US job growth likely picked up, unemployment rate seen at 20-month low

US employers likely stepped up hiring in November as they scrambled to meet strong demand for goods and services, giving the economy a strong boost as another challenging year draws to a close, though worker shortages remained a constraint.The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday is expected to show a rapidly tightening jobs market, with the unemployment rate seen falling to a 20-month low of 4.5% and wages increasing further. It would come days after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that the US central bank should consider speeding up the winding down of its massive bond purchases at its Dec 14-15 policy meeting.“There is clearly massive demand out there for workers. The bigger issue is the supply to meet that demand,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York. “If supply doesn’t show any meaningful increase, that would suggest we are going to be in a situation where the labor market is going to continue to add to upside inflationary pressures.”Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 550,000 jobs last month after rising 531,000 in October, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would leave employment about 3.7 million jobs below its peak in February 2020. Estimates ranged from as low as 306,000 to as high as 800,000 jobs.Strong employment gains would add to solid consumer spending and manufacturing data in suggesting that the economy was accelerating after hitting a speed bump in the third quarter. They would also put an early interest rate increase from the Fed on the table. The Omicron variant of Covid-19, however, poses a risk to the brightening picture.While little is known about Omicron, some slowdown in hiring and demand for services is likely, based on the experience with Delta, which was responsible for the slowest economic growth pace in more than a year last quarter.“No company wants to hire more labor if there isn’t going to be a demand for that labor,” said David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors in Cincinnati, Ohio.For now, the stars are perfectly aligned for November’s employment report. First-time applications for unemployment benefits were near their pre-pandemic levels in mid-November. The ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed strong private payrolls growth last month.A measure of manufacturing employment hit a seven-month high, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed.The Conference Board’s labor market differential – derived from data on consumers’ views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get – jumped to a record high in November.Elevated wage pressuresThe anticipated drop in the unemployment rate to 4.5% from 4.6% in October would leave the jobless rate down 1.8% points from January. There were 10.4 million job openings at the end of September.With the labor market tightening, companies are boosting wages. Average hourly earnings are forecast rising 0.4%, matching October’s gain. That would lift the annual increase in wages to 5.0% from 4.9% in October.But the higher wages are not luring millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic recession back into the labor force. About 3 million people remain outside the workforce also despite generous federal government-funded unemployment benefits ending in September and schools reopening for in-person learning.Economists say a strong stock market and rising house prices have increased wealth for many Americans, encouraging early retirements. Households have also accumulated massive savings and there has been a surge in self-employment.“An unwinding of the forces keeping workers out of the labor force will not occur overnight, and with a sizable chunk of exits concentrated among retirees, the jobs market is set to remain tight,” said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Wage pressures are likely to remain elevated and full employment is nearer in sight.”Employment gains in November were likely led by leisure and hospitality businesses, following a pattern similar to October. Manufacturing likely added 45,000 jobs compared to 60,000 in October, probably held back by a since-ended strike at John Deere, involving about 10,000 workers.A rebound in government payrolls is expected after three straight monthly declines. Pandemic-related staffing fluctuations have distorted normal seasonal patterns at state and local government education. There have been shortages of bus drivers and other support staff.“Governments generally cannot easily raise wages or offer hiring bonuses to compete with private sector employers,” said Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “Over time, they can arrange for needed pay increases, which may lead to a reversal in job loss in November.”


Taiwan talks chips, Chinese ‘coercion’ in US meeting

Taiwan and the US discussed chip shortages and how to respond to China’s economic “coercion” during the second session of an economic dialogue launched last year, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Tuesday.The talks came a week after a virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. After that meeting, Xi warned that supporters in the US of Taiwanese independence were “playing with fire”.China claims fiercely democratic Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to ensure eventual unification.Speaking to reporters in Taipei after five hours of online talks, led on the US side by Under Secretary of State for economic growth, energy and the environment, Jose Fernandez, Wang said they discussed supply chain collaboration, including on semiconductors.“The semiconductor portion included the present short-term supply chain bottleneck problem. Even more important is the future long-term collaboration,” she added.Chip powerhouse Taiwan has said it is doing all it can resolve the global shortage of semiconductors, and has been especially keen to show the US, its most important international backer, that it takes the problem seriously.How to respond to China’s economic “coercion” also came up, Wang said, focused on Lithuania which has faced pressure from Beijing for allowing Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius.“We all share the belief that all countries, all economies, should not be subject to this kind of external coercion,” she added.China downgraded ties with Lithuania on Sunday over the spat.Taiwan hopes the dialogue may lead eventually to a free-trade agreement with the US and hailed last year’s inaugural meeting as a step forward.It was part of increased US engagement with Taipei under former President Donald Trump that the Biden administration has continued, to the anger of Beijing.The two sides held long-delayed talks on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement virtually in July, and Taiwan said it hoped it would be possible to sign an FTA one day.


EPF withdrawals, from pandemic lifeline to boost factor in price of goods?

The government's green light for emergency withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic was welcomed by many who had been struggling to make ends meet due to the restrictions on movements and the economic slump that ensued.
But what was once hailed as a lifeline may also have contributed to the increase in price of goods that has left millions feeling the pinch today.
Over the past two years, the government rolled out three EPF withdrawal schemes – i-Sinar, i-Lestari and i-Citra – in addition to a fourth special withdrawal in March this year.
Other forms of aid included stimulus packages and moratoriums on bank loan repayments.
But while these measures were seen as a response to the situation at the time, the gradual reopening of economic sectors in Malaysia's transition towards endemicity has been accompanied by an increase in spending.
Economists had also warned that further i-Citra withdrawals this year could lead to inflation.
Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Razak said there was no denying that the withdrawals had caused a sharp increase in the price of goods.
"The giving of targeted aid has amounted to more than RM10 billion, while EPF withdrawals have hit RM60 billion," he said.
"You can see the effect on the cost of eating at restaurants. When restrictions were eased, many began eating out again, and this caused a spike in the demand for raw goods."
He added that the high demand from traders had forced other consumers to fork out more for food items.
For example, he said, a food trader who accepts a contract to supply food might be willing to pay up to RM20 per kg.
But suppliers were more likely to sell to vendors than to normal households, he said.
For many, the price of chicken is one of the main grievances when it comes to the spike in cost.
The government previously gave subsidies to poultry farmers but these were eventually axed.
A suggestion to float the prices of chicken was also scrapped, with a ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg set instead.
For now, chicken exports have also been curbed in an effort to boost domestic supplies.
The price of bottled palm oil has also risen although the government is continuing the provision of subsidies for 1kg packets of cooking oil.
Economist Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said while the stimulus packages and EPF withdrawals had had an impact, this was difficult to quantify.
"When there is a lot of money in the economic system, there is a sudden increase in demand once the economy reopens," Afzanizam, who is chief economist at Bank Islam, said.
"In terms of an increase in economic activity, the first quarter of this year saw a jump of up to 5%. There is a demand pull factor in place there."
Geoffrey Williams meanwhile attributed the increase in food prices to supply restrictions due to the various movement control orders.
"Food producers cut their activities, and it was very slow for them to start again," Williams of Malaysia University of Science and Technology said.
"There are also anti-competition issues which the government is looking at."
According to Williams, the current inflation has nothing to do with the EPF withdrawals or stimulus packages.
"They provided minimal support to demand during the lockdowns, and without them, things would have been very much worse," he said.
"We would have had even more supply-side problems, slower growth and higher inflation."
But the economists agreed that the government's move to monitor anti-competition and market manipulation by cartels as well as monopolies and middlemen was a positive development.
Barjoyai said the price of a commodity is not determined by retailers alone, but by the market system that goes through the supply chain.
"The chain goes from the manufacturer to the wholesaler, and through several stages before reaching the retailer," he said.
"We don't know exactly who is manipulating the prices. Farmers say they sell chicken for less than RM5 per kg, so how can the price reach RM8.50 to RM9.40 by the time it gets to the retailer?"
Williams meanwhile said elements such as monopolies, cartels and middlemen do not result from market forces but through licences, permits and regulations issued by the government only to certain parties.
In line with their actual functions, he said, middlemen could act as supply coordinators, bringing products to the market and sharing resources such as transportation.
"However, the general experience in Malaysia is that middlemen use their position to manipulate markets, marking up the prices, and taking a big cut between the producers and consumers," he said.
"It has been the government policy for many years to create these anti-competitive arrangements, and now we are seeing the cost and consequences."


