Anwar hits out at claims by 'turbaned people' that his govt victimises opposition states

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed allegations by some that his government is victimising states ruled by the opposition.
He said the federal government had instead increased allocations for opposition-controlled states, including Kedah which is led by Perikatan Nasional (PN).
"For Johor, the allocations were increased; Kedah also got higher allocations. Alhamdulillah. But some people wearing turbans claim that Anwar victimised them (opposition states). This is a lie. I hope you all understand.
"I know the meaning of slander. I know the pain of being beaten. I know what it is like to suffer in a lock-up. Now that I am the prime minister, why would I be cruel to people?" he said when addressing the Madani Kedah 2023 gathering in Alor Setar last night.
Anwar added that as the prime minister, he was not out to make enemies of anyone and instead wanted to rebuild the country together with people who defend integrity.
He called on the people including those in Kedah to support the coalition government because of its policy of upholding the dignity of the people and country.
"Holding a Raya gathering is not about winning or losing elections. We are providing food not to fish for votes. I don’t want people to support me because of that," he said.
He said he also wanted to prove to the country and the world that there were Malays who could lead Malaysia well and who were capable of bringing change in the name of Islam.
"I want to show that under the leadership of Islam, we can govern well and uphold justice for all, and I hope that the young people in this country will also bring this change, not with hatred but with love," he said.
The Madani gathering was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, and Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub.


New York eases Covid-19 rules, Massachusetts to drop school mask mandate

The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced on Wednesday that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, joining a growing list of US state leaders planning to lift face-covering rules as the latest Covid-19 surge eases.New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state would stop requiring people to wear a mask or prove they had received a Covid-19 vaccine when entering most indoor public places, starting on Thursday, thanks to a decrease in Covid cases and hospitalizations.“This is what we have been waiting for, tremendous progress after two long years,” Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference. “We’re not done, but this is trending in a very, very good direction.”In New York City, the US most populous city, a requirement that people show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, theaters and other indoor places will remain in effect for the time being, the office of Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said.In Massachusetts, students, teachers and staff will no longer be required to wear masks in schools after Feb 28, Governor Charlie Baker told a news briefing on Wednesday.Baker, a Republican, said Massachusetts had “far more tools available to us to deal with the pandemic than we had at the beginning,” noting that children are unlikely to become seriously ill from Covid-19 and that his state has the country’s second highest child vaccination rate.New York state officials will decide whether to keep the state’s school mask mandate in place during the first week of March, after students return from midwinter break. That decision will take into consideration case numbers, positivity rates and other factors, Hochul said.Mask mandates will remain in effect in state-regulated healthcare and correctional facilities, according to Hochul.Baker said school districts in Massachusetts would still have the power to establish masking requirements, and the state’s education department would issue guidance for specific scenarios. Students who wish to continue to wear masks may do so, Baker said.“It’s time to give our kids a sense of normalcy,” Baker said. “Covid, like many other respiratory diseases that we’re familiar with, will be with us for the foreseeable future.”Boston Public Schools, the state’s largest district, said it was still deciding how to respond to Baker’s move to relax mask rules. “The state rolled it out without telling us about it,” said Jonathan Palumbo, a district spokesman.Wednesday’s announcements added New York and Massachusetts to a growing list of states that have decided to ease masking rules. Earlier this week, officials in Democratic-led New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon said they were lifting mask mandates for schools and other public settings in the coming weeks.White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Wednesday that all Americans should continue to wear masks in indoor settings, such as schools, to prevent the spread of Covid.The White House is evaluating data to determine whether that policy needs to be changed, and will “continue to advise local leaders, whether they’re governors or others, to make decisions based on science and data about what’s happening in their communities,” Psaki said.‘Not the moment’In all those instances, authorities cited the receding Omicron-fueled wave of Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations that began sweeping the United States during the year-end 2021 holiday season.But US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday that with cases still high nationwide, “now is not the moment” to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places.The seven-day average of Covid-19 cases dropped 44% from the prior week to 247,300 cases per day, Walensky said on Wednesday. Average hospital admissions were down 25% from last week to about 13,000 per day and average deaths were 2,400 per day, a 3% drop from the previous week.The relaxation of masking rules signals an inclination by politicians to take pandemic-weary residents off an emergency footing and shift toward treating the virus as part of everyday life.Some states that have continued to push mask mandates are facing legal challenges and public protests.On Friday, a judge in Illinois ruled Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, did not have the authority to issue a statewide school mask mandate executive order and halted it.Several Illinois school districts including Chicago Public Schools, the third largest system in the United States, continued to mandate masks.In Algonquin, a northwest suburb of Chicago, dozens of parents protested outside a school on Tuesday against their district’s decision to continue to require masks.“I’m standing up for my kids,” parent Suzette Kallhoff told WGN News. “Everyone’s had time to get vaccinated, the masks haven’t made a difference with cases, the studies are shown and enough is enough.”Several studies have shown that proper masking does slow infection transmission.


Shifting loyalties to see an end to high-powered coalitions?

Powerful and dominating pacts may soon be a thing of the past with analysts predicting shakier ties between coalition partners amid the collapse of decades-old alliances and the surfacing of new blocs in the country’s political arena.Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the coming elections would see a shift away from parties entering the fray in tight-knit alliances, leaving the fate of such pacts hanging in the balance if they fail to secure a significant majority.“Each political party will be more or less on its own,” he said to MalaysiaNow. “Umno will go on its own, PKR and DAP as well.“We will see party identities being more prominent, and these individual identities will trump the respective coalitions.”But he added that no single party would win more than half of the parliamentary majority.“None of them can outright win on their own. Therefore it requires them to form (new) coalitions only after the election,” he said.Oh gave the example of Umno and Pakatan Harapan (PH) which of late have been seen as warming up to each other despite being on opposite sides of the fence in previous elections.Umno also recently announced that a number of its MPs had pulled their support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, a move that could see the coalition further destabilised.Barisan Nasional (BN), meanwhile, which saw many of its component parties pulling out after the 2018 general election, was left with its lynchpin Umno as well as MIC, MCA and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah after its Sarawak partners left to form their own pact, Gabungan Parti Sarawak.Gerakan, another former component party which is now part of the PN coalition, has been urging MCA and MIC to join it in leaving the BN pact.“No one is ready for an election.”MIC, meanwhile, despite being a member of BN, has maintained its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and PN.Ilham Center analyst Hisommudin Bakar said the so-called Sheraton Move last year which preceded the collapse of PH had been a “reset” for the political landscape.“There is no coalition that can win a clear majority in Parliament to form a stable government,” he told MalaysiaNow.“In terms of political coalitions, things are still up in the air. Everyone now is more focused on maintaining their hold on power or bringing down the present government.“No one is ready for an election.”And while the move brought together Umno and PAS, it also saw the creation of splinter parties Pejuang and Muda.Hisommudin said the pandemic had also played a role in separating parties from the people, with each fighting struggles on its own front.He cited a study by the centre showing a change in voting pattern, saying voters are now drawn to individual candidates over parties or current affairs.“The study was done during the pandemic, so those who were seen as assisting them during their times of hardship were more popular,” he added.But Oh said the state election in Sabah last year had shown that people still vote along party lines.“I don’t give a lot of credence to the voting for candidates,” he said.“In Sabah, a lot of these prominent politicians came out saying voters should vote for them and not their party. In the end, they got fewer votes.“I think personality would not take precedence over party identity.”


Anti-mask mandate Texas governor tests positive for Covid

The Republican governor of Texas, who has been a forceful opponent of mask mandates, has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said Tuesday, one day after attending an indoor public event.Greg Abbott, who is fully vaccinated, “has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result”, said a statement from his spokesman Mark Miner.“The governor will isolate in the Governor’s Mansion and continue to test daily,” the statement said, adding that Abbott is receiving an antibody cocktail treatment.Abbott is “in good health, and currently experiencing no symptoms”, the statement said.“Everyone that the governor has been in close contact with today has been notified. Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott tested negative.”Abbott has been one of the most outspoken US governors against anti-Covid mask mandates. Texas has banned local governments in the southern US state and any entities that receive public funds from imposing vaccination requirements.He has received pushback, with several Texas school districts imposing their own mask mandates against state law.“Governor Abbott has put his own Republican primary politics before the public health since day one,” former Democratic presidential candidate and former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro tweeted, along with a video from Abbott’s campaign of an indoor Republican Party event Monday night with dozens of unmasked attendees.“I hope he recovers quickly. I also hope he will act more responsibly on behalf of Texas children and families.”“This virus is spreading like wildfire across Texas, including among children. I hope the governor now reconsiders his ban on mask requirements in schools,” Castro said in a separate tweet.


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Daily caseload drops to 2,000 as 5 more deaths reported

Another 2,033 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,534,665.There were 1,337 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,474,358.There are now 24,577 active cases, of which 23,573 or 95.9% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 13 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 959 (3.9%) have been hospitalised.A total of 32 are in ICU with 18 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 60.7%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 7.3%.Another five deaths were reported, including three who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 35,730.


