Hollywood actors authorise strike as writers still out

Hollywood's actors union voted to authorise a strike if contract talks break down, turning up the heat on major film and television studios already grappling with a work stoppage by writers.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, said 97.91% of the votes that were cast supported a strike authorisation. Talks between the actors union and major studios are scheduled to start on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the studios likely averted another work stoppage by reaching a tentative deal with the Directors Guild of America (DGA). That pact will take effect if DGA members vote to ratify it.
Actors, in their negotiations, will seek higher pay and safeguards against unauthorised use of their images through artificial intelligence. Their current deal expires June 30.
The last time actors went on strike was in 2000.
In a letter to members urging them to vote in favor of a strike authorisation, SAG-AFTRA leaders said the industry had changed dramatically with the rise of streaming television and the emergence of new technology such as generative AI.
"We have fully entered a digital and streaming entertainment industry, and that demands a contract that is relevant to the new business model," the letter said.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents Walt Disney Co, Netflix Inc and other major studios, had no comment.
The month-long strike by more than 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has disrupted production of late-night shows and shut down high-profile projects including a new season of Netflix's "Stranger Things" and a "Game of Thrones" spinoff for Warner Bros Discovery's HBO.
An actors' strike would lead to a broader shutdown and increase pressure on studios that need programming to feed their streaming services and the fall TV broadcast schedule.
During the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table.
On Friday, WGA negotiator Chris Keyser argued that would not be the case this time. "Any deal that puts this town back to work runs straight through the WGA, and there is no way around that," Keyser said in a video posted on YouTube.


Islamic State group announces death of leader

The Islamic State jihadist group said Wednesday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi has been killed in battle and announced a replacement to head up its remaining sleeper cells.
A spokesman for IS said Hashimi, an Iraqi, was killed "in combat with enemies of God", without elaborating on the date or circumstances of his death.
The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said Hashimi had been killed in an operation carried out by rebels of the Free Syrian Army in Daraa province in southern Syria in mid-October.
Daraa province is mostly controlled by Syrian government forces and rebels who have reached understandings with the regime. In mid-October, Damascus said it had launched a joint operation against IS with former rebels in the south of the province.
Using an alternative acronym for IS, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: "We welcome the announcement that another leader from Isis is no longer walking in the face of the Earth."
Speaking in an audio message, the IS spokesman said Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi had been named as the group's new leader.
Qurashi refers to a tribe of the Prophet Muhammad, from whom IS leaders must claim descent.
'Caliphate'
After a meteoric rise in Iraq and Syria in 2014 that saw it conquer vast swathes of territory, IS saw its self-proclaimed "caliphate" collapse under a wave of offensives.
The Sunni Muslim extremist group's austere and terror-ridden rule was marked by beheadings and shootings.
It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but sleeper cells still carry out attacks in both countries.
The group or its branches have also claimed attacks elsewhere this year, including in Afghanistan, Iran and Israel.
The spokesman did not provide details on the new leader, but said he was a "veteran" jihadist and called on all groups loyal to IS to pledge their allegiance to its fourth leader.
IS's previous chief, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed in February this year in a US raid in Idlib province in northern Syria.
His predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed, also in Idlib, in October 2019.
'Global threat'
White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre would not comment on any US involvement in the operation that led to Hashimi's death.
"We are pleased to see the removal of Isis leaders in such quick succession," she told reporters "The US remains committed to countering the global threat from Isis and stands ready to work with international partners."
The IS leadership have suffered repeated blows from various quarters this year.
In October, US forces killed a "senior" IS member in a pre-dawn raid in northeastern Syria, Centcom said at the time.
The US leads a military coalition battling IS in Syria.
The raid targeted "Rakkan Wahid al-Shammari, an Isis official known to facilitate the smuggling of weapons and fighters", Centcom said.
It said a later air strike had killed two other senior IS members.
In July, the Pentagon said it had killed Syria's top IS jihadist in a drone strike in the north of the country.
US Central Command said he had been "one of the top five" IS leaders.
Turkey said in September that security forces had arrested a "senior executive" of IS known as Abu Zeyd, whose real name was Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai.
Turkish media said there were some indications Sumaidai might have been the IS leader.
Thousands of suspected jihadists and their relatives are still detained in camps in Syria and prisons in Iraq.
In January, IS launched a major attack on a prison housing fellow jihadists in northeastern Syria, in a jailbreak attempt that triggered a week of deadly clashes.
Hundreds of IS prisoners, including senior leaders, were thought to have escaped, with some crossing to neighbouring Turkey or Turkish-held territory in northern Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Pentagon warned Tuesday that a threatened Turkish ground operation against Kurdish targets in Syria would "severely jeopardise" gains made in the war against IS.


May 19 storm caused over RM4 million damages in KL

The damage to schools and residential premises in the federal territory as a result of last Friday's storm is estimated to cost over RM4 million in repairs, said Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi.
He said last week's storm affected 29 schools in Kuala Lumpur and the estimated cost to repair all the schools was RM3 million.
"School repair work will be carried out as soon as possible using the education ministry's allocation. It is up to the ministry to ask the public works department (JKR) to carry out the restoration, or the ministry to appoint its own contractor," he told reporters after visiting Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Setapak today.
According to Nanta, apart from the school, last Friday’s storm also hit workers' quarters at the works ministry involving five single-storey houses.
He said other premises affected by the storm were five units of quarters at the defence ministry estimated to cost up to RM500,000. "In another incident, a tree toppled on a house at the Palestinian embassy. JKR has received a report from the property management division in Kuala Lumpur and has called a contractor to cut the fallen tree and carry out cleaning work as well as electrical repair estimated at RM600,000," he said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek who was also present with Nanta during the visit to SK Setapak said the school was the worst affected by last week's storm.
"After this visit, follow-up actions will be implemented and completed during the school holidays. A total of eight classes suffered various damages involving learning equipment and wiring," she said.
It is understood that the 70 affected SK Setapak students are students with special needs and they are temporarily placed in the laboratory and other classrooms.


Pandemic speeds up worldwide, surges in North America

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to surge in all regions of the world apart from Latin America and the Caribbean, leaping by nearly a half in North America.Here is the global state of play over the past week, according to a specialised AFP database.Upsurge in North AmericaThe pandemic is accelerating almost everywhere, most markedly in the US and Canada which saw a jump of 44% in average daily cases over the past week.Cases increased by 20% in Oceania, 11% in the Middle East, 6% in Asia, 3% in Europe and 1% in Africa.This week the only region that did not record an uptick in cases was Latin America and the Caribbean, which saw daily infections decline by 13% over the previous week.6% upThe average number of new daily cases globally increased by 6% over the week to 612,000, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.The pandemic has continued to gain ground since mid-June largely due to the highly contagious Delta variant now dominant in many countries.The number of confirmed cases only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, with different countries also having varying counting practices and levels of testing.Biggest spikesOn a country basis, Israel saw the biggest spike with a jump of 101% more daily cases.Israel is among the most vaccinated countries in the world and has started administering booster jabs. It had seen its incidence rate plummet below 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but this is now at 243.Current Olympics host Japan followed with 97% more daily cases, then Turkey with 56% more, Pakistan with 54% and Morocco with a jump of 49%.Biggest dropsZimbabwe saw the biggest drop with 46% fewer daily cases, followed by the Netherlands with 44%, Brazil 28%, Rwanda 27% and Colombia with a drop of 26%.Most new casesThe US saw the biggest number of new cases this week with 96,800, an increase of 44%.It was followed by India (40,600, an increase of 5%), and Indonesia (33,900, a drop of 20%).On a per capita basis the country that recorded the most new cases this week remained Fiji with 824 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Georgia (575) and Cuba (565).Most deathsIndonesia again recorded the highest number of daily deaths with 1,689, followed by Brazil (887) and Russia (790).Daily deaths worldwide this week were at 9,382 per day, an increase of 5%.VaccinationsJapan led the vaccination race among countries with more than one million people, giving doses to 1.77% of its population every day this week.Panama followed (1.72%), then Sri Lanka (1.70%), Malaysia (1.61%), Ecuador (1.26%), China (1.22%) and Saudi Arabia (1.15%).While they are vaccinating more slowly, the countries with the most advanced vaccination drives are the United Arab Emirates with 172 first or second doses per 100 people, Israel, Canada, Chile and Singapore, all on 133, Denmark (130), Belgium (128) and the UK (126).