Settlement reached in ex-AG Apandi’s suit against Mahathir, govt

The suit filed by Mohamed Apandi Ali against former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Malaysian government over the termination of his contract as attorney-general (AG) has been settled amicably at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.Counsel Baljit Singh Sidhu, who represented Apandi as the plaintiff in the suit, however, said the terms of the settlement could not be disclosed.“Without prejudice, the government has agreed to settle the case without any admission of liability. The suit was dismissed without the freedom to re-file and without any order as to costs,” he told reporters after the case proceedings before judge Akhtar Tahir via video conferencing today.The proceedings were joined by two other lawyers of Apandi, namely Abdul Shukor Ahmad and Nor Shahadah Saari, while senior federal counsel Donald Joseph Franklin represented Mahathir and the government.The court had previously set April 18, 20, 21 and 22 for the hearing of the suit.On Oct 13, 2020, Apandi had filed the suit naming Mahathir and the government as the first and second defendants respectively, seeking, among others, a declaration that the termination of his contract as AG by the former prime minister was invalid.In his statement of claim, Apandi, who was a Federal Court judge before being appointed AG in 2015, also sought a declaration that Mahathir had abused his position as prime minister when Pakatan Harapan was in power from May 2018 to February 2020, and had caused a breach of contract between him and the government.He also sought a declaration that there was a failure to comply with Article 145 of the Federal Constitution in his dismissal and that his sacking as AG was unlawful, and therefore invalid.Apandi had sought RM2,233,599.36 in special, general and exemplary damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.In their statement of defence filed on Nov 12, 2020, the two defendants asserted that the act of terminating Apandi’s contract of service as AG was valid and in accordance with the provisions of the law, and that there was no abuse of power by Mahathir in the matter.


Ex-banker surprised after Jho Low denies conversations over Najib's accounts

A former AmBank relationship manager said she was surprised when fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that he had never communicated with her over the management of Najib Razak’s bank accounts.
Joanna Yu Ging Ping, 52, who handled the former prime minister's accounts, said this when she was informed about the matter by Najib's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah at Najib’s trial on the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.
Shafee: Jho Low was shown the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) chats by MACC, and he said he couldn't recognise (the messages) and that he never spoke to you. You’d be surprised?
Yu: Yes
Shafee: In his witness statement, Jho Low said that he had nothing to do with bringing Najib's accounts to the bank.
Yu: I would be surprised.
The 41st prosecution witness, who handled the bank accounts belonging to Najib, also agreed with the lawyer that Jho Low had in fact communicated with her on many occasions.
Jho Low made the statement to MACC when he was questioned in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov 27, 2015.
The court also heard the BBM chats between Jho Low and Yu on the status of Najib’s accounts, where Jho Low gave many instructions to Yu regarding the transactions and Najib's bank statements.
The lawyer then questioned the witness on Jho Low's offer of employment at one of his companies with a higher salary in 2013.
Shafee:  Did Jho Low attempt to offer you employment?
Yu: Yes, he did. I said I had a lot of things to think about. I have a family and I wouldn't want to work according to his lifestyle.
Shafee: Did the subject matter come up again?
Yu: He kept asking and I politely said no. I just said I had to think about it.
Najib, 70, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering.
The hearing before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today.


Single-dose vaccines for Kelantan Orang Asli, says Khairy

The Orang Asli communities in the Kelantan interior will be given the single-dose CanSino and Johnson & Johnson jabs once the vaccines arrive in the country, says National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin.He said the vaccines, which are expected to arrive next month, will be given to these groups as they only require one dose as opposed to the two-shot regime needed with other vaccines.“We will deliver them to Kelantan, especially the rural areas in Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and the like, so there will be no need to make the trip twice in order to be vaccinated,” he said at a press conference together with Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob.Conditional approval for the two vaccines was granted by the government on June 15.On the low numbers of registration for vaccination among the Orang Asli in Gua Musang, Khairy said the government was mobilising an outreach programme to provide information and vaccination at the same time.“This outreach programme is in order to explain that the Covid-19 vaccine protects from the virus. After that, they can be vaccinated straight away.“We won’t need to worry about low registration. We will go and vaccinate them directly,” he said.He added that five vaccination centres will be opened in Bachok, Kota Baru, Pasir May, Machang and Kuala Krai in addition to other centres at private hospitals and clinics.“With this capacity, I am confident we can finish vaccinating Kelantan’s adult population by October.”He also said the government would open up vaccination centres for walk-ins after those who have registered have received their jabs.


Hospital patient in Pakistan dies after ex-security guard performs surgery

A woman died after an ex-security guard at a Pakistani hospital posed as a doctor and performed surgery on her, police said Monday.Shameema Begum, aged 80, died on Sunday, two weeks after Muhammad Waheed Butt attempted to treat her back wound at a public hospital in the eastern city of Lahore.“We can’t keep up with what every doctor and what everyone is doing at all times. It’s a large hospital,” explained an administrative official from Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, who did not want to be named.He said it was unclear what type of surgery the imposter had performed in the operating theatre, where a qualified technician was also present.Pakistan’s public hospitals, where patients are required to pay some money towards treatment, can often be inefficient and chaotic.Begum’s family paid Waheed for the operation, and two further home visits to dress her wound.But when the bleeding and pain worsened, her family returned her to the hospital, where they discovered what had happened.Her body is being kept for an autopsy to ascertain whether her death was a result of complications from the botched surgery.“The guard has been charged and is in police custody,” Lahore police spokesman Ali Safdar told AFP.“Waheed had posed as a doctor and made home visits to other patients in the past also.”Mayo Hospital staff said Waheed was fired two years ago for trying to extort money from patients.Earlier in May a man was arrested for posing as a doctor at Lahore General Hospital and extorting money from patients in the surgical ward.In 2016 it was revealed a woman posing to be a neurosurgeon conducted operations for eight months alongside qualified doctors at Lahore’s Services Hospital, the second-largest health facility in Pakistan.


US plans to move Covid vaccines, treatments to private markets in 2023

The US government expects its supply of Covid-19 vaccines and antiviral treatments to run out over the next year and is preparing for them to be sold via the commercial market, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden's administration expects to run out of federal funding for buying and distributing Covid-19 vaccines by January, although it has already bought over 170 million doses for a booster campaign later this year, according to a blog post written by assistant secretary for preparedness and pesponse Dawn O'Connell.
The administration has procured enough of Pfizer's antiviral treatment Paxlovid to supply the pills until mid-2023, O'Connell said, but other therapeutics made by Merck & Co and AstraZeneca are likely to be sold on the commercial market sooner.
"Our goal is to transition procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics from a federally managed system to the commercial marketplace in a thoughtful, well-coordinated manner that leaves no one behind," she wrote following a meeting with private sector representatives.
Based on current projections, O'Connell said, the supply of AstraZeneca's preventative treatment Evusheld will run out in early 2023, followed by Merck's antiviral pill Lagevrio (molnupiravir) in the first or second quarter.
The lack of additional Congressional funding means supplies will run out earlier than expected, O'Connell said.
"We have always intended to transition this work to the commercial market and have been planning for that transition for some time now," she said. "Unfortunately, the timeline to make the transition has accelerated over the past six months without additional funds from Congress to support this work," she said.
Funding is still needed for developing new vaccines, treatments and tests, as well as to manage the transition, she added.
The government also cited a lack of funding on Monday, when it said Americans would no longer be able to order free at-home Covid tests from its COVIDTests.gov website starting next week.


German chancellor to meet Putin as Ukraine’s fate in the balance

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due in Moscow Tuesday in search of a diplomatic solution to avoid a war in Ukraine as the West and Russia signalled tentative hopes of an easing in the tense standoff.His talks with Vladimir Putin are the latest in an intense diplomatic scramble to dissuade the Russian leader from attacking his ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine.Western leaders consider the Russian troop build-up on its border with Ukraine to be the worst threat to the continent’s security since the Cold War, and have prepared a crippling package of economic sanctions in response to any attack on its neighbour.While Western intelligence officials warned Wednesday could mark the start of an invasion, comments from Putin and his foreign and defence ministers seemed to offer hope of a de-escalation.During a carefully choreographed meeting Monday with Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “there is always a chance” of reaching an agreement with the West over Ukraine.He told Putin that exchanges with leaders in European capitals and Washington showed enough of an opening for progress on Russia’s goals to be worth pursuing.“I would suggest continuing,” Lavrov said in televised remarks, to which Putin replied – “fine”.The Russian leader and his top aides have consistently argued that the current crisis is the result of the US and western Europe ignoring Moscow’s legitimate security concerns.Russia, which denies any plan to invade Ukraine, already controls the Crimea territory seized in 2014 and supports separatist forces controlling the Donbas region in the east.The Kremlin insists Nato must give assurances Ukraine will never be admitted as a member and withdraw from eastern European countries already in the alliance, effectively carving Europe into spheres of influence. The US and its European allies reject the demands.‘Crucial window’Washington said Russia had strengthened its forces on the Ukrainian border over the weekend but US officials insisted that “diplomacy continues to be viable”.US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed in a call late Monday that “a crucial window for diplomacy” remained.“The leaders emphasised that any further incursion into Ukraine would result in a protracted crisis for Russia, with far-reaching damage for both Russia and the world,” a Downing Street spokesman said.UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres spoke with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine on Monday to express his serious concern over the heightened tensions and insisted “there is no alternative to diplomacy”.Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border but Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US defence officials still did not believe Moscow had made a final decision on whether to invade.Alarm has also been fuelled by recent Russian military exercises, including with Belarus, where Washington said Moscow had dispatched 30,000 troops for more than a week of drills.Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that some of the drills were “ending” and more would end “in the near future”, signalling a possible easing of the crisis.Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile declared Wednesday – the day US officials warn might mark the start of a feared Russian invasion – national “Unity Day”.Digging trenchesAhead of his trip to Moscow, Scholz visited Kyiv on Monday, vowing that Berlin and its Western allies would maintain support for Ukraine’s security and independence and urging Russia to take up “offers of dialogue”.Germany plays a central role in efforts to mediate in eastern Ukraine, where a gruelling conflict with Russian-backed separatists has claimed more than 14,000 lives.But Berlin’s close business relations with Moscow and heavy reliance on Russian natural gas imports have been a source of lingering concern for Kyiv’s pro-Western leaders and Biden’s team.Scholz has hedged against unequivocally backing Biden’s pledge to “bring an end” to Russia’s new Nord Stream 2 gas link to Germany.While waiting for diplomacy to bear fruit, near the front line separating Kyiv-held territory from areas under the control of Moscow-backed insurgents in the east, underprivileged children in the care of church groups were helping with war preparations.“We are digging trenches that Ukrainian soldiers could quickly jump into and defend in case the Russians attack,” Mykhailo Anopa, 15, told AFP.In Moscow, Russians showed no appetite for war.“People in the West do not understand that we are one people,” Pavel Kuleshov, a 65-year-old pensioner, told AFP, referring to Russians and Ukrainians. “Nobody wants a civil war.”A growing number of Western countries are withdrawing staff from their Kyiv embassies and urging their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, while Washington moved its mission west to Lviv.