Stealth-mode racism

The first time I was ever called a chink was at a friend’s birthday party at a shady-looking building in Vancouver, Canada, filled with people who were either stoned, drunk or on their way to a combination of both.The building actually housed an art exhibition of sorts, mostly street art which, in this case, meant graffiti and wildly abstract paintings and sculptures placed under flashing disco lights. Alcohol was sold on the side, and a bouncer at the main entrance checked everyone’s ID before letting them in.I was standing to the side with a lager in hand, trying to understand the apparently random strokes of red paint which formed the particular installation before me when a girl who looked about my age staggered up to me and peered blearily into my face. She was wearing a black leather jacket and skirt and her hair was done up in dreadlocks. Her words came out slurred, and I could smell the weed on her breath.“Hey, you’re a chink,” she said, holding up a piece of paper with Chinese characters on it. “Whazz this say?”Too flabbergasted by her question to process the fact that I’d just been called a chink, I told her the truth: “Sorry, I don’t read Chinese.”“Oh okay,” she said before lurching off, presumably to find someone who wasn’t a total banana.To this day, the memory evokes more amusement than anything else. But you don’t need to be following the news very closely to know that for others, the experience of being singled out based solely on race can be far more harmful.In the US, anti-Asian incidents have been on the rise, among the latest of which saw a 65-year-old woman identified as an immigrant from the Philippines pushed to the ground and kicked hard enough to fracture her pelvis while bystanders made no move to help.We read about such things and are horrified or, at the very least, moved to acknowledge that they are wrong and should not have happened. We might spare a moment to reflect on how it could easily have been us or our parents, then we move on to other, more urgent, matters. We might even congratulate ourselves on being, in comparison, a shining example of humanity and civilisation. We, of course, have never shoved an older woman to the ground and we have certainly never landed one in hospital with a fractured pelvis. And if such a thing were to happen in front of us, we would of course rush to intervene.But not all racist acts take place in weed dens or in public outbursts. In slow and stealthy ways, attitudes of the same vein have crept into our lives as well, especially when immigrants and foreigners are involved. Those who cut the grass and sweep the roads are automatically categorised as of a lower class, and even those who clean our houses and serve our food at restaurants are either ignored or bullied just because they have fewer defences at hand.My family takes care of a small food business that my grandmother began after she retired from the corporate sector, and I have lost count of the number of times that the workers, mostly from Myanmar and Indonesia, were badly treated by customers who did an about-turn when a local colleague intervened.In another incident in Vancouver which still makes me shrug, my sister and I were lining up to pay for our groceries at a Walmart. Behind us was an older couple, both seated on mobility scooters. As we inched our way to the cashier, we heard the man say to the woman, “The problem with this country is that there are too many Asians.”How many times have we said something along those lines about the foreigners here in Malaysia, disregarding the fact that much of our infrastructure is built by foreign labour while our homes and children are tended to by immigrants? We may decry the number of foreigners who are in the country illegally, but even so, it is counterproductive to vent our nationalistic outrage on them without also taking to task those responsible for granting them entry or for keeping them in a state of limbo as they try desperately to renew the necessary paperwork while dodging authorities on the street. I know of workers who have lost thousands of ringgit to middle-men and agents who promise to help them renew their permits and then vanish with their hard-earned money in hand.Even among our fellow Malaysians, racist acts and words are evident every day. Sometimes these can be funny. But it’s one thing to bandy about jokes with our friends; it’s an entirely different matter to say or do things in the earnest belief that we are entitled to something that we are not. I recently heard of someone who resigned from a company, stating among his reasons for doing so that his colleagues often spoke in front of him using their mother tongue. This made him feel as though they were speaking badly of him.Why anyone would automatically assume that just because they do not understand what is being said around them that everyone else is talking about them is easy to explain but difficult to justify. But instead of worrying so much about how others see us, it might be more beneficial for us to take such opportunities to expand our horizons and learn new things – in this case, another language.After all, there is nothing to lose from showing others kindness and respect, and being open to learning a little more than we knew the day before.


Football great Pele being treated in Brazil hospital

Brazilian football great Pele said on Saturday he was "strong" and grateful for the widespread support he has been receiving after being hospitalised in Sao Paulo earlier this week as he battles colon cancer.
The 82-year-old said in an Instagram post that he wanted to keep "everyone calm and positive" after a medical report showed he remained in stable condition while also being treated a respiratory infection.
"I'm strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual," Pele said. "I have a lot of faith in God and every message of love I receive from you all over the world keeps me full of energy".
Pele, one of the greatest footballers of all time if not the greatest, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday to re-evaluate his cancer treatment.
He had a tumor removed from his colon in September 2021 and has been receiving hospital care on a regular basis.
In a report on Saturday, medical staff at the Albert Einstein Hospital said Pele has responded well to treatment for a respiratory infection diagnosed after his hospitalisation and that his condition had not worsened in the last 24 hours.
"He is still undergoing treatment and remains in stable condition," the doctors said.
The latest medical note came after newspaper Folha de S Paulo reported earlier in the day that Pele – whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento – had been receiving palliative care after chemotherapy stopped having the expected results.
The newspaper also said he had a general swelling and cardiac issues when admitted to hospital earlier this week, as previously reported by ESPN Brasil.
His manager, family members and the hospital have not confirmed that information.
On Thursday, Pele said in an Instagram post that he was at the hospital for a "monthly visit".
Pele, who played for Brazil and club sides Santos and New York Cosmos as a striker, was one of the world's best known sportsmen at his peak and is regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time.
He won the World Cup with Brazil three times, in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – a feat no other player has achieved. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil, with 77 goals in 92 games.
Messages of support came in from players and fans at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
French striker Kylian Mbappe tweeted, "Pray for the king".
England captain Harry Kane said the whole national team wished him well.
"We send our best wishes to him and his family as well. (He is an) inspiration amongst our game, incredible footballer, incredible person," Kane said.
The Torch tower in Doha was also lighted up on Saturday with a message of support saying "get well soon" and a picture of his face.
A sign with the same message was displayed by Brazilian fans at the Lusail Stadium on Friday ahead of Brazil's 1-0 defeat by Cameroon.


After Covid jab, BioNTech sets sights on malaria vaccine

Germany’s BioNTech, which developed a coronavirus vaccine with US giant Pfizer in record time, said Monday it aimed to start trialling a malaria vaccine next year using the same breakthrough mRNA technology.If successful, the vaccine could be a crucial step in the fight against the mosquito-borne disease, which kills more than 400,000 people a year – mainly young children in Africa.“We will do whatever it takes to develop a safe and effective mRNA-based malaria vaccine that will prevent the disease, reduce mortality and ensure a sustainable solution for the African continent and other regions affected by this disease,” BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said in a statement.The company said it will assess several vaccine candidates and begin clinical trials by the end of 2022.The project is backed by the World Health Organization, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Union.BioNTech said it was also looking at setting up an mRNA hub in Africa so that future vaccines can be manufactured and distributed on the continent.The planned malaria vaccine would use the same messenger RNA method that made its debut with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, which was the first jab against Covid to be approved in the West in late 2020.The coronavirus jab developed by US rival Moderna also uses mRNA technology.Scientists believe mRNA vaccines, which provoke an immune response by delivering genetic molecules containing the code for key parts of a pathogen into human cells, could be a game-changer against many diseases.They also take less time to develop than traditional vaccines.BioNTech’s Covid-19 shot was developed and approved by regulators in less than a year.‘Realistic goal’“We are witnessing the start of a revolution in medical science, the revolution of messenger RNA,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at Monday’s online launch event.“Eradicating malaria is now a realistic goal and now we know that it can be achieved already in this generation.”In a conference call with reporters, Sahin said he believed BioNTech’s malaria efforts have “a high likelihood for success”.The fight against malaria received a boost in April when researchers from Britain’s Oxford University announced that their Matrix-M vaccine candidate had become the first to surpass WHO’s threshold of 75% efficacy, in a study on infants in Burkina Faso.A large-scale, final stage trial is ongoing.


Rohingya refugees in India's capital to be given flats, security

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in India's capital will be allotted apartments and provided with police protection, a government minister said on Wednesday, signalling a change in the stance towards members of the Muslim minority.
"India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge," Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter, outlining new provisions for Rohingya refugees in New Delhi.
"India respects & follows UN Refugee Convention 1951 & provides refuge to all, regardless of their race, religion or creed," Puri said.
India is not a signatory to the convention which spells out refugee rights and the obligations of countries to protect them.
Puri did not elaborate on what he said would be "round-the-clock" police protection but there have been isolated incidents of violence towards Rohingya in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has previously tried to send back members of the minority from predominately Buddhist Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled from persecution and waves of violence in their homeland over the years.
Bangladesh has sheltered nearly a million Rohingya.
As of early this year, around 1,100 Rohingya lived in Delhi and another 17,000 elsewhere in India, many of them working as manual labourers, hawkers and rickshaw pullers, according to estimates from Rohingya rights activist Ali Johar.
He said some 2,000 people went back to Bangladesh this year, amid fears many would be deported.
"We welcome the statement on respecting the UN refugee convention and the plan to resettle Rohingya with better housing and facilities," said Johar, 27, who came to India a decade ago and lives with his family in rented accommodation in Delhi.
But Johar underlined fears among the community, which has faced the ire of some Indian right-wing Hindu groups, that the new facilities could be used to corral the Rohingya.
"If it turns out to be a detention camp, that will be a nightmare for us," he said.


