FILE PHOTO: Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a vaccination center, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Ronquieres, Belgium April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman Doses of vaccines rejected as countries fine-tune their inoculation campaigns will go to poor countries where possible to counter a “shocking imbalance” in distribution, international health officials said on Friday. Authorities in Australia and Greece became the latest to recommend alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine for younger people over fears of possible very rare blood clots, while Hong Kong delayed deliveries, saying it had enough alternatives and did not want to waste these shots while global supplies were short. Australia’s decision effectively put paid to plans to have its population vaccinated by the end of October, highlighting the delicate public health balancing act the issue has created. Giving alternative vaccines to younger recipients will delay inoculation campaigns by around a ... » Learn More about Unwanted vaccines needed to help poor countries catch up, international health officials say
Shiv sena bjp alliance 2019
The next chief justice’s first task
In an unprecedented move, 22 organizations representing the business community appealed to the next chief justice for the uniform imposition of mandatory periods for case disposition. In a paper entitled “Need for Speedy Disposition of Court Cases,” these business organizations urged the next chief justice to lead by example and treat the periods prescribed by the Constitution to decide cases as uniformly mandatory across all levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. Relatedly, the deans of three law schools, and the local chapter of the integrated bar, in Iloilo City, representing law professors, members of the bar, and officers of the Court, petitioned the President in an “Open Letter” to appoint a chief justice who shall similarly ensure mandatory observance of the periods prescribed by the Constitution for case disposition. Both initiatives were anchored on the maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Section 16, Article III of the 1987 Constitution provides that ... » Learn More about The next chief justice’s first task
Swimming body giving $6.5M in aid for athletes
FILE PHOTO — Vladmir Morozov of Russia wins the Men’s 50m Freestyle during day one of the FINA Champions Swim Series at the Indiana University Natatorium on May 31, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Justin Casterline/Getty Images/AFP Swimming governing body FINA is giving almost $6.5 million to help athletes prepare for the postponed Tokyo Olympics. FINA says it wants to help athletes who “endure hardships related to their training and competitive opportunities due to the pandemic.” The plan includes $4 million for at least 160 national federations to support athletes with expenses for training, competitions and living over the next year. A further $2 million will support 100 scholarships for athletes who currently do not have Olympic qualifying standards to prepare at national or continental centers. FINA supports regional bases in Russia, Senegal, Thailand and the United States. Grants totaling $460,000 will go to continental swimming bodies to distribute. ... » Learn More about Swimming body giving $6.5M in aid for athletes
Hong Kong’s multimillionaire population hit record high last year even as its economy had its worst recession on record
The number of multimillionaires in Hong Kong hit a record high last year – despite the city recording its worst recession on record because of the pandemic – according to the results of a survey released by Citibank on Thursday. As many as 515,000 people in Hong Kong were estimated to have HK$10 million (US$1.28 million) each in total assets last year, up from 413,000 in 2019, according to Citibank’s Hong Kong Affluent Study 202 0, which was conducted between November last year and January this year. A multimillionaire is defined by the bank as someone who has more than HK$10 million in total net assets and at least HK$1 million in liquid assets. “The population of Hong Kong multimillionaires continues to grow unabated during the pandemic, and has even set a record high,” said Josephine Lee Kwai-chong, Citibank Hong Kong’s head of retail banking. “Even with the outbreak of the pandemic, governments around the world have taken measures to save [their economies] and stabilise the ... » Learn More about Hong Kong’s multimillionaire population hit record high last year even as its economy had its worst recession on record
Driverless buses hit the road in Chongqing
BEIJING: Starting on Monday, a commercial autonomous bus called Apollo, produced by Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc, opened to the public in the mall atrium of Shin Kong Place in Chongqing’s Yubei district. The entire journey takes about 3km without stopping. It takes 20 minutes and costs 25 yuan (RM15). Apollo can carry 14 passengers and has a battery life of 100km. The driverless travel route is set by a small touch screen. It is China’s first commercial autonomous bus entering a commercial route, according to Baidu. Apollo was launched in April 2017 in collaboration with major global carmakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Ford. Slated to enter mass production in July 2018, Apollo has started operations in Beijing, Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, with a total operating distance of more than 100,000km and safe transport of more than 110,000 people.In 2018, Baidu passed Chongqing’s automatic driving road test licence requirements. At the Smart China ... » Learn More about Driverless buses hit the road in Chongqing
