Great Barrier Reef citizen census launches: ‘Every boat, every citizen, every reef’

The Australian Great Barrier Reef is famed as the world’s largest living organism.It supports one of the most diverse ecosystems in the oceans and is the only one of the earth’s natural wonders visible from space.Unfortunately, it’s degrading badly through coral bleaching caused either by global warming or pollution or both.Over 2,300km long and made up of more than 3,000 individual reefs, it is one of the world’s most important natural icons, but only 5-10% of it is regularly surveyed.The first ever census to discover the actual state of the whole reef was launched on Thursday.The census takers are not government bureaucrats but people who love the ocean and the reef, who may genuinely be called Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.The Great Reef Census citizen science project has recruited dozens of boats to help collect underwater images across 100 priority reefs over the next 10 weeks.Andy Riley, CEO of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, said the enormous size of the reef means performing the census requires a collective effort.“To achieve the scale required, the Great Reef Census requires a massive collective effort and that’s what we’re seeing from the tourism industry, to some of the reef’s top scientists, tech companies and reef managers,” he said. “We’re utilising the skills, vessels and knowledge of many passionate people to build a reef-wide research flotilla.”Competent snorkellers with good cameras can take part. Their photos will be uploaded to the census site over the coming weeks. Citizen scientists from around the world will then analyse the data.The Great Reef Census website describes the survey as an innovative and world-first citizen science effort. Their rallying cry: “Every boat, every citizen, every reef.”


Govt to embark on nationwide PR blitz?

The government is planning a major roadshow next month in what will likely be seen as a public relations blitz to shore up support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration ahead of elections in six critical states.
Dubbed "Unity Week", the programme to be held from May 20 to 28 will see events organised nationwide by the national unity ministry.
There have been few details on the content of the programme or whether government leaders will be featured, but MalaysiaNow has learnt that the programme will see a focus on several government catchphrases such as "madani" and "rahmah", terms already in use in public broadcast greetings and government initiatives.
The planned Unity Week is reminiscent of a similar programme heavily promoted in the late 1980s under Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration.
Setia Bersama Rakyat (Loyalty with the People) or Semarak, launched months after the leadership crisis that split Umno, was seen as Mahathir's way of shoring up support within the Malay party following a purge of critics led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
The campaign, which saw Anwar's active participation as the education minister, was promoted in the form of roadshows in major cities, paraphernalia, school events and propaganda songs, most notably the Setia song featuring well-known artists at the time.
The government had then dismissed critics who said the Semarak campaign was using state machinery to promote a political agenda to prop up Mahathir's image, battered by the Umno split, a crackdown on dissent, as well as the judicial crisis that saw the controversial removal of senior judges.
It also defended Semarak as a way of instilling patriotism and for leaders to meet with the people.

An image from a government handout on the Unity Week organised by the national unity ministry.

In a similar tone, the national unity ministry said the objective of Unity Week was to to highlight the importance of patriotism, instil love for the country and celebrate Malaysia's diversity.
The programme will likely be watched for its political implications, as Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional battle for the critical Malay votes which will decide the future of both coalitions in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Anwar and PH leaders came under criticism from both supporters and civil society activists after a series of moves against the prime minister's pledge for reforms.
These include a spate of political appointments to government-linked companies and agencies, and Umno's fresh bid to obtain a royal pardon for disgraced former leader Najib Razak, who is serving a jail sentence for corruption involving hundreds of millions of ringgit.
Anger was further fuelled after it was revealed that government lawyers were instructed not to oppose an application by Umno chief and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to postpone his trial for 47 criminal charges.
Zahid, who was instrumental in getting Anwar the numbers needed to form the government last year, is seeking to have the charges dropped.
The High Court was also informed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was carrying out "further investigations" based on "new evidence" from Zahid's lawyers.
Critics have warned Anwar against caving in to pressure from Umno, with a government backbencher cautioning the PKR leader that any escape route granted to Najib and Zahid would be catastrophic for his five-month-old government.
Anwar, whose rise to the top office was followed by a series of investigations on his political rivals, recently said he was ready to face "corrupt leaders" plotting to overthrow his government.
"If you want to bring me down because I fight corruption, by all means, but I am never going to compromise when it comes to cleaning up the country and saving the people from those who rob the nation," he said on Monday, stopping short however of making specific references to cases involving Najib and Zahid.


Second batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to arrive Wednesday

Malaysia will receive its second batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comprising 182,520 doses tomorrow for distribution to states that have yet to receive the vaccine, says Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.Khairy, who is also science, technology and innovation minister, said the vaccine, produced in Belgium, is scheduled to arrive at KLIA from Singapore in the morning.“The vaccine will be distributed to states that have yet to receive supply,” he said at a press conference today.The vaccine will be distributed to Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Perak tomorrow while Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan will receive their supply on Feb 25, he said.The first batch comprising 312,390 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Malaysia through the national entry points at KLIA, Sepang; Johor and Penang on Feb 21.The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme will be implemented in three phases starting Feb 24, with Phase 1 from Feb to April 2021 involving 500,000 frontliners.Phase 2, from April to August, will involve senior citizens aged 65 and above, high-risk groups and the disabled – about 9.4 million people – while Phase 3 from May this year to February 2022 will cover Malaysians and non-citizens aged 18 and above, targeting more than 13.7 million people.Khairy previously said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah would be among the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow, with the immunisation programme to start two days ahead of schedule.It was originally scheduled to kick off on Feb 26.


Maintain political stability achieved through govt-opposition MoU, Agong tells MPs

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah today urged MPs to maintain the political stability achieved after the memorandum of understanding inked between the government and the opposition last year, saying this will ensure the success of the nation’s development agenda for the benefit of the people and the country as a whole.In his royal address at the opening of the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Parliament today, he said he was pleased and grateful for the stability that followed the MoU on Transformation and Political Stability, signed in September last year.“As a result of this agreement and maturity, amendments to the Federal Constitution related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 were successfully approved by more than two-thirds of Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara members last December,” he said.“Indeed, the event will definitely be ranked as a historic moment for Keluarga Malaysia.”The MoU was signed on Sept 13 by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and top Pakatan Harapan leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Mohamad Sabu, Lim Guan Eng and Wilfred Madius Tangau.It covered MA63 on the rights of Sabah and Sarawak as well as the empowerment of the Covid-19 plan, administrative transformation, parliamentary reforms, freedom of the judiciary and the formation of a steering committee.Sultan Abdullah today said that such “political maturity” was eagerly awaited by all.“Moving forward, we urge all honourable members to continue maintaining this understanding and preserve the political stability that has been achieved,” he said.


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At least 160 killed in deadliest Burkina Faso attack since 2015

Suspected jihadists massacred at least 160 civilians, including around 20 children, in a village in Burkina Faso’s volatile north, the deadliest attack since Islamist violence erupted in the West African country in 2015, local officials said Sunday.The slaughter in the early hours of Saturday followed the slaying of 14 people late Friday in the village of Tadaryat in the same region, where jihadists linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) have been targeting civilians and soldiers.In Solhan, in the region near the borders of Mali and Niger, local sources said they have recovered a total of 160 bodies from three mass graves.“It’s the local people themselves who have started exhuming the bodies and burying them after transporting them,” one local source said.An earlier toll from local sources had put the dead at 138, while a government toll stood at 132 dead and around 40 wounded as of late Saturday.In Solhan, a local official said the “situation is still volatile… despite the announcement of military operations”, adding that residents were fleeing to the nearby towns of Sebba and Dori.“Many people lost everything after their homes and belongings were torched,” he said.President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Saturday condemned the massacre in Solhan as “barbaric” and “despicable”.“We must remain united and solid against these obscurantist forces,” Kabore said.Declaring three days of national mourning through Monday, the government stated that “terrorists”, a term for jihadists, killed civilians of all ages and set fire to homes and the main market.A security source lamented “the heavy human toll, the worst recorded to date”, while warning it could still increase.UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman said he was “outraged” over the massacre.Guterres “strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to member states in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, offering Burkinabe authorities the UN’s “full support”.Meanwhile French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he would visit the former French colony “this week”, saying he would reiterate Paris’s “solidarity” after speaking with Kabore by phone.After Sunday’s Angelus prayer at the Vatican, Pope Francis said he also prayed for “the victims of the bloodshed… in a town of Burkina Faso.”“I am close to the family members and to the entire Burkinabe population that is suffering a great deal,” Francis added. “Africa needs peace and not violence!”‘Massacre of our people’The assailants struck around 2am against a position of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland (VDP), an anti-jihadist civilian defence force which backs the national army, before attacking homes and carrying out “executions”, a local source said.Opposition leader Eddie Komboigo demanded that “the massacre of our people, we never tire of repeating, must stop unconditionally. Every measure must be taken to protect the Burkinabe” people.The VDP was set up in December 2019 to help Burkina’s poorly equipped military fight jihadists but it has suffered more than 200 fatalities, according to an AFP tally.The volunteers are given two weeks’ military training before working alongside the security forces, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort duties.‘Neutralise these terrorists’The government said Saturday that the defence and security forces were working “to neutralise these terrorists and restore calm to populated areas.”A security forces official said that men were deployed to secure populated areas and to remove and bury bodies.Solhan, a small community around 15km from Sebba, the main city in Yagha province, has suffered numerous attacks in recent years.On May 14, Defence Minister Cheriff Sy and military top brass visited Sebba to assure people that life had returned to normal, following a number of military operations.Since 2015, Burkina Faso has struggled to fight back against increasingly frequent and deadly jihadist attacks from groups including the Group to Support Islam and Muslims and the IS in the Greater Sahara.The attacks first started in the north near the Mali border, but have since spread to other regions, particularly in the east.Around 1,400 people have died and more than a million have fled their homes.


