Ukraine orders end to defence of Mariupol

Ukraine on Friday ordered its last troops holed up in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks to lay down their arms, while Russia said its months-long operation to capture the strategic port city is now complete.Russia’s flattening of Mariupol has drawn multiple accusations of war crimes, including over a deadly attack on a maternity ward, and Ukraine has begun a legal reckoning for captured Russian troops.The first post-invasion trial of a Russian soldier for war crimes neared its climax in Kyiv, after 21-year-old sergeant Vadim Shishimarin admitted to killing an unarmed civilian early in the offensive. The verdict is due on Monday.Shishimarin told the court on Friday that he was “truly sorry”. But his lawyer said in closing arguments that the young soldier was “not guilty” of premeditated murder and war crimes.While Ukrainian forces fended off the Russian offensive around Kyiv, helped by a steady infusion of Western arms, both eastern Ukraine and Mariupol in the south have borne the brunt of a remorseless ground and artillery attack.“Russian occupation forces are conducting intense fire along the entire line of contact and trying to hit artillery deep into the defences of Ukrainian troops,” Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told reporters.The fighting is fiercest in the eastern region of Donbas, a Russian-speaking area that has been partially controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists since 2014.“In Donbas, the occupiers are trying to increase pressure,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address late on Thursday. “There’s hell – and that’s not an exaggeration.”In the eastern city of Severodonetsk, 12 people were also killed and another 40 wounded by Russian shelling, the regional governor said.‘End of the operation’Zelensky described the bombardment of Severodonetsk as “brutal and absolutely pointless”, as residents cowering in basements described an unending ordeal of terror.The city forms part of the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in Lugansk, which along with the neighbouring region of Donetsk comprises the Donbas war zone.Moscow on Friday said the battle for the Azovstal steelworks – a totemic symbol of Ukraine’s dogged resistance since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Feb 24 – was now over.Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenko said 2,439 Ukrainian personnel had surrendered at the steelworks since May 16, the final 500 on Friday.Shoigu had informed Putin of “the end of the operation and the complete liberation of the (Azovstal) industrial complex and the city of Mariupol”, Konashenko added.Ukraine’s Azov regiment commander Denys Prokopenko had earlier said only the dead remained.“The higher military command has given the order to save the lives of the soldiers of our garrison and to stop defending the city,” he said in a video on Telegram.“I now hope that soon, the families and all of Ukraine will be able to bury their fighters with honours.”Ukraine wants to exchange the surrendering Azovstal soldiers for Russian prisoners. But in Donetsk, the pro-Kremlin authorities are in turn threatening to put some of them on trial.The International Committee of the Red Cross urged both sides to grant it access to prisoners of war and civilian internees, “wherever they are held”.“Many more families need answers,” it said in a statement.In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said all prisoners of war should “be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention and the law of war”.President Joe Biden has cast the Ukraine war as part of a US-led struggle pitting democracy against authoritarianism.The US Congress this week approved a US$40 billion aid package, including funds to enhance Ukraine’s armoured vehicle fleet and air defence system.Underground livingAnd meeting in Germany, G7 industrialised nations pledged US$19.8 billion to shore up Ukraine’s shattered public finances.Biden offered “full, total, complete backing” to Finland and Sweden in their bid to join the Nato military alliance, when he welcomed their leaders to the White House on Thursday.But all 30 existing Nato members need to agree on any new entrants, and Turkey has condemned the historically non-aligned Nordic neighbours’ alleged toleration of Kurdish militants.Shoigu said the Kremlin would respond to any Nato expansion by creating more military bases in western Russia.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ebbed around the northeastern city of Kharkiv, its troops forced to retreat from a rearguard offensive by defending forces.But Kharkiv remains in Russian artillery range, and hundreds of people are refusing to leave the relative safety of its metro system.“We’re tired. You can see what home comforts that we have,” said Kateryna Talpa, 35, pointing to mattresses and sheets on the ground, and some food in a cardboard box.She and her husband Yuriy are doing their best to cope in the Soviet-era station called “Heroes of Labour”, alongside their cats Marek and Sima.“They got used to it,” Talpa said.


Peru's new leader offers early election after six die in protests

Peru's new president offered lawmakers a plan to bring elections forward by two years on Monday, after the ouster of her predecessor last week sparked protests that have left at least six dead.
President Dina Boluarte, previously the vice-president, was sworn in last week after former president Pedro Castillo was removed by Congress and arrested for trying to dissolve the legislature while preventing an impeachment vote against him.
But Castillo supporters argue that Boluarte was not elected by the people. Demonstrators have taken to the streets to demand that Peru hold new elections, with some also calling for Congress to be shuttered and Castillo released.
Local authorities in Apurimac said a 16-year-old had died from a gunshot wound, and two more 18-year-olds had died in Andahuaylas province. Another death had been reported earlier Monday in Arequipa, and two teenagers were killed on Sunday.
Citing "difficult times," Peru's sixth president in the past five years said she was proposing to move up the next general election to April 2024. It was previously scheduled for 2026.
In a handwritten letter posted to his Twitter page on Monday, Castillo called Boluarte's early election pledge a "dirty game" and derided her as a "usurper," calling for an immediate assembly to rewrite the nation's constitution.
Castillo also said he would not resign as president despite his lawful removal from power. He is being held in a penitentiary center in Lima while he is being investigated by prosecutors for the alleged crimes of rebellion and conspiracy.
The leftist governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia issued a joint statement on Monday calling for the protection of Castillo's human and judicial rights, adding that the "agents" of Castillo's removal should prioritize "the will of the citizens that was declared at the polls."
Castillo was elected by a narrow margin last year with Boluarte as his running mate.
Some civil and indigenous groups in the world's No. 2 copper producer also announced a strike starting on Monday in Apurimac, home to significant mining projects including Las Bambas, a major copper mine owned by China's MMG Ltd.
A source at Las Bambas, which has battled blockades for years, told Reuters it has received more blockade threats amid a "radicalisation" of protests against the firm by locals.
'High conflict'
A former teacher and peasant farmer, Castillo attracted strong support last year from rural and mining areas. But during the first year of his administration, corruption allegations against him mounted while he presided over unprecedented turnover among senior ministers.
Protests involving hundreds or thousands of people have been held since last week in cities in Peru's interior and capital Lima, at times turning violent.
The UN Human Rights Office warned of further escalation in a statement on Monday, calling on authorities to exercise restraint and fully investigate the deaths of protesters.
In Apurimac, authorities ordered the airport's closure after an attack by protesters, and parts of Peru's main coastal highway was blocked on Monday in Ica and Arequipa.
Latam Airlines said it had canceled flights to and from the city of Arequipa after reports protesters invaded a runway.
"Dina Boluarte doesn't represent us. She's a traitor. She's incompetent," said Juan Calle at a march in Lima, calling on the new president to be jailed and Castillo released.
Boluarte, 60, declared a state of emergency in areas of "high conflict," allowing soldiers to take more control.
"I have given the instructions so that control of internal order can be recovered peacefully, without affecting the people's fundamental rights," said Boluarte, who lamented the deaths.


We haven't forgotten what DAP did to us, GPS says on post-polls pact with PH

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) today said it had not forgotten DAP's treatment of Sarawak during its time in the federal government, following a proposal for a coalition to be formed among Pakatan Harapan (PH), GPS and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
"DAP was not kind to Sarawak, especially after forming the government post-GE14," Parti Pesaka Bersatu vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said when contacted. "We have not forgotten that.
"But leaders come and go," he added. "If the chauvinists and racists in DAP are no longer in the party, and if new leaders take over, why not?"
However, Karim, who is the state assemblyman for Asajaya, said he had yet to see any leaders of this sort in DAP.
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, who will be contesting the Pandan seat, had floated the idea of a PH-GPS-GRS pact, dismissing any move towards the same with peninsula-based Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
However, disagreement over a number of issues had caused friction between the Sarawak government and the federal government during PH's time in Putrajaya.
Among them were Sarawak's RM2.352 billion debt to the federal government, and the remarks by then finance minister Lim Guan Eng that Sarawak would go bankrupt if GPS remained at the helm.
PH had also cancelled several infrastructure projects in Sarawak, a move that analysts said had been "dismissive" of Malaysia's biggest state.
GPS, which is expected to score an easy victory in Sarawak come Nov 19, will play the role of kingmaker if none of the other coalitions succeed in obtaining the simple majority needed to form a government.
Karim previously said that GPS was willing to work with anyone but PH and DAP.
This time, he said the coalition would wait and see before deciding on a pact with any other party.
"On who should be in the 'coalition' post-GE15, I believe we should wait for the results before making a decision," he said.
"What's important to GPS is the interests of the Bornean states, the rights that have slowly diminished over the last 50-odd years," he said.
He added however that he did not expect PH to give GPS or GRS "a second glance" if it wins with a clear majority to form the government.


CMCO for Selangor, KL and Putrajaya extended two weeks

The conditional movement control order (CMCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has been extended by two weeks to Nov 9.Implemented to address the spikes in infections in the Klang Valley, it was originally scheduled to end tomorrow.Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the decision was made at today’s meeting of the National Security Council.“So far, the risk assessment conducted by the health ministry has found that there are still many high-risk locations (in the Klang Valley).“Taking into account the risk assessment, the CMCO will be extended,” he said in a press conference.


