send the rocket plane streaking in a near-vertical climb at about three times the speed of sound to the blackness of space.
Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 85.1km.
At the apex of the flight, with the rocket shut down, the crew then experienced a few minutes of weightlessness before the craft shifted into re-entry mode and began its gliding descent back to Earth.
A Virgin Galactic webcast showed live footage of crew members strapped into their seats in flight suits and sunglasses as they neared the height of their voyage, then enjoying the thrill of microgravity as Villadei unveiled an Italian flag in the cabin.
Evolving business model
The flight came two years after Branson himself rode along with five other Virgin Galactic personnel for the first fully crewed test spaceflight of Unity in July 2021. At the time, the company was targeting regular commercial service to begin in 2022 following additional test flights.
But completion of the test program took longer than anticipated after federal regulators grounded Unity for 11 weeks while the company was under investigation for deviating from its assigned airspace on ascent during the July 2021 flight. A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago.
The company had said before Thursday's launch that a successful flight would pave the way for Unity to fly again in early August, with monthly flights thereafter.
Virgin Galactic has said it has already booked a backlog of some 800 customers, charging most from US$250,000 (about RM1.1 million) to US$450,000 per seat, and envisions eventually building a large enough fleet to accommodate 400 flights annually.
Establishing a solid safety record is critical. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. Passengers are required to sign a pre-flight waiver acknowledging the risks and lack of government regulation over space tourism.
How high one goes to experience what is considered true spaceflight may also factor into the equation.
Bezos, whose astro-tourist venture Blue Origin has already flown several commercial passenger flights, has disparaged Virgin as falling short of the mark.
Unlike Unity, Bezos has said, Blue Origin's suborbital New Shepard rocketship tops the 100km, called the Karman line, set by an international aeronautics body as defining the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space.
Nasa and the US Air Force both define an astronaut as anyone who has flown 80km high or more.


Keep an eye on that screen time, parents warned as pandemic effects emerge

Experts are warning of an increase in cases involving excessive exposure to screens among children and teenagers due to the use of gadgets throughout the many Covid-19 lockdowns enforced by the government since early last year.Excessive screen exposure varies according to age but is essentially defined as the use of gadgets that goes beyond acceptable limits.Sherine Selvarajah, a child psychologist at Gleneagles Penang, said more and more parents had been coming for consultation after noticing a change in their children’s behaviour.“Parents come with the concern that their kids are with their phones all the time,” she told MalaysiaNow.“They don’t complain that their children are having problems with their eyesight – it’s the change in their behaviour.”She said the excessive use of gadgets affects children in many areas including their lifestyle, sleeping pattern, eating habits and emotional well-being.In short, “they are not able to part with their phones”, she said.“They don’t complain that their children are having problems with their eyesight – it’s the change in their behaviour.”According to Sherine, where a child is on the spectrum of addiction depends on the symptoms that develop, for example a tendency to self-isolate, always being in a bad mood or, in some cases, becoming more aggressive.For younger children, she recommends no more than two to three hours of screen time per day, broken up into sessions.“Six to eight hours a day is considered extremely excessive.”She gave the example of a case in which a single father had asked for help with his daughter who was supposed to attend online classes during the lockdown periods.“Instead of learning, she played games the whole day. She didn’t sleep until very late at night and she couldn’t wake up for her classes.”She said the girl had since undergone behavioural therapy to help her cope with anger issues as well as her eating and sleeping habits.She also cited another case in which an eight-year-old child had started hacking into his father’s phone and using his Google account and credit cards to level up in his computer games.“Besides being addicted, he developed other behaviours such as lying and cheating,” she said.Depending on the severity of their cases, other children are placed in rehabilitation centres. But while many respond well to their treatment, Sherine said, a number of them also relapse due to the pandemic which leaves their parents busy and the children with little else to do.Aside from behavioural changes, there are also concerns about the damage these children suffer to their eyes.Dr Tan Jin Poi, an eye surgeon at Pantai Hospital Penang, said they risk developing computer vision syndrome, also known as digital eye-strain, which is caused by extended screen time.The thinking and emotional development during the first five years could be affected if children spend too much time on their gadgets.“It is a combination of visual and non-ocular symptoms,” she told MalaysiaNow, citing problems such as fluctuating or double vision, difficulty focusing, and tired, irritated or red eyes.“Researchers recognise that increased screen time among children is a significant risk factor for the development and progression of short-sightedness or myopia,” she said.This risk increases among children who spend eight hours daily on their gadgets, she added.Tan also warned that the thinking and emotional development during the first five years could be affected if children spend too much time on their gadgets. Children also run the risk of becoming overweight.While it may be hard, Sherine said at the end of the day parents have no choice but to step up and take control of the situation.“If you tell them to go and do something else, they will ask again what activities they can do. Plan and arrange things together with them.”This does not mean that any and all use of gadgets must be strictly off limits.“You can allow them to use gadgets but you need to monitor them,” Sherine said. “Give them a schedule.“Parents have to be consistent in making sure that kids keep to their schedule.”And on top of that, they have to keep a sharp eye on themselves, too.“Parents also need to be good role models,” Sherine said.


