BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM (AFP) – Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel blamed fatigue for an alarming slump in form that continued with a 1-1 draw at Brighton early yesterday.
The European champions have won just one of their last seven Premier League games to realistically end their title challenge and leave the third-placed Blues looking over their shoulder at the contenders for a top-four finish.
For the second meeting with the Seagulls in 20 days, Chelsea surrendered the lead.
The visitors went ahead through Hakim Ziyech’s snap shot which caught Robert Sanchez in the Brighton goal by surprise. But Adam Webster’s towering header earned Brighton a fully deserved point.
“You can see we are mentally and physically tired,” said Tuchel after his side’s 15th game since the start of December.
Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga makes a save in front of Brighton’s Danny Welbeck during their English Premier League match. PHOTO: AP
“We knew they were well prepared, they had more time and less games to prepare this match.”
Chelsea host Tottenham on Sunday in their final league game for nearly a month due to an international break and their commitments at the Club World Cup in February.
And Tuchel is hoping he will be able to give his squad the rest they need to come back stronger in the final months of the campaign.
“The boys need some days off, there is no other solution,” he added.
“In the moment it is difficult to be too harsh on our players because I know what is going on.”
Tuchel had been stinging in his criticism of record signing Romelu Lukaku after a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, but kept faith with the Belgian and Ziyech in attack as Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were again left on the bench.
But there was little to impress the German once more as Lukaku and Ziyech got into a heated discussion during the first half and both were replaced after the break.
Brighton have only won twice in their last 16 league games themselves, but once again just lacked the cutting edge to their impressive build-up play.
“I was really pleased and proud of the performance,” said Brighton boss Graham Potter.
“We could work the goalkeeper a bit more, but apart from that we had everything.”
After a bright opening, the hosts were hit with a sucker punch when Ziyech justified his inclusion with a powerful low effort that Sanchez should have done better to save down to his left.
Callum Hudson-Odoi wasted a great chance to double Chelsea’s lead just before the break when he was put through by Lukaku in one of the his few productive moments.
Brighton were again faster out of the blocks after half-time and Kepa Arrizabalaga did brilliantly to turn Alexis Mac Allister’s deflected shot onto the post.
But Chelsea’s reprieve did not last long as from the resulting corner, Webster was given a free run to power home from Mac Allister’s cross.
Lukaku had Chelsea’s one clear chance to retake the lead when Sanchez made amends
for his earlier error by blocking the ball into the side-netting.
Chelsea’s record signing was then replaced as Tuchel turned to his compatriots Havertz and Werner for the final quarter.
The German international duo were just as ineffective as Brighton held out comfortably and could even have snatched all three points with more composure on the counter-attack.
The Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony showcases Brunei Darussalam’s rich centuries-old royal traditions and customs, denoting the beginning of a period of royal ceremonies (also known as Musim Istiadat Diraja), which ends when the Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony is ‘closed’.
The Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga tradition is the playing of traditional musical instruments by royal court musicians for the purpose of keeping vigil.
The ceremony highlights the richness of the Sultanate’s ancient royal customs and traditions used for heralding special occasions like a royal wedding.
The Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony (opening of the playing of traditional musical instruments) by the royal court musicians for keeping vigil was held recently, in conjunction with the royal wedding between the daughter of 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, Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah and Yang Mulia Awang Abdullah Nabil Mahmoud Al-Hashimi.
According to the Gendang Jaga-Jaga Book published by the Brunei History Centre, the Gendang Jaga-Jaga is a royal regalia found in Brunei Darussalam, used in certain ceremonies, especially in period of royal ceremonies.
Selected individuals playing the traditional instruments during the Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony. PHOTO: MUIZ MATDANI
The Gendang Jaga-Jaga consists of the nakara, two gendang labik and four serunai (flute), three chanang and two gongs.
The titir (the beat of the gendang, chanang and others recurrently) of the Gendang Jaga-Jaga consists of the Gendang Perang, Alih-Alihan Tengah and Alih-lihan Ujung, including Gendang Raja Lalu and Arak-Arakan.
The flute melodies in the Gendang Jaga-Jaga consists of Liu-Liu, Kudidi and Sangga Bunuh.
