CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (AP) – LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier each scored 17 points and the Charlotte Hornets came back to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 106-103 yesterday for their fifth straight win.
Miles Bridges added 15 points and Mason Plumlee chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which trailed most of the second half and overcame 17 turnovers.
“We had a bad February and we were dropping out of the playoffs, so we just wanted to show the NBA that we’re here,” Bridges said. “We are going to continue to play like this and put the NBA on notice.”
CJ McCollum scored 27 points for New Orleans and Jonas Valanciunas was dominant in the paint most of the night, finishing with 24 points and 18 rebounds. The Pelicans had their two-game win streak snapped.
“Resiliency, toughness – we never gave in and we found a way,” Hornets coach James Borrego said.
After Ball put the Hornets up three with a floater in the lane with 8.9 seconds left, the Pelicans tried to give McCollum a chance to tie it on the last possession.
New Orleans Pelicans’ Naji Marshall attempts to shoot as Charlotte Hornets’ Cody Martin closes in. PHOTO: AP
But the Hornets swarmed the Pelicans guard after he received the side inbounds pass and he was never able to get up a shot. The ball was knocked away and Devonte Graham grabbed it and tried a desperation heave that would not have counted had it fallen.
“We know if he had a one-on-one, he was going to hit,” Bridges said of McCollum. “We wanted anyone else besides him shooting that ball.”
McCollum said after the game he probably should have used a pump fake to help free
himself up.
“It wasn’t great spacing and I have to make a quicker decision,” he said.
The Pelicans took an 84-76 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Hornets rallied to take the lead when Bridges knocked down a three-pointer from the corner with 2:12 left and PJ Washington found Plumlee cutting down the lane for a big dunk a short while later.
The Hornets outscored the Pelicans 21-10 in the final nine minutes.
“The execution down the stretch is extremely important,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about and we just fell a little short with this one down the stretch. It was right there for the taking. Give Charlotte credit, they made plays down the stretch that ultimately won the game for them.”
Charlotte continues to share the ball of late, averaging 34 assists during its five-game winning streak while recording at least 30 assists in every game.
BRUSSELS (CNA) – The European Union (EU) foreign ministers disagreed on whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia’s lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to decide an embargo.
The EU and allies have already imposed hefty measures against Russia, including freezing its central bank’s assets.
Russia’s siege and bombardment of Mariupol port, which EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called “a massive war crime”, is increasing pressure for action.
But targetting Russian energy exports, as the United States (US) and Britain have done, is a divisive choice for the 27-nation EU, which relies on Russia for 40 per cent of its gas.
Some of those who want the EU to go further showed impatience at the pace of talks after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“Why should Europe give Putin more time to earn more money from oil and gas? More time to use European ports? More time to use unsanctioned Russian banks in Europe? Time to pull the plug,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Twitter.
But Borrell told a news conference that while that the bloc would “continue isolating Russia”, concrete decisions would be made later.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden step off Marine One. PHOTO: AFP
One EU diplomat said some hoped that by June the EU would have found enough alternative sources of energy to seriously consider an oil embargo.
No date has been agreed though, and other EU states may have different targets in mind.
Germany and the Netherlands said the EU was dependent on Russian oil and gas and could not cut itself off right now.
“The question of an oil embargo is not a question of whether we want or don’t want (it), but a question of how much we depend on oil,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters.
“Germany is importing a lot (of Russian oil), but there are also other member states who can’t stop the oil imports from one day to the other,” she said, adding that the bloc should instead work on reducing its reliance on Moscow for its energy needs.
Other potential sanctions being discussed, diplomats have said, include closing loopholes on trust funds used by oligarchs, adding new names to the sanctions list, stopping Russian boats from docking in EU ports, and cutting more banks’ access to the SWIFT global messaging system.
All this will be discussed again tomorrow, when US President Joe Biden will be in Brussels for talks with transatlantic alliance NATO’s 30 members, the EU, and Group of Seven (G7) members including Japan, designed to harden the West’s response to Moscow.
The national revenue has benefitted from the rise in the global oil price to over USD100 per barrel, but the effect ultimately depends on our production, said Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah at the daily press conference yesterday.