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Brazil braces for third wave of Covid-19

Already reeling from one of the highest death tolls in the pandemic, Brazil is bracing for the threat of a third wave of Covid-19, fuelled by vaccination delays and a lack of containment measures.So far, each pandemic wave has been successively worse in Brazil, peaking at a weekly average of around 1,000 deaths per day in July 2020 during the first wave and 3,000 deaths per day in April during the second.The curve has since turned down, with an average of around 1,600 deaths per day over the past week, and Brazilians have largely gone back to business as usual.But with the southern hemisphere winter approaching again, experts say warning lights are flashing, raising fears of a return to overflowing hospitals, mass graves, refrigerator trucks piled with corpses and other gruesome scenes from the darkest days of the pandemic in Brazil.The sprawling country has been slow to vaccinate its 212 million people, and hasty in lifting state and local stay-at-home measures, epidemiologists say.Meanwhile, risky virus variants – including the Gamma strain that emerged in Brazil itself, plus the first cases of the Delta strain that emerged in India – threaten to accelerate the disease’s spread.Covid-19 has already claimed more than 470,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the US.The South American country’s per capita death toll – more than 220 per 100,000 inhabitants – is one of the world’s highest.But many Brazilians seem unconcerned by the threat of a new surge – not least far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who continues to regularly defy expert advice on containing the virus.“Brazil has taken an unprecedented health catastrophe and turned it into something normal. The majority of people are acting like there’s no pandemic,” said infectious disease specialist Jose David Urbaez.“That’s why predictions are for a very intense third surge,” he told AFP.Pot-banging protestsSome experts say a new surge in Brazil should not even be called a “third wave”, given that the first and second never really subsided.Whatever one calls it, it risks hitting just as Brazil hosts the Copa America, the South American football championships, which Bolsonaro welcomed after organizers pulled the plug on original hosts Argentina at the last minute over their own surge of Covid-19.The 10-nation tournament kicks off Sunday and will run until July 10.The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, which is scheduled to host eight matches, including the final, has already said his city may cancel.With around 10.8% of the population fully vaccinated, the situation in Brazil could get worse before it gets better.Bolsonaro faces mounting criticism and a Senate inquiry over his controversial handling of Covid-19, including his refusal of various offers of vaccines.He vowed last week that all Brazilians would be vaccinated by the end of the year, but experts say that will be difficult.His announcement, made in a nationally televised address, was met by a chorus of banging pots and pans in many Brazilian cities – a traditional mark of protest.Bolsonaro maintains his refusal to impose lockdown measures is responsible for Brazil’s stronger-than-expected economic growth of 1.2% in the first quarter of the year.However, experts warn the future of the pandemic recovery in Latin America’s largest economy will depend on how well it contains Covid-19.Last year, Brazil’s economy contracted by a record 4.1%.Mass vaccination: an exit“If the speed of vaccination is less than the negative impact of relaxing social distancing measures, the third wave could hit Brazil hard,” said epidemiologist Mauro Sanchez of the University of Brasilia.One experiment has shown the power of mass vaccination. In the town of Serrana, in Sao Paulo state, public health officials vaccinated 95% of the adult population in a study of the effects of full immunization.Covid-19 deaths fell by 95% and hospitalisations by 86% in the southeastern town, population 45,000.“We controlled the pandemic in Serrana. We can do the same across Brazil,” said Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, a fierce Bolsonaro critic and leader in the campaign to vaccinate all Brazilians.


Loke to meet MACC chief over JPJ misconduct claims

Transport Minister Anthony Loke wants to meet with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki to seek an explanation following a news report on alleged misconduct by staff of an agency under the ministry.
“I have no information because this is a media report, but because he (Azam) mentioned an agency under the transport ministry. I will request an appointment with the MACC chief to meet him and get further details,” he told reporters after attending the transport ministry’s Simpulan Kasih Malaysia Madani programme in Putrajaya today.
An English daily today published Azam’s revelation that some government agencies have been ignoring over 500 reports of misconduct involving their staff, despite the MACC recommending them to take action. They include the Road Transport Department, the police force, religious authorities and hospitals.
Loke said the meeting with Azam was a preliminary step before taking any action to be fair to any officer or staff member who may be involved and avoid pointing fingers without solid evidence.
Another step is to obtain a list of staff names and cases involving them, he said.
“I will not compromise with any misconduct and will cooperate fully if the report has strong evidence,” he said.


English football club ‘appalled’ after Holocaust victim Anne Frank included in Covid tribute clip

English Premier League club Everton were said to be “appalled” Saturday after a video it posted honouring supporters who died during the coronavirus pandemic turned out to also feature an image of Holocaust victim Anne Frank.The picture of Frank, who perished in a Nazi death camp in 1945, appeared in the four-minute long video released on the club’s social media channels. It had been put together after an appeal to fans to contribute names and photos.It remained online for almost seven hours despite an increasing number of supporters taking to their own social media to point out the error.Everton declined to comment but Britain’s Press Association said club officials were “appalled” by those who saw fit to sabotage the tribute, which was collated using submissions from hundreds of supporters.The new version of the video, published shortly before 10pm, included the message: “Today was all about you. Those reunited with us at Goodison, but sadly also those that couldn’t be there who we have lost over the course of the pandemic. RIP Blues”.The video had been released on the first weekend of the new Premier League season and just before Everton defeated Southampton 3-1 in their opener.


Budget allocations for 11 ministries passed at committee level

Budget allocations for 11 ministries were passed at the committee level in the sixth week of the Dewan Rakyat sitting.
The ministries were: home affairs; works; entrepreneurship development and cooperatives; tourism, arts and culture; science, technology and innovation; health; human resources; Ministry of Transport; Ministry of International Trade and Industry; communications and digital; and women, family and community development.
Also passed in this week’s sitting was a motion to set up 10 new special parliamentary select committees for the current term, tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.
These are the special select committees on finance and economics; health; domestic trade, entrepreneurship, cost of living and agriculture; infrastructure, transport and communications; and nation building, education, and human resource development.
The others are the special select committees on women, children and community; environment, science and plantation; security, international relations and international trade; and human rights, elections and institutional reform.
The special committees will function as a checks and balances mechanism for the ministries.
Meanwhile, Speaker Johari Abdul announced that the Dewan Rakyat’s second meeting of the second session of the 15th Parliament, which was originally scheduled for June 12 to 27, will instead take place from May 22 to June 15.
He said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as the leader of the House, had agreed to the change in line with Standing Order 11(2) of the Dewan Rakyat.
Johari said this followed his request to the prime minister as many MPs would be performing the haj in Mecca this year and needed to make preparations.


Zahid in court because he refused to heed Dr M’s request, says Ahmad Maslan

An Umno leader has claimed that Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi an ultimatum to dissolve Umno, or risk being slapped with corruption charges.“Mahathir requested that Zahid bury Umno and join Bersatu. This was admitted by Mahathir himself,” Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said during an online talk show hosted by Malay-language tabloid Sinar Harian last night.He said Zahid had refused to dissolve the party, and 10 days later was charged in court.“Those who are interested in studying history should do so with an open mind,” he added.On April 1, Zahid claimed that he had been told to dissolve Umno.“My decision not to dissolve Umno has left me facing a very difficult path,” he said in the aftermath of the recent Umno general assembly.Zahid was first charged on Oct 19, 2018 with more than 40 counts including allegations that he misappropriated funds from his charitable foundation, received kickbacks in exchange for government contracts, and laundered money by buying property.He faces a maximum jail time of 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification.Ahmad Maslan, who alongside other former government leaders also faces corruption charges, said the legal action against them was a form of political prosecution.The Pontian MP and former deputy finance minister under the Najib administration was among 80 individuals and entities named by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission early last year as recipients of funds misappropriated from 1MDB.He said the authorities had acted unjustly by asking some of the recipients to pay compounds 50 times more than the amount they received.“This is the most unjust prosecution in the world,” he said.


Entire Scotch whisky distillery shipping out for Inner Mongolia

A complete whisky distillery is on its way from Scotland to China, having bade farewell to the Highlands on Friday.More than 35 tonnes of equipment, including stills, control valves and pipework, is leaving the remote town of Buckie on the Moray Firth coast for the port of Tianjin, in Northern China.The equipment will be transported to a facility being built in Inner Mongolia at Ordo City on the Yellow River. The new-build city was planned for a million people, but this futuristic metropolis now rises empty out of the deserts of northern China.The facility in Ordos will become Inner Mongolia’s first whisky distillery when it opens, probably at the end of this year.The shipment is part of a US$4 million “design and build” deal signed between Scottish firm Valentine International and China’s Mengtai Group in 2019.All of the distillery equipment was built by Rothes-based firm Forsyths, which is sending a team of five engineers to supervise assembly.Forsyths also have a team in Hong Kong to provide after-sales back-up and services.Valentine International chairman and managing director David Valentine said the project was the brainchild of Mengtai chairman Ao Fengting, who plans to create a “globally award-winning whisky”.There is no word yet on whether the company will attempt to describe its spirit as Scotch, or Scotch-style whisky, or just, for example, Mongolian single malt.Valentine, who specialises in establishing commercial ventures in China, said: “Scotland is the home of whisky and has the greatest expertise in terms of distillery equipment manufacture, which is why Ao Fengting believes we will deliver a world-beating project for him in Ordos.”It is Mengtai’s first venture into the world of whisky. One of Inner Mongolia’s largest private firms, its core businesses include coal production and electricity generation.In a separate development, Valentine International has signed a “strategic agreement” with Mengtai to supply bulk whiskies to China.Valentine declined to name the whisky distiller in that deal but said it was a “long-established” firm.


