Final lap for Malaysian trishaw maker - CNA

He rolls out three to four pedicabs annually, selling them for RM7,500 (US$1,700) each.

"I've no feelings. It's just a job," Choo, a man of few words, said when asked how he feels after completing a trishaw.

There are just over 130 trishaws in Penang, where they differ in style from the few dozen found in the southern state of Melaka, where the vehicles remain popular among tourists.

Melaka's trishaws are designed to have their rider sit beside their passengers, while Penang handlers pedal from behind.

None of Choo's children are interested in trishaws, nor is he keen to teach them as it involves a lot of hard work and spare parts that are hard to find.

And he is looking forward to his retirement.

"Maybe I'll go stay at my son's house or go on holiday," he said with a small grin.

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2023-04-14 06:37:29Z
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US airman arrested over Pentagon documents leak - CNA

TOP SECRET MATERIAL

According to the New York Times, a "trail of digital evidence" pointed to Teixeira as the leader of the private group on Discord, called Thug Shaker Central, where the documents surfaced.

The embarrassing security breach - which included top secret documents - has revealed US unease over the viability of a coming counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces against Russian troops as well as concerns about Ukrainian air defences, and pointed to US spying on allies including Israel and South Korea.

President Joe Biden addressed the leak during a visit to Ireland, saying he was "concerned" but that the intelligence community and Justice Department were "getting close" to identifying the source of the leak.

Biden was later briefed on the arrest, the White House said.

The alleged leaker reportedly went by the nickname "OG" and regularly posted documents in the chat group in question for months.

The group of around 24 people, including some from Russia and Ukraine, bonded over their "mutual love of guns, military gear and God", and formed an "invitation-only clubhouse in 2020 on Discord", reported the Post - which, like the Times, cited unidentified members of Thug Shaker Central.

OG told the group members that he spent "some of his day inside a secure facility that prohibited cellphones and other electronic devices", the Post report said.

He first wrote down the contents of classified documents to share with the group, but later began taking photos, telling other members not to share them, the newspaper reported.

OG had a "dark view of the government", and "spoke of the United States, and particularly law enforcement and the intelligence community, as a sinister force that sought to suppress its citizens and keep them in the dark", the Post said, citing one of the group's members.

A Discord spokesperson told AFP that user safety is a priority, and that content violating its policies can result in people being banned, servers being shut down and police alerted.

"In regards to the apparent breach of classified material, we are cooperating with law enforcement," the spokesperson said.

"As this remains an active investigation, we cannot provide further comment at this time."

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2023-04-13 21:36:00Z
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Blinken seeking to upgrade Vietnam ties as Hanoi treads narrow path - CNA

HANOI: United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Vietnam this week hoping for progress towards upgrading relations with a key trade partner that shares US worries about China's growing might.

For Hanoi, it will be a delicate test: How to show openness to the United States without angering China, a giant neighbour that supplies key inputs for Vietnam's vital export trade, or Russia, another traditional partner.

It is a balancing act Vietnam has excelled at but one that is turning more complex in a world appearing to divide into opposing blocs, with the US and its allies on one side and China and Russia on the other.

Blinken will arrive in Hanoi on Friday (Apr 14) and will meet Vietnamese leaders on Saturday before heading to Tokyo for a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations.

It will be the first Hanoi visit by the secretary of state of the Biden administration, which took office in 2021, although Vice President Kamala Harris visited in August of that year.

Washington will be hoping for progress towards boosting relations to a "strategic" partnership from one that for the past decade has been called "comprehensive".

Officials have not said what this closer relationship might entail. But Southeast Asia expert Murray Hiebert, who visited Vietnam in February and spoke with senior government officials, said that it could include increased military cooperation and US weapons supplies.

He noted, however, there were limits given Vietnam's policy of not allowing foreign bases, foreign troops or alliances against other countries.

Hanoi has also been put off by the relatively high price of US arms and concerns that supplies could be blocked by US lawmakers on human rights grounds.

Blinken will also formally break ground on a new US embassy compound in Hanoi, in what the top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, called "a stunning new symbol" of the US commitment to an "enduring partnership and friendship".

With the Vietnam War era an increasingly distant memory, Washington now considers Hanoi, in Kritenbrink's words, "one of America's most important partners in the region".

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2023-04-13 19:01:38Z
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WHO monitoring new Covid-19 sub-variant Arcturus, which is driving surge of cases in India - The Straits Times

Some cases of Arcturus have been reported among infants, said The Telegraph.

“We need to remain alert, but there is no need to worry,” said Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the report.

“Currently, the sub-variant of Omicron which is circulating in the country hasn’t led to an increase in the rate of hospitalisation,” he added.

The sub-variant, which is reportedly one of more than 600 Omicron sub-variants, was first detected in January. It has been detected in more than 20 countries, including Singapore, the United States, Britain and Australia.

In the last week of March in Singapore, 28,410 Covid-19 cases were recorded. This is almost double the previous week’s figure of 14,467. It is not known how many of these cases are due to the new sub-variant.

The Ministry of Health told CNA that the current Covid-19 infection wave is driven by a mix of XBB sub-variants, including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.9 and XBB.1.16.

However, it added that there is currently no evidence of increased severity in the cases.

At a press conference on March 29, WHO Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said: “(Arcturus) has been in circulation for a few months. We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but that’s why we have monitoring systems in place.”

The variant has high infectivity and pathogenicity, Dr Van Kerkhove noted.

Although Arcturus has been found in other countries, most cases were from India, where it had overtaken other variants, she added.

With the emergence of the new sub-variant, some experts said that Covid-19 remains a concern.

Virologist Lawrence Young from the University of Warwick told The Independent that the rise of the new variant in India is a sign that “we’re not yet out of the woods”.