Popular US companies try to dilute proposed Uighur ‘forced labour’ protection bill

Nike and Coca-Cola are on a list of companies who want to dilute a proposed US law aiming to ban imports from Xinjiang, China.The region allegedly uses minority Muslim groups being held in detention camps as forced labour to manufacture products which end up on US store shelves, according to media reports.The bill, called the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, aims to forbid the import of a variety of products and materials from that region of China, in an effort to crack down on human rights abuses, the New York Times reported on Sunday.Xinjian produces cotton, sugar, coal and tomatoes and also supplies workers for Chinese clothing factories. The native population is largely a Turkic ethnic group who Beijing is trying to deter from following its Muslim faith.The Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report in March that named a number of companies with suspected ties to forced labour, including Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Calvin Klein, Campbell Soup Company, Costco, H&M, Patagonia and Tommy Hilfiger.The companies trying to weaken the bill say while they condemn the use of forced labour and acts of cruelty on groups like the Uighurs in Xinjiang, the legislation could seriously disrupt their supply chains in China.Coca-Cola in a statement said it “strictly prohibits any type of forced labour in our supply chain” and monitors its suppliers. The company also said its Xinjiang facility supplies sugar to a local bottling factory linked to allegations of forced labour “successfully completed an audit in 2019”.The director of global communications at Nike, said it “did not lobby against” the bill but did engage in “constructive discussions” with congressional staff aides.Nike responded to the forced labour claims by referring to a March statement that said the company does not source products from the region and always ensures that its supplies are not using materials from Xinjiang.The bill would require companies sending goods to the US to examine the supply chains and possibly drop business with Chinese suppliers.It would also ban importing goods made “in whole or in part” in Xinjiang unless the companies can prove that the products were not made with forced labour.


865 new cases, 643 in Sabah

Another 865 cases were recorded today, driving total confirmed infections to 21,363.The bulk of new cases were reported in Sabah (643) while Selangor recorded 107, Labuan 34 and Penang 26.Perak recorded 18, followed by Melaka (16), Kuala Lumpur (seven), Negeri Sembilan (four), Putrajaya and Kedah (three each) and Johor (two).No new cases were reported in Perlis, Kelantan and Sarawak.Active cases now stand at 7,456 with 99 in the ICU and 32 in need of respiratory assistance.In terms of recoveries, 455 patients were also discharged from hospital, pushing total recoveries to 13,717 or 64.21%.However, three more deaths were also reported, taking the virus toll to 190.


Shahidan to defend Arau under PN

Perlis Umno strongman Shahidan Kassim will be named as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate to defend his Arau constituency, in a move likely to cost Barisan Nasional (BN) its long-held seat as well as threaten its power base in the small northern state.
Utusan Malaysia reports that Shahidan's candidacy will be officially announced tonight at an event to unveil PN candidates in the state.
Shahidan, a critic of his party boss Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, confirmed the move to field him, two days after he was dropped from BN's line-up.
He said the seat would switch to PN at the Nov 19 polls.
"God willing, apart from Arau, four state seats are in hand and another state seat is waiting," he told Utusan Malaysia.
Shahidan was among the leaders opposed to Zahid's move to cut ties with Bersatu, which together with Umno, PAS and GPS, formed the government following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020.
Shahidan had also spoken out against Zahid for cooperating with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim in attempts to topple Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.
PN previously omitted Arau in unveiling its list of candidates, leading to speculation that the seat was being reserved for Shahidan.
Unlike most states, Perlis will hold both federal and state elections at the coming polls. The state was also one of two retained by BN in the 2018 general election which saw the coalition fall from power for the first time.


CMCO to end in Johor, Terengganu, Melaka and Kedah

The government has decided to lift the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in Johor today while the CMCO in Terengganu, Melaka and Kedah will be lifted tomorrow.Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in Johor, only the districts of Kota Tinggi and Mersing will remain under CMCO.In Kedah, meanwhile, the Kulim district will remain under CMCO.He also said that Kelantan would be put under CMCO for two weeks from tomorrow until Dec 6, in light of the spike in number of Covid-19 cases in the state.The CMCO, enforced across most of the country on Nov 9, is supposed to continue until Dec 6.


Cash-rich PKR man defends 'blank' asset declaration

Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Ramanan Ramakrishnan today dismissed questions about his wealth after having issued a declaration of assets worth RM63.5 million without giving the details of his income sources or a breakdown of the cash under his name.
The former MIC leader, who was chosen over veteran PKR lawyer R Sivarasa to represent PH in Sungai Buloh, said he felt there was no need to specify the details of his assets as his worth was already publicly known.
"I think no one wants to know how many rings I have, or how many shoes I have, or how many gold necklaces I have. That's not what they want to know," Ramanan said when met during a campaign trip in Kampung Melayu Subang.
A copy of his asset declaration was earlier published on a PKR website, listing his wealth under various categories including more than RM23 million in cash as well as jewellery worth RM4 million.
He also listed RM27 million in property, RM8.6 million in vehicles and RM3.5 million in stocks and insurance, leading to a total of RM63.5 million in net assets minus some RM2.5 million debts for housing and car loans and credit card balance.
However, he omitted the breakdown of these assets, leaving only arrows pointing towards the total, and giving no indication of how much he has in various bank accounts or the Employees Provident Fund.
Ramanan's asset declaration followed that of PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who controversially included some RM17 million in shares from PKR-linked company Invoke Solutions as part of his own assets.
Ramanan dismissed criticism over the lack of transparency in his declaration, and challenged his rivals to also declare their wealth.
"We are not doing an audit here. But more importantly, my opponents don't want to do this. Yet no one asks. To me that's funny," he said.


May 15 deadline for first vaccine jabs under PICKids

First doses of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) will not be offered after May 15, says Deputy Health Minister I Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.He said the deadline was set by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Children (CITF-C) due to the low take-up of vaccine which could lead to high vaccine wastage.“In order to prevent the wastage of the children’s Covid-19 Comirnaty vaccine that is not used within six months after being released by the manufacturer, a deadline must be set.“Therefore, from May 16 this year the ministry will no longer offer the first dose of the Comirnaty and CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccines to children aged five to 12,” he said in a statement.PICKids kicked off in February. As of April 12, only 1,371,120 or 38.6% of children had received a first dose, while 195,865 children had completed two shots of vaccine.The CITF-C chairman said parents whose children have yet to get the jabs would have to decide before the May 15 deadline.“After the deadline, the Cominarty Covid-19 vaccine for children will no longer be offered at any public or private health facilities in Malaysia. The Coronavac vaccine meanwhile will only be given for a fee at private facilities,” he said.However, he said the deadline would not involve the vaccination of children born in 2017 who will not reach the age of five by May 15, adding that vaccination details for this group will be announced soon.He also said the CITF-C had agreed to make amendments to the Covid-19 vaccination consent form for children under 18 by removing Clause 2 which reads: “I am responsible for the risks that may occur to children as a result of my decision/action because the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the side effects.”“The clause will be dropped to avoid confusion and to convey existing practices which the health ministry has never neglected, as well as the readiness of the ministry to provide the necessary health assistance if they experience side effects after receiving the vaccine,” he said.Meanwhile, Noor Azmi said healthcare workers would get in touch with parents who have registered their children for the jabs through the MySejahtera application, through phone calls, social media or home visits.“Parents who have agreed (to have their children vaccinated) will be given an appointment before the deadline. Parents who have yet to register their children to get vaccinated via MySejahtera can do so by May 8.“I urge parents who have yet to decide, not to miss the opportunity to get the vaccine for free through PICKids before the deadline. Choose to vaccinate your children to avoid severe complications of Covid-19 infection,” he added.


