Cameroonian LGBT activist champions imprisoned transgender women
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in Cameroon, punishable by up to five years in prison. she said about gatherings she would attend with members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Manchester. As LGBT rights have advanced in countries around the world, Kiki said she had watched with disappointment as her own government doubled down on homophobic policies. In recent weeks, she has been promoting a high-profile case from Cameroon in which two transgender women were arrested in February for wearing women's clothing at a restaurant and were charged this month with "attempted homosexuality". Kiki says the crackdown on Cameroon's LGBT community is just a symptom of a larger problem throughout Cameroonian society.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 09:14 UTC
COMMENT: The pandemic will be more deadly this year — particularly for India
That’s as bad as the U.S. during all but the worst five days of the pandemic in December and early January. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan declared the country “in the endgame of the COVID-19 pandemic” in early March, at almost precisely the point that cases started to surge again. Close to 10% of people returning to Gujarat’s largest city, Ahmedabad, from the festival tested positive for COVID-19 recently, the Press Trust of India reported. The 1.2 million people who’ve died from COVID-19 so far this year already represent about two-thirds of the 1.8 million fatalities in 2020. That’s removing the sense of unified urgency that led many nations to make such strides in turning around the pandemic last year.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 08:03 UTC
Dafi the dog: How a runaway poodle brought Malaysians together
PETALING JAYA: There once was a little lost poodle named Dafi, who had no idea that it would bring out the best in Malaysians and unite many as a whole. A big applause to all of you and may the Almighty bless you always," said Facebook user Mini Rahmat, in a post on The Star's Facebook page. The video on The Star's Facebook page garnered over 500 shares after being up for just an hour, and Malaysians are unanimously revelling in the positivity that the whole situation has conjured. The poodle's owner, Steven Chong, said in a Facebook post that it broke his heart to see his poodle Dafi running aimlessly on the streets and looking scared. It has been 10 days since Dafi went missing," he said.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 07:30 UTC
'Enough is enough', Mitchell welcomes action on online racism
New South Wales police last Friday charged the two men with sending abusive messages to the South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback, who is the great-nephew of Grand Slam tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Mitchell said he had previously engaged with the abusers online but conceded that had been "wasting energy". Players from several sports in Australia have complained of becoming targets of online trolls who have lost bets because of the outcome of games. "This is the standard that I've set and for anyone in the rugby league community or just in the general community just to call it out," Mitchell said. England's soccer authorities on Sunday announced a social media boycott next weekend in response to continued online racist abuse of players.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 07:24 UTC
US 'animosity' towards Russia will draw Moscow and Beijing closer
By earning the trust and friendship of President Putin; especially when US President Joe Biden openly referred to Putin as a "killer," such US animosity towards Russia can only make Moscow and Beijing closer. The speech prompted 12 envoys of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) and Israel to leave the reception. Be that as it may, on Aug 24,1963, at the invitation of General Tito of Yugoslavia, Khrushchev explained" "I once said 'we shall bury you' and got into all kinds of trouble. "What I meant was the 'proletariat' (the working class) shall be the ones to bury America," he said. "Wolf Warriors" is a movie, so how could a box office movie become the face of Chinese foreign policy?
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 06:45 UTC
Slow and steady recovery for M-REITs
Hence, industrial REITs are expected to be heavily weighted in REIT funds.”He points out that only two M-REITs are solely focused on the industrial sector — Axis REIT and Atrium REIT. Meanwhile, for industrial REITs, the segment has been steady all along, backed by exceptional growth of the e-commerce sector that was seen during the pandemic,” it adds. “We also favour Sunway REIT for its diversified investment portfolio, which includes retail malls, hotels, offices, a university and a hospital. At its closing price, the REIT’s distribution yield is about 3.9%. On whether it is a good time to buy M-REITs, Choo says REIT investors are in it for the distribution yields and defensive nature of the sector.
Source:The Edge Markets
April 26, 2021 06:11 UTC
Indian hospitals swamped by coronavirus as countries promise aid
NEW DELHI (April 26): India's new coronavirus infections hit a record peak for a fifth day on Monday, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid to help battle the crisis overwhelming its hospitals. "If you've never been to a cremation, the smell of death never leaves you," Vipin Narang, a political science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, said on Twitter. On Sunday, President Joe Biden said the United States would send raw materials for vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to India. Hospitals in Modi's western home state of Gujarat also face an acute shortage of oxygen, doctors said. Air travel has been suspended since Bangladesh imposed a lockdown on April 14 to combat record infections and deaths.