Will Sarawak PKR’s resuscitation plan work?

With Sarawak PKR bearing the brunt of defections among its MPs nationwide, the party’s leadership has come up with a new plan to prepare its state chapter for the impending election.But analysts and observers of Sarawak politics are not convinced that setting up a “council of elders” is the best solution.They say what PKR has been missing is a strong and influential leader.Over the past year, two state PKR chiefs have quit the party. Veteran Baru Bian announced his exit in the wake of the political crisis of 2020, while more recently Julau MP Larry Sng, who was tasked with leading the state chapter, decided in a shock announcement to revert to being an independent.From six MPs in Sarawak, the party is now left with only one: Miri MP Michael Teo.Sarawak political commentator Jayum Jawan said there is a lack of engagement between the party’s top leadership and its state leaders.The council of elders only confirms this, he told MalaysiaNow.“It can be seen as the failure of the top leaders to identify an individual who is capable of leading the party in Sarawak.”Jayum also said PKR leaders in the peninsula have yet to come to terms with politics “beyond the Klang Valley”.Jeniri Amir agreed that PKR is in desperate need of a leader.He said setting up an elders council was only a temporary fix.“They need to come up with appropriate strategies. Otherwise they might hit rock bottom in the next state election,” he told MalaysiaNow.Jeniri said PKR is in “complete disarray” and at its “weakest position” since its 2018 election gains.“Because of its leadership crisis, the grassroots machinery has been weakened, and it lost its most influential leader – Baru Bian.“It is now headless and radarless.”Jeniri said this spells doom for the party in the coming polls, predicting that it will not win a single seat.“It is an uphill battle for them. There is no influential and charismatic leadership in Sarawak to put the party in place. If I can say this, it will be very difficult for them to win even one seat.”Jeniri said PKR must emerge from factionalism in choosing its next state leader.“The leader must have very high integrity – someone who knows how to analyse issues and who can bring the aspirations of the people and address the problem sand issues on the ground,” he added.Jayum meanwhile said the party’s move to start afresh may have come a little too late.He said the idea of an elders council came after the national leadership failed to name a replacement to head Sarawak PKR.


In seaside village, Orang Asli benchmark candidates against welfare, economic recovery

On the shores of the Johor Strait, a village of Orang Asli go about their daily affairs, unaffected by the flurry of political activity heralding the state election to come on March 12.While party candidates are doing what they can on the ground within Covid-19 constraints, the villagers who hail from the Seletar tribe have yet to meet even a single prospective assemblyman.Located in the state constituency of Perling, the seafaring people of Kampung Sungai Temun say they will only take note of candidates who are truly interested in their welfare.Most of all, they want a candidate who can help restore their economy which was badly affected by the string of movement control orders imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.MalaysiaNow’s visit to the village found business activities sluggish, with customers and visitors subdued.The village was once famous for its fresh seafood, caught each day by its community of fishermen. The villagers also rented out boats and rafts for anglers keen on spending the day on the ocean waves.But the money from such activities has been on the decline for the past few years.Children from the Seletar Orang Asli tribe play near a pond at Kampung Sungai Temun in Johor.“We used to make up to RM200 a day,” Liza, the wife of the chief fisherman, told MalaysiaNow.“Sometimes we would make more on weekends as fishing enthusiasts would rent boats for the whole day.“But now, it’s difficult to make even RM100.”As the number of customers dropped, she was forced to let go of the workers who, in better days, were tasked with maintaining the boats and rafts.According to Liza, the seafaring Orang Asli along the strait make up the second biggest community after the Temiar tribe.The Seletar can be found along the shore in Masai, Ulu Tiram and Pasir Gudang.In Kampung Sungai Temun alone live about 200 voters from 90 families.Reclamation problemsLiza has lived in the village for three generations now and is familiar with the issues and problems faced by its people.At the moment, their beef is with a sea reclamation project that has been ongoing for nine years now. The developer is said to be setting up a seaside resort.Since the project began, the villagers who depend on the sea have experienced a drastic decline in catch.A girl looks back over her shoulder as she walks with a group of other children up a road in Kampung Sungai Temun.They used to bring in a good haul of grouper, mullet and catfish each day. Now, though, catching anything is a matter of luck.They have taken their complaints to court and several memorandums have already been given to the developer for negotiation.But the days go by, and their daily catch remains low.“In terms of crabs alone, we used to get grade A, B and C crabs in the tens of kilogrammes each day,” Liza said.“Now, we work for days just to fill one box.”Salem, the Tok Batin or village leader, said he can only trust that the people will vote for a candidate who will truly work to help their community, and who is bold enough to protect their village from external threats like developers and their projects.The Perling state constituency is seeing a three-way fight between former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong of Pakatan Harapan, Tan Hiang Kee of Barisan Nasional, and Koo Shiaw Lee of Perikatan Nasional.More than 2.57 million voters are expected to cast their ballots on March 12.


Chopper cleared to cross states for maintenance, not to transport nasi ganja, say cops

The helicopter which landed at Padang Ipoh on Friday had only obtained permission to cross states for the maintenance of the aircraft and not to transport nasi ganja orders.Perak police chief Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said police had recorded the statements of the police station chief who gave the green light as well as that of the complainant, the food premises owner, and the Bell 505 Global Ranger helicopter company owner.“Police are still investigating, and the findings will be referred to the deputy public prosecutor for further instructions soon,” he said in a statement today.He said the case was being investigated under Regulation 16 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations and that members of the public were advised not to make further speculations which could affect the ongoing investigation.Yesterday, Perak police were reported to have taken the statements of several individuals including a 52-year-old Datuk to assist in the investigation of the incident at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters in Selangor.The issue went viral on social media when a helicopter landed at Padang Ipoh and was believed to have collected 36 packets of nasi ganja from a popular nasi kandar shop, ordered by a customer in the federal capital.The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia in a statement on Saturday said the Bell 505 helicopter operated by Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd left Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang for Ipoh at 9.08am and returned to Subang at 11.02am as filed in the flight plan.


Undefeated Erdogan extends two-decade rule in Turkey runoff

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for national unity Monday after winning a historic runoff election that extended two decades of his transformative but divisive rule until 2028.
The 69-year-old overcame Turkey's worst economic crisis in a generation and the most powerful opposition alliance to ever face his Islamic-rooted party on his way to his toughest election win.
Streets erupted in car-honking jubilation and tributes poured in from across the world as Turkey's most important leader in modern history led a sea of supporters in celebratory song outside his presidential palace in Ankara.
"We should come together in unity and solidarity," Erdogan told the chanting and flag-waving crowd.
"We call for this with all our heart."
Near-complete results showed Erdogan beating secular opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by four percentage points.
"I look forward to continuing to work together as Nato allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges," US President Joe Biden tweeted as Erdogan spoke.
Russia's Vladimir Putin said the outcome showed the support for Erdogan's "efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy".
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to keep working with Erdogan "for the security and stability of Europe".
Leaders across Europe and the Arab world also sent their congratulations – as did former US president Donald Trump.
Traffic on Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square ground to a halt and huge crowds of singing and flag-waving supporters gathered across Turkey.
"Our people chose the right man," 17-year-old Nisa Sivaslioglu said in the Turkish capital.
"I expect Erdogan to add more to the good things he has already done for our country."
Longest-serving leader
Turkey's longest-serving leader was tested like never before in what was widely seen as the country's most consequential election in its 100-year history as a post-Ottoman republic.
Kilicdaroglu pushed Erdogan into Turkey's first runoff on May 14 and narrowed the margin further in the second round.
Opposition supporters viewed it as a do-or-die chance to save Turkey from being turned into an autocracy by a man whose consolidation of power rivals that of Ottoman sultans.
Kilicdaroglu's brief concession statement expressed "real sadness about the big difficulties awaiting the country" with Erdogan.
The opposition leader re-emerged a transformed man after the first round.
The 74-year-old former civil servant's message of social unity and freedoms gave way to desk-thumping speeches about the need to immediately expel migrants and fight terrorism.
His right-wing turn was targeted at nationalists who emerged as the big winners of the parallel parliamentary elections.
Analysts doubted Kilicdaroglu's gamble would work.
His informal alliance with a pro-Kurdish party that Erdogan portrays as the political wing of banned militants left him exposed to charges of working with "terrorists".
And Kilicdaroglu's courtship of Turkey's hard right was hampered by the endorsement Erdogan received from an ultra-nationalist who finished third two weeks ago.
"Erdogan played the nationalist card quite skilfully," Chatham House associate fellow Galip Dalay told AFP.
"The opposition could not come out with an alternative agenda item that could overshadow (Erdogan's) narrative, despite the fact that Turkey is experiencing a very bad economic situation."
Champion of poor
Erdogan is lionised by poorer and more rural swathes of Turkey's fractured society because of his promotion of religious freedoms and modernisation of once-dilapidated cities in the Anatolian heartland.
But Erdogan has caused growing consternation across the Western world because of his crackdowns on dissent and pursuit of a muscular foreign policy.
He launched military incursions into Syria that infuriated European powers and put Turkish soldiers on the opposite side of Kurdish forces supported by the US.
His personal relationship with Putin has also survived the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.
Turkey's troubled economy is benefiting from a crucial deferment of payment on Russian energy imports that helped Erdogan spend lavishly on campaign pledges this year.
Erdogan also delayed Finland's membership of NATO and is still refusing to let Sweden join the US-led defence bloc.
'Day of reckoning'
Turkey's unravelling economy will pose the most immediate test for Erdogan.
He went through a series of central bankers to find one who would enact his wish to slash interest rates at all costs in 2021.
Turkey's currency soon entered freefall and the annual inflation rate touched 85% last year.
Erdogan has promised to continue these policies and rejected predictions of economic peril from analysts.
Turkey burned through tens of billions of dollars trying to support the lira from politically sensitive falls ahead of the vote.
Many analysts say Turkey must now hike interest rates or abandon its attempts to support the lira.
"The day of reckoning for Turkey's economy and financial markets may now just be around the corner," analysts at Capital Economics warned.