For a ceremony that requires the Gendang Jaga-Jaga to mark the ceremony’s commencement, the Gendang Jaga-Jaga will be officially opened during a ceremony at the Lapau in the capital or a venue characterised as such, accompanied by 21 shots of the cannon and later the installation of royal regalia.
If the Gendang Jaga-Jaga is bestowed upon an individual, another official opening ceremony will be held at the individual’s residence, followed by the cannon shots and later the installation of royal regalia at a suitable location. This ceremony is called the Istiadat Menjunjung Kurnia Gendang Jaga-Jaga.
Following the completion of the of the Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga, it will be relayed to the individual bestowed upon and with the ceremony’s conclusion, the Gendang Jaga-Jaga will be closed in a ceremony called the Istiadat Menutup Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony and Doa Selamat, signalling the ceremony’s conclusion.
The period of the opening until the closing of the Gendang Jaga-Jaga is called Musim Istiadat or ceremonial period. During the period, the Gendang Jaga-Jaga will be played based on its rubrics at stipulated times to signal the ceremonial period.
Auspicious ceremonies such as the coronation, proclamation of Pengiran Muda Mahkota, royal weddings, bestowment of title (Istiadat Mengarak Wazir) and royal birth will require the Gendang Jaga-Jaga.
The Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga opening ceremony commences with the beating of the Gendang Perang, followed by the Alih-Alihan Tengah, Alil-Alihan Ujung and back to the Gendang Perang.
Upon the ceremony’s conclusion, Doa Selamat will be read and the royal regalia, the nakara, will be placed at the patarana (Throne Chamber) and other instruments will be carried out of the ceremony.
Following the conclusion of the opening ceremony, it will proceed with the installation of royal regalias on the pemajangan, a white structure erected at certain venues for different occasions.
Those who play the Gendang Jaga-Jaga are selected individuals, usually from a generation of those who play the instruments. If none is available, those with the talent to play the flute, beating the nakara, gendang labik, agong and chanang will be chosen.
The instrument players are said to be those of good behaviour and able to blend in with the Royal Family, Wazir, Cheteria, Pengiran-Pengiran Peranakan and Pehin-Pehin Manteri. Their understanding of royal customs, traditions and etiquette will allow them to carry out a more efficient and orderly role.
The Istiadat Menutup Gendang Jaga-Jaga ceremony will usually begin with the recitation of Dikir Syarafil Anam and firing of cannon shots, accompanied by the beating of the Gendang Arak-Arakan. All the royal regalias decorated on the pemajangan will also be taken down to mark the conclusion of the ceremonial period.
The Islamic Da’wah Centre (PDI) through the Muallaf Development Division (Welfare) in collaboration with the Dakwah Propagation Unit continued the virtual Munajat (religious gathering seeking forgiveness from Allah the Almighty) with Muslim converts on Tuesday.
The religious programme has been held since November 2021. Acting Head Religious Officer of Temburong District Ali Hassan bin Mohd Said was the special guest.
The ceremony began with the recitation of Sayyidul Istighfar and Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by the recitation of Surah Yassiin, the recitation of Doa against COVID-19, as well as the recitation of Doa Peliharakan Sultan and Negara Brunei Darussalam.
The reading was led by Head of the Asy-Syahadah Muallaf Youth Public Relations Division, Religious Secretariat of the PDI Muhd Saiful Dafi bin Muhd Suhaimi @ Suanddy bin Suhaimi; Assistant Secretary of Kampong Bukit Mosque Takmir committee in Tutong Afiqiuddin bin Jeffriddin; and Religious Development Assistant in Temburong District Dakwah Unit of the PDI Haji Salleh Dicky bin Abdullah @ Matius Ujang anak Gajah.
Also joining the ceremony were religious teachers and Bilal of the PDI, Muslims converts who have followed the Advanced Guidance Course II and the winners of the PDI Al-Quran reading competition for Muslim converts.
Participants in the virtual Munajat. PHOTO: PDI
Acting Assistant Director of the PDI Haji Ahmad Abdussalam bin Haji Abd Rahman conveyed appreciation to all those involved in the Munajat programme since it began.
He advised converts to always self-reflect and to perform Munajat as it educates the heart to always be pious to Allah the Almighty.
