SINGAPORE (CNA) – Singapore will ease COVID-19 measures for travellers outside the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) arrangement, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MoH) announced on Friday.
From 11.59pm on January 7, 2022, non-VTL travellers from category 2 to 4 countries will no longer need to take on-arrival COVID-19 tests.
Travellers from category 2 and 3 countries are required to serve stay-home notice for seven and 10 days respectively.
Those from category 4 countries need to serve 10 days at a dedicated facility.
The earlier requirement for on-arrival tests “was to pick up the Omicron cases early, as the variant was new, and we wanted to learn more about it”, said MoH in a press release.
Travellers queuing for PCR tests at Changi Airport, Singapore. PHOTO: CNA
“As we have gathered more information on the Omicron variant, we have further assessed that OATs (on-arrival tests) for non-VTL travellers… are no longer required,” it added.
They will have to test negative on a PCR test at the end of their notice period, “further reducing the risk of onward transmission”, said the ministry.
Travellers from Hong Kong, Macao and China – places under category 1 – who are not required to serve stay-home notice will still need to take a PCR test on arrival.
VTL travellers will continue to be required to take COVID-19 tests up till day seven of their arrival. This enhanced measure will be extended by four weeks from its initial cut-off date of January 2 until January 30.
As of Thursday, Singapore has detected 912 imported Omicron cases, 685 of whom were detected through the enhanced testing regime for VTL travellers.
“The enhancement has proven effective in detecting imported Omicron cases amongst VTL travellers and reducing onward transmission,” said MoH.
“As the global situation evolves, we will continue to adjust our border measures in tandem with our roadmap to becoming a COVID resilient nation,” it added.
SANAA, YEMEN (AP) – An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition has mistakenly hit a camp of allied Yemeni pro-government forces, killing at least 12 troops, Yemeni military officials said on Friday.
The strike, which took place on Thursday in the province of Shabwa, also wounded at least eight Yemeni troops, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
There was no immediate comment from the coalition, an ally of the forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki did not respond to numerous calls and messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Yemen has been torn by civil war since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran the capital of Sanaa and much of the country’s north. In 2015, the coalition intervened to halt the rebels and restore the internationally recognised government to power. However, the war has slogged on for years and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
At the scene of the strike, several bodies were burned and three military vehicles, some of which carried automatic rifles, were destroyed, said two local residents who asked not to be identified by name, fearing reprisal.
Friendly fire incidents where Saudi-led coalition airstrikes have hit allied ground forces have happened on occasion during Yemen’s conflict.
In the past months, fighting has escalated between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces around the central city of Marib and the coastal city of Hodeida.
The coalition has also increased its airstrikes on Sanaa and other rebel-held areas in Yemen in recent weeks.
Yemeni troops taking positions at the frontline in the southeastern province of Shabwa, Yemen. PHOTO: AP
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned from a one-game absence to score 23 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat a depleted New York Knicks team 95-80 on Friday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Western Conference Player of the Week, sat out Wednesday’s loss at Phoenix with ankle soreness, but played a team-high 34 minutes. Aaron Wiggins scored 13 and Ty Jerome had 11 points.
The Thunder came into the game giving up 108.2 points per game. The Knicks’ total was the lowest for an Oklahoma City opponent all season.
Gilgeous-Alexander credited the team’s mindset in posting their best defensive performance of the year.
“Every night we try to make the paint difficult for teams,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We know that’s where the best shots are generated. I think that was the main focus tonight. And we executed it.”
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots between New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin (1) and guard Miles McBride (2). PHOTO: AP
RJ Barrett had 26 points and Immanuel Quickley scored 11 for the Knicks, who were without Julius Randle and Kemba Walker.
It was a special night for Thunder assistant coach Mike Wilks, who took over this week for coach Mark Daigneault, who is in the NBA’s health and safety protocol. Wilks got his first win and after the game, Thunder players showered him with water and awarded him with the game ball.
Wilks said it was certainly memorable to get the victory on New Year’s Eve.
“Everybody in the organisation contributed to this,” Wilks said. “Our coaching staff did a phenomenal job. And the players came out and played the right way. So glad we came out on top tonight.”