Ahmad Maslan pays RM1 million compound for money laundering charge

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today acquitted and discharged Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan of charges of failing to declare RM2 million received from Najib Razak to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and giving false statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).Judge Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh ordered Ahmad to be freed after deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Mohd Mukhzany Fariz Mohd Mokhtar informed the court that the prosecution was withdrawing the two charges after the accused paid a compound of RM1.1 million yesterday.“In making the application not to proceed with the prosecution against the accused, the DPP confirmed that the accused will not be charged again with the same charges in the future. This is due to the fact that the accused had accepted the offer of compound and settled the compound payment.“In accordance with Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code and decision of the Court of Appeal in the public prosecutor’s case against Ambika MA Shanmugam, the court hereby orders that the accused be acquitted and discharged of the first and second charge. All dates that have been fixed to hear the case have been vacated,” he said.Earlier, Mukhzany told the court that the prosecution had applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on both charges.“Before this charge was made against the accused (Ahmad), the accused was offered a compound, but he initially did not agree to pay the compound.“After the charges were read out to him, his lawyer sent a letter of representation and agreed to pay a compound of RM1.1 million. Therefore, the MACC and the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) agreed with the accused’s representation… so with this the prosecution agreed for the case to be given a DNAA,” he added.Shahrir: Will the prosecution continue with the same charge against the accused?Mukhzany: As it is, the compound was offered to the accused and the accused has settled the compound… the prosecution will not prosecute him again for the same offence.Shahrir said the attorney-general is empowered under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution to initiate, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence.“This power of prosecution may be exercised by the attorney-general at his discretion. Section 376(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code further strengthens this position and states the attorney-general shall be the public prosecutor and shall have control and direction in all criminal prosecutions.“When the public prosecutor exercises his power under Section 254(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code not to further prosecute the accused, it is the duty of the court to consider whether the accused should be given an acquittal without a discharge, or acquitted and discharged,” he said.The judge said the matter was a judicial discretionary that must be considered in accordance with the law.Shahrir also said the court could not order the public prosecutor to continue prosecuting the accused if the prosecution had withdrawn the charges.“This is the position of the law that is in force. In the case of the public prosecutor against Ambika MA Shanmugam, the Court of Appeal ruled, among other things, that when the public prosecutor decides not to proceed with the prosecution, the court can grant an order of discharge without acquittal.”Meanwhile, lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh, representing Ahmad, requested for his client to be acquitted and discharged of the two charges as the accused had settled the compound.“In the case of Public Prosecutor v Syed Abdul Bahari Shahabuddin, the court ruled that in every case where the prosecution withdraws the case, the order that should be given is acquittal with a discharge, unless the prosecution can give stronger grounds for obtaining an order for DNAA,” he added.The court had previously set 23 days starting June 7 next year to hear the case. Today was set for case management.Ahmad, in a press statement issued by Messrs Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq, said the process of resolving the case was not something new and had taken more than a year before it was accepted and recorded in court today.“Several representations were sent to the AGC… The settlement process went through a series of applications, discussions and arbitration between the parties concerned and was only recorded in court after it was agreed on by all parties.“The settlement process was also finalised after all parties were ready to give their respective commitment to the agreed settlement terms,” he said.For the first charge, Ahmad was alleged to have engaged in money laundering by not reporting his actual income in the income tax return form for the year of assessment 2013 which is contrary to Section 113 (1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967.The former deputy finance minister was alleged to have received the money, believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, through a check from AmIslamic Bank dated Nov 27, 2013 which he personally cashed on the same dayThe offence was allegedly committed at LHDN’s Duta branch at the Government Office Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, on April 30, 2014.The charge, framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, provided for a maximum fine of RM5 million, imprisonment of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.The other charge was for giving false statements to MACC when questioned by investigating officer Mohd Zairi Zainal over the issue at the media conference room at the Parliament building between 2.45pm and 3.30pm on July 4, 2019.The charge, framed under Section 32(8)c) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, provided for a maximum fine of RM3 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both upon conviction.


Stricter MCO ahead, says PMO

The National Security Council (NSC) has agreed to tighten restrictions on the economic and social sectors under the current movement control order (MCO) in light of the increase in Covid-19 infections and the emergence of more aggressive strains, the Prime Minister’s Office announced today.However, it said details of the move would only be announced at a media conference by Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob tomorrow.It said the special meeting of the NSC today, chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, had seen an in-depth discussion of the Covid-19 situation in the country.“The meeting studied a presentation by the health ministry on the latest status of Covid-19 cases including the rate of infectivity, health capacity of each state and suggestions for action to control the spread of the virus.“It also discussed the implementation of MCO 3.0 which is being enforced for four weeks from May 12. SOPs for MCO 3.0 were tightened to include a ban on inter-district and interstate travel as well as restrictions on social, sports and recreational activities and face-to-face meetings.“However, the increasing spread of infection within the community and the emergence of new variants that are more aggressive with high infectivity rates are causing efforts to flatten the curve to take a longer time.”Taking all things into consideration, it said, the meeting had unanimously agreed to further tighten restrictions under MCO 3.0.It said the meeting had also involved state governments in order to take into account the situation in each state as well as their views on the efforts to check the spread of Covid-19.Malaysia has recorded daily infections of over 6,000 for three days in a row, with 155 deaths since Wednesday.The current MCO was expanded to cover most of the country on May 12. It is expected to continue until June 7.


Zuraida denies power abuse, says community reps approved by previous govt

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has rejected allegations of power abuse in the appointment of local community mobilisers (penggerak komuniti tempatan, or PeKT), saying it was an extension of Putrajaya’s National Community Policy which received Cabinet approval in November 2018.“Clearly, the appointment of PeKT is not for political reasons but an effort by the government through the ministry to strengthen the National Community Policy,” said a statement released by Zuraida’s office.It came in response to a claim by the Coalition for Local Democracy, or Dekat, a group whose launch Zuraida herself had attended last year, accusing her of abusing her ministerial powers by appointing PeKTs.The group even called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Zuraida for abuse of power.But an aide to Zuraida said there was no question of PeKT taking over the role of local councillors, adding that such accusations arose due to confusion “by certain politically motivated parties”.“PeKT appointees go through a screening process by the ministry. Applicants also need to fill up forms and follow a set number of criteria,” the statement said, adding that appointments were not made randomly.It further said PeKTs were distributed according to zones with roles that do not collide with those of local councillors.The statement said appointees would be given allowances to carry out community-based programmes such as educating homemakers on fire safety, community farming, recycling and encouraging active involvement in local governance.“The performance of every PeKT appointee will be evaluated every four months. They are also tasked with reporting about their activities and programmes to the ministry, to ensure they carry out their roles as instructed by the ministry,” it added.When it was launched last year, the National Community Policy was welcomed by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said it would help in the creation of a more civic-conscious society.“The implementation of this policy will motivate the people to be a responsible society and care for their properties and its environment, the space and facilities shared within their local community while enjoying a comfortable, safe and clean surrounding,” he said.The ministry had identified 133 low-cost flats nationwide to implement the programme, with the Lembah Subang 2 area selected as the pilot project.