263 years' jail, 20 lashes for man who sexually abused stepdaughter

A man was sentenced to 263 years in prison and 20 lashes after pleading guilty at the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court yesterday to 32 charges of committing sexual crimes against his now 16-year-old stepdaughter, over the past three years.
The swimming instructor was sentenced after all the charges were read out by a court interpreter in two separate proceedings before judge Dharmafikri Abu Adam and judge Mohd Sabri Ismail.
However, the court ordered the sentence against the 36-year-old accused to run concurrently for 35 years starting from the time of his arrest on April 8.
The accused pleaded guilty to raping his stepdaughter involving 11 charges under Section 376(2)(D) of the Penal Code which provides for a prison sentence of up to 30 years and whipping.
The accused also pleaded guilty to eight charges under Section 377 CA of the same code for having sex using an object without the victim's consent which provides for a prison sentence of up to 30 years and whipping. On another 12 charges, the accused pleaded guilty under Section 14(A) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 which provides for up to 20 years in prison and whipping for committing physical sexual abuse against the youth.
The accused also pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping for raping the same victim after she was above the age of 16.
All the offences were committed between January 2020 and March 14, 2023, at their home in a housing estate in Jasin.
The prosecution was handled separately by the deputy public prosecutor N Siva Shangari and Muhammad Nazrin Ali Rahim while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.


Canadian province pauses first dose rollout of AstraZeneca jabs

Canada’s most populous province of Ontario on Tuesday suspended use of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as a first dose, citing new data showing increased risks of blood clotting.The move followed the province of Alberta’s announcement to also stop administering the vaccine over possible supply shortages.The two provinces combined represent half the population of Canada.“Effective today, Ontario will be pausing the rollout and administration of first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at this time,” Ontario chief medical officer of health David Williams told a news conference.“This decision was made out of an abundance of caution due to an observed increase in the rare blood clotting condition, known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.Ontario has administered more than 650,000 AstraZeneca doses. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie were among the recipients.In Canada, at least 12 clotting cases have been confirmed out of more than two million administered AstraZeneca doses. Three women have died from clotting.Earlier, Alberta – with the highest per capita number of Covid cases of any Canadian province or US state – altered its immunisation strategy, saying it wasn’t sure when it would receive additional shipments of the AstraZeneca vaccine.“Based on global supply challenges, we do not know when we will get additional supply,” Alberta chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw said on Twitter.The province has administered roughly 255,000 AstraZeneca jabs.So far, almost 20 million Canadians or 40% of the population have received at least one AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer dose.


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Nearly 100 cops injured in Berlin May Day riots

At least 93 police officers were injured, and 354 protesters arrested after traditional May Day rallies in Berlin turned violent, the city’s top security official said on Sunday, the Associated Press is reporting.More than 20 different rallies took place in the German capital on Saturday and the majority of them were peaceful.However, a left-wing march of 8,000 through the city’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg neighbourhood, which has seen clashes in past decades, turned violent. Protesters threw bottles and rocks at officers and set fires in the streets.“Violence against police officers and a blind, destructive rage has nothing to do with political protest,” Berlin state interior minister Andreas Geisel said. “The high number of injured officers leaves me stunned.”There is a nightly curfew in most parts of Germany because of the high number of coronavirus infections, but political protests and religious gatherings are exempt from the curfew.“We don’t have any final numbers, but regarding the known injured colleagues and detainments, it’s clear that we were far removed from a peaceful May 1,” Stephan Kelm, Berlin’s deputy chief of the police union, told German news agency dpa.He condemned the throwing of missiles and burning barricades on the streets, saying, “These are clear signs that it’s not about political expression but that the right to assemble was abused to commit severe crimes.”In France, May Day marches in Paris and the southern city of Lyon were also marred by scattered violence, with riot officers targeted by small groups of violent demonstrators who tossed projectiles and trash bins. Police made 56 arrests, 46 of them in Paris, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. It said six officers suffered injuries, three of them in Paris.The CGT labour union that organised the main Paris march said violent demonstrators also targeted its marchers at the end of the rally, showering them with projectiles, blows and homophobic, sexist and racist insults.


Row erupts over Brazil suspension of Chinese vaccine trials

Brazil’s decision to halt trials of a Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine triggered a politically charged row Tuesday as a top health official expressed “indignation” and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro claimed the ruling as a personal victory.Brazilian health regulator Anvisa announced late Monday it was suspending clinical trials of CoronaVac, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, after a “severe adverse incident” involving a volunteer in the study.However, the public health centre coordinating the trials in Brazil, the Butantan Institute, said there was no connection between the incident and the vaccine.Privacy regulations prevent public health officials from disclosing details on the incident, which came as a setback for one of the most promising vaccines aiming to end the pandemic.But the coroner’s office that carried out an autopsy on the deceased volunteer’s body told AFP police were investigating the death as a suicide.“There is no relation with the vaccine,” said Dimas Covas, head of the Butantan Institute, a respected public health center.Anvisa’s decision, he told a news conference, “came as a surprise… and caused indignation here at Butantan”.“We don’t even know if this patient took the vaccine or a placebo,” said the coordinator of the Sao Paulo state government’s Covid-19 task force, Joao Gabbardo.Sinovac also said the incident was unrelated to CoronaVac, adding it was “confident in the safety of the vaccine”.Anvisa chief Antonio Barra Torres told a separate news conference the agency had made a “technical decision” based on “incomplete and insufficient data” from the Butantan Institute on the cause of the incident.Vaccine politicsCoronaVac has been caught up in a messy political battle in Brazil, where its most visible backer has been Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, a leading Bolsonaro opponent.The president has thrown his support behind another vaccine, developed by Oxford University in Britain and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.Bolsonaro and Doria have also sparred over whether vaccination should be mandatory.The president, who has railed against CoronaVac as “Joao Doria’s Chinese vaccine” and blocked the federal government from purchasing it, claimed the regulatory decision as vindication.“Death, disability, malfunction. This is the vaccine Doria wants to require all Sao Paulo residents to receive,” Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook.“The president said this vaccine could never be mandatory. Chalk up another win for Jair Bolsonaro,” he added.Sao Paulo state has a deal with Sinovac to buy 46 million doses of CoronaVac – six million produced in China and the rest produced in Sao Paulo, which broke ground last week on a factory to make the vaccine domestically.The Sinovac and Oxford vaccines are both in Phase 3 trials, the final stage before regulatory approval.Both are being tested in Brazil, the country with the second-highest death toll in the pandemic after the US, with more than 162,000 people killed by the new coronavirus.Brazil is also helping carry out Phase 3 testing of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.Pfizer said Monday its vaccine had shown 90 percent effectiveness, unleashing a surge of optimism worldwide that an end to the pandemic could be within reach.Bolsonaro faces criticism from experts for his handling of the pandemic, which has included playing down the virus, opposing lockdown measures and relentlessly promoting the drug hydroxychloroquine despite studies showing it is ineffective against Covid-19.Opponents sharply criticised what they called his politicised handling of Monday’s decision on CoronaVac.“Prison is too light a punishment for these scums who play politics with vaccines, which are the only way out of the biggest public health and socioeconomic crisis in history,” tweeted centre-left politician Ciro Gomes, who ran against Bolsonaro in the 2018 presidential election.


Indonesia kicks off second wave of Covid-19 vaccinations

Market traders were among the first to benefit from Indonesia’s second phase of mass vaccinations against the coronavirus on Wednesday, as the government looks to right the country’s pandemic-battered economy.Medical teams are now focusing on workers in close contact with the public and people over 60, authorities announced, after a first phase prioritising health workers, 1.1 million of whom have been vaccinated according to the health ministry.Indonesia’s economy – Southeast Asia’s largest – has lurched into recession during an outbreak which has infected almost 1.3 million people and killed more than 33,000, according to official data, though low testing rates mean the figures could be much higher.The new phase was launched with a mass inoculation at Jakarta’s Tanah Abang textile market, home to about 55,000 sellers.“I was worried about the vaccine but I feel privileged to be one of the first people to get a jab,” garment seller Joscar Krisyadi told AFP. “Meanwhile, there are millions of people in Jakarta waiting for it.”The second vaccination stage will see the elderly and workers most at risk – such as traders, teachers, police and civil servants – get the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine, partially produced in Indonesia.Nia Izharul, another market worker, said she was initially reluctant to sign up for the jab, for fear of needles.“Apparently, it did not hurt at all. Now, I don’t feel anything wrong,” the 21-year-old told AFP.Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin noted at the market on Wednesday that many Indonesians were still afraid of the vaccine, but added that 77-year-old Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin had been inoculated that morning.“Hopefully, this can motivate other people, particularly the elderly, to take the vaccination.”The second vaccination stage is expected to be concluded by May 2021, reaching 38.5 million Indonesians.The archipelago nation of nearly 270 million is planning to vaccinate more than 180 million people overall, but analysts estimate this might take years.


