China's Shenzhen to adopt tiered Covid measures, Chengdu extends lockdown

China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen said it will adopt tiered anti-virus restriction measures starting on Monday, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu announced an extension of lockdown curbs, as the country grapples with fresh outbreaks.
Shenzhen, which went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday, announced a new round of Covid-19 testing, and vowed to "marshal all available resources, mobilise all forces, and take all possible measures" to stamp out the pandemic.
Separately, Chengdu, which placed its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday, said the city will keep curbs in place for most of the city, and will conduct more mass testing from Monday to Wednesday.
China is sticking to its stringent zero-Covid policy, even as most other countries have relaxed restrictions and chosen to live with virus. As a result, fresh outbreaks have become a major risk to the world's second-biggest economy.
Currently, 33 cities are under partial or full lockdowns, affecting more than 65 million residents, according to an estimate by Chinese financial magazine Caixin.
In Shenzen, a city of 18 million people, an official said the risks were still considerable.
"Currently, the city's Covid situation is severe and complex. The number of new infections remains relatively high and community transmission risk still exists," Lin Hancheng, a Shenzhen public health official, told a news conference late on Sunday.
The city reported 89 new locally transmitted Covid infections for Sept 3, compared with 87 a day earlier.
Three-tier management
Based on the results of the weekend testing, Shenzhen will classify its areas into three categories, reflecting low, medium, and high risk of infection, Lin said.
In areas deemed low risk, the city will remove restrictions that confined much of its population to residential compounds over the weekend, though lockdowns will remain in place in 'high' and 'medium' risk neighbourhoods.
In areas where infections were found, temporary restrictions would be prolonged for three days.
Major districts of Futian, Nanshan and Longhua said that entertainment centres like cinemas and KTVS would remain closed, and restaurants would allow dining in at half capacity.
The Nanyuan neighbourhood of the Futian District will continue to be treated as a medium-risk area due to the relatively high number of positive cases detected, Lin said.
Separately, Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, said it will continue to impose Covid lockdown curbs in most of the city.
Even in two areas where life is allowed to come back to normal - Xinjin District and Qionglai City - indoor dining will continued to be banned, while public activities such as conferences and performances will be strictly restricted.


Malaysia to receive 2.7 million Covid bivalent jabs to replace expiring stock

Malaysia will receive 2.7 million doses of the new generation (bivalent) Covid-19 vaccines as a replacement for the almost-expired stock being kept by the health ministry.
Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said while Malaysia would be able to replace the vaccines, according to the data, only 2.5% of the population had taken a second booster shot.
Therefore, the health ministry might need to destroy the expired vaccines, he added.
He said this when winding up the debate on the white paper on Covid-19 vaccine procurement before it was approved by the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa previously said that the health ministry was still negotiating with Pfizer Sdn Bhd regarding the Covid-19 bivalent vaccine.
Lukanisman said the additional purchase and receipt of vaccine donations from foreign countries had contributed to the surplus of vaccine stocks, and that this was not according to the plan under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
He said as of June 1, there were 8.5 million vaccines of various brands that had expired at health ministry facilities and vaccine storage warehouses.
"The disposal process and reporting on vaccine stocks are being carried out in accordance with the asset management procedures and store management procedures in force.
"The monitoring of vaccine disposal is also carried out periodically," he said.
He said a total of 27,550,124 individuals or 84.4% of the population had received a complete primary dose, 16,335,715 individuals or 50% had received a booster dose, while 823,495 individuals or 2.5% had received a second booster dose as of May 30.
From December 2020 to April 30 2023, he said the government spent RM5.885 billion, of which RM5.348 billion was through the ministry while another RM537.5 million was through the science, technology and innovation ministry for the implementation of PICK and PICKids.
This was through the utilisation of the Covid-19 Fund and the National Trust Fund.
He said the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division had received 26,717 reports of adverse events following immunisation from February 2021 until April 30, of which only 1,868 reports (7%) involved serious adverse effects.
On the special financial assistance for Covid vaccine side effects, he said 319 applications were received and 150 of them had been approved involving a total payment of RM2.5 million as of May 31.


No way Azmin, ex-PKR MPs returning to party that ‘idolises power-crazy leaders’

Selangor Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary Muhammad Hilman Idham today denied reports that Bersatu Supreme Council member Mohamed Azmin Ali had met with representatives from their former party PKR, describing them as “malicious speculation”.In a statement, he said that he, Azmin and the others who had been sacked from PKR by “dictatorial leaders” had “zero interest” in joining a party that “idolises power-crazy leaders” without any goal of looking after the people’s welfare.“We will continue to defend the banners of Bersatu and PN for the good of the people and the prosperity of the country,” he added.Citing sources, news portal Malaysiakini reported on June 17 that Azmin had met with representatives from PKR two days earlier at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya.According to the sources, Azmin did so as “insurance” for the continuation of his politcal career.Azmin himself later dismissed any rumours that he might be rejoining PKR.“I met a lot of people and visited many hotels; I don’t remember who I met. But that is just speculation,” he told reporters in Balik Pulau on June 20.Hilman in his statement agreed that the reports were speculation.“I believe such speculation was designed as a malicious strategy to create doubt and suspicion among Bersatu and PN members regarding Azmin’s commitment,” he said.


UK second wave inevitable, national lockdown possible

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he does not want another national lockdown, but new restrictions may be needed because the country is facing a second wave of Covid-19.“We are now seeing a second wave coming in. It is absolutely, I’m afraid, inevitable,” Johnson told UK media.Britain has been trying to avoid a national lockdown, hoping that locking down local hotspots when they occur would be enough to halt a second wave.But new Covid-19 cases have almost doubled to 6,000 per day, hospital admissions are rising, and infection rates soaring across northern England and London, Reuters reports.“When you look at what is happening, you’ve got to wonder whether we need to go further than the rule of six that we brought in on Monday,” Johnson said, referring to the nationwide ban on gatherings of more than six people.Britain has suffered the fifth largest number of deaths from Covid-19 in the world, after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.“We’re seeing clear signs this virus is now spreading widely across all age groups and I am particularly worried by the increase in admissions to hospital and intensive care among older people,” said Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England.“This could be a warning of far worse things to come.”British Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday a second national lockdown is one possible step to curb the spread of coronavirus, but it is not what he wants to happen.He told the BBC, “If everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns, but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if that’s what’s necessary.”


Non-halal meals to be added under govt's 'Menu Rahmah' cheap meals programme

The newly launched affordable meal initiative Menu Rahmah will soon have non-halal ingredients to cater for non-Muslims, says Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub.
The programme, currently involving 15,000 halal outlets, will be expanded to non-halal restaurants that serve pork and non-halal chicken, he told the New Straits Times in an interview.
"If it's pork, then what kind and which part would be suitable as there may be premium cuts, just like chicken," he was quoted as saying.
Menu Rahmah, under which restaurants offer a complete meal for just RM5, was launched last week as the government's response to the rising living costs faced by the B40 group.
Salahuddin, who is also Amanah deputy president, said he was inspired to come up with the "initiative" after many of his constituents in Pulai, Johor approached him for aid.
"In 2020, I started seeing many Chinese constituents making a beeline for my door.
"I got in touch with (former deputy women, family and community development minister) Hannah Yeoh and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok," NST quoted him as saying.
Menu Rahmah has been compared to a similar initiative under the administration of former prime minister Najib Razak, who in 2011 launched Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia, where participating eateries offered meals for as low as RM2.
The programme was later abandoned as restaurants found they could not cope with the rising food prices as well as operational and labour costs.


At least 30 killed in Pakistan train crash

At least 30 people were killed and dozens injured Monday in a train crash in southern Pakistan, police said.A spokesman for Pakistan Railways told AFP a train heading from Karachi to Sargodha, derailed on to a track carrying a service from Rawalpindi in the opposite direction.“Several people have been killed and many others trapped inside,” the official said.Umar Tufail, a senior police officer at Daharki confirmed the death toll as 30.Mobile phone footage shown on television from the site showed a mangled wreckage, with several green Pakistan railway carriages lying on their side.Rail accidents are common in Pakistan, which inherited thousands of kilometres of track and trains from former colonial power Britain.But the network has seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.At least 75 people died when a train caught fire while travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi in October 2019.Two trains carrying hundreds of passengers collided in Karachi in 2016 killing 21 people.


No police permit needed to cross borders for school

Parents who have to cross district or state lines to send their children to school are not required to obtain permission from the police.Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said they only need to show a letter issued by the school at police roadblocks.“For example, if the students are returning to their hostel, the teachers could have issued them a letter, allowing them to cross district or state lines,” he said at a news conference on the movement control order (MCO) developments today.Ismail also said the matter had been discussed with top officers in the force with police contingents nationwide informed as well.


