CAPE TOWN (AFP) – The body of South Africa’s revered anti-apartheid fighter Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died at the weekend aged 90, will lie in state for two days ahead of his funeral on New Year’s Day, his foundations said on Tuesday.
The lying in state was initially scheduled to last just one day – Friday – but has been extended to Thursday “to accommodate more mourners”, the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust and Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said.
The statement expressed deep thanks for the outpouring of support expressed around the world after Tutu passed away.
“This deluge of love serves to compensate, to some extent, for COVID regulations restricting the size of gatherings and the nature of the send-off our beloved Arch so richly deserves,” the foundations said, referring to Tutu’s nickname.
Tutu’s body will lie in St George’s Cathedral, in his former Cape Town parish. His body will be cremated after the funeral and his ashes then placed in the cathedral.
Attendance at his farewell on Saturday has to be capped at 100 because of anti-coronavirus restrictions, the archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, has said.
Tributes from world leaders poured in after Tutu’s death was announced last Sunday.
Within South Africa, many deeply mourn the passing of the last great hero of the anti-apartheid struggle.
For years, Tutu was the visible emblem of the fight against white-minority rule while Nelson Mandela and other leaders were behind bars.
His hallmarks were religious faith, unfailing humour and an unstinting will to speak out against injustice – both before and after apartheid.
A boy carries flowers to be laid beneath the picture of the late South African anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu outside St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town. PHOTO: AFP
On New Year’s Day, in the backdrop of the 2022 celebrations, the largest trading agreement in the region will enter into force.
Spanning 15 countries, (11 of which had ratified the agreement) with ambitions of integrating 30 per cent of the world’s GDP into a comprehensive trading bloc, the ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ (RCEP) is not a simple document.
“The RCEP agreement spans over 14,000 pages,” said Senior Director of the ASEAN and Southeast Asia and Oceania divisions at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry Sulaimah Mahmood during a webinar to raise awareness on the agreement.
“Why? Because it has 20 chapters and includes the commitments which are provided by the 15 parties and covering a wide array of topics.
“It is therefore important for businesses to familiarise themselves with the RCEP agreement in order to take advantage of the benefits of this agreement.”
The webinar was its fifth iteration, and focussed discussions on competition, government procurement, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the economic and technical cooperation chapters.
Shops beneath a residential building in Hanoi. PHOTO: AFP
A press statement from the ASEAN Secretariat shared that participating countries have intensified their preparatory work for the agreement at the regional and domestic levels.
Participating countries, it said, are “finalising the necessary measures and institutional arrangements to ensure effective and efficient implementation” and “laws and regulations at the domestic level” are being put into place.
Speakers and panelists at the webinar highlighted of the need for tailor-made regulations to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be better integrated into the regional and global value chains, with governments expected to play a major role in preparing SMEs to reap the benefits the RCEP”.
The webinar underscored the need for capacity building in that area.
Ensuring that SMEs as well as micro enterprises benefit from the agreement was expressly written into the agreement as one of its 20 chapters, said Mahmood.
“Throughout the negotiation process, all RCEP member countries have been very firm that the agreement should benefit their micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up the majority of their companies,” she said.
“We recognise that the MSMEs contribute greatly to economic growth, employment and innovation, thus this chapter seeks to promote information sharing, cooperation and increase MSMEs’ ability to utilise and benefit from the opportunities created by this agreement.”
Another part of the agreement that businesses should be familiar with is the competition chapter.
““This chapter is highly relevant to businesses,” she said. “The RCEP countries are committed to maintaining competition law regimes based on international best practices and agreed principles.
“So businesses can look forward to RCEP countries cooperating on cross border enforcement and relevant issues, including safeguards and on the protection of confidential information.
“This protects businesses from anti-competitive activities when operating in the RCEP markets.”
Mahmood said that under the chapter for government procurement, “RCEP countries are committed under RCEP to increasing transparency by publishing laws, regulations and procedures regarding government procurement.
“The RCEP countries have also committed to review this chapter after entering force with a view to improve this chapter in the future.”
The director was clear on how much rides on the success of the agreement. It has been touted as a tool for economic recovery for the post COVID-19 pandemic era.
“It has been more than a year since COVID-19 ravaged the world,” she said.