SpaceX gets US approval to deploy up to 7,500 satellites

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday it approved SpaceX's bid to deploy up to 7,500 satellites, but put on hold some other decisions.
SpaceX's Starlink, a fast-growing network of more than 3,500 satellites in low-Earth orbit, has tens of thousands of users in the US so far, with consumers paying at least US$599 (RM2,632) for a user terminal and US$110 a month for service. The FCC in 2018 approved SpaceX plans to deploy up to 4,425 first-generation satellites.
SpaceX has sought approval to operate a network of 29,988 satellites, to be known as its “second-generation” or Gen2 Starlink constellation to beam internet to areas with little or no internet access.
"Our action will allow SpaceX to begin deployment of Gen2 Starlink, which will bring next generation satellite broadband to Americans nationwide," the FCC said in its approval order, adding it "will enable worldwide satellite broadband service, helping to close the digital divide on a global scale."
The FCC said its decision "will protect other satellite and terrestrial operators from harmful interference and maintain a safe space environment" and protect "spectrum and orbital resources for future use."
In August, a US appeals court upheld the 2021 decision of the FCC to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower Earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet.
In September, SpaceX challenged the FCC decision to deny it US$885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in August Starlink’s technology “has real promise” but that it could not meet the programme’s requirements, citing data that showed a steady decline in speeds over the past year and casting the service’s price as too steep for consumers.


The MCO and us

Some time back, my husband and I found ourselves out and about at dinner time. It’d been a while since we’d gone anywhere so we thought we’d have a quick meal out. What we hadn’t planned on was 80% of restaurants in the area closing at 8pm. We went from one place to another in hope of finding somewhere that would cater to people who get off work after 7pm but were met with apologies at each one.We finally ended up at a coffee shop where we followed the arrows marked on the floor in red duct tape – this way in, and that way out. The coffee shop owner took our temperatures and pointed us towards the ubiquitous QR code on the wall before ushering us to a table for four where we sat diagonally opposite from each other.As we waited for our food – which turned out to be the biggest bowls of curry noodles we’d ever seen – we noticed an old man, bent over with age, moving from table to table.When he reached ours, we saw that he was selling small packets of peanuts. He smiled and said he was sorry for bothering us, but did we want any? Going on auto-pilot, we smiled back and said thank you, but no. He nodded with the air of one accustomed to rejection and began moving away.He was perhaps three feet away when we realised what we had done. We looked at each other, then looked at his retreating back and called: “Uncle!”He came back, smiling again, and we bought three packets of peanuts from him. When he fumbled at the pouch around his waist for our change, we said never mind. He wished us a very good week ahead, then moved off to the next table which was occupied by a group of men enjoying a beer. As our noodles arrived, we saw one of them wave away the peanuts, pull out his wallet and give the old man a folded bill.More recently, I heard a story about a worker at an F&B shop who, frazzled by the long line of customers, accidentally charged one of them too much. The amount was a fraction of the price of the drink – less than 3%. When the customer confronted her and she realised what she had done, the worker tried to explain that she had pressed the wrong button on the cash register but the customer refused to accept her explanation.Instead, he proceeded to express his disappointment with the shop’s “irresponsible” behaviour, “especially during this time of MCO”, in not clearly stating the prices for the food and drinks served. When told that the prices were in fact listed out on a large board beside the counter and that what had happened was an honest mistake, the customer began insisting that the worker had been rude to him. It was no longer about the money, he said; it was about the worker’s lack of manners.It’s up to us whose word we take. The general sentiment of course is that the customer is always right. In any case, believing a worker over a respectable middle-class consumer is usually left to activists who apparently have nothing better to do than to defend the rights (they have any?) of foreigners, most of whom are probably here to steal our jobs, anyway.But regardless of whom we believe, I cannot help wishing that more of us would choose to show the same spirit as the man sitting at that coffee shop with his beer and his friends, who thought it was important to show kindness to someone in a less privileged situation – especially during this time of MCO.It is natural for the MCO and its effects on the economy to be at the top of our list of concerns, and certainly on principle what we see should be what we get. But there are also other principles to be taken into consideration, including the importance of giving others the benefit of the doubt instead of shutting them down because we think we can.And if we are truly concerned about the economic situation, perhaps we should remember who will feel the pinch first. The poor, the disabled, foreigners, the unemployed – if we are not in any of these categories, then we can afford to show some consideration to those who are.Sometimes, this might mean giving to them out of our relative plenty. Other times, it might simply mean showing them enough respect to listen to them no matter how indignant we are.Again, it’s up to us. But heck, I’m not an activist so who am I to talk?


Putrajaya extends lease for Convent Bukit Nanas school

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today announced that the government is extending the lease for Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) another 60 years.In a statement, the PMO said the government had agreed to extend the lease after taking into consideration the importance of CBN’s contributions to education in the country since its inception in 1899.“This approval is given only for educational purposes,” it added.It said the chief secretary to the government and the Federal Territory Land and Mines director had met with Theresa Chua, Lady Superior of the Society of Saint Maur who represented the governing body of the school, following which an agreement was made.The school’s lease had been due to expire on Sept 6.Initial news that the lease would not be renewed had led to fears that the school would be demolished.Federal Territory Land and Mines director Muhammad Yasir Yahya later assured that this would not take place, adding that the land would be reverted to the government so that CBN could be gazetted as a fully funded school.This was met with opposition from parents who said they saw no need to change the status quo.They also questioned if CBN could maintain its standards if it were to become a fully funded government school.


Goading China into war over Taiwan

A number of defence analysts are convinced that the US, supported by Britain and Australia, is goading China into going to war over Taiwan. They point to constant statements by officials from the three countries pledging to come to Taiwan’s defence if it is attacked by China and the actual presence of US warships in the vicinity of the region as evidence of “an aggressive stance”.The game-plan of the US and its allies according to these observers is to create an atmosphere that will compel China to retaliate to these provocations and fire the first shot. The Western media which is already on their side will quickly brand China as the aggressor and mobilise global public opinion on behalf of the “victims of Chinese aggression”.There are certain underlying motives that may tempt the US to pursue this game-plan. There are hawks in Washington and elsewhere who believe that a short, quick war against China at this stage will benefit the hegemon and its global agenda.One, since the US is militarily stronger than China, a humiliating defeat for the latter will be a huge setback. At a time when the peaceful rise of China has made such an impact upon nations everywhere, a defeat will prove to all and sundry that the US is still the master of the planet.Two, a US victory over China will undoubtedly strengthen the Taiwan independence movement and encourage the separatists to expand their activities and intensify their demand. This will impact adversely upon Chinese sovereignty and undermine its national resilience.Three, a war over Taiwan will force China to divert its resources from much needed economic and social development to an unnecessary war on its doorstep. This diversion of resources will impede its progress. This is what the US and some of its allies would want to see.China will not allow this to happen. The Chinese leadership has always been aware of the dire consequences of war and violence for the nation and the people. Yet it is deeply cognisant of the imperative necessity to defend its sovereignty and integrity as a nation and the dignity of its people. It will therefore respond to provocations by resorting to measures – various measures – which do not lead to violence and war. These could be political moves or diplomatic manoeuvres or even trade sanctions.But China will not yield to provocations. It will not succumb to threats or arrogant bullying.The US leadership does not seem to understand this. For many decades now, US leaders and indeed, leaders of many other Western countries including Australia, have not seemed to appreciate the importance of respect as a value in interstate relations. Coercing or compelling a state to follow blindly one’s dictates is an example of a lack of respect for the other in international relations.The controversy over Taiwan illustrates the point about respect in international relations. Taiwan is part of China. This is an indisputable historical fact. 180 countries in the world recognise this reality. Since 1979, the US government has acknowledged that there is only one China represented by Beijing. This is contained in documents such as the famous three joint communiques. Beijing has always objected to US officials sometimes treating Taiwan as if it were an independent, sovereign state. This is apparent not just in US-Taiwan military ties but also on occasions in politics and economics.The time has come for the US’ friends in Asia to remind the US in a firm but courteous tone that living up to the One China policy is fundamental for the rest of the world in its relations to China. It is the deepest red line in our relations with China and will remain so for centuries to come. We must respect this line with a sincere heart. There must not be the slightest hint that the US or Britain or Australia or anyone else is trying to encourage separatist, anti-unification with China movements in Taiwan.By advocating strict adherence to the One China policy, we are not suggesting that we kow-tow to Beijing in a servile manner. If we have to disagree with Beijing on a matter of principle we should. For instance, many countries within Asean are at odds with Beijing on Beijing’s claim that it has suzerainty over almost 85% of the area perceived as the South China Sea.Asean governments and indeed, Asean civil society groups as a whole should continue to reiterate our sovereign maritime rights over the South China Sea in accordance with our historical claims and international law. We should never cease to persuade the authorities in China to accept our legitimate demands.In other words, we should ask China to respect our rights vis-à-vis the South China Sea just as we want the US to respect China’s position on Taiwan.Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.