‘Nothing to suggest’ US will have a recession, says treasury sec Yellen

The US is unlikely to suffer an economic downturn, despite sky-high inflation, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday.“There’s nothing to suggest that there’s a recession in the works,” she said during an interview at The New York Times’ economic forum.The US economy has recovered strongly from the Covid-19 damage, but the highest inflation in four decades and supply chain snarls exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are increasing pessimism.The US Labor Department is set to release the May consumer price index (CPI) report on Friday, and analysts expect the data could potentially show a modest slowdown in the torrid 8.3% annual pace.The Federal Reserve has begun raising interest rates aggressively, with another big hike expected next week, as policymakers attempt to combat inflationary pressures without triggering a recession.Yellen expressed confidence they will be successful.“I believe there is a path through this that entails a soft landing,” she said.But the swiftness of the Fed’s planned moves has increased fears of a recession, generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.At the forum, Yellen was asked to respond to rapper Cardi B’s tweet about a possible downturn.“Is there a recession risk? Of course there’s a recession risk,” the Treasury secretary said. “But is it likely? I don’t think so.”When asked if she knew who Cardi B was, Yellen quipped: “I don’t have a lot of time for her, but I am alive.”Fed chair Jerome Powell and President Joe Biden have each sought to assuage recession fears, with Powell saying the US economy is strong enough to weather higher borrowing costs.


Just joking, Musk says on buying Manchester United

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, tweeted on Wednesday that he was joking when he said that he was going to buy English football club Manchester United Plc.
"No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams," Musk said, when asked by a user if he was serious about buying the club.
About four hours earlier, Musk had tweeted: "I'm buying Manchester United ur (sic) welcome," without offering any details. Some Manchester United fans, disgruntled by their club's declining fortunes of late, had previously urged Musk on Twitter to consider buying the club.
The tweet turnaround comes as Musk seeks to exit a US$44 billion agreement to buy Twitter only four months after announcing on the platform he would buy the social media company, which has taken him to court.
Musk has a history of being unconventional and posting irreverent tweets, making it difficult sometimes to tell when he is joking.
"Next I'm buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in," he tweeted on April 27, two days after Twitter's board accepted his unsolicited offer to buy the company.
Musk's tweets about potential acquisitions have landed him in hot water with US regulators in the past.
In 2018, he tweeted that there was "funding secured" for a US$72 billion deal to take Tesla private, but did not move ahead with an offer. Musk and Tesla each paid US$20 million in civil fines – and Musk stepped down as Tesla's chairman – to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims that Musk defrauded investors.
The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's tweet that he was buying the club outside usual business hours.
Musk's ambitions range from colonising Mars to creating a new sustainable energy economy, and in the process he has built the most valuable car company in the world, electric vehicle maker Tesla, rocket company SpaceX, and a slew of smaller firms. One is a tunnel maker called the Boring Company.
Manchester United is one of the most famous names in world football but is currently in crisis on the field amid angry calls from fans for the club's current owners, the American Glazer family, to pull out.
The northern England-based team has more than 32 million followers on its main Twitter account and Musk's first tweet about the club had garnered nearly 400,000 "likes" on the platform within four hours.


