Malaysia opposition rebukes AG's suggestion that Ismail Sabri need not table confidence motion in parliament - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia opposition lawmakers have criticised the attorney-general after he suggested that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob need not table a confidence motion in parliament, despite an earlier decree by the king that he should do so as soon as possible. 

Over the weekend, Attorney-General Idris Harun noted that if Mr Ismail Sabri’s legitimacy still needed to be tested by any party apart from the king, it would mean the absolute power of the ruler could be overridden.

“And this is not in line with the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement, referring to how the king had named Mr Ismail Sabri as prime minister after meeting 114 out of 220 MPs on Aug 19 to verify their support for the Bera MP.

Mr Idris’s suggestion was rebuked by the opposition. Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) presidential council wrote in a statement on Sunday (Sep 5) that the attorney-general’s suggestion could be deemed treasonous as it was contrary to the order given by the king to party leaders on Aug 17.

A statement by the national palace issued on Aug 18, prior to Mr Ismail Sabri’s appointment, stated that the next prime minister should table a confidence motion in the parliament as soon as possible. It also urged all parties to work as a team.

“His Majesty's statement was also supported by His Majesty the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the need for a motion of confidence has been agreed by all party leaders.

“It is important to remember that the AG was present, witnessed and even heard His Majesty's words during this session,” said PH’s statement, according to a report by the Star.

The statement added: “The presidential council considers that the statement of the AG on behalf of the government is very rude, violates the spirit of the Federal Constitution, and even violates the order and is also traitorous against His Majesty.”

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2021-09-06 09:54:00Z
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Taliban say resistance holdout Panjshir Valley 'completely captured' - CNA

TALIBAN GOVERNMENT

The Taliban are yet to finalise their new regime after rolling into Kabul three weeks ago at a speed that analysts say likely surprised even the hardline Islamists themselves.

Afghanistan's new rulers have pledged to be more "inclusive" than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict - first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war.

They have promised a government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup - though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

Women's freedoms in Afghanistan were sharply curtailed under the Taliban's 1996 to 2001 rule.

This time, women will be allowed to attend university as long as classes are segregated by sex or at least divided by a curtain, the Taliban's education authority said in a lengthy document issued on Sunday.

But female students must also wear an abaya (robe) and niqab (face-veil), as opposed to the even more conservative burqa mandatory under the previous Taliban regime.

As the Taliban come to grips with their transition from insurgency to government, they are facing a host of challenges, including humanitarian needs for which international assistance is critical.

United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has arrived in Kabul for several days of meetings with the Taliban leadership, which has promised to help.

"The authorities pledged that the safety and security of humanitarian staff, and humanitarian access to people in need, will be guaranteed and that humanitarian workers - both men and women - will be guaranteed freedom of movement," a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The Taliban spokesman tweeted that the group's delegation assured the UN of cooperation.

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2021-09-06 05:05:00Z
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Malaysian PM Ismail left with slim majority as PH offers only to abstain in confidence votes - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - The Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration's controversial move to back away from a confidence motion requested by Malaysia's King comes after the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) offered only to abstain, in exchange for several reform and Covid-19 initiatives.

Official sources told The Straits Times that the main opposition coalition had handed in a draft agreement on the abstention offer before last week's Cabinet meeting, which decided to set up a ministerial committee involving all major ruling parties in government to study the proposal.

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2021-09-06 04:54:34Z
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The Big Read: As border curbs ease, a desperate but cautious tourism industry sees bumpy road to recovery - CNA

The “start-stop” nature of the travel bubble plan with Hong Kong serves as a cautionary tale for Mr Ang, who felt that he should not dive into ramping up operations even with the launch of the travel lanes with Germany and Brunei.

“On one hand, we want to work on (the vaccinated travel lanes). On the other hand, there is concern if this thing doesn't work out as intended,” he said. 

Developments around the globe are also not helping, as attempts by other countries to revive travel have not produced the desired results.

Tour operators pointed out that some countries, such as China, have not opened up quarantine-free travel for visitors from Singapore, even though travellers from there can come in here without serving quarantine.

Thailand’s resort island of Phuket is trying to boost its tourism scene by waiving quarantine for vaccinated travellers, but Mr Khoo said Singaporeans are still not willing to travel there as airfares are now higher.

In July, New Zealand suspended its air travel bubble scheme with Australia amid rising coronavirus cases.

And although Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had earlier announced that vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries would be allowed quarantine-free entry into New Zealand from early next year, the country is now battling a surge of Delta variant cases which has sent it into another lockdown.

Dr Kevin Cheong, executive director of Sentosa 4D AdventureLand, said the road to recovery will be very bumpy.

“It will be open, close, open, close. Tighten again. This is the part where many of the businesses are thinking: ‘If I were to scale up at a time you tighten, we have a problem,’” he said.

Other local tour operators noted that German tourists typically do not come to Singapore for a holiday. It is more a short stopover for them before they head off to other destinations in the region, such as Phuket or Indonesia’s Bali. 

Mr Stanley Foo, owner of Oriental Travel and Tours, said that requiring these travellers to undergo four PCR tests, with three of them upon arriving in Singapore, is too onerous a requirement.

“The total cost is about S$800. So how many Germans would be willing to pay S$800 extra and have their noses poked four times?”

“It doesn’t make much of a difference for the tourism industry ... (but) I’m happy that it’s a positive step forward,” said Mr Foo. 