Britons feel the pinch as cost-of-living crisis bites

Standing outside a north London supermarket clutching two shopping bags, Gerald Pursey bemoans Britain’s burgeoning cost-of-living crisis which is impacting everything from the weekly shop to his energy bills.“It’s ridiculous! Every time I get out of here (having) bought some stuff, it’s more than I thought it was going to be,” he told AFP. “Everything’s more.”Pursey, 62, drives one of the British capital’s iconic black taxis, and notices rising prices most when filling his cab with diesel.After recently finding a receipt from last August, he calculated the cost at the pump had shot up nearly 30% since then.“It’s depressing that everything’s going up… someone’s doing well out of it,” he complained in pleasant spring sunshine that contrasted his mood.Inflation has surged to a 40-year high on soaring energy costs, official data showed Wednesday.Meanwhile, charities warn increasing numbers of people are being pushed into poverty, and forced to rely on services such as foodbanks.“Today’s inflation figure shows just how price rises are impacting on household budgets, with many already feeling the pinch from the pandemic and furlough,” said Lindsay Boswell, head of FareShare, which works to alleviate hunger.She noted a recent survey of the 10,500 UK charities and community groups in its network found the crisis was having a “big impact” on their ability to deliver care and services as well as on families themselves.“Demand for our food is higher than ever,” Boswell added.Meanwhile in a sign of people’s increasing desperation, Turn2Us, a London-based national charity helping those in poverty, said its helpline had received more than 100,000 calls in the past year from people looking for support.The main issues people were facing included accessing state benefits and financial help to buy basic goods like a fridge and pay household bills.‘Right on the edge’Britain’s economy is already showing signs of slowing, with fears it could now slip into recession later this year as the cost-of-living crisis bites.At a Sainbury’s supermarket in London, Crispin Warwick, 52, said simple pleasures like going to a pub for a few beers were “simply not affordable”.Housewife Mary Havens, who has two children, noted she had started to curb her overall spending – exactly the kind of steps that dampens economic growth.“I’ve had to cut down on luxury items, on entertainment and stuff like that,” she explained.“Unless we need it, we’re not gonna buy it… I’m very worried because obviously it’s not going to be easier anytime soon, is it?”Shoppers’ pessimism contrasts with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who reiterated Wednesday that he sees runaway inflation as temporary and the underlying economy as sound.He is facing persistent calls for an emergency government budget and windfall tax on energy firms reaping record profits, but is reluctant on both fronts, arguing they could exacerbate the crisis.The government’s efforts to confront it so far, including a small cut in fuel duty earlier this year as part of a promised $22 billion in various forms of support, has been seen as woefully inadequate.“It’s frustrating that the Tory government doesn’t do anything for the underprivileged,” said Brian Elliott, a 54-year-old shopper unable to work for health reasons and also feeling the financial squeeze.“They don’t care,” he added, noting he too had pared back his spending on things like clothes.“(I’m) right on the edge of not being able to afford things… it’s depressing.”Pursey is similarly scathing about the government’s efforts.“They’ve got a lot to answer for,” he said, noting the party had been in power nearly a decade-and-a-half.


Nato begins unprecedented air drill in 'show of strength'

Nato will begin the largest air force deployment exercise in Europe in the alliance's history on Monday in a display of unity toward partners and potential threats such as Russia.
The German-led "Air Defender 23" will run until June 23 and include some 250 military aircraft from 25 Nato and partner countries including Japan and Sweden, which is bidding to join the alliance.
Up to 10,000 people will participate in the drills intended to boost interoperability and preparedness to protect against drones and cruise missiles in the case of an attack on cities, airports or sea ports within Nato territory.
Presenting the plans last week, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe said "Air Defender" was conceived in 2018 in part as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years before, though he said it was "not targeted at anyone".
He said that while Nato would defend "every centimetre" of its territory, the exercise would not "send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad," the Russian enclave bordering alliance member states Poland and Lithuania.
"We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned," he said.
US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the drill would show "beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force" and was intended to send a message to countries including Russia.
"I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr Putin," she told reporters, referring to the Russian president.
"By synchronising together, we multiply our force."
Russia's war on Ukraine has galvanised the Western military alliance set up almost 75 years ago to face off against the Soviet Union.
Finland and Sweden, which long kept an official veneer of neutrality to avoid conflict with Moscow, both sought membership in Nato after Russia's February 2022 invasion.
Under Nato's Article Five, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
'Great power competition'
The exercise will include operational and tactical-level training, primarily in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit pilots based at the Schleswig-Jagel airfield in northern Germany on Friday.
General Michael Loh, director of the US Air National Guard, said Nato's duties were at an "inflection point".
"A great deal has changed on the strategic landscape throughout the world, especially here in Europe," he said.
The exercise will focus on "supplementing the permanent US presence in Europe" as well as providing training "on a larger scale than what was usually accomplished on the continent", Loh added.
He said many of the alliance pilots would be working together for the first time.
"It's about fostering the old relationships that we have but also building new ones with this younger generation of airmen," he said.
"And so this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power in a great power competition."
Gutmann said that while there were no plans to make "Air Defender" a recurring exercise, she added: "We have no desire for this to be the last."
Asked about potential disruption to civilian air transport during the exercise, Gerhartz said the planners would do "everything in our power" to limit flight delays or cancellations.
German authorities had warned that flight schedules could be impacted by the drills.


3 new deaths take virus toll to 133

Three new deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded today, bringing Malaysia’s toll from the virus to 133 or 1.27% of total recorded cases.According to a health ministry infographic, 147 new cases were also recorded, 143 of which were local transmissions.Of the 143 local transmissions, 119 involved citizens with 110 recorded in Sabah, five recorded in Kedah, two recorded in Selangor and one each recorded in Kelantan and Kuala Lumpur.The remaining 24 cases involving foreigners were recorded in Sabah.The four imported cases involved three locals in Kuala Lumpur who had returned from India and one foreigner, also in Kuala Lumpur, who entered the country from Indonesia.This brings the total number of recorded cases to 10,505, of which 770 are presently active.Eight patients are receiving treatment in the intensive care unit with two in need of respiratory assistance.However, 39 patients were also discharged, bringing the number of recoveries to 9,602 or 91.4% of all cases.


Israel to move ahead with 1,000 new homes in Eli settlement

Israel plans 1,000 new homes for Eli settlement in the occupied West Bank in a potential doubling of its population in response to a Palestinian gun attack nearby that killed four people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday.
The statement did not make clear if the plan included homes previously approved for construction, nor detail the timetable.
The West Bank is among areas where Palestinians want to establish an independent state, and which has seen increasing spasms of violence with US-sponsored peacemaking efforts stalled for almost a decade.
Israel has peppered the West Bank with settlements that most world powers view as illegal. Israel disputes this, deeming the land a biblical birthright and security bulwark. Washington has urged its ally not to proceed with settlement projects in the territory, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
On Tuesday, two Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli civilians outside Eli. The Islamist group, which preaches Israel's destruction, called the attack retaliation for a deadly Israeli raid elsewhere in the West Bank on Monday.
"Our response to terrorism is to strike at it mightily and build up our land," the statement from Netanyahu's office said.
It said Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant "agreed to move ahead immediately" with the new Eli homes.
Settlement watchdog group Peace Now said Eli now has around 1,000 homes, meaning Wednesday's announcement could spell a doubling of its population. It was unclear if the plan included 500 new Eli homes that had been scheduled to come up for approval next week, Peace Now official Yonathan Mizrahi said.
The total settlement population in the West Bank has grown to 465,400, among 2.58 million Palestinians, according to Peace Now.


In well wishes, Anwar man says Umno is ‘sacred party’

A Selangor PKR leader loyal to Anwar Ibrahim has sent his good wishes to Umno ahead of the party’s general assembly in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, in a further indication of the parties coming together.Najwan Halimi, the Selangor PKR Youth chief and Kota Anggerik assemblyman, also urged Umno to cut ties with Bersatu, saying it was the “sacred party” for the Malays.“Congratulations to all #PAU2020 delegates,” Najwan said on Twitter, using the acronym for the Umno general assembly, which was brought forward from last year.“Umno is a sacred party (parti keramat) for the Malays, thus defend your honour from being belittled and trampled by the trecherous PPBM. May everything go smoothly,” he added.Umno’s ties with Bersatu is among the motions to be decided by party leaders tomorrow, amid pressure from Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Najib Razak.The two leaders have been at the forefront of a campaign to cut ties with Bersatu, the party formed by Muhyiddin Yassin after he was sacked by Najib for speaking out over the then-governement’s handling of the 1MDB saga.Najib’s criticism of the Perikatan Nasional government became more pronounced after his conviction of seven corruption charges in July last year.Anwar recently admitted that his party has held talks with Umno leaders.Both Najib and Zahid had written to the palace last year expressing support for Anwar’s bid to become prime minister.


Najib never moved to dissociate himself from Jho Low, says ex-1MDB CEO

The High Court was today told that former prime minister Najib Razak did not say or do anything to dissociate himself from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low.Testifying under re-examination by senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram, former 1MDB CEO Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman said Najib had never issued any instruction not to comply with the instructions given by Jho Low in all matters related to 1MDB.Sri Ram: When you had the meeting at the accused’s (Najib) house and Jho Low was present, what was your observation of the relationship between Jho Low and the accused?Hazem: It was very, very close.Sri Ram then asked the 49-year-old witness why he obeyed instructions from Jho Low, to which Hazem said all the instructions from Jho Low “came from Najib himself”.Questioned further by Sri Ram on why he would follow instructions from Jho Low, the 10th prosecution witness said: ”Jho Low was basically the man of the PM.”Hazem also said that Jho Low’s role in 1MDB was concealed during meetings with accounting firm KPMG Malaysia to discuss the company’s audit because Jho Low himself had asked that his name not be revealed.Further questioned about the removal of KPMG Malaysia as the strategic development company’s auditor, Hazem said the audit firm refused to sign off on 1MDB’s 2013 financial year audit report and that he received pressure, including from Najib himself, to ensure that the audit report was signed.“I was called directly by him (Najib) asking me to find a way to solve this (signing off the audit report) and the only way to solve this was to replace KPMG with a new auditor.“At the time, I was in no position to disobey Najib as he was the prime minister,” said Hazem.KPMG was appointed as 1MDB’s auditor for the financial years of 2010, 2011 and 2012 but was sacked in 2013 after it refused to sign off 1MDB’s financial year 2013 accounts.Hazem also said he did not receive a single sen from the purportedly misappropriated money from 1MDB funds nor was he given any monetary compensation by Jho Low for allegedly conspiring to siphon money from the company.Najib, 68, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.The trial before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.


