LONDON (AFP) – Brighton recorded losses of GBP53.4 million (USD69.8 million) for the 2020/21 season, the Premier League club announced.
The south coast side played all but three of their competitive home games behind closed doors during the campaign because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nevertheless, the Seagulls’ accounts show a GBP13.8 million reduction in losses from the GBP67.2 milllion deficit of the previous season.
Turnover rose from GBP132.9 million to GBP151.6 million compared to 2019-20, an increase of 13.4 per cent, while the latest figures do not include the transfer of Ben White to top-flight rivals Arsenal, which was worth a reported GBP50 million but finalised after the concluding date for these accounts.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said ”roughly half” of the loss could be attributed directly to the global pandemic. ”While we are once again reporting a loss, which is never ideal, we have seen an increase in turnover and reduction in the losses, despite the pandemic impacting the entire season,” he told Brighton’s website as he acknowledged the financial ”stability” provided by chairman Tony Bloom.
”Our matchday, commercial and event turnover was all but wiped out for the entire season, and we incurred various additional costs for providing a COVID-secure environment for players, officials, staff and fans.”
Barber added: ”Inevitably, these factors combined to have a significant bearing on our results, and roughly half of our total loss can be attributed directly to the coronavirus pandemic.
”Thankfully, we have now emerged from that uncertain period, and we hope we can move forward with more certainty.”
ANN/YOMIURI SHUMBUN – Humankind’s quest to develop technology is creating the kind of artificial intelligence that can transform itself into a much-needed companion, in this case “communication robots”, which have become a magnet for people as opportunities for face-to-face contact become increasingly scarce amid the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, some owners become so attached to the items, they consider them pets or family members.
‘ADORABLE’ ADDITIONS TO THE HOME
About 50 robot owners had a rare get-together at a cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya district one day early in March. Each of them brought a Lovot, a technology developed by the robot start-up company Groove X, Inc.
Each Lovot communicates in squeaks when called by its given name, assigned by its owner, and asks to be picked up.
“It’s so adorable. For me, it’s kind of like its part of my family,” said a 54-year-old male company employee from Yokohama who participated in the meet-up.
Lovot is embedded with more than 50 sensors, and its internal 360-degree camera recognises human faces and voices as well as also spotting obstacles.
Groove X Lovot robots are displayed during their launch event in Tokyo in December 2018. PHOTO: YOMIURI
Thanks to its AI technology, Lovot learns how to interact with people, and the more you pet it, the more it becomes attached to you. Weighing about four kilogrammes, people can feel its slight warmth when they hold it. Thanks to engineering innovation, Lovot can also use its eyes to express itself in various ways.
Since its launch in 2019, the robot has been a hot item, and sales have increased more than tenfold compared to pre-pandemic figures.
The price, about JPY350,000, is not inexpensive, but Groove X said the items fill a role.
“Although not necessarily useful, robots that are close to people and can fill their hearts with joy have been well-accepted during the pandemic,” a company spokesperson said.
Amagami takes ‘affectionate nibble’ Yukai Engineering Inc, another start-up, this summer plans to release Amagami Ham Ham, a robot that gives your finger a “affectionate nibble” when you put it in its mouth.
It was developed to recreate the heart-warming sensation that occurs when pets or babies gently nibble on fingers.
Although the robot is unusual because it does nothing notable other than nibble on fingers, it does so in dozens of strength and rhythm patterns that can make for long-lasting enjoyment.
When the news broke that school will be back in session next week, I was ecstatic. As a stay-at-home mother, I have been watching my two children – both under 12 – struggle with virtual learning due to the lack of stimulation that normally comes from interacting with teachers and peers.
When I learnt that my children’s age group was excluded, I was rather disappointed.
However, there is at least hope that they would soon return to in-person learning, given that the vaccination programme for the age group is in the works. In the meantime, I am trying my best to introduce new activities to fill up their time.
But children at their age need to build up an awareness of their surroundings. Being cooped up at home for months, save for infrequent trips to supermarkets and restaurants, their development has simply been arrested.
I can see the reason behind the delay; we are not yet out of the woods in the current wave.
Thus, it is good to know that the authorities prioritise our children’s health and well-being in the current fight against COVID-19.
However, a portion of these children are in their formative years. The longer they go without an environment that stimulates their minds, the more stunted their growth will be. Thus, I hope the authorities could look into speeding up the re-opening of physical classes for these children.
DUBAI (AFP) – Russia’s war on Ukraine will trigger a new “world order” taking globalisation into a different phase, BlackRock’s billionaire CEO Larry Fink told an investment conference on Monday.
