PETALING JAYA: The government is prepared to re-examine the new criteria imposed on the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (pic). However, he did not elaborate or indicate when ministry officials would meet to review the conditions. The Johor Ruler said the new requirements would dampen foreigners’ interest while forcing existing MM2H pass holders to leave the country. “The MM2H programme impacts several sectors of the economy such as property developers, banks, retailers, tourism and education. Between 2002 and 2019, the MM2H programme generated a cumulative income of RM11.89bil through fees and visa charges, purchase of properties and vehicles, fixed deposits and monthly household expenditures.

“At last count, more than 50% of operators in the wedding services industry have closed down. “Immediate loan approvals, especially, was not easy as banks considered the wedding industry as high risk, akin to tourism. But in spite of it all, he said SS2 wedding services providers were supportive of the National Security Council’s (NSC) decision to shutter non-essential services until it was deemed safe. “It has been challenging because only 20% of my staff are willing to do online marketing. “But I am keeping the social media platform for our wedding business active to tell our clients that we are still around,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Social cohesion, national integration and racial unity are key to tackling all challenges, including Covid-19, in Malaysia, says Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. He said His Majesty also expressed gratitude that, as the country celebrated its 64th anniversary of Independence, the people’s unity and harmony remained as the strong foundation to maintain stability, peace and prosperity in the country. The King also expressed gratitude to all frontliners from the health sector, security forces and civil service, as well as volunteers and individuals who had contributed to the community and the country in general, he added. Sultan Abdullah also wished Happy National Day to all Malaysians in the country and abroad. “His Majesty also expressed the highest gratitude to Allah for the opportunity granted to him and all Malaysians to celebrate National Day this year,” Ahmad Fadil added.

“The oil and grease content in the water is reduced due to the absence of tourist boats. Prof Tan said checks showed that the jellyfish population – triggered by excess nutrients that jellyfish larvae depend on – had also dropped. “The common ribbon jellyfish population is significantly lower due to reduced phytoplankton at sea, which leads to reduced zooplankton, which is food for jellyfish. She said it would be difficult to compare the improvements in the water quality from last year’s initial MCO as there was a complete halt in public movement then. “We are facing new challenges, including the uncontrolled disposal of face masks and gloves in our environment as well,” Prof Tan said.

GEORGE TOWN: For some students, art is the best way to showcase their love for the country. Noor Syaza Wardina,12, drew a painting featuring frontliners who work tirelessly in Malaysia’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. “I have drawn an army personnel, a doctor, a nurse and a policeman to convey my appreciation for their sacrifices. I also put in this year’s National Day theme, which is Malaysia Prihatin (Malaysia Cares).”She took just one day to get it done. She said that drawing was her hobby, so she was excited to show her love for Malaysia through art.

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) called on the people to embrace the theme of the 2021 National Day celebration, “Caring Malaysia”. In a post on his official Facebook, the Prime Minister stated that caring is a trait that must be present in every community in the country. “As such, we should embrace the theme and be caring. The Prime Minister also wished Happy National Day 2021 to all Malaysians. The 2021 National Day celebration was held under the “new normal” at Dataran Pahlawan Negara, Putrajaya.

Despite being fully vaccinated, we can still get infected. “I don’t think I will go out more often if Klang Valley moves to Phase Two,” he said. Self-employed T. Kumar, 25, has no problems going out once Klang Valley has transitioned to Phase 2. Meanwhile, returning locals and foreigners who are fully vaccinated are also allowed to be quarantined at home. Travellers who are not fully vaccinated, however, are required to be quarantined at designated sites by the Health Ministry.

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday announced plans to vastly expand its network of electric vehicle charging points in Britain, aiming to install 50,000 on-street posts by 2025. Shell will implement the plans through ubitricity, an on-street charging point company that it acquired in February which operates around 3,600 chargers in Britain. According to a recent government report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electric-vehicle-charging-market-study-final-report/final-report, between 280,000 and 480,000 charging points will be needed in Britain by 2030, compared with today's 25,000 spots. To support its charging point expansion in Britain, Shell plans to help local authorities finance their installation. The Anglo-Dutch company, which did not provide details on the cost of the initiative, will make money through selling its power at the charging points.

