To reduce academic stress, China banned private tuition. Has the policy backfired? - CNA

Group classes have all but ceased, while the cost of one-to-one tutoring has increased.

In first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, some one-to-one tutors are charging as much as 3,000 yuan (US$430) an hour. That is at least ten times more than before and about a quarter of the average monthly wage for white-collar workers in these cities.

For this reason, Gong Erkang has stopped sending his children, one in first grade and the other in fifth grade, for tuition even as he suspects they are not doing as well in class as before.

“I feel helpless,” said Gong, a video editor. “In the past, I could send my children to mass tuition classes, but now there’s nothing.”

Monthly tuition fees used to cost a few hundred yuan, but now each session “is already several times (costlier than) that”, he said. “Double reduction affects ordinary families the most. Rich families will always be able to find other ways.”

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2023-05-05 22:01:00Z
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COVID-19 no longer global health emergency: WHO - CNA

LONDON: COVID-19 no longer represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday (May 5), a major step towards the end of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.9 million people, disrupted the global economy and ravaged communities.

"Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I've accepted that advice. It's therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO's emergency committee first declared that COVID-19 represented its highest level of alert more than three years ago, on Jan 30, 2020. The status helps focus international attention on a health threat, as well as bolstering collaboration on vaccines and treatments.

Lifting it is a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas, but COVID-19 is here to stay, the WHO has said, even if it no longer represents an emergency.

The death rate has slowed from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 in the week to April 24, according to WHO data.

"However, that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat," said Ghebreyesus.

The WHO does not declare the beginning or end of pandemics, although it did start using the term for COVID-19 in March 2020.

Last year, US President Joe Biden said the pandemic was over. Like a number of other countries, the world's biggest economy has begun dismantling its domestic state of emergency for COVID-19, meaning it will stop paying for things like vaccines.

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2023-05-05 13:48:23Z
2005348919

PM Anwar 'very confident' he will serve full term amid rumours of plot to topple Malaysia government - CNA

Local media previously reported that speculation is rife of a plot to topple the government.

News portal The Vibes on April 24 alleged that there were plans to remove Mr Anwar from his position via by-elections among Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who did not support him.

According to the report, several BN MPs were being wooed and persuaded to quit their parties and sacrifice their seats. The MPs would then reportedly seek re-election under the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Anwar said that the parties in his unity government are strong enough to defend against any plot to topple the government.

“As far as we can see, the position (of the government) is quite strong,” Mr Anwar was quoted as saying by Bernama.

On Wednesday, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar expressed concern over the recent “incessant reports regarding the stability of the current (Malaysian) government”.

“The rakyat (citizens) placed high hopes in the recent General Election and voted for 222 representatives to bring back political stability to the country.

“But until today, the 222 MPs cannot get on the same page with efforts made to derail the stability that is being carefully built,” said Sultan Ibrahim in a Facebook post.

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election failed to produce a clear winner.

He leads a unity government comprising his Pakatan Harapan coalition and the previous ruling coalition BN, among other parties. Other parties and coalitions that currently back the unity government include Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Warisan.

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2023-05-05 08:27:00Z
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Mahathir files US$33.8 million defamation suit against Malaysian PM Anwar over wealth claims - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has filed a RM150 million (US$33.8 million) defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after the latter allegedly accused him of enriching himself while in power and calling him a racist. 

In the statement of claim, the former prime minister said that Mr Anwar’s claims during his speech at a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) congress in March were untrue and intended to damage his reputation and image.

Dr Mahathir said that Mr Anwar’s statements had tarnished his image as a statesman who was also twice a former prime minister and one that has a reputation as a respected leader throughout Malaysia and the world.

Dr Mahathir, 97, is seeking RM50 million in general damages and another RM100 million in exemplary damages. 

The lawsuit was filed at the Shah Alam High Court on Wednesday (May 3). 

In March, Mr Anwar is believed to have criticised certain former leaders of the country during a PKR special national congress held in Shah Alam.

Without mentioning any names, Mr Anwar at the political event alluded that a former leader - in his two stints as prime minister for “22 years and (another) 22 months” - had used his position to enrich himself, his family and his children.

Dr Mahathir was Malaysia’s prime minister from July 1981 to October 2003 and again from May 2018 to February 2020.

In his speech, Mr Anwar said that the leader only complained about Malays losing their dominance in the country after he was no longer in power.