Court reinstates RM15 billion suit by Puncak Niaga against Selangor govt, ex-MB Khalid

The Court of Appeal today reinstated a RM15 billion suit against the Selangor government and former menteri besar Khalid Samad filed by the state’s former water conceissionaire Puncak Niaga.The court however dismissed a claim against another defendant named by the company, senior minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who took over from Khalid in 2014 in the aftermath of the Selangor water restructuring.In the ruling today, a three-man panel comprising judges Hanipah Farikullah, Nantha Balan ES Moorthy and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera upheld an earlier High Court decision to strike off the claim against Azmin, but ordered Khalid and the state government to go to trial.The court also ordered Puncak Niaga to pay Azmin costs of RM10,000.In the suit filed by Puncak Niaga in 2018, the company accused them of abusing their powers as public officials by threatening to cause or attempting to cause the federal government to use the Water Services Industry Act 2006 to force a takeover of Selangor’s water industry.It claimed, among others, that the suspension of negotiations on efforts to restructure the water industry in Selangor for five years was for the personal political benefit of Azmin and Khalid.It also alleged that the negotiations were not based on the concept of “willing buyer, willing seller”, causing Puncak Niaga to suffer losses and damages.Puncak Niaga had demanded damages and costs associated with losing business opportunities both locally and abroad amounting to RM13.5 billion.It also sought damages on the difference between the value of PNSB Water Sdn Bhd, formerly known as Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd, and Syabas at rates of RM2.08 billion to RM2.35 billion, and a real purchase consideration of RM1.56 billion under the share purchase agreement dated Nov 11, 2014 between Puncak Niaga and Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd.The High Court in February 2018 allowed the applications by Azmin, Khalid and the state government to cancel the suit, holding that Puncak Niaga’s statement of claim did not comply with the rules of the court.Puncak Niaga later filed an appeal against the ruling, which was dismissed by the courts today.Puncak Niaga was represented by Gopal Sreenevasan and Razlan Hadri; Khalid was represented by Edmund Bon and New Sin Yew; Azmin was represented by N Surendran and Masturina Rodzi; and the Selangor government was represented by its legal adviser.


Orthodox Jewish synagogue fined over secret pandemic wedding

An Orthodox Jewish synagogue has been fined by New York authorities after thousands gathered to attend a secretly organised indoor wedding that violated coronavirus restrictions.The Hasidic place of worship was fined US$15,000 over the Nov 8 event, which was organised without the knowledge of city officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.It is the latest example of tensions between officials and Orthodox communities over social distancing measures imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19, which ravaged Orthodox neighbourhoods in the spring.Last month, an area in Brooklyn witnessed angry protests against localised measures that placed restrictions on places of worship and closed non-essential businesses in an attempt to fend off a second wave of the virus.City and state leaders said the measures were necessary to stem a surge in infections, which coincided with Orthodox Jews gathering in large numbers to celebrate important holy days.Members of Orthodox communities said they were being unfairly discriminated against and prevented from practising their religion.Last month, under pressure from authorities, Orthodox leaders cancelled another wedding that was expected to have 10,000 guests.But the latest wedding went ahead at the Yetev Lev temple in Williamsburg after invites were spread by word of mouth, with no posters advertising it on synagogue walls, wrote a Hasidic newspaper that knew about the celebration in advance, according to the New York Times.The city issued a fine after a video of the wedding showing thousands of attendees singing and dancing without masks circulated on social media.“It appears that there was a very conscious effort to conceal what was going on. And that’s what makes it even more unacceptable,” said de Blasio.


Vaccines the same no matter point of origin, says Khairy

National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin has criticised the European Union’s (EU) decision permitting entry only to travellers inoculated with Western-made Covid-19 vaccines, saying the matter must be clarified at the international level to prevent discrimination.His comments came in the wake of reports that the EU would only recognise the Vaxzevria brand of the AstraZeneca vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency.This would exclude the AstraZeneca vaccine used by Malaysia that is produced in South Korea, Thailand and Japan, as well as Covishield, the AstraZeneca version manufactured in India.Khairy said Malaysia hoped there would be no discrimination over where the vaccines were made as the same formula is used at all manufacturing plants.“Whether the plant is in Europe, India, South Korea or Thailand, the vaccine is the same,” he told the media after visiting a vaccination centre in Seri Kembangan over the weekend.He also said he would seek clarification on the matter from the EU representative in the country.He said Malaysia’s position is that if the vaccine is accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO), then other countries should also recognise those who have received the vaccine.Khairy, the science, technology and innovation minister, recently lashed out at industrialised nations for hoarding vaccines as developing countries struggle to ensure enough supply.While he acknowledged donations of vaccines from some developed nations which Malaysia would receive, he said this did not “do away with what has taken place in the last few months, and that is the cornering of the vaccine market”.Late last month, he said WHO should ask all countries to recognise every type of Covid-19 vaccine listed by the United Nations agency, adding that the issue of discrimination against certain types of vaccines in use would not arise if the whole world abided by WHO’s recommendations.“WHO must really step up right now and ask the world and countries to recognise vaccines that are listed in WHO. Otherwise, we will have countries that discriminate based on vaccines given, and that is not a way to get out from this pandemic together,” he said.


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New infections at 984 as 7 more deaths reported

Another 984 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,020,384.
There were 1,534 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,968,709.
There are now 14,854 active cases, of which 13,975 or 94.1% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 842 (5.7%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 37 are in ICU with 22 in need of respiratory assistance.
Another seven deaths were reported, including one who was brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,821.


Zahid not yet proven guilty, Anwar defends DPM appointment

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today defended the appointment of his deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi following criticism on domestic as well as international fronts over the 47 corruption charges facing the Umno president in court.
Speaking at a press conference today, he said Zahid had yet to be found guilty of the criminal charges.
"He has been charged but not sentenced. We must respect the process," he said at the Prime Minister's Office after chairing a special Cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.
"As it happens, he is also the president of Umno and chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN). And in this unity government, I take that factor into account."
He also took a jibe at critics who questioned Zahid's inclusion in the Cabinet.
"I said from the start that those who shout about corruption need to be clean themselves," he said.
Anwar announced Zahid as one of his two deputies on Dec 2, returning the Bagan Datuk MP to the second highest post in the country which he had held until the collapse of the BN government in 2018.
The announcement was met with anger by many Malaysians who cited Zahid's involvement in the Umno court cluster – a group of party leaders facing criminal charges in court.
It also followed PH's election campaign where coalition leaders repeatedly assured supporters that they would not allow the return of scandal-tainted leaders to government, while denying claims by Perikatan Nasional of a secret alliance between Anwar and Zahid.
Zahid had been instrumental in getting his MPs to back the government led by Anwar, which was met with resistance by individual leaders including Hishammuddin Hussein and Annuar Musa.
They, alongside leaders in MCA and MIC, said BN should play the role of the opposition given its poor performance in the 15th general election.


Logging activities in Kelantan to continue, says deputy MB

The Kelantan government will not stop logging activities in the state as they are carried out in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated under the National Forestry Act 1984, says Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.He said logging activities in Kelantan are conducted according to stipulated regulations.Each state is given a quota by the National Forestry Council, and there is a condition where after the felling of trees, reforestation has be carried out in the affected area, he added.He said the trees had a certain age period, whereby after a certain length of time they must be felled to prevent them falling onto and destroying other growth.“For example, if the quota given for this year is 3,000 hectares, then we should not exceed the 3,000 hectare. Otherwise, we will be subject to action by the National Forestry Council. The quota is not determined by the state, but the National Forestry Council.“Logging provides revenue not only for Kelantan. In fact, almost all states depend on forest products, especially Pahang and Sarawak,” he told reporters when met after an event in Kota Bharu today.He said this when asked about an online petition for a moratorium on logging and to preserve forests as a bulwark against floods, which has received nearly 200,000 signatures.The petition, titled “Henti Pembalakan & Kemusnahan Alam Sekarang”, was co-sponsored by the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and an environmental group, the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka).The petition was launched to urge the government to impose a moratorium on logging activities for the time being following the catastrophic floods.Amar said logging activities were not the main cause of the floods in the state, as it was a phenomenon that occurred almost every year.Furthermore, no tree feeling is allowed between October and December due to the monsoon season, he said.“Those that were swept by the floods (during the monsoon season) may have been felled before that period and stored at the Beta (log storage area),” he said, urging the public to not blame logging activities alone for the floods.


US lawmakers vote to declassify intel on Covid origins

The US House of Representatives voted unanimously on Friday to declassify information on potential links between the Covid-19 pandemic and a Chinese laboratory suspected of leaking the deadly virus.
The Senate had already voted last week to require director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify the material, meaning the bill now goes to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature.
The Covid-19 outbreak began in 2019 in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan, leading to almost seven million deaths worldwide so far, according to official counts, over a million of them in the US.
But health officials and the US intelligence community remain divided over whether it was spread to humans from an infected animal or escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The US Energy Department concluded with "low confidence" that the virus probably escaped via a lab accident, agreeing with the assessment of the FBI but contradicting the conclusions of several other agencies.
Robert Redfield, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, argued for the lab leak theory before senators on Wednesday, while the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health identified an infected animal as the likely culprit.
"Basically there's a broad consensus in the intelligence community that the outbreak is not the result of a bioweapon or genetic engineering. What there isn't a consensus on is whether or not it's a lab leak," Haines added.
When the Senate version of the bill was introduced in February, its co-author Josh Hawley said anyone asking whether Covid-19 had originated in a lab was "silenced and branded as a conspiracy theorist."
"Now these prudent sceptics stand vindicated. The American people deserve to know the truth," he added.
In a separate effort, House Republicans reintroduced legislation Friday allowing US citizens the right to sue China – which rejects the lab leak theory – over its "large-scale misrepresentation campaign" during the outbreak.
"We must finally get to the truth about what happened and who was involved in this deception in order to bring justice to those who suffered profoundly from Covid-19," said New Jersey congressman Chris Smith.
The commonsense appeal of the lab leak theory was articulated by US comedian Jon Stewart on late night TV in 2021.
"There's a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China," he said. "What do we do? Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab."
He went on to joke: "Oh my God, there’s been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey, Pennsylvania. What do you think happened?'"


