Day: July 18, 2022

WELLINGTON– New Zealand records 7,612 new community cases of COVID-19 and 22 more deaths from the pandemic, the Ministry of Health said today.

 

In addition, 363 COVID-19 cases have recently travelled overseas, it said.

 

Currently, 797 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 20 in intensive care units or high dependency units.

 

New Zealand has reported 1,498,402 confirmed cases of COVID-19, since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian ringgit bounced back to open marginally higher against the US dollar today, as more investors weighed on a possible interest rate hike by the Federal Open Market Committee next week, a dealer said.

 

At 9.08 am, the local currency improved to 4.4440/4490 versus the greenback from last Friday’s close of 4.4480/4505.

 

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said upward pressure on the local currency eased after a University of Michigan survey revealed that inflation expectations in July had eased following the lower US interest rates at the moment.

 

“However, I remain cautious on the eurozone and the possibility of a recession, which would in turn support the US dollar globally as it is a safe haven,” he told Bernama.

 

The ringgit was traded easier against a basket of major currencies.

 

The local currency eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1806/1847 from 3.1688/1710 last Friday and weakened versus the Japanese yen to 3.2161/2199 from 3.2048/20699 previously.

 

It also fell vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.2835/2894 from 5.2629/2658 on Friday and decreased against the euro to 4.4867/4917 from 4.4662/4687.

 

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The Police have arrested a 21-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons under Section 326 of the Penal Code 1871.

 

On 17 July 2022 at about 2.10 am, the Police responded to a case where a man had allegedly assaulted another man with a karambit along Circular Road. Preliminary investigations revealed that a 37-year-old man was involved in a fight with a 21-year-old man, and the 21-year-old man had allegedly retaliated by slashing the 37-year-old man with a karambit before he fled the scene. The 37-year-old man suffered multiple laceration wounds and was conveyed conscious to the hospital.

 

Through extensive ground enquires and with the aid of the images from Police cameras, officers from Central Police Division and Criminal Investigation Department established the identity of the 21-year-old man and arrested him within 12 hours of the reported offence. A karambit which was purportedly used during the incident was seized.

 

During the arrest of the 21-year-old man, another 19-year-old man was arrested for the offence of harbouring an offender under Section 212 of the Penal Code 1871. The 21-year-old man will be charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons under Section 326 of the Penal Code 1871 and the 19-year-old man will be charged with harbouring an offender under Section 212 of the Penal Code 1871. Both men will be charged in court on 19 July 2022.

 

The offence of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapon under Section 326 of the Penal Code carries an imprisonment term of life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term which may extend to 15 years, and shall also be liable to a fine or to caning. The offence of harbouring an offender which is punishable with imprisonment term between one year to 20 years, carries an imprisonment term which may extend to one-fourth of the longest term of imprisonment provided for that offence, or a fine, or both.

 

 

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Police are investigating six men, aged between 62 and 78, for their suspected involvement in illegal gambling activities.

 

On 16 July 2022, officers from Woodlands Police Division conducted enforcement operations against illegal gambling activities in the vicinity of Yishun Ave 5.

 

Two 74-year-old men, were allegedly found to have acted as bookmakers to four others, aged between 62 and 78. Cash of more than $2,200, two handphones and gambling paraphernalia were seized as case exhibits.

 

Investigations are ongoing.

 

Under the Betting Act, any person who is found to be involved in bookmaking shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than $20,000 and not more than $200,000 and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Under the same Act, any person who bets with a bookmaker shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

 

The Police take a serious view of all forms of illegal gambling activities and will continue to take tough enforcement action against those who are involved in such activities.

 

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Monetary Board has disqualified the two (2) entities listed below and any sole proprietorship owned and/or controlled by their respective owners/operators from registering with, and/or obtaining a license from, the BSP to engage in any activity supervised by the BSP, for engaging in the Money Service Business without prior BSP registration.

The above disqualification is pursuant to Section 901-N of the BSP’s Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions, and is part of the BSP’s efforts to address the proliferation of entities engaged in the operation of unauthorized MSBs.​

 

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

Myanmar’s military junta has been rounding up teachers who are members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CMD) and have been giving online lessons at a school linked to the shadow National Unity Government (NUG).

Kaung for You was set up to educate pupils who are boycotting classes or have been unable to attend school. It offers online education by CDM teachers for around 20,000 children across the country.

“We heard that up to 15 people were arrested in Yangon, Mandalay, Shan state and Thanintharyi region,” a member of the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation (MTF) told RFA on Monday.

“The parents of the students are so worried. I warned Kaung for You school to be careful before the arrests. Anything can happen at any time when [the school] is public,” said the MTF member, who declined to be named for safety reasons.

The arrests took place between July 13 and July 18 and included Kaung for You founder Kaung Thaik Soe, the assistant director for education at Myitthar township in Mandalay region.

The school’s plan to move from online lessons to classroom teaching last Wednesday was halted by the arrests that day of Kaung Thaik Soe and two teachers. The junta announced the arrests three days later.

The school says its website was then hacked, allowing the military council to locate and arrest other teachers.

Students and parents told RFA they were also afraid of being arrested if their names and addresses had also been leaked.

The NUG’s Ministry of Education denounced the arrests as a violation of children’s rights to free education. It said it would offer help to the detained teachers, continue courses for pupils and open an emergency hotline to provide advice and assistance.

Aside from school boycotts, many children in Myanmar have been denied education since the coup on Feb.1, 2021 due to a surge in attacks on schools, teachers and students.

There were at least 260 attacks on schools between May 2021 and April this year, non-profit organization Save the Children said in a report last month.

In April bombs were found in four schools and there were three explosions in or close to schools. There were also 33 recorded cases of educational buildings being set on fire, 10 direct attacks on teachers and 10 schools occupied by the military.

The ruling junta says at least 40 teachers have been killed in demonstrations and fighting between troops and militias.