Haiti gang seeks US$1 million per person for kidnapped missionaries

A Haitian gang that kidnapped a group of American and Canadian missionaries is asking for US$17 million – or US$1 million each – to release them, according to a top Haitian official.Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told Reuters that talks were under way with kidnappers to seek the release of the missionaries abducted over the weekend outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, by a gang called 400 Mawozo.The minister confirmed the ransom fee, telling Reuters: “They asked for US$1 million per person.” The fee was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier in the day.CNN reported earlier on Tuesday the kidnappers first called Christian Aid Ministries – the group to which the victims belonged – on Saturday and immediately conveyed the price tag for the missionaries’ release. The FBI and Haitian police were advising the group in negotiations, the minister said.Several calls between the kidnappers and the missionary group have taken place since their disappearance, the minister told CNN.The Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries called for prayers for the “Haitian and American civil authorities who are working to resolve this situation.”Among the 16 Americans and one Canadian are five children, including an eight-month-old baby, the missionary organisation said. They were abducted in an area called Croix-des-Bouquets, about 13km outside the capital, which is dominated by the 400 Mawozo gang.The US government is “relentlessly focused” on the kidnapping and in constant communication with Haitian police and the missionaries’ church, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists in Quito, where he met with that country’s president and foreign minister.“Unfortunately, this is also indicative of a much larger problem and that is a security situation that is quite simply unsustainable,” Blinken said, referring to gangs that he said control parts of Port-au-Prince.The FBI said on Monday it is part of a US government effort to get the Americans involved to safety.Growing crisisFive priests and two nuns, including two French citizens, were abducted in April in Croix-des-Bouquets and were released later that month.Quitel told the Wall Street Journal that a ransom was paid for the release of two of those priests.Kidnappings have become more brazen and commonplace in Haiti amid a growing political and economic crisis, with at least 628 incidents in the first nine months of 2021 alone, according to a report by the Haitian nonprofit Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, or CARDH.Haitians mounted a nationwide strike on Monday to protest gang crime and kidnappings, which have been on the rise for years and have worsened since the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise.Shops reopened on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince and public transportation started circulating again. Transport-sector leaders had pushed for the strike, in part because transit workers are frequent targets of gang kidnappings.Kidnappings in Haiti have rarely involved foreigners.The victims are usually middle-class Haitians who cannot afford bodyguards but can put together a ransom by borrowing money from family or selling property.


8 including GLC execs remanded over bribery in RM2.3 billion project

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today remanded eight individuals to assist in investigations into a bribery case involving a project owned by a government-linked company worth more than RM2.3 billion.The remand applications for the suspects who were between 35 and 45 years of age were made at the Magistrate’s Courts in Putrajaya and Kuching.In Putrajaya, magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim allowed MACC’s remand applications for four days for two individuals and five days for another four.In Kuching, meanwhile, magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi allowed the remand applications for five and two days respectively for the remaining two suspects.According to a source, the suspects include the CEO, chief operating officer, executive officer, director and owner of the company who were believed to have been involved in acts of bribery from 2017 to 2021.The source said all eight suspects were arrested at the MACC headquarters and Sarawak MACC office between 1.30pm yesterday and 12.30am after going in for questioning.A number of items were also seized including 10 luxury vehicles, cash in various currencies amounting to over RM27,000, more than 50 pieces of jewellery and gold bars, 15 luxury watches and 13 luxury handbags.Twelve company and individual accounts were also frozen.MACC senior director of investigations Hishamuddin Hashim who confirmed the arrests said the case is being investigated under Section 17 of the MACC Act 2009.


Ukraine envoy to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb in its invasion

Human rights groups and Ukraine’s ambassador to the US on Monday accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organisations.Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both said that Russian forces appeared to have used widely banned cluster munitions, with Amnesty accusing them of attacking a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside.Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, told reporters after meeting with members of the US Congress that Russia had used a thermobaric weapon, known as a vacuum bomb, in its invasion of her country.“They used the vacuum bomb today,” Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers. “… The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large.”A vacuum bomb, or thermobaric weapon, sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, typically producing a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than that of a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporising human bodies.There has been no official confirmation that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine. CNN reported that one of its teams had spotted a Russian thermobaric multiple rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border early on Saturday afternoon.White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen reports but did not have confirmation that Russia had used such weapons. “If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime,” she told a press briefing, noting that there are international organizations that would assess that and President Joe Biden’s administration “would look to be a part of that conversation.”The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.Markarova said Ukraine was working actively with the Biden administration and Congress to obtain more weapons and tougher sanctions.“They should pay, they should pay a heavy price,” she told reporters after leaving the meeting.One lawmaker who attended the meeting, Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, said the Ukrainians had asked for a US-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine but that he felt that was too dangerous because it could provoke conflict with Russia.Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions. Launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime.


Remembering former US attorney-general Ramsey Clark

On April 9, 2021, Ramsey Clark passed away in the US. He was ninety-four. The former US attorney-general had spent decades in the struggle for human rights both when he was in government and after he ceased to be attorney-general. He had been at the forefront of so many human rights causes that it would not be possible to offer some reflections on them in a single obituary.In this short tribute, I have chosen to highlight some of his outstanding achievements. At some       point in the future, one hopes that some better qualified person will analyse in depth his impact on American society and global politics.It was Sara Founders, his close associate and herself a renowned activist, who conveyed news of his demise to me. I was deeply saddened by the news. The entire JUST family shares my profound sorrow.JUST salutes Clark as one of the greatest champions of social justice and human rights of our time. He fought for the marginalised and oppressed within his own country and in the world at large. His record of service to the weak and the vulnerable, whoever they were and wherever they were found, is without parallel.JUST and I had the pleasure of hosting Clark when he visited Malaysia in the early 90s. We had invited him to speak on the Gulf War. His honest, candid views on the war and what its real motives were and how it served the vested interests of a few made a deep impression on the audiences he spoke to.Clark will be remembered as a fearless opponent of US hegemony and its devastating impact on people everywhere. A person of admirable courage, he was willing to sacrifice his own well-being and face grave dangers and immense hardships as he attempted to defend the victims of US hegemony. For the people of Cuba and Palestine and numerous other such places, Clark was the voice of justice, the unflinching spokesman of the downtrodden who could not be silenced by the might of power.Many will also honour him as the US attorney-general who supervised the drafting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which empowered the African American population as never before. He also enforced the desegregation of schools across the South. It is not widely known that Clark had also espoused the cause of another voiceless community in the US, namely native Americans.The voice of the voiceless is no more. But the legacy of Clark will live on. He will continue to inspire all those who are committed to justice and human dignity for centuries to come.May God Almighty place him among the righteous in the hereafter.Chandra Muzaffar is the president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) Malaysia.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


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Saudi Arabia aims to become tourist hot spot

Saudi Arabia has announced its target of attracting 100 million tourists a year by 2030.To put the number into perspective, the most visited country, France, saw 89 million tourists in 2018.The ambitious target will be spurred on by the country’s flagship Red Sea Project, a development of luxury resorts and tourist attractions costing US$500 billion on the Red Sea coastline. Ninety artificial islands are expected to be built over the next few years.The kingdom has also stepped up its marketing of around a hundred historical sites across the country.“There will be a lot of pent up demand to go and travel as soon as the restrictions are lifted,” the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.Before 2019, Saudi Arabia did not issue tourist visas to foreigners. It was impossible to enter the kingdom unless you were there on a work visa, and even they were not easy to obtain.Muslims have always been allowed to enter on haj and umrah pilgrimages, but only with a pilgrimage visa and numbers are strictly limited to a quota per country to avoid too many pilgrims arriving and causing chaos at the holy sites.Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the cities of Mecca and Medina, and that is expected to continue.In an attempt to move away from its economic dependence on oil, the country will relax its strict dress code, making it a more attractive destination to millions worldwide.There is no word on whether the kingdom’s strict ban on alcohol will be modified. Tourism experts say without that it is unlikely that tourism would take off in a big way. The modernising royals may wish to relax the ban but the powerful religious authorities would not back such a move.