The Knicks led by as many as nine in the first quarter behind quick starts from Mitchell Robinson and Evan Fournier. But Jerome made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first quarter to give Oklahoma City its first lead, 23-20, and never trailed the rest of the way.
Jerome opened the second quarter with another 3-point basket, then fed Theo Maledon for another 3 to complete a 9-0 run.
Oklahoma City went up by 10 in the second quarter, but Barrett completed a drive just before halftime to make it 51-49 in favor of the Thunder.
New York scored six straight to open the fourth quarter to cut the Thunder lead to 74-71, but Oklahoma City responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to double digits.
HANOI (AFP) – A court in Vietnam on Friday handed a five year jail term to an activist for social media posts criticising the government.
Former middle school teacher Le Trong Hung is the fifth activist to be imprisoned in the last two weeks by the communist state, which tolerates virtually no opposition to its rule.
The 41-year-old campaigned as an independent for the country’s national assembly election in May, but was rejected as a candidate by the authorities.
He was arrested in March and tried on Friday for “making, storing, distributing or propagating information and documents aimed at opposing the socialist republic of Vietnam”.
According to lawyer Ha Huy Son, Hung was given a five-year jail term and a five-year probation order at a trial in Hanoi lasting just half a day.
Past state media reports said Hung had used social media to “publish writing or livestream the distortion and disparagement of the government”. Human Rights Watch called on Vietnam to release Hung “immediately and unconditionally”.
“Imprisoning activists like Le Trong Hung who dare to run as independent candidates for Parliament shows what a charade Vietnam’s elections are,” the organisation’s Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said in a statement.
Vietnam’s hardline administration often moves swiftly to stifle dissent, jailing activists, journalists and any critic with a large audience on Facebook.
Vietnamese activist Nguyen Van Tuc was sentenced to 13 years’ jail for “attempting to overthrow the state”, just days after six of his colleagues were also handed heavy jail terms. PHOTO: AFP
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Brunei Darussalam representative Andrew Lee, together with 40 participants comprising TECO staff, Taiwan Business Association of Brunei Darussalam members and friends, collected 50 bags of trash during a clean-up at Muara Beach on the first day of 2022.
Co-organised by the association and BLIA Sdn Bhd, the event demonstrated the joint efforts towards a sustainable future by contributing to the restoration of the coastal ecosystem, raising awareness on the importance of recycling and maintaining the beauty and cleanliness of beaches in the Sultanate.
Lee praised the association and BLIA for the collective efforts in launching beach clean-ups and other cleaning campaigns over the years. He also thanked the participants for playing their part in supporting the community and ensuring Brunei’s coastline remains free of waste.
The office will continue to participate in similar activities in the future, he said.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam representative Andrew Lee joins other participants in picking up trash at Muara Beach. PHOTO: TECO
PARIS (AP) – Sorrow for the dead and dying, fear of more infections to come and hopes for an end to the coronavirus pandemic were – again – the bittersweet cocktail with which the world said good riddance to 2021 and ushered in 2022.
New Year’s Eve, which used to be celebrated globally with a free-spirited wildness, felt instead like a case of deja vu, with the fast-spreading Omicron variant again filling hospitals.
“We just need enjoyment,” said Karen Page, 53, who was among the fed-up revellers venturing out in London. “We have just been in so long.”
The mostly muted New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global pandemic. More than 285 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than five million have died.
In Paris, officials cancelled the fireworks amid surging infections and re-introduced mandatory mask-wearing outdoors, an obligation followed by the majority of people who milled about on the Champs-Elysées as the final hours of 2021 ticked away.
ABOVE & BELOW: Indians hold the cutouts to welcome 2022 on New Year’s Eve in Ahmedabad, India; and a security guard holds up a sign indicating that there is no countdown event at the famed Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo as people gather to celebrate New Year’s eve. PHOTOS: AP
A man celebrates the start of the New Year, backdropped by fireworks exploding in the background over Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Berlin, police urged people not to gather near the Brandenburg Gate, where a concert was staged without a live audience. In Madrid, authorities allowed only 7,000 people into the city’s Puerta del Sol downtown square, a venue traditionally hosting some 20,000 revellers.
