China's Shenzhen shuts key electronics market to fight COVID-19 - CNA

SHENZHEN: Authorities in China's southern city of Shenzhen shut the world's largest electronics market of Huaqiangbei and suspended service at 24 subway stations on Monday (Aug 29) in a bid to curb an outbreak of COVID-19.

Three key buildings in the sprawling area, comprised of thousands of stalls selling microchips, telephone parts, and other components to manufacturers, will stay closed until Sep 2.

Local community officials confirmed Monday's closure to Reuters, while three people working there said building managers had told them to work from home.

Subway services at 24 stations in the central districts of Futian and Luohu were also halted, according to official local media.

In Futian, the seat of the city government, officials announced that cinemas, karaoke bars and parks would be closed and large public events cancelled until Sep 2.

COVID-19-related border closures have hurt Huaqiangbei, which before the pandemic bustled with foreign entrepreneurs looking to source components in China.

On Monday, the tech hub of nearly 18 million people reported nine symptomatic and two asymptomatic cases from testing the previous day.

COVID-19 testing has become a feature of daily life in the city, with most public spaces and offices needing proof of a test within 48 hours for entry, or within 24 hours in areas deemed high risk.

While the city has avoided blanket closures since a week-long lockdown in March, residents of individual compounds have undergone week-long quarantines when positive cases have been detected.

On Monday morning, Wanxia urban village, which provides cheap accommodation to thousands of low-wage workers like delivery drivers and labourers, was sealed off as a COVID-19 prevention measure, although no positive cases were reported there.

China reported 1,696 new COVID-19 infections on Aug 28, of which 352 were symptomatic and 1,344 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday. 

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2022-08-29 08:51:00Z
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3 types of physical activities to help you hit 150 minutes of exercise a week - Yahoo

Couple exercising with a digital tablet in the Japanese-style room at home. (Photo: Getty)

Do you know that adults should put in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week? Although 150 minutes or 2.5 hours a week seem like a lot, if you break it down, it is about 30 minutes each day for a period of five days.

Regular physical activity can help not only in weight management, but it also reduces your health risk like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It helps to strengthen your bones and muscles, thereby improving your physical function, and may help you live longer.

According to the 2019 National Population Health Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, 40.2 per cent of Singaporeans aged between 18 and 74 do not participate in any leisure-time physical activity. 19.9 per cent of Singaporeans have insufficient total physical activity, which includes physical activity at work, commuting and leisure-time physical activity.

To help you get started, here are three types of physical activity you can engage in. You might also want to check out Decathlon’s clearance sale for some good deals on sports apparel and equipment.

1. Lifestyle activity

Lifestyle activity, like its name suggests, encompasses activities that you can carry out in your daily life. This includes doing household chores, carrying groceries, taking the stairs, standing instead of sitting down to do work, or walking instead of taking the public transport.

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2. Aerobic activity

The term “aerobic” is related to exercise that improves the efficiency of the body’s cardiovascular system in absorbing and transporting oxygen. Thus, aerobic activity includes brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and playing sports like squash.

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3. Strength activity

Strength activity involves resistance-bearing or weight-training. This type of physical activity improves bone, joint and muscle strength, which can help build power, mass and endurance. It includes lifting weights, using the resistance band, and doing squats.

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Originally published 29 August 2022, 7:03 am

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2022-08-29 03:09:34Z
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Power crunch in China's Sichuan province eases, says state media - CNA

BEIJING: A power crunch driven by drought in China's southwestern province of Sichuan, the country's biggest hydropower producer, has started to ease as temperatures fall, state media reported on Sunday (Aug 28).

Power for ordinary industrial and commercial users has been restored while that for large industrial users will be gradually restored, except for highly energy-intensive industries, state media reported, citing the State Grid Corp.

A long drought across the Yangtze basin has crimped electricity supply, prompting concerns that China could suffer another devastating power shortage.

But demand is easing as the letup in temperatures, which had exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in many areas, has tempered a surge in air conditioner use, state media said.

Sichuan generates 30 per cent of China's hydroelectric power, usually delivering a massive power surplus to the rest of the country.

But it is now receiving electricity from other provinces after weeks of minimal rainfall and extreme heat.

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2022-08-28 11:14:36Z
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Pope creates new cardinals who may choose successor - CNA

After this weekend, Pope Francis will have chosen 83 out of the 132 cardinals currently qualified to elect a new Pope.

That is nearly two-thirds of the total and precisely the percentage needed for any proposed name to pass.

In recent months, the Pope has been forced to rely on a wheelchair due to knee pain, which he has said is inoperable.

He also suffers from sciatica, a chronic nerve condition that causes pain in his hip.

FUTURE CLUES?

The new cardinals are always scrutinised by Vatican observers for clues as to the future direction of the Church and its 1.3 billion faithful.

Experts caution, however, that cardinals named by one Pope do not necessarily choose successors in their likeness.

The Argentine pontiff has this year completed a major shake-up of the Vatican's powerful governing body, the Roman Curia, which makes winning new converts a priority.

In keeping with his focus on making the Church more inclusive, transparent and responsive to the needs of the poor and marginalised, Pope Francis has chosen two Africans and five Asians, including two cardinals who hail from India.