Court allows 1MDB's bid for documents in US$248 million suit against Riza Aziz

The High Court yesterday allowed the application by 1MDB to obtain documents in the US$248 million suit against Hollywood film producer Riza Aziz and two of his companies for allegedly misusing the strategic investment company’s funds.
Counsel Hariharan Tara Singh, representing Riza and the two companies, said the decision was delivered through email by judge Amarjeet Singh.
"The judge has given 30 days for the defendants to comply with the order. The court also fixed Sept 12 for further case management," he told reporters when contacted.
The plaintiffs, 1MDB and three of its subsidiaries, namely 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited and 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited, are represented by lawyers Rabindra S Nathan and Vanessa Thong Chon Yen.
1MDB, and its subsidiaries filed the application on Jan 28, seeking documents including those related to the receipt and use of US$10,173,104 in funds by Red Granite Pictures and US$238 million by Red Granite Capital Limited. On May 7, 2021, 1MDB and its subsidiaries sued Riza and his two companies for receiving around US$248 million in funds that they allegedly misused for their personal gain, including to finance a film and to purchase various properties.
They also claimed that since Riza managed both companies, he would have known that the money originating from 1MDB had been misappropriated for their gain.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that Riza is responsible for the misappropriated funds and demanding repayment.
Riza in his defence claimed that the funds were obtained from a loan from the Saudi royal family or International Petroleum Investment Company and not from 1MDB, adding that it was hard for an unknown film producer to obtain loans from banks and that this had compelled him to seek funds from individuals or companies.


Covid case cuts short Singapore ‘cruise to nowhere’

An ocean liner on a “cruise to nowhere” was forced to make an earlier-than-scheduled return to Singapore Wednesday after a coronavirus case was detected on board, reports said.The cruises – starting and ending in Singapore, with no stops – were launched last year as part of the travel industry’s attempt to bounce back from a pandemic-induced crunch.They have proved popular among those seeking an escape from the tiny city-state, which has only had a mild outbreak but largely kept its borders closed.The Dream Cruises ship returned to Singapore early Wednesday, several hours earlier than planned, after the case was found.Passengers on board were informed in the early hours that a guest had tested positive and told to return to their rooms, broadcaster CNA said, quoting a passenger.The individual, who returned a positive PCR test, was believed to have been in close contact with another case before boarding, the report added.The Straits Times said the passenger was fully vaccinated and had tested negative before boarding.The ship, owned and operated by Genting Group, left Singapore on Sunday evening for the four-day cruise.Genting did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for a comment. The company has introduced a raft of safety measures on board, including regularly disinfecting public areas.A “cruise to nowhere” was also cut short in December after an elderly man tested positive. However, that case proved to be a false alarm, with subsequent results coming back negative.The cruise industry worldwide is struggling to get back on its feet after voyages were halted at the start of the pandemic, and several vessels were hit by outbreaks.


7-0 as rural development ministry budget passed, too

The budget for the rural development ministry today became the seventh allocation to be passed following the debate at the committee level.The allocation of RM10.19 billion was also passed by voice vote, following the budget for the agriculture and food industries ministry passed earlier today.Allocations for five other portfolios were also previously passed: the plantation industries and commodities ministry, the foreign ministry, the national unity ministry, the finance ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department.The budgets for the Prime Minister’s Department and the finance and plantation ministries were passed by bloc vote while the two others were passed by voice vote.The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.Today’s vote for the rural development ministry budget saw relatively few opposition MPs in the Dewan Rakyat. Many had not re-entered the hall following the vote on the allocation for the agriculture and food industries ministry.


Japan sees 1.9 million visitors in May, down from cherry blossom rush

Japan saw a slight decline in visitors in May from the previous month, when a rush of tourists came to see the nation's famous cherry blossoms without Covid-19 restrictions, official data showed on Wednesday.
The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure came in just below 1.9 million last month from a post-pandemic high of 1.95 million in April, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said.
Arrivals were down 31.5% from the level in May 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak.
Travellers from China, previously Japan's biggest tourist segment and the lifeblood of many retailers, grew 24% to 134,400 in June, though still far below 2019 levels.
Tourism to Japan all but halted for more than two years during the pandemic, but the numbers have risen steadily since the government resumed visa-free travel for many countries in October. It scrapped remaining infection controls on May 8.
Meanwhile, the yen has weakened sharply against other major currencies, making trips to Japan the cheapest in many years. Consumer-focused businesses are starting to feel the benefits.
Mid-June sales figures at major department stores indicated strong demand from Chinese visitors, particularly in the western tourist destinations of Osaka and Kyoto, according to Jefferies analyst Mitsuko Miyasako.
Cosmetics sales at Takashimaya and J Front Retailing rebounded to just under 70% of 2019 levels, she wrote in a report.
Occupancy for Air Canada's flights to Japan was 95% in May, even higher than in pre-Covid times, said Kiyo Weiss, senior director of sales for the Asia-Pacific region.
"Japan has been viewed for a long time as a bucket list country by North American leisure travellers," she said. "Now that Japan has reopened to tourists and the current exchange rate makes leisure trips less expensive, we think this trend will continue to grow."


Netanyahu blames Iran for boat attack, says ‘striking’ back

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused arch-foe Iran on Monday of a recent attack on an Israeli-owned ship, noting his country was “striking back” the morning after a raid on Syria.The latest escalation between the sides came as the international community was trying to salvage the troubled 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.“It is indeed an Iranian act, that’s clear,” Netanyahu told public broadcaster Kan, referring to the MV Helios Ray, which was last week hit by a blast in the Gulf of Oman leaving two holes in its side.“As for a reaction – you know my policy,” he continued.“Iran is Israel’s greatest enemy, I’m determined to block it, we’re striking at it throughout the region,” he said.Netanyahu’s remarks came hours after Syrian air defences intercepted what they said were Israeli missiles over Damascus.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strike hit the area of Sayyida Zeinab south of Damascus, where Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah forces are reported to be present.There was no immediate report of casualties.The Israeli army had refused to confirm its involvement in the attack, which came days after the Thursday explosion that hit the Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier travelling from the Saudi port of Dammam to Singapore.It was not clear what caused the explosion, which punctured the boat’s hull but did not cause any casualties among the crew or damage to the engine.Push for Iran talksIsrael has long accused arch-foe Iran of trying to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge always denied by Tehran.Following the election of US President Joe Biden, Washington, the European parties to the deal – France, Germany and Britain – and Tehran have been trying to salvage the troubled 2015 nuclear accord, which granted Iran international sanctions relief in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.The accord has been nearing collapse since former president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.On Sunday, Iran dismissed a European offer for an informal meeting involving the US.In his Monday remarks, Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli line that it was his country’s top priority that “Iran won’t have nuclear weapons, with or without an agreement.”“That’s what I also told my friend President Biden,” the Israeli leader added.Critics have questioned if Netanyahu, who supported Trump’s move to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, would be able to coordinate the Israeli position on the volatile issue with Biden.Biden entered office declaring that he wants to return to the deal in some form, calling Trump’s policy on Iran a failure.


