KUALA LUMPUR: The political worries besetting the country continued to weigh on the stock market, sending the FBM KLCI down below the key 1,500 again. "Hence, the KLCI which saw strong buying support yesterday may experience a reversal today underscore by the jittery sentiments. Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun is also expected to seek an audience with the King. CTOS-CD skidded 17 sen to eight sen.Kelington warrant-B rose 1.5 sen to 32 sen in active trade. SEAL gained seven sen to 46 sen.China100-MYR rose 11.5 sen to RM2.10, Scientex-WC eight sen to RM1.27 and Mercury seven sen to RM1.24.

New evidence about the Delta variant’s ability to infect and spread even among those who are fully vaccinated has been particularly alarming for parents of young children who are still not eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine. Many parents who thought their children faced limited risks of getting the coronavirus are now reassessing their stance. Photo: Unsplash/AtomsThe school debateMany health experts said moving forward with school reopening plans still makes sense. "Children need to be in school,” said Julie Swann, a health systems engineer at North Carolina State University. "To make sure we vaccinate as many people as possible to protect the kids who are too young to be vaccinated.” – dpa

KUALA LUMPUR: Embarking on the digitalisation journey need not be daunting for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as they can start small by optimising their daily business processes and tasks. Sharing the simple steps and insights on how SMEs can leverage on digitalisation for growth and sustainability was the focus of the recent Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2021 #SOS Save Our SMEs webinar. It saw industry heavyweights such as Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC) chief corporate officer Rahim Raduan, Maxis Business SME head Kevin Lee, PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd chief marketing officer Kuan Eu Jin and RHB Bank Bhd chief digital officer Dev Raaj Shanmugam diving deep into the topic. “You can’t be looking for the solution and then identifying the problem, especially in digitalisation where there are so many tools and opportunities out there.”Kuan, on the other hand, said that while digitalisation may seem to be daunting for SMEs, it was not hard to start the journey, especially starting small through basic automation in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. “The whole premise of digitalisation for me is in reducing manpower in terms of reducing the duplication of work tasks and improving accuracy and efficiency.

IPOH: All Umno MPs should follow the party supreme council's decision to rescind their support for the Perikatan Nasional government and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, says Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun. The Perak party information chief said it was now the time for all members to prove their loyalty to the party. "My praise and gratitude go to God who has opened the hearts of the supreme council members in making a firm decision with total agreement. Ahmad Zahid had on Tuesday said the decision for all its MPs to retract their support came after an emergency supreme council meeting, with signed statutory declarations to back the decision. Mohd Zolkafly, who is Lintang assemblyman, also congratulated Dr Shamsul Anuar over his decision and upholding the supreme council's decision.

“Welcome to Miyagi Stadium,” one reads. They were even billed as the “Recovery and Reconstruction Games”, and the Olympic torch relay started from Fukushima prefecture, the heart of the nuclear disaster area. Olympic volunteer Onuma talking about her experiences of the 2011 earthquake at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan. On March 11, 2011, the magnitude 9.0 quake sent a tsunami that triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. “I want to pass on the message to the next generation that we have received so much support from overseas, and we shall never forget that support,” Muramatsu said.

Nur’Awatif said when she learned about the walk-in programme, she immediately told her grandma that she would take her there for her jab. Another senior citizen who came for the walk-in vaccination was 84-year-old Rasadan Arrof and her granddaughter Rohaiyah Ishak, 30. Many made their way to the vaccination centre as early as 8am yesterday. Two other PPVs at SP Arena in Seberang Jaya and the Jawi Multipurpose Hall in Nibong Tebal are also open for walk-in vaccination for citizens aged 60 and above. Another PPV for walk-in vaccination for senior citizens has also opened at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre on Penang island.

Jom Sembang Seks” campaign starting today, Federation of Reproductive Health Associations, Malaysia (FRHAM), R.AGE and Unicef launched ANA, a WhatsApp-based chatbot for young people to access accurate information on sexual reproductive health and rights. The topics covered include Sexual Reproductive Health Education, Consent, Child and Sexual Abuse, Sexuality and Gender Identity, Teen Pregnancy and Sexual Grooming. “FRHAM is aware there is a lack of accurate, unbiased, non-judgemental views on SRHR (sexual reproductive health and rights), online or offline. “In today’s highly connected world, digital technology provides another entry point for sexuality education, although this information may not be correct. Jom Sembang Seks” will include a series of virtual town halls to empower young people across the country on the importance of understanding and exercising their SRHR.