Confused critics about the role and powers of MACC

In 2019, it was reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was investigating 20 complaints of corruption involving the judiciary.I don’t remember any backlash about the news at the time. Did politicians, the Malaysian Bar, Suhakam and groups such as G25 jump and criticise MACC for investigating judges?The fact is, the investigation, prosecution and conviction of judges is not unprecedented. There have been many cases of judges being investigated for corruption, with a number being prosecuted and sentenced.This whole backlash against MACC for investigating judge Nazlan Mohd Ghazali reeks of hypocrisy.For example, G25 reportedly said: “In the first place, did MACC carry out a thorough investigation into the credibility of RPK’s allegation, before coming out with its media statement?”One would not expect the judiciary to readily suspect the integrity of its own judges, or to investigate its own.Can the judiciary investigate its own judges? For matters of disciplinary or ethical conduct, yes. But for alleged criminal offences like corruption, murder or rape, it doesn’t have the power to do so. Sorry, but Article 125 of the Federal Constitution does not accord it such power.This is with due respect to Chief Justice Tengku Maimun, who said in an impassioned speech that judges are not beyond criticisms, but “the public, including politicians, must not level unfounded and scurrilous attacks against the judiciary to further their own ends”.As she made her defence of the judges, which I totally respect, she never once said that MACC had surpassed its power by investigating a judge, or that the investigation was “unconstitutional” or “unprecedented”.These were the words used by Suhakam and G25, parroted by some politicians regarding MACC’s investigation of Nazlan.If this was true, wouldn’t Maimun have mentioned it in her speech? “Unconstitutional” and “unprecedented” are serious words.The Malaysian Bar also claimed that Article 125 of the Federal Constitution provides a mechanism for the setting up of a tribunal to assess the misconduct of judges, meaning that judges should not be investigated like ordinary citizens. However, it is clear that the article pertains to mechanisms for the removal of judges due to disciplinary matters, not criminal offences.As explained by UiTM professor Haidar Dziyauddin, the MACC Act 2009 applies to all including judges, and it has nothing to do with Article 125 of the Federal Constitution as the investigation concerns elements of criminal misconduct, not disciplinary issues.Haidar said: “Those who issue statements saying that MACC was wrong to have taken action might be confused with the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the code of ethics committee provided for in Article 125 of the constitution.”The tribunal also cannot prescribe punishments like jail sentences or fines.So, who is empowered to investigate?Obviously, law enforcement authorities like MACC and the police. For better or worse, they are the entities created to investigate alleged corruption and criminal offences, whether by civil servants, MPs, peons or judges.Speaking of MPs, the accusation levelled at MACC is that it violated the principle of the separation of powers among the three institutions, namely the judiciary, the legislative and the executive.Critics say it is “unconstitutional” for MACC to investigate the judiciary because this is tantamount to interference by the executive in the judiciary.So, going by the same argument, are they saying that the police and MACC cannot investigate MPs? Because doing so would be interference of the executive in the legislative!MACC has twice said that its investigation is not based on a blogger’s claims on social media platforms. It said the probe is based on formal complaints and reports lodged at MACC – not one, but three reports over the last month – and that it is duty bound to investigate upon validating them. So please allow it to do its job.It was also the MACC that did an excellent job investigating the SRC International case, helping the court convict Najib Razak and sentence him to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine. This sentence was upheld again by the appeals court.If the MACC had done a shoddy investigation, the courts would have thrown the case out, as simple as that.Do you think it is only the judiciary that gave us this conviction? Because of the principle of the separation of powers, MACC had to do a thorough and impeccable investigation, the attorney-general had to give his consent to prosecute, and the deputy public prosecutors had to work with the MACC prosecutors to secure a conviction, working relentlessly through three changes of government. It was a teamwork of agencies maintaining separate jurisdictions.SRC International and 1MDB are very complex cases involving international layering meant to hide the proceeds of illicit gains. If you follow the news, it was also MACC that managed to recover over RM20 billion in assets from 1MDB which were returned to the people of Malaysia. This is far above the global average of a 30% recovery rate. Give credit where it is due.Do you think that after all that work, the years of ploughing through thousands of documents, gathering evidence, and the thousands of hours to help secure the conviction, MACC wants to see a retrial if indeed judge Nazlan is found to be complicit?No matter how badly we want a certain “boss” to serve his sentence, we cannot ignore the country’s legal processes.If there is any evidence that implicates the judge, it has to be investigated by a competent authority that is set up precisely for this job.At the moment, only MACC can conclusively clear Nazlan’s name.If I were him, I would welcome the MACC probe on me. And once he is cleared, it will render false all of the accusations in blogs and cyberspace.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Iranian navy ships sail through English Channel en route to Russia for first time

A pair of warships from the Iranian navy were tracked sailing through the Baltic Sea on Thursday on their way to St Petersburg, Russia, for a naval parade taking place later this month.Sailing into the Baltic is a first for the Iranian navy.Satellite imagery tagged the ships before they entered the English Channel, The Drive reported. The ships were the sea-base vessel Makran and the frigate Sahand, Iran’s most modern warship.They were first spotted off the coast of Senegal before crossing the Bay of Biscay and sailing into the English Channel, where they were shadowed by Royal Navy warships.As they crossed into the Baltic Sea, Danish vessels followed, Denmark’s defence ministry said on Thursday.Oil-tanker-turned-warship IRINS Makran entered the Baltic Sea early Thursday morning under escort by Royal Danish Navy patrol vessels.Iranian officials had notified authorities in Copenhagen that the ships would be transiting through Danish waters on their way to Russia, the Guardian reported.“It’s always exciting when we get ships passing that are not everyday events. I cannot remember seeing Iranian warships in Danish waters,” Royal Danish Navy spokesman Per Hansen told newspaper Jyllands-Posten in Danish.“We will of course sail them out nicely and greet them when they come by. The same applies to the Russian submarines that we have seen in Danish waters this summer.”The two ships are set to represent Iran in a naval parade in St Petersburg celebrating the 325th anniversary of the Russian Navy, according to a July statement from the Kremlin.US officials originally thought the ships were making for Venezuela as part of the deepening relationship between Tehran and Caracas but those alarm bells stopped ringing as the pair turned and headed for Europe.The move into the Baltic could be a sign of wider-ranging future operations, Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told USNI News on Thursday.“No doubt, as the Makran and Sahand made their way to the English Channel, Nato countries perked up. It’s not every day that the Iranian Navy makes such a journey, and it could be a harbinger of increased Iranian interest in improving its maritime capabilities and testing range limits,” he said.Billed as a mobile expeditionary base that can act as a lily pad for small boats, helicopters and unmanned aircraft, Makran could also allow Iran to sidestep US sanctions by transporting petroleum under the flag of a warship.Some analysts believe Makran could cross the Atlantic to sell the Maduro regime millions of gallons of refined fuel and attack craft. Venezuela, also under US sanctions, has plenty of crude oil but lacks the refining capability to turn it into usable products.In 2020, four commercial tankers with Iranian gas bound for Venezuela were interdicted by US authorities. Using naval vessels for transport would render any cargo virtually untouchable as transferring oil under the guises of a naval auxiliary would legally prevent interdiction by law enforcement and coast guards, international law experts say.Iran expert Taleblu told USNI News: “Iranian media has previously touted the storage capability of the Makran, as well as its ability to house drones that could threaten enemy bases that lay outside the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles.”Whatever the long term aims, analysts agree that the Iranian navy is flexing its maritime muscles.


Najib’s 1MDB trial postponed again

The hearing of Najib Razak’s 1MDB case, which was scheduled to resume today, has been vacated to Thursday as the former prime minister has not yet recovered from an eye surgery he underwent last week.Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, when proceeding started today, that his client had yet to recover from the surgery.“His (Najib’s) doctor has advised him to take further rest. The swelling around the eyes has reduced, but the puffiness and redness are still there.“Najib has consulted a doctor and the doctor advised him to take a rest accordingly. He will see his doctor again tomorrow,” he said.Sequerah then vacated today’s trial to Thursday.He also ordered the prosecution and defence teams to ensure that only a few of their supporters occupy the courtroom during the proceeding this Thursday, to comply with the SOPs to curb the spread of Covid-19.Najib, 67, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.


Turk sets unenviable Covid record by testing positive for 14 straight months

When Muzaffer Kayasan first caught Covid-19, he thought he was destined to die since he was already suffering from leukemia. Fourteen months and 78 straight positive tests later, he is still alive – and still battling to shake off the infection.Kayasan, 56, has Turkey’s longest recorded continuous Covid-19 infection, doctors say, possibly due to a weakened immune system from the cancer. Despite being in and out of hospital since November 2020, his spirits have been high.“I guess this is the female version of Covid – she has been obsessed with me,” Kayasan joked last week as he found out that his latest PCR test was, yet again, positive.Nine months in hospital and five months mostly alone in his flat have separated him from much of the outside world, including his granddaughter, Azra, who stays in the garden while visiting, talking through the glass back door.“I will play with you when I get well,” he told her through a mask after giving her a plastic toy telephone.Coronavirus patients with immunosuppression are at risk of prolonged infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome, according to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Another by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society shows one in four blood cancer patients do not produce detectable antibodies even after receiving two vaccine shots.Kayasan’s doctor, Serap Simsek Yavuz, infectious diseases and clinical microbiology professor at Istanbul University, said his is the longest case they have tracked and it is being closely monitored for any risk of a mutated variant.“The case of a patient testing positive for 441 days is not something that has been reported until today,” said Cagri Buke, doctor of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology at Acibadem Hospital.The positive tests make Kayasan ineligible for a vaccine, according to Turkish guidelines that say positive patients must wait for a full recovery to receive a shot. Kayasan, who lost his sense of taste and smell through the ordeal, has appealed to authorities to at least ease his confinement.His son, Gokhan Kayasan, said his father had always been a “positive” person – just not in this way.“We kept saying how positive he is and now the guy turned positive (for Covid) and can’t go back to negative,” he said. “He says he got stuck at the red light and can’t pass that.”