Thousands flee Myanmar to Thailand as army bombs villages

About 3,000 villagers from Myanmar’s southeastern Karen state fled to Thailand on Sunday following air attacks by the army, Reuters is reporting.Myanmar’s military bombed five areas in Mutraw district near the border, including a displacement camp, according to the Karen Women’s Organization.The afternoon bombing of an area on the Salween River killed two Karen guerrillas and wounded many more, reports the AP.“At the moment, villagers are hiding in the jungle as more than 3,000 crossed to Thailand to take refuge,” a statement from the group said.Thai PBS reported about 3,000 had reached Thailand but Thai authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.David Eubank, founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation, said: “We haven’t had air strikes there for over 20 years. These were at night, so the capability of the Burma military has increased with the help of Russia and China and other nations, and that is deadly.”It was the second day in a row that Myanmar forces had bombed territory controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU).In an air attack by the military on Saturday, at least three civilians were killed in a village controlled by the KNU. The militia earlier said it had overrun an army post near the border, killing 10 people.The air assaults are the most significant attack for years in the region. The KNU had signed a ceasefire agreement in 2015 but tensions have surged after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government on Feb 1.The KNU and the Restoration Council of Shan State, also based on the Thai border, have condemned the takeover and announced their support for public resistance.KNU says it has been sheltering hundreds of people who have fled central Myanmar amid mounting violence in recent weeks.The tension at the frontier comes as the leaders of the resistance to last month’s coup are seeking to have the Karen and other ethnic groups band together and join them as allies, which would add an armed element to their struggle.


3 dead after another US shooting in church parking lot

A man shot and killed two women in the parking lot of a church in Iowa state on Thursday and then turned the gun on himself, police said, adding three more dead to the toll in a series of recent shootings that have rocked the US.The Iowa shooting took place shortly after President Joe Biden delivered a major address on gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in recent weeks.Meanwhile another shooting on Thursday wounded two people attending a burial at cemetery in Racine, Wisconsin.The Iowa shooting took place outside Cornerstone Church, a fundamentalist Christian church east of the city of Ames, while a church programme was on inside, said Nicholas Lennie, chief deputy of the Story County Sheriff’s Office.When deputies arrived on scene they found all three dead, Lennie said, adding that he could not provide identities nor disclose what the relationship between them may have been.“This appears to be an isolated, single-shooter incident,” Lennie said.Moments before, Biden urged Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures to address the mass shootings.“Enough, enough!” the president said.The US has been shaken in recent weeks by the mass shootings that killed 10 black residents in upstate New York, 19 children and two teachers in Texas, and two doctors, a receptionist and a patient in Oklahoma.In Racine, Wisconsin, on Thursday, multiple gunshots were fired into a crowd of mourners attending an afternoon graveside funeral, wounding two people, Racine police Sergeant Kristi Wilcox told reporters.One victim was treated at a local hospital and released, the other was flown to a Milwaukee hospital, apparently suffering more serious injuries, Wilcox said. No suspect was taken into custody.


