North Korea's Kim Jong Un calls for relief campaign in rain-hit areas - CNA

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilised the military to carry out relief work in areas recently hit by heavy rains, state media said on Sunday, amid concerns over an economic crisis and food shortage.

The ruling Worker's Party's Central Military Commission held a meeting of its chapter in the eastern province of South Hamgyong to discuss damage and recovery from the downpour, the official KCNA news agency said.

Kim did not attend the meeting but party officials conveyed his message that the military should kick off a relief campaign and provide necessary supplies in the region, KCNA said.

"It was also emphasised that he called for awakening and arousing the (party) officials ... into waging the recovery campaign skilfully and unyieldingly," KCNA said.

KCNA did not specify the extent of rain damage but said the military commission explored emergency measures to rebuild the disaster-stricken areas, stabilise people's living, prevent the coronavirus and minimise crop injuries.

The meeting came amid concerns over a crisis in a reclusive economy that has already been dogged by international sanctions, aimed at curbing its nuclear and weapons programmes.

Kim said in June the country faced a "tense" food situation, citing the coronavirus pandemic and last year's typhoons, and recently South Korea's central bank said North Korea's economy suffered its biggest contraction in 23 years in 2020.

North Korea has not confirmed any COVID-19 cases but closed borders, halted trade and imposed strict prevention measures, seeing the pandemic as an issue of national survival.

South Korean lawmakers said last week that North Korea needed 1 million tonnes of rice, with military and emergency reserves running out.

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2021-08-08 02:20:37Z
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'My son dreamt of becoming a soldier': COVID-19 takes a toll on Indonesian children - CNA

Children now make up about 12.5 per cent of the country’s confirmed cases, an increase over previous months, said Prof Pulungan.

However, he pointed out that the data may not necessarily showcase the true scale of the situation, as COVID-19 testing in Indonesia is low at between 100,000 and 200,000 daily tests in the country of 270 million people.

With more than 3.6 million cases and 104,000 deaths so far, experts are worried more children will die. They have urged the authorities to take immediate actions to prevent more deaths.

HEIGHTENED RISK FOR INFANTS 

Another parent who had to endure the loss of a child is Mdm Tantien Hermawati, 35. 

Recounting the day when she lost her baby last December, the housewife from Tuban regency, East Java, said the obstetrician detected a heart defect in her fetus during the eighth month of pregnancy. 

She was advised to seek treatment in East Java’s capital Surabaya but was hesitant because COVID-19 cases were raging there. 

She managed to give birth normally in Tuban, but after 1.5 months, those around her noted that her baby appeared to be “blue”.

Mdm Hermawati eventually went to Surabaya and the baby underwent a cardiac catheterisation to diagnose and treat heart conditions.

It was unsuccessful and her child needed to undergo a second operation. He was swabbed and tested positive.

“My baby was isolated for about 14 days until he passed away in December 2020,” she told CNA.

She did not know how he contracted the virus and she herself was negative for COVID-19.

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2021-08-07 12:00:00Z
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Tokyo feared Olympics would spread COVID-19; numbers suggest that didn't happen - channelnewsasia.com

TOKYO: Before the Olympics began, Japan had feared that the 2020 Games, with thousands of officials, media and athletes descending on Tokyo in the middle of a pandemic, might spread COVID-19, introduce new variants and overwhelm the medical system.

But as the Games draw near their end, the infection numbers from inside the Olympic "bubble" - a set of venues, hotels and the media centre to which those coming for the Games had been mostly confined - tell a different story.

Featuring more than 50,000 people, what amounted to possibly the largest global experiment of this kind since the pandemic began, appears to have largely worked, organisers and some scientists say, with only a sliver of those involved infected.

"Before the Olympics, I thought people would come to Japan with many variants and Tokyo would be a melting pot of viruses and some new variant would emerge in Tokyo," Kei Sato, a senior researcher at the University of Tokyo said.

"But there was no chance for the viruses to mutate."

The main reason for the low number of infections was a vaccination rate of more than 70 per cent among the Olympians, organisers and the news media, daily testing, social distancing and a bar on domestic and international spectators, organisers say.

Brian McCloskey, the lead adviser on the "bubble" to Olympic organisers, said he would not point to any one specific measure that worked best.

"It comes as a package, it's the package that works most effectively and I think that will still be the message after these Games and is still the message irrespective of vaccinations," McCloskey said at a news conference on Saturday.

The organisers recorded 404 Games-related infections since Jul 1. They carried out close to 600,000 screening tests with the infection rate of 0.02 per cent.

The situation inside the "bubble" stood in sharp contrast to outside, with a surge in infections fuelled by the Delta variant hitting daily records and for the first time crossing 5,000 in the host city, threatening to overwhelm Tokyo's hospitals.

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2021-08-07 05:05:20Z
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3 opposition DAP MPs claim bribes offered in exchange for backing PM Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Three opposition lawmakers from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) on Saturday (Aug 7) alleged that they had been offered cash and seats in the Cabinet in exchange for backing beleaguered Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whose majority in Parliament is in doubt ahead of a confidence vote next month.

All three provided screengrabs of WhatsApp messages from the same anonymous number which referred to "durian RM30" and the need for "more non-Malay representation in the government".

The DAP draws most of its members and support from outside the country's Malay-Muslim majority. No one clarified on the symbolism of "durian RM30" but the message to all three MPs referred explicitly to an offer to pay cash.

Among the recipients was former human resources minister Kulasegaran Murugeson, who lodged a police report in Ipoh, the capital of Perak state, over the "pathetic and desperate" attempt "to buy me over".