Post-pandemic, jobs abound but workers in short supply

When the Covid-19 pandemic began spreading throughout the world in early 2020, one of the most pressing problems was the shutdown of entire economies which saw millions retrenched as businesses closed and operations were forced to trim their ranks.In Malaysia alone, nearly 100,000 people lost their jobs from the start of the first movement control order (MCO) in March 2020 until the end of November that year.But today, as the economy reopens and Malaysia joins the stream of countries making their way towards the endemic phase of Covid-19, the opposite seems to be the case.Companies across the board have been advertising for workers, but applicants are few and far in between.Just over two years since the onset of the pandemic in the country, Malaysia is facing a cross-sectoral shortage of labour that has already caused billions in losses due to uncollected revenue and rejected orders.Mohd Izham Fahmi Yaakob, who runs restaurants in Puncak Alam and Sungai Buloh in Selangor, has been struggling to find workers since the MCO.He needs 16 workers at each restaurant in order to function at full capacity, but now he has only eight including himself and his wife.“There were always problems with manpower, but it’s much more apparent now,” he said.“They work for a short while and then they quit.”Such problems are evident even at larger outfits such as Kanna Curry House in Petaling Jaya which recently began offering iPhones to workers who stay for a minimum of six months.At his much smaller organisation, Izham cannot find skilled workers even though he is willing to pay them well.“I offer good salaries, at least RM70 a day. Per month, they can make almost RM2,000,” he said.“Some of them even earn RM3,000 but they are irregular in their work.”At his restaurants, the cooks make the most – RM200 per day. This means that they can earn between RM4,000 and RM5,000 a month.But even this is not enough to make workers stay.Economist Amanda Yeo said some people were beginning to appreciate the freedom and autonomy of the gig economy as this did not involve strict office hours.“They have the flexibility to work anywhere and at any time,” Yeo, of think tank Emir Research, said.She said such changes in career perceptions were in line with findings by human resources agency Randstad, which recently found that nine out of 10 now chose to take matters into their own hands with 44% working flexible time slots and 33% working from home more often.These changes in turn put employers in a bind, she added.For example, workers in the hospitality industry who were laid off during the pandemic were less likely to return to work in the field, while companies and hotel owners found it difficult to increase salaries beyond the minimum wage of RM1,500 without incurring additional costs.She said the rejection of job offers, even with attractive salaries, was linked to technological advances.Millenials and those in Gen Z, for instance, preferred platforms and digital applications to introduce new and innovative business ideas.“Their different approach to work compared to the previous generations will transform the future of the work landscape in the next decade,” Yeo said.“A combination of the concepts of work and play means that they have the flexibility to have fun or earn enough money without the restrictions of time and geographical boundaries.”For Izham, attitude also goes a long way in determining whether a person will stay or leave.“Some of them leave because they are just too interested in playing with their phones, especially the young ones,” he said.“The older ones, some of them come back to ask me for their jobs back after working with someone else for a while and realising that they don’t like it there.”


Lesbians and single women to get IVF rights in France

France is poised to pass a law allowing single women and lesbian couples to get fertility treatment, which has always been reserved for heterosexual couples.The National Assembly vote follows two years of heated debate and demonstrations by groups opposed to this expansion of reproductive rights, reports the BBC.For decades, desperate French women have been forced to go to clinics in Belgium and Spain for fertility treatment, which can be very expensive.The new law will bring France into line with 10 other EU countries and the UK.Besides Belgium and Spain, the 10 are: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Outside the EU, Iceland and Norway have similar legal provisions.A recent Ifop opinion poll found 67% of French respondents are in favour of the new law.There was resistance to it in the French Senate, and the draft acquired more than 1,500 amendments, but the National Assembly has the final say.There was also resistance in the streets, with political and religious conservatives demanding the bill be scrapped.“The family, with a mother and a father, is an ecosystem that needs protecting,” Christian Kersabiec, 68, told the AFP news agency at a protest in 2019, reflecting the opinion of many ordinary Catholics.Many of those demonstrating against the current law also protested against legalising gay marriage way back in 2013.However, polls suggest that acceptance of less traditional ideas of family structures has grown since then.The new law is expected to pass as President Emmanuel Macron’s party – La République en Marche (LREM) – plus its allies has a working majority in the lower house.The law will provide access to various fertility procedures, notably in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and artificial insemination, for all women under the age of 43, with all costs covered by the French health service.Under the new law, children conceived with donor sperm will be able to learn the donor’s identity when they become adults, removing the current French anonymity for sperm donors.In 2018, there were over 25,000 babies conceived through medically-assisted procreation in France, after nearly 150,000 attempts, according to l’Assurance-maladie, the country’s national health insurance body. That amounted to 3.3% of births.The new law specifies that both the birth mother and her partner are to be named as the child’s parents on the birth certificate.Magali Champetier, a lesbian mother quoted by La Dépêche newspaper, said, “This law comes as a relief. We’ve been waiting a long time for it, and it’s already too late for many women because of their biological clock.”Her partner had to go to Spain in order to conceive two children through MAP.She told La Dépêche, “I had to get married and wait a year before I could become the legal parent. This law will remove that stress, and moreover the procedure will be free, unlike the treatment abroad.”


China fights biggest Delta outbreak as cases grow in city of Dalian

China is battling the spread of its biggest Covid-19 outbreak caused by the Delta variant, according to numbers announced on Monday, with travellers from a city where infections have grown faster than elsewhere in the country subject to tough quarantine rules in nearby areas.Chinese authorities said 32 new domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms have been reported for Nov 14, most of which were in northeastern Dalian city. That brings the tally of local cases since Oct 17 to 1,308, Reuters calculations based on official data showed, surpassing the 1,280 local cases from a summer Delta outbreak.This marks China’s most widespread Delta outbreak, which has affected 21 provinces, regions and municipalities. While it is smaller than many outbreaks in other countries, Chinese authorities are anxious to block any further transmissions under the government’s zero-tolerance guidance.A dozen province-level regions contained their flare-ups within weeks in the current outbreak, thanks to quick implementation of a complex set of curbs, including rigorous contact tracing, multiple rounds of testing of people in at risk areas, the closure of entertainment and cultural venues and restrictions on tourism and public transport.However, Dalian remains locked in a struggle with the virus, Wu Liangyou, an official at the National Health Commission has said.Since Dalian’s first local symptomatic patients from the latest outbreak was reported on Nov 4, the port city of 7.5 million people has detected an average of about 24 new local cases a day, more than any other Chinese cities, according to Reuters calculations.A few cities near Dalian, including Dandong, Anshan and Shenyang, have said people arriving from Dalian have to be quarantined at centralised facilities for 14 days before they can move freely, in an unusually cautious measure.As of Nov 14, mainland China had reported 98,315 confirmed coronavirus cases with symptoms, including domestically transmitted infections and those from overseas. There have been 4,636 deaths.


Expert tells why Azam’s accuser is no whistleblower

An expert in criminology has cautioned against calling activist Lalitha Kunaratnam a whistleblower, saying she does not qualify as one in the wake of several blog articles claiming to reveal information about the ownership of shares by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki.Kassim Noor Mohamed, a former senior customs officer with 20 years of enforcement and intelligence experience, said the information shared by Lalitha was available in the public domain and accessible to all.“The information that was revealed concerning the shares was freely available,” Kassim, who is now based in the UK where he has lectured on criminal justice at various universities for more than a decade, told MalaysiaNow.“Nothing was hidden. I do not think she fulfils the criteria for a whistleblower.”He added that according to legal definitions, Lalitha had voluntarily revealed her identity when she decided not to report the alleged wrongdoings to the authorities and instead publicised them in the online media.Following this, he said, the articles were shared on a number of platforms including social media, and with them her identity.Azam has denied the claims made by Lalitha, who is linked to C4 Center, a local NGO led by activist Cynthia Gabriel.The allegations were repeated by Cynthia’s fellow director at C4 Center, Edmund Terence Gomez, who also resigned from MACC’s consultative panel.Azam’s right to sueOn Wednesday, Azam slapped Lalitha with a RM10 million defamation suit and demanded a public apology, after she failed to respond to a letter of demand sent by lawyers.Azam’s move to fight the allegations and clear his name in court drew criticism from some quarters who argued that it was an attempt to silence free speech.But Kassim said it was within Azam’s rights to file the suit against Lalitha.“The same goes for her,” he added. “If she feels that Azam has slandered her, she can sue him too.”He also said that Lalitha should not be reluctant to report the matter to the MACC, brushing off fears that the anti-graft agency would side with Azam.He said while the accusations involve Azam, MACC would still conduct a professional investigation without siding with anyone.“Take the 1MDB case for example. It was a complicated case and MACC was under pressure from many quarters.“As an independent institution, the MACC will ensure that every claim is investigated and scrutinise all of the evidence to decide on the appropriate action,” said Kassim, who has conducted extensive research into transnational and corporate crime as well as Asian organised crime groups.


WHO fears 700,000 more Covid deaths in Europe

Europe remains “in the firm grip” of Covid and the death toll on the continent could top 2.2 million this winter if current trends continue, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.Some 700,000 could die in the coming months, WHO said, as cases creep up across Europe, prompting some countries to reimpose tough restrictions.WHO expects “high or extreme stress in intensive care units (ICUs) in 49 out of 53 countries between now and March 1, 2022”.“Cumulative reported deaths are projected to reach over 2.2 million by spring next year,” it added, up from the current 1.5 million.Covid-19 is the leading cause of death across Europe and Central Asia, WHO reported, citing figures from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.The rise in Europe was being driven by a combination of the highly-contagious Delta variant, insufficient vaccination coverage and the easing of measures such as mask wearing and physical distancing, it said.According to WHO data, Covid-related deaths increased last week to nearly 4,200 a day, doubling from 2,100 deaths a day at the end of September.WHO also said evidence was growing that vaccine-induced protection against infection and mild disease was declining.“The Covid-19 situation across Europe and Central Asia is very serious. We face a challenging winter ahead,” regional director for WHO Europe, Hans Kluge, said in a statement.He called for a “vaccine plus” approach, consisting of vaccinations, social distancing, the use of face masks and hand washing.WHO said face masks reduce Covid incidence by 53% according to a recent study, and “over 160,000 deaths could be prevented (by March 1) if universal mask coverage of 95% was achieved”.