Keeping Christmas traditions alive in Melaka’s Portuguese settlement

Every year, the Portuguese settlers in Melaka celebrate Christmas with joy and gusto, holding fast to the traditions their ancestors brought with them when they arrived in the country many years ago.While the Covid-19 pandemic put a dampener on festivities last year, they hope for a better Christmas this time around.For weeks now, the residents have been making preparations in eager anticipation of Christmas Day.In her kitchen at home, Marie Theisera is busy baking up a storm. Some of the cakes are for her family to enjoy while others will be delivered to customers, seveal of whom had placed orders as early as October.The star of the baking activities is the sugee cake, followed closely by the traditional Christmas fruit cake.Marie and Martin Theisera put the finishing touches on this year’s Christmas cakes.“For us Eurasians, sugee cake is very important during Christmas,” she told MalaysiaNow.Other must-haves include susagong, bajik, dodol, tarts and bolu koku which are particular to the Eurasian community.“I think only Eurasians make them,” Marie said.For more than 30 years now, baking has been part of her Christmas routine. From October to November, she bakes fruit cakes, then she moves on to making pineapple tarts. The baking season ends with sugee cake, which has the shortest shelf-life of all.Tradition plays a big role in the villagers’ Christmas celebrations. Many have intermarried with those from other races and religions but when it comes to Christmas, nothing changes the way they observe the season.Over the years, these traditions have made the settlement in Ujong Pasir a popular destination for tourists who come from near and far to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere.With a number of Covid-19 restrictions eased on the back of a successful vaccination programme, the villagers are expecting distant relatives and friends to return home for Christmas this year.A villager parks his motorcycle outside his house in the Melaka Portuguese settlement which, like many others in the neighbourhood, have been decorated with garlands and lights.But while the celebration will be more lively than they were last Christmas, basic SOPs remain.Traditional house-to-house carolling is not allowed although the villagers are permitted to hold outdoor performances with police permission and strict physical distancing as well as the mandatory use of face masks.During better years, groups of carollers both young and old would make their way around the neighbourhoods, singing Christmas songs.This year, though, only one group is allowed to perform, and the villagers have given the spot to the children who are the most excited about celebrating Christmas.Throughout the settlement, traditional Christmas decorations are visible at every house, from garlands and wreaths to Nativity scenes and the ubiquitous evergreens.Meanwhile fairy lights swing overhead, lighting up entire neighbourhoods at dusk.There is also the traditional Portuguese decoration of “lalerlaler” – crushed seashells which can be found in front yards and even along the roads.Peter Gomes, a former village chief, said their ancestors would use lalerlaler to imitate snow.“We don’t get snow here, so we use lalerlaler to get the feel. It’s something we do traditionally,” he said.“We live beside the sea, so back then our people would use lalerlaler for decoration because it was the only thing that was available.”Each year, the lalerlaler from the previous Christmas is thrown out and replaced – part of tradition for the Portuguese villagers.They hope to keep this and many other practices alive for generations to come, so that those who visit the settlement will be able to share in the way they celebrate Christmas even before the day arrives.And, like many others around the country, their hope this Christmas is for the pandemic to end so that friends and families will be able to gather once more.


Delta now the dominant variant in Sarawak

The Delta variant is currently the dominant circulating Covid-19 variant in Sarawak with 303 cases detected from 307 cases undergoing genomic sequencing as of Aug 31, according to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM) director Dr David Perera.He said cases involving this variant of concern (VOC) represent 99% of the cases undergoing genomic sequencing on SARS-COV 2 carried out by the institute.“This represents an increase from the 82% reported by IHCM on Aug 2 this year, thus the data suggests that the Delta variant is currently the dominant circulating variant in Sarawak,” he said in his latest report to the chairman of the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee, Amar Douglas Uggah, today.He said the samples obtained by the institute from cases in the Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Mukah and Limbang divisions, as well as from the Import A (persons from other countries entering Sarawak) category carried the variant.“The Sibu and Kapit divisions (cases) on the other hand registered 97% detection rate (with the variant) while the Bintulu division had 98%,” he added.


Russia tightens grip on Ukraine city, raps US for supplying rockets

Russian forces were attempting to extend and consolidate their hold on Ukraine’s industrial city of Sievierodonetsk on Thursday, edging closer to claiming a big prize in their offensive in the eastern Donbas region.But in a boost for Ukraine, locked in a grinding struggle against Russia’s invading army, the US announced a US$700 million weapons package for Kyiv that will include advanced rocket systems with a range of up to 80km.Russia accused the US of adding “fuel to the fire”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the supply of the rocket launchers raised the risk of a “third country” being dragged into the conflict.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukraine had promised it would not use the systems to hit targets inside Russia. President Joe Biden hopes extending Ukraine’s artillery reach will help push Russia to negotiate an end to the war, which on Friday marks its 100th day.After days of heavy fighting around Sievierodonetsk, much of which has been laid to waste by Russian bombardment, Russian troops were inching forward through city streets. Ukraine says about 70% of the city is under Russian control, with Russian troops in the city centre.“The enemy is conducting assault operations in the settlement of Sievierodonetsk,” Ukraine’s armed forces general staff said on Thursday, adding that Russian forces were also attacking in other parts of the east and northeast.At least four civilians were killed and 10 wounded in the east and northeast, other officials said.Russia denies targeting civilians.If Russia fully captures Sievierodonetsk and its smaller twin Lysychansk on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, it would hold all of Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbas that Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.Britain’s defence ministry said in its daily intelligence update that Russia controlled most of the city, which before the war had a population of about 101,000, and that Ukrainian forces had destroyed bridges over the river to Lysychansk.Capturing all of Luhansk would fulfil one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main aims and solidify a shift in battlefield momentum after his forces were pushed back from the capital Kyiv and from northern Ukraine.Pink cloudLuhansk’s regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, told Reuters that civilians were sheltering from Russian attacks under a Sievierodonetsk chemical plant that he said was hit by an air strike on Tuesday, releasing a large pink cloud.“There are civilians there in bomb shelters, there are quite a few of them left,” Gaidai said. Reuters could not independently confirm the account.About 15,000 people remained in the city, Gaidai said.Gaidai has warned that Ukrainian troops in Sievierodonetsk could be forced to retreat to Lysychansk, which he said was easier to defend from its vantage on a hill.Putin sent his troops over the border on what he called a special military operation on Feb 24 to disarm and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and its allies call this a baseless pretext for a war of aggression and the West has imposed stringent sanctions on Russia in a bid to strangle its economy.Thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine and millions more displaced since the invasion began.Amid worries about the global ramifications of the war, Ukraine’s grain traders’ union said this year’s wheat harvest was likely to drop to 19.2 million tonnes from a record 33 million in 2021.Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key fertilizer exporter and Ukraine a major supplier of corn and sunflower oil.Biden is due to meet Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday in Washington. Stoltenberg told reporters he would soon convene a meeting in Brussels with Swedish, Finnish and Turkish officials to discuss Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland joining Nato.Weapons packageBesides the advanced rocket systems, called Himars, the new US package includes ammunition, counter fire radars, air surveillance radars, additional Javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-armour weapons, officials said.The decision to give Ukraine the rocket systems was made after Washington received assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside Russian territory, which could broaden the war.Ukraine has been seeking multiple rocket launch systems such as the M270 and M142 Himars to provide more firepower at longer range to hit Russian forces well behind the front line.The Pentagon said Washington would initially provide Ukraine with four Himars systems.The new supplies come on top of billions of dollars worth of equipment such as drones and anti-aircraft missiles. The Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia, three sources told Reuters.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the supplies would not encourage Ukraine’s leadership to resume stalled peace talks.Separately, US Cyber Command Director Paul Nakasone confirmed that the US had conducted “offensive, defensive and information” cyber operations to support Ukraine. He gave no specific details in comments to Sky News.