The Munajat aims to instil a sense of responsibility, especially among Muslim converts, to carry out religious events and charity.
In addition, the event supports the nation’s goals of becoming a Zikir nation while continuing efforts of the PDI to guide Muslim converts.
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (AP) – The blast from the volcano could be heard in Alaska, and the waves crossed the ocean to cause an oil spill and two drownings in Peru. The startling satellite images resembled a massive nuclear explosion.
And yet, despite sitting almost on top of the volcano that erupted so violently on Saturday, the Pacific nation of Tonga appears to have avoided the widespread devastation that many initially feared.
In its first update since the eruption, the government said on Tuesday it has confirmed three deaths – two local residents and a British woman.
Concerns remain over the fate of people on some of the hard-hit smaller islands, where many houses were destroyed. Communications have been down everywhere, making assessments more difficult.
But on Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu, perhaps the biggest problem is the ash that has transformed it into a grey moonscape, contaminating the rainwater that people rely on to drink.
New Zealand’s military is sending fresh water and other much-needed supplies, but said on Tuesday the ash covering Tonga’s main runway will delay the flight at least
another day.
On Tongatapu, at least, life is slowly returning to normal. The tsunami that swept over coastal areas after the eruption was frightening for many but rose only about 80 centimetres, allowing most to escape.
A Personnel stack and secure pallets of disaster relief supplies at an airbase in Auckland, New Zealand. PHOTOS: APABOVE & BELOW: Main port facilities in Nuku’alofa, Tonga; and volcanic ash covers roof tops and vegetation
“We did hold grave fears, given the magnitude of what we saw in that unprecedented blast,” said the head of delegation in the Pacific for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Katie Greenwood.
“Fortunately, in those major population centres we are not seeing the catastrophic effect we thought might happen, and that’s very good news.”
Greenwood, who is based in Fiji and has been talking with people in Tonga by satellite phone, said an estimated 50 homes were destroyed on Tongatapu but that nobody needed to use emergency shelters. She said about 90 people on the nearby island of ‘Eua were using shelters.
United Nations (UN) humanitarian officials and Tonga’s government reported significant infrastructural damage around Tongatapu and concerns about the lack of contact from some of the low-lying islands. The Geneva-based UNWorld Health Organization (WHO) reported that many people remained unaccounted for.
New Zealand’s High Commission in Tonga also reported significant damage along the western coast of Tongatapu, including to resorts and the waterfront area.
Tonga’s government said all the homes on Mango island – where about 36 people live- were destroyed and only two houses remained standing on Fonoifua island, home to about 69 people.
The government described the event as an “unprecedented disaster” and said tsunami waves had risen as high as 15 metres in places.
Like other island nations in the Pacific, Tonga is regularly exposed to the extremes of nature, whether it be cyclones or earthquakes, making people more resilient to the challenges they bring.
Indeed, Greenwood said Tonga does not want an influx of aid workers following the eruption. Tonga is one of the few remaining places in the world that has managed to avoid any outbreaks of the coronavirus, and officials fear that if outsiders bring in the virus it could create a much bigger disaster than the one they’re already facing.
Another worry, said Greenwood, is that the volcano could erupt again. She said there is currently no working equipment around it which could help predict such an event.
Satellite images captured the spectacular eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano last Saturday, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a giant mushroom above the South Pacific. The volcano is located about 64 kilometres north of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa.
Two people drowned in Peru, which also reported the oil spill after waves moved a ship that was transferring oil at a refinery.
In Tonga, British woman Angela Glover, 50, was one of those who died after being swept away by a wave, her family said.
Nick Eleini said his sister’s body had been found and that her husband survived. “I understand that this terrible accident came about as they tried to rescue their dogs,” Eleini told Sky News.
He said it had been his sister’s life dream to live in the South Pacific and “she loved her life there”.
Tonga’s government said a 65-year-old woman on Mango island and a 49-year-old man from Nomuka island had also died, while a number of other people had
suffered injuries.
The UN Fiji-based acting resident coordinator for the Pacific islands Jonathan Veitch said he was hopeful the runway would be operational very soon. And despite damage on the coastline and at the port in Tongatapu, he said, ships should be able to dock.