In the United States (US), officials took a mixed approach to the year-end revelry: nixing the audience at a countdown concert in Los Angeles, scaling it back in New York yet going full speed ahead in Las Vegas, where thousands turned up for performances and a fireworks show on the Strip that got off to a late start because of gusty winds.
President Joe Biden noted the losses and uncertainty caused by the pandemic but said: “We’re persevering. We’re recovering.”
“Back to work. Back to school. Back to joy,” Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. “That’s how we made it through this year. And how we’ll embrace the next. Together.”
In New York, officials allowed just 15,000 people – vaccinated and masked – inside the perimeter around Times Square, a sliver of the one million that typically squeeze in to watch the famed ball drop. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, defending the event, said people need to see that New York is open for business.
Yet by Thursday, rapper LL Cool J had dropped out of the New York telecast after a positive COVID-19 test and restaurant owners battered by staffing shortages and omicron cancelations throughout the holiday season struggled to stay open.
“I’m really scared for our industry,” said New York restaurateur David Rabin, who watched reservations and party bookings disappear this month. “No one made any money in December. The fact they may have a good night tonight, it has no impact.”
Airlines also struggled as the year came to a close, cancelling thousands of flights after the virus struck flight crews and other personnel and amid bad weather.
The pandemic game-changer of 2021 – vaccinations – continued apace. Pakistan said it had fully vaccinated 70 million of its 220 million people this year and Britain said it met its goal of offering a vaccine booster shot to all adults by Friday.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin mourned the dead, praised Russians for their strength in difficult times and soberly warned that the pandemic “isn’t retreating yet”. Russia’s virus task force has reported 308,860 COVID-19 deaths but its state statistics agency says the death toll has been more than double that.
“I would like to express words of sincere support to all those who lost their dear ones,” Putin said in a televised address broadcast just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones.
Elsewhere, the venue that many chose for New Year’s celebrations was the same place they became overly familiarly with during lockdowns: their homes.
France, Britain, Portugal and Australia were among countries that set new records for COVID-19 infections as 2021 gave way to 2022. In London, the normal fireworks display, which would have attracted tens of thousands of people to the city centre and the banks of the Thames, was replaced by a light and drones show broadcast on television. Location details about the spectacle were kept secret in advance to avoid crowds gathering.
“The last two years have been so difficult for so many people, so many have suffered and there is a point when we need to start coming together finally,” said Mira Lluk, 22, a special needs teacher.
France’s unprecedented 232,200 new cases Friday marked its third day running above the 200,000 mark. The UK was close behind, with 189,846 new cases, also a record. In London, officials said as many as one in 15 people were infected with the virus in the week before December 25. Hospitalisations of COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom (UK) rose 68 per cent in the last week, to the highest levels since February.
In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach welcomed a small crowd of a few thousand for 16 minutes of fireworks. Rio’s New Year’s bash usually brings more than two million people to Copacabana beach. In 2020 there was no celebration due to the pandemic. This year there was music on loudspeakers, but no live concerts like in previous editions.
Yet boisterous New Year’s Eve celebrations kicked off in the Serbian capital of Belgrade where, unlike elsewhere in Europe, mass gatherings were allowed despite fears of the Omicron variant. One medical expert predicted that Serbia will see thousands of new COVID-19 infections after the holidays.
At Expo 2020, the sprawling world’s fair outside Dubai, 26-year-old tourist Lujain Orfi prepared to throw caution to the wind on New Year’s Eve – her first time ever outside Saudi Arabia, where she lives in the holy city of Medina.
“If you don’t celebrate, life will pass you by,” she said. “I’m healthy and took two (vaccine) doses. We just have to enjoy.”
Australia went ahead with its celebrations despite reporting a record 32,000 new cases. Thousands of fireworks lit up the sky over Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and Opera House at midnight. Yet the crowds were far smaller than in pre-pandemic years.
In Japan, writer Naoki Matsuzawa said he would spend the next few days cooking and delivering food to the elderly because some stores would be closed. He said vaccinations had made people less anxious about the pandemic, despite the new variant.
