KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is preparing to close down major economic sectors that have been allowed to operate during its reimposed movement control order (MCO) that has so far failed to slow the rate of coronavirus infections.
Multiple industry and government sources confirmed to The Straits Times that the Health Ministry wants to impose a total lockdown to shut down all economic activity except for essential services, once the current three-week MCO expires on Feb 4, if no improvements are shown in curbing the deadly virus that on Saturday (Jan 23) claimed a record 4,275 new patients.
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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is preparing to close down major economic sectors that have been allowed to operate during its reimposed movement control order (MCO) that has so far failed to slow the rate of coronavirus infections.
SYDNEY: The alleged ringleader of Asia's biggest crime syndicate and one of the world's most wanted men has been arrested in the Netherlands, with Australian authorities pushing for his extradition to face trial.
Police had been chasing alleged drug kingpin Tse Chi Lop, 57, for years until his arrest by Dutch police on Friday (Jan 22) acting on a request from Australia's federal police.
In a statement on Sunday, Australian authorities said a man "of significant interest" to law enforcement agencies had been detained. A police spokeswoman confirmed his name as Tse Chi Lop.
The Chinese-born Canadian citizen has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
He has been named by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the suspected leader of the Asian mega-cartel known as "Sam Gor", a major producer and supplier of methamphetamines globally.
Sam Gor is believed to launder its billions in drug money through businesses springing up in Southeast Asia's Mekong region - including casinos, hotels and real estate.
Australia's federal police said Friday's arrest followed an operation that in 2012 and 2013 nabbed 27 people linked to a crime syndicate spanning five countries.
The group were accused of importing "substantial quantities of heroin and methamphetamine" into Australia, long a lucrative market for drug traffickers.
"The syndicate targeted Australia over a number of years, importing and distributing large amounts of illicit narcotics, laundering the profits overseas and living off the wealth obtained from crime," the Australian police said.
As part of the 2012 to 2013 raids across Melbourne, police seized A$9 million (US$7 million) worth of assets, including cash, designer handbags, casino chips and jewellery.
The arrest of Tse Chi Lop almost a decade after that operation's launch is a major breakthrough for Australian authorities.
The country's attorney-general will now begin preparing a formal extradition request for the alleged drug lord to face trial.
Most of Asia's meth comes from "Golden Triangle" border areas between Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and south-west China, which are pumping unprecedented quantities of synthetic drugs into global markets.
The production of methamphetamine - either in tablet "yaba" form or the highly potent crystallised Ice version - as well as ketamine and fentanyl, take place primarily in Myanmar's eastern Shan state, but much of the precursor chemicals needed to cook them flows across the border from China.
Thailand in 2018 netted more than 515 million yaba tablets, 17 times the amount for the entire Mekong region a decade ago, said the UNODC.
Drug hauls feature near daily in headlines across the region, with traffickers finding more creative ways to ship out their illicit products.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is preparing to close down major economic sectors that have been allowed to operate during its reimposed movement control order (MCO) that has so far failed to slow the rate of coronavirus infections.
WUHAN: A year ago, a notice sent to smartphones in Wuhan at 2am announced the world's first coronavirus lockdown, bringing the bustling central Chinese industrial and transport centre to a virtual standstill almost overnight. It would last 76 days.
Early Saturday (Jan 23) morning, however, residents of the city where the virus was first detected were jogging and practising tai chi in a fog-shrouded park beside the mighty Yangtze River.
Life has largely returned to normal in the city of 11 million, even as the rest of the world grapples with the spread of the virus' more contagious variants. Efforts to vaccinate people for COVID-19 have been frustrated by disarray and limited supplies in some places. The scourge has killed more than 2 million people worldwide.
Traffic was light in Wuhan but there was no sign of the barriers that a year ago isolated neighbourhoods, prevented movement around the city and confined people to their housing compounds and even apartments.
Residents wear masks as they dance at a park in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Jan 23, 2021. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)
Wuhan accounted for the bulk of China's 4,635 deaths from COVID-19, a number that has largely stayed static for months.
The city has been largely free of further outbreaks since the lockdown was lifted on Apr 8, but questions persist as to where the virus originated and whether Wuhan and Chinese authorities acted fast enough and with sufficient transparency to allow the world to prepare for a pandemic that has sickened more than 98 million.
Wuhan has been praised for its sacrifice in the service of the nation, turning it into a sort of Stalingrad in China's war against the virus, commemorated in books, documentaries, TV shows and panegyrics from officials including head of state and leader of the Communist Party Xi Jinping.
"We think Wuhan is a heroic city. After all, it stopped its economy to help China deal with the pandemic. This is a noble act," said resident Chen Jiali, 24, who works at an Internet shopping company.
Residents attend an exhibition on the city's fight against the coronavirus in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Jan 23, 2021. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)
Residents line up at a popular eatery in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Jan 23, 2021. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)
China on Saturday announced another 107 cases, bringing its total since the start of the pandemic to 88,911. Of those, the northern province of Heilongjiang accounted for the largest number at 56. Beijing and the eastern financial hub of Shanghai both reported three new cases amid mass testing and lockdowns of hospitals and housing units linked to recent outbreaks.
Authorities are wary of the potential for a new surge surrounding next month's Lunar New Year holiday and are telling people not to travel and to avoid gatherings as much as possible.
Schools are being let out a week early and many have already shifted to online classes. Mask wearing remains virtually universal indoors and on public transport. Mobile phone apps are used to trace people's movements and prove they are both virus-free and have not been to areas where suspected cases have been found.
Since the end of the lockdown, Wuhan has largely been spared further outbreaks, something residents such as chemistry teacher Yao Dongyu attribute to heightened awareness resulting from the traumatic experience of last year.
"At that time, people were very nervous, but the government gave us huge support. It was a very powerful guarantee, so we got through this together," said Yao, 24. "Since Wuhan people went through the pandemic, they've done better in personal precautions than people in other regions."
Chinese women dressed in traditional costumes and wearing masks visit a popular shopping street in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Jan 23, 2021. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)
Residents attend an exhibition on the city's fight against the coronavirus in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Jan 23, 2021. (Photo: AP/Ng Han Guan)
China has doggedly defended its actions in the early days of the outbreak, saying it helped buy time for the rest of the world while pushing fringe theories that the virus was brought to the city from outside China, possibly from a laboratory in the US.
After months of negotiations, China finally gave permission last week for the World Health Organization to send a team of international experts to begin investigating the virus’ origins. They are currently undergoing two weeks of quarantine.
A panel of experts commissioned by the WHO criticised China and other countries this week for not moving to stem the initial outbreak earlier, prompting Beijing to concede it could have done better.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong in southern China, thousands of residents were locked down Saturday in an unprecedented move to contain a worsening outbreak in the city.
Hong Kong has been grappling to contain a fresh wave of the coronavirus since November. More than 4,300 cases have been recorded in the last two months, making up nearly 40per cent of the city’s total.
Authorities said in a statement that an area comprising 16 buildings in the working-class Yau Tsim Mong district will be locked down until all residents have been tested.
Malaysia's 'Uncle Potato' helps the needy for as little as RM0.10 CNA
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