New Zealand also sent two navy ships to Tonga on Tuesday and pledged an initial USD680,000 toward recovery efforts.
Australia sent a navy ship from Sydney to Brisbane to prepare for a support mission if needed.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday said China is preparing to send drinking water, food, personal protective equipment and other supplies to Tonga as soon as flights resume.
The UN World Food Program is exploring how to bring in relief supplies and more staff and has received a request to restore communication lines in Tonga, which is home to about 105,000 people, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Communications with the island nation are limited because the single underwater fibre-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world was likely severed in the eruption.
The company that owns the cable said the repairs could take weeks.
Samiuela Fonua, who chairs the board at Tonga Cable Ltd, said the cable appeared to have been severed soon after the eruption. He said the cable lies atop and within coral reef, which can be sharp.
Fonua said a ship would need to pull up the cable to assess the damage and then crews would need to fix it. A single break might take a week to repair, he said, while multiple breaks could take up to three weeks. He added that it was unclear when it would be safe for a ship to venture near the undersea volcano to undertake the work.
A second undersea cable that connects the islands within Tonga also appeared to have been severed, Fonua said. However, a local phone network was working, allowing Tongans to call each other.
But he said the lingering ash cloud was continuing to make even satellite phone calls abroad difficult.
BRUGES (AFP) – A Belgian court sentenced a Vietnamese man to 15 years in prison yesterday after convicting him of being the ringleader in the trafficking of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry.
Vo Van Hong, 45, was found guilty of leading a cross-Channel people-trafficking operation that has been linked to a truck found full of corpses on an English industrial estate in October 2019.
At least 15 of the 39 dead had passed through the Belgian-based trafficking network, which operated two safe houses in the Anderlecht district of Brussels for migrants heading to Britain.
The 2019 discovery on the Grays industrial park east of London was one of the worst involving migrants in recent years.
The victims – 31 men and eight women aged between 15 and 44, all Vietnamese – died from suffocation and hyperthermia in the confined space of the container, which arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge.
Several suspects have already been convicted and incarcerated in Britain and Vietnam in connection with the case. In France, 26 more have been charged and face trial.
Assessor Pieter Druyts, Chairman of the court Bert Salembier and Assessor Amelie Vanbelleghem chair the court during the verdict hearing at the trial of 23 people over the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated truck found in UK in 2019. PHOTO: AFP
In Belgium, Vo was one of 23 suspects – both Belgians and Vietnamese – put on trial after a May 2020 police operation in which several addresses, most in the Brussels region, were raided and Vietnamese suspected of links to the gang were rounded up.
Of the 23, a total of 19 – including Vo – were convicted and four were acquitted.
The 18 others sentenced after Vo were given prison terms of under five years, most of them suspended.
Most of the defendants were allegedly members of the people-smuggling ring. The remainder were charged as accomplices, used as safe-house guards, grocery shoppers for the migrants or drivers.
Prosecutors said the “very well-organised” gang was specialised in clandestinely transporting people into Europe then Britain for a fee of EUR24,000 (USD27,000) per person.
Vo was convicted of running a criminal organisation in Belgium involved in smuggling a total of 115 identified people to Britain between September 2018 and the date of his arrest in May 2020.
He denied acting as ringleader and claimed he was a “victim” of the smuggling ring.
He was handed a 15-year sentence, the statutory maximum, and a fine of EUR920,000 (USD1 million).
Prosecutors said the gang used an Irish trucking company that regularly imported Vietnamese biscuits to get the migrants across the Channel.
Vietnamese gang members took charge of the arriving migrants once they got to Britain.
Many of the dead migrants in the truck came from a poor region in the centre of Vietnam.
How do you find out what your net worth is? But first, what is
net worth?
Net worth is the difference between your total assets and your total liabilities. It is important for one to understand their net worth as an analysis of your net worth can tell you whether you are solvent or have a negative rating.
Total assets can be defined as anything that you own that has some store of financial value. Total liabilities can be defined as anything that you owe to others.
To conduct your net worth analysis, you would need to be well informed and aware of your total assets and your total liabilities- this would include short, medium and long- term liabilities.
To calculate your net worth, you would need to equate both your total assets and liabilities.