“A numbness has set in, and we are no longer overly afraid,” said Matsuzawa, who lives in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo. “Some of us are starting to take for granted that it won’t happen to me.”
South Korean authorities closed many beaches and other tourist attractions along the east coast, which usually swarm with people hoping to catch the year’s first sunrise.
In India, millions of people rang in the New Year from their homes, with nighttime curfews and other restrictions taking the fizz out of celebrations in New Delhi, Mumbai and other large cities.
In mainland China, the Shanghai government cancelled an annual light show along the Huangpu River that usually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. There were no plans for public festivities in Beijing, where popular temples have been closed or had limited access since mid-December.
In the Philippines, a powerful typhoon two weeks ago wiped out basic necessities for tens of thousands of people ahead of New Year’s Eve. More than 400 were killed by Typhoon Rai and at least 82 remain missing.
Leahmer Singson, a 17-year-old mother, lost her home to a fire last month, and then the typhoon blew away her temporary wooden shack in Cebu city. She welcomed the New Year with her husband, who works in a glass and aluminum factory, and her one-year-old baby in a ramshackle tent in a clearing where hundreds of other families erected small tents from debris, rice sacks and tarpaulins.
Asked what she wants for the New Year, Singson had a simple wish: “I hope we won’t get sick.”
LONDON (AP) – Scientists and medical chiefs who have led Britain’s response to the pandemic were awarded knighthoods on Friday in the country’s annual New Year Honours List, which recognised the achievements of hundreds of people from James Bond star Daniel Craig to teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu.
Queen Elizabeth II also made former Prime Minister Tony Blair a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior British order of chivalry.
In another year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said almost one in five of the honours were for coronavirus-related service. Chris Whitty and Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s chief and deputy medical officers, were awarded knighthoods. Jenny Harries, head of the United Kingdom (UK) Health Security Agency, and June Raine, chief executive of Britain’s medicines regulatory body, were made dames.
In total, the Honours List recognised more than 1,200 people in the UK this year, including scientists, actors, politicians, Olympic athletes and people who worked to raise funds for charities.
Craig, who made his final outing as 007 in the blockbuster No Time to Die, was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George – the same honour given to the fictional Bond – for his services to film and theatre.
The title is often given to diplomats, and Bond was described as holding it in the film franchise and the books by Ian Fleming.
Elsewhere in entertainment, veteran actress Vanessa Redgrave is to be made a dame, while former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, known as Mel B, was recognised for her work with domestic violence charity Women’s Aid.
In sport, 19-year-old United States (US) Open champion Raducanu becomes an MBE, or a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
“This year has been full of amazing surprises for me so to end 2021 with this appointment is very special,” Raducanu said.
Other athletes who were awarded included Olympic champion cyclists Jason Kenny and his wife Laura, diver Tom Daley and swimmer Adam Peaty.
British monarchs have awarded honours as part of orders of chivalry since the Middle Ages. In modern times, nominations are submitted to the government’s Cabinet Office and vetted by a committee before being passed on to the prime minister and the queen for approval.
The knighthood given to Blair, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was separate from the main list because it was decided by the queen and made without government advice.
The queen also appointed two others to the Order of the Garter: Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Baroness Valerie Amos, a Labour member of the House of Lords, who will become the first black person to be appointed to the order.
THE HAGUE (AFP) – Dutch politician Sigrid Kaag (AFP; pic below) said on Friday she is set to be the new finance minister, becoming the first woman to head the treasury in the country that leads Europe’s so-called frugal group.
Kaag’s progressive D66 party has seized the key role in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s new Cabinet, which is due to be sworn in on January 10, after coming second in elections in March.
The former diplomat, 60, replaces the hardline Wopke Hoekstra as finance minister, whose centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party lost ground to come in fourth place in the elections, behind the far-right opposition PVV party.
“We have ambitious plans for the coming period. The Netherlands stands for big choices and big investments, in education, on climate, on a strong Europe,” Kaag said in a statement to the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
“The role of finance minister is crucial in the responsible implementation of these plans.”
The job of Dutch finance minister is closely watched in Europe as the Netherlands leads the so-called “frugal four” group that frequently clashes with southern European states over spending.