“The signing of RCEP in 2020 is a strong testament of the region’s determination and commitment to deepening economic integration amidst difficult times.
“This achievement is another milestone and a clear commitment by the RCEP countries to push ahead and implement the RCEP agreement to support the post-COVID recovery efforts through providing more business opportunities, jobs and overall economic growth in the region.”
The webinar was hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat, in partnership with the East Asia Business Council, on December 16.
Countries that have ratified the agreement thus far are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand Vietnam, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
AP/AFP – Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick might be tempted to make some changes against Burnley in the Premier League after a poor performance by his team in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Monday, when he complained about a lack of energy and physicality from his players.
Some of that might be down to rustiness after United had back-to-back matches – against Brentford and Brighton – called off because of a coronavirus outbreak in the squad. That’s something Burnley might be wary of because its period of inactivity has been even longer, with three straight games postponed following virus outbreaks in opponents’ squads. Its last match was a 0-0 draw against West Ham on December 12.
Edinson Cavani (AP; pic below)in particular, is pushing for a recall for United after scoring off the bench against Newcastle. United-Burnley is the only match being played after Everton-Newcastle was postponed because Newcastle had too many players out with either injuries or COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Manchanter United Centre-back Harry Maguire said a 16-day coronavirus break had done the team no favours after they salvaged a 1-1 draw at Premier League strugglers Newcastle, leaving them seven points off the top four.
Ralf Rangnick’s men needed a 71st-minute equaliser from half-time substitute Edinson Cavani after Allan Saint-Maximin scored a superb early opener, and were indebted to David de Gea for a series of fine saves.
It was United’s first match since December 11 after a Covid-19 outbreak forced them to close their training complex. Victor Lindelof was absent from St James’ Park after testing positive.
“No 16-day break in the middle of a football season is going to help you,” Maguire told Manchester United’s official website.
“The training ground has been shut and half the lads playing today are recovering from the virus, so of course it’s not going to help us.
“We’ve had people with symptoms, people without symptoms – it’s been a real mixed bag for everyone at the football club and it’s been a tough time”
But the England international defender zaid United could not make excuses for their
sloppy performance.
“We’ve got to stay on the ball, we’ve got to stay active and we’ve got to play the ball in their half and we didn’t manage to do that.
“You can look at that and ask whether the last 16 days had a big impact on that because it looked like we ran out of steam out there.
“A point in the end is a fair result, but it’s a result that we’re disappointed with.”
The draw means United are seven points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with two games in hand ahead of the clash with Burnley at Old Trafford, but Maguire said they would be better after their tough evening at Newcastle.
“I’m sure 90 minutes will have benefitted every single player out there,” he said.
“The Burnley game and the Wolves game are coming up thick and fast and we’ve got to play better than we have done tonight.”
BEIRUT (AFP) – An Israeli air strike hit Syria’s Latakia port before dawn on Tuesday, sparking a fire that lit up the Mediterranean seafront in the second such attack on the key cargo hub this month, Syrian state media reported.
Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out air strikes on its strife-torn neighbour, mostly targetting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.
But it is only the second time it has hit the port of Latakia, in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community.
“At 3.21am, the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression with several missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean… targetting the container yard in Latakia port,” Syrian state news agency SANA cited a military source as saying.
The strike caused “significant material damage”, it added.
Asked about the strike, an Israeli army spokesman said: “We don’t comment on reports in foreign media”. Pictures released by SANA showed firefighters training hoses on stacks of blazing containers that lit up the night sky. The news agency said the containers were carrying “engine oil and spare parts for cars and other vehicles”.
But Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the cargo was “arms and munitions”, which had detonated in “powerful explosions that were felt across the city of Latakia and its suburbs”.
Firefighters work at the scene of missiles attack at the seaport of the coastal city of Latakia. PHOTO: AP
SINGAPORE (CNA) – Demand for new SGD2 banknotes during festive periods has gone down by about 20 per cent each year since a “good-as-new” initiative was launched in 2013, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.
MAS issues about 100 million new notes annually to meet Chinese New Year and other festive periods, with the SGD2 bills accounting for the bulk of the demand, said MAS in response to queries from CNA.
“Other than the SGD2 denomination, there is no accumulation of excess notes as the new notes of other denominations issued are recycled to meet normal circulation demand,” it said.