“I registered for vaccination in March but have not received any news about an appointment yet. Florist Jun Lim, 34, registered for vaccination in February but has also not received an appointment for her first dose. Business owner Collen Sigar, 51, said getting more people in Johor vaccinated would not only protect their lives but could also lighten the burden of frontliners. As of Monday, some 1,184,151 Johoreans have received their first dose, with 470,814 having received both doses. Johor recorded 1,222 Covid-19 cases on Aug 2.

But the sight of products in plastic packaging lining the shelves is making her question the impact she has in helping to reduce plastic waste. Since the ban on dine-in and the pivot to ordering online, plastic food containers have become ubiquitous. While awareness of plastic waste — especially imported plastic — had increased, this has not necessarily impacted personal habits, she said. “Most disposable face masks contain plastic and its widespread use has increased plastic waste,” she said. However, recycling should always be the last option as contaminated single-use plastic products cannot be recycled.

At the close of trade yesterday, stock prices of Top Glove Corp Bhd , Supermax Corp Bhd , Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd declined by 1.56% to 3.27%. “Glove ASPs are trending lower. A bank-backed research analyst also agreed, saying that the general market consensus is that glove ASPs are expected to decline in the second half. Hartalega is expanding its production capacity via its Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC) and NGC 1.5 in Sepang. At the close of trade yesterday, stock prices of Top Glove Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd declined by 1.56% to 3.27%.

PETALING JAYA: All eyes will be on Pandelela Rinong to see if she can lift her performance to fit the Olympics occasion when she competes in the women’s 10m platform individual today. Pandelela and former world diving champion Cheong Jun Hoong will compete in the preliminary round at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre with an aim to finish in the top 18. It was at the same venue where 28-year-old Pandelela made the most in the absence of top Chinese divers to claim the women’s 10m platform title with 355.70 points. Pandelela do not need any bigger motivation to make the podium in Tokyo as she can become the first Malaysian female athlete to win three Olympics medal. Pandelela missed out on her first medal attempt in Tokyo when she finished eighth with Leong Mun Yee in the 10m platform synchro last week.

The 37-year-old told his former rival Lee Chong Wei that he was impressed with Lee Zii Jia’s success at the All-England and thought the world No. 8 stood a chance of glory in Tokyo prior to his last-16 defeat to eventual silver medallist Chen Long. Despite a rousing opening game, Zii Jia failed to cope with a resurgent Chen Long and lost 21-8, 19-21, 5-21. And after winning easily, he probably didn’t expect Chen Long to fight back. But Chen Long is highly experienced, kept his cool, played it point by point.

PETALING JAYA: No one will forget the way Viktor Axelsen of Denmark celebrated his Olympic Games men’s singles gold-medal victory on Monday. He went on to exchange his shirt with Chen Long of China and they briefly spoke in Mandarin. Thanks to Chen Long for being a role model in both victory and defeat. It was amazing to play an Olympics final against him (Axelsen had lost to Chen Long in the semi-finals in Rio). Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen lost to Chen Long in the quarter-finals but he is no pushover and one should not forget another Dane in Anders Antonsen - a young shuttler determined to prove himself.

(Reuters) - Doping suspicions aimed at Italy's 100 metres Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs are embarrassing and unpleasant, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Giovanni Malago said on Tuesday. Jacobs claimed a stunning gold on Sunday, setting a European record time of 9.80 seconds in the showcase final in Tokyo despite having not gone under 10 seconds until this year. The Times wrote that athletics' dark history with doping "means the arrival of any new star will alert the more sceptical". "When you set a national or even continental record that number doubles, so much so that he said the number of checks was impressive. Jacobs was one of several high-profile athletes to wear new running spikes featuring "performance-enhancing" carbon soles as he won gold.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 3): The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) announced today that the MyLLP system developed in 2013 for transactions by limited liability partnership (LLP) entities is due for an upgrade, therefore it will be shut down from Aug 6-18, 2021. “The new system can be accessed via www.ssm.com.my or www.ssm4u.com.my beginning Aug 19, 2021,” the statement said today. SSM encouraged system users to get their queries resolved as soon as possible to prevent complications or to wait till the new MyLLP is launched. It said that under the new system, transactions like user registration, name reservation and change in particulars will be much easier. For more information, visit www.ssm.com.my, call (03) 7721 4000 or e-mail: [email protected].