Virus cluster at Japan hotel hosting Brazilian Olympians

At least eight staff at a Japanese hotel hosting Brazil’s Olympic judo team have tested positive for coronavirus, local officials said Thursday.Health and sports officials at Hamamatsu city, west of Tokyo, said virus screenings were done before the judo delegation of around 30 members arrived there on Saturday.None of the infected individuals came in contact with the athletes, they said.The news comes as Tokyo prepares to host the Olympic Games mostly behind closed doors, with strict anti-infection measures placed on athletes, officials and journalists.“Only those who have proof of a negative test are working” with the judo team, said Yoshinobu Sawada, a sports official at the city.“We explained to the team that only (healthy workers) are in the bubble. We think they have understood the situation and our counter-infection measures,” he told AFP.A family member of one of the infected hotel workers also tested positive, Hamamatsu officials added.Tokyo is currently under a virus state of emergency, with infections surging. The city recorded 1,149 cases on Wednesday, the highest figure since January.Several areas around the capital are under looser virus restrictions.Olympic participants will be subject to strict virus rules and kept largely away from the Japanese public.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Wednesday that of over 8,000 people who arrived between July 1 and 13, just three tested positive after arrival and were isolated.IOC chief Thomas Bach also pledged “not to bring any risk” to Japan with the Games, which open on July 23.


Delta variant to account for 90% of new Covid cases in Europe, says EU agency

The Delta variant, identified for the first time in India, could account for 90% of new Covid cases in the European Union in the coming months, the bloc’s disease control agency said Wednesday.“It is very likely that the Delta variant will circulate extensively during the summer, particularly among younger individuals that are not targeted for vaccination,” Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said in a statement.“The Delta variant is more transmissible than other circulating variants and we estimate that by the end of August it will represent 90%” of new cases in the EU, she added.The ECDC estimates that the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), is 40% to 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant (Β.1.1.7), first discovered in the UK, which is currently the predominant variant of the novel coronavirus circulating in the EU.The agency said that “70% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections are projected to be due to this variant in the EU/EEA by early August and 90 percent of infections by the end of August”.To counter the spread of the variant and mitigate the health impact, the ECDC said “it is very important to progress with the vaccine roll-out at a very high pace”.To date, about 30% of the over-80s and some 40% of the over-60s in the EU are still not fully vaccinated, according to the ECDC.“At this stage it becomes crucial that the second vaccination dose is administered within the minimum authorised interval from the first dose, to speed up the rate at which vulnerable individuals become protected,” Ammon said.The ECDC is also urging countries to be cautious about relaxing curbs aimed at limiting the spread.“Any relaxation over the summer months of the stringency of non-pharmaceutical measures that were in place in the EU/EEA in early June could lead to a fast and significant increase in daily cases in all age groups,” the agency said.This increase could in turn lead to a rise in “hospitalisations, and deaths, potentially reaching the same levels of the autumn of 2020 if no additional measure are taken”, it added.


Pfizer to increase vaccine production by 50%

Pfizer expects to nearly cut in half the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of Covid-19 vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 as it makes the process more efficient and other producers come on line, the company told USA Today.As the US revs up its vaccination programmes, the production increase should help relieve bottlenecks caused by vaccine shortages.“We call this Project Light Speed,” said Chaz Calitri, Pfizer’s vice-president for operations for sterile injectables. “Just in the last month we’ve doubled output.”“The increased speed and capacity is not unexpected,” said Robert Van Exan, president of Immunisation Policy, a vaccine production consulting firm.“Nobody’s ever produced mRNA vaccines at this scale, so the manufacturers are learning as they go,” he said. “I bet you every day they run into some vaccine challenge and every day they solve it.”“We based our production system on how the vaccine was developed in the laboratory,” Calitri said. “Normally engineers would spend years improving efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. That’s not what happened with this one. We just went right to commercial production.”As soon as vials of vaccine began coming off the production line, engineers started analysing how production could work faster and better.The whole process is getting faster. Pfizer says making the DNA that starts the vaccine process first took 16 days; soon it will take nine or 10.Though quality control and testing has accelerated, company officials say FDA regulations and best manufacturing practices are still being met.


The paradox of Israel’s moral legitimacy

It’s somewhat ironic and intriguing that under Benjamin Netanyahu, perhaps the most right-wing, intransigent and controversial (not least due to his ongoing corruption cases) prime minister the country has had so far, Israel is now enjoying buoyant support and good-will from its erstwhile Arab detractors with particular reference to Saudi Arabia and the majority of the Gulf states with perhaps the exception of Qatar – a major supporter of Hamas and Gaza. Qatar has insisted that Israel first commit to the Arab Peace Initiative (API) embodied in withdrawal from the West Bank, East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine (Dawlat Filastin), and the right of return or repatriation of refugees.Currently, among the Arab and Muslim nations, Israel enjoys full diplomatic relations with Egypt and Jordan. Turkey downgraded relations in 2011 only to restore them in 2016 but both countries again cut top-level diplomatic ties in May 2018 while retaining their respective embassies. Azerbaijan is another Muslim country enjoying full diplomatic ties with Israel.In December 2020, Al-Jazeera reported that Turkey is seeking to improve its bilateral relations with Israel by picking a former graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and pro-Palestine advocate to be its nominated ambassador. However, there’s been no concrete response from the Israeli side. The inertia could be reflective of Israel’s triumphalist mood – in successfully securing normalisation agreements from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.Paradoxically then, Israel’s external front especially with reference to its immediate (Arab/Muslim) neighbours in particular with the sole exception of Syria, is fully secure while domestically or better still its relations with the state of Palestine remain status quo ante (the same as before).Such a scenario could also be aptly described as the “paradox of Israel’s moral legitimacy” – since the Jewish state has now obtained that moral legitimacy which it had craved but the one remaining country which is also its closest neighbour continues to be subjugated and occupied and to a certain extent deprived of freedom of movement of people and goods as a basic and fundamental human right – contrary to all international laws and moral norms.As the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they remain the same”.Not only has Netanyahu secured a diplomatic coup (again vis-a-vis the Gulf Cooperation Council/GCC), more practically speaking, he’s managed to significantly “decouple” the Palestinian issue from the wider Arab agenda by leveraging the Iran threat with the previous Trump administration acting as the impetus-fulcrum, “sweetener” and “clincher” of the normalisation agreement to establish diplomatic relations.But with Qatar as the principal financier of Hamas and of the Palestinian territory of Gaza still outside of the diplomatic equation, among other things, Netanyahu must surely – or at least he ought to – realise that his triumphalism is misplaced and premature.With the looming Israeli general election to elect members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on March 23, Netanyahu has been trying to secure something else – his re-election set against the backdrop of his ongoing corruption cases (bribery, fraud and breach of trust). He’s also capitalising on his normalisation deals with selected Arab countries in a (vain) attempt to win over and garner Arab votes. All of this with the ultimate aim of hoping to persuade Parliament (on the back of a majority no less) once returned to power to grant him legal immunity from the corruption charges.This moral anomaly is not only confined to his political character.Only last week, Israel blocked shipment of vaccines bound for the Gaza Strip. Whatever policy reasons (security, sovereignty) Israel has, the fully-fledged nation which retains control over external matters and even domestic policies such as fiscal or revenue collection and construction has, therefore, a moral – not to mention legal – responsibility over the fledgling state of Palestine.It’s only due to a legal challenge mounted that Netanyahu was belatedly compelled to halt the “controversial plan to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of allied nations… [nearly two weeks ago]” (as reported in Al-Jazeera, Feb 26). In what can only be described as a form of moral “casuistry” on the part of Israel, it has to date not shipped even a single vaccine to the West Bank and Gaza which are home to 5.2 million Palestinians.Unsurprisingly, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has labelled Israel’s overseas vaccine shipments as “political blackmail and an immoral act” and “exploitation of the humanitarian needs of these countries”.Externally, Gaza only received its first shipment of vaccines comprising a meagre 2,000 doses (Sputnik V from Russia) on Feb 17 which was allowed by Israeli authorities to enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing (Egyptian-Gaza-Israeli border). According to spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry Ashraf al-Qedra (as reported in France 24 news agency), the Gaza Strip has about 12,000 medical workers and the priority is to “inoculate vulnerable patients, such as organ transplant and dialysis patients”.Perhaps with or without Netanyahu’s re-election, Israel might still move towards normalisation with Qatar – a breakthrough by way of the former relaxing and easing of blockade measures alongside opening up for greater and more visible role for the latter to play in the reconstruction and development of Gaza. On Feb 26, it was reported that Qatar had pledged US$60 million for the construction of a natural gas pipeline running from Israel into the Gaza Strip. With such a proposal, who needs the Deal of the Century (DOTC)? The DOTC is, anyway, a relic of history now.So, will Qatar be key, among others, in allowing Israel to gain what it covets in the eyes of the international community, namely moral legitimacy especially in the eyes of the wider Muslim and Islamic world?The one and only issue was, is and has always been the viability of the two-state solution: the state of Palestine co-existing and flourishing side-by-side with the state of Israel.So long as a two-state solution remains a forlorn hope, Israel’s moral legitimacy as a nation born out of victimisation is completely and unequivocally hollow and in fact shouldn’t be “paraded” before the world every now and then, even in conjunction with the Holocaust. If Israel can “decouple” the two-state solution from its normalisation deals, why can’t the Holocaust be “decoupled” from Israel’s moral legitimacy? In fact, by now, it should be kept separate even as Israel’s behaviour and acts against Palestinians in occupied Palestine have gone from bad to worse over the decades.Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s Pre-Trial Chamber I by a majority announced that “the court’s territorial jurisdiction in the situation in Palestine, a state party to the ICC Rome Statute, extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem”. This means that the ICC which is the international court that rules on war crimes can now judicially (read: authoritatively) decide on the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defense Forces or related security apparatus in occupied Palestine which as a sovereign country in its own right is a party to the Statute of Rome (which governs the ICC).In conclusion, the elephant in the room – the two-state solution which remains elusive as ever particularly under Netanyahu’s watch – shows that the triumphalism from the normalisation deals is just illusory. Israel’s moral legitimacy can only be gained if it pursues peace and normalisation with the state of Palestine as vigorously as it does with the selected Arab countries.Jason Loh Seong Wei is head of social, law & human rights at independent think tank Emir Research.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