'Lawnmower parenting', from the classroom to the interview room

Several years ago, Faizul Zakaria was looking for someone to work at his small launderette in the south of the peninsula.
After putting up an ad for the vacancy, he was contacted by a candidate who said he was 19 years old.
On the day of the interview, the young man turned up on his motorcycle, accompanied by his mother.
At first, Faizul was reluctant to allow her to sit in on the interview.
"But it was quite warm outside, so I asked her to come in and sit," he said.
He was then taken aback to discover that, throughout the interview, every question posed to the young man was instead answered by his mother who sat beside him the entire time.
The youth himself sat quietly and answered only with great hesitance.
Faizul's experience, as it turns out, is not unique. In another case, an employer said that the candidate's parents had even attended the interview on his behalf.
Such incidents have been described as examples of "lawnmower parenting" – a phenomenon in which parents are excessively involved in their children's lives, to the point of doing things on their behalf to protect them from experiencing failure, disappointment or adversity.
This behaviour often begins when their children are still very young, and can continue through adolescence and into adulthood.
Psychologist Md Noh Saiman said such acts would only have negative effects on the children's growth.
Describing them as "overpowering", Noh, an officer from the National Population and Family Development Board, said the second stage of childhood growth from 18 months to three years of age was an important period for learning how to deal with shame and doubt.
"During this phase, children begin to explore and seek out autonomy. They don't want to depend on others in their daily activities," he said.
"When they succeed in doing something on their own without help from anyone else, it boosts their confidence in themselves.
"Being a lawnmower parent at this stage will only stunt their growth."  If left unaddressed, he added, the children would grow up not knowing how to solve their own problems.
Instead, he said, they would continue to rely on others when faced with problems that challenge their confidence in themselves, leading to feelings of inadequacy.
Noh said parents might exhibit such behaviour due to their own childhoods, during which time their parents might have neglected them.
"When they become parents, they don't want their children to experience the same thing," he said.
"They want to take care of their children as well as they can, and give them everything from clothes and food to money so that their children will never have to deal with hardships in their lives."
Noh said parents should instead allow their children the opportunities to make their own decisions, and solve problems and challenges without interference.
He added that giving them autonomy in life did not mean abandoning them without any guidance whatsoever.
"Parents can always give encouragement, guidance and support," he said.
"But being there when they are needed is not the same thing as shadowing everything that their children do.
"Parents need to respect the decisions and choices that their children make after they have discussed everything together. There's nothing wrong with listening and giving input, as long as what is done does not go against the principles and norms of society."


Haiti searches for survivors after quake kills at least 304

Rescue workers scrambled to find survivors after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti early Saturday, killing at least 304 and toppling buildings in the disaster-plagued Caribbean nation still recovering from a devastating 2010 quake.The epicentre of the shaking, which rattled homes and sent terrified locals scrambling for safety starting around 8.30am, was about 160km by road west of the centre of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince.Churches, businesses, schools and homes crumbled in the quake that trapped hundreds of victims under rubble and left at least 1,800 people injured, the country’s civil protection agency said.Rescuers raced against the clock to find survivors, with the civil protection tweeting that efforts by “both professional rescuers and members of the public have led to many people being pulled from the rubble”, adding that already overburdened hospitals continue to receive injured.Hours after the quake, the agency announced the death toll had jumped to 304, ticking upwards throughout the day from a first report of 29 fatalities.The long, initial quake was felt in much of the Caribbean, emanating from the epicentre at Haiti’s southwestern peninsula.The civil protection said at least 160 people were killed in the country’s South department alone.“Lots of homes are destroyed, people are dead and some are at the hospital,” 21-year-old Christella Saint Hilaire, who lives near the epicentre, told AFP.Hospitals in the regions hardest hit by the quake were already struggling to provide emergency care and at least three in the municipalities of Pestel, Corailles and Roseaux were completely full, according to Jerry Chandler, head of the civil protection agency.State of emergencyThe health ministry quickly dispatched personnel and medicine to the southwestern peninsula, but arrival could be hampered by insecurity that has plagued the poorest country in the Americas for months.The only road linking the capital to the southern half of the country passes through Martissant, an area that has been under the tight control of armed gangs since early June, blocking free passage.“We all know that we have a problem in Martissant,” said Prime Minister Ariel Henry during a press briefing on Saturday evening.“We decided… that all the aid must be able to pass through” to effected areas, he added, saying police and military forces had been deployed to that end, without providing further details.The US and other nations swiftly pledged support to the crisis-wracked country, with US President Joe Biden approving “immediate” aid efforts.“In what is already a challenging time for the people of Haiti, I am saddened by the devastating earthquake,” Biden said, adding that his country was ready to “assess the damage and assist efforts to recover those who were injured and those who must now rebuild.”Images circulated on social media in the wake of the disaster showed people frantically trying to pull people from the ruins of caved-in buildings, while screaming bystanders sought safety in the streets outside their homes.“Houses and their surrounding walls have collapsed. The roof of the cathedral has fallen down,” resident Job Joseph told AFP from the hard-hit city of Jeremie on Haiti’s far western end.Heavy damage was reported in the centre of the city, which is home to around 200,000 people and composed primarily of single-story residences and buildings.The damage in the city of Les Cayes appeared to be significant, including the collapse of a multi-story hotel.The prime minister, who surveyed the damage via helicopter, declared a state of emergency for one month while calling on the nation to “show solidarity” and not panic.Shortly after the quake, the US Geological Survey issued a tsunami alert, but lifted the warning soon after.‘People are terrified’Jeremie resident Tamas Jean Pierre said the possibility of a tsunami nonetheless sent parents “fleeing the city with their children in arms.”“People are terrified,” she said.A 7.0-magnitude quake in January 2010 transformed much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities into dusty ruins, killing more than 200,000 and injuring some 300,000 others.More than a million and a half Haitians were made homeless, leaving island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge in a country lacking both a land registry and building codes.The quake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60% of Haiti’s healthcare system.The rebuilding of the country’s main hospital remains incomplete, and nongovernmental organisations have struggled to make up for the state’s many deficiencies.The latest quake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen, shaking a country already battling poverty, spiralling gang violence and Covid-19.


Budget 2023 has recovery efforts, economic resilience in sight

The budget for 2023 to be unveiled by the government on Oct 7 will focus on efforts to strengthen the country's recovery and economic resilience, as well as to implement comprehensive reforms.
Themed "Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Bersama", the budget will narrow in on four main areas – people, business, economy and government – to be drafted following engagement sessions with stakeholders.
The initiatives implemented through these cores will be aimed at dealing with the cost of living, increasing income and employment opportunities, improving business facilities and the competitiveness of SMEs, restoring the tourism industry, and driving digitisation and automation.
The finance ministry will also focus on promoting green growth and sustainable development, addressing food security issues, improving public services, as well as improving disaster risk management and strengthening public health resilience.
In efforts to ensure that the economic reforms benefit all, the ministry has received as many as 242 memorandums from industry players, NGOs, and civil society organisations, and conducted some 190 engagement sessions with state governments, ministries and relevant sectors.
The government also opened a section for suggestions and published six public consultation papers on the finance ministry's website, receiving a total of 5,419 suggestions for the budget.
"The economy has shown a strong post-Covid recovery in 2022," the ministry said in a pre-budget media briefing.
However, "the outlook for 2023 is increasingly uncertain due to global developments such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, high commodity and food prices globally, supply chain disruptions, and high inflation which has prompted the tightening of monetary policy and a lower global growth outlook.
"Therefore, Budget 2023 will need to enhance Malaysia's recovery while safeguarding the people and businesses against current and future challenges."
In terms of economic performance, Malaysia's GDP appears to be on track to reaching or exceeding the 5.3%-6.3% projected for 2022.
In the second quarter of 2022, it recorded a growth of 8.9%, up from 5.0% in the first quarter.
The unemployment rate meanwhile decreased to 3.9% in the second quarter from 4.1%.
Malaysia also recorded total foreign direct investments of RM41.7 billion.
Nevertheless, the global economic environment is expected to become more challenging next year with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revising the world economic forecast for 2022 and 2023.
In July, the IMF revised the world economic growth forecast downwards to 3.2% for 2022 compared to 4.4% in January.
For 2023, meanwhile, global economic growth was revised to 2.9% from 3.8%.
In terms of the inflation rate, the government's efforts, especially through the provision of subsidies amounting to RM77.7 billion, succeeded in easing inflationary pressures to 3.4% as of June 2022 – a figure expected to hit 11.7% in the absence of subsidies and price controls.
As a result, Malaysia's inflation rate has been ranked as among the best compared to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia (6.7%), the Philippines (7.7%) and Thailand (9.4%).
On the achievements of Budget 2022 as of Aug 31, the government distributed RM7.15 billion through the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia initiative, benefitting more than 8.6 million recipients.
The RM150 e-Starter programme worth RM266.03 million meanwhile was distributed to nearly 1.8 million recipients while the JaminKerja initiative through MySTEP worth RM101.43 million benefited a total of 11,703 job seekers.