CALCULATING YOUR ASSETS
Total Assets = Total Cash Savings + Equity/Fixed Income + TAP/ CP Assets + Personal Assets + Others
Total Cash Savings (liquid assets) will comprise of total savings account balances, all fixed deposits and cash value of insurance. Equity/fixed income is the total of all your bonds, stocks and unit trusts. TAP/SCP Assets is the balance in your Employee Trust Fund (TAP) account/Supplemental Contribution Pension (SCP) account. Personal assets is the total of your ownership property, investment property and cars. Others could be investments in businesses.
CALCULATING YOUR LIABILITIES
Total Liabilities = Short Term Liabilities + Long Term Liabilities
Short term liabilities can be classified as loans that will be settled within three years while long term liabilities can be classified as loans to be settled after three years.
Some examples of liabilities are mortgage loans, personal loans, car loans, credit cards and overdrafts.
CALCULATING YOUR NET WORTH
Net Worth = Total Assets – Total Liabilities
A negative net worth occurs when total liabilities are more than total assets while a positive net worth occurs when total assets are more than total liabilities.
From the net worth analysis, you can also derive other useful information such as a person’s level of debt and solvency ratio.
Level of Debt (Debt to Asset Ratio) = Total Liabilities ÷ Total Assets
Solvency Ratio = Total Net Worth ÷ Total Assets
Both of the above ratios give you a measure of one’s liquidity position as well as his/her ability to pay. For “Level of Debt Ratio” the recommended level is lower than 50 per cent, and for “Solvency Ratio” the recommended threshold is 50 per cent and higher.
When you have negative net worth, it means that you have more loans than assets.
This is not uncommon but it is unhealthy. Technically, a person is insolvent if his/her net worth is negative because if he/she does not or cannot make his/her loan repayments, he/she would not have enough assets to cover his/her obligations to lenders. Saying this, there are ways to improve one’s net worth.
Negative net worth occurs through a number of factors. Usually, it comes from borrowings for purchases of items or services that are not considered as assets such as a holiday.
So, how can you improve your net worth? This can be done through discipline. If you do not have sufficient funds, then you need to start saving up for it. This should be your number one priority before anything else because this will be your safety net for whatever eventuality.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:
– Reassessing and cutting down/reducing on your non-essential expenditures, such as entertainment, shopping costs etc.
– Target yourself to save at least an additional five per cent from this exercise if possible.
– Build an emergency funds account to cover about four to six months expenses.
– Continue building this “asset” and learn about ways to further accelerate the growth through investments that suit your objectives and risk category.
– Avoid looking at quick returns. Hard work and patience brings healthy returns.
– Shop in the market for any opportunities one can earn through refinancing existing loans.
It is important to note that solving this problem requires a lot of hard work and patience. It may take months or even a few years but through those hard work and patience, the end result will be a healthier financial background.
This article is for general information purposes only and while the information in it is believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified by us. You are advised to exercise your own independent judgement with the contents in this article.
THE WASHINGTON POST – It’s often difficult to keep children’s rooms neat and organised. Throw in a pandemic that has upended our lives and schedules for nearly two years, and many parents understandably have just given up on maintaining any semblance of order. But the new year is a good time to get things under control. Here are some tips.
USE THE RIGHT TOOLS
Make it easy for your children to put items away. If they love books, choose bookshelves that they can reach and that can hold most of their favourite books. (Anchor heavy pieces to the wall to prevent tipping and injuries.)
Old dressers are nice to pass down, but if the drawers are hard to open, children are going to avoid putting away their clothes.
Clear, labelled bins are great for collections; open bins make cleaning up toys and stuffed animals easy. Wall hooks are also great for keeping clothes off the floor.
When children show they can carry out simple tasks, such as making the bed and putting clothes away, involve them in choosing storage products they’ll use in styles they like.
This does not mean that they are in complete control or that you need to spend a lot of money (you can choose from what you have or decorate old shoe boxes to hold items), but asking for their input and opinions will help them feel connected to the process and help get them excited about staying organised.
CONTROL THE INFLUX, PURGE REGULARLY
There will be a constant churn of clothes and toys for about a decade. The only way to keep children’s rooms in relative order, especially when they’re young, is to manage what’s coming in and going out. I know parents don’t have much time to keep up with the ever-changing clothing inventory, so keep a bag in a closet where you can put pieces that no longer fit as you come across them.