UK approves single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid jab

Britain on Friday approved the use of a fourth Covid vaccine, hoping to boost a countrywide inoculation drive to allow its economy to reopen fully despite concerns about a new variant.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab, after previously backing the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna shots.Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it “very welcome news and another boost to our hugely successful vaccination programme”.“As we encourage everyone to get their jabs, the single-dose… vaccine will play an important role in helping us protect people from the virus,” he wrote on Twitter.“When you get the call, get the jab.”Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the mass vaccination campaign – the biggest in Britain’s history – had already saved more than 13,000 lives.The latest regulatory green light “means that we now have four safe and effective vaccines approved to help protect people from this awful virus”, he added.Britain has ordered 20 million doses of the vaccine, which was found to be 72% effective in preventing moderate to severe coronavirus infection, according to a US trial.The European Medicines Agency said in April that a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelet count should be added to the Johnson & Johnson product information following cases in the US.Britain has administered more than 62 million shots so far, mainly using the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes on stream as younger people are called for their jab, amid concern over the rise of the so-called Indian variant.After months of falling cases, infections have started to rise again due to the emergence of the variant, which has put in doubt plans for a full reopening of the country on June 21.Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Friday, however, “it was impossible for anyone to know what the situation will be like in a week or two weeks’ time”.“We’ll be looking at the data, we’ve said repeatedly that we won’t make a final decision about June 21 until June 14,” he told Sky News.


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Race heats up in fight for Pujut seat

The Pujut state seat has been vacant since February when its incumbent, Dr Ting Tiong Choon of DAP, was disqualified for having dual nationality, namely Australian and Malaysian citizenship, contravening Article 17(1)(g) of the Sarawak State Constitution.At the 12th Sarawak election on Dec 18, the hot seat will see a five-cornered fight involving candidates from DAP, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak.Since wresting the seat from Barisan Nasional-Sarawak United People’s Party (BN-SUPP) at the 10th election in 2011 through its candidate Fong Pau Teck, DAP has made Pujut its stronghold, defending it in the last election in 2016.In the election this time, DAP is pinning its hopes on Sarawak DAP secretary Alan Ling Sie Kiong to ensure that the Pujut seat “taken” from it following the court ruling in February, finds its way back to the party.Ling is no stranger to Sarawak political observers. As a 28-year-old, he caused a sensation in the 10th election when he brought down the “giant” of Sarawak politics then – Deputy Chief Minister George Chan Hong Nam – in the Piasau constituency.Ling however failed to defend the Piasau seat in the 2016 election, conceding defeat to BN-SUPP candidate Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew.“Democracy is an ongoing process. My hope is that the political landscape in Sarawak is more balanced between the opposition and the government, so that we can fight for the welfare of the people,” Ling told Bernama.Ling and DAP can expect a tough task in defending the Pujut seat in the state election this time as GPS is fielding Adam Yii Siew Sang, a well-known figure among the people of Miri.Yii, 65, who has held the post of Miri mayor since 2016 and is chairman of Pujut SUPP, has been tasked by GPS to end DAP’s two-term domination in Pujut.At a recent press conference online, Yii said the residents of Pujut deserved to enjoy better quality of life and expressed confidence that the voters there were mature enough to make a wise choice.“This is not about who I am, but about the fate of the people of Pujut… about welfare, infrastructure, basic necessities and the surrounding neighbourhood. These must be prioritised so that everyone can lead a better life,” he said.Meanwhile, PSB is fielding Bruce Chai Khim Cheong, 48, who served as a councillor in the Miri city council in 2015.One of the main issues he will fight for, should he be elected, is to create employment opportunities to prevent Pujut youths from migrating elsewhere in search of jobs.“Yes, the Pujut constituency is in an urban area and has all the facilities. However, its biggest problem is that it is difficult for the people to earn a living. The policy of providing ample job opportunities needs to be given serious attention,” he said.The other two candidates for the Pujut constituency, which has 27,567 registered voters, are legal adviser Leslie Ting Siong Ngiap, 39, of PBK and Sarawak for Sarawakians movement founder Chin Fen Siong of Aspirasi.


Myanmar arrests about 150 Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia

Myanmar authorities have arrested around 150 Rohingya suspected of trying to flee to Malaysia, an official told AFP on Friday.
The group of men, women and children was arrested in Thanbyuzayat township in southern Myanmar, the official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media.
The official did not specify why the group had been arrested, but the Muslim minority faces restrictions on travelling within Myanmar, where rights groups say they live in apartheid-like conditions.
"They were hiding nearby in hilly forest between two villages... We started arresting them since late last night after we got a tip-off," the security source said.
According to initial reports, the group had travelled by boat from western Rakhine state and planned to travel on to Thailand and then Malaysia by road, the official said.
A number of non-Rohingya suspected of trafficking the group were also arrested, and police were looking for around 30 more people, according to the source.
A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh with harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.
Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the United Nation's top court following the mass exodus.
Widely viewed in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship – along with access to healthcare and education – and require permission to travel.
The arrests come days after the junta said it would begin welcoming back members of the minority living in Bangladesh as soon as next month in a pilot repatriation programme.
The plan would see Myanmar "repatriate about 1,500 displaced persons," state media on Friday quoted a senior border affairs official as saying.
The border official did not give a specific timetable and added Myanmar had "not received any response yet" to the plan.
The returning Rohingya would be placed in a "transit camp for a short period" before being resettled in 15 villages, the official said.
"For their safety and security, we have police stations near the 15 villages," it added.
Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia.
Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has dismissed the Rohingya identity as "imaginary", was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.


No haste, Zahid says on BN-PH seat talks ahead of polls

Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) will not be hasty over the distribution of seats for the six upcoming state elections, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said this approach was also to avoid clashes or problems that might arise if the chosen candidate did not win.
Zahid said the negotiations for seat distribution among parties in the government also involved certain procedures including discussions between BN and PH at the state level before proceeding to the national level to be finalised among the presidents of the relevant parties.
"What we will prioritise is that the seat distribution is done not only with a sense of equality, but also look at the winnability. We feel that it is not only about victory but (also) about voter acceptance and the likeability of a candidate among the voters in the area concerned.
"And we still have quite a long time, maybe until July or early August to officially face the election campaign," he said at a press conference in Kuala Lipis yesterday.
Zahid, who is the BN chairman, was responding to claims that the seat distribution between BN and PH for the state elections in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan was behind that of Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is reportedly 85% to 90% complete.
Asked about the views of certain parties that PN had a chance to make an impact in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, Zahid who is also Umno president, said his side could not take the assumption lightly.
"Not only in Selangor, but (we cannot take it lightly) in all the states we are going to have the polls in," he said, adding that the results could favour the parties in the government if they coordinated their machinery well and provided accurate information to the voters.
On whether BN would make changes to the list of candidates for the six state elections to ensure their candidates are "likeable", Zahid said he did not rule out the possibility based on the experience at the polls in Melaka and Johor.
"BN put forward new faces (in Melaka and Johor)... in Melaka it was almost 80% and the same for Johor which was more than 70%. It means that we are very committed to rejuvenating Umno, BN and giving the younger generation the opportunity to be in the state leadership through the election," he said.