Abuse accusations by ex-wife Heard are ‘insane’, says Depp

Actor Johnny Depp testified on Wednesday at his defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard that it has been “unimaginably brutal” to listen to her “heinous” accusations of domestic abuse.“No human being is perfect, certainly not, none of us, but I have never in my life committed sexual battery, physical abuse,” the 58-year-old Depp said.Taking the witness stand as the six-week-long trial in Fairfax, near the US capital, nears an end, Depp was asked by his lawyers what it has been like to listen to Heard’s testimony.“It’s insane to hear heinous accusations of violence, sexual violence, that she’s attributed to me,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star said. “All these outlandish, outrageous stories of me committing these things.“Horrible, ridiculous, humiliating, ludicrous, painful, savage, unimaginably brutal, cruel and all false,” he told the seven-person jury. “All false.”Depp said he brought legal action because he needed to address “what I’ve been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years.”The 36-year-old Heard, who was married to Depp from 2015 to 2017, obtained a restraining order against her then-husband in May 2016, citing domestic violence.Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, filed a libel suit in London against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife-beater.” He lost that case in November 2020.Depp brought suit against Heard in Fairfax over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”The Texas-born Heard did not name Depp in the piece, but he sued her for implying that he was a domestic abuser and is seeking US$50 million in damages.Heard, who had a starring role in “Aquaman,” countersued, asking for US$100 million and claiming she suffered “rampant physical violence and abuse.”‘He never pushed me’During the trial which began April 11, Heard testified about multiple instances of alleged physical and sexual abuse by an intoxicated Depp, including being sexually assaulted with a bottle while they were in Australia.Depp claimed Heard was the one who was frequently violent during their relationship and once severed the tip of one of his middle fingers by throwing a vodka bottle at him.British model Kate Moss, Depp’s ex-girlfriend, also testified on Wednesday and dismissed reports the actor once threw her down a flight of stairs.“He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs,” said Moss, appearing as a rebuttal witness on behalf of Depp.Heard, during her testimony, mentioned reports that Depp was alleged to have once pushed Moss down some stairs.That reference provided an opening to Depp’s lawyers to call Moss and she testified by video link from England.The 48-year-old Moss said she had a romantic relationship with Depp from 1994 to 1998.She was asked about an incident which occurred during a vacation the couple took to a resort in Jamaica.“There’d been a rainstorm and as I left the room, I slid down the stairs and I hurt my back,” Moss said. “He came running back to help me and carried me to my room and got me medical attention.”Another of Depp’s former girlfriends, the actress Ellen Barkin, testified last week and described him as jealous, controlling and “drunk a lot of the time.”Barkin said he once threw a wine bottle in his hotel room in Las Vegas after an argument with a friend or an assistant.Damaged careersAfter being sued for defamation, Heard filed a countersuit, citing allegedly defamatory remarks made about her by Depp’s former attorney, Adam Waldman.Both sides have claimed damage to their Hollywood careers.Heard’s legal team presented an entertainment industry expert who estimated that the actress has suffered US$45-50 million in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.An industry expert hired by Depp’s side said the actor has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a US$22.5 million payday for a sixth installment of “Pirates.”Judge Penney Azcarate has scheduled closing arguments for Friday.


PAS says no to Mahathir's Gerakan Tanah Air

PAS will not join Gerakan Tanah Air, its secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan says.
He added that the establishment of Gerakan Tanah Air would not affect PAS as the coalition comprised non-dominant parties.
Gerakan Tanah Air comprises Pejuang, Iman, Berjasa and Putra.
"In fact, for the sake of stability, I would like to urge Gerakan Tanah Air to team up with other parties which champion the people’s interests, as disunity will not benefit the rakyat," he told reporters in Kota Bharu yesterday.
PAS is a member of Perikatan Nasional, which includes Bersatu, Gerakan, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku and the Sabah Progressive Party.
Last Thursday, Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the formation of Gerakan Tanah Air, a coalition aimed at strengthening the Malays, especially in the economic field.


Myanmar forces kill 25 repelling ‘terrorist attack’

Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people on Friday in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at a town in the centre of the country, Reuters is reporting.A spokesman for the military did not respond to calls requesting comment on the violence at Depayin in the Sagaing region, about 300km north of the capital, Naypyidaw.The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said “armed terrorists” had ambushed security forces patrolling there, killing one of them and wounding six. It said the attackers retreated after retaliation by the security forces.One resident of Depayin, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, said four military trucks dropped soldiers at the village early on Friday.Youths from a local People’s Defence Force, a group formed to oppose the junta, took up positions to confront them. However, they only had makeshift weapons and were forced back by the security forces’ heavier firepower, the resident said.A total of 25 bodies were been collected after the fighting, the resident told the BBC Burmese service.The Depayin People’s Defence Force said on its Facebook page that 18 of its members had been killed and 11 wounded.People’s Defence Forces have been founded by opponents of the junta in many parts of Myanmar, some of them in association with a National Unity Government set up underground as a rival to the military administration.About two dozen ethnic armed groups have fought for decades in Myanmar’s borderlands, but Depayin is in the heartland of the ethnic Bamar majority, which also dominates the armed forces.Violence since the coup has driven more than 230,000 people from their homes, the UN says. It also says more than 880 people have been killed by security forces since the coup and more than 5,200 are in detention.The military authorities have said these figures are not true but have not given their own estimates.The army says its assumption of power was in line with the constitution. It alleged fraud in November elections swept by Suu Kyi’s party, although the accusations were dismissed by the former electoral body.Myanmar has been plunged into chaos by the Feb 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with violence flaring in many parts of the country of more than 53 million people.


MACC busts syndicate forging birth certificates

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested 12 people comprising two government agency officials, four private medical doctors, and six civilians believed to be involved in the forging of birth certificates to register adopted children as biological.
A source said that the suspects, aged 42 to 81, were detained at about 6pm yesterday in separate raids at several areas in the Klang Valley.
The source said that applicants would pay bribes either personally or through middlemen to doctors at certain clinics to obtain fake birth certificates, where the child to be registered was not actually born at the facility.
It is understood that certain doctors would sign the form confirming the births at the clinics even though these never took place.
"With this confirmation, the applicants or middlemen would manage the registration of the child's birth.
"If any doubts arose, the applicant would be told that the application could not be processed and that he or she must wait for further action," the source said.
"The government agency counter would then refer this application to the Special Investigation Division to open an investigation file."
According to the source, the applicant or middleman would then try to deal with government agency officials.
If they were rejected or blacklisted, they would attempt to bribe the officials to obtain approval for their application.
It is understood that bribes of RM2,000 to RM6,000 were involved in each case.
When contacted, MACC intelligence division director Azmi Kamaruzaman confirmed the arrests.
He said the case was being investigated under Sections 17 and 18 of the MACC Act 2009.
All 12 suspects will be brought to court today for remand applications.


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Syed Saddiq told to enter defence against money laundering, CBT charges

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today ordered incumbent Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to enter his defence against four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of assets and money laundering.
Judicial commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid made the decision after finding that prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against Syed Saddiq, 29, at the end of the its case.
"I have studied all the evidence presented by the prosecution, and after giving the maximum consideration as required by the law, I am satisfied and find that in the four charges preferred against the accused, the prosecution has established a prima facie case against him.
"As such, the accused is ordered to enter his defence on every charge," Azhar said.
He said Syed Saddiq had three choices in making his defence: to remain silent, to give evidence from the dock with an unsworn statement, or to give evidence under oath from the witness stand, under which the prosecution is allowed to cross-examine him.
Syed Saddiq’s lawyer Gobind Singh Deo told the court that the defence would call 15 witnesses, including his client, and that their testimony might take almost two weeks.
Azhar then asked both sides whether the trial could be held next year since all parties would be busy this year because of the 15th general election on Nov 19.
Gobind asked for the trial to begin in February next year and deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin did not object to the request.
The court fixed Feb 22 to 24, March 13 and 14, and April 10 to 14 next year for the trial.
The Muda president was charged with conspiring with then Bersatu Youth wing assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with funds amounting to RM1 million, to commit breach of trust by misusing the funds at CIMB Bank, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2 on March 6, 2020.
He was also charged with misappropriating assets for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise by causing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking, Taman Pandan Jaya between April 8 and 21 2018.
Syed Saddiq was also slapped with two other charges of engaging in illegal money laundering activities, by transferring RM50,000 each in his Maybank Islamic account to his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account, believed to be the result of illegal activities, at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru on June 16 and 19, 2018.