Experts in child development advise that kids don’t need – and shouldn’t have – a mountain of toys at their disposal. They get overwhelmed when they have too many choices and items competing for their attention.
The holidays are already upon us, and it’s too late to stop the onslaught of new stuff that’s about to arrive. We all like to spoil our children occasionally, but if we’re continually buying them new items, we can’t also get angry when they can’t keep track of or manage it all. Once the holidays have passed, pare down.
Put some items away temporarily. If they’re not missed, it’s probably safe to give them away. Donate or pass along the pieces your child has outgrown. And if there are ones they’ve outgrown that you would like to keep, create a memory box where you can store them.
Committing to buying less for your children in the new year will make it easier for everyone to keep everything under control.
MANAGE EXPECTATIONS, INVOLVE YOUR KIDS
If your goal is for your child’s room to look like something you see on social media or in a magazine, you’ll never be satisfied.
The goal should be comfortable functionality, not perfection. Both you and your child should be able to find what you’re looking for – and clean up – easily. If the room feels calm and relatively neat, pat yourself on the back.
It takes more time to tidy up children’s rooms when you involve them, which is why so many parents decide it’s easier to do it themselves. But that doesn’t teach your kids to value their belongings or to have the organisational skills they’ll need later in life.
Children need to feel ownership over their space and learn how to clean up after themselves in age-appropriate ways. Most children can start to help clean up toys and books as early as two. They won’t be able to pay attention for long, but they can put away a couple of blocks.
As they reach elementary school, children can make decisions about what to keep and what to let go of. Eventually, they’ll be able to categorise items themselves and do their own sorting and culling.
Some children will have a harder time keeping their rooms neat than others, not because they’re lazy or messy, but because learning challenges may require alternative approaches and additional tools. Cleaning up a chaotic space is difficult for adults with fully developed brains, much less adolescents or kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or developmental disabilities. Patience and flexibility are key. Try to establish a system that works for everyone but that still helps to create an orderly space.
MELBOURNE (AFP) – Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka (AFP pic below)threw her support yesterday behind a vaccine mandate on the women’s tour, as tennis wrestles with the fall-out of the saga surrounding unvaccinated Novak Djokovic.
The veteran Azarenka is a long-time member of the powerful WTA Players’ Council, which is working through the challenges posed by coronavirus.
Those were laid bare by the chaos and confusion that engulfed vaccine-sceptic Djokovic, who was deported on the eve of the Australian Open.
Speaking in Melbourne, Azarenka admitted it could be legally challenging to enforce but she believes it would be “helpful for everybody” if the WTA Tour considered a no-jab, no-play policy.
“Well, from my standpoint it’s been very clear. I believe in science. I believe in getting vaccinated, that’s what I did for myself,” the 32-year-old Belarusian said.
“If you ask me just for my opinion if that should be the case, I think it would just be helpful for everybody in the world, especially when we are travelling internationally.”
But the former world number one acknowledged that forcing people to be jabbed could prove problematic.
“Some countries will not allow mandates. I think to impose something legally on the WTA Tour can be a challenge, I think that’s something that we are facing,” she said.
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, who sits on the ATP Players’ Council, said he was “no one to say” whether there should be a uniform policy for vaccines at all men’s tournaments.
But the vaccinated 20-time Grand Slam winner, who was “very sick” with COVID last month, said getting the jab made sense.
“We went through bubbles for two years, very challenging conditions. If everybody’s vaccinated, we are allowed to improve our life on the tour and most importantly our life outside of the tour,” he said.
To play at the Australian Open players must be vaccinated, unless they have a medical exemption.
Djokovic believed he was exempt based on recently contracting COVID-19, but it was challenged by Australian authorities and after a high-stakes legal battle he flew out of Melbourne on Sunday.
Azarenka said the drawn-out controversy became “a circus” and there “should be a really hard look on this situation moving forward”.
“I think as soon as there is a grey area in the rules, that gives a bit too much questions, and situations like this happen,” said the Belarusian, who revealed she caught COVID in November.