Top Umno leaders, family members set to steal the limelight again

A string of trials related to corruption charges involving senior Umno leaders as well as those connected to them has been lined up from now until June next year, as the focus shifts to them in the aftermath of the brief power vacuum which saw the party’s vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointed as prime minister.At the top of the list is the ongoing trial of Najib Razak, on four counts of abusing his power to receive gratification worth RM2.28 billion, as well as 21 counts of money laundering involving over RM4.3 billion or what is known as the 1MDB-Tanore case.The trial was postponed last Thursday when the former leader attended a session at Istana Negara to verify his letter of support for Ismail.Najib is already convicted of seven charges related to the 1MDB scandal, of illegally receiving more than RM40 million in funds from SRC International.A check of the court schedule for the 1MDB-Tanore trial shows a total of 75 days set between September 2021 and June 2022.Closely following Najib’s trial is Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan’s case on money laundering and providing false statements, which will be heard for re-mention on Aug 24 at the High Court.The Pontian MP was charged with money laundering for failing to declare RM2 million he had received from Najib in his 2013 tax submissions, as well as with giving false statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on the matter. The hearing will begin in June next year.Next is the trial of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, which resumes on Aug 25.The former home minister faces 20 years’ imprisonment on 33 charges of receiving bribes amounting to some RM42 million from a company to extend the contract as operator of the foreign visa system. Zahid is also accused of accepting bribes in various currencies – S$1,150,000, RM3,000,000, €15,000 and US$15,000 – from the same company.Meanwhile, the trial for money laundering and failure to declare income involving Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah will resume on Aug 27.Shafee is facing charges of money laundering involving RM9.5 million said to be given by Najib, as well as of making false statements to the Inland Revenue Board.Also scheduled for hearing within the month of August is the trial of Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, for four days starting Aug 23.Bung and his wife Zizie Izette were charged with receiving a bribe of RM2.2 million from an investment agent in exchange for approval for Felcra, of which Bung was the non-executive chairman, to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trust products. The offence carries a sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment.On Sept 6 comes the case involving Umno’s Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is appealing to strike out 13 corruption and money laundering charges.The former Tabung Haji chairman was charged with receiving RM5.2 million in bribes for road projects, and 10 counts of money laundering involving some RM140 million.The government is also seeking to forfeit RM16 million from accounts belonging to Azeez’s wife and children, in a case to be heard on Oct 8.Azeez’s wife and children are not the only family members of politicians who have been dragged to court.Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor is set to dominate the limelight again next month, as the High Court decides on Sept 9 on her appeal to remove former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram as lead prosecutor.Rosmah is facing 20 years’ jail over a charge of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from a businessman as a reward for helping his company secure a RM1.25 billion hybrid solar system project and the maintenance of diesel gen-sets for Sarawak rural schools from the education ministry.Meanwhile, the trial of former Felda chairman Shahrir Samad, who like Ahmad Maslan is accused of failing to declare RM1 million he received from Najib, will be heard in April next year.Another case involving Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Mansor has yet to be scheduled.The prosecution is appealing against the Court of Appeal’s verdict on July 16 which overturned an earlier conviction by the High Court on a charge of receiving RM2 million from a businessman as kickbacks during his time as the federal territories minister.


Seremban to join other areas under EMCO

The government today announced that eight sub-districts in Seremban will come under enhanced movement control order (EMCO) for 14 days beginning July 9 to control the continued trend of high cases in the area.Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the EMCO would be enforced at the Ampangan, Labu, Lenggeng, Pantai and Rantau sub-districts.Other sub-districts are Rasah, Seremban and Setul.“Based on screenings by the health ministry, there were 5,504 active cases in this area as of July 4.“At the same time, the health ministry has confirmed high transmission and high positivity rates, which require immediate action to control the spread of infection,” he said in a statement today.