US Supreme Court mulls FBI bid to block Muslim civil rights suit

US Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared reluctant to block religious discrimination claims brought by three Muslim men from California who accused the FBI of illegally conducting surveillance on them following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the US.The justices heard about two hours of arguments in the FBI’s appeal of a lower court’s 2019 ruling that let various claims made by the men proceed in the lawsuit. Some of the nine justices seemed inclined to rule narrowly in favour of the FBI without tossing out all the claims.The justices must decide whether to reject the bulk of the claims based on the government’s so-called state secrets privilege, a legal doctrine sometimes asserted when national security interests are invoked. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled against the FBI on that point, though the Supreme Court could overturn that decision.Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said there is “a pretty good argument” that the government is using the state secrets privilege as a way to block the lawsuit without giving the allegations a full airing.Liberal justice Stephen Breyer said it would be premature to dismiss the claims without the trial judge getting a chance to properly review certain documents related to the case.“My point is there should be a way to look at the information… and decide what to do,” Breyer said.A ruling is due by the end of June.The 2011 lawsuit accused the FBI of infiltrating mainstream mosques in Southern California and targeting Muslim Americans for surveillance because of their religion. It accused the FBI of engaging in religious discrimination in violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment by targeting Muslims, as well as violating the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.The plaintiffs are: Eritrean-born US citizen Yassir Fazaga, an imam at the Orange County Islamic Foundation in Mission Viejo; native-born US citizen Ali Uddin Malik, who attended the Islamic Center of Irvine; and Yasser Abdel Rahim, a US permanent resident from Egypt who also attended the Islamic Center of Irvine. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and others.The lawsuit focuses upon a 14-month period in 2006 and 2007 when the FBI paid an informant named Craig Monteilh to gather information on Muslims as part of a post-Sept 11 counterterrorism investigation. Monteilh met with Muslims in southern California, adopted a Muslim name and said he wanted to convert to Islam, according to court papers. Monteilh also recorded conversations and conducted surveillance, according to court papers.The arrangement unravelled when Monteilh started making statements about wanting to take violent action. Community members reported him to the local police and obtained a restraining order against him, according to court papers.In a 2012 ruling, a federal judge dismissed the claims against the FBI, determining that they were barred under the state secrets privilege. The judge did permit claims accusing some individual FBI agents of violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, which regulates how the government conducts electronic surveillance.The 9th Circuit ruled that the religious claims should instead be analyzed under a section of the FISA law that lets judges review the legality of surveillance. The 9th Circuit also allowed the unlawful search claims, not at issue before the Supreme Court, to move forward.The Supreme Court in October heard arguments in another case involving the state secrets privilege. In that case, the government is seeking to prevent two former CIA contractors from being questioned in a criminal investigation in Poland over their role in interrogating a suspected high-ranking Al Qaeda figure who was repeatedly subjected to waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning widely considered to be torture.


Anti-party hopping law to be enforced before GE15, says law minister

The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 2022 prohibiting MPs from switching parties will come into force soon, ahead of the 15th general election (GE15), says Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said the act, which has obtained the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, however does not yet have a specific date of enforcement.
"The act will come into force before GE15. So just be patient. I will announce it when the time comes," he said when asked whether the act would be enforced if Parliament is dissolved ahead of time.
Earlier, the Dewan Rakyat was told that the Agong had given his consent to 14 laws including the Constitution (Amendment) Act (No. 3) 2022, which were passed during the Second Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Parliament. Wan Junaidi said Budget 2023 would also be tabled as scheduled this Friday.
He said the government is committed to ensuring that the bills that have been drafted, including the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2022 relating to the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, will be brought up for first and second readings at this Parliament session.


Shanghai achieves ‘zero Covid’ status but normal life remains weeks away

Shanghai achieved on Tuesday the long-awaited milestone of three consecutive days with no new Covid-19 cases outside quarantine zones but most residents will have put up with confinement for a while longer before a return to more normal life.For other cities in China that have been under lockdown, a third day with no new cases in the community usually means “zero Covid” status and the beginning of the lifting of restrictions.The commercial hub of 25 million set out on Monday its clearest timetable yet for exiting a lockdown now in its seventh week, but the plan was met with scepticism by many residents who have seen isolation extended time and again.Shanghai plans to resume outdoor activities in stages, with some convenience stores and pharmacies reopening this week, but with most restrictions on movement remaining in place until May 21, after which public transport and other services will resume gradually.By June, the lockdown should be lifted, but residents will still be asked to get tested frequently.More people were allowed out of their homes this week, with some joggers and dog walkers spotted. One man was seen fishing in the Shanghai river.But tall fences remained around many residential compounds and there were almost no private cars on the streets with most people were still confined to their homes.It was not clear how many shops re-opened this week but delivery apps indicated slightly lower demand for their services on Tuesday.A social media account ran by the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper posted photographs on Monday evening that it said it showed breakfast joints, restaurants and hairdressers opening up.But one social media user described the post as “nonsense”.“We have been locked in at home for two months… This story is meant for anyone else other than people in Shanghai.”By Tuesday morning, the post had been deleted.A video posted by another state-backed media outlet announced the reopening of an Alibaba Freshippo grocery store, showing about 10 members of staff in hazmat suits making heart shapes with their hands, but only two people who looked like shoppers.A sign on the shop’s door showed customers had to show a negative Covid test, a pass showing they are allowed out of home and an up-to-date mobile phone health app to go in.Only 20 customers are allowed into the store at any one time.In all, Shanghai reported fewer than 1,000 new cases for May 16, all inside areas under the strictest controls. In relatively freer areas, the ones monitored to gauge progress in eradicating the outbreak, no new cases were found for a third day.‘Persistent drag’Beijing’s latest daily caseload was 52, with authorities discovering a few dozen new infections on an almost daily basis despite gradually tightening restrictions over the past three weeks or so.Dine-in services are banned in the capital, some malls and other businesses are shut, public transport curtailed and many residents have been advised to work from home.Data this week showed the havoc wreaked on the economy by the lockdown in Shanghai and the curbs in dozens of other major cities, with retail sales and industrial output plunging at their fastest pace in more than two years in April.China’s uncompromising “zero Covid” policy has placed hundreds of millions of consumers and workers under various restrictions at a time when the rest of the world is lifting them to “live with the virus” even as infections spread.But the difficulty of eliminating new outbreaks, as shown by Beijing’s struggles, raises concern over the sustainability of any return to normal life in Shanghai and elsewhere once restrictions are lifted.China’s unswerving commitment to the zero-Covid policy, no matter the economic costs, means questions over the outlook will linger.“The pace of recovery is likely to depend on the speed of normalisation in Shanghai and Beijing and how fast confidence will return to the private sector,” Societe Generale strategists said in a note.“On both points, the zero-Covid strategy could be a persistent drag.”


US military completes withdrawal from Afghanistan

The US military has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan to end a brutal 20-year war – one that started and ended with the hardline Islamist Taliban in power, despite billions of dollars spent trying to rebuild the conflict-wracked country.Celebratory gunfire rang out in Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday, and elated senior Taliban officials hailed the event as a watershed moment.The withdrawal came after the fraught final days of a frantic mission to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans and Afghans who had helped the US-led war effort – and which left scores of Afghans and 13 US troops dead in a suicide attack last week.That attack – claimed by the Islamic State’s Afghan offshoot – gave edgy urgency to the risky US-led international airlift from Kabul, and also revealed the possible troubles ahead for Afghanistan as the Taliban move to form a government and actually rule.The withdrawal came before the end of Aug 31, the actual deadline set by President Joe Biden to call time on America’s longest war – one that ultimately claimed the lives of more than 2,400 US service members.“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens,” US General Kenneth McKenzie told reporters Monday Washington time.“Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after Sept 11, 2001.”The final flight left at 1929 GMT Monday – just before the start of Tuesday in Kabul, he said.Biden said he would address the nation on Tuesday in Washington.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had “gained full independence” with the US withdrawal, and Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official, said he was “proud” to witness “these historic moments”.AFP correspondents in the city heard celebratory gunfire from several Taliban checkpoints, as well as the cheers of fighters manning security posts in the green zone.Exodus cut shortThe return to power a fortnight ago of the Taliban movement, which was toppled in 2001 when the United States invaded in retaliation for the carnage on 9/11, triggered a massive exodus of people who fear a new version of hardline Islamist rule.The evacuation flights have taken more than 123,000 people out of Kabul airport, according to McKenzie, but he admitted not everyone who wanted to leave was able to, and that the “diplomatic mission” to allow others to leave will continue.How that process will unfold is unclear.The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Monday, requiring the Taliban to honour a commitment to let people freely leave Afghanistan in the days ahead, and to grant access to the UN and other aid agencies, but did not create a “safe zone” in Kabul.But talks are ongoing as to who will now run Kabul airport. The Taliban have asked Turkey to handle logistics while they maintain control of security, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not yet accepted that offer.And it was not immediately clear which airlines would agree to fly in and out of Kabul.The regional Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group, rivals of the Taliban, posed the biggest threat to the withdrawal when it carried out a devastating suicide bombing outside the airport last week.On Monday, they claimed to have fired six rockets at the airport. A Taliban official said the attack was intercepted by the airport’s missile defence systems.An AFP photographer saw a destroyed car with a launcher system still visible in the back seat.‘Potential loss of innocent life’The US said Sunday it had carried out a drone strike against a vehicle threatening the Kabul airport that had been linked to the regional Islamic State chapter – its second targeting IS-K in recent days.But on Monday, it looked like they had possibly made a terrible mistake.Members of one family told AFP they believed a fatal error had been made, and that 10 civilians were killed.“My brother and his four children were killed. I lost my small daughter.. nephews and nieces,” Aimal Ahmadi told AFP.A spokesman for US Central Command said Sunday that the US was “aware of reports of civilian casualties” and was investigating.“We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life,” he said.In recent years, the IS’ Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in those countries.While both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamists, they are at times also bitter foes – with each claiming to be the true flag-bearers of jihad.End of an eraThe US military effort in Afghanistan was winding down without incident ahead of the Aug 31 deadline when Biden was forced to send 6,000 troops back into Kabul just two weeks ago to secure evacuations as the Taliban steamrolled across the country.The victory of the hardliners and the decision by ousted Afghan president Ashraf Ghani to flee the country sparked panic in Kabul, where thousands of Afghans flocked to the airport in the hopes of leaving the Taliban-ruled country.A few even clung to a US military aircraft taking off in a desperate bid to flee – only to fall from the sky.All told, the US military spent more than US$775 billion on operations in Afghanistan since 2001, according to the latest available data from September 2019.But a study conducted at Brown University suggests the total could be far higher, perhaps topping US$2.3 trillion.