Educationists hail return to school as debate continues over health concerns

As hundreds of thousands of children return to school for face-to-face classes today, the debate on whether this is the right move as daily Covid-19 infections remain in the four-digit range continues with those concerned over students’ health on one side and those who have been struggling with home-based learning on the other.Those concerned over public health also say that parents who have already bought laptops, tablets or smartphones for their children to enable them to follow home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) will now have to fork out more money to buy school uniforms and shoes.However, many others especially from the B40 or Bottom 40 group in urban, rural and interior areas are relieved that schools are finally reopening as their children have been struggling with poor internet connection and a lack of electronic devices.Preschoolers and pupils in Standard 1 and 2 return to school today while those from Standard 3 to 6 will return to school on March 8.As for secondary schools, those located in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will reopen on April 5 while schools in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will reopen on April 6.Eager to go back to schoolAmirah Haikal, a Form 3 student at a school in the Klang Valley, and her friends, all of whom are from the B40 group, are eager to return to school.She said most of them were not able to participate in PdPR last year as they did not have smartphones, tablets or laptops.“We’re relieved school is reopening soon. My mother is a kuih seller who earns about RM60 a day while my father is sick. They can’t afford to buy a computer.“We have a smartphone which is an old model and gives problems when we use it for too long. Not only that, my mother can only afford to buy an internet data plan worth RM20 which I have to share with my three siblings. It’s barely enough to support our online classes and I am only able to download some schoolwork. I feel I have missed out on a lot,” she said.According to a study carried out by the education ministry between March 28 and April 2 last year on the preparedness of students for virtual learning, 36.9% of students did not possess any device to enable them to follow online learning.The study involved 670,118 respondents comprising the parents of 893,331 students, 6% of whom had personal computers, 9.3% of whom had laptops, 5.8% of whom had tablets and 46.5% of whom had smartphones.Parents want schools to reopenAnuar Ahmad, a senior lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Centre of Community Education and Well-Being, welcomed the reopening of schools for face-to-face classes, calling the move “long overdue”.“To tell the truth, many parents have been requesting for schools to reopen. Many teachers want schools to reopen. too.“Our children have not been in school for nearly a year and have not been taught properly. Many of them are trailing behind in their studies while some have lost their focus and motivation to continue with their studies.“The decision to reopen schools is a good one and anyway, children are the low-risk group where Covid-19 is concerned,” he said, adding that countries such as France, Germany and Spain which were badly hit by the coronavirus have reopened their schools with strict SOPs in place.EAnuar said besides the issues surrounding internet access and ownership of mobile devices, many of the parties involved are not ready for the PdPR ecosystem in terms of skills or preparation of suitable teaching materials.A study carried out by UKM’s education faculty on the readiness of teachers to implement PdPR found that the online teaching methods utilised by the teachers were not very effective because they were not in line with the abilities and learning levels of the students.According to the UKM study’s findings, 70 to 80% of the teachers reported that getting the attention of their students was the main challenge they faced while conducting PdPR.“It’s clear that PdPR 1.0 (last year) failed after 10 months of implementation.,” Anuar said.“Many issues arose, including the teachers’ lack of skills in online pedagogy as they were not trained for this. Apart from that, many parents were either not ready or didn’t have the knowledge to help their children with online learning.”Hybrid learningWhile Anuar is confident that the ministry has taken the necessary measures to ensure the effectiveness of the SOPs implemented in schools to prevent Covid-19 transmission, he said the ministry should also consider implementing hybrid learning, that is a mix of face-to-face and online learning sessions to avoid overcrowding at schools.“This is the best approach to take in view of the current Covid-19 situation. In fact, it’s not new because in July last year, the ministry introduced the rotational or hybrid learning method,” he added.National Parent-Teacher Associations Consultative Council president Mohamad Ali Hasan meanwhile said the devices purchased to facilitate e-learning would not go to waste as they could still be used for weekend and holiday learning sessions.He said schools, in collaboration with Parent-Teacher Associations and alumni, should consider organising online tuition classes over the weekends or during school holidays to help students catch up with their studies.Former Education Department director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom had also supported hybrid learning. He was recently quoted as saying that the reopening of schools did not mean that PdPR should be forgotten because a combination of face-to-face and online teaching and learning methods would be beneficial for students.


Sinovac jab given green light for children aged 5 to 11

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today announced that the CoronaVac Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd, China and Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd, will be allowed for use on children aged five to 11.Noor Hisham said the conditional registration approval was agreed to by the Drug Control Authority in its 370th meeting today.He said this would be the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for children in this age group, following the green light given for the Comirnaty jab on Jan 6.“CoronaVac was earlier approved for conditional use for individuals aged 12 and above,” he said in a statement today.Noor Hisham said the meeting also agreed to give conditional approval for the Paxlovid (PF-07321332 150mg Film-Coated Tablets) and Ritonavir 100mg Film-Coated Tablets) for use in Covid-19 treatment among adults aged 18 and above who do not need oxygen therapy and are at high-risk of experiecing negative symptoms.However, he said the use of Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Germany and Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Ireland, was not meant as a substitute for Covid-19 vaccination and public health action, especially on SOP compliance.“The health ministry wishes to announce that the conditional approval registration still requires quality, safety and efficacy information on the vaccine product, which will be continuously monitored and evaluated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency based on the latest data from time to time.“This is to ensure that the comparison of benefit over risk for the vaccine remains positive,” he said.


Aide to ex-minister Xavier arrested, RM1.2 million in cash, luxury car seized

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today arrested a PKR state leader who was the special aide to former water, land and natural resources minister Xavier Jayakumar, as it investigates bribery involving millions of ringgit linked to the ministry under the Pakatan Harapan government.MA Tinagaran, who is also the Perak PKR deputy chairman, was arrested today together with two company directors in the MACC operation in Ipoh.The anti-graft body also confiscated cash worth RM1.2 million from a house as well as the office of a proxy.The water, land and natural resources ministry headed by Xavier was later renamed as the energy and natural resources ministry.Meanwhile, a source told MalaysiaNow that individual and company bank accounts worth RM77 million had been frozen.It is understood that the luxury car which was seized was used by Xavier as his official car when he was the minister.MalaysiaNow understands from sources close to the investigation that the corruption was linked to the award of sand mining projects, which was under Xavier’s jurisdiction.Xavier – who is also the PKR vice-president – and Tinagaran were among 12 individuals who were conferred the Datuk title by the Kelantan palace in 2019.


Najib ‘disappointed’ with appeals court decision

Former prime minister Najib Razak expressed disappointment today over the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold his guilty verdict in a case linked to a graft scandal at state fund 1MDB.Najib told a virtual news conference he had directed lawyers to file another appeal at the Federal Court.He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million last year for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about RM42 million.


Kedah MB cites obedience to God, gratitude for blessings in non-renewal of gaming licences

The move by the Kedah government to discontinue the renewal of gaming licences for all gaming shops in the state is not meant to deny the human rights of others or to discriminate against any race in the state, Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor says.Sanusi said the decision was one way to obey the command of God and to be grateful for the blessings given to the state.“When I was appointed to lead the government I could see Kedah being blessed. The value of investment coming in is high. In fact, each household in the state received a food basket. So I decided not to renew the licences to gaming shops. It is one way how I show how grateful I am for the many blessings that Allah had given to the state.“But some protested using human rights as an excuse, using racism as an excuse to deprive the non-Muslims. All these are not true,” he said in his winding-up speech on the debate of the Kedah Budget 2022 at the state legislative assembly at Wisma Darul Aman yesterday.Sanusi also said that there has been no study to show that gambling activities are profitable. In fact, he said, the Chinese government had banned gaming in the state since 1949.“There are many Muslims here. The decision was made based on the need to maintain harmony and on the basis of being grateful for the bountiful blessings,” he said.


Germany could make Covid-19 test or vaccine mandatory for public transport

Want to take the bus or train in Germany?You may soon have to provide a negative Covid-19 test or proof of vaccination or recent recovery, as the country becomes the latest in Europe to consider drastic steps to tackle a new surge in cases in the region.Germany registered yet another record rate of cases over the past week on Monday as more indoor gatherings due to cold weather and flatlining vaccination campaigns turn Europe once more into the pandemic epicentre.This fourth infection wave is challenging a government in transition, with three parties negotiating to form the next cabinet after September’s inconclusive election.The centre-left Social Democrats, Greens and pro-business FDP said on Monday they would add harsher measures to their draft law under consideration by the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) to deal with the outbreak.So-called 3G rules requiring a negative Covid-19 test, or proof of recovery or vaccination should apply to public transport as well as workplaces, according to a policy document by the three parties.It was unclear how they would be enforced.“To quickly and forcefully break the fourth wave we have agreed… further rules,” said senior Greens legislator Kathrin Goering-Eckardt on Twitter.However, she told reporters later there was no agreement on compulsory vaccination in some sectors like care homes, highlighting a division in the would-be government between her party and the SPD on the one hand, and the more libertarian-leaning FDP on the other.The proposal for new curbs in Germany came as Austria’s government on Monday imposed a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus.Some other European countries require passengers to provide proof of vaccination or tests for long-distance travel on public transport. But it is unclear if any others require it for urban transport.The Bundestag is due to vote on Thursday on the draft law so it can come into effect before the expiration of Germany’s state of emergency on Nov 25 which had provided the legal basis for previous pandemic measures.In addition to nationwide rules, the new law aims to give Germany’s 16 states a toolbox of options they can apply separately, given that the infection rate varies greatly across the country. Higher rates can be detected in regions with the lowest vaccination rates, namely eastern and southern Germany.But the new draft law excludes measures like school lockdowns and curfews applied during earlier waves of the pandemic, sparking criticism from some policymakers that it diminishes risk perception and flexibility.Germany’s vaccination rate, at 67%, is among the lowest in western Europe, which could threaten its relatively strong performance to date in tackling the pandemic.So far it has registered around 1,164 deaths per million people from Covid-19 compared to 1,828 on average for the European Union, according to Nov 14 data from Our World in Data.