From water girl to national mountain biker for young Orang Asli woman

A young Orang Asli woman from Pahang is out to prove that nothing is impossible in sports as long as you work hard enough and long enough to chase your dreams.Nia Vanessa Suhana, 23, used to accompany her friend, Siti Natasha, to the cycling track every weekend to watch her train.While she was an athlete in her own right, she specialised in canoeing or rowing. Following Siti Natasha to her training sessions, she kept mostly to the sidelines, bringing the others water whenever they were thirsty.“I was the water girl,” she said in a recent interview with MalaysiaNow.Eventually, though, the trainer invited Nia to join in as well. That was the start of her career in mountain biking — a sport where speed and endurance are needed in equal quantities.An extra spurt of speed takes Nia through a bend at Taman Cabaran Putrajaya.At that time, Nia was only 15 years old and still attending boarding school in Kuantan. By the time she was 17, though, she was participating in competitions on both the domestic and international fronts.Now, she is recognised as one of the country’s best in the sport, recently winning first place in the women’s open category at the Enduro Bukit 300 Challenge 2022 in Perak.In the international arena, Nia has participated in contests in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, finishing among the top three in every one.“Nobody thought I could do it,” she said. “I used to be the weakest one in the team.“It’s all thanks to my trainer and my friends that I have made it this far.”‘Independent’Nia is the oldest of four siblings. Her mother is from the Temuan tribe while her father is from the Semelai community.She is currently in her final semester of a course in sports science at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Bangi.Nia, representing the AGS team, holds up her prize for first place in the women’s open category at the recent Enduro Bukit 300 Challenge 2022 in Perak.But while she is familiar with standing on podiums at international competitions, it’s an uphill climb for support in the country where mountain biking is not a known sport.Nia pays for everything herself: the cost of equipment, entrance fees, accommodation and transportation to competition venues.She received assistance and sponsorships from the Pahang sports council but this is not enough to cover the true cost of her expenses.Nevertheless, things are beginning to look up for the young athlete, who was recently given a better bicycle as well as a scholarship at university.“This way, I can pay for my own studies,” she said. “I can take care of myself without depending on my parents anymore.”But even with her tight schedule, packed to the brim with training sessions and competitions, she is mindful of the need to concentrate on her studies.Nia sits on the ground for a quick break with a fellow athlete during a training and endurance session.At night, she turns her focus to her work — reading, completing her assignments, and studying for upcoming exams.During the day, she is fully immersed in her training.“I once lagged by a full month behind my classmates because of training and competitions,” she said. “But my friends helped me catch up.”DreamsNia has considered opening a cycling centre in her village to help Orang Asli children take up the sport, but she knows that this will be difficult to achieve.“Anyone would be able to join, not just Orang Asli children,” she said.“But this would be very expensive, and Orang Asli children are poor. They have no money for bicycles.“If we could get sponsors, maybe more people could join and more athletes could be found.”Nia and her friend Siti Natasha exercise to stay fit and improve their stamina at Taman Metropolitan Kepong.She said many of her relatives and friends back in the village had voiced hope of being “like Nia”, becoming athletes and going to university one day.This makes her more determined than ever to succeed.“Not many know who I am, but when I hear things like that, I know that I have to work harder,” she said.She also hopes to become a sports ambassador to help other young people who dream of becoming athletes.While some belittle her for choosing a career in sports, or say that mountain biking is an unknown event, her dream is to prove them wrong.“I want to show them that through sports, I can succeed and stand on my own two feet,” she said.“I have been scolded by people who look down on me, but I can silence them through my success and prove that sports can lift people up as well.“Through sports, I can be independent, and I can still continue with my studies. Just because I’m an athlete doesn’t mean I neglect my classes.”