Syed Saddiq, 12 others fail in bid to challenge RoS rejection of Muda registration

Former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and 12 others today failed in their bid to obtain leave to challenge the decision of the Registrar of Societies (RoS) rejecting their application to register Muda as a political party.This followed a decision by High Court judge Mariana Yahya, allowing the objection by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to the leave application for judicial review.Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly said the court found that the applicants had failed to comply with the provision under Section 18 of the Societies Act 1966 in which they should have first appealed the matter with the home minister.The court dismissed the application with costs of RM2,000, he said when contacted by reporters after case proceedings today.On Jan 25, the AGC objected to the application by Syed Saddiq and the 12 others on grounds that the applicants had not appealed to Hamzah before filing a judicial review as provided for under Section 18 of the Societies Act 1966, and that they had 30 days from Jan 6 to submit their appeal.They filed the application on Jan 12 naming the RoS and the home minister as the first and second respondents, seeking an order to quash the RoS’ decision refusing to register Muda as a political party under Section 7 of the Societies Act 1966.Syed Saddiq, who is also former Bersatu Youth chief, in his supporting affidavit, said they received the letter from RoS on Jan 6 stating that Muda’s application did not meet the First Schedule of the Societies Act 1966 and that the application was rejected in accordance with Section 7 (3) (e) of the Act.“There is negligence on the part of the RoS in not explaining in detail the sub paragraph or provision under the First Schedule which is not complied with by Muda. We could not find out about the alleged non-compliance and could not correct it.“Muda has fully complied with all the provisions of the First Schedule of the Societies Act 1966. Therefore, there is no basis to reject the application to register Muda,” he said.


The mystery of the Malay vote in GE15

For over six decades, Umno has claimed to be the righteous defender of Malay interests. Umno, and Islamist party PAS, are the country's oldest political entities, having been around since Malaysia's independence.
For those reasons, to this day, the two parties have the strongest base in rural Malaysia; in every little kampung we can see the party flag of one or the other raised at the top of the house that serves as their local branch.
For the same reason, these two parties have some of the strongest party machineries. PAS is also known for its fierce and well-organised security unit, Amal PAS, that proved extremely useful in supporting the rallies of Bersih, the movement for free and fair elections, and other anti-government rallies, until PAS joined forces with Umno in 2019.
In 2018, for the second time in their history, PAS and Umno joined hands in a pact called Muafakat Nasional against Pakatan Harapan (PH) that took, and shook, power that same year. However, only two years later, PAS came to another agreement, and made another pact, to form the government together with Bersatu in 2020.
Nonetheless, the same move that saw Bersatu under the leadership of Muyhiddin Yassin accessing the highest post also forced the creation of a new Malay party, Pejuang.
Pejuang was formed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Umno icon who resigned from the party in 2015 to form Bersatu in 2016, taking power as part of PH in 2018. He finally resigned from his prime minister position in 2020.
Today, the bipolarity of the Malay political scene is long gone. No fewer than five possible Malay prime minister candidates – Anwar Ibrahim, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Mahathir, Muyhiddin, and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – three Malay-led coalitions – Barisan Nasional (BN), Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), and Perikatan Nasional (PN) – and four major Malay parties – Bersatu, PAS, Pejuang, and Umno – are fighting it out in this general election.
Confused? Well, you are not the only one. On the eve of the 15th general election, political confidence and solid forecasts have vanished, crushed by the fragmentation of Malay parties. How will this fragmentation translate in terms of votes?
For perhaps the first time in Malaysia's political history, observers and candidates are playing in a foggy field. The Malay vote appears to have returned to silence; no one seems to know where the voice of the majority will go.
The wave of new voters is often misinterpreted. Of some six million new voters, 60% are Malays. While those aged 18 to 21 might want to see change and look for candidates whose messages echo the concerns of their generation, most young voters in their mid-20s to mid-30s remain quite conservative – this is true across ethnic lines.
The RM2.6 billion question of the moment is predicting Malay political behaviour, specifically where the younger Malay votes will go, if only these voters turn out to vote. The Malays are no longer a block that can easily be divided between rural and urban folks; the fragmentation of the political offer has added many layers of complexity.
The young Malay voters have no memories of the old Mahathir days and only associate him with the instability that followed his resignation. Pejuang has not been able to build on the momentum of 2018 in a context where forces are divided. The very contrasted narrative of 2018 – good versus bad, democracy versus corruption, PH versus Umno, Mahathir versus Najib – has faded.
While corruption remains a concern for many people, the link between corruption and poor governance in general, and economic hardship is often overlooked or misunderstood. As such, the argument loses its impact.
Mahathir is leading one of the most conservative coalitions of this election, and while the strategy is to attract Umno and PAS' traditional and conservative crowds, GTA might even be a little too conservative. However, Mahathir's game is somewhere else: while the 2018 phenomena will not occur again, Pejuang numbers could come together with another coalition to form the government.
If Pejuang failed at rising as the direct Malay rival of Umno, Bersatu certainly is. The party had very mixed results during the by-elections, but it survived, and its number one leader proved extreme agility in navigating political intricacies to ensure his political resilience.
The messages of PN candidates congratulating themselves on the handling of the pandemic come a little late and are rather lightly crafted. The reminiscence of the Covid-19 crisis is a double-edged sword, and perceptions of the PN government's management of the pandemic are mixed. Better and earlier communication and pedagogy on the complexities of the pandemic management would certainly have served the party better.
While the conservative outlook of the PN leadership might not be very attractive to young voters, it has successfully recruited high-spirited young candidates like Nurul Fadzilah Kamaluddin in Setiawangsa and Sasha Lyna in the super hot seat of Ampang. PN leaders are expecting to attract first-time Malay voters (of all generations) who may be more permeable to PN's anti-corruption yet conservative discourse, and a swing from Umno voters deceived by their party leadership.
Umno divisions are a surprise in this election, and this is negatively impacting the party's chances in tough seats. Umno's factionalism is as old as the party itself and has led to radical turns of history, in 1988 notably. However, in the past, Umno factions always successfully came together during every election.
This time, the divisions between Zahid and Ismail's factions (unless this one has become the Khairy Jamaluddin faction) are widening by the day. The purge led by Zahid to sideline Ismail's supporters and former members of the PN-Umno government was perceived as an attempt by Zahid to ensure the possibility of him becoming the prime minister instead of Ismail.
While Ismail keeps trying to persuade his base, and himself, that he remains the poster boy, Khairy’s recent declaration has added chili to the fire. By renewing his support for Ismail, just a few days after announcing that he wishes to become the prime minister one day (not a surprise), Khairy is attempting to show Umno supporters that he is the shadow of Ismail (unless it is the other way around).
Also, Khairy is running in the very hot seat of Sungai Buloh, a PKR stronghold where his biggest challenge is to attract PH voters. The only way for Khairy to do this is to appeal to the "Reformasi spirit" by promising to reform Umno together with Ismail. Khairy, the Anwar Ibrahim of Sungai Buloh – who would have thought?
Meanwhile, the one and only Anwar, icon of the Reformasi movement, still bears the stigma of a tainted reputation among Malay voters. In addition, the second wave of purge of his oldest comrades whom he accused of remaining part of the former Mohamed Azmin Ali faction, the sidelining of PSM candidates, and his lukewarm acceptance of Muda, have nurtured the impression that the democratic reformer has drifted further away from his principles.
The tension between Anwar and his number 2, Rafizi Ramli, and the unveiled intention of the latter to push Anwar into retirement, have added to the pressure. However, in all fairness, Anwar, the forever prime minister-in-waiting, is the only one who does not have to defend his past decisions as prime minister – for the very simple reason that "the wait" never materialised into something more.
For once, this might play in his favour despite the many strategic mistakes the leader has made over the past few years. Younger voters might be seduced by the leader’s political charms, and others might want to give him a chance to pick up the power where PH abruptly left it.
In this electoral race, it seems that no candidate is emerging as the clear winner. In the eyes of the Malays, looking for stability and alleviation of economic hardships but also a better future for the generations to come in a context of high social anxiety could lead the electorate to either hold on to their old habits (or their parents’ habits) and keep their allegiances – or swing away.
As always, to ensure a fair game, we should remain hopeful that most voters will voice their opinions on Saturday.
All scenarios remain on the table, and Saturday will surely be a very long night of hardcore political negotiations.


First Thai coronavirus death for over 100 days

Thailand today reported its first coronavirus death in more than 100 days, a Bangkok health official said after an infected Thai citizen returned from abroad earlier this month.The 54-year-old man, who was an interpreter based in Saudi Arabia working for the Thai labour ministry, had been treated in a Bangkok hospital for two weeks and died on Friday, Dr Somsak Akksilp, head of the Department Medical Services, told Reuters.