Russian invasion may embolden China, spelling trouble for Asean

Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has been going on since Feb 24, may seem like a distant predicament for many in Southeast Asia. However, the war has deeper implications for us – and many analysts are warily watching China’s response to this crisis.Like Russia, China is also an economic powerhouse with nuclear weapons. We can’t help but draw parallels between Russia’s view of Ukraine and how China has been posturing towards a West-leaning Taiwan. It may be if China sees there are not many critical repercussions against Russia, or the impact of these repercussions is weak, it may embolden China further to claim its sovereignty over Taiwan in more physical ways – and importantly, assert its authority in the South China Sea.Just as Europe relies on Russian gas supplies (40% of Europe’s gas comes from Russia), many Southeast Asian countries feel indebted to China through cross-border trade and foreign direct investments. Southeast Asian countries have very close trade relations with China, with the latter contributing 20% of Asean trade-in-goods in 2021.China is also one of the top investors in several Asean member countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. China (and Hong Kong) was the second-largest investor in Asean in 2020. China’s Belt-and-Road projects are among the major sources for funding infrastructure development in these countries.Economic cooperation between China and Asean will only accelerate, given that the mega free trade deal Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was inked in 2020 and has been in effect since Jan 1. According to Nikkei, China has taken advantage of the plunge in FDI during the pandemic to “outspend” the US in the region.This has resulted in very tricky relations when it comes to China asserting its claim over the waters surrounding Asean, with several military clashes and maritime disputes occurring over the years. What are the chances that Southeast Asia will stand up to China?Geographically strategic for security, trade, and commerce, the South China Sea is also rich in resources for Southeast Asia – most notably for oil, gas, and fisheries. China previously laid claim to the whole of the South China Sea, citing a historical right to the area dating from the Xia dynasty, and enacting a Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone in 1992.In addition to increased patrols, China has also been building significant number of artificial islands to function as military bases, as detected by satellites since eight years ago. One example is the Mischief Reef – a mere 250km from the Philippines and 437km from Sabah.Meanwhile, the US, Japan, Australia, and Britain have increased their naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region. The US has conducted regular freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea since 2013 and argued that its operation is to maintain the freedom of navigation as one of the principles of customary international law under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, these are seen as provocations to China, which has claimed most of the South China Sea.As Asean has always remained “neutral” and non-interventionist, we can hardly rely on Western powers for support should China escalate its already aggressive stance in these maritime issues. Learning from the current war in Ukraine, where Nato provided very minimal support after it promised membership to Ukraine, it is evident that we cannot rely on external powers in solving the conflict in the region.The only way for Asean to defend itself is to be united en bloc – but herein lies the problem. Asean member states adhere to the Asean Way, based on a consensus principle where even if one member objects to a proposal, it is a no-go. In fact, this consensus norm was exploited by China in 2017 when, during the 30th Asean Summit in Manila, Asean members could not come to an agreement to denounce China’s militarisation efforts and disputes in the South China Sea.The Southeast Asian response to Russia has revealed the cracks within Asean itself, with differing responses and opinions from the nations’ leaders. Only Singapore strongly condemned the Russian invasion and imposed sanctions on Russia, and the rest of Asean hoped for a peaceful resolution while stopping short of calling Russia the aggressor. Myanmar, on the other hand, has praised and thrown its full support for Russia instead.Most Asean member states have procured their military equipment and weapons from Russia. Russia has been the top defence exporter to Southeast Asia in the last 20 years, far exceeding arms exports from the US, France, Germany or the UK. Among clients of the Russian defence industries are Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos and Thailand. Given this, who else could they turn to for maintenance and spare parts if not Russia?We could expect a similar response from Asean if China were to control the South China Sea and engage in military conflict. It is in the region’s interest to maintain good relations with China to enjoy the benefits of business, trade, investments and opportunity, with each of our countries leveraging on China to address our own development and political needs.However, coupled with disunity within Asean, such an arrangement may very well be our downfall.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


South Korea urges booster shots as severe cases hit record

South Korea encouraged its citizens to take Covid-19 booster shots on Wednesday, as more of the elderly fell ill and reported vaccine breakthrough infections, driving serious and critical cases to a record.Severe coronavirus cases jumped from the mid-300s in October to 460 on Wednesday, official data showed. Of the severely ill patients, more than 82% were aged 60 and older.Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, told a news conference that the increase is not posing a threat to the country’s healthcare system yet, as there are nearly 500 ICU beds available.He said the speed of the rise in severe cases and the size of total infections, especially among the unvaccinated, are the major points to consider in deciding its future response to the healthcare system.South Korea’s overall rate of vaccine breakthrough infections remains low at 85.5 people per every 100,000 inoculated.But it has steadily risen in recent weeks, led by the elderly, as vaccine protection wanes over time and the group’s weaker immune system makes them more vulnerable to infections.Of the total serious and critical patients with vaccine breakthrough infections in the past eight weeks, 93% were from those aged 60 and above, according to the government data.The country has inoculated 640,232 people with a booster shot, since the programme began last month, mainly using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.South Korea started a gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions this month, as it has fully vaccinated nearly 90% of its adult population, or 77% of its 52 million people.The authorities have said a circuit breaker will be issued when there is a major strain on the number of hospital beds to treat serious cases, but have not revealed the exact threshold.The country reported 2,425 new cases for Tuesday. It has recorded a total of 385,831 infections, with 3,012 deaths so far.


Musk's Twitter rate limits could undermine new CEO, ad experts say

Elon Musk's move to temporarily cap how many posts Twitter users can read on the social media site could undermine efforts by the company's new Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino to attract advertisers, marketing industry professionals said.
Musk announced Saturday that Twitter would limit how many tweets per day various accounts can read, to discourage "extreme levels" of data scraping and system manipulation.
Users posted screenshots in reply, showing they were unable to see any tweets, including tweets on the pages of corporate advertisers, after hitting the limit.
Ad industry veterans said the move creates an obstacle for Yaccarino, the former NBCUniversal advertising chief who started last month as Twitter's chief executive officer.
Yaccarino has sought to repair relationships with advertisers who pulled away from the site after Musk bought it last year, the Financial Times reported last week.
The limits are "remarkably bad" for users and advertisers already shaken by the "chaos" Musk has brought to the platform, Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester, said on Sunday.
"The advertiser trust deficit that Linda Yaccarino needs to reverse just got even bigger. And it cannot be reversed based on her industry credibility alone," he said.
Lou Paskalis, the founder of advertising consultancy AJL Advisory and former marketing boss at Bank of America, said Yaccarino is Musk's "last best hope" to salvage ad revenue and the company's value.
"This move signals to the marketplace that he's not capable of empowering her to save him from himself," he said.
Under the new cap, unverified accounts were initially limited to 600 posts a day with new unverified accounts limited to 300. Verified accounts could read 6,000 posts a day, Musk said in a post on the site.
Hours later, he said the cap was raised to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 per day for unverified and 500 posts per day for new unverified users.
A Twitter spokesman did not reply to requests for comment and inquiries about how long the restrictions will last on Sunday.
Capping how much users can view could be "catastrophic" for the platform's ad business, said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.
"This certainly isn't going to make it any easier to convince advertisers to return. It's a hard sell already to bring advertisers back," she said.
The limit came soon after Twitter began requiring users to log into an account on the social media platform to view tweets, which Musk called a "temporary emergency measure" to combat data scraping.
Musk had earlier expressed displeasure with artificial intelligence firms like OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, for using Twitter's data to train their large language models.
Platforms including Reddit and major news media organizations have complained about AI companies using their information to train AI models as some have sought fees.
Kai-Cheng Yang, researcher at Indiana University in Bloomington, said that the limits appeared to be effective in blocking third parties, including search engines, from scraping Twitter data like before.
"It might still be possible, but the methods would be much more sophisticated and much less efficient," he said.


Teenage girl arrested for faking positive Covid-19 test results to skip work

A 19-year-old waitress was arrested by police on Tuesday after submitting fake Covid-19 test results to avoid going to work.Iskandar Puteri district police chief ACP Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the girl was picked up at about 1pm at a house in Mutiara Rini, Skudai, in Johor Bahru following a police report lodged by her 32-year-old employer.He said the employer claimed the girl sent him a letter via WhatsApp showing that she was Covid-19 positive and could not turn up for work.“Immediately after receiving the message, the employer closed his restaurant and went to a clinic together with 12 other workers to take the Covid-19 swab test. The tests confirmed that all were negative for Covid-19,” he said in a statement.Dzulkhairi said upon being questioned by her employer, the girl admitted to deceiving him because she was not comfortable being a waitress and did not feel like going to work.“According to the employer, the girl just started working at the restaurant on Monday,” he said.The case is being investigated under Section 420/468 of the Penal Code for falsifying Covid-19 swab test results. The police will seek to remand the girl for further investigation.


PM: My focus is Covid-19, Anwar’s claim is for Agong to decide

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today played down Anwar Ibrahim’s royal audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, saying he is more interested in reviving the economy and addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.In an interview with several media outlets, his first since taking over Putrajaya in March, Muhyiddin said he has full confidence that the king would act based on the constitution.“The Agong is the most learned and has his own way of doing things as provided by the constitution.”Muhyiddin also said he had not been following the developments surrounding Anwar’s plan as he was busy meeting with members of the National Security Council when the Pakatan Harapan chief met the Agong.“My interest now is anything about Covid and reviving the economy,” he added.Muhyiddin’s comments come after conflicting statements from Anwar and Istana Negara on his royal audience with the Agong this morning.Anwar said he had furnished “authentic documents” to prove that he has a “formidable” majority to topple Muhyiddin’s administration.But the palace in a statement said Anwar had not furnished the list of names of the MPs he said were supporting him to form a new federal government.