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NZ drafts plans for Australia travel bubble

New Zealand is finalising a long-awaited travel bubble with neighbouring Australia and will reveal next month when trans-Tasman trips can resume, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday.Speaking almost exactly a year after New Zealand closed its borders as Covid-19 swept across the globe, Ardern acknowledged many Kiwis were impatient for quarantine-free travel to and from Australia.But she said the government would exercise the cautious approach that has seen New Zealand largely contain the virus, with just 26 deaths in a population of five million.“Many New Zealanders are nervous, they don’t want to put everything we’ve fought so hard for at risk,” she said during a press conference.Before the pandemic, Australia was New Zealand’s largest source of overseas visitors and many Kiwis have relatives living across the Tasman.All overseas arrivals to New Zealand must currently undergo two weeks quarantine, but Ardern said she would make an announcement on April 6 about when the requirement will be waived for arrivals from Australia.She said aspects of the plan were still being finalised, including contact tracing arrangements and making sure airlines were ready.She said a key consideration was what would happen if there was a major virus outbreak in Australia, prompting thousands of visiting New Zealanders to try to rush home.Australia has allowed quarantine-free travel for New Zealand arrivals since October, although the arrangement has been briefly suspended a number of times due to virus outbreaks in Auckland.Australia has also been one of the most successful countries in containing the coronavirus pandemic, with fewer than 1,000 deaths and around 29,000 cases in a population of 25 million.


Rosmah's bid to postpone solar hybrid appeal fixed for July 7

Rosmah Mansor's application to postpone the appeal proceedings in her graft case involving a solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak will be heard this Friday.
Her lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader said the Court of Appeal was informed of the application to postpone the appeal proceedings through a letter last month.
"The court set this Friday (July 7) to hear the application," he said when contacted today.
Rosmah's appeal in the Court of Appeal against her conviction, 10-year imprisonment and RM970 million fine for the corruption case was supposed to be heard for four days starting July 11.
According to Akberdin, the postponement was to allow Rosmah's appeal regarding the appointment of the late Gopal Sri Ram as a lead prosecutor to be decided first in the Federal Court.
On June 22, Rosmah failed in her bid to challenge Sri Ram's appointment as lead prosecutor in her RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project graft case.
On Sept 1 last year, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan found Rosmah guilty of three corruption charges involving RM1.25 billion in connection with a hybrid solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
Rosmah was sentenced to 10 years in jail for each charge to be served concurrently, which means she will only serve 10 years in jail. She was also fined RM970 million, in default 30 years in jail.
The High Court, however, granted Rosmah a stay of execution of the imprisonment term and fine pending her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
She was accused of one count of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd former managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin.


Name your allies, ex-Bersih chief tells Anwar

The former chairman of Bersih 2.0, the once popular civil society organisation behind mammoth rallies calling for greater democratic reforms, appears to be questioning the latest move by Anwar Ibrahim to engineer a coup through defections of MPs including those from Umno.At the centre of Ambiga Sreenevasan’s criticism is what she feels is an about-turn by supporters of the PKR leader in accepting Umno MPs who are facing corruption charges.Ambiga said Anwar must come clean on who his newfound allies are.“I think it is important that there is clarity about who makes up the numbers. And you know, they must be transparent to the people,” Ambiga told MalaysiaNow.She was asked about a series of posts on her Twitter account since Anwar’s much publicised announcement yesterday, in which the PKR leader declared that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government had effectively collapsed.Anwar also said he would be seeking an audience with the Agong to show that he has a “formidable” majority, claiming that his bloc will be dominated by Malay and Bumiputera MPs.His claim led to speculation that at least 10 Umno MPs would cross over to his camp.But an investigation by MalaysiaNow through conversations with key Umno leaders reveals that there are only “one to three” MPs from the Malay party who could be joining Anwar.“And at least two of them would include the same persons over whom Dr Mahathir Mohamad backed out from joining Muhyiddin’s coup in February,” an Umno MP told MalaysiaNow, on condition of strict anonymity.Pressed further, the MP revealed that he was approached by several proxies to “switch camps to Anwar”, but refused to give more details.MalaysiaNow is withholding their names pending their response.In February, Mahathir said he would not be part of any new coalition if it comprised Umno leaders who were facing corruption charges, including former prime minister Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.Ambiga, who called Anwar’s announcement the “Meridien Move” – a reference to the hotel where his press conference was held yesterday – is a rare voice among civil society activists critical of Anwar’s plan.She said Anwar must explain how his plan is any different from the Sheraton Move, the series of political meetings in Petaling Jaya which ultimately ousted PKR, DAP and Amanah from Putrajaya.She said Malaysians who voted in the 2018 general election had the right to know whether or not any new coalition government under Anwar was acceptable to them.“Because the Sheraton Move was not something the majority of people voted for, but it happened. So if they are going to move again in the same fashion, then it must be in a way that is acceptable to the people,” Ambiga added.She declined to comment further on her tweets, saying it was uncertain how things would turn out.“I think they saw my tweets today.”But even among Anwar’s allies, many appear to be in the dark about the so-called Meridien Move, including DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang, who said yesterday’s press conference caught him by surprise.Amanah leader in the darkThe same goes for leaders from Amanah, which yesterday wasted no time expressing support for Anwar.When contacted by MalaysiaNow and asked about the identity of Anwar’s newfound friends from Umno, Amanah vice-president Mahfuz Omar brushed aside the question.Instead, the Pokok Sena MP said the identities of those backing Anwar did not matter.“That’s secondary. The issue now is that Muhyiddin has lost support. Morally, it is illegal for him to remain as prime minister,” he said.Mahfuz added that Amanah was bent on giving Anwar the opportunity to gather enough seats.“We don’t know who the Umno MPs backing him are,” he added. “We have to wait for Anwar’s explanation at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council meeting after the Sabah state election.”MalaysiaNow’s attempts to get reactions from other key MPs from PH, including DAP’s Tony Pua and PKR’s Maria Chin Abdulalh, another former Bersih 2.0 chairman, have failed.