Polluted air cuts global life expectancy by two years

Microscopic air pollution caused mostly by burning fossil fuels shortens lives worldwide by more than two years, researchers reported Tuesday.Across South Asia, the average person would live five years longer if levels of fine particulate matter met World Health Organization standards, according to a report from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.In the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, home to 300 million, crippling lung and heart disease caused by so-called PM2.5 pollution reduces life expectancy by eight years, and in the capital city of New Delhi by a decade.PM2.5 pollution – 2.5 microns across or less, roughly the diameter of a human hair – penetrates deep into the lungs and enters the bloodstream.In 2013, the United Nations classified it as a cancer-causing agent.The WHO says PM2.5 density in the air should not top 15 microgrammes per cubic metre in any 24-hour period, or 5mcg/m3 averaged across an entire year.Faced with mounting evidence of damaging health impacts, the WHO tightened these standards last year, the first change since establishing air quality guidance in 2005.“Clean air pays back in additional years of life for people across the world,” lead research Crista Hasenkopf and colleagues said in the Air Quality Life Index report.“Permanently reducing global air pollution to meet the WHO’s guidelines would add 2.2 years onto average life expectancy.”Major gains in ChinaAlmost all populated regions in the world exceed WHO guidelines, but nowhere more so that in Asia: by 15-fold in Bangladesh, 10-fold in India, and nine-fold in Nepal and Pakistan.Central and West Africa, along with much of Southeast Asia and parts of central America, also face pollution levels – and shortened lives – well above the global average.Surprisingly, PM2.5 pollution in 2020, the most recent data available, was virtually unchanged from the year before despite a sharp slow-down in the global economy and a corresponding drop in CO2 emissions due to Covid lockdowns.“In South Asia, pollution actually rose during the first year of the pandemic,” the authors noted.One country that has seen major improvements is China.PM2.5 pollution fell in the nation of 1.4 billion people by almost 40 percent between 2013 and 2020, adding two years to life expectancy.But even with this progress, lives in China are on average cut short today by 2.6 years.The worst-hit provinces include Henan and Hebei, in north-central China, and the coastal province of Shandong.Compared to other causes of premature death, the impact of PM2.5 pollution is comparable to smoking tobacco, more than three times that of alcohol use, and six times that of HIV/AIDS, the report said.


Umno now wants Ahmad Maslan as deputy speaker

Umno leaders aligned with Najib Razak are pushing his staunch loyalist Ahmad Maslan for the post of deputy speaker, as a replacement for Azalina Othman Said who resigned last month in the midst of the power vacuum, MalaysiaNow has learnt.At least two Umno sources who spoke to MalaysiaNow said the Pontian MP’s name has been suggested and awaits approval from other members of the current government.“With most of their allies sidelined for Cabinet posts, the deputy speaker’s post is seen as the next best thing that they can hope for as far as having some control in the Dewan Rakyat is concerned,” a source close to several key Umno leaders told MalaysiaNow under strict condition of anonymity.But it said it would be a huge task to get government MPs, especially from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, to support Ahmad’s candidacy.Ahmad is among a group of former leaders from the previous Barisan Nasional government known as the “court cluster”, who are facing court charges related to corruption and money laundering.He served as a deputy minister in three portfolios under Najib: in the Prime Minister’s Department and finance, as well as international trade and industry.PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin had made it clear that his coalition would not back individuals facing criminal charges for any role in the administration.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, another Umno source said the move to name Ahmad points to frustrations in the pro-Najib camp over the composition of Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration.It said the announcement by Ismail that Muhyiddin would lead the National Recovery Council (MPN) had only increased these frustrations.“The MPN is currently perhaps the most powerful entity in the government, so there is a need by Najib’s team to show that they still have some clout with Ismail,” the source added.MalaysiaNow is trying to contact Ahmad for a response.The Dewan Rakyat will convene its first sitting since Ismail’s appointment as prime minister on Sept 13, where MPs are expected to vote for a deputy speaker.Meanwhile, an Umno Supreme Council member said party leaders had initially wanted to appoint Azalina as speaker, in a move designed to remove Azhar Harun.But the Umno leader said the task was made difficult by the “unauthorised support” for Azalina from Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs.“The intense lobbying by some DAP MPs in support of Azalina only made her chances more remote,” he added.DAP’s Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh had openly praised Azalina following the latter’s criticism of the previous administration, and urged Ismail to appoint her as the law minister, whose task is closely linked to managing Dewan Rakyat debates.After Azalina was passed over for the post in favour of the more experienced Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Yeoh and other PH politicians had called for her to be installed as speaker instead.“But that would be going against the very reason Azalina cited when she resigned as deputy speaker,” the source said.Azalina resigned as one of the two deputy speakers on Aug 23, days after she joined about a dozen MPs aligned with Najib and Zahid in withdrawing their support for the PN administration led by Muhyiddin.She cited conflict between her party role and being a ruling MP, while calling for the post of speaker and deputy speaker to be filled by those who are impartial and who hold no political posts.Azhar, the current speaker, is not a member of any political party unlike his predecessor Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof who had contested as a PAS candidate in the general election before joining Amanah.Ariff however quit Amanah in 2018 to fulfil a condition by the then-PH government for the candidate for the speaker’s post to be independent.


Sinovac jab highly effective against serious illness, govt study shows

Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine is highly effective against serious illness, although rival shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca showed better protection rates, a large real world study from Malaysia showed.The latest data is a boost to the Chinese firm, whose Covid-19 vaccine has been under growing scrutiny over its effectiveness following reports of infections among healthcare workers fully immunised with the Sinovac shot in Indonesia and Thailand.The study, conducted by the government, found that 0.011% of about 7.2 million recipients of the Sinovac shot required treatment in ICUs for Covid-19 infections, health officials told reporters on Thursday.By contrast, 0.002% of about 6.5 million recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine needed ICU treatment for Covid-19 infections, while 0.001% of 744,958 recipients of the AstraZeneca shot required similar treatment.Kalaiarasu Peariasamy, a director at the Institute for Clinical Research that conducted the study along with a national Covid-19 task force, said vaccinations – regardless of the brand – have reduced the risk of admission to intensive care by 83% and lowered the risk of death by 88% based on a smaller study involving about 1.26 million people.“The breakthrough rate for intensive care unit admission is extremely low,” he said, adding overall ICU admissions among fully vaccinated individuals stood at 0.0066%.Mortality rate of the fully vaccinated people was also low at 0.01% and the majority of them were either above 60 years of age or with comorbidities.There were differences in the demographics of the recipients of the three vaccines and it could have resulted in the different results, Peariasamy said.Many of AstraZeneca recipients were in the “mid-adulthood age”, while the Pfizer and Sinovac shots were “very much for the vulnerable population,” he said.AstraZeneca recipients also accounted for a much smaller proportion of the study, which involved about 14.5 million fully vaccinated individuals and conducted for more than five months since April 1.In July, Putrajaya said it will stop administering the Sinovac vaccine once its supplies end, as it has a sufficient number of other vaccines for its programme.The Sinovac vaccine has been widely used in several countries including China, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil, and the company said earlier this month it had supplied 1.8 billion doses at home and abroad.Malaysia has fully vaccinated 58.7% of its 32 million population and given at least one dose to 68.8%.


Restaurant owners pitch in to fight pandemic hunger

As the country marks its second year of navigating the Covid-19 crisis, restaurant operators are doing what they can to alleviate the hardships of the B40 and urban poor who have been reeling under the financial impact of the pandemic.While they might not be able to do much in terms of giving monetary assistance, what they can do is to provide food, and to do so for free.Mohd Izham Fahmi Yaakob who runs Restoran Makan Place in Puncak Alam, Selangor, started giving out meals about a week ago.“We prepare 15 to 20 packets of food each day, depending on the situation,” he told MalaysiaNow. “Sometimes we finish giving it out, sometimes we don’t.”Each packet consists of mixed rice and a drink. It may not seem like much, but Izham, whose business is also struggling to survive the pandemic, is determined to do what he can to help those in need.“If they are desperate, sometimes they resort to stealing,” he said. “So I don’t mind how many packets they take because right now, we are all in difficulty together.”Izham has never asked those who accept the food about themselves, but he estimates that many of them are from the hardcore poor.Over at Kedai Makan Abang Tukang Masak, Nur Fatin Abd Halim and her team prepare anywhere from 200 to 1,000 food packs a day for those in the Damansara Damai area.“No matter how much food we prepare, it is always finished by the end of the day,” she said.“We don’t set any criteria for this – anyone can take the food as long as they are hungry or in need.”Sometimes, they also give food to the security guards in the area who work late into the night.Many who come for the food are individuals with families to feed, or foreigners.There is also a space at the restaurant for basic necessities to be donated to more than 2,000 people in the area.“It’s not much but we try to help. Even if we can save one or two families, it is enough.”Nur Fatin said 80% of the cost is covered by the restaurant’s earnings while the remaining 20% is paid for through public donations.Not far off, at the Nasi Briyani Batu Pahat Damansara Damai stall, Mohammad Na’imullah Nazli prepares 15 packets of rice each day for anyone in need.“We began doing this in early June, after we read about the plight of many on social media – people who did not have enough to eat, people who had no money, and more recently those who are forced to fly white flags at their homes.“Many have also despaired to the point of committing suicide,” he said.“It’s not much but we try to help. Even if we can save one or two families, it is enough.”Na’imullah is also working with former Selangor goaltender Jamsari Sabian, who supplies packets of daily necessities for distribution.For families in the area who have no means of transportation, Na’imullah delivers the food to them himself.His main priorities are single mothers and those who are unemployed, with young children.“We have to show some discretion because we don’t have a lot of funds,” he said. “We want this aid to reach those who are really in need of it.“We don’t want them to feel stressed to the point of doing anything unfortunate.”