UN chief, in Ukraine, seeks to secure nuclear plant and explore peace talks

The UN chief and the presidents of Turkey and Ukraine on Thursday discussed ways to end Kyiv's conflict with Russia and secure Europe's largest nuclear power station, which has come under shelling at the front lines.
Speaking with reporters after talks in Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was gravely concerned by the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and called for military equipment and personnel to be withdrawn.
After talks in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said he, Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed building on recent positive atmosphere to revive peace negotiations with Russia that took place in Istanbul in March.
In a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey, the two sides recently reached an agreement for Russian to lift a blockade of Ukrainian grain shipments, and exports have started to resume.
Nato member Turkey has maintained good relations with Russia, an important trade partner, and sought to mediate in the six-month-old conflict.
"Personally, I maintain my belief that the war will ultimately end at the negotiating table. Mr Zelensky and Mr Guterres have the same opinion in this regard," Erdogan said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
Meanwhile, 17 people were killed and 42 injured in two separate Russian attacks on the major northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said on Thursday.
Three civilians were killed and 17 wounded in a pre-dawn rocket strike on Thursday, the local emergency service said. That followed a Russian attack on Kharkiv on Wednesday, in which the emergency service initially said 12 people were killed.
Also on Thursday, at least four explosions hit near a major Russian military airport on the Moscow-controlled Crimean peninsula, three local sources said. Ukraine has hinted it orchestrated other blasts over the last 10 days at other Russian installations in Crimea.
The sources said Thursday's explosions were near Russia's Belbek military airport, north of the Black Sea fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol.
Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, writing on Telegram, said Russian anti-aircraft forces downed a Ukrainian drone and no damage occurred.
Fears of nuclear catastrophe
Guterres reiterated calls for demilitarisation around the nuclear plant.
"The facility must not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, agreement is urgently needed to re-establish Zaporizhzhia's purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of the area," Guterres said.
Russia, which captured Zaporizhzhia soon after its Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine, said it could shut down the facility - a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Moscow had earlier rejected as "unacceptable" international calls for a demilitarised zone around the nuclear plant, which is still operated by Ukrainian engineers under Russian occupation.
The power station sits on the Russian-controlled south bank of a huge reservoir; Ukrainian forces hold the north bank. Recent days have seen several incidents of shelling at the plant, which both sides blame on each other.
Ukraine also accuses Russia of using the plant as a shield for its forces to launch strikes across the reservoir on Ukrainian-held cities, which Moscow denies.
Reuters cannot independently confirm the military situation in the area or responsibility for shelling.
Zelenskiy said after meeting Guterres on Thursday that they had agreed parameters of a possible mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the plant.
"Russia should immediately and unconditionally withdraw its forces from the territory of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as stopping any provocations and shelling," he said.
Earlier, he accused Russia of "nuclear blackmail".
Recent blasts at Russian targets in Crimea
Moscow says its aim in Ukraine is to demilitarise the country and protect Russian-speakers on land that Russian President Vladimir Putin says historically belongs to Russia.
Kyiv and the West call it an unprovoked war to conquer Ukraine and erase its thousand-year national identity.
Russia has used Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, to reinforce its troops fighting in other parts of Ukraine with military hardware, a process Kyiv is keen to disrupt ahead of a potential counter-offensive in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for a recent series of blasts in Crimea. Last week Moscow's Saki air base was devastated by a series of explosions that destroyed eight warplanes, according to satellite imagery.
Russia said this resulted from an accident, but Kyiv officials suggested it was part of a special operation.
Separately, blasts rocked an ammunition depot on Tuesday at a Russian military base in the north of the Crimean peninsula.
Russia blamed saboteurs, a rare admission that armed groups loyal to Ukraine are damaging military logistics and supply lines on territory it controls. Power lines, an electricity substation, railway infrastructure and some residential housing were also damaged.
Russian state media speculated that saboteurs may have used small drones to bomb the ammunition depot.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said this week that Ukraine's strategy was to destroy Russian "logistics, supply lines and ammunition depots and other objects of military infrastructure. It's creating a chaos within their own forces."


'Party man' Noh Omar to stick with Umno despite being dropped

Selangor Umno chairman Noh Omar has confirmed that he will not be contesting the 15th general election (GE15) and will continue to support the party after being dropped as a candidate by Umno.
"I’m a party man and I will not fight the party that has helped me," he said when asked about news that he had not been nominated to defend the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat.
On Thursday, Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Zambry Abd Kadir announced that Tanjong Karang Wanita Umno chief Habibah Mohd Yusof would be the BN candidate in Tanjong Karang.
Speaking to reporters after the launch of the Tanjong Karang BN election machinery yesterday, Noh said he would help campaign for a BN victory in Selangor.
"As the chairman, I definitely want us to win in Selangor. Insha Allah, we will do our best. If during a (political) tsunami we could win in Tanjong Karang, with the better situation this time, I am confident the Tanjong Karang seat will remain ours," said the six-term Tanjong Karang MP.
"I unexpectedly became a candidate for the first time in 1995. The most important thing in a struggle is sincerity – do not ever chase for positions," he said, adding that he would be at the Dewan Dato’ Hormat nomination centre to give his support.
Meanwhile, Habibah expressed her gratitude to Noh and the party for the chance to contest.
"I am a mentee of Tan Sri (Noh). I worked with Tan Sri for about 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I do not want to be over-confident but I believe that with the help and guidance of Tan Sri we can repeat his excellence," she said.
Polling is on Nov 19 while early voting is on Nov 15.


PM chairs another special Cabinet meeting

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today chaired another special meeting with his Cabinet following the decree by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday that there was no necessity to declare a state of emergency.The last time a special meeting was held was last Friday.Muhyiddin, who arrived at the Perdana Putra complex at 9.20am, was believed to have met with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and MIC president SA Vigneswaran before the special meeting.The vehicles carrying Hadi and Vigneswaran were seen entering the Perdana Putra area 10 minutes after Muhyiddin’s arrival. They left just as the special Cabinet meeting began at 11.30am.The Cabinet members who attended the special meeting included Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Education Minister Radzi Jidin.Also spotted was Attorney-General Idrus Harun.Yesterday, Sultan Abdullah in a statement issued by Istana Negara decreed that there was no necessity for a state of emergency and that the people, regardless of their background and political ideology, should put aside their differences and unite to play their roles in helping the government curb the spread of Covid-19.Muhyiddin, in a statement late last night, said the Cabinet took note of the King’s decree and would hold further discussions on the matter.The prime minister also thanked the king for the trust placed in his government and welcomed the advice to maintain stability in the administration.He said the government would continue to prioritise protecting the people from the Covid-19 pandemic.The Malay Rulers convened a special meeting which lasted almost three hours yesterday to study the proposals made by Muhyiddin and several Cabinet members during their audience with the king at Istana Abdul Aziz in Kuantan, Pahang, last Friday.


New global rules aim to clamp down on corporate greenwashing

Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing.
The norms published on Monday have been written by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as trillions of dollars flow into investments that tout their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials.
It would be up to individual countries to decide whether to require listed companies to apply the standards, ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber said, adding the standards can be used for annual reports for 2024 onwards.
Canada, Britain, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, Chile, Malaysia, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa are considering their use, Faber told Reuters.
The ISSB standards build on voluntary ones from the G20's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Britain was the first major economy to make TCFD disclosures by listed companies mandatory.
The ISSB is part of IFRS, the independent foundation which also writes accounting rules used in more than 100 countries, while global securities watchdog IOSCO is expected to 'endorse' the new standards.
"It just brings more rigour, is much more aligned with financial reporting," said David Harris, head of sustainable finance strategic initiatives at London Stock Exchange Group.
Harris said that 42% of the world's top 4,000 companies currently do not provide data on Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.
"It means capital markets are far less effective because you haven't got a full picture," Harris said. Under the ISSB rules companies would need to disclosure material emissions, with checks by external auditors.
The European Union finalises its own disclosure rules next month and it and the ISSB has sought to make each other's norms 'interoperable' to avoid duplication for global companies.
ISSB requires more detailed disclosures from banks on carbon emissions related to individual sectors such as oil and gas.
"We maintain that because banks and banking supervision were really clear that it is needed for them," Faber said.
The ISSB and EU are set to issue guidance on avoiding duplication in the coming months.