PH to meet PM to discuss anti-party hopping bill

Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders will meet with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as soon as possible to discuss the anti-party hopping bill and three matters related to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the opposition coalition and the federal government.The PH Presidential Council, in a statement today, said the coalition hoped that the bill would be tabled, debated and approved in the first week of the next Dewan Rakyat sitting which starts on July 18.“With the passing of this bill, 83% or 15 out of the 18 items in the MoU signed between PH and the federal government will be implemented,” it said.It added that the three matters in the MoU that still need to be implemented are the setting a limit of two terms or 10 years for the prime minister’s tenure; the tabling of the Parliamentary Services Bill; and the amendment of the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders.The council also expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to convene a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat for the tabling of the anti-party hopping bill.The statement was issued by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Upko president Madius Tangau.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar recently said that there was no need for the government to convene a special sitting of Parliament to table and debate the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2022 regarding the prohibition on switching parties by members of the Dewan Rakyat.He said the the bill would be tabled and debated at the Second Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 14th Parliament starting July 18 before being presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.


Budapest renames streets to protest against ‘unwanted’ new Chinese university

The mayor of Budapest has renamed streets in the Hungarian capital to demonstrate his disapproval of plans to build a Chinese university in the city.The new street names focus on alleged human rights abuses committed by China and include Free Hong Kong Road and Dalai Lama Street, reports the BBC.They are all in the area where Fudan University plans to open its new branch, a move backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.Currently derelict, the campus will occupy a half-million-square-metre complex by 2024, according to a deal signed between Hungary and the Shanghai-based university’s president.Liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony has voiced concerns about “Chinese influence-buying” in Hungary.There is growing unease among Orban’s critics about his closeness to countries including Russia, China and Belarus, as well as his curbs on independence of the media and higher education.Fudan University is one of China’s most prestigious educational institutions. The campus in Budapest will be its first site in the European Union.“We still hope the project won’t happen, but if it does then it will have to put up with these street names,” Karacsony told a press conference.The names all celebrate causes Beijing is sensitive about.Dalai Lama Street directs attention to Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, called a dangerous separatist by Beijing.Free Hong Kong Road supports the Hong Kong democracy movement, which has seen huge and long-lasting protests against Beijing’s power in Hong Kong.Uyghur Martyrs’ Road, marks the mainly Muslim ethnic group that international governments say has been the victim of sustained human rights abuses and genocide in Xinjiang, China.Bishop Xie Shiguang Road refers to a persecuted Chinese Catholic priest.“This Fudan project would put in doubt many of the values that Hungary committed itself to 30 years ago at the fall of Communism,” the mayor said. “We don’t want the elite and private Fudan university here at the expense of Hungarian taxpayers.”Documents obtained by Direkt36, a Hungarian investigative-journalism outlet, show that construction costs are expected to be around US$1.8 billion which is more than the Orban government spent on its entire higher-education system in 2019.US$1.5 billion of the costs will be provided by a loan from a Chinese bank, the documents showed.At least two thirds of Hungarians do not support the Chinese university, according to liberal think tank Republikon Institute.But Tamas Schanda, Hungary’s deputy minister for innovation and technology, said last week that the university “means that it will be possible to learn from the best in the world”.Critics, however, portray Orban as China and Russia’s “Trojan horse” inside the European Union and Nato.


Tabling of infectious diseases bill postponed to next Parliament sitting

Amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) which were to be discussed and decided today have been postponed to the next Parliament sitting.Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision was made after discussions with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and taking into account the current flood situation in the country.“According to Standing Order 62 of the Dewan Rakyat, I propose that the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the order of business of the meeting today be postponed for the second and third reading to the next meeting,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.The Dewan Rakyat was supposed to end last Thursday, but was extended for one more day today to discuss and pass the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2021.According to Khairy, the ministry had an engagement session with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Science and Innovation at 8am today, in line with the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability between the federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH).He said he had tabled the details on the amendments to Act 342, including the rules and guidelines required in the amendment.“We have also heard the views of a group of experts who gave suggestions and advice to the select committee and I have been informed by the chairman of this select committee Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (PH-Bandar Kuching) that the committee made a unanimous decision to postpone it (amendment).“Most of the substantive matters have already been agreed, there are only a few details that still need to be discussed,” he added.Khairy said if the bill was approved without the consensus of political parties, it would hamper the implementation of the amendments.The bill, which includes increasing the maximum compound on individuals and corporate organisations violating the law, was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat last Tuesday.The amendments propose that the maximum value of compounds be increased from RM1,000 to RM1 million for a corporate body and from RM1,000 to RM10,000 for individuals.


PBB eyes new youth movement to cater to fresh voters

Parti Pesaka Bumi Bersatu (PBB) is looking to amend its constitution at its triennial general meeting this weekend to pave the way for a new youth movement wing to cater to members aged 18 to 28.PBB secretary-general Alexander Nanta Linggi said this would provide a platform for the youth to actively participate in politics.“The youth wing will focus on those aged 18 to 28 because they are now automatically registered as voters,” he said in Kuching today.“Preparations have been made, and we have to set up a special committee to look into this matter.”He said it would then be brought to the general assembly for the constitutional amendments to be made.Speaking to reporters, he said this would also help the party identify individuals with leadership potential.He added however that the movement would not be a formal wing, saying PBB was also working to ensure that its younger members would not be distracted from their studies.“We formed this movement so that we can identify the potential of the youth who can be absorbed into the political arena.“While we want to capture them because they are now voters at that age, we also need to be careful. We do not want politics to take up too much attention from what they should be doing as students.”


Palm oil producers adjust to labour shortages, higher recruitment costs

Palm oil producers are racing to adjust to an acute shortage of workers due to the coronavirus and sharply higher costs of recruitment as they make changes in response to accusations of forced labour.Malaysia, second only to Indonesia in palm oil production, has become more competitive in recent months due to higher export levies imposed by its southern neighbour. But mounting employment costs mean Malaysia risks losing that edge and potentially ceding market share to Indonesia.The increased costs, alongside record-high fertiliser prices affecting both countries, pushed the key commodity to an all-time high in October. That has already forced up the price of the foodstuff worldwide, and is raising the costs of cosmetics and detergents and other products that palm oil is used in. The most pressing problem for palm oil producers such as FGV Holdings and Sime Darby Plantation is a lack of workers to harvest palm trees, a skilled and dangerous task.“The current issues are an extreme manifestation of the fact that as incomes grow and workers, with greater options of urban employment, become less able or willing to do manual labour, attracting them to the plantations will become more difficult,” said Julian McGill, head of South East Asia at LMC International. “Soon there will be no ‘cheap’ labour.”Covid exodusUp until April last year as many as 337,000 migrant workers, mostly from Indonesia, worked on Malaysian plantations, making up about 80% of the workforce. Thousands of them flew home throughout the pandemic while Malaysia closed borders and stopped issuing new work permits to control the spread of the new coronavirus. Hundreds of undocumented workers were also deported.As a result, Malaysia’s palm oil yields dropped to nearly 40-year lows this year as plantations operated with about 75,000 fewer workers than needed. The steep drop in production pushed palm oil prices to record highs and sparked concerns about food inflation.To alleviate the situation, Malaysia in September approved the recruitment of 32,000 foreign workers for palm oil plantations, prioritising those from Indonesia. But even if that many were hired, it would still leave plantations well below full capacity for the next peak harvest season of September to November 2022.Plantation owners are finding it harder and more expensive to hire workers as they try to repair Malaysia’s standing in global markets caused by accusations of using forced labour.US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) banned imports of palm oil in 2020 from Sime Darby and FGV on suspicion of using forced labour, including debt bondage, violence and unlawful retention of identity documents. The bans are still in effect. Both companies have hired independent auditors to evaluate their operations and said they would engage with the CBP to address its concerns.Similar accusations of forced labour have also been made by the CBP and rights groups against other industries in Malaysia, including rubber and electronics. In July, the US Department of State downgraded Malaysia to its labour watch list that includes China and North Korea.“The risks of a failed or corrupt recruitment process to Malaysia’s government and industry reputation at this time, already reeling from US forced labour sanctions and a blackened image globally, are real,” labour rights activist Andy Hall told Reuters.Hall, who has been at the forefront of campaigns to end labour abuse in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia, was hired by Sime Darby in October 2020 as an ethical recruitment consultant.Image repairTo try to address the issues and repair its image overseas, plantations have invested millions of ringgit to improve recruitment processes, upgrade housing for workers, provide lockers for workers to keep their passports in and hire auditors and consultants to assess their labour practices.FGV and Sime Darby told Reuters they are strengthening due diligence processes to ensure they appoint only labour agencies that comply with their human rights policies. They said they have improved communication efforts to ensure workers fully understand the realities of plantation work.“This is to further ensure that contracts are signed freely, without any coercion, intimidation, deception or threats as well as to ensure that no unethical practices were involved in the recruitment process,” Sime Darby told Reuters.Educating and preventing labourers making large payments to recruiters or other middlemen, which up to now has been common, is one of the key issues that needs to be addressed, according to Hall.Some companies are considering repaying such recruitment fees to workers, a manager of a palm oil refinery told Reuters. Such a move helped glove company Top Glove Corp get an import ban lifted by the US.FGV said it has allocated an additional RM43 million (US$10 million) this year to refurbish workers’ housing and upgrade equipment to ensure continuous access to electricity and water in remote locations. Sime Darby told Reuters it estimates that it will spend RM65 million annually for the next seven years on routine efforts to review and improve working conditions at its plantations.Employers must pay all coronavirus-related fees like testing and quarantine, with no help from the government. That could double recruitment costs for each worker to about RM10,000, according to estimates by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association.“We have to go through the process of agents identifying workers, preparing the passports, Indonesian government clearance, and Malaysian government’s standard operating procedures,” MPOA chief executive Nageeb Wahab told Reuters.There is no guarantee that plantations will be able to recruit the thousands of workers it needs. Indian labour agent Vimlesh Gautam told Reuters he is aiming to hire 3,000 workers from India to start by December, but has so far only identified around 200 candidates as coronavirus protocols in India and Malaysia complicate the recruitment process.“We have to put the process on hold because we are awaiting medical guidance from Malaysia,” said Vimlesh. “Once it is confirmed we can get more workers.”Climbing costsWith most plantations having been severely understaffed for two seasons, urgent clearing, weeding and application of pesticides and fertilisers are needed to help palm production recover.Thousands of tonnes of valuable fruit have been left to rot on the ground after plantations’ failed efforts to get local workers to do the taxing work of harvesting the heavy, perishable and prickly fruit bunches at the prevailing wage rates. The need to spend money on such remedial work, just as fertiliser prices hit record highs, on top of the extra outlays on recruitment, will push up costs for producers, making them less competitive against Indonesian rivals.Cheaper labour has historically kept Malaysia’s average cost of palm oil production lower than Indonesia’s, whose cost has been in the US$400 to US$450 per tonne range. Malaysia’s cost has already increased to about US$478 to US$526 per tonne this year, according to MPOA.Indonesia’s figure has also risen, to US$500 to US$600 per tonne this year, mostly because of rising fertiliser prices, according to the Indonesian Palm Oil Association. But Malaysian producers such as FGV expect costs to continue to rise, threatening their advantage.These mounting costs are spurring palm producers to accelerate investments into genome research to create higher-yielding seeds, as well as automation and mechanisation, even looking at drones to harvest the fruit.Plantation owners hope such investments will make them less reliant on human labour, but new technology will take years to implement.“In the short term, there is nothing companies can do but to convince the government to give them more workers and improve on the process,” said Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CGS-CIMB Research.