Vatican expert Bernard Lecomte told AFP the Pope's choices are "representative of the Church today, with a large spot for the southern hemisphere", where 80 per cent of the world's Catholics live.

Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, the archbishop of Dili, will on Saturday become the first cardinal of tiny East Timor, an overwhelmingly Catholic nation in Southeast Asia.

The Pope has also felt free to bypass the archbishops of major cities to choose those from less powerful seats, such as Robert McElroy, the 68-year-old bishop of San Diego, California.

McElroy has supported gay Catholics and criticised moves to deny Communion to United States politicians - like President Joe Biden - who support abortion.

The Pope will also create the youngest cardinal in the world, 48-year-old Italian missionary Giorgio Marengo, who works in Mongolia.

The new crop of cardinals also includes Nigeria's Peter Okpaleke, the bishop of Ekwulobia, and Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, Brazil.

The 80-year-old bishop emeritus of Ghent, Lucas Van Looy, had been nominated but asked to be exempted following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse by priests in Belgium.

Saturday's ceremony at the Vatican will be followed by the traditional "courtesy visit", in which the general public is invited to greet the new cardinals.

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2022-08-27 07:48:00Z
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China drought: Chongqing extends power curbs in factories - CNA

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2022-08-25 12:42:42Z
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Malaysia's Mahathir says 'highly likely' jailed Najib will get royal pardon - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Malaysia's veteran two-time leader Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday that disgraced former premier Najib Razak, who he helped bring down, was likely to win a royal pardon and be freed from a 12-year jail sentence for graft that he began this week.

Mahathir, whose historic election victory in 2018 triggered Najib's downfall, said delays in various trials related to the multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) would result in justice being denied.

The palace of King Al-Sultan Abdullah, which received a petition for a pardon from Najib loyalists a day earlier, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mahathir's remark.

On Tuesday, the country's top court rejected Najib's final appeal against a 2020 conviction by a lower court, and upheld the 12-year jail sentence and a 210 million ringgit ($46.88 million) fine for illegally receiving $10 million from a unit of 1MDB. read more

"For Najib, it is highly likely that he will be pardoned after being imprisoned," the 97-year-old Mahathir said in a statement. He did not elaborate.

Najib is believed to be close to some of Malaysia's royals, and in May, Najib's social media posts showed him attending Eid celebrations with the king.

But, there has been no indication so far on how the palace would respond to any pardon application by Najib, who held power for nine years until 2018.

Nor has there been any sign yet of how Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would regard a pardon for his old party leader, as he seeks to rehabilitate the image of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

Having been sent to jail on Tuesday after losing the appeal in one of the smaller cases related to the siphoning off of money from the state fund he co-founded in 2009, Najib was back in court on Thursday for a hearing in the largest case.

He was brought from the Kajang prison complex southeast of the capital to the Kuala Lumpur high court in a black police car under heavy security and was taken to the courtroom through a private entrance.

At the end of the day's hearing, Najib - in a dark suit and tie - waved to reporters from the police car on his way back to Kajang. He did not comment, but an aide to the former premier said he was "doing OK."

In a social media post, Najib's daughter Nooryana Najwa said he had been provided with basic necessities in prison, and "was getting used to his new routine."

The charges laid against Najib in this case include 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power for allegedly receiving illegal transfers of at least 2.3 billion ringgit ($512.93 million) between 2011 and 2014.

Najib also faces three other cases, and they all carry jail terms and heavy financial penalties.

Malaysian and U.S. investigators say $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, in a scandal that has implicated financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide. Over $1 billion was traced to Najib's bank accounts.

The former prime minister also faces bankruptcy, which cannot be pardoned and which would prevent him from running for elections.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing, and has painted himself as the victim of a political vendetta by his former mentor.

Mahathir was already Malaysia's longest serving prime minister when he first retired in 2003 after 22 years at the helm. He campaigned for Najib and UMNO during the 2013 election but turned against his protege as the scale of corruption at 1MDB began to emerge.

Leading an opposition alliance of unlikely bedfellows, the nonagenarian Mahathir defeated the UMNO-led coalition, removing it from power for the first time since the formation of Malaysia six decades earlier.

Reinstalled as prime minister, Mahathir reopened probes into 1MDB that led to Najib facing a total of 42 charges. Mahathir subsequently resigned amid political turmoil as his alliance fell apart.

($1 = 4.4800 ringgit)

Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2022-08-25 09:14:00Z
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Thailand approves first instant noodle price rise in 14 years - CNA

"We are facing rising commodity prices, oil prices for export," explained Veera Naphaprukchart from Thai Preserved Food, part of popular brand Wai Wai.

The price of wheat flour rose roughly 20 per cent to 30 per cent and the price of palm oil had doubled, he said.

Veera blamed rising costs on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was a major supplier of wheat to the kingdom prior to the conflict.

Pipat Paniangvait, of Thai President Food, said the price of instant noodles was last increased in 2008.

Producers' issues have been compounded by the high export costs - thanks to rising oil and wheat prices - meaning selling abroad is not viable either.

"In the past, we were selling more outside Thailand to curb the situation here as we can not raise the price freely," he said.

The trade department said it would continue to monitor the cost of production and indicated it could adjust the price accordingly.

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2022-08-24 13:35:00Z
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