Xi calls for greater international media reach to counter criticism of China

President Xi Jinping has said China must improve the way it tells its “stories” to the global audience.China’s leader has called for better international communication to repair the country’s coronavirus-hit image and win a battle of narratives with the US and its allies, the SCMP is reporting.He told a Communist Party meeting, that Beijing must develop an international voice that reflects its national strength and global status on the world stage, official news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.He said it was crucial for China to improve its ability to spread its messages globally in order to present a “true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China”.China also needs to strengthen propaganda efforts to help foreigners understand the Chinese Communist Party and the way it “strives for the happiness of the Chinese people”, he said. To do this, the country needs to create a team of professionals and adopt “precise communication methods” for different regions.Chinese observers said his latest call was a rare admission of Beijing’s isolation that has been exacerbated by aggressive “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy and ineffective propaganda campaigns abroad.It also suggests how Beijing will seek to shift the unfavourable narratives in its ideological and geopolitical wrangling with Western democracies.Beijing’s relationship with foreign media has become increasingly tense in recent years, with local news outlets such as the Global Times often singling out foreign reporters for what it says is biased and unfair coverage.The international outlet run under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper has been the source of various incidents, including accusations of fabrication and disinformation.Several journalists working for US news organisations were expelled last year as relations between the two sides deteriorated.China has also banned BBC World News from mainland Chinese television networks following criticism of the British broadcaster’s coverage of human rights in the northwestern region of Xinjiang as well as the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.Australian broadcasters and journalists have also been targeted.


Delhi schools shut indefinitely as smog worsens

Delhi shut down schools until further notice, urged people to work from home and banned non-essential trucks from entering the Indian capital due to dangerous levels of air pollution.One of the world’s most polluted cities and home to some 20 million people, Delhi is cloaked every winter in a thick blanket of smog.On Saturday, the Delhi government had ordered schools to close for a week and banned construction work for four days.But in an order passed late Tuesday, the Commission for Air Quality Management for Delhi said all education institutions should remain shut until further notice.Lorries except those carrying essential goods are barred from entering the capital until Nov 21 and most construction activity was halted, the order said.“Anti-smog guns” and water sprinklers were ordered to operate at hotspots at least three times a day.Six of the 11 thermal power plants within a 300km radius were told to cease operations until further notice.The commission also said that at least 50% of staff employed in government should work from home and encouraged those in private firms to follow suit.The order comes days after the Delhi government pushed back against a call by India’s Supreme Court to declare a “pollution lockdown” – a first – which would restrict the city’s population to their homes.One of the contributors to the air pollution in winter is the smoke from farmers burning their crop residue in neighbouring states.The government, however, told the Supreme Court that industry was the biggest contributor followed by vehicular pollution and dust.This week, PM 2.5 levels – the most harmful particulate matter that is responsible for chronic lung and heart disease – have been over 400 in several parts of the city.Last week, the levels touched 500 which is more than 30 times the maximum limit recommended by the World Health Organization.A Lancet report in 2020 said almost 17,500 people died in Delhi in 2019 because of air pollution.And a report by Swiss organisation IQAir last year found that 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities were in India.


Herd immunity target on schedule, says PM

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said he is confident that Malaysia’s target to achieve herd immunity as projected by the National Recovery Plan can be completed as scheduled following the increase in supply of Covid-19 vaccines by the country’s major suppliers.He said the government would also work harder to ensure that the supplies arrive in the country on schedule.“I am aware that many people out there are asking, why not do this, why not do a lot more.“Khairy (Khairy Jamaluddin) has informed many times that we can do it if there are lots of vaccines… but we are limited and not because we don’t want to or because the government is blocking it. No, we want to finish everything in a month or two.“But we can’t control that (vaccine supply) because the suppliers are from abroad, so we have to wait our turn. But it is guaranteed that the supplies will arrive within the scheduled time,” he told reporters after visiting the vaccination centre at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre with Khairy today.He also said it was important to expedite the vaccination registration process.“Now many facilities are given: the people can register via MySejahtera, online or physically or if there is a micro PPV in their place that has been brought right up to villages, mosques, suraus, they can just go down there, bring along their IC and they will be registered and their names will be entered into the MySejahtera system,” he said.Muhyiddin also thanked the frontliners and volunteers for helping smoothen the vaccination process at the PPV.“I saw earlier (here) they were in high spirits, from early morning until late afternoon and night they work.“The numbers we need are still high, so if more can come forward and offer to be volunteers, we can simplify things and speed up our vaccination process,” he added.


Indian, Chinese troops in new border brawl, reports say

Indian and Chinese troops have fought a new brawl on their contested Himalayan border, leaving injuries on both sides, military officials said Monday.The fighting on Jan 20 came six months after a pitched battle which left at least 20 Indian troops dead as well as an unknown number of Chinese casualties.The world’s two most populous nations have since become embroiled in a diplomatic showdown over their geographical and political differences.The Indian military played down the latest skirmish as a “minor face-off” at Naku La pass, which connects Sikkim state with Tibet on the Chinese side.A short statement said the tensions were “resolved by local commanders as per established protocols”.Four Indian troops were injured when a Chinese patrol was forced back, government sources said.They added that China’s People’s Liberation Army suffered an unknown number of casualties.The incident, however, highlighted the increasingly fraught state of India-China relations however. Details were released on the eve of India’s Republic Day, when the country shows off its latest military hardware at a parade in the capital.Hand-to-hand fighting between 150 soldiers from the two sides at Naku La in May last year set off the latest frontier tensions between the world’s two most populous nations.About 10 troops from each side suffered injuries and a series of other incidents followed.In June, troops from the two sides fought with fists and wooden clubs in the Galwan valley of Ladakh region, leaving dozens dead. China has never confirmed it suffered fatalities.China and India, who fought a border war in 1962, blame each other for the increased tensions and each has poured tens of thousands of extra troops into border zones.The latest de-escalation talks between military commanders were held Sunday but there have been no signs that either side is ready to back down.India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last month that relations between the neighbours had been “significantly damaged” by the events of the past year.India is also wary of China’s moves to extend its diplomatic muscle into South Asia through massive investment schemes.The government has sought to block Chinese companies from getting deals in India, banning more than 150 Chinese apps made by its tech giants.Chinese products are being halted in customs logjams at Indian ports. China has in turn warned that India will suffer economically from the dispute.


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Armed protests being planned at all 50 US state capitols, FBI bulletin says

Starting this week and continuing until at least Inauguration Day, armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols and at the US Capitol, according to an internal FBI bulletin obtained by ABC News.“The FBI received information about an identified armed group intending to travel to Washington, DC on Jan 16,” the bulletin read. “They have warned that if Congress attempts to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment, a huge uprising will occur.”The FBI has also received information in recent days on a group calling for assaults on state, local and federal government courthouses and administrative buildings in the event President Donald Trump is removed from office prior to Inauguration Day.The group is also planning to assault government offices in every state the day president-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, regardless of whether the states certified electoral votes for Biden or Trump.Federal law enforcement officials have advised police agencies to increase their security posture at statehouses around the country following the riot at the Capitol, law enforcement sources told ABC News.According to the FBI, approximately 29 individuals and/or social media accounts of individuals who unlawfully entered the Capitol had been identified as of Sunday.At least five people died during the siege on the Capitol, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. The FBI bulletin said Sicknick “died from injuries sustained during the US Capitol breach.”


Canada hits highest ever temperature of 46.6 degrees as US north-west also sizzles

Canada has recorded its highest ever temperature as the country’s west and the US Pacific north-west bake in an unprecedented heatwave.Lytton in British Columbia soared to 46.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, breaking an 84-year-old record, officials said.A “heat dome” – static high pressure acting like a lid on a cooking pot – is the cause and the US and Canada are both warning that “dangerous” heat levels could persist all this week.BBC meteorologists say that “heat dome” isn’t a strictly defined meteorological term but has become associated with describing large areas of high pressure, leading to clear skies and roasting hot sunny days.This heat dome is huge, stretching thousands of kilometres from California right up to Canada’s Arctic territories and inland through Idaho.Sales of air-conditioners and fans have surged, and cooling shelters have sprung up. Some bars, restaurants, and even swimming pools were closed for being too hot for safety.British Columbia’s power providers said they are racing to keep up with the spike in demand for electricity to keep air-conditioners running.More than 40 towns in British Columbia set new records, surging past the previous Canadian record set in Saskatchewan back in July 1937 at a balmy 45 degrees.Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTV: “I like to break records, but this is like shattering and pulverising them. It’s warmer in parts of western Canada than in Dubai.”He said there was a chance of topping 47 degrees in the early part of the week. He forecast a “prolonged, dangerous, and historic heatwave will persist through this week”, with temperatures 10-15 degrees above normal, at near 40 degrees in many places.The US Pacific north-west has also been breaking records, particularly in parts of Washington and Oregon states.Seattle and Portland, often the target of jokes about rainy climates, could be among those setting their hottest temperatures. Both have already surpassed 40 degrees.Oregon eased Covid attendance restrictions to open up swimming pools and air-conditioned areas like shopping centres.Fruit growers have been rushing to pick crops, fearing the heat could shrivel cherries and other fruit. Pickers have been starting at dawn and stopping at lunchtime in the unbearable temperatures.The US track and field Tokyo Olympics qualifying trials had to be halted in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday, as the crowd was told to leave the stadium for safety reasons.Some Covid vaccination centres also closed because of the heat.The US National Weather Service called the heatwave conditions “historic” and said they would persist through the week, “with numerous daily, monthly and even all-time records likely to be set”.