28% of children fully vaccinated against Covid-19

A total of 993,652 children or 28% of those aged five to 11 had completed their vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme For Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.According to the CovidNow website, a total of 1,596,416 children or 45% have received at least one dose of vaccine.For adolescents aged 12 to 17, a total of 2,901,725 or 93.3% have completed their vaccination while 2,999,490 or 96.4% have received at least one dose.In terms of the adult population, 16,057,632 or 68.2% have received a booster dose while 22,970,424 or 97.6% have completed two doses of vaccine.A total of 23,245,673 individuals of 98.8% have received at least one dose of vaccine.Yesterday, a total of 37,536 vaccine doses were dispensed, with 16,994 as first doses, 16,459 as second shots and 4,083 as booster jabs.This brings the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK)to 70,551,572.


Hong Kong parking lot sells for US$1.3 million

A single car parking space has been sold for a whopping HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) at a luxury Hong Kong apartment complex, local media reported on Friday.The 12.5 square-metre spot is part of a development on The Peak, a swanky area that has attracted some of the city’s richest residents since colonial times.Boasting breath-taking views over Victoria Harbour, the hilltop has eye-watering property prices – including some of the world’s most expensive real estate.While Hong Kong’s wealthy think nothing of dropping millions of dollars for their homes, millions of the city’s residents struggle to afford the rent on shoe-box apartments – many smaller than the parking space.A 2019 report by UBS said a “skilled worker” needed 22 years of income to afford a 60-square-metre flat, up from 12 years a decade ago, with salaries staying largely the same since 2008.Another study from the same year listed the average property price in Hong Kong at US$1.2 million.The luxury property market has rebounded following a period of uncertainty around growing political unrest in the city, and appears to have weathered the economic impact of Covid-19.This year, a 3,378-square-foot penthouse sold for US$59 million, setting a new benchmark for price per square foot at US$17,500.


Bosses group welcomes PM's plan for national mental health care centre

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has welcomed plans announced by the prime minister for a national mental health care centre, saying that this and the increase in budget allocation for the health ministry should be supported by all stakeholders.
In a statement, MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman cited figures from a 2015 health ministry report showing that one in three Malaysians – about 29% of the population – suffered from mental health issues.
"The numbers remain the same until now," he added.
Thanking Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for his earnestness in addressing the people's mental health issues and for making such matters a top priority in his Keluarga Malaysia agenda, he said this showed the caring side of Ismail and the government.
"MEF had raised the issue of mental health many times and is indeed happy that the prime minister has taken the issue of the people's mental well-being as a priority."
He also said that the establishment of such a centre would help to effectively manage and address the mental health issues faced by the people, particularly employees.
He voiced hope that the centre would one day be a reference on mental health issues for the region as well as Asia Pacific.
He also suggested that employers work with the government to form a council and lay out plans to address mental health issues.
"All the stakeholders should work together for the well-being of the people. When the people are healthy, productivity increases and employers, employees and the people will be happy.
"The national assets are really the people," Syed Hussain added. "We must do all we can to protect our core assets, the people."
The health ministry's allocation in the RM372.3 billion budget for next year was raised from RM32.4 billion to RM36.1 billion.


Daily cases drop to 4,800

Another 4,896 Covid-19 cases were recorded today, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 2,654,474.Another 4,676 patients recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,561,230.Meanwhile 490 are in the ICU, including 358 confirmed Covid-19 patients.A total of 269 are in need of respiratory assistance including 155 confirmed Covid-19 cases.Of the 4,896 cases reported today, 79 (1.6%) are in Category Three and above. The remaining 4,817 (98.4%) are in Category One and Two.


US kids could receive vaccine by year-end, says White House pandemic adviser Fauci

The US could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 by the fall and younger ones by year-end or early 2022, the White House’s top pandemic adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said Sunday.The mass vaccination of school-age children will allow millions of children to return sooner to in-person learning and ease the burden on millions of parents now caring for their youngsters at home.School reopenings, an intensely debated matter, have varied sharply across the country, with some private and religious schools opening before public schools and teachers in some areas protesting any early return.But the decision Saturday by the US Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorisation to a new single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has boosted the prospects for earlier reopenings.“We now have three really efficacious vaccines,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week”.For now, none of the three authorised vaccines in the US (also including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) has been cleared for children under 16, but trials on children are under way.Children in high school – roughly ages 14-18 in the US – should be able to get the vaccine “sometime this fall”, Fauci told NBC’s “Meet the Press”.“I’m not sure it’ll exactly be on the first day that school opens, but pretty close to that,” he added.Data are still being compiled on the vaccines’ safety and efficacy for children in elementary or middle school – usually aged between five and 13 years old in the US – so “realistically” they may not be able to receive the vaccine until late 2021 or early 2022, Fauci said.Speaking Sunday evening at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, former president Donald Trump urged the new administration to reopen schools.“On behalf of the moms, dads and children of America, I call on Joe Biden to get the schools open and get them open now,” said Trump.Although the federal government issues guidelines on public health, it largely up to locally elected school boards when to reopen classrooms, not the president.Children and adolescents are less commonly infected with the virus than adults, and in-person learning in schools has not been associated with substantial community transmission.With Covid-19 still ravaging the US, the worst-hit country in the world, roughly half of students are currently attending school in person, the New York Times reported recently.Earlier this month the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines urging schools to reopen safely and as soon as possible.The strategy emphasises universal masking, hand-washing and disinfection, as well as contact tracing.The CDC recommends vaccination for teachers and staff as soon as supply is available, and calls for different approaches depending on the level of community transmission in a given area.


Chinese cities relax testing rules as zero-Covid policy eases

Businesses reopened and testing requirements were relaxed in Beijing and other Chinese cities on Monday as the country tentatively eases out of a strict zero-Covid policy that sparked nationwide protests.
Local authorities across China have begun a slow rollback of the restrictions that have governed daily life for years, encouraged by the central government's orders for a new approach to fighting the coronavirus.
In the capital Beijing, where many businesses have fully reopened, commuters from Monday were no longer required to show a negative virus test taken within 48 hours to use public transport.
Financial hub Shanghai – which underwent a brutal two-month lockdown this year – was under the same rules, with residents able to enter outdoor venues such as parks and tourist attractions without a recent test.
Neighbouring Hangzhou went a step further, ending regular mass testing for its 10 million people, except for those living in or visiting nursing homes, schools and kindergartens.
In the northwestern city of Urumqi, where a fire that killed 10 people became the catalyst for the recent anti-lockdown protests, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and ski resorts reopened on Monday.
The city of more than four million in the far-western Xinjiang region endured one of China's longest lockdowns, with some areas shut from August until November.
Authorities in Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, and Shandong scrapped the testing requirement for public transport on Sunday.
And Zhengzhou – home to the world's largest iPhone factory – on Sunday said people will be allowed to enter public places, take public transport and enter their residential compounds without a 48-hour negative test result.
The World Health Organization has cheered China's loosening of its zero-Covid policy, which came after hundreds took to the streets across the country to call for greater political freedoms and an end to lockdowns.
While some Covid rules have been relaxed, China's vast security apparatus has moved swiftly to smother further rallies, boosting online censorship and surveillance of the population.
And as officials have dismantled testing facilities, long queues have appeared around those that remain, forcing residents to wait in cold temperatures to get tests that remain obligatory across much of China.
"Students can't go to school without a 24-hour negative test," wrote a user on China's Twitter-like Weibo.
"What's the point in closing testing booths before dropping the need to show test results completely?" another asked.
Chinese authorities on Monday reported 29,724 new domestic Covid cases.