The group, which also comprises Austria, Denmark and Sweden, has argued for tougher restrictions on Covid recovery spending and also called for rule of law restrictions on funds for some Eastern European states.
Kaag resigned after a brief stint as caretaker foreign minister in September over the government’s handling of the Afghan evacuation crisis after the Taleban took over Kabul.
She was previously minister for foreign trade and development.
Rutte announced earlier this month that he had finally sealed a coalition deal to secure a fourth term in office, with a government involving the same four parties as his previous administration.
TORONTO (AP) – Pascal Siakam had 25 points and matched his career-high with 19 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 31 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-108 on Friday night.
OG Anunoby scored 26 points and Gary Trent Jr had 10 as the Raptors won for the first time in three games and snapped a four-game losing streak against the Clippers.
Weakened by COVID-19 absentees in their last two games, Toronto welcomed VanVleet, Anunoby and Justin Champagnie back from health and safety protocols.
Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes also exited protocols, but was unavailable because of a sore right knee.
Anunoby, who missed 13 games in November and December because of a hip injury, started alongside Siakam for the first time since November 15.
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (L) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers guard Amir Coffey. PHOTO: AP
Marcus Morris Sr scored 20 points, Terance Mann had 18 and Reggie Jackson 17 as the Clippers lost for the second time in 14 games when leading after three quarters.
Amir Coffey scored a season-high 15 points for Los Angeles. Luke Kennard added 13 points.
The game was played in a mostly empty arena after the Ontario government reduced capacity limits to 1,000 people in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19. No tickets were sold, and only a few dozen friends and family were allowed in. Toronto’s previous two home games had been limited to 50 per cent capacity.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue entered health and safety protocols on Friday afternoon. He’s the 10th NBA coach to do so this season, but the first to have it happen in Canada.
Assistant coach Brian Shaw coached in place of Lue.
“Coach did a great job stepping in, having us prepared and making adjustments on the fly,” Jackson said.
Jackson returned for the Clippers after missing the last four games, three while in the health and safety protocols. Los Angeles was without center Ivica Zubac, who entered the protocols on Thursday.
Centre Khem Birch started for Toronto, his first action since November 21, while Precious Achiuwa was back after missing the last four games after being in the health and safety protocols.
The Raptors finished with 18 offensive rebounds, compared to three for the Clippers, outscored Los Angeles 21-3 in second-chance points, and had 96 field goal attempts to LA’s 78.
“To me, that’s the game right there in a nutshell,” Shaw said.
Toronto’s Chris Boucher snapped a 105-all tie with a pair of free throws with 2:08 remaining, and Siakam’s slam with 1:34 left gave Toronto a four-point edge.
Mann countered with a 3-pointer for the Clippers, but VanVleet drove for a layup and, after a missed 3 by Morris, added a decisive 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. Anunoby capped it at the free throw line as Toronto closed with a 7-0 run.
MANILA (CNA) – The Philippines will impose tighter curbs in the capital region for the next two weeks, the acting presidential spokesperson said on Friday, to try to limit infections by the Omicron coronavirus variant that is spreading globally.
The Philippine Ministry of Health on Friday recorded 2,961 new coronavirus infections, a two-month high, and reported a positivity rate of 10.3 per cent.
“In the coming days, we might see an increase in active cases,” acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a televised announcement.
The region including the capital Manila is an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to more than 13 million people. It will be placed under the third of a five-scale alert system on January 3 to 15, Nograles said.
Level 3 bans face-to-face classes, contact sports and funfairs. The government’s coronavirus task force will also reduce the operating capacity for social events, tourist attractions, amusement parks, restaurant dine-in services, fitness studios, and personal care services.
With roughly 2.84 million total confirmed cases and 51,504 casualties, the Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.
The Philippines has so far detected 10 Omicron cases, three of which three were domestic infections and the rest were from overseas travellers. The country’s genome sequencing capacity is limited.
“It is prudent to assume that Omicron is already in circulation, or is already in the community,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque said at a news conference on Friday.
A healthcare worker inoculating a boy at a vaccination centre in San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines. PHOTO: CNA