He said although we are facing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we should ensure that the production is not affected. “We had a discussion with oil and gas companies to ensure that production is not affected by adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs). We are unsure as to how long the current high oil prices will last. But we hope that the longer the hike, the better for the nation,” the minister said.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew further explained, “But high oil prices also affect production, as it contributes to input costs in goods production and imports.
“This is especially so when some goods are in short supply due to the global geo-political situation, resulting in the increase in price of foods, aggravated further by the increase in global oil price.
“As we import most of our goods, it can lead to inflation. So we should ensure unimpeded essential goods supply and food security for the nation,” he said.
“Inflation will become an issue not only in this region but also worldwide and the government is considering on how to overcome and benefit from the situation for the well-being of the nation.“
Oil prices jumped higher on Monday after Russia-Ukraine talks appeared to yield no progress, and markets continued to fret over tight supply – sparking a call by the International Energy Agency to reduce oil demand. Crude futures were up more than three per cent on Monday morning during Asia trading – international benchmark Brent crude was at USD111.46.
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah. PHOTO: JAMES KON
TEHRAN, IRAN (AP) – Iran’s supreme leader on Monday signalled support for Tehran’s nuclear negotiations to secure sanctions relief, a rare reference to the still-halted talks as world powers near a diplomatic turning point.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stressed the importance of Iranian economic self-sufficiency during a lengthy televised speech on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. But he quickly added: “I do not say that you should not seek to lift the sanctions. Those who are trying and working in that field, there is no problem.”
Khamenei, whose pronouncements are considered vital as he has the final say on all state matters in Iran, has remained largely silent on the negotiations to restore Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. His vague but supportive comments signalled that Iranian negotiators retained political space and flexibility.
Former United States (US) President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear accord in 2018. President Joe Biden promised to revive it. Painstaking talks in Vienna have dragged on for the past year. Iran, its economy strangled, has urged sanctions relief but sought to resist tough Western demands.
Negotiations nearly reached completion earlier this month before Moscow demanded that its trade with Iran be exempted from Western sanctions over Ukraine, throwing the process into disarray. Negotiators have yet to reconvene in the Austrian capital, and it’s unclear exactly what hurdles lie ahead.
“The essence of the issue is to run the country in such a way that sanctions cannot hit the country seriously,” Khamenei said, praising the hard-line government of President Ebrahim Raisi for boosting Iran’s trade with its neighbours and shipping Iranian crude abroad despite sanctions.
“There is another way for us to use oil revenues for the country’s infrastructure.”
Iran’s supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised New Year speech, in Tehran, Iran. PHOTO: AP
NEW YORK (AP) – Already without Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, the Brooklyn Nets were down another starter to illness and lost one to injury.
They still had Kevin Durant (AP pic below), and that was enough against Utah.
“He made us pay,” Jazz forward Rudy Gay said.
Durant had 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Nets beat the Jazz 114-106 on Monday night for their sixth win in seven games.
Bruce Brown added 22 points for the Nets, who stayed in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Nic Claxton, starting for ailing centre Andre Drummond, made all five shots and scored 11 in the Nets’ 38-point third quarter that broke open the game.
Durant scored 15 in that period and said Brooklyn’s strong play lately has been a team effort.
“I just think we’re rallying around each other,” he said. “We’re making big plays, we’re just doing it together more than anything. It’s just a collective effort.”
Mostly, it’s Durant. Gay was asked how a two-point game got away from Utah so quickly in the third.
“KD had like 20 points. That’s probably the start,” Gay said.
He said Durant punished Utah for strategic mistakes, which included having centres Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside trying to contain the superstar forward at times.
“We heard they were starting to switch, so really it was just get him the ball and get out of the way,” Brown said. “We know Gobert and Hassan can’t stay with him at all.”
Claxton finished with 15 points.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 for the Jazz, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Jordan Clarkson added 19 and Mike Conley had 18 points and seven assists after sitting out a victory on Sunday at New York to rest his right knee.
The Nets’ two-point halftime lead was down to one before play even began in the second half after they were given a technical foul for a second delay of game violation. But then Claxton made the first two baskets in the third to get their big quarter going.
A 10-0 run midway through the period extended a three-point lead to 75-62 on a basket by Durant, and he made consecutive three-pointers to make it 84-68 with 2:52 to go in the third.