Locked behind bars with the spectre of Covid-19

For seven years, Jahar spent his one off-day every week meeting his son Khairul who is behind bars at the Puncak Borneo Prison in Kuching.Khairul was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Under the current remission system, the 27-year-old has two a half years left to serve.In order to visit him, Jahar would make a 40-minute trip by motorcycle from his home in Kampung Gersik. Once he arrived, he would wait for his son to pick up the phone at the other side of the glass divider at the prison visiting room.Normally, they would have 30 minutes to talk and to tell each other what was happening in their lives. If it happened to be football season, the conversation would be dominated by Liverpool.Half an hour each week wasn’t much, but it was all they had – until the arrival of Covid-19.Prison visits were suspended to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus, and the weekly pockets of time with each other stopped.“As a parent, as a father, sometimes you will have all kinds of thoughts like, what if he gets infected with the virus?”Jahar has not seen his son since the start of the pandemic. He can only wait for Khairul to call him through the MyPhone initiative provided by the prisons department.While other facilities such as video calls have been offered in place of face-to-face visits, these do not provide the same level of comfort for family members. For those like Jahar, who works as a security guard, internet cost is also a problem.Jahar is particularly concerned about his son given the threat of the more transmissible Delta strain of Covid-19.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said he had heard stories of infections spreading in the prison.“Given how crowded it is, my son is at risk of contracting the virus,” he said. “Every time I hear news about infections among the inmates in prison, my heart beats fast.”He said he has spoken to Khairul several times by phone, but it is difficult to keep his emotions in check.“As a parent, as a father, sometimes you will have all kinds of thoughts like, what if he gets infected with the virus?”Vaccine hopesLike millions across the country, Jahar is pinning his hopes on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).He does not know if his son has been vaccinated, or if he has even registered for the jab, but he hopes that the government will not forget about those behind bars.“He doesn’t have a mobile phone,” Jahar said. “Even if I could register for him, I wouldn’t be able to bring him to attend his appointment.“As much as I’m worried, all I can do is to keep having faith, and to hope that I will not be left in the dark without any updates on my beloved son.”Criminologist Akhbar Satar said PICK should be expedited for prisoners, warning that it will be difficult to contain the virus spread if inmates are left out of the vaccination drive.“Prisoners should be prioritised for vaccination simply because prisons easily become Covid-19 clusters given their congested state.“Infections in prisons would spread to all the prison staff and if they, too, contract Covid-19, then who would guard the prisoners?”He told MalaysiaNow that prisoners who are about to be released should also be vaccinated.“At least once they are released, they would also help protect the community.“Prisoners are humans too, and should be treated like others in the vaccine rollout,” he said.When asked whether prisoners in Sarawak had been given Covid-19 jabs, state prison director Mohamad Rosidek Musa said no.“At the moment, they haven’t been registered nor have they been vaccinated,” he told MalaysiaNow.“Prisoners are humans too, and should be treated like others in the vaccine rollout.”However, he added that the department is working closely with the state health department as well as the state disaster management committee on how to get this done.“We have also put SOPs in place for inmates before they are released from prison,” he said.“They will be quarantined for 14 days at a transit centre and swab tests will be taken. If their tests come back negative, we will release them.”Meanwhile, Jahar continues to wait for word on his son. He recalls the things he used to tell Khairul during their weekly conversations.He would remind Khairul to stay positive and tell him that he believed he could become a better person.“I always told him that whatever he did in the past, is past. As a father, I accept all his flaws and I will be waiting here until the day he is released.”


Use of 147 schools as polling centres in Johor won’t affect SPM, says education minister

Education Minister Radzi Jidin has assured that the use of 147 secondary schools as polling centres for the Johor election will not affect the SPM examination which began today.He said the use of the classrooms for polling would not involve the examination rooms.“Prior to this, we did discuss with the Election Commission (EC) on whether it was possible not to use the secondary schools, but due to certain constraints, 147 schools will have to be used.“So, the decision was made that even if the schools are used, it will not affect the examination rooms.“Although this is difficult as almost all of the rooms are being used to ensure physical distancing (among the SPM candidates), the EC has a method and doing its best to ensure that the examination process continues in a smooth and orderly manner,” he said after visiting SMK Kota Masai 2 on the first day of the examination in Johor Bahru today.Radzi said sanitisation would also be carried out as soon as the polling process ends to ensure the areas are decontaminated and safe.The written examination of 2021 SPM will be held from today until March 29, while the Johor state election is fixed on March 12 with early voting on March 8.Last month, Radzi said the ministry was of the stand that secondary schools in Johor should not be used as polling centres as it did not want the preparations for the SPM examination to be disrupted.


Hartalega CEO doubles personal wealth in pandemic, chasing mega-rich

Personal fortunes of the mega-rich are on a roller coaster in the pandemic. Billions are lost one moment and recouped the next in mind-boggling numbers.Most billionaires winning out overall in the pandemic are bosses of worldwide tech giants.At the start of the pandemic, global markets tumbled. Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, lost US$27 billion of his personal wealth. Yet as the company’s share price rebounded, so did Bezos’ fortune, which now stands at over US$200 billion. On one day, July 6, he made US$10 billion.Other tech billionaires are also doing well after a rocky start. Between March and the end of June, the net worth of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, soared by more than 50%. In August, after a surge in Facebook shares, he became a centibillionaire, that is someone who is worth at least US$100 billion. His personal fortune is surpassed only by Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.But one of the non-tech billionaires winning in the pandemic is boss of a home-grown Malaysian company.Kuan Kam Hon.Kuan Kam Hon, CEO of Hartalega, the Malaysian synthetic glove maker, has doubled his personal wealth in the pandemic. He is now worth an estimated US$7.6 billion.At the start of the pandemic, Hartalega was already doing well producing nearly 40 billion gloves a year, exported to 70 countries. Although that was full capacity then, additional production lines enabled production to rise by around 10%.A Hartalega representative told CNBC that demand is still very high, with demand for gloves from US hospitals alone having risen multiple times since the period before the coronavirus pandemic.Most wealthy people have not been so lucky. According to the latest Global Wealth Report by the bank Credit Suisse, most early losses have been recouped but assets are likely to grow more slowly “for the next couple of years, and likely longer”.Billionaires in countries that controlled the pandemic quickly did better than their mega-rich fellows in countries which failed to do so.In Britain, where more than 44,000 people have died, making it one of the hardest-hit rich countries, billionaires lost about a quarter of their wealth between February and June.In Italy, which has also struggled to contain the virus, the ultra-rich lost nearly 30% of their wealth.In South Korea, where less than 500 people have died, the nine billionaires in Forbes’s index grew roughly 10% richer.In China, where the virus first emerged but was also brought quickly under control, the net worth of the richest billionaires rose by up to 5%.According to the Forbes list of Malaysia’s richest, the country has 15 homegrown billionaires.Robert Kuok is the richest Malaysian. He owns Kuok group, which has interests in hotels, real estate and commodities.As of today, October 26, the Hong Kong-based Malaysian tycoon is worth US$11 billion, that’s a small dip of 0.1% from Friday.That makes him #141 richest in the world.


English pubs must close early as Johnson responds to runaway Covid-19 cases

All pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues in England will be restricted by law to table service only and will have to close at 10pm from Thursday, to help curb the spread of coronavirus.These measures are the government’s initial response to the UK’s Covid-19 alert level being moved to 4, which means that transmission is “high or rising exponentially”.On Monday, a further 4,368 daily cases and 11 deaths were reported in the UK.The government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has warned there could be 50,000 new cases a day without further action. That could lead to more than 200 deaths per day by mid-November.The UK Cabinet is meeting this morning, Tuesday, and Boris Johnson will also chair an emergency Cobra meeting, which will be attended by the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.Further announcements are expected after the meetings.


Apex court reserves verdict on constitutional questions over MACC probe against judge

A seven-member Federal Court panel today reserved its decision on two constitutional questions on whether the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has the authority to investigate a sitting superior court judge.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the panel, said they needed time to deliberate.
The panel, comprising acting chief judge of Malaya Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, and Rhodzariah Bujang, also heard submissions from the parties during online proceedings.
The first question brought by lawyers Haris Fathillah Mohamed Ibrahim, Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai was whether criminal investigating bodies are only legally permitted to investigate judges of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court who have been suspended.
The second question was whether the public prosecutor is empowered to institute or conduct proceedings for an offence against serving judges of the three superior courts.
The lawyers filed a lawsuit against MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, MACC and the federal government following the commission's move to open an investigation paper against Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali after a report lodged over allegations of an unexplained sum of more than RM1 million in his bank account.
They sought a declaration that MACC's investigation against Nazlan was unconstitutional.
Nazlan was the trial judge who, on July 28, 2020, convicted and sentenced former prime minister Najib Razak to 12 years in jail. He also fined him RM210 million for seven charges relating to the misappropriation of RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International.
At today's proceeding, lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, representing the three lawyers, submitted that MACC's action to publicise the investigations against Nazlan was unprecedented.
"Those events can only be understood as having amounted to an attack on the judiciary, even if unintentionally," he said.
Malik said judges would be left vulnerable to the embarrassing machinations of criminal investigation bodies and of potentially being charged with a crime, even if they had done no wrong.
He said an investigation by a criminal investigation body such MACC, which is under the executive branch, against a serving judge of a superior court, was an investigation into the judiciary as a whole.
"It would undermine judicial independence and damage public confidence in the judiciary," he said, adding that a specific mechanism addressing judicial misconduct, with the aim of ensuring public confidence in the judiciary, is provided for under Article 125 of the Federal Constitution.
"This mechanism involves hearings before a tribunal established by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Judges’ Ethics Committee (JEC)," he said, adding that the tribunal and the JEC are independent of the executive and legislative branches.
Malik said giving criminal investigation bodies a free hand and unconditional power to investigate judges would give rise to an impression that it is open to the executive, through the criminal investigation bodies, to exert pressure on the judiciary for collateral purposes. Senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin, representing Azam, MACC and the government, argued that the applicants' proposition that no criminal investigation and prosecution can be launched until and unless a serving judge is suspended was flawed.
He said there was no express provision in the Federal Constitution that barred serving or retired judges from being investigated.
"If this is what they are saying, then a member of Parliament or prime minister can rely on this argument to dispute any probe against them," he said, adding that the chief justice could be seen as playing the role of investigator, prosecutor and judge if she decided whether a representation should be made to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the appointment of a tribunal and for the suspension of a serving judge to pave the way for criminal investigation and prosecution.
He urged the court to take judicial notice that former chief justices Eusoff Chin and Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim were investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency, now known as MACC, while they were still in active service.


