BERLIN (AFP) – Canadian winger Alphonso Davies insists there is no problem with his heart as he hopes to make his Bayern Munich return next month after recovering from COVID.
The 21-year-old has been sidelined since December having been diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, after he tested positive for coronavirus in January.
“I’m happy to be back. The rehab is going well so far,” Davies told the Bayern website.
“I have no problems with my muscles and heart, but I’m not at 100 per cent – yet!”
FRANKFURT (AFP) – The mood of consumers in Germany has darkened significantly as the Russian invasion of Ukraine dimmed the outlook for Europe’s largest economy, according to a key survey published yesterday.
Pollster GfK’s forward-looking barometer fell to minus 15.5 per cent for April from a revised minus 8.5 per cent in March.
Hopes that the lifting of coronavirus-related health restrictions would propel an economic recovery had “evaporated” with the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said.
The shock was felt particularly hard by income expectations, which fell by 25 points to minus 22.1 in March, its lowest level since January 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis.
The conflict has given a new push to already high inflation, sending the cost for oil and gas rocketing amid fears that supplies from Russia could be severely curtailed. Rising fuel bills means “consumers see their purchasing power melting away”, the GfK said in a statement.
Consumer prices rose at a rate of 5.1 per cent in February, with new figures for March set to be published today.
Germany’s reliance on imports of Russian gas to heat its homes and power its industry meant the country was particularly vulnerable to the economic impact of the war.
The GfK survey of some 2,000 people found that Germans were significantly more pessimistic about the state of the economy, with the indicator falling 33 points to minus 8.9 in March, having risen in the last two months.
The impact of sanctions, high energy costs and supply chains broken by the outbreak of the war mean “the risk of a recession has risen sharply”, the pollster said.
The Supreme Court and the Subordinate Court along with their payment counters will be closed tomorrow morning, the State Judiciary Department said in a release yesterday.
The closure is due to the opening of the Legal Year 2022 ceremony.
The courts and payment counters will be open at 2pm on the same day.
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN (AP) – South Sudan’s vice president is urging regional mediators to intervene to protect the country’s fragile peace deal, warning of a return to war amid alleged attacks by government troops on his forces.
Riek Machar accused President Salva Kiir of violating a 2018 truce in a letter to the regional mediator, the eight-nation Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
“The security situation in South Sudan has been deteriorating for the last few months,“ Machar said in the letter. “Therefore, we request, as a matter of urgency, the intervention of IGAD and other international partners to prevail on President Salva Kiir not to take this country back to war.“
There was heavy military deployment in the capital, Juba, on Monday near the international airport and the presidential palace, highlighting growing tensions.
Puok Both, a spokesman for Machar, confirmed the deployment of government troops in parts of Juba, saying “we don’t know their intentions“.
But in a televised speech later on Monday, Kiir said that “the presence of security forces in the streets does not mean that there is insecurity in Juba“.
South Sudanese government troops and forces loyal to Machar have recently clashed in Upper Nile and Unity states, which are seen as Machar’s strongholds.
There were hopes for peace and stability when oil-rich South Sudan gained its long-fought independence from Sudan in 2011. But the country slid into civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions when forces loyal to Kiir battled those loyal to Machar.
Tens of thousands of people were killed in the civil war which ended with a 2018 peace agreement that brought Kiir and Machar together in a government of national unity.
But challenges remain, including the government’s failure to implement promised reforms including completing the unification of the army command.
Kiir on Friday issued a decree in which he offered five command positions in the army and the police to his rivals, a unilateral decision opposed by Machar.
The United States, the United Kingdom and Norway – the troika supporting South Sudan’s peace deal – said last week they were concerned that the new outbreak of fighting threatens to undermine the government’s unity.
A group of United Nations experts warned in a report last year that “the stability of South Sudan has remained at risk“ as a result of missed deadlines and political gridlock on key issues in the unity government’s agreement.
HILLA, IRAQ (AFP) – An American tourist poses for a holiday snap in Iraq, in front of the blue-brick Ishtar Gate that was rebuilt at the ancient site of Babylon under dictator Saddam Hussein.
Most foreigners here since Saddam’s ouster in a 2003 United States (US)-led invasion have worn army fatigues and carried guns – but more recently there has been a trickle of camera-toting travel pioneers.
“Iraq was in my top three countries,” said the visitor to Babylon, 50-year-old Californian Ileana Ovalle, who was excited to see the millennia-old Mesopotamian site.
“This is where civilisation started,” said the passionate globetrotter with some 40 countries under her belt. “I think too few people understand how important this region is.”
Most Western governments still issue travel warnings for all or parts of Iraq, pointing to risks from kidnappings to militant bombings and unexploded ordnance from multiple wars. But for some explorers who are unafraid of the odd military roadblock, Iraq is a hot new destination with multiple World Heritage sites that is slowly reopening to the world.