Offshore groups that channelled 1MDB funds now used to track down stolen money, report says

A number of offshore companies once used to channel hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB have been repurposed for use in efforts to track down the money stolen from the state investment fund, Bloomberg reports.According to the report, the three offshore entities based in the British Virgin Islands said in a bankruptcy filing in the US that they were “part of the fraud perpetrated against 1MDB”.The report also said that some were likely created with the sole aim of receiving stolen money or transferring them to other entities.The three companies had filed for bankruptcy under a section of US law allowing foreign debtors to bring proceedings into the states, it said.It said their aim was to recover some of the US$8.5 billion believed to have been stolen from 1MDB, “some of which may be in the US”.The 1MDB scandal made international headlines with authorities in at least six countries including the US and Switzerland launching investigations related to the sovereign wealth fund.In the US, a jury has begun deliberations in the trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng who is accused of helping his ex-boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds and bribe officials to win business for Goldman.According to the Bloomberg report, the offshore entities are currently being overseen by administrators appointed by Putrajaya.The bankruptcy filing, known as Chapter 15 filing, is meant to help such administrators collect information from those involved in the deals and to seize any assets they are able to located, the report added.It also quoted the entities as saying they believed that US$1.15 billion stolen from former 1MDB unit SRC International had “fallen through the cracks”.“There are companies and trusts that are yet to be uncovered related to the fraud,” their lawyers were quoted as saying in court papers.


Daily caseload at 226, no new deaths reported

Another 226 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,044,204.
There were 202 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,998,003.
There are now 9,235 active cases, of which 8,913 or 96.5% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 318 (3.4%) have been hospitalised.
A total of four are in ICU with none in need of respiratory assistance.
No new deaths were reported, leaving total deaths unchanged at 36,966.


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New infections at 433 as death toll stays unchanged

Another 433 Covid-19 cases were recorded yesterday, taking total confirmed infections in the country to 5,028,223.
There were 500 recoveries, taking total recoveries to 4,979,668.
There are now 11,696 active cases, of which 11,084 or 94.8% are undergoing home quarantine.
Meanwhile, 0 (0%) are at quarantine centres while 581 (5%) have been hospitalised.
A total of 31 are in ICU with 21 in need of respiratory assistance.
No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll unchanged at 36,859.


Anwar powerless to sideline Umno court cluster from Cabinet appointments, says analyst

While the prime minister normally has the prerogative to appoint the members of his Cabinet, Anwar Ibrahim may find his hands tied due to agreements made with other parties in order to form the government, an analyst says.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the current government was not a Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration but rather a government which could not have come about without the support of other coalitions like Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
"Anwar cannot determine who will represent BN," he said.
"If BN decides that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should be deputy prime minister, Anwar will have to accept it. Otherwise, he will be accused of going back on their agreement."
Anwar was sworn in as prime minister last week after gaining, among others, the support of BN and its 30 MPs.
He later said that he would take all views into consideration before forming his team to help govern the country.
Some, including electoral watchdog Bersih, have warned against the inclusion of individuals currently facing charges in court.
"Bersih strongly objects to the appointment of any person who has an ongoing criminal case against him/her to any Cabinet position as they would raise doubts about the integrity of Anwar's government and tarnish the reputation of our country," Bersih said yesterday, adding that PH leaders such as Lim Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman should not be made part of the new Cabinet, either.
Zahid, who defended his Bagan Datuk seat with a slim majority of 348 votes, was recently freed of 40 corruption charges linked to the foreign visa system, a decision which prosecutors are applying against.
He also faces another 47 charges of criminal breach of trust related to charity foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
Lim, meanwhile, faces corruption charges over the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project, while Syed Saddiq has been told to enter his defence in a criminal breach of trust case worth RM1 million.
Anwar recently said that individuals were innocent until proven guilty, responding to calls to exclude MPs facing corruption charges from his future Cabinet.
Speculation is rife that Zahid will be appointed as his deputy, as well as another MP to be nominated by GPS.
Zahid aside, BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan, the MP for Rembau, has also been floated as a possibility.
Mazlan said Anwar's reputation and that of his government would be affected to some extent if such a scenario came to pass.
Nevertheless, he said, the matter of principles would have to take a back seat as the prime minister did not possess absolute power.
"According to the PH manifesto, the coalition is against anyone with questions surrounding their integrity to be part of the government.
"But Anwar will have to set this aside and look at other matters in the manifesto that are suitable for implementation," he said.
As Umno president, he said, Zahid was in a very strong position due to the pledges of commitment he had received from his MPs which gave him the mandate to determine who BN would nominate for Cabinet appointments.
"If the president wants to put himself forth as deputy prime minister, who will be brave enough to stand up to him?" he added.


Cops open inquiry paper into allegations of gambling at MAEPS

Police have opened an inquiry paper over allegations of gambling activities at the Covid-19 Quarantine and Low Risk Treatment Centre in the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS), Serdang.Sepang police chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof said the inquiry paper was opened after they received a report on the issue from a policeman from the Dato Abu Bakar Baginda police station today.“This inquiry paper was opened to enable the police to conduct further investigations,” he said.Short video clips that went viral on social media had shown alleged patients openly gambling at the quarantine and treatment centre.


Vaccinating children key to living with Covid, says health expert

A public health expert has urged more parents to consider vaccinating their children against Covid-19 as the country seeks to enter the long-anticipated endemic phase where the focus shifts from merely battling the virus to living with it.Dr Helmy Hazmi of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak acknowledged concerns among parents that their children might experience adverse effects from the vaccine, but said inculation against the virus which has so far claimed more than 32,000 lives in the country was crucial to any transition to the endemic phase.“As we can never live in a lockdown anymore, vaccination is key to us living with the virus in the community,” he told MalaysiaNow.“With the reopening of schools and public places where crowding and close mingling seem unavoidable, vaccination will help protect the children as well as vulnerable family members, and minimise disruptions.”Authorities have repeatedly assured that lockdowns such as the movement control orders imposed over the past two years will no longer be implemented on a large scale, with the National Recovery Council saying yesterday that Malaysia’s pandemic experience would be enough to help manage the situation.This is despite the current wave of Covid-19 infections fuelled by the ultra contagious Omicron variant which saw close to 14,000 new cases reported yesterday alone.Health authorities have agreed that while Omicron is more contagious than even the Delta variant which swept across much of the world last year, its effects appear less severe with fewer hospitalisations and deaths.Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that Malaysia must continue moving ahead, with plans for a transition to the endemic phase completed at the Covid-19 Quartet Ministers level.However, he said the decision on when the phase begins would depend on the Special Committee on Covid-19 Pandemic Management.With schools scheduled to reopen after the Chinese New Year break, Helmy said the upcoming weeks would be especially risky for children who have yet to be fully vaccinated.“Although most infected children show mild to no symptoms at all, a fraction can end up with a severe form of disease called MIS-C or multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children,” he said.He said such a risk was bigger than the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine, especially given the possibility of children contracting long Covid.“Long Covid could be less likely in children but as more are infected, cases of this could increase as well,” he said, adding that this would affect their quality of life in the long run.Suliwatee, a primary school teacher at SK St Mary Kuching, said vaccinating children against Covid-19 could help reduce the digital gap between more affordable children and those from disadvantaged families who could not afford the gadgets needed for online learning.She said the series of lockdowns imposed since early 2020 had caused severe disruptions in education, giving the example of students in her own classes who had fallen behind in basic reading.“Schools are the best place for children to develop,” she said. “Missing out on school will hurt them for life.”Helmy meanwhile said that while children might benefit from the protection given by parents who are fully vaccinated, they would miss the benefits of direct protection from the effects of the virus.He advised parents to equip themselves with verified information when weighing the benefits and risks of vaccinating their children.“Vaccination would minimise the severity of infection,” he said. “This would also reduce transmission and put a halt to mutations.“One only realises that the vaccine is the best weapon for protection when the child is admitted to ICU with severe Covid.”


Anwar called to Bukit Aman over leaked audio clip

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was present at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, today to facilitate investigations into the audio clip purportedly containing a conversation between him and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.Anwar was seen arriving at the headquarters complex at 10am. He left at 11.20am.He told reporters that he was there to give his statement and cooperation to the police.“I was called to Bukit Aman today as a witness in the audio clip that purportedly contains a conversation between me and the Umno president.“So I gave my cooperation to the police and they are investigating the case under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code,” he said.Under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, investigations can be carried out into any individual who makes any statement, rumour or report with the intent to cause fear or alarm to the public.The four-minute audio clip contains a conversation between two individuals with voices resembling those of Zahid and Anwar, discussing matters related to the Umno general assembly last month.