“On certain things I think black-and-white approach is necessary. In my opinion, this should be the case.”
A passenger was trapped and found unconscious when a car and a truck collided at the U-Turn along Tanjong Maya Highway on Tuesday.
Firefighters removed the car door to extract the passenger, who was brought to the Tutong hospital by paramedics.
Seven firefighters and two fire trucks from the Tutong Fire Station led by DSO Rinald were dispatched.
On-site at the incident was Officer in charge of Tutong Fire Station Operation ‘E’ Branch SSFR Yudiswandy bin Bakar.
The Fire and Rescue Department advises the public to ensure that vehicles are in road-worthy condition and to follow road laws and regulations.
The department also reminded the public to adopt a tolerant attitude among other road users and avoid driving after taking medication that could cause drowsiness.
Firefighters at the scene of the accident. PHOTO: FRD
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Late one night, South African journalist Simon Allison woke up his wife with an idea: a weekly African newspaper for Africans, distributed via WhatsApp.
She told him to go back to sleep, and “keep it for the morning”. But that was the birth of The Continent, in the middle of the pandemic.
Even though it’s published as a PDF file and distributed on a messaging platform, The Continent feels like an old-fashioned newspaper: Catchy headlines, short stories, reported pieces and interviews.
Not to mention the eagerly awaited quiz, to test how much readers know their continent.
And it’s free, available only via WhatsApp, the most widely used messaging system in Africa.
A Zimbabwean daily, 263Chat, was the trendsetter in sharing newspapers on WhatsApp, recalled Allison during an interview in the tranquil garden of his suburban Johannesburg house.
‘The Continent’ is displayed on the screen of a mobile phone. PHOTOS: AFPKiri Rupiah and editor Simon Allison. PHOTO: AFP
“We wanted to create a newspaper, not a website,” he said, birds chirping away, while a cat roamed around and a lawnmower buzzed in the distance.
Kiri Rupiah, 34, the team’s distributor and “geek” said the paper has helped to filter the deluge of information that came with the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our families started using us as informal fact-checkers. ‘Is this true about Covid?’ And all these exchanges were happening on WhatsApp,” said Rupiah, with trendy glasses and a smile brightened by dimples.
“We are different than most newsrooms who want lots of subscribers,” she said. “I want 10 people who are engaged, that are going to share with six or seven people they know.”
“They also have access to us,” she added. “It creates community and trust.”
A university professor was one of their first fans.
“He shares the newspaper every week with 50 people,” said Rupiah and because he recommends it, they are likely to read it.
She has cellphone numbers of all of the nearly 17,000 subscribers, even receiving “an explicit photograph by mistake” from one over-eager subscriber. “He was super apologetic,” said Rupiah.
NO CENSORSHIP
Barely two weeks passed from that first, late-night idea and the first issue in April 2020, said the bespectacled Allison, who converted his guest room into the newspaper office.
Things moved fast. He got help from three journalism students, who were happy to keep busy during the pandemic, and hired a few freelancers, paying them from his own pocket for the first few months.
The debut edition went out to friends and family, but “after 48 hours, we had 1,000 subscribers. We achieved virality in a week”, said Allison.
At the time he was the Africa editor of the Mail and Guardian, a dynamic South African weekly. With his co-founder Sipho Kings, they went fundraising, with pro-democracy charities chipping in.
“Funders see us as a weapon against disinformation, an innovative way to combat it,” he said.
For now they have secured funding for their tightly budgetted operating costs over the next two years.
The energetic team of journalists in their 30s – based mostly in South Africa, but also in Uganda and the UK – is teeming with story ideas.
“If we had more funding we could do more fun things,” said Allison, who has his eyes set on launching a French or even a Kiswahili edition.
Looking back, he’s proud of some of their groundbreaking work so far.
One of their notable stories came in February 2021, under the headline: ‘The country where Covid doesn’t exist.’ It looked at Tanzania, where the president had declared Covid did not exist – even as hospitals and cemeteries were overflowing.
Distributing via WhatsApp is fast and convenient, but also protects against censorship.
“Governments can censor print, websites as well. That’s pretty easy,” said Allison.
“But WhatsApp messages encrypted and published from South Africa, which has strict media laws… there is no way to censor.”