Singapore court to decide fate of Malaysian prisoner 48 hours before post-Deepavali execution

A Singapore court will hear a challenge against the death sentence of a mentally unstable Malaysian prisoner some 48 hours before his execution at Changi prison on Nov 10.Prominent lawyer M Ravi, representing Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam who was convicted of a drug offence a decade ago, said he had filed a constitutional challenge based on two articles in the republic’s constitution relating to the right to life, as well as to Singapore’s obligation to respect a UN-sanctioned treaty prohibiting the execution of intellectually disabled or retarded persons.Ravi said they are seeking an interpretation of Article 9 in line with its international obligations, citing a judgment in 2010 on the importance of adhering to the treaties it had signed.He said the challenge also invokes a constitutional clause in Article 12 on the right to equality and equal treatment.Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam has been diagnosed with a low IQ and ADHD.“We are arguing that there is no rational nexus of the execution of Nagaenthran towards the social object of deterrence because Nagaenthran’s mental disability does not allow him to understand or appreciate deterrence. And therefore we contend that the execution is irrational and a capricious act of the state,” Ravi said in a statement today.Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) revealed last Thursday that Nagaenthran’s mother had been informed in a letter from the Singapore Prison Service dated Oct 26 that her son would be executed on Nov 10.Nagaenthran has been diagnosed with mental disabilities and a low IQ level, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).He was convicted in 2011 of illegally importing 42.72g of diamorphine and sentenced to death under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, a controversial law that the city-state’s leaders have defended as an effective deterrent against drug trafficking.“That Singapore is determined now to go on with this execution is shocking and sickening,” said LFL.Activists have also urged Putrajaya to intervene and appeal on behalf of Nagaenthran, reminding the government of Malaysia’s recent appointment to the UN Human Rights Council.“We urge the minister of foreign affairs to interfere and to appeal to stop this execution and change Nagaenthran’s death sentence to life in prison,” said Angelia Pranthaman of anti-death penalty group Sebaran Kasih, who also questioned the timing of the execution during the Deepavali festival.A group of civil society activists are also planning to hand over a memorandum at Parliament tomorrow, in a bid to highlight the case to Malaysian MPs.Meanwhile, lawyer Mahajoth Singh has been staging a lone protest outside the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur since Sunday, hoping to raise awareness about Nagaenthran’s plight as well as to get the Malaysian government to intervene.


Freeport LNG retracts force majeure, widening losses for gas buyers, sources say

Top US gas exporter, Freeport LNG, has retracted the force majeure it initially declared after an explosion in June, a development that could cost its buyers billions of dollars in losses, a document showed and three trading sources said.
Force majeure is a notice used to describe events outside a company's control, such as a natural disaster, which usually releases it from contractual obligation without penalty.
The force majeure would also have allowed Freeport’s LNG buyers to exit their own agreements to deliver gas to end users. Instead, they are facing a collective loss of up to US$8 billion as they source alternative supplies at elevated spot market prices, according to the trading sources, who have knowledge of the matter, and calculations by a consultancy.
Those buyers include BP, TotalEnergies, Osaka Gas, Japan’s top power generator JERA and South Korea’s SK Gas Trading and trading house Trafigura that holds a small contract.
Freeport and the buyers declined to comment on the force majeure, its retraction and potential losses.
Freeport accounts for 20% of US LNG exports but stopped shipments after the explosion on June 8, causing a spike in global gas prices which had already soared on falling Russian supplies to Europe and other outages.
Freeport declared force majeure on June 9, before retracting the notice around the end of June, two of the three sources with knowledge of the matter said, adding that Freeport blamed human error.
"No facts have been revealed that would indicate that the incident was a result of Force Majeure," Freeport told market participants on Aug 3 in a notice seen by Reuters.
Neither the retraction nor the notice has been previously reported.
Freeport does not expect full operations to resume until the end of the year, although a partial restart is scheduled for October. Without the force majeure, the company needs to pay compensation to its gas buyers and the buyers still need to supply end users.
The outage leaves a hole of about 80 cargoes based on an October restart date, according to Reuters calculations and an LNG consultancy, although Freeport's buyers may not need to replace them all depending on how they negotiate their onward contracts.
The buyers had paid Freeport around US$30-$50 million per LNG cargo, according to two of the sources, with the fuel then sold to end users at a premium usually amounting to a few millions of dollars per cargo.
Freeport's buyers would have to pay US$100 million per cargo based on Wednesday's spot market prices to replace the lost volumes as LNG prices have doubled since the explosion, which happened when markets were already tight.
However, Freeport is offering buyers compensation of around 10% of the value of the purchased and undelivered cargoes or lump sums of between US$3 million-US$5 million per cargo, according to the two sources.
"There are ongoing discussions taking place right now with Freeport as the compensation they are offering will not cover taking a spot cargo at today's rates," one of the sources said.
Freeport declined to comment on its compensation policy.
"The potential losses Freeport's offtakers may face... will probably be within the range of about US$6-US$8 billion, on a collective basis," said Tamir Druz, managing director at Capra Energy, an LNG consultancy.
“While some of these cargoes may not need to be replaced, on a mark-to-market basis, it remains a significant loss.”
Oil major BP has the largest contract at 4.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) through 2040. JERA and Osaka Gas have contracts at 2.3 mtpa each through 2039, while SK and TotalEnergies each have 2.2 mtpa contracts running through 2040, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.
Based on Freeport paying 10% compensation per lost cargo, losses may amount to about US$2.3 billion for BP and US$1.1 billion for TotalEnergies on a mark-to-market basis, Capra Energy's Druz said.
BP and TotalEnergies declined to comment on any losses.
Mark-to-market is a way of measuring the fair value of accounts based on current market prices, which is likely different to the price paid to acquire them.
Osaka Gas sharply cut its annual net profit forecast this month citing a nearly 80 billion yen (US$611 million) hit from the Freeport outage for the second quarter alone.


Virus-induced baby boom more likely to be baby bust, says doctor

Anecdotal health reports appear to have thrown a spanner in the works of theories that the recent lockdown which confined everyone except those on the front line and in essential services to their homes would result in an increase in birth rate.On the contrary, Dr John Teo, a specialist in obstetrics, believes the movement control order (MCO), first implemented on March 18 to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country, will have the opposite effect.Instead of a baby boom, he is expecting a baby bust.In the first place, he said, many couples were in fact separated during the lockdown which, in its initial phase, saw restrictions on interstate travel.It wasn’t until May 10, nearly two months into the MCO period, that spouses living apart in different states were allowed to meet.He also noted reports of high anxiety levels in many families due to the lockdown which led to financial concerns and loss of jobs for scores of people.“This is not the best way to boost fertility,” he told MalaysiaNow, adding that intimate relations between spouses best take place when couples are feeling calm and in a stress-free environment.Previous reports had surmised that Malaysia would experience a spurt in birth rate within a year given the restrictions on movements mandated by the MCO.The lockdown, which saw Malaysia’s borders and the majority of businesses closed, was supposed to end on March 31. However, it was extended several times until June 10 when what was termed the recovery phase of the MCO was put in place.The RMCO was slated to end on Aug 31 but will now continue until year-end as reports of new Covid-19 cases persist.Teo said economic problems coupled with the occurrence of natural disasters could cause families to rethink their plans for more children.He gave the example of the US, where studies on the early effects of the pandemic found that up to 40% of women had decided to change their plans for more children.However, he said any concrete data on the birth rate in relation to the MCO would probably be available only nine months to a year from now, once those who are pregnant have safely delivered.He suggested that measures be taken to help couples with family planning, urging health authorities, government agencies and medical practitioners to play a role in the matter.This includes ensuring access to a steady supply of birth control pills and shedding light on perceptions of using such methods.“This will be key to achieving faster economic recovery and helping communities and families become stronger,” he said.Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N Ganabaskaran agreed, saying a baby boom would be almost impossible as women were aware of their households’ economic situation.He said the Covid-19 pandemic had tested not only the people’s finances but their family planning as well.MalaysiaNow is attempting to determine from the health ministry the number of pregnant women registered at government and private hospitals since the MCO began.