The game seemed fully in the Nets’ control when Durant’s three-pointer made it 108-87 midway through the fourth, but Utah put together a 19-4 surge that trimmed it to 112-106 with 57 seconds to play. Durant then halted Utah’s momentum by throwing a lob pass that Claxton slammed down with 37 seconds remaining.
Drummond was out with an illness not related to COVID-19. Nets guard Seth Curry, who came over with him and Simmons in the trade for James Harden, then missed the second half with a sprained left ankle.
SINGAPORE (CNA) – By the end of March, SGD840 million in payouts will be given to more than 99,000 employers in Singapore, as part of the final tranche of payouts under the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS), said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) yesterday.
In a media release, MOF and IRAS said the upcoming payout will see the government co-fund
15 per cent of qualifying wage increases given in 2021, 2020 and 2019 to more than 780,000 Singaporean employees earning a gross monthly wage of up to SGD5,000.
This will benefit more than 99,000 employers, they said. Introduced in 2013, the WCS was intially a three-year initiative to support businesses in their transformation and share productivity gains with workers.
It was later extended, most recently at Budget 2021, with the aim of supporting increments to “help companies build up their local workforce and emerge stronger from COVID-19”.
To qualify for the upcoming tranche, employers must have given their workers a pay rise of at least SGD50 or have sustained the salary increase of at least SGD50 previously given to employees in 2019 and 2020. More than SGD2 billion in wage credits was disbursed in 2020 and 2021 to support employers during the pandemic, MOF and IRAS said.
“Employers do not need to apply to receive the payouts. Eligible employers will be notified by March 31, 2022 informing them of their payout amount,” they said, noting payouts will be credited directly to employers’ registered bank accounts through PayNow Corporate or GIRO.
Office workers at Raffles Place in Singapore. PHOTO: AFP
Recovered COVID-19 patients are not encouraged to take the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab testing for at least three months after they have recovered, as per the recent statement from the Ministry of Health.
This was highlighted by Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar in yesterday’s press conference, adding that this is because the RT-PCR test will be able to detect any virus particle still present during its shedding from the lungs, and is not necessarily contagious.
Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham, however, noted that recovered COVID-19 patients can carry out the antigen rapid test (ART).
“If a person tests positive on the ART, their Cycle Threshold (CT) Value is at about 25 or below, depending on the condition such as their test kit type,” said the minister, explaining why people coming into the country from abroad who were already positive prior are only required to do the ART.
“If their ART is positive, then we will carry out a RT-PCR test,” said the minister.
Although the chances of being re-infected within the three months are very low, the minister said that the chances still exist. “Research findings from outside the country have also shown that the chances of re-infection are low a second time around within the three months due to recovered patients’ immunity, especially for those who have been vaccinated, and even more if they have had their booster dose,” said the minister.
Circling back to the use of ART, the minister said it is a precautionary measure because other variants can still infect a person who has recovered. For example, a person who had been infected with Delta can be re-infected with the Omicron variant.
Speaking on the grace period to take a booster dose after recovery for a recovered COVID-19 patient, Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham said that it is between at least a month to three months.
The reason for the interval is because those who have recovered have developed natural immunity from the infection, and to reinforce their immunity, a booster shot will be needed later on.
“We do not want those who have recovered to take the booster dose too early because there might be possible side effects,” said the minister, adding that an individual might not know whether these side effects may be due to the infection or the booster dose.
BAMAKO, MALI (AP) – Mali’s former Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga died on Monday in the capital, Bamako, a close relative of his family announced.
Maiga, who served as prime minister of Mali from 2017 until 2019, was 67. He remained an influential figure in security policy in Mali and the surrounding Sahel region and had been detained since August 2021 when the country was taken over by a military junta. His requests for medical evacuation had been refused by the military rulers of the West African country.
Maiga’s state of health deteriorated sharply a few days ago and approval for him to be moved from Mali for treatment was being considered but did not happen in time, according to a relative who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press on the situation. Maiga died in a clinic, he said.
The information has been confirmed by several other people close to him. Some heads of state in West Africa have confirmed the account as well.