Move on to more important things, Tuan Ibrahim says on tumult over royal address

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man today urged MPs to focus on more important issues instead of prolonging the discussion on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's royal address which he previously said had been prepared by the government.
Tuan Ibrahim, the MP for Kubang Kerian, said he had already clarified what he described as a misunderstanding over the matter.
"I think there is no need to dwell on this because we have many important issues to discuss.
"So I think if there was a mistake, I apologise and we should move on to more important matters for the interests of the people," he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
Jelutong MP RSN Rayer had asked for a ruling on the matter which sparked an uproar in the House on Feb 21.
Tuan Ibrahim had asked why the value of justice was not included in the royal address, saying it should be raised by the king in Parliament as well and not only in documents outside of Parliament.
"It should have been included in his speech as this was already formulated (by the government)," he said.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul said discussions on the matter had already been held several days ago.


79% of pregnant women who died of Covid-19 last year were unvaccinated, says health DG

Seventy-nine percent of the 191 deaths due to complications of Covid-19 infection among pregnant women last year comprised those who had not received a vaccine injection.Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of all the deaths involving pregnant women reported since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, 83% had comorbidities.However, no deaths involving pregnant women due to Covid-19 were reported between January and Feb 15 this year, he added.“A high vaccine coverage of 94.7% for those aged 18 and above was achieved in October 2021 and this contributed to the decrease in maternal mortality due to Covid-19 complications,” he said in a Facebook post.He said a total of 18,277 cases of Covid-19 infection among pregnant women were reported from March 2020 to January this year.


New infections at 4,300 as 10 more deaths reported

Another 4,334 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,732,502.
There were 5,082 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,651,805.
There are now 44,617 active cases, of which 42,926 or 96.2% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 28 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,595 (3.6%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 68 are in ICU with 44 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 58.5%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 18.2%.
Another 10 deaths were reported, including one who was brought in dead. Total deaths now stand at 36,080.


Vaccine passports, aye or nay?

Experts have urged Putrajaya to consider the use of vaccine passports to allow flexibility for those who have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 as one of the ways to ease SOPs in line with recent announcements on the matter by government leaders.Public health expert Dr Sanjay Rampal said 10.3 million of the 18.9 million who registered for vaccination had received a first dose, according to the current rate of vaccination.He estimated that the government would need another 43 days to vaccinate the remaining 8.6 million.“The current restrictions on inter-district and interstate travel have become ineffective,” he told MalaysiaNow.“We should do away with the movement restrictions and re-emphasise the importance of practising the SOPs for at least the next six weeks.”Sanjay added that those who are still waiting for a vaccination appointment should remember that restrictions on movements are for the sake of their own health.He also suggested that travellers be tested when visiting closed populations such as those in Langkawi and Tioman if there is no community transmission of the virus on the islands.The idea of vaccine passports gained currency after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s recent announcement that Putrajaya would look into easing SOPs for those who have received the full two-dose regime of Covid-19 vaccine.Such documents have been used to facilitate international travel and to help airlines ascertain the status of passengers before they board their flights.The European Union, for example, uses vaccine passports for travel within the bloc.But Ahmad Marthada Mohamed, dean of the College of Law, Government and International Studies at Universiti Utara Malaysia, said vaccine passports should not be the only way that individuals are allowed to cross state lines.Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said this would be unfair to those who have yet to receive their jabs.“Using vaccine passports within the country to allow individuals certain privileges will stir up dissatisfaction among the people as some registered for vaccination long ago but are still waiting for their turn,” he said.“The vaccination process does not depend solely on individuals,” he added. “It also depends on the state, the total amount of doses available, their age, registration and many other factors that could influence whether or not they are chosen.”Ahmad urged the government to look to developed countries which use three criteria for domestic matters: a person’s vaccination status, whether he or she has ever been infected, and whether the Covid-19 test results are negative.“If the government wishes to allow privileges within the country as announced, these should be given to anyone who fulfils one of these three criteria,” he said.He said the use of negative test results which could be renewed every two weeks would be more equitable for domestic purposes, adding that this would require investments in the health system and screening methods that are easily available on a mass scale.Sanjay however maintains that vaccine passports are a better bet than test results.“Asymptomatic individuals with no record of close contacts would not need to be screened,” he said, adding that in any case, the RTK Antigen test has poor diagnostic properties in the low-risk, asymptomatic population.


Just call me, FT minister says on potholes in KL

Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim today said the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been told to act within 24 hours on complaints and information on potholes and road damage in the federal capital.He said he had discussed the matter with DBKL and ordered it to take immediate action on such complaints.“(The public) can call the minister at 019-4545111, deputy minister (019-6524444) or mayor (016-2068883). Ready to act around the clock. Those who have just arrived in Kuala Lumpur should call (any of the numbers given) if they see a pothole. We will take action within 24 hours.”He said this when winding up the debate on the 12th Malaysia Plan for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.He said DBKL is always monitoring the road conditions in Kuala Lumpur, especially near development projects, along the main roads and at major focal areas to ensure that repair and resurfacing works are carried out.Shahidan also stated his ministry’s commitment to carrying out policies and developments as well as possible, including attracting investments to make the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan more developed through collaboration with various parties.He also announced an affordable housing project under the ministry, Residensi Prihatin, at prices of up to RM200,000 for a 750 sq ft unit for the B40 group, which would be rebranded as Residensi Keluarga Malaysia.“The federal territories ministry will ensure the provision of affordable homes for residents, built near or with easy access to public transportation such as the MRT and LRT,” he said.


Passenger peeved after AirAsia resells cancelled flight at higher price

An AirAsia passenger still waiting to be fully refunded for a cancelled flight is up in arms after learning that the low-cost airline had then resold the tickets for the flight in question.
Uwe Guenther, from Zurich, Switzerland, previously told how he had been forced to spend more on another round of flight tickets after his original AirAsia flight from Bali to Labuan Bajo-Komodo Island was scrapped.
Guenther, a civil engineer, had paid a total of US$364.72 (RM1,623) for six tickets for the domestic flight including the extra fees for his choice of seat.
He bought six more tickets with Batik Air after discovering that his original flight with AirAsia would not depart as scheduled.

Uwe Guenther.

In early July, he received an email confirming that the flight, slated to depart on Aug 18, had been cancelled.
He was given credit worth US$163.53 (RM727.71) – less than half of the amount he had paid.
But he was incensed to learn that AirAsia had later resold the tickets for that flight online.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he referred to a screenshot showing that the flight was scheduled to depart on the same day – only 30 minutes earlier.
Checks confirmed that the flight number QZ 644 was the same flight shown on the tickets Guenther had bought in March.
"AirAsia, which cancelled my flight and then gave me less than half of my credit back, sold the same flight tickets for half an hour earlier on the same date at a higher price," he said.
"What is wrong with this airline? My flight was supposed to depart at 9am. They cancelled it and then resold the tickets for 8.35am. They even sold it under the same flight number."
MalaysiaNow attempted to reach AirAsia for an explanation but received no response other than a media statement about the company's promotional campaign, sent by an AirAsia communications officer.
The email was received about 30 minutes after MalaysiaNow's request for a response.
A similar case occurred in June, as revealed by a passenger who had bought an AirAsia flight ticket to Langkawi.
Jai Rihan told MalaysiaNow that his flight, which was supposed to depart at 11.35am on June 18, was delayed to 5pm.
He later discovered that the 11.35am flight was still available, but that tickets were being sold at double the price.
He recounted his experience on Facebook, where his post quickly went viral.
"My flight is on June 18 at 11.35am to Langkawi," he said in the post dated June 12.
"I booked this flight nearly a month ago. Today I got an email saying my flight was rescheduled to 5pm. Now I check the available flights online and guess what, the 11.35am flight is available and at double the price I bought.
"Now if I want to change my flight to that time again, I have to pay the extra in order to get that time. My flight is a week away. And the reason given is operational issues," he said.
When contacted by MalaysiaNow then, AirAsia confirmed that the case had been resolved with Jai able to board his flight at the original time.


Sorry.