Cyberattack hit key US Treasury systems, says senator

Hackers broke into systems used by top US Treasury officials during a massive cyberattack on government agencies and may have stolen essential encryption keys, a senior lawmaker said Monday.Senator Ron Wyden, who sits on both the Senate Intelligence and Finance Committees, said after a closed-door briefing that the hack at the US Treasury Department “appears to be significant”.Dozens of email accounts were compromised, he said in a statement.“Additionally the hackers broke into systems in the Departmental Offices division of Treasury, home to the department’s highest-ranking officials,” said Wyden.“Treasury still does not know all of the actions taken by hackers, or precisely what information was stolen.”The US government admitted last week that computer systems in multiple departments were penetrated by attackers who hacked in through widely used security software made by the US company SolarWinds.Members of Congress briefed by US intelligence, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney-General Bill Barr, have all said Russians were behind the hack.So far officials have said the hackers broke into computers at the State Department, Commerce Department, Treasury, Homeland Security Department, and the National Institutes of Health.But experts have said they fear far more of the government could be affected, including US intelligence bodies, given the ubiquitousness of the SolarWinds security software.Wyden said that the Internal Revenue Service had said there was no evidence that they had been compromised or data on taxpayers taken.But he sharply criticised the government for not taking stronger measures to protect its systems.The government “has now suffered a breach that seems to involve skilled hackers stealing encryption keys from (government) servers”, he said.That has happened despite “years of government officials advocating for encryption backdoors, and ignoring warnings from cybersecurity experts who said that encryption keys become irresistible targets for hackers”.


Microsoft requires vaccinations for workers

Microsoft on Thursday joined the ranks of tech companies requiring returning workers to be vaccinated, as Amazon delayed its plan to reopen offices until next year.The earliest date for fully reopening Microsoft’s US facilities will be Oct 4, according to the computing giant based near Amazon in the state of Washington.“Starting in September, we’ll also require proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors and any guests entering Microsoft buildings in the United States,” Microsoft said in response to an AFP inquiry.Microsoft and other tech firms said they are closely tracking the pandemic and adapting plans as the situation evolves, keeping employee health as a top priority.E-commerce colossus Amazon confirmed that it is delaying return of employees to its corporate offices until January of next year instead of having them come back in September as originally hoped.“We require employees to wear masks in our offices, with the exception of those who have verified full vaccination,” Amazon told AFP.Google and Facebook last week said workers returning to offices will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19, in the latest move by firms and US government agencies.Spikes in infections due to a Delta variant of the virus have ramped up concerns in the US, where more than 600,000 people have died in the pandemic.Google last week made campuses off-limits to unvaccinated employees and extend its global work-from-home option through Oct 18.“Anyone coming to work on our campuses will need to be vaccinated,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a blog post.Google and Facebook were among companies worldwide that abandoned campuses early last year, letting people work remotely rather than risk exposure to Covid-19 in offices.“We will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our US campuses to be vaccinated,” Facebook vice-president of people Lori Goler said in response to an AFP inquiry.“We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves.”Many unions and critics of mandates have spoken out against required vaccinations, citing personal freedom arguments.Microsoft said that employees who are not vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons will be accommodated.Rising pandemic concerns are also slowing the return to offices in the financial sector, with investment management giant Black Rock telling US workers it extended its “re-acclimating period” a month to the start of October.Wells Fargo and US Bank have also delayed having employees return to offices, according to a CNN report.


Rosmah’s ex-aide says he dropped off police officer to protect his ‘boss’

Rosmah Mansor’s former special officer Rizal Mansor told the High Court yesterday that he dropped off a police officer known as “Evo” at the Prime Minister’s Office before taking two luggage bags containing RM5 million to the Seri Perdana complex in Putrajaya to protect his “boss”.Rizal added that he did not want the officer, who was also in his vehicle, to find out his destination or to whom the money was taken.“At that time I panicked. I did not know what to do. Farriq (Ahmed Farriq Zainul Abidin, who is also Rizal’s friend) whispered to me that it would be dangerous if he (the police officer) knew we wanted to take a bag (containing RM5 million), or to whom.“I was protecting my boss,” he said during cross-examination by Rosmah’s lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader.Rizal, 46, was testifying in the trial of Rosmah, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak. Rosmah faces one charge of soliciting RM187.5 million and two charges of receiving bribes amounting to RM6.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Managing Director Saidi Abang Samsudin.Rizal, in his witness statement earlier, told the court that Rosmah had instructed him to take RM5 million in cash to the official residence in Seri Perdana because she was in the house at the time.When questioned about his act of dropping off the officer, Rizal, the 21st prosecution witness, said: “I really didn’t want him to know where I was taking the bag.”According to Rizal, although he had Evo’s phone number, he did not know his real name and was also unsure of his rank.Akberdin: Through your witness statement, you stated that you and Farriq felt uncomfortable in the presence of the police officer. There was no reason for you to feel uncomfortable because you “arranged” for the police officer to escort Saidi after he withdrew RM5 million from Maybank, in Jalan Medan Tuanku, at the end of December 2016 and took it to Lawrence’s (consultant Tee Kien Moon) office at the Pavilion.Rizal: Yes, I did arrange for the police officer to escort Saidi because Saidi informed me that he was afraid to carry that much cash. But after I was told by Saidi that Lawrence did not want to receive the RM5 million, I panicked. It was the first time I had been in possession of that much money.Akberdin: The reason that you felt uncomfortable was just drama. You actually wanted to pocket the RM5 million and then you said you were uncomfortable.Rizal: I disagree.When questioned by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram during re-examination, Rizal told the court that he never took the RM5 million brought to Pavilion by Saidi for his own use.He added that although he was appointed as a special officer to Najib, only 10% of his role was dedicated to him while 90% was for Rosmah.When asked about his lifestyle and the luxury cars in his possession, Rizal said the Mercedez Benz belonged to his daughter who is a famous online personality. He said the Audi belonged to his wife, a businesswoman, and that the Honda Odyssey belonged to him.Sri Ram: The defence suggested to you that the accused (Rosmah) did not ask for the money for herself, and Saidi suggested the money was for a “political donation”. Do you know of the RM6.5 million sent to Rosmah for political donation?Rizal: Not to my knowledge.He added that no receipt or thank-you letter was issued to Jepak, Saidi or Rayyan by either Umno or Barisan Nasional in appreciation of the donation.According to the charge, Rosmah received the bribes through Rizal as a reward for assisting Jepak Holdings secure the hybrid photovoltaic solar system integrated project, as well as the maintenance and operation of diesel gen-sets for 369 schools in rural Sarawak, worth RM1.25 billion, from the education ministry through direct negotiation.The acts were allegedly committed at Lygon Cafe, Sunway Putra Mall, Jalan Putra; Rosmah’s residence at Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta and at Seri Perdana, Persiaran Seri Perdana, Precinct 10, Putrajaya between January 2016 and September 2017.The trial will continue before judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan on Oct 5.


Biden says gun violence epidemic ‘has to stop’ as Texas shooting hits headlines

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced limited steps, using his executive power rather than going to Congress, to address gun violence in the US.His announcement came as at least one person was killed and several others wounded, also on Thursday, when a gunman opened fire at a business in central Texas, the latest of several mass shootings in the US over the past three weeks.The shooter was believed to be an employee of the business, and a law enforcement officer was “injured while apprehending the suspect”. The shoot-out left one person dead at the scene and four others struck by gunfire.The violence follows a string of more than a half-dozen deadly mass shootings across the US since mid-March, including rampages that killed eight people at Atlanta-area spas, 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, and four people, including a nine-year-old boy in Orange, California.“Gun violence in this country is an epidemic,” Biden told an audience of gun control advocates at the White House. “It’s an international embarrassment.”But even while touting the actions he took Thursday, Biden acknowledged he can only do so much without cooperation from lawmakers in Congress, which is always difficult to achieve in matters of national gun control.He promised on the campaign trail to send a gun control bill to Congress on the first day of his administration but has yet to do so.Among the steps announced Thursday are a proposed rule stating that a device known as a stabilising brace, capable of turning a pistol into a short-barrelled rifle, be subject to registration under the National Firearms Act.He also wants to make it easier for people to flag family members who shouldn’t be allowed to purchase firearms, and reduce the proliferation of “ghost guns” – homemade firearms often made from parts bought online that do not have traceable serial numbers.He proposed nothing related to ownership of assault rifles and there will be no legislative proposal from him, though senior administration officials stress that these are only initial actions, leaving room for more to come down the road.His announcement was welcomed by victims of gun violence and recent mass shootings, even though it comes as Congress remains paralysed on the issue.