In the statement of claim, Dr Mahathir said that as prime minister, Mr Anwar’s statement would get more media attention in and out of the country.

He also wanted Mr Anwar to retract all the alleged defamatory statements made against him and to apologise for the remarks.

Dr Mahathir had said on Mar 28 that Anwar had seven days to retract his statements.

In the 15th General Elections last year, Dr Mahathir failed to defend his Langkawi seat, losing his deposit after finishing fourth in a five-cornered fight.

It was his first electoral defeat in 53 years.

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election (GE15) failed to produce a clear winner.

He leads a unity government comprising his Pakatan Harapan coalition the previous ruling coalition BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan).

In recent weeks, there have been reports regarding the stability of the Malaysian government. 

Following this, Mr Anwar said that the parties in his unity government are strong enough to defend against any plot to topple the government.

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2023-05-05 06:57:00Z
2009181150

Malaysia in talks to bring back 1MDB-linked fugitive Jho Low: PM - CNA

Malaysian authorities have previously said Low was believed to be in China, though Beijing has denied it.

At least six countries have opened probes into 1MDB, in a wide-ranging scandal that has ensnared financial institutions and high-ranking officials across the globe.

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who co-founded 1MDB, was sentenced to 12 years in prison last year and faces several other trials for corruption and money laundering linked to the scandal.

In 2019, US authorities struck a deal with Low to recoup a record US$1 billion in funds allegedly looted from 1MDB, which included a private jet, high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London, and other assets.

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2023-05-05 08:24:38Z
2009245156

Dr Mahathir files RM150 million defamation suit against Anwar - New Straits Times

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1. Dr Mahathir files RM150 million defamation suit against Anwar  New Straits Times
2. Malaysia's Mahathir Files Defamation Suit Against PM Anwar: Star  Bloomberg
3. Mahathir sues Anwar for RM150m over wealth claim  Malaysiakini
4. Dr M files RM150mil libel suit against Anwar  Free Malaysia Today
5. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-05-05 04:19:50Z
2009181150

Kremlin drone incident gives Putin cover to deepen Ukraine war - CNA

LONDON: The humiliating spectacle for Russia of two drones flying over the walls of the Kremlin, its historic seat of power, has spawned conflicting theories about who did it and why - but for Vladimir Putin the incident could yet prove useful politically.

Although the drones were destroyed before causing serious damage, the incident highlighted the apparent vulnerability of central Moscow to enemy drones, and prompted angry commentators to query the efficacy of Russia's air defences.

Inside Russia, it helped reinforce the Kremlin-backed narrative that its war in Ukraine is an existential one for the Russian state and people.

Coming in the run-up to its annual May 9 World War II victory parade on Moscow's Red Square - a sacred event for many Russians - and at a time when Russia is reported by the West to be racking up further heavy casualties with scant territorial gain in Ukraine, some Kremlin watchers believe its spin doctors may be hoping for a rally-around-the-flag effect.

"It's an attempt to gather all the sacred things in one statement," Alexander Baunov, a former Russian diplomat and Kremlin watcher, said of the Kremlin's response.

According to the Kremlin's version, the alleged attack had taken aim at Putin, the Russian flag on the top of the Kremlin senate building, and had cast a shadow over "Victory Day", Baunov told the Live Nail YouTube channel.

"They are trying ... to rally people around this (alleged) failed attack. It really is a patriotic mobilisation," said Baunov.

Such unity - potentially based on a combination of outrage, fear and patriotism - could prove handy at a time when Russia is bracing itself for a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive that Kyiv hopes will see it retake swathes of its territory.

After Putin's office framed the drone incident as a Ukrainian attempt on the president's life - something Kyiv denies - politicians from across Russia's political spectrum called for revenge and for Moscow to prosecute what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine in a much harsher way.

Some commentators based in the West queried whether Russia has any options left to escalate, beyond using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine - a scenario that even many hardcore Russian nationalist commentators are not yet advocating.

But Moscow does still have some options to escalate - albeit ones that would be condemned as barbaric and illegal in the West - such as targeting Ukraine's presidential administration and other government buildings in central Kyiv and openly trying to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his team in a targeted campaign.

Former president Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most prominent pro-Kremlin TV commentators, both argued for precisely such action in the aftermath of the drone incident.

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2023-05-04 19:03:00Z
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