Its “good-as-new” SGD2 note initiative – which encourages the public to choose used notes that are clean and crisp instead of newly printed ones – has helped to reduce the demand for new SGD2 bills during festive periods by about 20 per cent each year, said the authority.
In a media release on Tuesday, the central bank had said that a large proportion of new notes issued for festive gifting, particularly the SGD2 bills, are returned after Chinese New Year and subsequently destroyed as it “far exceeds normal circulation demand”.
“The carbon emissions from the production, transportation, and destruction of such new notes each year is highly wasteful, unnecessary, and impacts the environment negatively,” it said.
Reusing notes for the Chinese New Year “will support the environment and reduce queues at bank branches” added MAS.
MAS issues about 100 million new notes annually to meet Chinese New Year and other festive periods, the SGD2 bills accounting for the bulk of the demand. PHOTO: CNA
It was a fun-filled day for Haji Mohammad Isa bin Haji Marsidi’s family as they finally got to go on a Brunei River cruise after their original plans were postponed due to the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak.
Haji Mohammad Isa said their initial plans was for a river cruise on August 8 but the trip was delayed due to the outbreak that began a day earlier and the cruise operator had to postpone all excursions.
During the highly anticipated tour, Haji Mohammad Isa’s family of 78 was divided into two groups because the ship can accommodate only 45 passengers per trip due to the 75 per cent capacity limit.
Haji Mohammad Isa said, “One group boarded the morning cruise and another in the afternoon.
“Seeing them all filled with joy during the cruise was beautiful. The trip gave them a holiday retreat and stress relief during the current travel restrictions because of the pandemic.”
Haji Mohammad Isa bin Haji Marsidi’s family in a group photo during the afternoon cruise. PHOTO: LYNA MOHAMAD
LONDON (AP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (AP; pic below) tested positive for the coronavirus again and will be absent for the Premier League match against Manchester City on New Year’s Day, the club said yesterday.
Arteta’s positive test in March 2020 was a key factor in the suspension of the league in the first week of the pandemic.
Arteta is the third Premier League manager currently isolating after contracting COVID-19, after Crystal Palace’s Patrick Vieira and Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard.
“Mikel is isolating in line with government guidelines and we wish him well,” Arsenal said. Arteta was previously the assistant coach at City.
Meanwhile, In Spain, Barcelona announced three players – Ousmane Dembélé, Samuel Umtiti and Gavi – have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of its league match at Mallorca on Sunday.
“The players are in good health and are in isolation at their homes,” Barcelona said on its Twitter account.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AP) – Indonesia said yesterday it is lifting its ban on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff killing all 189 people on board.
The Transportation Ministry said in a statement yesterday that the aircraft will be permitted to fly in Indonesia, but only after airlines carry out airworthiness directives.
The ministry will also conduct inspections before the aircraft are allowed to operate in the country, said the ministry’s Director General of Civil Aviation Novie Riyanto.
“Several flight operators have stated that they have carried out airworthiness orders for 737 MAX aircraft, in accordance with FAA provisions and will prepare training and simulators at the nearest facility, in Singapore,” Riyanto said.
Governments grounded the Boeing 737 Max after 346 people were killed in the crashes of the Lion Air flight in Indonesia on October 29, 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, 2019.
Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 sitting on the tarmac at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia. PHOTO: AP
Investigators blamed a computer system that pushed the plane’s nose downward in flight and couldn’t be overridden by pilots. Boeing has carried out technical upgrades to fix such problems.
Earlier this month, China became the last major market to approve the Boeing 737 Max after the United States (US) allowed flights to resume in December 2020. European Union (EU) regulators gave permission in January. Brazil and Canada also have given approval.
Anton Sahadi, whose 24-year-old cousins Muhammad Rafi Ardian and Rian Ariandi died in the 2018 crash, said that he regrets the government decision to let the 737 Max fly again.
“The government has to ensure that the aircraft meets safety standards so that similar incidents don’t happen again,” Sahadi said.
“I do not see the urgency yet for Boeing’s 737 Max aircrafts to fly again in Indonesia. Families of victims still have not finished the process of resolving problems with Boeing,” he said.
Sahadi was referring to complaints by some families of crash victims that a USD2.5-billion settlement between Boeing and the US. Department of Justice excluded them from involvement in negotiating their compensation.
PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE (AFP) – Chilean scientists studying organisms in one of the most remote places on Earth are urging regional leaders to step up efforts to tackle climate change.
A recent expedition, which was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, sought to investigate harmful organisms and how they are impacting climate change.
Chile’s Magallanes region – on the southern tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet – is known as the “end of the world” and extends from Punta Arenas through the Magallanes Strait to the Beagle Channel.
Sailing through peak-lined straits past glaciers and soaring birds, the scientists on board the oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos had their focus trained on the water, which has lower levels of acidity, salt and calcium than other seas and oceans, especially in their shallowest parts.
Scientists believe the conditions found in the water will appear in other parts of the world in the coming decades, as the impact of climate change mounts.
“The regional plans for mitigation and adaptation to climate change are out of date with respect to what is happening in the environment,” Jose Luis Iriarte, who headed the expedition, told AFP.
Crew members of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos take pictures at the glacier Fouque in the region of Magallanes, Chile. PHOTOS: AFP
“The environment is changing quicker than we as a society are responding to it.”
The scientific mission paid special attention to the “red tides” – harmful algal blooms that can turn the sea red.
They were first recorded in the Magallanes region half a century ago and have since been responsible for the deaths of 23 people and poisoned more than 200.
This area is also affected by melting glaciers, a product of global warming.
“We don’t know how these organisms and particularly microorganisms will respond to these effects,” said Iriarte.
The expedition stopped at 14 places, each time taking water samples at different levels up to a depth of 200 metres using a piece of equipment called a rosette.
Another piece of equipment was used to collect soil samples, sometimes at a depth of more than 300 metres.
The scientists also combed the shores for algae and molluscs.
From the highest point on the boat, marine biologist Rodrigo Hucke, one of 19 scientists on the expedition, spent hours scanning the surface of the water.
Spotting a far off whale, he would give the signal and then jump into a small motorboat to try to get as close as possible to the huge mammal in a bid to collect its faeces, with the aim of looking for changes to its diet.
Hucke said there has been a historical lack of action by governments when it comes to the oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the planet’s surface.
He hoped the next United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference – COP27 in Egypt – will mark a true global transformation in how the oceans are managed.
“All of this needs to change in 2022 and there needs to be a concrete decision in advancing toward profound policies of change in how us humans do things,” said Hucke.
He is worried that this region could one day become “one of the last bastions of biodiversity on Earth.”
After the nine-day mission, it was time to head back to laboratories to analyse the information gathered.
“I think we’re the voice of what nature cannot say,” said Wilson Castillo, a biochemistry student who, at 24, was the youngest member of the expedition.
VIENNA/IRAN (AFP) – The United States (US) said it had seen possible progress in talks with Iran but joined European negotiators in pressing for urgency in rolling back Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Negotiations resumed Monday in Vienna in a fresh push to make headway on reviving a landmark 2015 agreement that curtailed Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
“There may have been some modest progress,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington.
“But it is in some ways too soon to say how substantive that progress may have been. At a minimum any progress, we believe, is falling short of Iran’s accelerating nuclear steps and is far too slow.”
Former US president Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the nuclear accord and imposed a slew of punishing sanctions, including a unilateral US ban on Iran selling its key export of oil.
US President Joe Biden supports a return to the agreement but Iran has kept taking steps away from compliance as it presses for sanctions relief.
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani speaks to the press in Vienna. PHOTO: AFP
The Vienna talks began after Biden’s election but stopped in June as Iran elected a new ultraconservative government. They resumed in late November with Iran agreeing to keep talking after a brief break.
“This negotiation is urgent,” negotiators from Britain, France and Germany said in a statement.
“We are clear that we are nearing the point where Iran’s escalation of its nuclear programme will have completely hollowed out the JCPoA,” the so-called E3 powers said, referring to the deal’s official name by its acronym.
“That means we have weeks, not months, to conclude a deal before the JCPoA’s core non-proliferation benefits are lost.”
The Biden administration has warned of a return to pressure if talks fail and Iran pursues its nuclear work.
Iran was in compliance with the 2015 deal before Trump’s withdrawal but has since taken key steps including stepping up its enrichment of uranium, although it denies that it wants to acquire a nuclear arsenal.