Source:The Edge Markets
April 26, 2021 05:15 UTC
Barcelona test can be a platform to success in claycourt season: Nadal
(Reuters) - World number two Rafa Nadal said his gruelling 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday could prepare him for long battles ahead in the European claycourt season. The 34-year-old, who claimed a record-extending 12th Barcelona title, suffered a back injury in Melbourne earlier this year before he was beaten by Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarter-finals. It's true that matches like today make me feel better physically and more ready for long battles," Nadal told reporters. "I think I've been able to play better and better during the whole week in every single match and today was a bit better than yesterday. Nadal will next be in action at the Madrid Open in early May.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 05:03 UTC
Recovered, but still suffering from long Covid
One example is the impact of hospitals filled up with Covid-19 cases on the management and outcome of other diseases. Symptoms related to Covid-19 manifest in different ways, and how long they last differs between individuals. They can be classified into a number of subgroups:Respiratory Symptoms include breathlessness, coughing and the need for supplemental oxygen. Mental health Symptoms include anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, post-traumatic stress disorder, headaches, and a disturbance or slowing down cognitive function (also known as “brain fog”). Future needsAs we see the number of active cases go up, it is inevitable that we will have more patients with long Covid syndrome.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 04:52 UTC
Mouth-watering Malaysian meals at these hotels
Enjoy beloved home-cooked dishes and hawker favourites at The Courtyard at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur. photo: The Majestic KLContango, at the Majestic Kuala Lumpur, serves up an exciting gastronomic adventure from live cooking stations, freshly prepared to order and served to your table. Popular favouritesPreviously Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur, EQ Kuala Lumpur returns with Citarasa Nipah, a diverse buffet spread of over 100 delectable traditional Malay and Southeast Asian dishes. Hearty Malaysian mealsFor those living in Johor, check out what the Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast has to offer in terms of meals for breaking fast. The Malaysian Ensemble Buffet Dinner is available until May 12, 2021 at Sessions of Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 04:31 UTC
People plead for food as markets shuttered
All markets in the capital city have been closed to contain a surge in coronavirus infections as thousands of families plead for food.Phnom Penh went into lockdown on April 15 and has declared some districts “red zones, ” banning people from leaving their homes except for medical reasons. In a new order issued late on Friday, Phnom Penh City Hall closed all markets from Saturday until May 7, adding that they have seen rising infections in markets and urging vendors and guards to get tested for Covid-19. A government Telegram group set up recently for people seeking emergency food aid has received thousands of requests. “I and my family ask for immediate assistance in the form of essential daily food... I have completely lost my family income due to the lockdown, ” said Thorn Meng, who has a family of five.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 01:07 UTC
Missing submarine found
A missing submarine has been found cracked apart on the seabed in waters off Bali, the military said, as it confirmed that all 53 crew perished in the disaster. They had used an underwater submarine rescue vehicle supplied by Singapore to get a visual confirmation of the KRI Nanggala 402. The discovery comes a day after the navy had first confirmed the retrieval of fragments from the submarine, including items from inside the vessel. “All Indonesians convey their deep sadness over this incident, especially to the families of the submarine crew, ” he said. Authorities have not given an official explanation for the accident, but said that the submarine may have suffered a blackout and left its crew unable to resurface.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 01:02 UTC
Big Smile, No Teeth: First, 'kill all your darlings'
Then maybe we should talk about the Creative Cliff Illusion. The Creative Cliff Illusion is the concept that our creativity on any given topic declines over time. Often your best work is done when you’re not thinking directly about a project. Outside of writing, murder your darlings may mean getting rid of ideas you’ve become attached to. Big Smile, No Teeth columnist Jason Godfrey – who once was told to give the camera a ‘big smile, no teeth’ – has worked internationally for two decades in fashion and continues to work in dramas, documentaries, and lifestyle programming.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 00:56 UTC
Get the facts right on Lynas and Australian government
SEVERAL media outlets recently repeated claims that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to drop licence conditions imposed on Lynas in August 2019. The Australian government did not request the Malaysian government to remove or change the conditions in the six-month licence Lynas was granted on Aug 15,2019. In fact, the Australian government welcomed the decision by the Malaysian government to grant Lynas a six-month licence and a three-year licence in February 2020. Likewise, Lynas announced it expected to satisfy the new conditions in its licence. But participants in this debate, including the media, should get their facts right.
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 00:45 UTC
Built heritage is part of our history
And to echo the New Straits Times’ leader of April 24, the issue, of course, should not be politicised. Secondly, from the perspective of Malaysia’s built heritage, the encouraging statement by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister about gazetting CBN as a heritage site is timely and welcome and should be strongly supported. CBN is part of this nation’s heritage. Built heritage is part of our history. TAN SRI LEO MOGGIE ,Kuala Lumpur
Source:The Star
April 26, 2021 00:45 UTC