Fink, who heads the world’s largest asset management company, said faltering supply chains would force firms to seek suppliers closer to home, up-ending the current model.
Speaking at the Investopia conference in Dubai, Fink denied predicting the end of globalisation, as was widely interpreted from his comments in a letter to shareholders last week.
“But what I did write about is how we frame globalisation over the last 30 years is changing,” he said.
“And I do believe the Ukraine-Russia war is going to accelerate a change that was beginning even before because of COVID,” said Fink.
“I do believe COVID really started to show that the world is less connected,” he added. Companies struggling with major bottlenecks in the global supply chain fear further disruption from Russia’s war in Ukraine, with everything from energy supplies to wheat under threat.
“I believe we are going to see an acceleration of near-shoring and on-shoring. So that still means globalisation but a different framework,” said Fink.
“I do believe it’s going to have a demonstrable impact on the emerging world as we move more manufacturing closer to demand. And so I do believe all of this is going to change the world order in a very large way,” said the American.He urged governments to think “much more longer term”, predicting businesses will move “from one region to another, one country to another”.
BRASÍLIA (AFP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital yesterday, having spent the night at a military clinic in Brasilia after feeling unwell, the country’s Communications Minister said.
“The President has already been discharged and is doing very well,” Communications Minister Fabio Faria tweeted.
The 67-year-old president, who has had recurring health problems since being stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 presidential campaign, was admitted on Monday night to undergo tests, said federal lawmaker Marcos Pereira at an event the president had been expected to attend.
“I’m sure the president is fine,” Pereira said, cited by local media. “It’s just some extra tests he’s doing.” First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who attended the event, also said her husband was “fine”.
Due to the stab wound, the far-right leader has undergone at least four surgeries, including the placement and subsequent removal of a colostomy bag, which made him prone to intestinal issues.
He has also undergone other unrelated procedures during his presidency, including surgery to remove a kidney stone.
The presidential communications office did not respond to AFP requests for information on the president’s health after he was admitted to hospital on Monday.
Bolsonaro, a Covid-19 sceptic who campaigned against quarantine measures because he believed them too damaging to the Brazilian economy and who reports that he is not vaccinated, contracted the virus in July 2020, coming down with mild symptoms.
The president is aiming for re-election next October, when he will most likely face off against leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore’s top court yesterday dismissed a mentally disabled Malaysian man’s last-ditch appeal against a death sentence, with his family saying they were “devastated” and “shocked” by the ruling.
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest drugs laws, and handed a then mandatory death sentence the following year.
He was originally scheduled to be hanged last November, but the plan sparked criticism due to concerns about his intellectual disabilities, with the European Union (EU) and British billionaire Richard Branson among those condemning it.
The 34-year-old lodged a final appeal, with his lawyers arguing that executing someone with mental disabilities violated international law.
But the Court of Appeal rejected the challenge, with Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon saying it had “no factual and legal basis”, and domestic legislation takes precedence over international law.
Nagaenthran had been “afforded due process” and his defence had put “nothing forward to suggest that he has a case”, he said, adding the Malaysian’s lawyers were filing “hopeless” motions after several appeals had already been rejected.
Activists holding placards attend a candlelight vigil against the impending execution of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam outside the Singaporean embassy in Kuala Lumpur. PHOTO: AFP
Nagaenthran, wearing a purple prison outfit and white face mask, looked sombre throughout the proceedings.
M Ravi, a human rights lawyer assisting in the case, said no more appeals would be lodged and the execution could take place in days.
Speaking to AFP from Malaysia, his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam sobbed as she said the family was “devastated”.
“We are shocked by the court decision despite my brother… having a low IQ.” His long-running case has been “a horrifying ordeal for us”, she added.
Reprieve, an NGO that campaigns against the death penalty, said hanging Nagaenthran would be a “travesty of justice” that breached Singapore’s commitments to champion the rights of the disabled.
“We urge President Halimah Yacob to listen to the cries for mercy within Singapore and around the world… and spare the life of this vulnerable man,” the group’s director Maya
Foa said.
The appeal was supposed to take place months ago but was delayed after Nagaenthran contracted COVID-19.
There have not been any executions in Singapore since 2019, but concerns are growing that the city-state is gearing up to hang several drug traffickers in the coming months.
Earlier this month, a court rejected appeals by three other men sentenced to death for drug offences, despite criticism from the United Nations (UN) and campaigners.