‘Goodfellas’ actor Ray Liotta dead at 67

Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas,” has died suddenly in the Dominican Republic, officials and police said Thursday. He was 67.Liotta, whose blistering turn as real-life mobster Henry Hill in Scorsese’s crime masterpiece won universal admiration, was shooting a new film in the country when he died in his sleep.Police said emergency services were called early Thursday morning to a hotel in Santo Domingo where they found Liotta already dead.The actor’s publicist in Los Angeles, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death, saying there were no suspicious circumstances.Allen said he had been working on a movie called “Dangerous Waters.”Liotta became a household name in 1990 when he was cast alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in what is widely considered one of the greatest films of the 20th century.“Goodfellas” won one Oscar, and was nominated for five others. Scenes from the movie continue to resonate as cultural touchstones more than three decades later.A year before “Goodfellas,” Liotta had played baseball star “Shoeless Joe” Jackson in beloved sports movie “Field of Dreams,” opposite Kevin Costner.The film was nominated for three Oscars, including best picture.‘A gentle man’News of Liotta’s death sparked a flood of tributes from colleagues and contemporaries, with “Goodfellas” co-star Lorraine Bracco, who played on-screen wife Karen, saying she was “utterly shattered to hear this terrible news.”“I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas,” she tweeted.“Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same… Ray Liotta.”Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who worked with Liotta on “Dominick and Eugene,” tweeted: “His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being. A gentle man. So sad to hear.”Jennifer Lopez, who starred opposite Liotta in the television series “Shades of Blue,” said he was “the epitome of a tough guy who was all mushy on the inside.”“Like a raw nerve, he was so accessible and so in touch in his acting. We lost a great today… RIP RAY… it’s so sad to lose you what seems way to soon.”Seth Rogen, who was cast alongside Liotta in black comedy “Observe and Report” called him “a true legend of immense skill and grace… a lovely, talented and hilarious person.”Despite branching out to show the breadth of his talent, Liotta had recently returned to the world of mob films, with roles in Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move” and 2021’s “The Many Saints of Newark.”Alessandro Nivola, who played alongside Liotta in “The Many Saints of Newark,” a prequel to hit TV series “The Sopranos,” said his co-star’s death had come “too soon.”“I feel so lucky to have squared off against this legend in one of his final roles,” he wrote on Twitter.“The scenes we did together were among the all time highlights of my acting career. He was dangerous, unpredictable, hilarious, and generous with his praise for other actors.”Liotta was born in Newark, New Jersey, in December 1954.Variety reported he was left at an orphanage at birth and adopted when he was six months old.At the University of Miami, he performed in musicals, and after graduating landed a role on a soap opera that would provide him with three years’ work to 1981.His first movie came in 1983, but it wasn’t until 1986’s “Something Wild” opposite Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels that he came to wider attention.The comedy-action-romance was screened at Cannes and scored Liotta a Golden Globe nomination for supporting actor.


WHO lists Moderna vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization on Friday said it had listed the anti-Covid-19 Moderna vaccine for emergency use.The listing procedure helps countries unable to assess a vaccine’s effectiveness themselves have access as quickly as possible and allow the Covax vaccine sharing scheme and other partners to distribute it to poorer countries.The US vaccine is the fifth jab to earn WHO’s emergency listing.The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation for the Moderna vaccine on Dec 18, 2020 and a marketing authorisation valid throughout the European Union was granted by the European Medicines Agency on Jan 6, 2021.WHO said in a statement that its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) had found the Moderna vaccine to have an efficacy of 94.1%.The other vaccines listed for emergency use by WHO are Pfizer BioNTech; AstraZeneca; Serum Institute of India; and Janssen.Moderna on Thursday said it expected to produce up to three billion doses of its vaccine in 2022 through new funding commitments to boost supply at manufacturing sites in Europe and the US.


India to supply Saudi Arabia with British vaccine ‘at no profit’

The Serum Institute of India (SII) will supply Saudi Arabia with three million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses priced at US$5.25 each in about a week on behalf of the British company, its chief executive has told Reuters.SII, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, has partnered with AstraZeneca, the Gates Foundation and the Gavi vaccine alliance to make up to a billion doses for poorer countries.The Indian company supplies doses on behalf of AstraZeneca but is also free to strike its own supply deals.Chief executive Adar Poonawalla told Reuters: “We have not been asked to supply any more products for Europe because that would mean supplies to Africa and India would suffer, and we certainly don’t want that. Once I satisfy that I can look at other, richer nations. Six months to a year, that could change.”He said the doses for Saudi Arabia would be shipped in a week or 10 days. SII is also supplying South Africa with 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses at the same price of US$5.25 each.AstraZeneca has said it will not profit from the vaccine during the pandemic.Brazil last week received two million doses of the vaccine from SII and Poonawalla said it also paid about US$5 per dose.Poonawalla said that SII would raise production of the AstraZeneca vaccine by 30% by the end of March from its current daily output of about 2.4 million doses, once the third and final facility making the shot goes into production.SII also plans to start stockpiling a vaccine candidate from American company Novavax Inc in a few months, despite a fire last week that killed five people and damaged one of its new plants in the western Indian city of Pune.Poonawalla said SII had no intention of partnering with companies such as Pfizer Inc whose Covid-19 vaccine needs to be stored at about -70 degrees Celsius as India currently lacks such facilities.


Asia’s new richest person got there on water and vaccines

Many of the world’s wealthiest individuals have seen their fortunes soar during the pandemic, including Amazon founder and multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos.Asia has a new richest person thanks to his vaccine-making and bottled water companies, both of which he took public this year. Zhong Shanshan has seen his wealth surge by US$7 billion this year, helping him leapfrog India’s Mukesh Ambani and China’s Jack Ma.According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, at the moment he is worth US$77.8 billion, making him the world’s 11th richest person.Nicknamed the “lone wolf” Zhong’s career has spanned journalism, mushroom farming and healthcare.Zhong took vaccine-maker Beijing Wantai Biological public in April listing its shares on the Chinese stock market. Three months later he did the same thing with Nongfu Spring, his bottled water company, publicly listing it in Hong Kong.At the time this propelled him above Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma who had previously been China and Asia’s richest person.Since then, Nongfu Spring has become one of Hong Kong’s hottest listings and its shares have jumped 155% since their debut. Beijing Wantai Biological’s shares are up more than 2,000% and the company is among those developing a Covid-19 vaccine.This dramatic rise has pushed Zhong up to first place in Asia and is one of the fastest accumulations of wealth in history, according to Bloomberg.In India, Mukesh Ambani saw his fortune surge $18.3bn to US$76.9 billion as he struck deals to transform his conglomerate Reliance Industries into a technology and e-commerce titan.Earlier this year, Facebook said it was investing US$5.7 billion in cut-price Indian mobile internet company Reliance Jio, owned by Ambani.Jack Ma has seen his wealth drop from a high of US$61.7 billion in October down to US$51.2 billion as his Alibaba empire faces increased scrutiny from Chinese regulators. Alibaba is being investigated over claims of monopolistic behaviour while its affiliate Ant Group had its bumper stock market listing blocked in November.Most of China’s new billionaires come from the tech industry. But rising tensions between China and the US over Huawei, TikTok and WeChat have pushed down valuations of Chinese tech stocks.


Notice issued for possible floods in east coast

The Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) has issued a notice of preparedness for possible floods in Terengganu and Pahang if a significant amount of rainfall continues in the Sungai Besut Valley and Sungai Rompin.
JPS, in a statement issued as of 11pm last night, said this was based on the simulation results of the department's flood forecasting model following the continuous severe rain warning by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) at 2.10pm.
According to JPS, there is a risk of flooding from 1am early Friday in the area around SK Seri Payung in Besut, Terengganu and 5pm in the area around Kampung Buluh Nipis in Rompin Pahang.
Earlier, the same notice was also issued for the Besut district in Kampung La, Kampung Seberang La, Kampung Pengkalan Nangka and SMK Seri Bukit Puteri, and the Setiu district in Kampung Nyatoh and Kampung Che Mohid, which were expected to experience flooding at 5am.
The same was forecast at 7am in Rompin involving the Sungai Anak Endau at the Setajam pump house.
In Kelantan, Kampung Kubang Rambutan, Kampung Bagus, Kampung Degung and Kampung Telaga in Pasir Mas are expected to flood at 2pm today.
JPS said the preparedness notice was issued to help all residents, especially in areas at risk, to be alert to any possibility of flash floods during that period.
"Please comply with instructions issued by the authorities or flood disaster management agencies," it said.
Updates are available at https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my, Facebook @PublicInfoBanjir and Twitter @JPS_InfoBanjir.