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum reacted in a tweet, saying that the denial of overseas medical care for Maiga was similar to an assassination.
“I have just learned with dismay of the death of Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, former Prime Minister of Mali. His death in prison recalls that of President Modibo Keita in 1977. I thought that such assassinations belonged to another era. My condolences to his family and friends,” he said in the tweet.
The president of the political party Alliance for Solidarity in Mali – Convergence of Patriotic Forces (ASMA-CFP), Maiga was a journalist by training. In the 1990s he was appointed the director of intelligence services by President Alpha Oumar Konaré. Critics accused him of being behind the creation of the ethnic Gandakoy militia that is accused of abuses against civilians of the Tuareg ethnic minority in northern Mali.
He went on to occupy several Cabinet posts such as foreign affairs minister in 2011 under President Amadou Toumani Touré and then minister of defence under President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita before serving as Prime Minister from 2017 to 2019.
MANILA (AFP) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s party yesterday threw its support behind presidential election favourite Ferdinand Marcos Junior, as his main rival appears to gain momentum in the race for the top job.
Voter surveys show the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator heading towards a landslide victory in the May 9 polls, fuelled by a massive social media campaign pumping out positive misinformation about him.
Marcos Jr, 64, has teamed up with vice presidential frontrunner and first daughter Sara Duterte, in a formidable alliance between the scions of two of the country’s most powerful political families.
“We are endorsing the candidacy of Bongbong Marcos Jr – this is a party decision,” said president of PDP-Laban and leader of the pro-Duterte faction of the party Alfonso Cusi.
Cusi would not confirm if the decision meant Duterte also supported Marcos Jr, who he has previously described as “weak”.
Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said Duterte’s position was “not clear”. Outgoing presidents usually identify their preferred successor, who they hope will shield them from criminal charges brought by rivals as much as protect their legacy.
Workers verify the printed ballots which will be used for the national and local elections, at the National Printing Office in Quezon City, suburban Manila. PHOTO: AFP
They rarely end up winning.
Duterte, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term and remains popular among many Filipinos, had chosen loyal aide Senator Christopher Go to replace him, but he pulled out of the contest.
Since then, Duterte has been cryptic about who he wants to see in the presidential palace.
He recently said the next leader should be a lawyer and compassionate – raising eyebrows among observers as the description seemed to best fit his nemesis, incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo, who is a distant second behind Marcos Jr in the polls.
The positions of president and vice president are elected separately in the Philippines.
But University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco said PDP-Laban’s backing was “tantamount to Duterte endorsing the candidacies of Marcos and his daughter”.
“It’s big,” she said, adding it gives “local officials the signal that they should campaign for the Marcos-Duterte ticket”.
She added that it was also “surreal” that PDP-Laban, which was set up in the early 1980s in opposition to the Marcos dictatorship, was now supporting his son.
Marcos spokesman Vic Rodriguez welcomed the endorsement as he warned of “growing rumours of possible poll fraud in the coming elections”.
The public backing of Marcos Jr comes as Robredo’s volunteer-driven campaign appears to be gathering momentum.
Crowd sizes have swelled at recent rallies.
On Sunday, more than 130,000 of her supporters flocked to an event in the suburbs of Manila, standing for hours in hot and humid weather.
But the odds were stacked against her, said Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford.
“She enjoyed a relatively late surge in the 2016 vice-presidential race, jumping from third place and just over 20 per cent support in mid-March to win with over 30 per cent support in May – but the gap is far wider this time,” he said.
Since the March 2020 outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei Darussalam, the entire learning process has been acutely disrupted, making it necessary for institutions to invest in online learning. It is important for students and lecturers to utilise digital technology to their benefit and advantage.
This was also observed by Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (PAPRSB IHS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), according to PAPRSB IHS, UBD Programme Leader of Pharmacy Dr Nurolaini binti Kifli.
She said that in pharmacy education, the practical needs of the scientific curriculum – such as clinical internship, industrial internship, lab work and physical research projects – has to be taken into account.
To address this, e-learning strategies covering the practical aspects and simulation of laboratory settings were prepared thoroughly to implement the delivery of practical pharmacy skills.