Ukraine rejects concessions as Russians attack in east and south

Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia stepped up its attack in the eastern and southern parts of the country, pounding the Donbas and Mykolaiv regions with air strikes and artillery fire.Kyiv’s stance has become increasingly uncompromising in recent weeks as Russia experienced military setbacks while Ukrainian officials grew worried they might be pressured to sacrifice land for a peace deal.“The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff said in a Twitter post on Sunday.Polish President Andrzej Duda offered Warsaw’s backing, telling lawmakers in Kyiv on Sunday that the international community had to demand Russia’s complete withdrawal and that sacrificing any territory would be a “huge blow” to the entire West.“Worrying voices have appeared, saying that Ukraine should give in to (President Vladimir) Putin’s demands,” Duda said, the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament in person since Russia’s Feb 24 invasion.“Only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future,” he said.Speaking to the same parliamentary session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed a plea for stronger economic sanctions against Moscow.“Half-measures should not be used when aggression should be stopped,” he said.Shortly after both finished speaking, an air raid siren was heard in the capital, a reminder that the war raged on even if its front lines are now hundreds of kilometres away.Zelensky said at a news conference with Duda that 50 to 100 Ukrainians are dying every day on the war’s eastern front in what appeared to be a reference to military casualties.Russia is waging a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in Donbas, after ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic southeastern port of Mariupol.The heaviest fighting focused around the twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko told Ukrainian television on Sunday.The cities form the eastern part of a Ukrainian-held pocket that Russia has been trying to overrun since mid-April after failing to capture Kyiv and shifting its focus to the east and south of the country.Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said in a local television interview that Russia was using “scorched-earth” tactics in the region.“They are wiping Sievierodonetsk from the face of the earth,” he said.Russian shelling and “heavy fighting” near Sievierodonetsk has continued, but the invading forces failed to secure the nearby village Oleksandrivka, a Ukrainian military statement said.Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday its forces pummelled Ukrainian command centres, troops and ammunition depots in Donbas and the Mykolaiv region in the south with air strikes and artillery.On Sunday evening, multiple explosions were heard throughout the city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said in a social media post.Reuters was unable to independently verify those battlefield reports.Russian-backed separatists already controlled parts of Luhansk and neighbouring Donetsk before the invasion, but Moscow wants to seize the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the region.Ukraine’s military said seven civilians were killed and eight injured during Russian attacks in Donetsk on Sunday. Numbers for Luhansk were not disclosed.No concessions, no ceasefireUkraine’s lead negotiator, Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, ruled out any territorial concessions and rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying it meant Russian troops would stay in occupied territories, which Kyiv could not accept.“The (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible,” Podolyak said in an interview with Reuters on Saturday, referring to calls for an immediate ceasefire as “very strange.”Concessions would backfire because Russia would use the break in fighting to come back stronger, he said.Recent calls for an immediate ceasefire have come from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.The end of fighting in Mariupol, the biggest city Russia has captured, gave Putin a rare victory after a series of setbacks in nearly three months of combat.The last Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol’s vast Azovstal steelworks have surrendered, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday. Ukraine has not confirmed that development, but a commander of one of the units in the factory said in a video that the troops had been ordered to stand down.Full control of Mariupol gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists.Russia cuts gas to FinlandRussian state gas company Gazprom said on Saturday it had halted gas exports to Finland after Helsinki refused to pay in roubles.Moscow cut off Bulgaria and Poland last month after they rejected similar terms.Along with sanctions, Western nations have stepped up weapons supplies and other aid to Ukraine, including a new US$40 billion package from the US.Moscow says Western sanctions and aid for Kyiv amount to a “proxy war” by Washington and its allies.Putin calls the invasion a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and rid it of radical anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies have dismissed that as a baseless pretext for the war, which has killed thousands of people in Ukraine and displaced millions.


Lebanon holds first parliament election since financial collapse

Lebanese voted on Sunday in the first parliamentary election since the country’s economic collapse, with many saying they hoped to deal a blow to ruling politicians they blame for the crisis even if the odds of major change appear slim.The election is seen as a test of whether the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies can keep their assembly majority amid soaring poverty and anger at parties in power.Since Lebanon last voted in 2018 it has suffered an economic meltdown that the World Bank says was orchestrated by the ruling class, and a massive explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020.But while analysts believe public anger could help reform-minded candidates win some seats, expectations are low for a big shift in the balance of power, with the sectarian political system skewed in favour of established parties.“Lebanon deserves better,” said Nabil Chaya, 57, voting with his father in Beirut.“It’s not my right, it’s my duty – and I think it makes a difference. There’s been an awakening by the people. Too little too late? Maybe, but people feel change is necessary.”The meltdown has marked Lebanon’s most destabilising crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, sinking the currency by more than 90%, plunging three-quarters of the population into poverty, and freezing savers out of bank deposits.In a symptom of the collapse, polling stations across the country suffered power cuts on Sunday.In southern Lebanon, a political stronghold for the Shiite Hezbollah movement, Rana Gharib said she had lost her money in the financial collapse, but was still voting for the group.“We vote for an ideology, not for money,” said Gharib, a woman in her thirties who was casting her vote in the village of Yater, crediting Hezbollah for driving Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000.Turnout was 41%, excluding 60 of 1,752 polling stations, according to interior ministry figures, suggesting lower participation than in 2018 when the figure was around 50%.Fistfights and other disputes disrupted voting in several districts, according to the state-run news agency, with security forces intervening so it could resume. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said incidents remained “at an acceptable level.”Tensions were particularly high between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces, a Saudi-aligned Christian party.The LF is vehemently opposed to Hezbollah’s arsenal of weapons and tried to run Shi’ite candidates in Hezbollah-dominated areas, although most withdrew before Sunday.The LF said Hezbollah supporters had attacked their delegates at several polling stations, leaving at least four wounded in the southern district of Jezzine.A Hezbollah official said the group had no presence in Jezzine and a statement by the party later blamed the LF for starting clashes in other districts.The last vote in 2018 saw Hezbollah and its allies – including President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a Christian party – win 71 out of parliament’s 128 seats.Those results pulled Lebanon deeper into the orbit of Shiite Muslim-led Iran, marking a blow to the influence of Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia.Hezbollah has said it expects few changes from the make-up of the current parliament, although its opponents, including the LF, hope to scoop up seats from the FPM.Adding a note of uncertainty, a boycott by Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri has left a vacuum that both Hezbollah allies and opponents are seeking to fill.In Hariri’s main stronghold in Beirut, residents skipped voting and instead took time out to relax, some going swimming.Polls closed at 7pm, with voting continuing inside some centres. Unofficial results are due in overnight.Two hours ahead of polls closing, the interior ministry announced a 32% voter turnout.By comparison, the expatriate vote which took place last week saw a turnout over 60%. Analysts are already expecting the outcome to face a slew of objections, especially in districts where newcomers are taking on established parties.“Where competition is fierce and where the electoral threshold is something opposition parties can overcome, we’re going to see a lot of disputes,” said elections expert Amal Hamdan.The next parliament must nominate a prime minister to form a Cabinet – a process that can take months. Any delay would hold up reforms that are needed to address the crisis and unlock support from the International Monetary Fund and donor states.Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who clinched a draft IMF deal in April, conditional on reforms, has said he would be ready to return as premier if he was sure of a quick Cabinet formation.


Analysts see tough road for PH in winning over fence sitters

Analysts caution that Pakatan Harapan (PH) will find it difficult to achieve its goal of winning over 30% of some 60% of voters estimated to be on the fence to retake Putrajaya at the 15th general election, although it might have an edge due to splits in the Malay vote.
Rafizi Ramli, deputy president of PH's lynchpin party PKR, recently said that multiway contests would not necessarily hurt the pact, but that it would need to gain the support of those on the fence in order to form the government.
But Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said PH would need to win the support of a large chunk of these voters or risk the same defeat it experienced at the Johor and Melaka state elections.
"The challenge for PH is how to get the support of the Undi 18 group and the fence-sitters," he said.
He added that Rafizi's confidence appeared high given the general lethargy of voters since the Covid-19 pandemic which he attributed to fatigue over political issues and the behaviour of politicians.
He also cited the rapid change of government which saw the installation of three prime ministers in the four years since the last general election.
"If PH can win over 30% of the voters on the fence, that, to me, would be an extraordinary feat," he told MalaysiaNow.
Kartini Aboo Talib of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said while Rafizi had the advantage of conducting surveys to predict voter patterns, questions remained over his method of sampling.
"Rafizi may have data from his observations and surveys, but he must be transparent about his methods and sampling before making targets for GE15," she said.
BN support stagnant
While Barisan Nasional (BN) won by a landslide at both the Melaka and Johor state polls, there was no increase in the total percentage of BN voters, lending some hope to PH for GE15.
The percentage of voters by constituency also remained within the same range of support.
Kartini however warned that the GE15 results might differ from those of the 2018 election, saying current events could influence voters' decisions.
BN received the support of 37.84% of voters at GE14, a figure which increased only marginally to 38.39% at the Melaka state election in November last year.
At the Johor election in March, meanwhile, BN won 43.11% of voters' support.
Its by-election victories were also premised on low voter turnouts, which allowed it to mobilise its hardcore voters.
Looking ahead to GE15, Kartini expects a high voter turnout given the country's strong vaccination numbers.
She said PH's need for 30% of those on the fence referred to areas in clear support of the pact such as urban and non-Malay seats.
Nevertheless, she said the issues of region and ethnicity were not absolute factors in determining the election outcome.
"Strategic interests and consensus can also unite and divide coalitions in any party," she said.
"And the Malay voters are faced with the dilemma of whether to choose Umno, PAS, Bersatu, PKR, Pejuang, Muda or Warisan."
A swing in the Malay vote would be crucial to PH's goal of retaking Putrajaya.
At GE14, the coalition succeeded in toppling BN due in part to the influence of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his party at the time, Bersatu.
Mahathir, who is now the chairman of Pejuang, recently announced a new Malay movement called Gerakan Tanah Air to challenge Umno in the political arena.
Mazlan said Umno and Perikatan Nasional were also in need of the Malay vote.
"If the Malay vote is split three ways, the multi-cornered fight could benefit PH," he said.
Kartini meanwhile said the "Mahathir factor" had begun to fade among the Malays and non-Malays alike.
Now, she said, the parties most likely to succeed in fishing for votes would be those who champion current and bread-and-butter issues post Covid-19.


Brazil prostitutes strike for first-line Covid shots

Prostitutes in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil have gone on strike for a week, demanding to be included in the group of frontline workers receiving priority coronavirus vaccines.Thousands of sex workers in the city have been forced by pandemic-related closure of hotels – where they rented rooms to sell their services – to solicit for clients on the street, they say.“We are in the front line, moving the economy and we are at risk,” Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes of Minas Gerais state, told AFP. “We need to get vaccinated.”Vieira and other women held a protest Monday in a street lined with shuttered hotels where they used to ply their trade, waving placards declaring: “Sex workers are professionals” and “Sex work and health”.“We are part of the priority group because we deal with various types of people and our lives are at risk,” said Lucimara Costa, one of the protesting prostitutes.The government has prioritized health workers, teachers, the elderly, indigenous people and people with underlying health conditions for the first vaccination round.It hopes to vaccinate these priority groups, some 77 million people, in the first half of 2021, but experts say this may drag into September due to the shortage of doses.“We are a priority group, we are health educators, peer educators. We form part of that group, since we give information about STIs for men, distribute condoms…” said Vieira.Like the rest of Brazil, Minas Gerais state has been battling a second pandemic wave, but the number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, at 121, is among the lowest in the country.The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 332,000 lives in Brazil, a toll second only to the US.


