World

RIYH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (Jun 23) said only around 1,000 pilgrims of various nationalities already in the kingdom will be allowed to perform a dramatically scaled-down Haj, as it battles a coronavirus surge. The decision to exclude pilgrims outside Saudi Arabia, a first in the kingdom's modern history, sparked disappointment among Muslims worldwide even as many accepted it was necessary due to the health risks involved. The reduced number is a far cry from the 2.5 million who attended the five-day ritual last year and it remains unclear what the selection process will be for this year's Haj, scheduled for the end of July. "The number of pilgrims will be around 1,000, maybe less, maybe a little more," HajMinister Mohammad Benten told reporters in Riyadh. "The number won't be in...

U.S. legislation introduced on Tuesday would create a taxpayer-backed insurance program to protect businesses from revenue losses during future pandemics and require insurers to pay a slice of the claims. REUTERS: U.S. legislation introduced on Tuesday would create a taxpayer-backed insurance program to protect businesses from revenue losses during future pandemics and require insurers to pay a slice of the claims. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, would provide up to US$750 billion in taxpayer funds to pay insurance claims for business loss revenue during future pandemics. Insurers would first have to pay out a total of US$250 million in losses, according to the bill. Insurers are turning their focus to future pandemics after facing laws...

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leaders aligned to party founder Mahathir Mohamad have been removed from their posts. In letters dated Jun 2 and signed by party president Muhyiddin Yassin, Mr Marzuki Yahya and Mr Akramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi were informed that they have been relieved of their duties as Penang chief and supreme council member respectively. This came after Dr Mahathir and four others had their memberships nullified last week, following their decision not to sit with the newly formed Perikatan Nasional (PN) government headed by Mr Muhyiddin in the parliament sitting on May 18. However, Dr Mahathir had disputed the legitimacy of the termination and insisted that he is still the party chairman. Similarly, Mr Marzuki maintained that he is s...

My junior and senior years in high school were 1968 and 1969; five decades later, I can still remember some of the main events of that era: the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the bombing of Cambodia, the Apollo 8 spaceflight that orbited the moon, and Woodstock, which I pleaded with my parents to let me attend. (They said no.) In my personal life, I remember playing on the basketball team, buying my first car, working in my family’s corner grocery store and wishing I had the nerve to ask certain girls out on a date. Here’s what I don’t remember: the pandemic of 1968-1969. And yet there was one. It was called the H3N2 virus — less formally, the Hong Kong flu — and it took a significant toll. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 1 m...

Kevin O'Leary: Now is the time to start your business Lately, when Kevin O'Leary is asked the question, "Is now a good time to start a business?" he replies, "Yes, it is!" O'Leary says because so many people have time to sit and think, it's a wonderful time to start a business leveraging the growing popularity of online services.

While major countries vie for economic dominance, smaller nations could actually be more effective locations for individuals to work and do business in, according to a new report. The U.S. and China both flopped in the 2020 World Competitive Ranking from the Institute for Management Development (IMD) as ongoing trade tensions continue to weigh on their international standing making way for smaller economies. Singapore maintained its top spot for the second year running, while Denmark jumped six places to steal second position. The top five was rounded out by fellow European risers Switzerland (3rd) and the Netherlands (4th). Hong Kong (5th) fell three spots from 2019. The U.S. (10th) and China (20th), meanwhile, fell seven and six places respectively. The top 10 most competitive places...

The World Trade Organisation has thrown out the final legal challenge to Australia's tobacco plain packaging laws. Now more countries across the world can implement this game-changing public health policy, says a University of Sydney researcher. SYDNEY: The decision, handed down on Jun 9 by the World Trade Organization’s appeals body, that Australia’s plain packaging tobacco control policy doesn’t flout WTO laws marks the end of almost a decade of legal wrangling over this landmark public health policy. More importantly, it paves the way for other nations around the world to follow Australia’s lead. In 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to implement tobacco plain packaging laws, having recognised that the tobacco industry uses packaging both to market cigarettes a...

I was sent scrambling for my dictionary on June 4 when Finance Minister Taro Aso declared that the different “mindo” between Japan and other countries was the reason behind Japan’s low COVID-19 death rate. A quintessentially nebulous Japanese word, mindo denotes the standard of living and cultural level of a people, and can variously be used to refer to a population’s degree of maturity in terms of intellectual, educational, and cultural levels, or behaviors. The word “mindo” was created during the Meiji Ea (1868-1912), a time when Japan became interested in comparing itself with other countries. Inherent in it is a sense of judgement about which populations’ “level” or “standards” are higher or lower. Scholar Michael Kim notes that during the colonization of Korea, “The Japanese deploye...

Significant reductions in prize money will be the new reality for tennis players when the ATP and WTA Tours resume, according to Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez. LONDON: Significant reductions in prize money will be the new reality for tennis players when the ATP and WTA Tours resume, according to Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez. "We have to understand that tennis is not going to be the same, at least for one, two, three years. I don't know how long," Lopez, who should have been preparing to defend his Queen's Club title next week, said on Sunday. No professional tournaments have been held since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown will continue until August. Wimbledon was cancelled altogether while the French Open has been moved to September. A decision over whe...

Musk has long displayed a hatred of being told what to do, says the Financial Times’ Patrick McGee. SAN FRANCISCO: Of course it was going to be Elon Musk. This week, the Tesla chief executive thrust himself to the forefront of America’s anti-lockdown movement by threatening to “immediately” relocate the electric car group’s California headquarters to Texas or Nevada; filing a lawsuit; and then restarting production at the company’s Fremont plant in defiance of authorities. Mr Musk may be one of the world’s loudest clean energy advocates, having almost single-handedly jump-started the market for electric cars. But he has long displayed the same hatred of being told what to do that fuels the gun-toting protesters who stormed Michigan’s state house to protest anti-coronavirus measures...