Dr M lashes out at ‘unprincipled opposition’ as Anwar defends decision on budget vote

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accused the opposition bloc of trying to divert attention from public criticism over their refusal yesterday to call for a bloc vote on the 2021 budget, in remarks seen as a response to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who defended the last-minute instruction given to Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs.The former prime minister, who was one of 13 MPs who stood in support of a bloc vote while nearly all PH MPs remained seated, said the opposition had given recognition to the government of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin when the second reading of the budget was passed without a bloc vote being called.“It was strange. Since the formation of the Muhyiddin government, the opposition has been trying to bring it down through a no-confidence motion in Parliament. There were no fewer than 25 motions of no confidence submitted.“When the budget was tabled, the opposition claimed it would reject it. Some leaders met me a day earlier to state their opposition.“But this did not happen,” Mahathir wrote in his blog.His statement came less than an hour after Anwar again defended his instruction to opposition MPs not to call for a bloc vote, which would have ensured that the budget could only be passed through individual voting by all MPs present.“There is still an opportunity in the coming weeks to state a strong stand at the committee stage, including through bloc vote,” Anwar said.But Mahathir said opposing the budget at the committee stage would be futile.Yesterday, MalaysiaNow reported that Anwar’s eleventh-hour instruction to his comrades saw most PH MPs sitting out a call for a bloc vote on the 2021 budget, which was easily passed by voice vote.Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun had urged MPs who wanted a bloc vote to stand up, but only 13 did so, two MPs short of the minimum 15 needed.Mahathir said the claim that the opposition could still oppose the budget at the committee stage, which begins next week, was a ploy to divert attention from public criticism of the opposition’s action yesterday.“The opposition was willing to compromise, ignore principles and sell out the people’s support for their own interest,” he added.Yesterday’s vote on the budget had been keenly awaited as any failure to pass the bill at the policy stage could mean the collapse of Muhyiddin’s government and pandemic-season polls which health authorities have warned against.


New cases continue to hover over 19,000

Another 19,307 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,919,774.Sarawak recorded 3,118 cases, Selangor 2,700, Sabah 2,298, Penang 2,243, Johor 2,032, Kelantan 1,438, Kedah 1,355 and Perak 1,341.Terengganu recorded 910 cases, Pahang 661, Kuala Lumpur 513, Melaka 340, Negeri Sembilan 207 and Perlis 108.Putrajaya recorded 28 cases and Labuan 15.Active cases stand at 242,802 with 967 in the ICU and 464 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 24,855 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,657,486.However, 323 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 19,486.