32.9% of children given first vaccine jab, 64.9% of adults boosted

A total of 2,837,197 individuals or 91.2% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow website, a total of 2,937,206 or 94.4% have received at least one dose of vaccine.For children aged five to 11, a total of 1,167,019 or 32.9% have received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).Meanwhile, a total of 15,280,702 or 64.9% of adults have received a Covid-19 booster dose, while 22,934,957 or 97.5% have completed their vaccination.A total of 23,211,514 or 98.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine.Yesterday, a total of 45,025 vaccine doses were administered, with 23,489 as first doses, 1,349 as second shots and 20,187 as booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses given under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 68,159,756.


Daily caseload at 132 as one more death logged

Another 132 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,035,205.
There were 346 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,988,489.
There are now 9,783 active cases, of which 9,402 or 96.1% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 370 (3.8%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 11 are in ICU with 10 in need of respiratory assistance.
One more death was reported, taking total deaths to 36,933.


Court allows govt appeal in blow to equal citizenship

The Court of Appeal today allowed the government's appeal against a High Court ruling that children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreigners are entitled to automatic citizenship, in a blow to efforts towards equality in citizenship in this regard.
A three-man panel delivered its judgment in a 2-1 decision today. Justices Kamaludin Md Said and Azizah Nawawi agreed while S Nantha Balan dissented.
The judges were supposed to deliver their decision regarding two appeals on June 22, but these were reverted for further submissions.
The first appeal involved the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) and six Malaysian women married to foreigners while the other involved a woman born overseas to a Malaysian mother.
In the first case, the government, home ministry and National Registration Department (JPN) director-general appealed against the High Court decision on Sept 9 last year, recognising that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers have the automatic right to be Malaysians.
In the second case, Mahisha Sulaiha, who was born to a Malaysian mother and an Indian national father in India, appealed against the Aug 19, 2020 High Court dismissal of her suit which she filed seeking a declaration that she is entitled to be a Malaysian citizen.
Family Frontiers said in a statement that today's decision meant the fight for the safety and well-being of overseas-born children would continue.
"This is indeed a setback but we will not be deterred," its president Suriani Kempe added.
"We will appeal this decision at the Federal Court and continue to hold faith in our justice system.
"We stand firm in the belief that one day, our government will see us, Malaysian women, as we see ourselves – as equal citizens, and that our children have just as much of a right to be Malaysian as the children of Malaysian men."


More states could move to Phase 2 of recovery plan, says PM

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said that several more states showing good progress in the fight against Covid-19 could soon join the five which have transitioned to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan.“Apart from the five states that have made the shift to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan, there are several others making good developments which have the potential to achieve the three key indicators in the near future,” he said in a statement after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) today.The five states which moved to the second phase of the National Recovery Plan today were Perlis, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.Under Phase Two, more businesses are allowed to open including computer and telecommunication shops, electrical appliance stores, car washes and barbers.The three indicators required for transition to Phase Two are a drop in daily average caseload, moderate utilisation of ICU beds and at least 10% of the population being fully vaccinated.Muhyiddin said the NSC meeting today which he chaired online from hospital had also discussed the enhanced movement control order in force across a number of areas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.“I hope the pandemic situation in the country can continue to be controlled, and that more people will be vaccinated as soon as possible given the arrival of more vaccine supplies this month,” he said.


Ex-banker tells Najib trial of 'shady', high-pressure transactions

A former Singaporean banker told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that BSI Bank employees were put under tremendous pressure by 1Malaysia Development Bhd Global Investment Limited (1MDBGIL) to expedite the process of investing US$2.72 billion into targeted company accounts.
Former BSI Bank head of wealth management services, Kevin Micheal Swampillai, 59, said the money in 1MDBGIL and other 1MDB-related client accounts did not remain in their accounts for too long as there was always great haste demonstrated by the companies to invest the money in fiduciary funds as quickly as possible.
Kevin said because of this, the BSI Bank staff involved in the flow of funds were constantly reminded that they were handling highly sensitive and time-bound transactions involving the sovereign wealth fund belonging to the Malaysian government, and that complacency would not be tolerated.
He said he was not surprised to learn that a significant number of fiduciary fund transactions occurred within a day of 1MDBGIL receiving about US$2.721 billion in its account at BSI Bank.
"My discomfort with these transactions was from day one. It didn't come up specifically to 1MDBGIL but rather all transactions involving 1MDB-related companies. The transactions were shady, to say the least," he said. Kevin said this during cross-examination by Najib Razak’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, at Najib’s trial on the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds.
The 44th prosecution witness said he understood that the pressure to expedite the money flow process came from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, who then passed it to another BSI Bank manager, Yak Yew Chee, who managed the 1MDBGIL account.
Shafee: When this pressure was executed, another red flag element was raised. Is it correct that BSI Bank officers were constantly reminded that they were dealing with the Malaysian government’s funds?
Kevin: That is correct.
The lawyer then asked Kevin if he was aware of Jho Low’s involvement in 1MDBGIL, to which the witness answered in the affirmative.
"He was positioned as the enabler and adviser (for 1MDBGIL). I know that sounds very murky but that is what was conveyed. That is what came out on the onset," he said.
The trial before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on May 8.
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 involving the same amount.


Doubts raised over using income to determine compounds for SOPs

Reservations have been voiced about imposing fines based on the daily income of offenders, a suggestion mooted as part of the recent debate on the difference in compounds issued to so-called VIPs and regular Joes for violations of Covid-19 health SOPs.The unit of fine, known as a day-fine, represents the amount of income that would have otherwise been earned by the person detained.The system, similar to the method used to calculate income tax, is currently practised in several European countries such as Finland, Germany and Switzerland.Carmelo Ferlito, a senior fellow at think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, said any implementation of the day-fine system must be preceded by an agreement that the main ratio behind the punishment is financial loss, which varies according to individuals.“It is controversial because it implies that financial punishment is at the root of the punishment itself,” he said, adding that only a small number of countries apply the day-fine system.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he also warned of significant obstacles to efficiency including the need to collect the required financial information in order to set the amount of fine.This would be costly as offenders would have no incentive to reveal such information, he added.He suggested instead a system in which the nature of the offence is taken into account.“The amount of fine should not be defined by the punitive prevalent narrative over Covid-19 risks, but should be balanced and determined according to the real size of the offence.“RM50,000 for failing to register with the app is totally out of balance both for the rich and the poor,” he said, referring to the maximum compound amount for breach of health SOPs.A fine of this amount was recently imposed on a burger seller in Kelantan who was found to have operated his stall beyond the permitted hours.The move sparked a backlash online, with many social media users questioning the decision to fine him the maximum amount.They also compared his case with that of celebrity businesswoman Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor who, along with her family, was fined a total of RM60,000 for breaching SOPs at her wedding.Ultimately, Carmelo is in favour of a legal system where “certainty and objectivity prevail”.“Laws and punishments can never be a replacement for education in addressing issues,” he added.“You cannot transform law enforcement into an instrument of punishment of an ethical nature.”Ahmad Marthada Mohamed, dean of the College of Law, Government and International Studies at Universiti Utara Malaysia, said the day-fine system has its merits but agreed with Carmelo that there would be problems in implementation.He pointed to the US which he said had tried using the day-fine system before reverting to a flat rate system.“Discretion by judges is still the best way to determine the fine,” he said.“We can see that now, where first-time offenders can still appeal the amount of fine with which they were slapped.”In any case, he said, the amount of fine is secondary.“What matters is that those who violate the law, including VIPs, be brought to justice.”


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270 evacuated after Tanjung Malim floods

Some 270 people from 75 families in the Tanjung Malim district were evacuated to relief centres after their homes were flooded last night.
A Perak disaster management committee secretariat spokesman said 260 people from Taman Permai Slim and Kampung Balun were moved to the centre at SK Slim River which was opened at 12.30am.
"Ten people from one family were evacuated to the centre at the Kampung Sungai Sekiah Batu 7 community hall, Behrang, which was opened at about 11.30pm," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a Perak fire and rescue department spokesman said a team from the Slim River fire and rescue station was dispatched to Taman Permai Slim on receiving an emergency call at 1.30am.
He said the team evacuated 50 residents in a three-tonne truck and utility vehicles while others made their own arrangements.
Floods were also reported in the Batang Padang district where a woman and her baby were evacuated to the Kampung Samy community hall while 53 people from 15 families were moved to SMK Chenderiang, Tapah.
Various agencies including the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, JBPM, the police and the Social Welfare Department are monitoring the flood situation and relief centres.