“We have to keep an eye on it,” Professor Young said.

“When a new variant arises you have to find out if it’s more infectious, more disease-causing, is it more pathogenic? And what’s going to happen in terms of immune protection.”

“These kinds of things highlight the importance of genomic surveillance, but a lot of countries including our own have let our guard down a bit, and we can’t be sure what variants are around and what level of infection they’re causing until we see a significant outbreak.”

In 2021, India was devastated by the Delta wave, with a total of 4.7 million excess deaths according to estimates by the WHO.

The country’s health system was overwhelmed by a surge of cases triggered by the Delta Covid-19 variant, with some hospitals even running out of oxygen.

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2023-04-13 11:54:08Z
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China to ban ships from area near Taiwan due to 'falling rocket wreckage' - CNA

BEIJING: China will ban ships from entering an area north of Taiwan on Sunday (Apr 16) due to "possible falling rocket wreckage", a provincial maritime authority said, days after Beijing conducted large-scale military drills around the island.

The area around 160km from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, will be closed from 9am to 3pm local time, the maritime safety administration of China's eastern Fujian province said Thursday.

It added that vessels would be "forbidden to enter" for the duration of the shutdown.

The announcement came after Taiwan's transport ministry said Wednesday that Beijing planned to impose a no-fly zone north of the island due to "space activities".

The air restrictions would be in force from 9.30am to 9.57am local time on Sunday, the ministry said, adding that the zone lies "on the convergence areas of many international routes".

The no-fly zone will affect about 33 flights, Taiwan's official Central News Agency reported, citing the island's transport minister, Wang Kwo-tsai.

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2023-04-13 11:31:00Z
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Taiwan says it convinced China to rein in no-fly zone plan - CNA

"STORMY SEAS"

China said on Wednesday that Tsai was pushing Taiwan to "stormy seas" after she met with McCarthy during an overseas trip which also included stops in Guatemala and Belize.

The trip infuriated Beijing, prompting days of military drills designed to show it could forcefully take control of the democratic island.

"Tsai Ing-wen brought danger to Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen almost completely sided (with) the United States, pushing Taiwan into stormy seas," China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said.

China views Tsai as a separatist and has rebuffed repeated calls from her for talks. Tsai says she wants peace but that her government will defend Taiwan if it is attacked.

Beijing has continued military activities around Taiwan, despite announcing that three days of drills had ended as scheduled on Monday.

Taiwan said earlier on Wednesday that in the previous 24 hours it had detected 35 Chinese military aircraft and eight navy vessels around Taiwan.

Of those aircraft, 14 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to a ministry-provided map; the line normally serves as an unofficial barrier between the two sides.

China says it does not recognise the existence of the line.

Tsai, who returned to Taiwan a day before the drills began, appeared relaxed as she met Canadian lawmakers on Wednesday, saying her overseas trip had been a success in winning support against an aggressor that was threatening the island's freedom.

"Through this trip we again sent a message to the international community that Taiwan is determined to safeguard freedom and democracy, which won acknowledgment and support from our democratic partners," Tsai said as she met the lawmakers.

"Faced with continued authoritarian expansionism it is even more critical for democracies to actively unite," she added.

OPEN TO CHANGE

Speaking to CNA’s Asia First on Thursday, Mr Allan Behm, director of the International and Security Affairs Program at the Australia Institute, said China’s military activity aims to send a “potent” message.

He said China has been sending “very visible” signals, through its highly choreographed military exercises, amid continued US ambiguity over its Taiwan policy.

“Of course, there is a degree of risk that something can go wrong here because human beings are involved, and so there's human decision making,” he said of a potential escalation.

However, Mr Behm noted that China is open to changing its decisions, as shown in the changes to the no-fly zone rules.

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2023-04-13 05:18:29Z
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Arcturus: What do we know about the new Covid-19 subvariant? - The Straits Times

India has been hit by a new wave of Covid-19 cases, driven by a new subvariant known as “Arcturus”.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it is monitoring the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 strain, which is also found in over 20 countries.

Here is what we know about XBB.1.16.

What is Arcturus?

Arcturus is the name given to the new subvariant, known as XBB.1.16. It was first detected in late January and is a recombinant variant from BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75, two descendants of another Omicron variant BA.2.

WHO said the subvariant has one additional mutational mutation in the spike protein, which in lab studies shows increased infectivity, as well as potential increased pathogenicity.

Arcturus is nearly 1.2 times as transmissible as XBB.1.5, according to a study by the University of Tokyo. However, the subvariant is not thought to be any more severe than XBB.1.5, reported British news outlet iNews.

What are the symptoms?

Some symptoms that have been reported include a fever that gradually increases and lasts for one or two days, headaches, body pain, abdominal discomfort and sore throat.

Many of those infected with the subvariant are also reporting conjunctivitis and sticky eyes. 

Which countries have the subvariant?

The subvariant was first detected in late January. It is currently found in more than 20 countries including Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

In Singapore, 28,410 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the last week of March. This is almost double the previous week’s figure of 14,467.

The Ministry of Health told CNA that the current Covid-19 infection wave is driven by a mix of XBB subvariants including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.9 and XBB.1.16. However, it added that there is currently no evidence of increased severity in the cases.

What is the situation in India?

On Wednesday, there were 40,215 active Covid-19 cases in India – up by 3,122 cases in just one day, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The new wave of Covid-19 cases has prompted at least two Indian states to reintroduce mask wearing in public places as cases in India surged to its highest weekly number in seven months, reported The Telegraph on Wednesday.

In the northern state of Haryana, face masks are mandatory in public places and schools. In the southern state of Kerala, a popular tourist destination, masks are compulsory for pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic diseases.

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2023-04-13 06:15:38Z
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