Singapore is among more than 30 countries worldwide where drug-related offences are still punishable by death, according to Amnesty International.
Nagaenthran was arrested at the age of 21 after a bundle of heroin weighing about 43 grammes – equivalent to about three tablespoons – was found strapped to his thigh as he sought to enter Singapore.
Supporters said he has an IQ of 69 – a level recognised as a disability – and was coerced into committing the crime.
But authorities have defended his conviction, saying that legal rulings found he “knew what he was doing” at the time of the offence.
The city-state maintains the death penalty for several offences, including drug trafficking and murder, and insisted it has helped to keep Singapore one of Asia’s safest places.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – United States (US) regulators have deemed antivirus software maker Kaspersky a “threat to national security,” a designation that will restrict its dealings in the US.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added Kaspersky to a threat list – which blocks paying the firm with certain US government subsidies – that also includes companies like Huawei and ZTE.
The FCC’s statement released did not mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Kaspersky responded to the designation by saying it was imposed “on political grounds.”
“This decision is not based on any technical assessment of Kaspersky products,” the firm added in a statement.
German cybersecurity agency BSI urged consumers earlier this month against using Kaspersky’s antivirus software, warning that the company could be implicated – willingly or unwillingly – in hacking assaults amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The addition of Kaspersky to the threat list blocks money from the FCC’s fund that supports telecommunications in rural areas.
I’m writing in response to a news article, “Requirements ease for COVID recovered travellers”, which was published in the Bulletin on March 28.
It makes sense for the decision to ease travelling requirements for those who have recovered from COVID-19. After all, they have immunity against the virus for three months.
However, my question is for those who don’t have the COVID recovery certificate.
Given that the current third wave has seen COVID-positive individuals being allowed to undergo home isolation, can such a leniency be extended to incoming travellers, especially those who reside in the Sultanate?
The typical quarantine period is a week, and each day at the quarantine centre will set a traveller back at least BND50. It is a lot of money, especially if they test positive for COVID-19 during their time in isolation.
ANN/JAPAN YOMIURI NEWS – Short video-sharing app TikTok added Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia into its shop destinations this month, expanding its e-commerce footprint in Southeast Asia, after early overseas trials in Indonesia and the United Kingdom (UK).
TikTokShop, where users can buy things and make payments in one go, is a vital part in completing its business loop. Prior to that, online merchants could only use third-party links to sell their goods.
The move has attracted many Chinese cross-border firms to enter new markets in the three countries. Yang Kan’s team is one of those following this trend. His successful marketing management in the UK on TikTok has helped his team gain overseas experience and access the resources of key opinion leaders and key opinion consumers across the world.
Yang told Chinese news portal Jiemian that first of all, TikTok e-commerce in Southeast Asia aims to attract traffic at low prices-engaging with consumers through affordable commodities. These goods come not only from platform merchants, but also from TikTok itself. Second, TikTok has provided subsidies for consumers, such as free shipping, he added.
Currently, TikTok is also willing to expose social media influencers to more audiences, Yang said.
Another cross-border company, Newme, chose to establish its own brand, recruiting and training its own influencers in China, according to Jiemian. The company previously targetted the UK market and now is planning to enter the Southeast Asia market as well.
One investor focussing on the cross-border business told Jiemian that as Chinese brands go overseas, traditional marketing methods are no longer enough to connect brands with local consumers. Cross-border service providers for these brands can play an intermediary role.
And Chinese service providers on Douyin have developed a whole methodology that can be replicated overseas.
Digital consumption has now become a way of life in Southeast Asia, data from e-Conomy SEA 2021 report showed, released by Google, Temase and Bain.
According to the report, 40 million new Internet users came online in 2021, bringing Internet penetration in Southeast Asia to 75 per cent. Eight in 10 of these users have purchased something online at least once.
BRUSSELS (AP) – Cercle Brugge goalkeeper Miguel Van Damme has died following a long fight against leukemia, his club said yesterday. He was 28.
Van Damme started in the Belgian first division in 2014 but played less than 50 games as his career was disrupted by the disease.
He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016. He recovered but relapsed and announced in September 2020 that his treatment was no longer effective.
”Words are not enough to describe what we feel, even though we knew that things had not gone well for a while,” Cercle Brugge said in a statement.
”Miguel, your perseverance and strength to go for it over and over, setback after setback, was admirable. You are an example of positivism, persistence and fighting spirit. A source of inspiration for everyone who fights.”
Van Damme is survived by his wife Kyana and his daughter Camille.