Deputy speaker rejects call for parliamentary session on emergency

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman Said has rejected a proposal by Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan that a special parliamentary sitting be convened over the proclamation of emergency.In a letter dated yesterday, the Pontian MP had sought the cooperation of Umno and Barisan Nasional MPs to submit an agreement for the implementation of Article 150 (3) of the Federal Constitution to hold a parliamentary session as soon as possible regarding the emergency proclamation. He also asked them to reply before 12.30pm today.Azalina, whose reply to Ahmad went viral on social media, said that as deputy speaker, she was among those who most prioritised and held firm to the principles of parliamentary democracy.However, she said there were legitimate legal issues that needed to be considered in depth before she could give her consent.“More so because the issue touches on the power and discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under the Federal Constitution,” she said.She said she had taken note of several previous court rulings that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decision to proclaim an emergency could not be challenged as it is provided for under Article 150 (8) of the Federal Constitution.Azalina said although the proclamation could not be challenged, alternatives included a suggestion to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a special bipartisan committee to be formed to advise His Majesty on matters pertaining to the people’s rights and freedom under the Federal Constitution.She also said the agreement to form the Perikatan Nasional Presidential Council last year could be used by Umno to channel input, including any objections regarding government policies during the movement control order (MCO) 2.0 and emergency.“All Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara members from Umno who are also members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Malaysia (APPGM) and Special Select Committees (JPK), can still play active roles so that APPGM and JPK activities can still be actively carried out and continued.“This is because on Jan 12, the Dewan Rakyat speaker (Azhar Harun) announced that all activities of any caucus, APPGM or JPK that had been established can still continue.“Any grouses and grievances of the people in their parliamentary constituencies can be brought to the attention of Umno ministers in the Cabinet meeting. This is because the Umno MPs still receive allocations from the government and have the freedom to travel interstate to their respective constituencies,” she said.She also requested that Umno representatives be appointed soon to the independent special committee on the emergency to be formed as decreed by the King.Azalina, who is also the MP for Pengerang, said other countries which had declared emergencies to curb the spread of Covid-19 had prepared earlier, including by amending the rules of the meeting to allow for their Parliament sitting to be held online.“This was not done in Malaysia in our previous session,” she said.She added that Article 14(1) of the ordinance that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong proclaimed provided that Parliament could only be convened at a time deemed fit by the king.“As such, I feel that the possibility of His Majesty calling for a parliamentary sitting in the near future or cancelling the emergency are very slim,” she said.“Based on these reasons, I respectfully reject and disagree with the application for consent on the issue as requested by to support the MP for Pontian.”


RM164 billion investments approved in 2020, in drop from 2019

Malaysia recorded a total of RM164 billion in approved investments through 4,599 projects in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors in 2020, says International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali.He said these investments are expected to create 114,673 jobs in various sectors of the economy once implemented.“In contrast, a total of 5,287 projects with investments of RM211.4 billion were approved in 2019.“This decline was weighed by the services and primary sectors which were directly impacted by declines in global demands due to the pandemic and implementation of the movement control order (MCO),” he said in a statement today.According to a statement released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), domestic direct investments (DDI) accounted for 60.9% (RM99.8 billion) of total approved investments in 2020, while foreign direct investments (FDI) made up the remaining RM64.2 billion (39.1%).The manufacturing sector led the way for total investments approved in 2020, up 10.3% from 2019 to RM91.3 billion in 2020, followed by the services sector (RM66.7 billion) and the primary sector (RM6.0 billion), it said.Mida said China (RM18.1 billion), Singapore (RM10.0 billion) and the Netherlands (RM7.0 billion) were the top three FDI sources from overall economic sectors in Malaysia, accounting for more than half (54.8%) of total approved FDI for the year.It said Selangor recorded the highest investments approved last year (RM38.7 billion), followed by Sabah (RM21.0 billion), Sarawak (RM19.6 billion), Kuala Lumpur (RM17.1 billion) and Penang (RM16.0 billion).“These five states alone contributed more than 60% of total approved investments for 2020,” it said.Mida said the manufacturing sector saw the number of projects approved increase by 6.2% to 1,049 projects in 2020 from 988 projects in 2019.“When implemented, these approved manufacturing projects will create new jobs for more than 80,000 people.“Of these, 35.8% are in managerial, technical and supervisory (MTS) positions, including engineers, plant maintenance supervisors, tools and die makers, machinists, IT personnel, quality controllers, electricians and welders,” it said.Mida said FDI accounted for 62% (RM56.6 billion) of total approved investments in the manufacturing sector, while domestic investments constituted the remaining 38% (RM34.7 billion).“It is important to note that despite the challenging times, DDI surged by 22.6% while FDI increased by 3.9% compared to 2019,” it said, adding that China was the top investor in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia, contributing RM17.8 billion of total foreign investments approved in the sector.“China was also the largest source of foreign investments in the manufacturing sector for five consecutive years,” it said.Mida said other major sources of FDI include Singapore (RM8.8 billion), the Netherlands (RM6.5 billion), the US (RM3.7 billion), Hong Kong (RM2.9 billion), Switzerland (RM2.8 billion), Thailand (RM1.9 billion), Japan (RM1.7 billion) and South Korea (RM1.4 billion).Selangor was the largest recipient of investments in the manufacturing sector for 2020 (RM18.4 billion), followed by Sarawak (RM15.7 billion), Penang (RM14.1 billion), Sabah (RM12.0 billion) and Johor (RM6.8 billion).These five states constituted 73.4% of total approved investments in the sector last year, it said.Commenting on the achievement, Azmin said new project investments, accounting for 66.9% of total manufacturing projects approved, were secured in 2020 amid the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.“This is a testament to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Mida’s efforts to ensure business continuity and that investors’ friendly policies are in place to enable investors to have the confidence to establish new operations in the country,” he said.The minister said his team had also worked hard to ensure projects approved are implemented smoothly.“This can be seen through the commendable rate of implementation in approved projects. For the period 2016-2020, a total of 4,178 projects were approved, of which 70.0% with investments worth RM197.2 billion have been implemented in the country,” he added.


Meta modifying special handling of VIP posts

Meta on Friday said it will modify the company's criticised special handling of posts by celebrities, politicians and other big audience Instagram or Facebook users, taking steps to avoid business interests swaying decisions.
The tech giant promised to implement in full or in part most of the 32 changes to its "cross-check" programme recommended by an independent review board that it funds as a sort of top court for content or policy decisions.
"This will result in substantial changes to how we operate this system," Meta global affairs president Nick Clegg said in a blog post.
"These actions will improve this system to make it more effective, accountable and equitable."
Meta declined, however, to publicly label which accounts get preferred treatment when it comes to content filtering decisions and nor will it create a formal, open process to get into the programme.
Labelling users in the cross-check programme might target them for abuse, Meta reasoned.
The changes came in response to the oversight panel in December calling for Meta to overhaul the cross-check system, saying the programme appeared to put business interests over human rights when giving special treatment to rule-breaking posts by certain users.
"We found that the programme appears more directly structured to satisfy business concerns," the panel said in a report at the time.
"By providing extra protection to certain users selected largely according to business interests, cross-check allows content which would otherwise be removed quickly to remain up for a longer period, potentially causing harm."
Meta told the board that the program is intended to avoid content-removal mistakes by providing an additional layer of human review to posts by high-profile users that initially appear to break rules, the report said.
"We will continue to ensure that our content moderation decisions are made as consistently and accurately as possible, without bias or external pressure," Meta said in its response to the oversight board.
"While we acknowledge that business considerations will always be inherent to the overall thrust of our activities, we will continue to refine guardrails and processes to prevent bias and error in all our review pathways and decision making structures."


Twitter deletes Dr M’s post on Muslims killing French

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad tweeted yesterday that Muslims had a right “to kill millions of French people” after a deadly attack in Nice, sparking widespread anger and prompting Twitter to delete his post.Three people were killed at a church in the southern French city, with the attacker slitting the throat of at least one, in what authorities were treating as the latest jihadist assault to rock the country.Shortly afterwards, Mahathir – who was prime minister until his government collapsed in February – launched an extraordinary outburst in a series of tweets.Twitter initially declined to remove the comments, but finally did so following a furious reaction from the French government.Cedric O, the French junior minister for digital affairs, said in a tweet in French and English: “I just spoke with the MD (managing director) of @TwitterFrance.“The account of @chedetofficial must be immediately suspended. If not, @twitter would be an accomplice to a formal call for murder.”Twitter initially flagged Mahathir’s tweet about killing “millions of French people” as “glorifying violence” but did not remove it.However, shortly afterwards, the tweet was deleted entirely, and Twitter told AFP it was because the comments “violated policy regarding glorification of violence”.Mahathir never made a direct reference to the attack in Nice however.Referring to the beheading of a French teacher who had shown pupils cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, Mahathir said he did not approve of his murder but that freedom of expression does not include “insulting other people”.“Irrespective of the religion professed, angry people kill,” said the outspoken 95-year-old, who has in the past drawn controversy for remarks attacking Jews and the LGBT community.“The French in the course of their history has killed millions of people. Many were Muslims. Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past.”But he added that “by and large the Muslims have not applied the ‘eye for an eye’ law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t.”Mahathir, who served as prime minister twice for a total of 24 years, also said French President Emmanuel Macron was “not showing that he is civilised”, and added that he was “very primitive”.“The French should teach their people to respect other people’s feelings. Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims’ religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French.His comments sparked widespread condemnation, with some social media users labelling them “outrageous” and “disgraceful”.The beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty reinforced Macron’s intention to take on Islamic extremism.But comments by the French president since then, in particular a vow to protect freedom of speech including cartoons deemed insulting by Muslims, have inflamed tensions.Protests and calls for boycotts against France have erupted in several Muslim countries.