Retirees and YouTubers, on package tours or lugging backpacks, are braving Iraq’s still basic tourist infrastructure to visit ancient sites that rival those of Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
ABOVE & BELOW: Tourists pose for a picture with Iraqi security forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul; and tourists visit the ancient city of Babylon, 100 km south of Baghdad. PHOTOS: AFP
An aerial picture shows the Great Ziggurat temple (back) in the ancient city of Ur in Iraq’s southern province of Dhi Qar near the city of NasiriyahABOVE & BELOW: Spanish visitors of the Marshes of Jabayesh in southern Iraq ride boats as they tour the area; and tourists visit the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the ancient city of Babylon
Whether in Baghdad or Mosul, the northern city that was a militant stronghold, they can be seen strolling through streets that still bear the scars of years of conflict.
Blogs and vlogs have proliferated with names such as ‘American in Baghdad, Iraq’, ‘Two German guys alone in Iraq’ and ‘Exploring Baghdad – how dangerous is it?’
The tourist mini-boom has gained momentum since Iraq started granting visas on arrival for dozens of nationalities a year ago.
Ovalle, along with 14 other tourists, said she was happy to take part in a trip organised by a travel agency which offers cultural, sports and adventure trips.
“The first thing that I noticed is the warmth, the generosity and the kindness of the Iraqi people,” she said. “They smile, they welcome you, they are very polite.”
In Babylon, more than 4,000 years old, weeds grow among the old bricks and rubbish is strewn about. Not so long ago, a nearby base housed US and Polish coalition troops.
“I think everyone has hesitations, especially coming from the United States,” said another visitor, 35-year-old New Yorker Justin Gonzales.
“If you go on our government website, they have a travel advisory saying: ‘Do not travel to Iraq, it’s dangerous, you can get kidnapped, there is often violence.’
“But I haven’t seen any of that, and I don’t think I will.”
Last year, Iraq attracted 107,000 tourists including from Britain, France, the US, Turkey and Norway. That was over three times more than the 30,000 in 2020, according to Tourism Authority data.
Apart from tourists, hundreds of thousands of religious pilgrims – especially Shiite Muslims, mostly from Iran – flock each year to the shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq, however, “we need infrastructure, private investment to have hotels, buses”, said the owner of the Bil Weekend agency, Ali al-Makhzoumi, who has 30 to 40 clients a month.
There has been progress.
Baghdad’s National Museum re-opened earlier in March after three years of closure, and the city’s famed booksellers’ street Al-Mutanabi was given a facelift in December.
Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, is attracting more Westerners following a much-publicised Iraq visit by Pope Francis in 2021. But industry trailblazers want to see more done – among them Aya Salih, who runs the Safraty travel agency with her husband.
The government “has authorised visas on arrival, but everything else is still complicated”, she said. “Half of the trip is wasted at roadblocks even though we have the necessary permits.”
Some visitors love the more edgy, authentic travel experience.
“I like to go to places that are not so touristy yet,” said Emma Witters, 54, who has over 70,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel.
After so much war and isolation, she said, “you would think that they would be unhappy, miserable people. But they are so happy to see people and foreigners, they are so generous”.
KUALA LUMPUR (CNA) – All elements of the Malaysian police force are fully prepared for the re-opening of the country’s borders on April 1, with security and surveillance stepped up, said Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
He said the General Operations Force has been deployed to the country’s borders, both in the peninsula as well as in Sabah and Sarawak, to ensure public security.
“We are ready to face any eventuality when the borders re-open on April 1,” he was quoted as saying by the Star.
Acryl Sani was speaking at the sidelines of the Defence Service Asia and the National Security Asia exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur.
He said that as Malaysia enters the Transition to Endemic stage, the country is returning to a pre-pandemic situation and he hoped that the re-opening of borders would create more convenience for Malaysians.
I would like to applaud the authorities for their decisive actions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, especially in closing the international borders to keep the flow of travellers at the minimum.
With countless countries re-opening their borders, it is a matter of time before the Sultanate follows suits. My question is: what will be the standard operating procedures (SOPs)?
Take for example travelling between Brunei and Miri. Prior to the pandemic, it was the most popular destination for locals looking to escape the hustle and bustle of life. At present, essential travellers from Miri are made to walk quite a distance from the Malaysian control post to ours, rain or shine. Once they arrive at the Brunei control post, they will be picked up to be transported to a quarantine centre.
However, once the borders re-open, will this still be the arrangement? Or will there be a new set of SOPs that is more relaxed?
Should it be the case, I would like to appeal to the authorities to consider providing a shuttle service between the two control posts. Not only will it provide the much-needed convenience to travellers, it will also be a source of revenue for the government.
The second Lakastah Masak session played out at Saffron Restaurant in Kiulap for a small audience recently.
The event – a collaborative effort between One Festival Co and Faridah of CakesByFaridah – afforded participants a hands-on cooking demonstration, fine dining experience and take home recipes, surrounding the theme ‘Ramadhan and Eid Festivities.’ It is planned to have the session bi-monthly.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday called attention to the work of ASEAN and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in promoting the economic prosperity of their peoples and highlighted the importance for closer cooperation between ASEAN and the UAE, especially in managing climate change. More details in Wednesday’s Borneo Bulletin.