Gunman kills 18 children at US elementary school

A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years.The attack in Uvalde, Texas – a small community about an hour from the Mexican border – is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it.Texas Governor Greg Abbott, addressing a news conference, said the 18-year-old gunman was believed to have shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School at around noon, abandoning his vehicle and entering with a handgun, and possibly also a rifle.The governor said the suspect, whom he named as Salvador Ramos, a local resident and a US citizen, was also dead adding that “it is believed that responding officers killed him.”“He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly,” Abbott said.Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez told CNN that three adults had also died in the attack, though it was unclear if that toll included the shooter.Footage showed small groups of children weaving through parked cars and yellow buses, some holding hands as they fled under police escort from the school, which teaches students aged around seven to 10 years old.It was the deadliest such incident since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six staff were killed.The White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in mourning for the victims – whose deaths sent a wave of shock through a country still scarred by the horror of Sandy Hook.President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, and was to address the nation later on Tuesday.Robb Elementary – which teaches more than 500, mostly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students from second through fourth grade – called on parents not to pick up their children until all were accounted for.“Students need to be accounted for before they are released to your care. You will be notified to pick up students once all are accounted for,” the school said on its website soon after the attack.‘Happens nowhere else’“Enough is enough,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in the wake of the tragedy. “Our hearts keep getting broken.“We have to have the courage to take action.”Ted Cruz, a pro-gun rights Republican senator from Texas, tweeted that he and his wife were “lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde.”But Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook shooting took place, made an impassioned appeal for concrete action to prevent further violence.“This isn’t inevitable, these kids weren’t unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day,” Murphy said on the Senate floor in Washington.“I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”The deadly assault in Texas follows a series of mass shootings in the United States this month.On May 14, an 18-year-old man shot 10 people dead at a Buffalo, New York grocery store.Wearing heavy body armor and wielding an AR-15 rifle, the self-declared white supremacist livestreamed his attack, having reportedly targeted the store because of the large surrounding African American population.The following day, a man blocked the door of a church in Laguna Woods, California and opened fire on its Taiwanese-American congregation, killing one person and injuring five.Despite recurring mass-casualty shootings, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the US Congress, leaving states and local councils to strengthen – or weaken – their own restrictions.The National Rifle Association has been instrumental in fighting against stricter US gun laws. Abbott and Cruz are listed as speakers at a forum that is being held by the powerful lobby in Houston, Texas later this week.The US suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35% compared to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest data.


‘Kids are broken’ with online teaching as Hong Kong upsets parents with early school break

Insurance agent Emily Kwong, 30, is struggling to home-school her five-year-old daughter and is worried she has learned nothing due to Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 restrictions that have forced toddlers and teens into online classes.New plans to close schools early in March are “disturbing the whole year”, Kwong said, echoing concerns from parents and teachers in the global financial hub worried about their children’s mental health and education.“Just with the iPad, the Zoom, for the whole two years… next year she will be in Year 1, and she will have learned nothing from the last two years,” Kwong said.For many children, the absence from friends and a physical space to learn is adding to anxiety.“The kids are broken. I absolutely feel for them, there is nothing left in them,” said a teacher at an international school, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.Hong Kong is pursuing a “dynamic zero Covid” strategy similar to mainland China, aiming to eradicate any outbreaks at all costs instead of trying to live with the virus. Since the start of February, daily infections have surged around 70 times.The move to let all students start their summer holidays in March to allow campuses to be used as testing and vaccination sites has triggered a backlash.Belinda Greer, chief executive of the English Schools Foundation which has 18,000 pupils across 22 schools, met Education Bureau (EDB) officials on Wednesday and said she had relayed concerns and was working to minimise disruption.For pupils taking external exams this year, there would be some flexibility, she added.“EDB has signalled that they have taken on board our perspective and we will continue to work with them to agree the best way forward,” Greer said.The holiday break will run until April 17, with the last day of the school year pushed back to August, disrupting teaching and learning.There are around 900,000 pupils out of school more than two years after the pandemic started in 2020.Many families in the Chinese-ruled territory live in tiny, high-rise apartments with several people over three generations, making online learning particularly difficult, with sometimes patchy WiFi connections.The government said on Tuesday that mass testing for the city’s 7.4 million people would start in March.The city has already reported Covid-related deaths of children as young as 11 months, exacerbating worries among families.This week an infected 11-month-old was made to isolate by herself in hospital despite pleas from her parents to accompany her.“As soon as we saw the news of the kid separation. I said, ‘I am done’,” said Sofia, a mother of two.The family plans to leave the city next week andrelocate to Singapore in June.“The aim for zero cases here, it’s absurd,” she said. “We cannot get to zero. It plays on peoples’ minds – why are we staying here?”


Ukrainian force begins evacuating from last Mariupol stronghold

Troops holed up in the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol began evacuating on Monday, appearing to cede control of the once prosperous city to Russia after months of bombardment.Ukraine’s deputy defence minister said 53 injured troops from the Azovstal steelworks were taken to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk, some 32km (20 miles) to the east.Another 211 people were taken to the town of Olenivka, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists, Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar said. All of the evacuees will be subject to a potential prisoner exchange with Russia, she added.Reuters saw five buses carrying troops from Azovstal arrive in Novoazovsk late on Monday. Some of the evacuated troops were wounded and carried out of the buses on stretchers. Some 600 troops were believed to have been inside the steel plant.“We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a late night address. “There are severely wounded ones among them. They’re receiving care. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive.”Ukraine’s military said it had “ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel” and that troops there had fulfilled their combat mission.Efforts to rescue troops still inside were under way, the military added. It did not say how many troops remained.Ukrainian troops say they held out in Azovstal for 82 days, buying time for the rest of Ukraine to battle Russian forces and secure Western arms needed to withstand Russia’s assault.But the evacuation likely marked the end of the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine war and a significant defeat for Ukraine. Mariupol is now in ruins after a Russian siege that Ukraine says killed tens of thousands of people in the city.Since Russia launched its invasion in February, Mariupol’s devastation has become a symbol both of Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russia’s invasion and of Russia’s willingness to devastate Ukrainian cities that hold out.The evacuation came hours after Russia said it had agreed to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers to a medical facility in Novoazovsk.Azovstal’s last defenders had been holding out for weeks in bunkers and tunnels built deep underground to withstand nuclear war. Civilians were evacuated from inside the plant, one of the largest metallurgical facilities in Europe, earlier this month.The wife of an Azov Regiment member described conditions at the plant earlier on Monday: “They are in hell. They receive new wounds every day. They are without legs or arms, exhausted, without medicines,” Natalia Zaritskaya said.Putin climbdown over NatoRussian President Vladimir Putin appeared earlier on Monday to climb down from threats to retaliate against Sweden and Finland for announcing plans to join the US-led Nato military alliance.“As far as expansion goes, including new members Finland and Sweden, Russia has no problems with these states – none. And so in this sense there is no immediate threat to Russia from an expansion to include these countries,” Putin said.The comments appeared to mark a major shift in rhetoric, after years of casting Nato enlargement as a direct threat to Russia’s security, including citing it as a justification for the invasion of Ukraine itself.Just hours before Putin spoke, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Finland and Sweden were making a mistake that would have far-reaching consequences: “They should have no illusions that we will simply put up with it.”Putin said Nato enlargement was being used by the US in an “aggressive” way to aggravate an already difficult global security situation, and that Russia would respond if the alliance moves weapons or troops forward.“The expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response. What that (response) will be – we will see what threats are created for us,” Putin said.Finland and Sweden, both non-aligned throughout the Cold War, say they now want the protection offered by Nato’s treaty, under which an attack on any member is an attack on all.“We are leaving one era behind us and entering a new one,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said, announcing plans to formally abandon militarily non-aligned status – a cornerstone of national identity for more than 200 years.Kjell Engelbrekt, professor of political science at the Swedish Defence University, said Moscow now had few military options left to follow through on its previous “very assertive” rhetoric demanding the Nordics never join Nato.A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had seen no indications Russia was moving troops or equipment closer to the border with Finland.Ukraine troops reach borderMoscow calls its invasion a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of fascists, an assertion Kyiv and its Western allies say is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war.Nearly three months old, Russia’s invading forces have run into apparent setbacks, with troops forced out of the north and the environs of Kyiv in late March. A Ukrainian counterattack in recent days has driven Russian forces out of the area near Kharkiv, the biggest city in the east.Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Monday troops had advanced all the way to the Russian border, about 40 km north of Kharkiv.The successes near Kharkiv could let Ukraine attack supply lines for Russia’s own main offensive, grinding on further south in the Donbas region, where Moscow has been launching mass assaults for a month yet achieving only small gains.In a video message, Zelensky hailed the achievement and thanked the troops: “I am very grateful to you from all Ukrainians, from everyone, from myself, from my family, my gratitude is unlimited.”