Govt announces discounts on raw goods for Menu Rahmah operators

Menu Rahmah operators will be given special discounts on the price of ingredients to ensure the sustainability of the initiative, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the government with the cooperation of selected supermarkets had agreed to offer raw materials such as chicken, onions and basic food items for Menu Rahmah operators at special discounted rates.
"Through this effort, it is hoped that we will be able to provide relief to entrepreneurs and further ensure the continuation of the implementation of Menu Rahmah, which has provided great benefits, especially to the poor," he said at a press conference in Putrajaya.
Anwar said the government appreciated the contribution of Menu Rahmah operators in jointly ensuring the success of its aspirations to reduce the cost of living for the people.
"At the same time, the government is also aware and concerned about the production costs that entrepreneurs have to bear in order to obtain supplies of raw materials," he said.
The government, through the domestic trade and cost of living ministry, launched the Menu Rahmah initiative to help reduce the cost of living for the people, especially the poor.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub said the implementation of incentives for Menu Rahmah operators through special discounts at selected supermarkets will start in the middle of next month.
"The ministry is confident that through this special incentive, Menu Rahmah operators can continue to provide such meals to consumers for a longer period of time.
"This incentive is also expected to encourage more restaurant operators to participate in the Menu Rahmah initiative," he said in a statement.
As of April 15, a total of 1,706 Menu Rahmah operators had registered on the Menu Rahmah portal to provide balanced and nutritious food menus at below RM5.


China says bringing Delta-driven outbreak under control

Chinese health officials said Friday they were bringing the country’s worst Covid outbreak in months under control after new infections hit a seven-month high earlier this week.Multiple cluster outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant have spread to 48 cities in 18 provinces nationwide, infecting more than 1,282 people, officials said.However there had been no new infections in many hotspots in recent days owing to stringent virus control measures, they added.“Of these 48 cities, 36 have not reported any new infections in the past five consecutive days,” Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention official He Qinghua told reporters.“In these circumstances, the risk of a nationwide outbreak is generally controllable and there is relatively little risk of a large-scale outbreak occurring on the national scale.”State media has described the current outbreak – which has sparked local lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions – as the most severe since the virus first emerged in the central city of Wuhan.More than half of China’s population, 777 million people, have been fully inoculated so far, with over 1.83 billion doses administered nationwide, a National Health Commission spokesman announced Friday.China has also strengthened anti-virus controls for international flights and cargo shipments in response to the latest outbreak.“According to the results of genetic sequencing, the sources of infection are all from overseas,” said He.One terminal of Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the world’s third-biggest by cargo volume, suspended operations Wednesday after a worker tested positive.The latest outbreak emerged in mid-July in the eastern city of Nanjing, after nine airport cleaners tested positive for the virus.Dozens of local officials have since been punished for mishandling the outbreak, as Beijing scrambled to contain the spread of domestic transmissions.China reported 99 new cases Friday, 47 of which were local transmissions – down from a seven-month high of 108 local infections announced Tuesday.Several cases in recent days have been linked to a Covid-19 testing site and mahjong parlours in eastern Yangzhou city, home to 4.6 million people.


China's military says US warship illegally entered waters in South China Sea

China's military said on Thursday it monitored and drove away a US destroyer that had illegally entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
In a statement, the military said without the approval of the government, the guided-missile destroyer Milius illegally intruded into China's territorial waters, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway.
"The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea," said Tian Junli, a spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command.
Tension between the US and China has been growing in the area.
The US has been shoring up alliances in the Asia-Pacific seeking to counter China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing seeks to advance its territorial claims.


I’m not Jho Low’s aunt, ex-1MDB secretary tells court

Former 1MDB company secretary Goh Gaik Kim told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that she is not the aunt of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low.Goh, 54, who was 1MDB’s company secretary from March 31, 2011 to April 1, 2016, denied the allegation that she is related to Jho Low during cross-examination by Najib Razak’s lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed at the trial of the former prime minister for charges of embezzling RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.“I categorically say that I am not his auntie. Not only am I not his auntie, I am also not in any way related to him. In fact, I first met Jho Low in 2011, a month after I joined 1MDB.“I was having lunch with 1MDB director Ong Gim Huat and Radhi Mohamad. I think he came in, Radhi said ‘Oh, that’s Jho Low’, and he and Ong went over to say hi. I saw him from afar. At that time, I didn’t know who he was.“After lunch, I asked them who Jho Low was because in my mind, of course, he had connections with the company because they both went to greet the man. But they just kept quiet,” Goh, the 17th prosecution witness, said.“So you were not introduced to Jho Low?” Wan Aizuddin said, to which Goh replied: “No.”When the lawyer showed her a photograph of Jho Low, Goh said she was unable to recognise his face as she had only seen him from afar.She also said that she had never seen Jho Low since the 2011 lunch event.To another question, Goh said she was never informed by the senior management of 1MDB that Jho Low played any role in the company.Najib, 68, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of illegal money laundering involving the same amount.The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.


Over 100 bodies remain unclaimed after Indian rail disaster

Indian authorities made fervent appeals to families on Tuesday to help identify over 100 unclaimed bodies kept in hospitals and mortuaries after 275 people were killed in the country's deadliest rail crash in over two decades.
The disaster struck on Friday, when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped the tracks and hit another passenger train passing in the opposite direction near the district of Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha.
Following non-stop efforts to rescue survivors and clear and repair the track, trains resumed running over that section of the line on Sunday night.
Till Monday evening around 100 bodies were yet to be identified, a senior state health department official told Reuters.
Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, health director of Odisha, said authorities were trying to source iced containers to help preserve the bodies.
"Unless they are identified, a post mortem cannot be done," Mohapatra said, explaining that under Odisha state regulations no autopsy can be conducted on an unclaimed body until 96 hours has passed.
At state capital Bhubaneswar's biggest hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), large television screens displayed pictures of the dead to help desperate families who are scouring hospitals and mortuaries for friends and relatives.
A detailed list was made of distinguishing features for each body, but relatives could first view photographs, however gruesome, to identify missing loved ones, a senior police official told Reuters.
The trains had passengers from several states and officials from seven states - Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - were in Balasore to help people claim the bodies and take the dead home, the police official added.
India's Railway Board has recommended that the federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) take over the probe into the cause of the disaster while a separate inquiry, led by AM Chowdhary, commissioner of railway safety for the south-eastern circle, started on Monday.
The CBI team will reach the site on Tuesday and start its investigation.
Railway police filed a case of criminal negligence, without naming any suspects.
A signal failure was the likely cause of the disaster, according to preliminary findings, which indicated the Coromandel Express, heading southbound to Chennai from Kolkata, moved off the main line and entered a loop track – a side track used to park trains – at 128kph, crashing into the stationary freight train.
That crash caused the engine and first four or five coaches of the Coromandel Express to jump the tracks, topple and hit the last two coaches of the Yeshwantpur-Howrah train heading in the opposite direction at 126kph on the second main track.