Try something new, PH told after failure to oust PN

Analysts say Pakatan Harapan (PH) should conduct a major overhaul of its leadership following Anwar Ibrahim’s failure to obtain the support of the majority after the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin from the country’s top office.They also said the PH leadership could be held responsible for Umno’s return to power through the appointment of its vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Muhyiddin’s replacement.Hisommudin Bakar, executive director of Ilham Centre, said Anwar’s leadership as opposition chief appeared shaky after his initial claim of possessing “strong and formidable” numbers turned out to be rhetoric.“When he was given a chance like this, publicly, it became clear that the numbers were not in his favour,” Hisommudin, who has long followed the developments in PH politics, told MalaysiaNow.“Now it is up to his colleagues in the opposition bloc to determine if he still has what it takes to be fielded again as their candidate for prime minister after having failed multiple times.”PH had mobilised its strength to topple the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, to the point of its MPs overstepping Covid-19 SOPs against large gatherings in order to hold a protest at Dataran Merdeka after being barred from entering the Parliament building due to the detection of several infections in the vicinity.On July 29, Anwar submitted a motion of no confidence in Muhyiddin as part of efforts to oust the PN government, which however failed to unseat the Pagoh MP.Muhyiddin only resigned after a group of 15 Umno MPs led by their president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak withdrew their support for him, causing him to lose his majority.Muhyiddin also failed in his bid to offer a cross-party consensus involving critical reforms in exchange for the opposition’s support at a confidence vote slated to be held in September.Hisommudin said Anwar had no choice but to issue a statement focusing on the next general election although the question remained whether the Port Dickson MP would still put himself forward as the prime ministerial candidate.Nevertheless, he said, even if PH decides to change tack and use someone else as its poster boy, problems would still arise as the coalition had not built up other strong leaders.“When it comes to taking over the government, it’s clear that they are very much tied to the ‘Anwar factor’,” he said.“Choosing someone else as their icon doesn’t have that same image of strength and confidence.”Following this particular failure, he said, the PH Plus coalition – a reference to PH’s cooperation with other opposition parties like Warisan and Pejuang – should begin building a new line-up of leaders who are able to replace the current generation.Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, agreed that the PKR president should be given a respite.“It would be better to try a new strategy that could be accepted than to continue with old ones that have already failed.”Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the time had come for Anwar to take on a senior advisory position within the PH coalition.“I don’t see a single person who can match Anwar’s reputation, but you could have some of the younger senior leaders from the various component parties taking a collective lead,” he said.“From his party, PKR, his daughter Nurul Izzah; Fahmi Fadzil and Rafizi, and from DAP you could have Loke Siew Fook.”He said replacing Anwar with new faces could give a refreshing feel to the coalition.“People are desperate, they may give this younger coalition a try.”Hisomuddin meanwhile said any new line-up should be given the space to explore and to offer to lead the opposition in the run-up to the 15th general election.“If Anwar continues to refuse, the people will already know what the outcome will be, post-election,” he said.Anwar attempted to oust Muhyiddin in September last year, claiming to posses a “strong and formidable” majority in the Dewan Rakyat. However, he failed to show proof of this during an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.Soon after, MalaysiaNow revealed details of a letter by Zahid and Najib expressing support for Anwar to topple Muhyiddin.Political experimentHisomuddin said PH would need the courage to take on a political experiment if it wished to return to power.“It would be better to try a new strategy that could be accepted than to continue with old ones that have already failed,” he said.Sarawak analyst Jeniri Amir said it would be difficult for PH to replace old faces if a general election is held in the near future.“If after GE15 Anwar has still failed, then I think the time would have come for him to step aside and to give space to new leaders as he has failed time and time again.“If he fails again at GE15, he will need to seriously consider giving way to others,” he told MalaysiaNow.He said PKR, in particular, lacked successive leaders as many had left the party following internal conflict.“The turmoil in PKR these past few years has weakened the party,” he said. “Leaders who were seen as having potential made the drastic decision to quit.”“Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, conflict within the opposition bloc has driven him to desperation in his quest to become prime minister.”


New infections below 1,700 as death toll up by 10

Another 1,672 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,990,431.
There were 2,722 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,927,186.
There are now 26,578 active cases, of which 24,573 or 92.5% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 1,911 (7.2%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 94 are in ICU with 52 in need of respiratory assistance.
Another 10 deaths were reported, including two who were brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,667.


Over 82,000 children diagnosed with Covid-19 so far

A total of 82,341 children and infants across the country have been diagnosed with Covid-19 so far, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said today.He said 19,851 cases involve children below four years of age while 8,237 cases involve children aged five to six, 26,851 cases involve children aged seven to 12 and 27,402 cases involve children aged 13 to 17.The degree of severity in infection ranges from Category 1 to 3.“No one is in the ICU,” he said at a joint press conference today on the development of the country’s immunisation exercise with Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme.He advised parents and guardians to be responsible in protecting this group from infection, such as by not taking children to crowded places.He said while there is no provision under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) allowing compounds to be issued to parents who take their children to such places, investigation papers can be opened.He said a total of 774,863 people were screened from May 23 to 29, of which 53,419 tested positive for the virus.Given the increase in new cases, he said his ministry plans to expand screening exercises using the RTK-Ag test kits with the assistance of state governments.“The health ministry will increase screening tests for close contacts, especially in the Klang Valley, by creating sampling centres in the community,” he said.He also said his ministry would increase monitoring of all symptomatic cases receiving treatment at government facilities as well as those with a history of comorbid diseases regardless of age.He said the death rate for Covid-19 is currently 0.45% or 45 patients out of 10,000 positive cases.


US urges Asean countries to increase efforts to find solution in Myanmar

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Asean countries he is concerned about the lack of progress regarding the military coup in Myanmar and called on them to urge the junta toward restoring democracy, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.After a foreign ministers’ virtual meeting, Blinken tweeted that the group is “key to the future of the Indo-Pacific”.The top US diplomat’s attendance at the meeting came as President Joe Biden’s administration is increasing engagement with Southeast Asian nations in an attempt to bolster its efforts to strengthen international support to contain China’s growing aggression in the region.Blinken and the foreign ministers discussed regional and international challenges, including how best to deal with the pandemic, the climate crisis, and Myanmar, the State Department said in a press release.On the pandemic, he reminded them that the US has already donated more than 23 million vaccine doses to Asean member states, and that Washington intends to provide US$500,000 to the Asean Covid-19 response fund to support the purchase of more vaccines.On Myanmar, he “expressed grave concerns about the military coup” and called on Asean to “take joint action to urge the military to end the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burma’s path to democracy”.Myanmar is an Asean member, and the coup has caused an international outcry as anti-coup protesters have been killed by the country’s security forces since the Feb 1 coup.The coup has halted Myanmar’s progress to democracy less than a decade after its return to civilian rule.Blinken said in a separate statement that he welcomed the group’s appointment of Bruneian diplomat Erywan Yusof as special envoy to Myanmar which was endorsed during a separate meeting of foreign ministers also held on Wednesday.US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman had a phone conversation with a representative of Myanmar’s government in exile also on Wednesday, the first announced contact between a senior US official and the National Unity Government (NUG) which was established in April by members of the National League for Democracy party led by Suu Kyi.Sherman and Zin Mar Aung, who serves in the role of foreign minister of the NUG, discussed efforts to return Myanmar to democracy, including continued US support for the pro-democracy movement.They also discussed efforts to combat rising Covid-19 infections in Myanmar and how to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of the country.


509 GPs allowed to issue home surveillance orders to Covid patients

A total of 509 private general medical practitioners (GPs) have been given authorisation letters to issue home surveillance and observation (HSO) orders to Covid-19 patients.Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said the HSO would be issued to positive patients who would then be treated at a Covid-19 quarantine and low-risk treatment centre (PKRC) managed by a private medical centre or at their respective homes.“A total of 509 GPs have been given authorisation letters to issue HSO bracelets for patients who test positive to be treated at the PKRC or sent home and monitored,” he said at a press conference on the health ministry’s strategies to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in the Klang Valley today.He said the ministry receives applications from time to time in accordance with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).“Cooperation between GPs and private medical centres has increased in assisting the health ministry,” he added.Adham also said the health ministry was working with private medical practitioners and employers to set up a Covid-19 assessment centre and PKRC.In another development, Adham said a total of 2,341 fully vaccinated healthcare personnel had been infected but have had no severe symptoms.“A total of 2,341 healthcare personnel became infected after being vaccinated, of which 778 people were in Category One, 1,559 in Category Two, two people in Category Three and Four respectively, and none in Category Five.“The advantage of vaccines is that these individuals do not reach Category Five, and severity and mortality is reduced. Vaccines protect healthcare personnel from severe infection,” he said.He said a total of 9,392 healthcare workers had been infected with Covid-19 since the pandemic hit the country, involving 3,411 nurses and 1,229 medical officers.Meanwhile, health ministry secretary-general Mohd Shafiq Abdullah said the issue of funding applications from the private sector did not arise as the funds provided by the finance ministry were sufficient for the management of Covid-19.A total of RM1 billion has been spent to meet current needs, with the health ministry holding discussions with the finance ministry for an additional RM1 billion as part of preparations until this December, in the event that the number of cases continues to rise.