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957 new cases, 972 recoveries

Another 957 Covid-19 cases were reported today, pushing total confirmed infections in the country to 32,505.Of these, 644 (67.3%) were reported in Sabah while 230 (24%) were recorded in the Klang Valley.Selangor recorded 225 cases followed by Penang (23), Labuan (18), Terengganu (15), Sarawak (11), Negeri Sembilan (eight), Perak (five), Kuala Lumpur (four), Kedah (one), Melaka (one), Johor (one) and Putrajaya (one).Active cases stand at 10,036 with 97 in the ICU and 27 in need of respiratory assistance.Another 972 patients were discharged, taking total recoveries to 22,220.No new deaths were reported, leaving the virus toll unchanged at 249.


Anwar’s time has passed, says Mukhriz

Anwar Ibrahim has outlived his time, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir said today in a sign that the six-month-old opposition party which he co-founded with his father Dr Mahathir Mohamad is in no mood to work with the PKR chief.“I think his time has passed. That’s my feeling, and a lot of people have been saying that, in fact within Pakatan Harapan (PH) itself,” Mukhriz, referring to the coalition led by Anwar, told business station BFM in an interview.Mukhriz, the former Kedah menteri besar whose party was registered last July, also announced an ambitious plan to field candidates in 120 parliamentary seats at the next general election, adding that he expects clashes in seats where PH will contest.He said while most of the seats would be “rural Malay” constituencies, there would also be semi-urban seats which would see his party going head-to-head with PH.He said the decision to field a large number of candidates was to show that Pejuang was serious about governing.He also said that Pejuang leaders realised that the 52 seats contested by their former party Bersatu during the last general election was not enough to dislodge Umno, their main foe.Adding that Pejuang was formed as a challenge to Umno, Mukhriz agreed that this was the reason for its focus on the Malay agenda.He said Pejuang had also stayed out of the memorandum of understanding that PH signed with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob last September despite being issued an invitation to join.He said Pejuang wanted to stay “independent”.“We felt that if there was any form of reward from the government, it might diminish our ability to be critical of the government when it needs to be criticised,” he said.Pejuang was formed by Mahathir and a handful of other MPs after their sacking from Bersatu in May 2020, months after the collapse of the PH government, triggered by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to take his party out of the PH coalition.Becoming the prime ministerMukhriz disagreed that the problems faced by the country today originate from policies introduced by his father during his rule for more than two decades.“I won’t call them mistakes. The way I see it, he had a vision of how things should be done. When there were no other counter arguments to show there were other ideas better than his, then he kept his own.”He said being the son of Mahathir had its advantages, but that much would depend on his own ability.“It definitely opens doors but after that you have to do things on your own. People have pretty high expectations because of that name,” he said, although quickly rejecting a suggestion that he would become “Mahathir 2.0”.“Of course we are guided by his ideas and way of thinking, which I think has no fault.”Mukhriz meanwhile laughed off a suggestion that he was eyeing the prime minister’s post, saying he had never held such ambitions.But he said he would not discount an opportunity of this nature.“I must be ready for any possibility. I won’t discount that, but this is subject to all kinds of things.”Mukhriz also said becoming the prime minister was “not easy”.“All kinds of things have to fall in place.“I don’t think the present prime minister expected to be the prime minister himself.”


Ismail Sabri brushes off GE15 calls by ‘one small group’

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today said that the 15th general election (GE15) would only be held once all relevant aspects and parties are prepared, appearing to brush aside calls by Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters for the dissolution of Parliament in light of its victory at the Johor state election yesterday.“Ready or not, let the party leadership decide,” he told reporters after opening an event in Bera today.“Many more areas need to be studied. Just because one small group wants the general election to be held, do we have to do it? This is a major decision that we have to discuss.”Ismail was referring to the calls made by BN supporters last night, when the coalition swept to victory in Johor, winning 40 of the 56 seats in the legislative assembly.A total of 1,426,573 or 54.92% of voters had turned out to vote in the fourth state election since 2020.It was BN’s second victory in a state election after Melaka, and seen as part of efforts by convicted former prime minister Najib Razak and his ex-deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to consolidate Umno’s position ahead of GE15.Speaking today, though, Ismail said there were procedures to be followed.“I need to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to get his consent. We can only hold GE15 if he gives his consent.“Wait for the right time,” he added.On the memorandum of understanding with Pakatan Harapan, signed in September last year, Ismail said it was too early to discuss what would happen once the agreement ends on July 31.


Covid fears weigh on elderly voters ahead of Melaka polls

With concerns about Covid-19 still looming large, senior citizens in Melaka are unsure about whether they will turn out to vote in the state election this Saturday.Although they have been assured of the strict SOPs put in place by the Election Commission following approval from the health ministry and National Security Council, some who spoke to MalaysiaNow said they are worried about contracting the virus.Chiew Kam Ying who lives in Taman Bukit Melaka said not everyone who is infected with Covid-19 experiences symptoms, which would throw a spanner in the works for authorities in detecting voters who have the virus.The 68-year-old who is registered to vote in the Ayer Keroh constituency said this is his biggest fear.“Of course I’m afraid, but I will vote nonetheless as it is my responsibility to do so,” he said, adding that he has been fully vaccinated and will also receive a booster shot.Still, he continues to worry.“The polling centres are sure to be full of people and it might be hard for the authorities to monitor everyone who comes to vote,” he said.Kamis Saad, 70, is a voter in the Asahan constituency. His biggest concern is voters sharing the container of ink used to mark those who have already cast their ballots. He worries that the virus might be passed from person to person this way.With just days to go before polling on Nov 20, he is still unsure about whether he will vote or not.“If we need to share the container of ink, I might not go,” he said. “As a senior citizen, I am part of the high-risk group.”He is not even sure if his children who live outside of Melaka will return to vote, given the Covid-19 situation.“They know it is not safe to travel right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many other outstation voters feel the same way,” he said.Chiew suggested that the EC consider other ways of marking voters, such as by dripping the ink on their fingers so that they will not have to come into contact with the same container.He said this at least would allay the concerns of voters and ensure the safety of all.Another voter who identified himself by his surname, Chong, said the matter could be easily addressed by voters sanitising their hands before and after they cast their ballots.Chong, 67, added that this was not a big issue.“If we don’t use ink on our fingers, it opens the opportunity for fraud,” he said.When contacted by MalaysiaNow, the EC assured that the SOPs in place for election day were safe and had been used for the by-election in Slim as well as the Sabah state election last year.The SOPs state that voters need to dip their fingers into the ink pot and then sanitise their hands before receiving their ballot paper.“Voters will sanitise their hands four times: once when entering the polling centre, again before entering the voting stream, then after dipping their fingers in the ink, and before leaving the polling centre,” the EC said.The same SOPs will be used for early voting, and a separate voting stream will be provided for senior citizens.


Reality catching up with Dubai’s dreams as Covid-19 rampages among skyscrapers

Since becoming one of the world’s first destinations to reopen for tourism, Dubai, the liveliest city in the United Arab Emirates, has promoted itself as the ideal pandemic vacation spot.It cannot afford to do otherwise, analysts say, as the virus is shaking the foundations of the city-state’s economy as it runs amok with increasing vigour.With peak tourism season in full swing, coronavirus infections are surging to unprecedented heights. Daily case counts have nearly tripled in the past month.But in the face of a growing economic crisis, the city still won’t lock down, reports the AP.“Dubai’s economy is a house of cards,” said Matthew Page, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Its competitive advantage comes from being a place where rules don’t apply.”While most countries banned UK tourists over fears of the fast-spreading virus variant there, Dubai, home to some 240,000 British expats, kept its doors open for them over Christmas.Dubai’s airline Emirates flew five daily flights from London and within days, the new virus strain had arrived.But that didn’t stop celebrities from fleeing Britain’s freezing lockdown for Dubai’s bars and beaches, with no coronavirus test needed before boarding.The London-Dubai air route ranked busiest in the world over the first week of January, said OAG, an aviation data analysis firm.“People have had enough of this pandemic already,” said Iris Sabellano from Dubai’s Al Arabi Travel Agency.She told the AP that many of her clients have been forced to quarantine after testing positive for the virus on arrival.Others are determined to enjoy the sun. “With vaccines coming out, they feel it’s not the end of the world, they’re not going to die,” she said.For those who do die of Covid-19, long-haul airline Emirates offers to pay US$1,800 to help cover funeral costs.But tourism is falling off as thousands, unnerved by the numbers, head home.Israeli tourists, who were coming in their tens of thousands following a normalisation deal, have vanished due to new quarantine rules. Visa waivers for Israelis were suspended on Monday.Britain’s announcement of a 10-day quarantine for those returning from Dubai has already hit arrivals from the UK.“Brits make up such a huge proportion of tourists and investors in Dubai,” said David Tarsh, spokesman for ForwardKeys, a travel data-analysis company. “Cutting that pipeline is a complete disaster for the city.”British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tweeted that the government’s decision was prompted by the UAE’s latest virus data. Beyond daily infections, however, the data is scant. The UAE does not make public information about disease clusters or hospitalisations.The only numbers available are more than 256,000 confirmed cases and 751 deaths.Bloomberg reports that the Dubai Media Office issued a statement saying the emirate “continues to maintain the highest levels of protection against the pandemic and compliance with preventive measures.”Analysts speculate the UAE’s unique demographics – 90% foreigners, comprising mostly healthy, young labourers – have prevented well-staffed hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and kept the death rate low.But Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s more conservative neighbour and the UAE capital is demanding anyone crossing into Abu Dhabi must present a negative coronavirus test.Relations between service-heavy Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi can get tense. During the 2009 financial crisis, Abu Dhabi had to rescue Dubai with a US$20 billion bailout. This time, it’s unclear whether Dubai can count on another cash infusion, given the crash in global oil prices.Under pressure, authorities have seized on vaccines as the only way to contain the outbreak.Front pages of state-linked newspapers are running stories touting the mass inoculation drive, which officials claim to be the world’s second-fastest after Israel, with 19 doses distributed for every 100 people as of Tuesday.The UAE is offering the Chinese coronavirus vaccine Sinopharm to everyone as demand has overwhelmed supply for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Dubai hotline operators say thousands of high-risk residents remain on the waiting list.With the country shattering its infection record for seven consecutive days, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, declared that widespread vaccination, not movement restrictions, would “accelerate the full recovery of our country.”But even if Dubai meets its goal of inoculating 70% of the population by the end of 2021, Moody’s Investors Service predicts the UAE’s economy to take three years to bounce back.