"We told them to take the offer and shove it. After the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government took power via the back door all the 42 elected DAP MPs stayed loyal to the party," he said, referring to the political crisis early last year that eventually led to Tan Sri Muhyiddin, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president, taking over as prime minister from his own party chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"Rain or shine we will stay put in DAP and our MPs are not for sale, I must make that clear. Money and position are not factors which can sway us to leave the party. We will swim or die with the party," said Mr Kulasegaran, who is the DAP vice-chairman.

Perak police chief Mior Faridalatrash Wahid told The Straits Times the case has been referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Another DAP lawmaker, Mr Khoo Poay Tiong, also mocked the WhatsApp message, posting on Facebook that "whoever is interested in becoming a minister can contact this number". He added: "Kota Melaka is not for sale," referring to his parliamentary ward.

Kuching MP Kelvin Yii posted a screengrab in which the sender also told him to "step out of the shadow from Lim's family", a reference to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and his father, Mr Lim Kit Siang, 80, who is still widely regarded as the most influential leader in the party.

Opponents of Mr Muhyiddin have accused him of lying to the King after the Premier, in a nationwide address on Wednesday, said that he informed the monarch during an audience earlier in the day that he still had the majority in Parliament.

This was despite the fact that 11 Umno MPs had withdrawn support from the PN government on Tuesday. Umno was the largest party in the ruling PN pact with 38 MPs.

Leaders across the 105-strong opposition bench - joined by the Umno rebels - insist Mr Muhyiddin can at most now count on the support of only 104 out of the 220 members of the federal Parliament. Two seats in Parliament are currently vacant.

The Prime Minister has pledged to prove his majority in a confidence vote when Parliament reconvenes on Sept 6, but opponents say his assertion to Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah must be tested now.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan coalition has set a Monday deadline for the Prime Minister to do so.

Two Umno ministers have quit the Cabinet, and their vacant offices were referenced in the alleged offers to the DAP MPs to "replace Parit Sulong or Lenggong durians". The two ministers who quit were from the Parit Sulong and Lenggong constituencies.

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2021-08-07 11:01:37Z
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Britain tells nationals to leave Afghanistan immediately - CNA

LONDON: Britain has warned all UK nationals in Afghanistan to leave the country immediately due to the "worsening security situation" as fighting intensifies.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Friday (Aug 6) updated its website to advise against all travel to Afghanistan.

"All British nationals in Afghanistan are advised to leave now by commercial means. If you are still in Afghanistan, you are advised to leave now by commercial means because of the worsening security situation," it said.

The foreign office warned Britons not to rely on it for emergency evacuation, saying the assistance it could provide was "extremely limited".

The warning comes after the Taliban launched a major offensive to coincide with the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces after nearly two decades of conflict.

"Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Afghanistan. Specific methods of attack are evolving and increasing in sophistication," the foreign office said.

The Taliban now control vast swathes of rural Afghanistan and are challenging government forces in several cities, including Herat, near the western border with Iran, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.

On Friday, the militants captured their first provincial capital since stepping up their offensive in May.

Zaranj, the capital of the southwest province of Nimroz, fell "without a fight", deputy provincial governor Roh Gul Khairzad told AFP.

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2021-08-07 04:34:44Z
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[FULL] Differentiated Covid-19 rules for vaccinated, unvaccinated people from Aug 10 | MTF presser - The Straits Times

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2021-08-06 14:46:07Z
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Vaccinated or not: What you can do when COVID-19 measures ease from Aug 10 - CNA

From Aug 10, you can do indoor sports and exercise at gyms and fitness studios, with masks off. A maximum of 30 vaccinated people can participate, in groups of up to five people.

You can also patronise personal services that require masks to be taken off, such as facials, saunas and make-up services.

If you are planning a wedding reception, all attendees must be vaccinated. Up to 250 people will be allowed, with at most five to a table.

Larger events can be attended by groups of up to 500 vaccinated people. These include live performances, MICE events, sports events, marriage solemnisations, cinema screenings and worship services.

When measures are eased again from Aug 19, the participation limit for such larger events will be raised to 1,000 for vaccinated people.

I’M NOT VACCINATED, WHAT CAN I DO?

Unvaccinated people can also gather in groups of up to five and receive five distinct visitors at home daily – capped at two social gatherings a day.

But you are strongly advised to remain in groups no bigger than two.

If you want to dine outside, you can only do so at hawker centres and coffee shops, in groups of up to two. This “special concession” was made as hawker centres are open-air and naturally ventilated places, said the Health Ministry.

For larger events like live performances, MICE events, sports events, marriage solemnisations, cinema screenings and religious services, up to 50 people can be in attendance if any are unvaccinated.

That participation limit will stay the same in the second round of easing of measures from Aug 19.

REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS

Some of the changes taking place will apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people – such as dining-in at hawker centres and coffeeshops.

In schools, indoor and outdoor mask-on activities will be allowed in groups of up to five from Tuesday, regardless of vaccination status.

In secondary schools, junior colleges, Millennia Institute and special education schools with senior or secondary sections, in-person co-curricular activities (CCAs) will resume. Activities with external vendors or at external venues can also be held for up to 50 people.

In primary schools, students can resume outdoor mask-on unstructured play with their own class.

All cohorts, including non-graduating ones, can once again attend in-person centre-based lessons.

In institutes of higher learning, groups of five can resume indoor mask-on activities and all outdoor activities. However, indoor mask-off activities can only resume if all five people are vaccinated.

In gyms and fitness studios, indoor mask-on and all outdoor activities can continue with up to 50 people in groups of five.

As for the workplace, work-from-home will no longer be the default arrangement from Aug 19. Up to half of the employees who can work from home will be allowed to return to the workplace then. Social gatherings can also resume.

 

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2021-08-06 13:12:31Z
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