Defence seeks to impeach key prosecution witness in Syed Saddiq trial

The defence in the trial of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who faces charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering, is seeking to impeach a key witness following discrepancies between the latter’s statements and his oral testimony in court.
The statements involve Syed Saddiq's instructions to Rafiq Hakim Razali – the 13th prosecution witness – regarding the procedure for withdrawing RM1 million from the Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada) bank account.
Counsel Gobind Singh Deo, representing Syed Saddiq, said the court could use its discretion to allow the defence to start the proceedings to challenge Rafiq Hakim's credibility as the document referred to, the witness statement, was not tendered in court by the prosecution.
"This witness statement was not used in court because the witness did not read it during the proceedings. But we know there are discrepancies based on his oral evidence and witness statements given to us before," he said during the case before High Court judicial commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid today.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said if the defence wished to challenge the credibility of the witness, his statement would have to be tendered in court and used as an exhibit. "In this case, the witness (Rafiq Hakim) has admitted that there is a discrepancy (in his testimony)," he said.
Azhar then instructed both parties to argue the matter of challenging the credibility of witnesses.
"We need to be careful about this and I don’t want anything that could prejudice the accused to be wrongly admitted. To be on the safe side, I am going to require both parties to do some reading on this matter," said the judge.
Earlier, Rafiq Hakim, the former assistant treasurer of Bersatu's Youth wing, disagreed with Gobind's suggestion that he felt pressured when investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) because he had to "find a way" not to be charged with CBT in relation to the RM1 million.
Gobind: One of the ways is to point the finger at Syed Saddiq. I suggest that's what you did in this case.
Rafiq Hakim: I do not agree. Gobind: That is why you felt pressured when you were detained and investigated by the MACC.
Rafiq Hakim: I think everyone who is detained will feel pressured.
The witness also disagreed with the lawyer's suggestion that when he was questioned, MACC only asked questions linking the act of CBT to Syed Saddiq.
"When I was arrested, MACC only asked about who gave the instructions to sign (the document facilitating) the RM1 million withdrawal. I informed them that it was Syed Saddiq, and that I myself would not have signed if there were no instructions from him to do so," he said.
Syed Saddiq, 29, was charged as the then Youth chief, entrusted with the control of Armada funds, with abetting Rafiq Hakim with criminal breach of trust of RM1 million in funds belonging to the wing.
He was also charged with misusing property 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, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya between April 8 and 21, 2018.
He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities through two transactions of RM50,000, believed to be the proceeds of unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.
He is accused of committing the offence at a bank at Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru on June 16 and 19, 2018.


43% voter turnout as of 1pm despite uncertain weather

Some 43% of voters in the Melaka state election had turned up to exercise their right to vote as of 1pm today, despite the cloudy weather and drizzle reported in some areas.The voting process is being held in strict compliance with the SOPs set by the Election Commission (EC) to prevent the spread of Covid-19.Voters began queuing as early as 7.30am although polling stations only opened at 8am.So far, no SOP violations have been reported.To ensure the safety of voters and election offocials, and as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus, the halls and schools being used as polling centres are sanitised at regular intervals.EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh also went down to the ground to observe the voting process at several locations and ensure that things run smoothly.Contesting candidates also took advantages of the fairly fine morning weather to cast their votes early, to avoid worsening weather conditions in the afternoon.According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the weather in the morning is forecast to be clear in Melaka Tengah, Jasin and Alor Gajah districts with thunderstorms in the afternoon in all areas.Among the candidates who went to cast their votes early were the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidates for the Tanjung Bidara seat, Ab Rauf Yusoh and Mas Ermieyati Samsudin; Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for Bukit Katil Adly Zahari and Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali who is defending his Lendu seat.Others were PH’s candidate for Asahan, Idris Haron and his wife, and independent candidate for Pengkalan Batu Norhizam Hassan Baktee.Polling for the Melaka state election started at 8am today with the opening of 217 polling centres involving 1,109 channels handled by a total of 12,290 election officials in 28 state constituencies.Polling will end at 5.30 pm.There are 476,037 ordinary voters out of a total of 495,195 registered voters in the state.The Melaka state election was called following the dissolution of the state assembly on Oct 4, following the move by four state assemblymen to withdraw their support for the chief minister.


New infections below 2,000 as 8 more deaths reported

Another 1,946 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,778,140.
There were 3,271 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,710,366.
There are now 31,568 active cases, of which 30,163 or 95.5% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 18 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 1,312 (4.2%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 75 are in ICU with 50 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 64.7%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 20.1%.
Eight more deaths were reported, taking total deaths to 36,206.


Turkish aerospace giant opens shop in Malaysia

Turkish Aerospace today opened its first engineering and design office in Southeast Asia at the Cyberview Futurise campus in Selangor.In a statement, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) said Turkish and Malaysian engineers would work in the new office to carry out joint studies in a variety of areas including unmanned aerial vehicles, jet trainers, helicopter projects and modernisation programmes for the global aviation ecosystem.International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who officiated the opening of the office, said bilateral ties between Malaysia and Turkey have continued to grow with substantial progress on talks between the two on the expansion of free trade agreements.“Turkey has one of the fastest developing defence and aerospace sectors in the world and has achieved many firsts for the Muslim world,” he said.Mida CEO Arham Abdul Rahman meanwhile said the office would enhance Malaysia’s aerospace ecosystem, with the right value proposition for the company to expand its presence in Asean and beyond, particularly in the manufacturing and high-end services sector.“The competitive cost of doing business in Malaysia will undoubtedly be beneficial for both parties to raise the nation’s local expertise as well as certification status,” he said.As of June, a total of 13 manufacturing projects with Turkish participation had been approved with total investments of RM510.4 million.Turkish Aerospace CEO and president Temel Kotil said the opening of the new office would strengthen ties between the two countries and host important studies for Malaysia and Turkey to develop joint projects in the fields of aviation, space and defence.“We aim to expand our experience in these fields within the scope of joint projects with Malaysia and to strengthen the global aviation industry, especially in our regions,” he said.Merve Kavakci, the Turkish ambassador to Malaysia, meanwhile said Malaysia is Turkey’s largest trading and strategic partner in the region.“Today’s opening demonstrates that Turkish companies are confident about a strong, stable and prosperous Malaysia.”


When sentences are a matter of life and death

Earlier this week, 27-year-old Mohammad Awari Ahmad lost his final appeal against the death sentence imposed on him for the rape and murder of a nurse five years ago.Awari had slashed the woman on both sides of her neck before raping her as she bled – an act witnessed by her five-year-old son. He then stole her mobile phone along with RM200 and went to “celebrate” by drinking seven bottles of liquor at a restaurant, according to the prosecution.For his act, which the prosecution described this week as “brutal, aggressive and vicious”, Awari will hang.Government statistics put the number of prisoners on death row in Malaysia at over 1,200 as of end-2019. Death is the mandatory punishment for those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping, treason and waging war against the king, among others.But not everyone on death row is there for crimes such as Awari’s.According to rights group Amnesty International Malaysia, the majority of those facing execution are in for drug offences, not violent crimes. Amnesty estimates that over 73% of those facing the death penalty are there for drug offences.Drugs or murder, though, the same punishment awaits.Malaysia is one of 55 United Nations member countries that retain the death penalty.In July 2018, the government led by Pakatan Harapan (PH) at the time imposed a moratorium on all executions. In October that year, it pledged to undertake efforts to abolish the practice in its entirety.But PH fell out of power early this year, and it remains to be seen if its successor to federal authority, Perikatan Nasional, will continue its stand.For some, the death penalty is an alternative to sentences of life imprisonment which put additional strain on already-full prisons run on taxpayers’ money.Drugs or murder, the same punishment awaits.And, of course, there is the question of justice for those who suffer irreplaceable losses.“Of course, part of me would want to see vengeance exacted against anyone who does my loved ones harm,” Harish K, who has two daughters, told MalaysiaNow.“I would want them to pay the heaviest penalty possible, to see them suffer and their lives snuffed out.”But Harish also admits that this would be an emotional reaction.“Emotions should play no role in the justice system,” he added. “Life imprisonment without parole is bad enough.”‘Retribution or rehabilitation?’Amnesty, which has long fought against the use of capital punishment in Malaysia, says opposing the death sentence is not intended to minimise or condone the retributionist approach to violent crimes.Rather, it is to afford the convicted individual the chance of rehabilitation.“Executing someone because they’ve taken someone’s life is revenge, not justice,” an Amnesty spokesman told MalaysiaNow.“Any society which executes offenders is committing the same violence it condemns.”Mother-of-two Fizi Hafizah agrees. “Everybody deserves a second chance,” she said when approached by MalaysiaNow.How effective the death sentence is in deterring crime is also a subject of debate.According to Amnesty, “draconian drug policies” give “zero effective protection from drug-related harm”.“Any society which executes offenders is committing the same violence it condemns.”“The death penalty does not have a unique deterrent effect (for drug crimes), and draconian drug policies have failed to tackle the use and availability of drugs in the country,” the spokesman said.“There is little evidence to show that the death penalty has any effect on crime rate.”Right to lifeSome also see the death penalty as contradicting the right to life laid out in the Federal Constitution.Bar Council president Salim Bashir told MalaysiaNow that the Malaysian Bar had consistently upheld this belief.He said use of the death penalty also robbed the courts of their discretion to impose sentences on convicted criminals in cases of capital punishment.There is also the question of whether the person condemned to hang will later be found innocent.He gave the example of situations where mere drug mules are caught, convicted and sentenced to death, saying miscarriages of justice could occur.He raised concerns over self-incriminating statements taken during police interrogation without the presence of a lawyer, or even mistakes made by lawyers themselves which could jeopardise the trial and result in a conviction.“Society should be mindful that the death sentence has an irreversible effect when wrongful execution is found.”