Nevertheless, Mr Robin Loh, the founder of Let’s Go Tour Singapore, noted that while there will be more travellers coming in, it will still be a small fraction of what Singapore saw before the pandemic.

“Maybe a couple of hundred tourists coming in a day. What is that divided by all the tourism products? Virtually nothing, you won’t feel a thing,” he said.

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2021-09-05 22:10:48Z
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Afghan opposition leader Massoud says he is ready for talks with Taliban - CNA

The leader of the Afghan opposition group resisting Taliban forces in the Panjshir valley north of Kabul said on Sunday (Sep 5) he welcomed proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting.

Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), made the announcement on the group's Facebook page. Earlier, Taliban forces said they had fought their way into the provincial capital of Panjshir after securing the surrounding districts.

The Islamist Taliban took control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, taking power in Kabul on Aug. 15 after the Western-backed government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

"The NRF in principle agree to solve the current problems and put an immediate end to the fighting and continue negotiations," Massoud said in the Facebook post.

"To reach a lasting peace, the NRF is ready to stop fighting on condition that Taliban also stop their attacks and military movements on Panjshir and Andarab," he said, referring to a district in the neighbouring province of Baghlan.

A large gathering of all sides with the Ulema council of religious scholars could then be held, he said.

Earlier, Afghan media outlets reported that religious scholars had called on the Taliban to accept a negotiated settlement to end the fighting in Panjshir.

There was no immediate response from the Taliban.

On Sunday, the NRFA also confirmed that its main spokesman, Fahim Dashti, had been killed during the day. Dashti had survived the suicide attack that killed Massoud's father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, on Sep 9, 2001, just days before the Sep 11 attacks on the United States.

He had been one of the main sources of updates from the area as the Taliban pressed in on opposition forces, issuing a defiant series of statements on Twitter, vowing that resistance would continue.

Massoud, who leads a force made up of remnants of regular Afghan army and special forces units as well as local militia fighters, called for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban before the fighting broke out around a week ago.

Several attempts at talks were held but eventually broke down, with each side blaming the other for their failure.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said earlier on Sunday that their forces had made it into the provincial capital, Bazarak, and had captured large quantities of weapons and ammunition.

RUGGED VALLEY

Panjshir, a rugged mountain valley still littered with the wreckage of Soviet tanks destroyed during the long war in the 1980s to oust the Soviet presence, has proved very difficult to overcome in the past.

Under Ahmad Shah Massoud, the region long resisted control by both the invading Soviet army and by the Taliban government that previously ruled from 1996 to 2001.

But that effort was helped by supply routes leading north to the border, which were closed off by the Taliban's sweeping victory last month.

The Panjshir fighting has been the most prominent example of resistance to the Taliban. But small individual protests for women's rights or in defence of the green, red and black flag of Afghanistan have also been held in different cities.

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2021-09-05 20:28:00Z
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Taliban order university women in Afghanistan to wear face-covering niqab - The Straits Times

KABUL (AFP) - Women attending private Afghan universities must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face, the Taliban have ordered, and classes must be segregated by sex - or at least divided by a curtain.

In a lengthy document issued by the Taliban's education authority, they also ordered that female students be taught only by other women, but if that was not possible, then "old men" of good character could fill in.

The decree applies to private colleges and universities, which have mushroomed since the Taliban's first rule ended in 2001.

During that period, girls and women were mostly excluded from education because of rules regarding same-sex classrooms and the insistence that they be accompanied by a male relative whenever they leave the house.

There was no order for women to wear the all-enveloping burqa in the new regulations issued late on Saturday (Sept 4), but the niqab effectively covers most of the face anyway, leaving just the eyes exposed.

In recent years burqas and niqabs have largely vanished from the streets of Kabul, but are seen more frequently in smaller cities and towns.

The decree comes as private universities prepare to open on Monday.

"Universities are required to recruit female teachers for female students based on their facilities," the decree said, adding that men and women should use separate entrances and exits.

If it is not possible to hire women teachers, then colleges "should try to hire old men teachers who have a good record of behaviour".

While women now have to study separately, they must also end their lesson five minutes earlier than men to stop them from mingling outside.

They must then stay in waiting rooms until their male counterparts have left the building, according to the decree issued by the Taliban higher education ministry.

"Practically, it is a difficult plan - we don't have enough female instructors or classes to segregate the girls," said a university professor, who asked not to be named.

"But the fact that they are allowing girls to go to schools and universities is a big positive step," he told AFP.

Afghanistan's new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict - first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war.

They have promised a more "inclusive" government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup - though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

Over the past 20 years, since the Taliban were last in power, university admission rates have risen dramatically, particularly among women.

Before the Taliban returned in a lightning military campaign, entering the capital Kabul last month, women studied alongside men and attended seminars with male professors.

But a spate of deadly attacks on education centres in recent years sparked panic.

The Taliban denied being behind the attacks, some of which were claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group.

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2021-09-05 13:28:41Z
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Singapore tightens swab test requirements for travellers in update to border measures - TODAYonline

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1. Singapore tightens swab test requirements for travellers in update to border measures  TODAYonline
2. Tightened COVID-19 pre-departure test requirements for more countries, regions including Australia  CNA
3. S'pore updates Covid-19 border measures, stricter pre-departure testing for countries including Australia, NZ  The Straits Times
4. Singapore updates Covid-19 border measures, stricter pre-departure testing for countries including Australia, New Zealand  The Star Online
5. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-09-05 12:50:22Z
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