The social network is once again betting big on its audio format by deploying “Ticketed Spaces”, these paid audio rooms, more widely, for a handful of users. Some users can get in on the action as of now with “Ticketed Spaces”, audio rooms with paid entry. know that it’s taking us a little time, but we want to get this right for you!” the official Twitter Spaces account reads. For some time now, Twitter has been regularly introducing new features to boost its audio rooms and its Spaces format. With new features and a new interface, will audio become a key area of use for Twitter users?

“If the situation improves next year, I will request to be on home quarantine in Johor. Azizan lauded the government’s decision to let Malaysians returning from overseas apply for home quarantine. “I have no plans to return yet as we still have to pay for the quarantine fees when we re-enter Singapore. “There are also some conditions for us to fulfil before we could be eligible for home quarantine in Johor,” she said. Among others, fully vaccinated travellers from overseas entering Malaysia, including Malaysians returning from abroad, would be allowed to self-quarantine at home.

MADRID (Reuters) - Chelsea on Tuesday secured the late deadline day loan signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez. The deal was thrown into doubt as the transfer had not been confirmed by either club before the midnight CET deadline. "We welcome Saul to the Club and believe he completes our squad as we compete for honours in five different competitions this season," Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said. The Spain international, who came through the Atleti academy after joining aged 13 and made 340 appearances for the club, joins Chelsea on a temporary basis until the end of the season. Local media reports said the European champions had paid a 5 million euro ($5.90 million) loan fee to secure his services, with a 40 million euro option to buy included in the deal.

The 18-year-old reclaimed his place in Group A (top division) of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) junior ranking challenge after topping the boys’ singles Group A-B playoffs at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) yesterday. Anson’s two victories over V. Poopathi (21-16, 21-19) and Chua Kim Sheng (21-13, 21-12) were enough for him to top the four-player standings with two points. Kim Sheng and Poopathi, the bottom two finishers in Group A last week, were pitted against Group B champion Anson and runner-up Jan Jireh in the two-day playoffs. No thanks to a hip injury, Anson was relegated from Group A during last year’s challenge in November. “As one of the 18-year-old players together with Kim Sheng, the pressure is on us to deliver.

IT has been more than 18 months since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia and yet Sabah is still struggling to contain the spread of the disease. The move to change the state’s Health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi in July 2021 was unwise and ill planned. Many appointments in Sabah have been changed due to the uncertain supply of vaccines, and administration of the second dose has been delayed unnecessarily as a result. In centres like the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan, there is only one week’s supply of the tests left. To the new Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, we urge you to come down to the ground and listen to us.

(Reuters) -Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday that content from its streaming service Hotstar — home to India's IPL cricket tournament and original shows like "Aarya" — will migrate to its ESPN+ and Hulu streaming platforms in the United States. Disney, which has 174 million paying customers across its four streaming services, is looking to slowly consolidate its content into a Disney Bundle, which includes ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+ and more than 100,000 movies, TV episodes as well as sports events. Sports content from Hotstar will move to ESPN+, and Hotstar movies as well as TV shows will migrate to Hulu, which is home to series like "The Handmaid's Tale". A Hotstar annual subscription costs $49.99 per year, while the Disney Bundle, which starts at $13.99 per month, will cost subscribers at least $167.88 for a year. Hotstar users in the U.S. will receive a redemption code to avail an offer to shift their subscriptions to the entire Disney bundle, at no cost.

NEW DELHI: Prosus NV has agreed to acquire Indian online payments service BillDesk for 345 billion rupees (US$4.7bil or RM19.5bil), making its largest global acquisition to date in the Asian nation. The European investment powerhouse’s PayU unit has struck a deal to buy the 11-year-old startup, creating a digital payments giant with a total volume of US$147bil (RM612bil). It will take Prosus’ investment in India to more than US$10bil (RM42bil) to date, the company said in a statement. Prosus, whose biggest investment is Tencent Holdings Ltd, will be getting in on an Indian payments arena on the cusp of taking off. BillDesk, backed by Visa, was one of the pioneers of online payments in India alongside larger rival Paytm.