A new norm for a healthier planet

As the world, its people and its economies slowly return to normal after the grinding halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we must realise that we are not in the clear just yet. We cannot go back to business as usual because, as we have seen and experienced, business as usual was, and will continue to be, detrimental to our planet.The Covid-19 pandemic has seen more than 141 million confirmed cases to date. It has swept through countries and continents, caused massive human suffering, shaken financial markets and upended societies. However, while the spread of the current crisis is unprecedented, Covid-19 follows a number of diseases that have emerged in recent decades such as Ebola, AIDS, SARS, avian influenza and swine flu.Evidence increasingly illustrates the link between humanity’s impact on ecosystems and biodiversity, and the rise of certain diseases. While many of the links are not yet fully understood, it is clear that our health and the planet’s are interconnected. Climate change and biodiversity loss are important indicators of planetary health. If there is anything that we should take away from this pandemic, it is that healthy natural ecosystems are essential to human health.Given the close link between the environment and human health, livelihoods, water and food security, it has never been more urgent that environmental protection, conservation and sustainable management are mainstreamed at all levels. Unsustainable practices lead to unrecoverable losses, both in monetary and non-monetary form. They are closely linked to climate change, where issues such as unbridled economic growth, change in land use and poor agricultural practices have caused massive negative impacts on the world’s ecosystems. Climate change-related natural disasters cause billions of dollars in losses and impact our ability to produce sufficient food for the future which, in turn, could trigger a host of economic and social issues.The Covid-19 crisis demonstrates that systemic changes must be made to address the environmental drivers of pandemics. WWF, in supporting the “One Health’ approach, advocates linking the health of people, animals and our shared environment and calls for this to be included in decision-making on wildlife and land use change. The government too has recently made commitments towards prioritising action to ensuring “planetary health” in its climate action and endorsing a green recovery plan to build back better.This is why steps taken by any and all parties in line with sustainable practices and development should be encouraged and commended. One such step is the recent launch of the Green Vaccination Programme (GVP) guidebook by the Malaysian government, which details the procedures for clinical waste management and sustainable practices throughout the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. One of the highlights of the GVP is the intention of the government to offset the carbon emissions associated with the vaccination rollout, which is a step in the right direction.We are at a unique moment in human history. The impacts of our activities on our wildlife, climate, rivers, forests and oceans are profound, as are the consequences for humanity. As a result of the massive land conversion for food, urbanisation, infrastructure and industrial needs to meet the demands of a growing population, our natural habitat is declining drastically.However, not all is lost. We are the first generation to fully comprehend our devastating impacts on the planet, and we are the last generation that can do something about it. More than ever, we are now aware of the need to restore the delicate balance between preserving the environment and economic growth by retaining natural habitats and promoting sustainable use of resources. We all have a role to play in respecting and caring for our environment, not just to preserve what we have today, but also to sustain it for future generations.At the end of the day, our economy and, more importantly, our well-being, rely heavily on services from the environment that are often unacknowledged including providing us with fresh water, air, food and protection from severe weather. We are in danger of losing these services if we do not protect our natural environment.As we welcome Earth Day tomorrow, this year’s theme of “Restore Our Earth” should resonate with all of us – individuals, societies, corporates and governments. Restoring our planet’s health requires all of our efforts. Globally, to secure planetary health, leaders must take urgent action to transform our relationship with the natural world. We need a new deal for nature and people that sets nature on the path to recovery by 2030 and safeguards human health and livelihoods both in the short and long-term. Together, we can prevent the coming disasters of climate change, nature loss and environmental destruction.The Covid-19 pandemic is a dress rehearsal for the many future challenges we will face, particularly climate change, for which there is no vaccine that can be created. The establishment of the Climate Change Action Council in Malaysia is a positive step towards setting commitments and policies to be carbon neutral. Green development must be part of the new norm.The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.Dr Jemilah Mahmood is special adviser to the prime minister on public health, while Sophia Lim is executive director and CEO of WWF-Malaysia.


Subway’s sandwich bread is actually cake, rules Irish court

Subway sandwich shops are famous the world over for the smell of baking bread they waft around streets in their neighbourhood.The aroma is supposed to lure you in for a footlong sandwich, and for many passers-by it works.Other people have compared the aroma to waste bins, and prefer to pass right on by.At least, whatever you thought of the aroma, you knew Subway sandwiches were made of bread and all sorts of yummy fillings.According to the Subway Ireland website, the chain’s sandwiches are available on six different kinds of bread, including nine-grain multi-seed, Italian white bread, Italian herbs and cheese, nine-grain wheat, hearty Italian, and honey oat.Now, Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that all six varieties, even the healthy-sounding ones, are too sugary to legally be called “bread” at all.In Ireland, following the ruling, Subway bread is now considered to be confectionary, more like cake than bread for tax purposes.Basically, you don’t have to pay tax on bread because it’s a “staple food” but you do on cake, which is not.That’s designed to prevent restaurants and takeaways passing off sugary baked goods like pastries and cakes as “staple foods” exempt from tax.The Irish Independent reports that the judges ruled that Subway’s bread is not a staple food because its sugar content is 10% of the weight of the flour in the dough when the legal limit is 2%.In other words, Subway puts five times too much sugar in their “bread” for it to be considered bread in Ireland.A Subway spokesman disagreed, saying, “Subway’s bread is, of course, bread. We have been baking fresh bread in our restaurants for more than three decades and our guests return each day for sandwiches made on bread that smells as good as it tastes.”


France rewards frontline workers with citizenship

Hundreds of foreigners in France whose jobs expose them to high Covid-19 risks will be naturalised quickly for their commitment during the health crisis, the interior ministry said Tuesday.The ministry had in September invited people who “actively contributed” to the fight against the novel coronavirus to apply for fast-track naturalisation.Of the nearly 3,000 people who responded, 74 had already obtained citizenship and 693 more were in the final stage of the process, the office of Marlene Schiappa, junior minister for citizenship, said in a statement.“Health professionals, cleaning ladies, childcare workers, checkout staff: They all proved their commitment to the nation, and it is now the turn of the republic to take a step towards them,” it said.Additionally, immigration authorities have been ordered to reduce the residency period needed for citizenship to two years from the usual five in the case of “great services rendered”.Last year, some 112,000 foreigners acquired French nationality, including more than 48,000 by naturalisation – 10% fewer than in 2018.


Signs of something ‘buried’ in Amazon disappearance of journalist, expert

Authorities combing a remote corner of the Amazon for a missing British journalist and Brazilian indigenous expert are investigating possible human remains and a spot where something appears to have been buried, officials said Friday.Fears have been mounting over the fate of Dom Phillips, 57, a veteran contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and Bruno Pereira, 41, a respected specialist in indigenous peoples, since they disappeared Sunday after receiving threats during a research trip to Brazil’s Javari Valley, a far-flung jungle region that has seen a surge of illegal fishing, logging, mining and drug trafficking.Authorities have arrested a suspect named as 41-year-old Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, nicknamed “Pelado,” who witnesses say pursued the men upriver. A blood spot found on a tarp in his boat has been sent for analysis at the crime lab in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state.Emergency official Geonivan Maciel said investigators now had a new lead in the case: a suspicious site with “overturned earth” in a community called Cachoeira, on a bank of the Itaquai river, where the men were last seen.“It’s as if someone had dug something at the site, buried something there,” Maciel told journalists accompanying the search.“We’re going to carry out a scan of the bottom to verify… We can’t say there’s definite evidence, but we’re going to see if there’s something there that could identify something about the two missing men.”Federal police later said in a statement investigators had found “apparently human organic material” during their search.It was unclear whether it came from the same site.Investigators collected genetic material from Phillips’s and Pereira’s homes for comparison, the statement said.Bolsonaro under firePresident Jair Bolsonaro’s government has faced accusations of failing to scale up the search operation fast enough.And Bolsonaro himself came in for criticism when he appeared to blame the men, saying they had gone on an “unadvisable adventure.”The government faces mounting pressure over the case from high-profile media organisations, rights groups and celebrities including football legend Pele and iconic singer Caetano Veloso.Environmental group Greenpeace fired a new salvo Friday, calling the men’s disappearance “the tip of the iceberg of the policy of extermination pushed by the current administration.”Bolsonaro, who has pushed to open protected indigenous lands to mining, has presided over a surge of destruction in the Amazon, a key resource in the race to curb climate change.Since the far-right president took office in 2019, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has risen by 75% from the previous decade.“The extreme violence and insecurity in the Javari Valley is a reflection of the absence of competent and effective action by the Brazilian government across the Amazon,” Greenpeace said in a statement.Drugs, ammunitionPolice have said they are hopeful of finding the pair alive but are not ruling out any possibility, including homicide.Witnesses say they saw “Pelado” trailing Phillips and Pereira’s boat as the pair made their way back to the small city of Atalaia do Norte after a research trip to an area known as Jaburu lake.The suspect was arrested with drugs and unlicensed ammunition of a caliber often used in assault rifles.Local indigenous activists say Phillips and Pereira received threats last week while working in the region.Pereira, a highly regarded expert on the region currently on leave from Brazilian indigenous affairs agency Funai, has been a target of death threats for his work fighting illegal invasions of indigenous lands.Phillips was accompanying him for a book project on sustainable development in the Amazon.


10 EU nations causing ‘high concern’ over Covid

Ten countries in the 27-member European Union face a Covid situation of “high concern”, the bloc’s diseases agency said Friday, warning the pandemic was worsening across the continent.“The overall epidemiological situation… was characterised by a high and rapidly increasing overall case notification rate and a low but slowly increasing death rate,” the European Centre for Disease Control said.“Case notification rates, death rates, and hospital and ICU admissions are all forecast to increase over the next two weeks.”In its latest weekly risk assessment, the agency listed 10 EU countries in its highest category of concern – Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia.“Countries with lower vaccination uptake continue to be the most severely affected,” said the agency.Germany was among 10 other EU nations classed as “high concern” and France among three of “moderate concern”.Italy, Malta, Spain and Sweden were of low concern.The agency said four countries had been raised into a higher category since the last assessment, and five countries had been lowered.The number of cases and deaths is expected to increase by about 50% over the next two weeks, the agency added, reaching a weekly rate of 300 new cases and 2.7 deaths per 100,000 population.The assessment looks at the 27 EU nations as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.