US approves restart of J&J Covid jabs

Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccinations can restart, US health regulators said Friday, after the shots’ rollout was paused due to worries over blood clotting.Health authorities in the US on April 14 proposed a halt on the vaccine following instances of severe blood clots among a handful of the millions of Americans who received the vaccine.The news came shortly after an expert panel recommended lifting the pause because the shots benefits exceeded possible dangers.“We have concluded that the known and potential benefits of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older,” said Janet Woodcock, head of Food and Drug Administration in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).CDC head Rochelle Walensky said “exceptionally rare events” of clotting were identified, adding that regulators will continue to monitor the rollout of the vaccines.According to data presented Friday, of 3.9 million women who got the Johnson & Johnson shot, 15 developed serious blood clots and three died.The majority of the confirmed cases, 13 of the 15, was aged under 50 years old. There were no reported cases among men.Europe’s medicines regulator said Tuesday that blood clots should be listed as a “very rare” side effect of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.The regulator said its safety committee “concluded that a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be added to the product information” for the Johnson & Johnson shot.


EU, UK raise doubts about Covid patent waiver

The EU, Britain and Japan continued to voice doubts at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday about a proposed intellectual property (IP) waiver on Covid-19 products such as vaccines, a Geneva trade official said.Proposals to initiate text-based discussions on an IP waiver, rather than more general talks, gained traction at an informal meeting of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS) council, the official said.The US, China, Ukraine and New Zealand have thrown their weight behind the bid to waive certain TRIPS provisions relating to the medical prevention, containment or treatment tools needed to battle Covid-19, said the official.However, some members “continued to express doubts about the convenience of starting negotiations and asked for more time” to analyse the proposal, the official said.They included the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan.Agreements at the WTO require the consensus backing of all 164 member states.India and South Africa came forward with the original idea in October. They have submitted a revised proposal, which currently has the express support of 63 WTO members.The new text which they and other backers have circulated says the waiver should apply not only to vaccines, but to treatments, diagnostics, medical devices and protective equipment, along with the material and components needed to produce them.It also says the waiver should last for “at least three years” from the date it takes effect, following which the WTO’s General Council should determine whether it should be prolonged.Differences on IP importanceThe trade official said differences continued on the question of whether, and to what extent, IP protection was holding up the goal of beating the pandemic, and about the use and potential improvement of existing flexibilities within the TRIPS terms.Questions were also raised on the duration and termination of the proposed waiver, the official said.The US said it was open to text-based talks on any proposal that could address the immediate need for increased vaccine production and distribution, the official said.China said that as the initial proposal had been laid down in October, it was time to move to the next stage, the official added.Pakistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia and Kenya were among the countries that expressed the need to start negotiations, said the official.Meanwhile the EU said the immediate goal should be ramping up production alongside measures such as lifting export restrictions for vaccine ingredients.Switzerland, also home to major pharmaceutical firms, said WTO members should explore ways to use the flexibilities within TRIPS rather than waiving them altogether, the trade official said.The TRIPS council will hold a formal meeting on June 8-9.More than 1.9 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been injected in at least 213 territories around the world, according to an AFP count.Just 0.3% have been administered in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to 9% of the world’s population.Proponents argue the temporary removal of IP rights will boost production in developing countries and address the dramatic inequity in access.That notion has long met with fierce opposition from pharmaceutical giants and their host countries, which insisted patents were not the main roadblocks to scaling up production and warned the move could hamper innovation.The positions appeared to shift earlier this month, when Washington came out in support of a global patent waiver for vaccines, with other long-time opponents voicing openness to discuss the matter.