China-Taliban relations growing closer ahead of US withdrawal

China’s foreign minister met Wednesday with a delegation of high-level Taliban officials as ties between them warm ahead of the completed US pullout from Afghanistan.A photo posted on the ministry’s website showed Wang Yi posing with senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and his delegation in the city of Tianjin in northern China, then sitting down to talks.The highly conspicuous show of friendliness had the appearance of a diplomatic mission at a time when the Taliban are craving legitimacy, reports the AP.Wang said China respects Afghan sovereign independence and territorial integrity and always adheres to non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.He said the hasty withdrawal of the US and Nato “reveals the failure of America’s policies and offers the Afghan people an important opportunity to stabilise and develop their own country”.While no agenda was announced for the meeting, China has an interest in pushing the Taliban to deliver on peace talks or at least reduce the level of violence as they win back territory from Afghan government forces.China and Afghanistan share a narrow border high in the remote Wakhan Valley, and China has long been concerned about a possible spillover of Islamic militancy into its formerly volatile Xinjiang region.China has also signed deals for oil, gas and copper mining in Afghanistan, although those have long been dormant.“The Taliban are a pivotal military and political force in Afghanistan and are expected to play an important role in the process of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction,” Wang said.He added that China hopes the Taliban will focus on peace talks, set peace goals, establish a “positive image” and work for unity among all factions and ethnic groups.Wang also said China hopes the Taliban will “deal resolutely” with the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, a group China claims is leading a push for independence in Xinjiang, but which many experts doubt even exists in any operational form.The heads of the Taliban Religious Council and the Propaganda Committee were also on the trip.The US withdrawal from Afghanistan by Aug 31 is seen as a boon to China, Washington’s chief strategic competitor, which has long resented the presence of US troops in what it considers its own backyard.If the Taliban do topple the Washington-backed central government, China could gain a strategic corridor allowing it and long-time ally Pakistan to bring further pressure against common rival India.Baradar’s visit comes shortly after Pakistan’s foreign minister and intelligence chief made trips to China.Pakistan is seen as key to peace in Afghanistan. The Taliban leadership is headquartered in Pakistan and Islamabad has used its leverage, which it says is now waning, to press the Taliban to talk peace.While the Tianjin meeting could be seen as a snub at the US, Washington has been meeting with China and Russia to produce statements calling on the Taliban to enter into a peace deal.Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s point person in talks aimed at ending decades of war in Afghanistan, also made a brief visit to Pakistan earlier this month as relations between Islamabad and Kabul reached a new low.That has fed perceptions that the US is engaged in stepped-up efforts to obtain a peace deal ahead of the Aug 31 deadline that also includes China.After US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met Wang in Tianjin on Monday, she and the State Department included Afghanistan on the list of “areas of global interest” that Washington and Beijing could cooperate on.


New infections top 2,100 as 6 more deaths reported

Another 2,136 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,887,675.
There were 1,695 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,823,984.
There are now 27,233 active cases, of which 26,060 or 95.7% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0.0%) are at quarantine centres while 1,125 (4.1%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 48 are in ICU with 27 in need of respiratory assistance.
Another six deaths were reported, including three who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,458.


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Heavy fighting as Russian troops enter outskirts of Ukraine’s Sievierodonetsk

Russian troops have entered the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, according to the regional governor, who described fierce fighting on Monday over the ruins of a city that has become the focus of Moscow’s offensive.The European Union has sought to make Moscow pay a heavy price for invading Ukraine, but leaders arriving for a summit acknowledged they were unlikely to pass a new round of sanctions yet, having failed to agree to ban imports of Russian oil.Russia has concentrated its firepower on the last major population centre still held by Ukrainian forces in the eastern Luhansk province, in a push to achieve one of President Vladimir Putin’s stated objectives after three months of war.Incessant shelling has left Ukrainian forces defending ruins in Sievierodonetsk, but their refusal to withdraw has slowed the wider Russian offensive across the Donbas region. Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russian troops had advanced into the city’s southeastern and northeastern fringes.The Russians “use the same tactics over and over again. They shell for several hours – for three, four, five hours – in a row and then attack”, Gaidai said.“Those who attack die. Then shelling and attack follow again, and so on until they break through somewhere.”With temperatures rising, he said there was a “terrible smell of death” on the outskirts of the city.But he said Ukrainian forces had driven the Russians out of the village of Toshkivka to the south, potentially frustrating Moscow’s push to encircle the area.Gaidai later said a French journalist had been killed by shrapnel that pierced his vehicle, and that evacuations from the area had been halted.In a televised speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described capturing Sievierodonetsk as “a fundamental task for the occupiers”.“Some 90% of buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city’s housing stock has been completely destroyed,” he said.Ukraine’s defence ministry said Moscow was also trying to regroup to attack the strategically important town of Sloviansk, further west.EU deadlockThe EU’s latest sanctions package has been blocked by landlocked Hungary’s refusal to agree to a ban on imports of Russian oil, which it receives through the huge Soviet-era “Friendship” pipeline.According to a draft text reviewed by Reuters – which could still be changed – the leaders would agree in principle to ban Russian oil, first by sea and at some point later through pipelines, but with dates and details left out.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that agreement had not been reached, but added: “I’m confident that thereafter there will be a possibility.”Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said a deal at the next summit, set for June 23-24, was “the realistic approach by now”.The failure has infuriated Kyiv and caused frustration among its biggest supporters within the EU.“It’s only money: the Ukrainians are paying with their lives,” said Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. “We can and we must support them, if only out of self-interest, because only when Russia is defeated can we in Europe feel safe.”Ahead of the summit, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed fears that EU unity was “starting to crumble”.After failing to capture Kyiv in March, Russia announced that the focus of its “special military operation” was now to seize the entire Donbas region, consisting of two provinces, Luhansk and Donetsk, that Moscow claims on behalf of separatist proxies.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday said the “liberation” of the Donbas was an “unconditional priority”.CounterattackCapturing Sievierodonetsk and its twin city Lysychansk on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets river would give Russia effective control of Luhansk province, a point at which the Kremlin might be able to declare some form of victory.But by focusing its effort on a battle for the single small city – Sievierodonetsk housed only around 100,000 people before the war – Russia might be leaving other territory open to eventual Ukrainian counterstrikes.The past few days have seen initial signs of a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south, where Moscow is trying to consolidate its control of Kherson province.Kyiv says its forces pushed back Russian troops in recent days to defensive positions in three villages – Andriyivka, Lozove and Bilohorka – all located on the south bank of the Inhulets River that forms the border of Kherson.The Institute for the Study of War think tank said this counterattack so far did not appear likely to retake substantial territory in the near term, but could disrupt Russian operations and force Moscow to reinforce the area.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna became the latest Western dignitary to go to Kyiv, visiting a mass grave in the suburb of Bucha, where hundreds of dead civilians were found after Russian forces withdrew following their failed assault on the capital in March. Moscow denies targeting civilians.Ukrainian prosecutors said they would try a Russian soldier in absentia for killing a civilian man and raping his wife in Brovary, another Kyiv suburb, in March, the first prosecution of sexual violence by Russian troops.Kyiv has called on the West to provide longer-range weapons to turn the tide in the war. Zelensky said he expected “good news” in the coming days. US President Joe Biden said Washington would not give Ukraine missiles that could be used to attack Russia.


New cases dip again to below 18,000

Another 17,672 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 1,572,765.Selangor recorded 4,316 cases, Sabah 2,474, Kedah 1,602, Penang 1,451, Kelantan 1,176, Sarawak 1,538 and Johor 1,367.Perak recorded 952 cases, Kuala Lumpur 891, Pahang 506, Negeri Sembilan 478, Terengganu 470 and Melaka 363.Perlis recorded 57 cases, Putrajaya 24 and Labuan seven.Active cases stand at 260,700 with 1,040 in the ICU and 502 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 19,053 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,297,723.However, 174 more deaths were reported, pushing the virus toll to 14,342.