US aims for 'top line' deal on aid to three Pacific island countries

The US hopes to reach agreement on "top line" numbers for assistance to three Pacific island countries by the year end, a State Department official told Reuters on Thursday, part of negotiations critical to shoring up US strategic interests in a region courted by China.
The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Palau are sovereign nations that agreed Compacts of Free Association, or COFAs, in the 1980s, under which the US retained responsibility for their defence and exclusive access to huge swaths of the Pacific.
COFA provisions will expire in 2023 for the Marshall Islands and FSM, and in 2024 for Palau and though the island nations still enjoy close ties to Washington, critics warn that a failure to reach new terms for economic aid could spur them to look to China for funding or increased trade and tourism.
The nations have complained that assistance has not kept pace with US obligations but President Joe Biden's administration pledged at a summit in September to try to reach agreements by year end.
"We're not talking about signing final agreement texts by the end of the year," a US State Department official told Reuters. "We're aiming to get good consensus on what the top-line assistance would be, agreed by all sides."
The official declined to say what dollar amounts were under discussion but said Washington hoped to reach deals with all three countries by the year-end or early next year.
One source familiar with the talks said the figures could include hundreds of millions of dollars a year in assistance spread across the three COFA countries, though the amounts could vary by year and by purpose.
This would be an increase from existing funding, although the islands' strategic value given China's growing influence has risen significantly since the COFAs were last amended nearly two decades ago.
Marshall Islanders are still plagued by the health and environmental effects of the 67 US nuclear bomb tests there from 1946 to 1958, which included "Castle Bravo" at Bikini Atoll in 1954 - the largest US bomb ever detonated.
Though the State Department says Washington already reached a full and final settlement for the nuclear legacy under past agreements, the official said Washington was "exploring a variety of areas in which the US might provide broad assistance" to address ongoing needs.
Asked if Washington would consider a formal apology the Marshall Islands has requested for the impacts of the nuclear tests, the US official said there had long been conversations about it within the US government.
"I think it's something that we think about regularly and discuss internally," the official said, without elaborating.


Bosses can ban headscarves in some cases, EU court rules

Employers can in principle ban staff from wearing headscarves in the workplace, an EU court ruled Thursday in two cases brought by Muslim women working in Germany.A ban on religious symbols such as headscarves “may be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes”, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in a statement.The employer must also show it is not discriminating between different beliefs and religions in its policy, the court said.The two women, a cashier in a chemist and a special needs carer, had taken their cases to German courts after being prohibited from wearing headscarves at work.The German courts had then referred the cases to the ECJ for an interpretation of EU law.The woman working at the chemist had been employed there since 2002 and had initially not worn a headscarf, but had wanted to begin wearing one after returning from parental leave in 2014.However, the chemist instructed her to come to work “without conspicuous, large-sized signs of any political, philosophical or religious beliefs”, the ECJ said.The second woman was employed in 2016 as carer at a non-profit association and had initially worn a headscarf at work.She too went on parental leave, during which time the association issued a policy prohibiting the wearing of visible signs of political, ideological or religious conviction in the workplace for employees with customer contact.After returning from parental leave, she refused to remove the headscarf, which resulted in several warnings and eventually in her being dismissed.National courts must examine in each individual case whether company rules are compatible with national laws on religious freedom and the need for a “policy of neutrality”, the ECJ said.There must be “a genuine need on the part of the employer” for such a policy, it said, and it must also not go against “national provisions on the protection of freedom of religion”.


Thai capital braces for protests over PM's term limit

Thai authorities ramped up security in the capital on Tuesday ahead of protests calling on the prime minister to resign, as a court considers whether to take up a petition to rule on when his constitutionally stipulated eight-year term is up.
The main opposition party, and nearly two-thirds of Thais questioned in an opinion poll, believe Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who took power in a 2014 coup, should step down by Aug 24 because his time as junta chief counts towards his term.
Prayuth, 68, was army chief when he mounted a coup in 2014 to overthrow an elected government. He became a civilian prime minister in 2019 after an election held under a military-drafted constitution.
Police cordoned off areas around the prime minister's offices, known as Government House, in central Bangkok, setting up barricades, including shipping containers, and diverting traffic.
Prayuth arrived for a weekly cabinet and is expected to address media later in the day.
Thailand has seen intermittent political turmoil for nearly two decades, including two coups and violent protests, broadly because of opposition to the military's involvement in politics and demands by increasingly politically aware sections of society for greater representation.
But protests have petered out over the past couple of years with the imposition of Covid-19 bans on gatherings.
The main opposition Pheu Thai Party has petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule on how long Prayuth can stay in office. The court could decide to hear or dismiss the case on Wednesday.
If the case is accepted, it is unclear if Prayuth would stay on as leader or be suspended from duty while a caretaker government takes over. It is not clear when the court would rule on the term limit.
The opposition says Prayuth's tenure as prime minister began in August 2014, a few months after the coup, and should therefore end this month.
But some supporters argue his premiership started in 2017, when a new constitution came into force, or after the 2019 election – meaning he should be allowed to stay on until 2025 or 2027, provided he retains the necessary backing in parliament.
A general election is due by May next year.


Aussie PM says China should lift trade sanctions, welcomes talks

China needs to lift its sanctions on Australia to improve relations, Australia’s prime minister said on Tuesday, as he welcomed as “a good thing” the first talks between ministers from the two countries in almost three years.China is Australia’s largest trading partner and the biggest customer for its iron ore – its largest export earner – but diplomatic relations have been strained in recent years.In imposing its sanctions, China listed 14 grievances with Australia ranging from its call for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, a ban on China’s telecommunications giant Huawei building a 5G network, and screening foreign investment for national security risks.“It is China that has imposed sanctions on Australia. They need to remove those sanctions in order to improve relations,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.Australia’s former government described China’s sanctions on its agriculture and energy commodities as “economic coercion”. Amid a years-long diplomatic freeze, Australian ministers have been unable to arrange calls with Chinese counterparts.But Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, met his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of a security conference in Singapore on Sunday, with Marles describing their hour-long talk as an “important first step”.Albanese said it was “a good thing” the ministers had met and noted the importance of trade with China for Australia’s economy.China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Albanese had responded to a message of congratulations from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on his election win last month, adding that it too wanted to see action for ties to improve.“To improve China-Australia relations, there is no ‘auto-pilot’ mode. A reset requires concrete actions,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing in Beijing. He did not elaborate on the action China wanted.Albanese declined to elaborate on what he had said to Li.“I responded appropriately,” he told reporters.


Daily caseload tops 1,200 as 2 more deaths reported

Another 1,278 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 4,454,113.There were 2,599 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,391,090.There are now 27,454 active cases, of which 26,407 or 96.2% are undergoing home quarantine.Meanwhile, 17 (0.1%) are at quarantine centres while 964 (3.5%) have been hospitalised.A total of 66 are in ICU with 36 in need of respiratory assistance. ICU utilisation throughout the country stands at 55.0%, with Covid ICU utilisation at 8.9%.Another two deaths were reported. Total deaths now stand at 35,569.


Google Doodle features ballot box icon to mark GE15

A ballot box icon with the Malaysian flag adorns the doodle of Google Malaysia’s search engine homepage as the country holds its 15th general election (GE15) today.
Visitors to google.com.my will see the ballot box together with the Malaysian flag, Jalur Gemilang, incorporated into the Google logo.
A small explanation appears once the ballot box image is clicked.
"The 2022 Malaysian general election, formally the 15th Malaysian general election, is scheduled to be held on 19 November 2022 to elect the members of the Dewan Rakyat in the 15th Parliament of Malaysia. 221 seats in the Dewan Rakyat will be contested during the election," the note reads.
Malaysia has 222 parliamentary constituencies. The election for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat was rescheduled for Dec 7 following the death of its incumbent, Pakatan Harapan candidate M Karupaiya, on Wednesday.
The election for the state seat of Tioman has also been postponed following the death of Perikatan Nasional candidate Md Yunus Ramli today.
More than 20 million registered voters will head to the polls in GE15 to elect the representatives for their constituencies for the next five years.
Voting for the Bugaya state by-election in Sabah, which was postponed following the proclamation of emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19, will also be held today.
Polling stations in Peninsular Malaysia will open from 8am, and in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan from 7.30am. In the peninsula, the stations will close in stages between 12 noon and 6pm.


Japanese man given US$360,000 Covid aid by mistake arrested

A Japanese man given US$360,000 in Covid-19 aid by mistake has been arrested after saying he gambled away the money online, police said Thursday.Local authorities have become increasingly desperate to get their money back from the 24-year-old, who has said he will return the cash “even if it’s going to be bit by bit”.The blunder by authorities in the remote town of Abu and the man’s failure to pay them back has sparked outrage in Japan, with talk shows discussing the intricacies of his financial situation.He was transferred the 46.3-million-yen lump sum in error last month by officials who were organising cash handouts for low-income residents affected by the pandemic.After visits, calls and letters failed to convince the man to repay the money, authorities filed a lawsuit last week in an attempt to get it back.The man is now in custody after being arrested “on suspicion of violating computer fraud laws”, an officer at the police department of western Japan’s Yamaguchi region told AFP.The man told police he had spent the illicit windfall at online casinos, and is suspected of moving some of the money to a different account even though he was aware of the mistake.Abu mayor Norihiko Hanada told reporters on Thursday that the arrest marks “a step towards the truth”.“I don’t believe outright (that he used it all), and I think it’s possible (there’s money) somewhere,” he said.Hanada’s staff are exhausted from angry calls and e-mails from the public, he added.