Canada mourns 215 children after remains found at indigenous school

Canada flew its flags at half-mast Sunday in mourning for 215 children whose remains were discovered on the grounds of a former boarding school set up more than a century ago to assimilate indigenous peoples.“To honour the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower flag (in Ottawa) and flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.Several municipalities, including the economic metropolis Toronto, announced they would also lower their flags.The discovery of the children’s remains, some as young as three, sparked strong emotions throughout Canada, particularly in the indigenous communities.A specialist used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the remains of the students who attended the school near Kamloops, British Columbia, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc tribe said in a statement late Thursday.The Kamloops Indian Residential School was the largest of 139 boarding schools set up in the late 19th century, with up to 500 students registered and attending at any one time.It was operated by the Catholic church on behalf of the Canadian government from 1890 to 1969.Some 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis youngsters in total were forcibly enrolled in these schools, where students were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language.Today those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in their communities.Ottawa formally apologised in 2008 for what the commission later termed a “cultural genocide” as part of a C$1.9 billion (US$1.6 billion) settlement with former students.“I’ve said before that the residential schools was a genocide of our people. Here’s just another glowing example of that genocide in practice: undocumented deaths of children,” the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde, said Sunday on the news channel CTV.Bellegarde noted there was still much work to be done to identify the remains, find their families and examine the sites of other residential schools.He said the federal government “does have a responsibility to make sure that these resources are in place to get the answers”.Ceremonies to honor the young victims took place or were to take place throughout the country. About 100 people gathered Sunday in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal.Participants placed children’s shoes and toys on the steps of the Saint Francis Xavier church as a tribute to the victims.


Anwar, 4 others get leave to appeal on Muhyiddin’s advice to suspend Parliament

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and four elected representatives today received the nod from the Federal Court to proceed with their appeal to challenge Muhyiddin Yassin’s action in advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to suspend Parliament during the emergency period.A three-member bench led by Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan, in a majority 2-1 decision, allowed the applications by Anwar, Pulai MP Salahuddin Ayub, Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul, Tebing Tinggi assemblyman Abdul Aziz Bari and Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision.Anwar and the four elected representatives lost their appeals on Nov 24 last year, when they were dismissed by the Court of Appeal.A litigant must first obtain leave in order to proceed with an appeal to the Federal Court.Justices Nallini and Vernon Ong Lam Kiat ruled in favour of the applicants while justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof dissented.Nallini in her majority decision said she and Ong were of the view that leave should be granted under Section 96 (a) and (b) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 as these were matters of public importance and novelty.“We are also of the view that the applications are not academic. Therefore, we allow the applications,” Nallini said.Zabariah, in her minority decision, said the provision of Article 150 (6) of the Federal Constitution states that no legislation enacted pursuant to a proclamation of emergency shall be invalid on the grounds of inconsistency with any provision of this constitution.On April 22 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Anwar’s application to obtain leave for a judicial review to challenge Muhyiddin’s advice to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to suspend Parliament during the state of emergency.Then High Court judge Mariana Yahya, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, dismissed Anwar’s application on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the judicial review based on Articles 150 (6) and 150 (8) of the Federal Constitution.Mariana ruled that the advice of the Cabinet and Muhyiddin to Sultan Abdullah to promulgate the emergency ordinance was not amenable to judicial review.Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP, filed the application seeking leave to initiate a judicial review on Jan 25 last year, naming Muhyiddin and the government as respondents in his application.Anwar is seeking, among others, a court declaration that the decision by the Cabinet, led by Muhyiddin, to advise Sultan Abdullah to promulgate Section 14 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, which resulted in the suspension of Parliament, was unconstitutional, unlawful, has no effect and is ultra vires.On March 11 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the applications for leave for judicial review brought by Salahuddin, Johari and Aziz on a similar issue while Hassan’s leave bid was dismissed by the Johor Bahru High Court on April 26 last year.They had also named Muhyiddin and the government as respondents in their applications.


Russia may revisit limits of budget rule to enable higher spending

Russia's finances will not be able to cope with increased expenditure unless the current parameters of its budget rule are adapted, a step the government plans to discuss, Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Friday.
Faced with a budget hole of US$42 billion (about RM193.8 billion) so far this year, Russian officials acknowledged on Thursday the need for more efficient budget spending, but clashed over the prudence of further increases in the tax burden.
Speaking at an event on the fringes of Russia's flagship economic forum in St Petersburg, Reshetnikov rekindled the debate, saying that spending cuts were the government's first option to finance the state's growing needs.
"Obviously, the second source we will be discussing heavily is again the budget rule," Reshetnikov said. "We will... come back to it because we cannot go further with the parameters we agreed a year, a year-and-a-half ago."
The third option, which Reshetnikov considered a last resort, was raising taxes.
"It is pointless to try to take more from business or the economy than it can afford," Reshetnikov said.
Russia's budget rule, which diverts excess oil revenues into its wealth fund, was suspended in early 2022 as the West imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
It was restored in modified form this year, after Finance Minister Anton Siluanov unveiled a new-cut off price of US$62 to US$63 per barrel for the budget rule, but price caps and embargoes on Russian oil have taken effect since.
As military spending soars and sanctions squeeze Russia's energy revenues, Moscow faces a battle to keep its budget deficit in check, with spending cuts, higher taxes and more domestic borrowing among the possible strategies.
"In this year's budget, and (the next three-year budget plan) we will see an increase in expenditure on national defence and security," said German Gref, the chief executive of Sberbank. "There are no particular alternatives here."


Iran Covid deaths hit yet another high

Iran announced more than 700 deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday, yet another high for the Islamic republic as it struggles to contain a surge in infections.The health ministry said the virus claimed another 709 lives in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous daily record of 684 deaths reached on Sunday.The pandemic has claimed 103,357 lives out of 4,756,394 cases of infection, according to the ministry, whose figures officials have acknowledged understate the real toll.Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that his government would prioritise tackling Covid and accelerating vaccinations.The Islamic republic was one of the first countries to be hit by the virus after China.Since announcing its first cases in February 2020, the authorities have refrained from imposing full lockdowns, instead closing public spaces such as schools on a case-by-case basis.The latest nationwide curbs lasted six days before they were lifted on Sunday, but a ban on travel between provinces by private car remains in place until Aug 27.Choked by US sanctions that have made it difficult to transfer money abroad, Iran says it has struggled to import vaccines.Fewer than 6.5 million of Iran’s 83 million people have received a second vaccine dose, according to official figures.


Riyadh attacked as US military moots new bases in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, came under a mysterious air attack on Saturday which the Biden State Department condemned as “an attempt to target civilians”.It remains unclear if it was a missile or a drone attack, reports the Associated Press.Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have targeted Riyadh before, denied being involved, though Gulf Arab countries blamed the assault on them.A previously unheard-of group called the “True Promise Brigade” said it carried out the attack with “drones of terror”, without offering evidence to support its claim.Amid heightened tensions with Iran, the US military said on Tuesday it is currently exploring the possibility of developing naval and air bases in Saudi Arabia.However, the announcement comes as Saudi-American relations remain strained by the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.Even temporarily deploying American troops to bases in the Saudi Arabia, home to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, could reignite dangerous passions among extremists.A spokesman for US Central Command, said the evaluation of possible sites was sparked by the September 2019 drone-and-missile attack on the Saudi oil industry which temporarily halved Saudi oil production and caused a spike in oil prices.Riyadh and Washington blamed that attack on Iran. Tehran denied being involved, and Yemen’s Houthis claimed the assault, though the drones used appeared to be Iranian made.The Gulf Arab states are already home to a number of American military bases.US Central Command has a forward headquarters in Qatar. The US Navy 5th Fleet operates from Bahrain off Saudi Arabia’s coast. Kuwait hosts the US Army Central forward headquarters. Agreements also exist granting American forces rights to use bases in Oman under certain circumstances.Former President Donald Trump deployed the first troops into Saudi Arabia since 9/11 over concerns about Iran. Around 2,500 American troops now man fighter jets and Patriot missile batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh.Any additional American bases will increase the suspicions of Iran’s theocratic rulers.Tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high after Trump unilaterally withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, leading to an escalating series of confrontations.Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, criticised the US plans, calling the presence of foreign troops in the Mideast “one of the main reasons for the chaotic situation and insecurity in our region”.It is not clear what Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia will be. While campaigning, Biden referred to the kingdom as a “pariah” over the killing of Khashoggi.However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states remain top clients for American weaponry.They also rely on the US Navy to ensure the flow of oil from their oilfields past the watchful eyes of Iranian warships, through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf and out into the world.


PN to form presidential council

Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders have agreed to form a presidential council, as the ruling coalition consolidates its position ahead of a much awaited general election.A Supreme Council meeting chaired by Bersatu president and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night agreed that the council would comprise party chiefs from the PN coalition, with the aim of discussing government policies and strengthening cooperation between members.“The meeting also decided that PN would carry out flagship programmes nationwide to help people from all walks of life,” said PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainuddin.Among those who attended the meeting were PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan and SAPP president Yong Teck Lee.The announcement comes days after the coalition survived a crucial vote on the budget, on the back of threats from the opposition to turn it into a confidence motion against Muhyiddin.PN, comprising Bersatu, PAS and several Sabah and Sarawak parties, was formed in February this year, bringing together political parties which lent their support to Muhyiddin to form the government following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration.Umno and Gabungan Parti Sarawak are not members of the coalition despite expressing their support for the PN government.


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