Clot risk far lower from vaccines than virus, UK study shows

The risk of rare blood clotting after receiving Covid-19 jabs is far lower than from the virus, a large-scale study by researchers from the University of Oxford found Friday.Fears over rare cases of clotting conditions have prompted some countries to rule out or limit rollout of the Oxford-developed AstraZeneca jab, with the UK recommending that healthy people under 40 get alternative vaccines.The study published in the BMJ medical journal examined data on almost 30 million people in England first vaccinated between December and April.It found a very small increased risk of some clotting conditions that could lead to hospitalisation or death shortly after first doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.But it concluded that risks of most conditions were “substantially higher and more prolonged” after Covid-19 infection.The issue came to the fore this week as a coroner on Thursday found that a 44-year-old BBC presenter, Lisa Shaw, died from a blood clot in her head as a rare complication from a first AstraZeneca dose.The study’s lead scientist Julia Hippisley-Cox, professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4 that Shaw’s death was “very sad”, but “these are very rare cases and the vast majority of patients will be absolutely fine with these vaccines”.Reports have focused on the AstraZeneca jab’s link to cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), or blood clots in the brain.The study estimated that for 10 million people who received the AstraZeneca jab, there were seven additional cases, compared to 20 in people with Covid infection.For blood clotting in a vein (venous thromboembolism), scientists estimated that there were 66 additional cases among 10 million who received the AstraZeneca jab, but 12,614 among those with the virus.The study found that the AstraZeneca jab was associated with excess cases of thrombocytopenia, or low levels of blood clotting platelets, with 107 additional cases per 10 million people. But the figure for those infected with the virus was 934.The Pfizer vaccine was linked to an estimated 143 excess cases of stroke per 10 million, while Covid was linked to 1,699 excess strokes.Hippisley-Cox stressed that increased risks associated with the jabs were short-term only, while virus infection was associated with increased risk for the whole of the 28-day period examined.For example, the Pfizer jab increased stroke risk for 15 to 21 days, she said.


Armed forces to be given power to arrest as PM announces tough laws against SOP breachers

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said the armed forces will be accorded the power to arrest those who breach health SOPs to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, one of several immediate actions to be taken under the current emergency ordinance.He said the power to arrest would be given under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021.He also announced that stricter laws against SOP offenders would be introduced, as well as the takeover of private facilities for Covid-19 testing.Muhyiddin however assured that the government would compensate those whose facilities have been taken over under the emergency laws.He said stricter laws to ensure greater adherence to Covid-19 SOPs will involve heavier punishments for offenders including business owners.He said Putrajaya is currently working on amending clauses in the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, the main act governing the management of the Covid-19 health crisis.Muhyiddin said the stricter laws include the immediate closure of businesses violating SOPs, as well as legal action against those involved in the management of foreign workers, who are among the biggest contributors to the recent spike in Covid-19 infections.He said under the amendments, offenders will face imprisonment.Muhyiddin said disciplinary action could also be taken against civil servants including those in managerial positions who breach SOPs.The prime minister meanwhile underscored the government’s dilemma in the battle against Covid-19, saying it must find a balance between allowing a collapse of the economic sector through a total lockdown, and the spread of Covid-19 through the free movement of people.“The method at the moment is to allow essential economic sectors to remain open under strict SOPs,” he said in a televised address.He said data shows that some 59% of Covid-19 infections happen at the workplace.“I wish to remind everyone that the government will not hestitate to take firm action against anyone who violates the SOPs.“The government has listened to your views by not shutting down the economy during the movement control order period.“So please reciprocate this gesture by complying strictly with the SOPs so we can ensure that business and trade will continue to operate while at the same time helping to break the chain of Covid-19 transmissions at the workplace and in the community.”Election after emergencyMuhyiddin meanwhile called for an end to accusations surrounding the emergency proclamation, which was invoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last month under his constitutional powers.He maintained that the state of emergency “has no other objective but to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and save the people’s lives”.“As the head of the government, I respect our country’s constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy system.”Muhyiddin also repeated his assurance that he would dissolve Parliament as soon as the health crisis has been overcome.


Govt launches premium visa programme to attract wealthy foreigners

Malaysia has introduced a premium visa programme (PVIP) to attract wealthy foreigners to invest in Malaysia and reside in the country for a period of 20 years, says Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin.
He said the "Residency Through Investment" programme, the first of its kind to be introduced by the government to drive the country’s economic growth, would be open for applications from Oct 1, 2022.
Hamzah said PVIP was open to business tycoons from all countries except Israel and those that do not have diplomatic ties with Malaysia.
He said programme participants would be given benefits in the form of visa approval for up to 20 years, permission to study, permission to purchase real estate for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, and permission to make active investments in permitted fields.
"Programme participants are also allowed to work and carry out legal business activities in accordance with the laws of the country," he said at a press conference in Putrajaya today, also attended by immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
Hamzah said to ensure that the PVIP did not undermine national security and the country’s sovereignty, his ministry had set a control policy, including the introduction of a ceiling on the number of participants – comprising principals and dependents – not exceeding 1% of the total number of Malaysian citizens.
"We have to set a ceiling so that it does not exceed 1% of the total number of Malaysians.
"If there are 30 million citizens now, then it means that there should only be 1% (300,000). The ceiling number also includes (participants) of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme," he said.
Hamzah said the programme was open to participants from all age categories with proof of an offshore income of at least RM40,000 per month or RM480,000 annually.
Other conditions include a fixed savings account with a deposit of at least RM1 million, with no withdrawals allowed on the principal value for the first year. Up to a 50% withdrawal from the principal value will be allowed after that for the purchase of real estate, or health and education purposes.
Hamzah said his ministry was targeting at least 1,000 participants in the first year of the programme, which would provide an estimated RM200 million in revenue to the country, as well as RM1 billion in fixed savings.
"The home ministry is confident that this programme will be able to attract more foreign direct investment that will strengthen the economy and increase job opportunities for locals.
"Demand for the ringgit will also increase, strengthening its value," he said.
He also assured that the immigration department and the police would carry out monitoring and enforcement to ensure that the programme complied with its policies and goals.


Bella appears in court for identification proceedings

The 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome known as Bella appeared at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today for identification proceedings in the trial of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali.Deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad informed the court that Bella aside, there were five other individuals aged three to 17 also present in court for the identification proceedings.All six were previously under the care of Siti Bainun at the shelter home.They will be identified by three witnesses: an assistant manager of a company, Zurianty Sudin, 39; a resident of Rumah Bonda, Yasmin Nahar Mahmood, 19; and a legal research officer at a law firm, Suhana Zam, 40.Bella, wearing a blue shirt, black pants and grey scarf, was brought into the witness room at 9.50am by officers from the Social Welfare Department and greeted by lawyer Khairul Anwar Rahmat who was appointed by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, to hold a watching brief in the trial.A total of eight prosecution witnesses have testified in the case. Today, Suhana, who is also the eighth witness, will continue her testimony.Siti Bainun, 30, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of neglecting and abusing Bella, to the point of causing her to suffer physical and emotional injuries.She is charged with committing the act at a condominium in Wangsa Maju between February and June 2021 under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years, a fine of RM50,000, or both upon conviction.The trial before judge Izralizam Sanusi continues.


Quad allies call for return of democracy in Myanmar

Foreign ministers of the Quad group of countries brought together to stand up to China in Asia, have said that democracy must be restored quickly in Myanmar, Japan’s foreign minister said on Thursday.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia met virtually for the first time under the Biden administration and discussed Myanmar, the pandemic, climate, and Indo-Pacific territorial and navigation issues, the US State Department said in a statement reported by CNN.“We’ve all agreed on the need to swiftly restore the democratic system in Myanmar,”  Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters.The four countries reiterated a commitment for the Quad to meet at least annually at ministerial levels and regularly at senior and working levels “to strengthen cooperation on advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including support for freedom of navigation and territorial integrity.”“These discussions with the Quad foreign ministers are critical to advancing our shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific and rising to the defining challenges of our times,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.President Joe Biden has said working closely with allies will be key to his strategy toward China, in which he has said the US will aim to “out-compete” Beijing.Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed in a telephone call last week to strengthen Indo-Pacific security through the Quad.The Quad members are concerned about China’s extensive maritime claims in Asia, including in the South China Sea, where Beijing has established military outposts in disputed waters. In the East China Sea, China claims a group of uninhabited islets administered by Japan, a dispute that has plagued bilateral relations for years.Launched in 2007, the Quad was an idea of Japan’s then prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was eager to find partners to balance a rising China.While Australia and India had initially been cautious about antagonising China, the Quad format has expanded in recent years as both nations’ relationships deteriorate with Beijing.The Quad nations in November held four-way naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, with Australia participating for the first time.China’s state-run Global Times earlier this month warned Biden that renewing the Quad would be a “serious strategic blunder”, saying he may trigger “a severe strategic confrontation” with Beijing by trying to prevent its dominance.


Austria orders lockdown for the unvaccinated

Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in lockdown as of Monday to deal with a surge in infections to record levels and the growing strain on intensive-care units, the government said on Sunday.Europe is the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns. Austria has one of the continent’s highest infection rates, with a seven-day incidence of 815 per 100,000 people.“We are not taking this step lightly but it is necessary,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure, under which the unvaccinated can only leave their homes for a limited number of reasons like going to work or shopping for essentials.Roughly 65% of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.The measures on Monday will extend those brought in a week ago which banned the unvaccinated from places including restaurants, hotels, theatres and ski lifts.While the Netherlands is dealing with its surge in cases by imposing a partial lockdown that applies to all, Austria’s conservative-led government wants to avoid imposing further restrictions on those who are fully vaccinated.“In reality we have told one third of the population: you will not leave your apartment anymore apart from for certain reasons. That is a massive reduction in contacts between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,” Schallenberg said.In Germany, the federal government and leaders of Germany’s 16 states are due to meet next week to discuss tightening measures. Germany has already classified Austria as a high-risk area, meaning people arriving from there have to go into quarantine, a blow to Austria’s winter tourism industry.Targeted measures have recently been introduced in Australia, where 83% of people aged 16 and above have been fully inoculated. Some states have mandated vaccinations for some occupations and barred the unvaccinated from activities such as dining out, leading to demonstrations.Singapore, where 85% of the population has been fully vaccinated, has said those who remained unvaccinated by choice would have to foot their medical bills from next month.Austria’s lockdown, which does not apply to the under-12s or people who have recently recovered from Covid-19, will initially last 10 days, Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said.Many officials, including within Schallenberg’s conservative party and the police, have expressed doubts this lockdown can be properly enforced as it applies to only part of the population. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said there will be thorough police checks.