Learning to sell online creates extra challenges for non-urban digital start-ups

As the pandemic progressed, many small businesses opened online storefronts purely to survive and found their sales flourishing.Traders restricted by movement control orders found e-commerce on social media easier and more profitable than they had anticipated.Consequently, many more small brick-and-mortar businesses are focusing their energies on going digital.Media reports abound of urban aunties selling their home-cooked food on Facebook Live and finding eager customers.However, away from the concrete jungles, in less densely populated areas, setting up a digital business presents inherent additional hurdles.Noor Ismawati Jaafar says that the first potential stumbling block for aspiring small-town micro-entrepreneurs is the difficulty of accessing digital know-how.The Universiti Malaya faculty of business and accountancy associate professor tells MalaysiaNow, “Budding entrepreneurs in small towns may not know where or how to access resources to create their own digital platform.”For them, digitalisation requires learning about and developing skills in cashless transactions, online storefronts, social media selling and much more.Reaching customers restricted by movement control orders may not be as smooth for small businesses in less densely populated areas.“In rural areas, one main concern is infrastructure, specifically connectivity,” she explains, adding how even in urban areas broadband networks don’t always operate smoothly or reliably.“When the MCO first hit and most of us were at home, connectivity was not always great,” she says. “Glitches also resulted from congestion as workers were coming to grips with videoconferencing and children were adapting to online learning.”“Micro-entrepreneurs should embrace digitalisation or miss out on modern marketing and sales channels.”She maintains that many small-town budding entrepreneurs could also benefit from a basic business grounding.“Aspiring entrepreneurs in less urban areas may not understand the pre-transaction nature of business such as promotion and advertising of products,” she says. “And digital payment fulfilment may feel alien to this group.”She adds that even promotional activities such as creating the best content for their Facebook page or knowing what will be most appealing to their customers on their Instagram page can be a problem.Lilyana Latiff, CEO of Beta Foundation, an organisation which aims to advance techno-entrepreneurship, points out other possible fundamental gaps in knowledge such as pricing and order fulfilment.“Access to delivery networks such as PosLaju, Grab or Lalamove is a key part of e-commerce,” she tells MalaysiaNow. “Imagine you are located just outside Kuching; which fulfilment provider is available to you to help send your goods? There aren’t many options.”But she insists it’s worth making the effort to go digital.“Micro-entrepreneurs should embrace digitalisation or miss out on modern marketing and sales channels,” she says.“If customers are already used to ordering online through Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp to even order cakes and goreng pisang, then you will be left out if you can’t reach them. In the pandemic, many customers don’t mind paying extra for Grab to deliver the roti canai and teh tarik.”Ismawati adds, “Also, all these budding digital entrepreneurs are fighting over the same customers. Attracting customers requires knowing how to be distinct from your competition.”She cautions aspiring entrepreneurs against selling the same product, headscarves for example, simply because other digital sellers have found success doing so.“Fundamental business knowledge is important even for those who jump from school straight into business,” she says. “Even if they have street knowledge and the enthusiasm to try their luck with a sellable product, competition can be very intense.”She advises budding entrepreneurs to start small, by finding a niche product that sets them apart from competitors.“And then, even before we tackle digital skills, it would be good to look at marketing principles of positioning and which product is best for which market, because sometimes entrepreneurs graduate from offering one product to a range of products, which only ends up diluting their market focus.”The government recognises that going digital is a way forward for digital start-ups and small enterprises and is developing ways of helping.Last week’s Budget 2021 contained a strong focus on digital transformation in its proposals to support and help fund the digital journey for micro, small and medium businesses.Under digital adoption, two provisions include a budget allocation of RM150 million for the SME Digitalisation Grant Scheme and the Automation Grant, with less stringent conditions for micro-SMEs and start-ups.Also proposed was an additional RM150 million to encourage adoption of e-commerce in SMEs through training, sales assistance, and digital equipment.The good news is that a report released this week by Google Malaysia shows that this year the Malaysian e-commerce market is growing faster than other Southeast Asian nations.


Shock as Pakistan orders release of Islamist convicted of beheading US journalist

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading US journalist Daniel Pearl, a decision that has left his family in “complete shock”, lawyers said, adding that the court decision was a travesty of justice.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the decision “an affront to terrorism victims everywhere” and said Washington was prepared to prosecute Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the US.British-born Omar, who was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl, was acquitted by a panel of three judges.“By a majority of 2-1, they have acquitted all the accused persons and ordered their release,” provincial advocate general, Salman Talibuddin said.Omar and his co-accused are to be released immediately, Reuters is reporting.Pearl, 38, was investigating Islamist militants in Karachi after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the US when he was kidnapped.His case made headlines around the world after a gruesome video of his captors beheading him emerged weeks after he was abducted.A high court last year commuted the death penalty of Omar to a life sentence and acquitted his three co-accused, citing lack of evidence.The government and Pearl’s parents challenged that decision and pleaded to the Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty. The Supreme Court turned down both pleas on Thursday.Blinken said Washington is “deeply concerned” by the decision to acquit Omar and his co-defendants and “any proposed action to release them”.Omar was indicted in 2002 by a federal grand jury in New Jersey on charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, resulting in Pearl’s death.He also was indicted in 2001 in the US for the 1994 kidnapping in New Delhi, India, of an American tourist, who was rescued by police.Pearl, who was the Wall Street Journal’s South Asia bureau chief, went missing in January 2002.The BBC describes how he had been researching links between Islamist militant activity in Karachi and British Islamist Richard Reid, who tried to blow up a passenger plane using bombs hidden in his shoes.Prosecutors accused Omar of luring him to a meeting with an Islamic cleric. Pearl and Omar had built a relationship discussing concerns about their wives, who were both pregnant at the time.Almost a month later, a video showing his beheading was sent to the US consulate in Karachi.


New hope for stateless Merdeka boy after meeting with PM

Stateless youth Mohamad Omar Mokhtar, who feared he would not be able to further his studies due to his citizenship status, has newfound hope now after a meeting with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
During a special visit to Alor Setar, Kedah, in conjunction with the Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia tour at the state level, Omar, a straight-A student, was invited to receive a donation from the Keluarga Malaysia foundation which was personally presented to him by Ismail.
Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said he was grateful and excited at being able to meet the prime minister face-to-face to discuss the challenges he had faced since first applying for an identity card at the age of 12.
"I got to speak to the prime minister himself," he said.
"I was told that good progress had been made and not to say anything to anyone."
Omar, at a press conference in Petaling Jaya arranged by rights group Lawyers for Liberty on Monday, had spoken of his dream of attending university which he feared would be denied him due to his lack of citizenship.
Omar, who was born on Merdeka Day in 2002, was unable to apply for an identity card due to problems with the documentation of his birth mother, who came from Sabah.
His father is also a Malaysian citizen.
Omar's birth parents tied the knot in Selangor without a valid registration process. They later divorced, and in 2015 Omar was adopted by his aunt who lived in Kedah.
At that point, the adoption application was approved by the National Registration Department. Omar's first birth certificate put him down as a Malaysian citizen.
After finding his birth mother's identity card invalid, however, the department issued him a new certificate, this one stating that he was not a citizen.
Omar said he truly wished to receive a valid identity card from the government to change his family's future and break free from the cycle of poverty.
His dream is to further his studies in the field of education, and to one day become a teacher.
"I don't come from a well-off family," he said.
"I want to help my parents and give back to society as well as this country."


Air Canada agrees to US$4.5 million settlement over delayed US passenger refunds

Air Canada has agreed to a US$4.5 million settlement to resolve a US government investigation into claims thousands of air passenger refunds were delayed, the Transportation Department said.The proposed settlement, which still must be approved by an administrative law judge, would resolve the US Transportation Department investigation into what it said were “extreme delays in providing refunds to thousands of consumers for flights to or from the US that the carrier canceled or significantly changed”.Of the US$4.5 million settlement, US$2.5 million would be credited to Air Canada for refunding passengers and US$2 million would be paid to the US Treasury.Air Canada said it agreed to settle without any finding of wrongdoing “to avoid protracted litigation as Air Canada focuses, together with all stakeholders, on rebuilding following the pandemic.”Air Canada said it has provided C$730.4 million (US$575 million) in refunds on flights to or from the US significantly changed since March 2020 as well as more than C$10 million in goodwill payments to passengers not entitled to refunds under US law.In June, the department said it was seeking a US$25.5 million fine from Air Canada over the carrier’s failure to provide timely refunds, alleging Air Canada continued its no-refund policy in violation of US law for more than a year.The US Transportation Department said it plans to soon propose formal rules to codify its interpretation of requirements that airlines provide prompt refunds when carriers cancel or make a significant change, including when the ticket purchased is non-refundable. The rules will also “address additional protections for consumers who are unable to travel due to government restrictions.”Air Canada said in June it has been refunding non-refundable tickets as part of the Canadian government’s financial package.The Transportation Department in June disclosed it was also “actively investigating the refund practices of other US and foreign carriers flying to and from the US”, saying it would take “enforcement action” as appropriate. It reiterated those comments Monday.