Preventing pollution at river basins
SELANGOR will scrutinise preventive measures taken by contractors of infrastructure projects near rivers to ensure silt does not end up in the water bodies. State environment, green technology, tourism and indigenous affairs committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the state received proposals and approved several big infrastructure projects close to the Sungai Selangor basins, which could potentially pollute the river. Without proper preventive measures, pollution can result in the closure of all three Sungai Selangor water treatment plants (WTP), namely Sungai Selangor Phase 1 WTP, SSP 2 WTP and SSP 3 WTP, which will likely disrupt water supply to the state for a few days. “Therefore, we need to look at this matter closely to avoid any disruption in water treatment plant operations, ” Hee said after visiting the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) project site near Ampang WTP, to see the preventive measures in place. He said the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) was another major ... » Learn More about Preventing pollution at river basins
Football: Traore fires late winner as Wolves beat Fulham 1-0
LONDON -Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore struck deep into stoppage time to give his side a 1-0 win at Fulham that leaves the Londoners languishing in the bottom three of the Premier League with six games left to play. The first decent chance fell to Fulham midway through the first half as Ruben Loftus-Cheek headed just wide. That miss was indicative of Fulham's season-long struggle in attack, where they have managed 24 goals in 32 league games, and only bottom side Sheffield United have scored fewer. Wolves had a goal ruled out on the stroke of halftime by VAR when Daniel Podence was judged to have been offside before he crossed for Willian Jose to send a powerful header past Alphonse Areola. Roman Saiss had a great chance to put Wolves ahead in the 68th minute after Traore was brought down just outside the box, but he narrowly failed to hit the target with the resulting free kick. The home side pressed forward in the second half but it was Traore who came up ... » Learn More about Football: Traore fires late winner as Wolves beat Fulham 1-0
Football: Parker insists Fulham still have ‘fighting chance’ to beat drop
LONDON: Adama Traore grabbed a stoppage-time winner as Wolves beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage on Friday (Apr 9) to send the Londoners closer to relegation from the Premier League. In added time, Traore ran down the right before firing home to secure his side's first victory since mid-February. However, Fulham boss Scott Parker insists his team can still beat the drop. "We find ourselves in this position where we are, but we've got a fighting chance because of what you see at the end of the game, a team and a group of players that are desperate," he said. "We will continue, painful, hurt but as always you get your guard up and you come out swinging, and that's what we'll do." For Traore, it was an evening to remember as it was his first goal in the Premier League since December 2019. "I am so happy. We needed the points, it has been tough for us," said the Spaniard. "I have been working hard through the weeks, trying to run in behind and mix the games up. "If I can ... » Learn More about Football: Parker insists Fulham still have ‘fighting chance’ to beat drop
Football: Lille go six points clear in Ligue 1 thanks to Turkish double
PARIS: Lille climbed six points clear of title rivals Paris Saint-Germain in France's Ligue 1 on Friday (Apr 9) with a tight 2-0 win at Metz. They now lead the French top flight with 69 points from 32 games while PSG have 63, Monaco 62 and Lyon 61 ahead of their catch up games this weekend. Turkish veteran striker Burak Yilmaz got the opener on the hour and compatriot Zeki Celik scrambled home a second at the death after Lille 'keeper Mike Maignan had saved an early Metz penalty. "We had a very sluggish start to the match," admitted Lille coach Christophe Galtier. "We struggled to get the ball out. The desire to do well made us rush and we were wasteful. Mike kept us in the game by stopping the penalty." Yilmaz showed great experience, wrong footing the Metz 'keeper and shooting hard and low inside the near post to score. And as they dug deep Celik scrambled home a corner on 89 minutes to provide a harsh scoreline for the hosts. Maignan saved a 17th-minute penalty, ... » Learn More about Football: Lille go six points clear in Ligue 1 thanks to Turkish double
Taylor Swift releases re-recording of hit 2008 “Fearless” album
LONDON - American music star Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her 2008 hit album “Fearless” on Friday, as the Grammy Award winner seeks to take back control of her early catalogue. “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” features 26 tracks, including six previously unreleased songs from the vault. It has all of the original album’s 13 songs and six more from the record’s platinum version. It also features single “Today Was a Fairytale” and a remix bonus track of “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” by Swedish producer Elvira. “It was the night things changed,” Swift wrote to her 153 million Instagram followers announcing the album’s release. The 31-year-old, who has won 11 Grammy Awards, said in February she would release a re-recording of “Fearless” following a long-running dispute with her former record company Big Machine and music executive Scooter Braun over the rights to some of her biggest hits. Braun bought Big Machine in 2019 after Swift left the label in 2018 for a new deal ... » Learn More about Taylor Swift releases re-recording of hit 2008 “Fearless” album