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The lawsuit, one of a series that has been filed against Google in the United States, follows complaints about Google's management of its app store, known as the Play Store, even though the company was originally seen as more open than Apple Inc. France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($593 million) fine on Alphabet's Google on Tuesday for failing to comply fully with temporary orders it had given in a row with the country's news publishers. News publishers APIG, SEPM and AFP accuse the tech giant of having failed to open talks in good faith with them to find common ground for the remuneration of news content online, under a recent EU directive that creates so-called "neighbouring rights". The case in itself focused on whether Google breached temporary orders issued by the antitrust authority, which demanded such talks take place within three months with any news publishers that ask for them. …

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PETALING JAYA: Walk-in vaccinations in the Klang Valley will begin on Aug 2 and will cater to those above 40 and people with co-morbidities first, says Khairy Jamaluddin. The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) coordinating minister said the walk-in vaccinations will now start on Aug 2 instead of Aug 1. He said that walk-in vaccinations will start to open to those above the age of 18 on Aug 5. “To avoid any fake news, not all vaccination centres (PPVs) will receive walk-ins," said Khairy at a press conference on Saturday (July 31). He added that the list of vaccination centres open for walk-ins will be issued by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) on Saturday. He added that the walk-in vaccinations will be on a “first-come-first-serve” basis that will depend on the PPV’s capacity. “We will inform the public of the capacity of the PPV on any given day. Those who did not receive the vaccine on that day, will be prioritized on the next day,” he said. …

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KOTA KINABALU: Agricultural entrepreneurs must develop more environmentally friendly products in line with the government’s policy to promote good agricultural practices in Sabah, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan. The Deputy Chief Minister said products such as organic pest control would reduce the use of chemical pesticides. “The use of chemical pesticides has been proven to be dangerous not only to the health of consumers, but also to the soil in the long run,” he said when speaking at the virtual launch of Farm Tokou Saturday (July 31). Farm Tokou, a private company established in 2018, produces organic vegetables and freshwater lobsters as well as providing agricultural and livestock farming input in Sabah. Kitingan, who is state Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said sustainable farming by startups such as Farm Tokou would inspire young people in Sabah to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in the agricultural sector and other local industries. “The government has …

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KOTA KINABALU: The state government should focus on modernising the fisheries, agriculture and livestock industries in the state to achieve self-sufficiency, says the Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC). Its president Tan Sri Andrew Lim said that strategic development of the industry would help not only in self-sufficiency, but also provide employment for the youth in the state. He said such focus by the state government would improve the economic situation of the state especially when it was facing the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic that has affected all sectors of the economy. "It will assist the people as well as rejuvenate the economy," said Liew, who is also a member of the Sabah Economic Advisory Committee and vice-president of the Associated of Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia. Liew said that SUCCC hoped that the state government would urge the Federal Government to expedite the infrastructure projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan for …

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KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) has expressed concern that the '#Lawan rally at Dataran Merdeka could cause further spread of Covid-19. "I am worried about their safety (assembly participants) when they gather in such large numbers. If one of them catches the infection on the street, it will eventually be brought home. "Maybe cases will spread further as a result of the rally," he said during a press conference after visiting the Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil vaccination centre (PPV) here on Saturday (July 31). According to Ismail Sabri, gatherings are not allowed during the Covid-19 pandemic and are deemed an offence under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342). He also stressed that the government was willing to listen to the voices and views of all parties at any time, and not only when they were voiced out during street protests. Earlier, hundreds of people were believed to have participated in …

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KUCHING (Bernama): Two more new Covid-19 clusters were detected in Sarawak involving Beluru and Kuching, bringing the total number of active clusters in the state to 84. In a statement on Saturday (July 31), the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) said the Lemua Bridge cluster is a community cluster detected in two longhouses subject to the enhanced movement control order in Seputi, Bakong in Beluru. Of a total of 133 individuals who were screened, 11 were found to be positive including the index case, 118 negative and four are still awaiting test results. In Kuching, the Kampung Git cluster is a community cluster involving several families in a village at Kilometre 27, off Jalan Puncak Borneo, Kuching. "Of a total of 41 individuals screened, 20 were found to be positive including the index case and 21 tested negative," according to JPBN. Today, Sarawak recorded a total of 485 new Covid-19 cases with three fatalities. - Bernama …

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PETALING JAYA: More than 30% of the Covid-19 deaths recorded over the past 24 hours were from Selangor, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. A total of 165 people succumbed to Covid-19 on Saturday (July 31), bringing the country's death toll to 9,024. Selangor recorded the highest number of deaths at 52, followed by Johor (30), Negri Sembilan (23) and Kedah (18). Dr Noor Hisham said that of the record 17,786 daily cases reported on Saturday (July 31), a total of 260 cases (1.5%) were from Categories 3, 4 and 5, while the remaining 17,526 cases (98.5%) were from Categories 1 and 2. “This is based on the clinical condition of the cases at the point that they were diagnosed with Covid-19. Some of the cases remained in the same category throughout the period of infection. “However, some of the cases experience a change in their health status, either improving to a lower category or declining to a higher category,” he said in a statement. Category 1 …

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The Federal Reserve felt at its December meeting that the US economy still needed help despite signs of strength, according to minutes released on Tuesday that showed little appetite to trim bond-buying plans. Some Fed officials indicated a "fairly high" threshold for reconsidering the USD 600 billion in purchases first announced back in November, while others thought more time was needed before any such re-evaluation. The rather dovish tone of the minutes suggested anyone thinking the central bank might curtail its controversial bond-buying plans, known in the markets as the second round of quantitative easing or QE2, may be getting ahead of themselves. "There is no indication that members are inclined to curtail the program," said Eric Green, chief economist at TD Securities. "The Fed will follow through with the USD 600 billion." Indeed, the December 14 meeting minutes noted that "members generally felt that the change in the outlook was not sufficient to warrant …

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A vial of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is produced in India and marketed as Covishield (Representative image: Reuters) Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a booster shot of Pfizer Inc's vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether a third round of shots should be given to the general public. The rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent vaccination rates in Israel back up as new infections have risen over the past month from single digits to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution. Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE, the main suppliers in a swift Israeli vaccination rollout that began in December, said on Thursday they will ask U.S. and European …

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Image: Reuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge caution on Monday as he is expected to confirm plans to remove nearly all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England from July 19, despite a surge of cases to levels unseen for months. Earlier this week Johnson set out proposals to eliminate rules on mask-wearing and social contact, and the instruction to work from home, on what he has called a "one-way road to freedom". He will announce his final decision at a news conference on Monday. "The global pandemic is not over yet," he said in a statement released late on Sunday. "Cases will rise as we unlock, so as we confirm our plans today, our message will be clear. Caution is absolutely vital, and we must all take responsibility so we don't undo our progress." Britain has implemented one of the world's fastest vaccination programmes, with more than 87% of adults having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 66% having received two. Close …

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