Second Afghan city falls as Taliban tighten noose over countryside

The Taliban seized the stronghold of a notorious Afghan warlord Saturday, officials said, the second provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in less than 24 hours.The deputy governor of Sheberghan city in Jawzjan said government forces and officials had retreated to the airport on the outskirts of the northern Afghan city, where they were preparing to defend themselves.“The city has unfortunately fallen completely,” Jawzjan deputy governor Qader Malia told AFP.The city is home to notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who only returned to Afghanistan this week from medical treatment in Turkey but is believed to be in Kabul.The Taliban have gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign troops.On Friday, Zaranj city in Nimroz fell to the Taliban “without a fight”, according to its deputy governor, becoming the first provincial capital to be taken by the insurgents.There was more resistance in Sheberghan, several sources told AFP, but an aide to Dostum confirmed the city had been taken.Dostum has overseen one of the largest militias in the north, which garnered a fearsome reputation in its fight against the Taliban in the 1990s – along with accusations that his forces massacred thousands of insurgent prisoners of war.A rout or retreat of his fighters would dent the Kabul government’s recent hopes that militia groups could help bolster the country’s overstretched military.Roh Gul Khairzad, the deputy governor of Nimroz, told AFP Friday that Zaranj had fallen “without a fight”.Social media posts suggested the Taliban were welcomed by some residents of the desert city, which has long had a reputation for lawlessness.They showed captured military Humvees, luxury SUVs, and pickups speeding through the streets, flying white Taliban flags as local residents – mostly youths and young men – cheered them on.One of the first things the insurgents did on entering Zaranj was to open the gates of a local jail, officials said, freeing Taliban prisoners along with common criminals.Videos on Twitter showed mobs looting government offices, stealing desks, office chairs, cabinets, and televisions.The veracity of the clips could not immediately be confirmed.“The Afghan security forces lost their morale due to intense propaganda by the Taliban,” a senior official from the city, who asked not to be named, told AFP.“Even before the Taliban attacks… most of the security forces put their weapons on the ground, took off their uniforms, and left their units and fled,” he said.The government has made no official comment yet on the fall of either city.The capture of Sheberghan comes a day after the head of the Afghan government’s media information department was shot dead in Kabul in an attack claimed by the Taliban.After a failed assassination attempt on the country’s defence minister Tuesday, the Taliban warned they were now targeting senior administration officials in retaliation for increased air strikes.The Taliban already control large portions of the countryside and are now challenging government forces in other provincial capitals including Herat, near the western border with Iran, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.From Kunduz, activist Rasikh Maroof told AFP by phone Saturday that fighting raged overnight on the outskirts of several parts of the city, with the Taliban apparently unable to gain significant inroads.Government forces were “defending seriously”, he said, using airstrikes against Taliban mortars and heavy weapons.Despite the deteriorating situation, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said Friday that President Joe Biden still believed it was right to pull US troops out after 20 years of war.Both Washington and Britain on Saturday again urged citizens to evacuate from the country as soon as possible.The withdrawal of foreign forces is due to be complete at the end of this month, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the US that sparked the invasion which toppled the Taliban.


Indonesians told to prepare for potential fuel price hike

Indonesians must prepare for a potential hike in fuel prices as the government looks to control its ballooning energy subsidies amid high global oil prices, a cabinet minister said on Friday.
Southeast Asia's largest economy has tripled this year's energy subsidy budget to 502 trillion rupiah (US$34.22 billion) in order to keep some fuel prices and power tariffs unchanged and manage inflation.
However, this may not be enough, as nearly all of the subsidised fuel quota has already been used, according to the finance ministry.
Indonesia's Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said if the government has to increase the quota for subsidised gasoline to 29 million kilolitres from 23 million kilolitres, and assuming oil prices stay elevated and the rupiah weak, the subsidy bill could rise to up to 600 trillion rupiah.
"Please convey to the people that my feeling is we have to get ready in case a fuel price hike happens," Bahlil told a news conference, noting that it was fiscally unwise to spend 25% of government revenues on subsidies.
"The burden on the state is high. Maybe this is momentum for us to work together to keep our fiscal (position) healthy," he added.
Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Thursday said she has asked state energy firm Pertamina to limit sales of subsidised fuels.
Economists have criticised the government's decision to increase subsidies this year, saying this would take money away from projects with bigger economic impacts.
Critics have also said a widening price disparity between subsidised and unsubsidised fuels has incentivised a shift in domestic consumption patterns and smuggling to neighbouring countries, leading to increased sales of subsidised fuels.
A fuel price hike is sensitive in the world's fourth-most populous country and such a decision is usually taken by a head of government. Previous government moves to raise fuel prices have sparked street protests.


Saudi Arabia considers barring overseas haj pilgrims for second year

Saudi Arabian media is reporting that the kingdom is considering banning overseas pilgrims from the annual haj for the second year running as Covid-19 cases continue to rise globally.Authorities are particularly worried about the emergence of new variants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.Such a move would restrict the pilgrimage, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, to Saudi nationals and residents of the kingdom who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 for at least six months.Another source said the plans were initially to allow some vaccinated pilgrims from abroad, but confusion over types of vaccines, their efficacy and the emergence of new variants has pushed officials to reconsider.While discussions about a possible ban have taken place and are continuing, there has been no final decision on whether to pursue it, the sources said.Before the pandemic enforced social distancing globally, some 2.5 million pilgrims used to visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj, and the lesser, year-round umrah pilgrimage, which altogether earned the kingdom about US$12 billion a year, according to official data.As part of economic reform plans pursued by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom had been hoping to raise the number of umrah and haj pilgrims to 15 million and five million respectively by 2020 and aimed to double the umrah number again to 30 million by 2030. It aims to earn 50 billion riyals (US$13.32 billion) of revenues from the haj alone by 2030.Saudi Arabia barred foreigners from the haj last year due to the pandemic for the first time in the kingdom’s modern history, allowing only a limited number of Saudi citizens and residents to take part.Covid-19 infections are still rising in many countries globally and millions of pilgrims from around the world crowding into the holy cities would be a hotbed for virus transmission.In the past, many worshippers have returned to their home countries with respiratory and other diseases which they have then spread.In February, the government suspended entry to the kingdom from 20 countries, with the exception of diplomats, Saudi citizens, medical practitioners and their families, to help curb the spread of Covid-19.The ban, which is still in place to date, includes arrivals from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the US, Britain, South Africa, France, Egypt, Lebanon, India and Pakistan.


Dalit teen girls found tied, dead on family farm in India

The bodies of two Dalit girls, aged 13 and 16, have been found on their family farm in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.A 17-year-old, who was also found at the same spot in Unnao district, is in serious condition in hospital.The girls belonged to the same family – the older girls were sisters, and the 13-year-old was their cousin.The teens had gone to the field as usual on Wednesday afternoon to collect cattle fodder and when they did not return, their families started searching for them.The girls were found on Wednesday evening with their hands and legs bound with their own clothes.However, a senior police officer said the girls may have died of poisoning.“There was some white substance coming out of their mouth and doctors have said there were symptoms of poisoning. We are recording statements of all the people concerned and an in-depth probe is being conducted,” Superintendent of Police Sureshrao A Kulkarni said.The girls were from Dalit families – formerly called untouchables – who are at the very bottom of the Hindu caste system and despite laws to protect them, still face widespread discrimination in India.Sexual violence against Dalit women is not unusual and there has been no sign that such attacks are abating.Last September, the family of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after she was allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men, accused the police of cremating her body without their permission.Unnao district has been in the news for sexual violence against women in recent years.A lawmaker from the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Unnao was convicted of rape in 2019.An area woman was set on fire in 2019 when she was on her way to testify against her alleged rapists. She later died of her injuries.