Minister tells why Parliament won’t be convening

Law minister Takiyuddin Hassan today defended the move to postpone Parliament sessions under the emergency declaration, saying the government’s focus at the moment is on battling the Covid-19 pandemic.At a joint press conference with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba today, he said MPs are also considered frontliners whose duty is to work together with their constituents to curb the spread of infection.“This is a fact,” he said. “In our Parliament right now, there are 220 MPs as two have passed away, that is Batu Sapi and Gerik.“Of these, 77 are in the 61-69 age bracket. Another 19 are between 70 and 79. This is a fact, you can check.“Another four are aged 80 and above. A number of our MPs are in the high-risk group. We don’t want our MPs exposed to this risk because we are in a closed and confined area.”He added that each MP has at least three officers. “So 220 people multiplied by three,” he said. “How many is that?”He said therefore the matter of the government suspending Parliament does not arise as the emergency period will end on Aug 1, adding that the prime minister had given his word that Parliament would be convened once the emergency ends.“In the meantime, MPs can focus on fighting Covid-19. That is our explanation, our justification.”He said this is in addition to the legal grounds for postponing Parliament sittings, which are laid out in the constitution.“The constitution states that during an emergency period, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can make ordinances under Article 150 2(b).“When the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can promulgate laws, there is no need for Parliament to convene for this purpose.”He also said Parliament sessions had been suspended before, citing the emergency period in 1969.“During the 1969 emergency, Parliament did not convene for two years from Feb 14, 1969. The next sitting of Parliament was Feb 20, 1971.“For two years, Parliament did not convene because during this time, the process of promulgating laws was done by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”


After Europe, Covid-19 restrictions make a comeback in the US

The mayor of the US’ third biggest city Chicago issued a new stay-at-home advisory on Thursday, as the country’s Covid-19 outbreak shattered records in the absence of a national strategy by President Donald Trump.Lori Lightfoot called on the Midwestern city’s 2.7 million people to go out only for essential tasks or to attend work or school, to scrap Thanksgiving plans and to avoid travel.“Every single one of us needs to step up and ‘Protect Chicago’ right now, or 2020 could go from bad to worse,” said an explanatory note on the city’s website.It comes as the US, already the world’s hardest hit country, experiences its third and worst-by-far spike in coronavirus cases.The seven-day-average of new daily cases currently stands above 125,000, more than 65,000 people are hospitalised, and more than 1,000 people are dying every day, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.Four states, including former global epicentre New York, have in recent days ordered restaurants and bars to close at 10pm.And in embattled North Dakota, the governor has authorised Covid-19 positive medics who don’t have symptoms to keep working in virus wards.President Trump, who has focused his energies recently on trying to overturn the election victory of his rival Joe Biden through legal challenges, rarely talks about the pandemic anymore, but has always opposed sweeping lockdowns.Trump has instead focused on medical innovations as a means to end the crisis – and the world received a dose of much-needed hope this week when US drug giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech said their vaccine was 90 percent effective.Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci welcomed the news Thursday, saying that the “cavalry” was on its way, but warned people not to let mask wearing, distancing and other measures slip.Speaking to a London think tank by video-link, the world-leading expert on infectious diseases added another vaccine is “literally on the threshold of being announced”, widely interpreted to mean one developed by US biotech firm Moderna.But the vaccines won’t arrive in time to prevent tens of thousands more deaths.An AFP tally of official sources found Thursday that the daily number of global deaths had gone over the symbolic level of 10,000 in the past 24 hours for the first time since the start of the pandemic, standing at 10,010.‘People just don’t care’Global markets slid on fears of the virus surge that threatens economic recovery, eroding earlier gains led by vaccine hopes.France reported Thursday that the number of people in hospital for Covid-19 was now higher than during previous peaks in April.Elsewhere in Europe, Slovenia’s government announced that public transport was being suspended and a ban on nearly all public meetings and gatherings for the next fortnight.And Portugal’s prime minister said that a nighttime curfew that was already in place in parts of the country would now cover some 70% of the population as the number of Covid patients being treated in hospital was more than double the peak seen in the spring.Serbia’s Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar meanwhile cautioned that there were no more hospital beds available for virus patients in the capital Belgrade.But for all the dire warnings, there was growing evidence that people were ignoring restrictions imposed by governments and minimising the risk of infection.In France, a survey revealed that more than half of the population had broken regulations governing a current partial lockdown.“The second wave is extremely strong,” Prime Minister Jean Castex warned in a virtual news conference. “One in four deaths is now due to Covid.”In India, crowds packed New Delhi markets ahead of the Deepavali festival of lights, the country’s biggest holiday, saying they were fed up with being cooped up.India has the world’s second-highest caseload behind the US, and there are fears that a Deepavali surge could hit major cities across the country of 1.3 billion.“People just don’t care,” said Tanisha, a 19-year-old student. “People want to come out.”Compounding the weariness, a report by the non-profit First Draft that fights misinformation delivered worrying news on Thursday, saying conspiracy theories about Covid-19 vaccines played an “outsized role” on social media and could threaten their efficacy.


Horse-trading the name of the post-election game

More than 21 million voters are expected to head to the polls today after two weeks of campaigning which ended just before midnight last night.
Of these, 5.7 million aged 18 and above were automatically registered as voters while nearly 1.4 million or 6.58% are so-called Undi 18 voters, aged 18 to 21.
The snap polls were called after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob came under pressure from the Umno court cluster led by their president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to dissolve Parliament before the expiry of its term.
Ismail dissolved Parliament on Oct 10 despite warnings by the Malaysian Meteorological Department of bad weather due to the end-year transition to the northeast monsoon phase.
A number of localities have since struggled with floods, including Meru, Kapar, Dengkil and Kuala Selangor.
While nomination for the election was held on Nov 5, the campaign began in earnest long before.
Barisan Nasional (BN), which is hoping to ride on its success at the recent Melaka and Johor state elections, has been dogged by internal conflict among factions which saw several prominent individuals dropped as candidates for the polls.
The results of the election itself have proven difficult to predict, with many voters still undecided about who to support, even at the last minute.
This is due in part to the sheer number of parties contesting this election, including three major coalitions, all of whom are aiming to form the government on its own without working with other groups.
Apart from BN, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) are also in the fray, and constitute the main players in the fight for 165 seats in the peninsula.
In Sabah and Sarawak, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) are expected to maintain the status quo.
This is the first election for PN since it was formed, comprising Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and two Sabah-based parties.
PN is seen as an alternative for Malay voters who are in favour of neither BN nor PH.
In terms of seats, the competition is tight in a number of constituencies including Tambun in Perak, where PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is looking to topple the incumbent. Bersatu number two Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Also in the limelight is the seat of Gombak, where the incumbent Mohamed Azmin Ali is clashing with his former protege, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari in a five-way fight.
Rembau incumbent and health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, meanwhile, has been tasked with toppling PKR's stranglehold in Sungai Buloh.
Within BN itself, Khairy and Zahid have been exchanging friendly fire throughout the campaign, with the former openly stating his goal of one day becoming the prime minister.
Whether PH will be able to pull off a repeat of its historic success in 2018 remains to be seen, with only several thousand seen attending its "grand finale" in Gombak compared to the tens of thousands who came ahead of the 14th general election (GE14).
In general, the people have been preoccupied with other issues including the cost of living and the economy, which took a big hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Political fatigue has also been an issue, with three prime ministers changing hands over a period of two years.
Many voters have voiced a preference for local candidates whom they believe will do a better job of dealing with problems within the constituency.
Where the rural Malay vote will go this election is also anyone's guess. Non-Malay support, for the most part, is expected to go to PH.
At GE14, the so-called Malay tsunami, triggered by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his party at the time, Bersatu, succeeded in toppling the BN government for the first time since Malaysia's independence.
This was due to the number of parliamentary seats in rural areas including Felda settlements, which, at 155, constitute more than half of the total 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
But changes in the country's political landscape since GE14 as well as the health crisis brought on by the pandemic have seen Malay voters in these areas becoming increasingly open to political demands, including in issues related to development, education, internet access, job opportunities, and infrastructure in village areas.
Given the cloud of war that continues to hang over the election, any formation of a new government is likely to be decided through horse-trading between coalitions, with GPS and GRS maintaining their role as kingmaker in determining which bloc finally occupies Putrajaya after the dust has settled.