At UBD, the Pharmacy Programme of the PAPRSB IHS collaborated with the School of Pharmacy from San Pedro College (SPC), Davao City in, the Philippines, to design a virtual dispensing classroom via the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Global Virtual Classroom to foster a digitally and globally ready learning environment.
Participants during the online session. PHOTO: PAPRSB IHS, UBD
The programme ran for six weeks from January 24 to February 28. The collaboration was initiated by Dr Nurolaini and Director of Internationalization and Linkages Office from the SPC Professor Erwin Faller. Dr Nurolaini was assisted by her team of lecturers from UBD – Associate Professor Dr Long Ming and Dr Goh Poh Hui.
A total of 38 students participated in the programme, 26 of whom were from partner institutions and 12 from UBD. Students were divided into six groups, with a good mix of international and UBD students. Each group was facilitated by a lecturer who would contribute to one dispensing case.
The platforms used during the programme included Zoom, ImmerseU Class2Class, Padlet and MyDispense Platform. MyDispense is an online pharmacy simulation that allows students to develop and practice their dispensing skills while the Class2Class platform can respond to complicated questions on connecting with people and managing collaborations.
The COIL programme’s objectives were to introduce UBD students to cultural immersion and exchange global perspective on pharmacy education and pharmacy practice using MyDispense. Students were given various dispensing cases such as ‘Responding to Symptoms: Skin’, ‘Medicines Management during Fasting,’ ‘Responding to Symptoms: Paediatric Case’ and ‘Respond to Lactation Enquiry.’
In sharing faculty member experiences, Dr Nurolaini expressed gratitude to be involved in coordination and running of the UBD-SPC COIL programme together with her supportive team members. She also appreciated the efforts made by Professor Faller in coordinating the cases in her feedback.
In a statement, she said, “I am really excited to know that UBD students as well as the pharmacy students from across the Philippines learnt a lot from the case especially on managing medicines counselling during Ramadhan. I do hope such a programme could be extended further to other cohorts.”
Dr Nurolaini was also impressed with the way the UBD students managed the smooth running of the programme and how they had performed. “The students were very creative during the final presentation via the video-making competition.”
Second year UBD pharmacy student Nurizzati binti Sudarmaji expressed excitement and appreciation for being a part of the programme, affording her the unique opportunity to interact with students from many nations and collaborate on activities of common interest in groups, consisting of students from each partner institution.
“Working with students from various cultural and religious backgrounds has allowed us to gain insight into our differences and, as a result, improve our understanding of the existence of diverse societies and ways of life in other countries, and as part of our communication.
This also allowed me to focus not only on verbal communication, but also the use of body language.
“Our major task in this programme encouraged us to apply what we have learnt in class to solve a series of case studies using the simulation software MyDispense, and this tested our ability to think critically and work in a team.”
Meanwhile, Qlaementine Ng, another second year Pharmacy student, said, “I was able to work quite well with my teammates because everyone was friendly and helpful. Throughout the programme, we worked together to tackle different cases in MyDispense, and we were able to share our diverse knowledge and perspectives regarding the cases. I found it quite interesting to see the different ideas from every student on the various cases provided by the lecturers. “One particular case that I enjoyed the most was the case where we had to counsel a diabetic patient on her medications during the fasting month of Ramadhan.
“I enjoyed this case the most because I learnt interesting new facts about the Ramadhan culture.
“One key takeaway from this case is that it is essential to provide necessary dose adjustments to a diabetic patient during Ramadhan to prevent dehydration or hypoglycaemia.”
Fellow classmate Ummul Fathima Shaik Mohamed Sayed said, “Taking part in the COIL programme helped me to apply the knowledge gained during my two years of pharmacy course. I was also able to use the MyDispense tool to polish my dispensing and patient counselling skills. Other than that, I had a great experience sharing my culture and knowledge with SPC students as I could empathise with them in many ways being pharmacy students despite coming from different countries. I would like thank my lecturers and SPC for giving us the opportunity to be a part of such great initiative.”
Meanwhile, Dr Nurolaini said that the UBD-SPC Global Virtual Classroom, based on the COIL methodology, aims to promote global learning, internationalisation and to connect students around the globe.
“This initiative not only generates advanced and diverse learning experiences but enables international linkages that will lead to collaboration on making the world a better place,” she said.
