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THIS year, the celebration of New Year and Christmas in Moscow will held be very modest. Russians celebrate Christmas on Jan 7.

At the time of writing, there are no mass events sculed for celebrations, although skating rinks — the biggest of them is on Red Square — and theatres are open.

As for the standard operating procedure in theatres and concert halls, they must be filled no more than a third of their capacity so that the audience members can maintain physical distancing.

People over age 65 are generally not advised to go to theatres and concerts. They should stay home so as not to expose themselves to the danger of infection.

70 vaccination centres have been opened in Moscow polyclinics.

The first to be vaccinated were doctors,teachers and social workers. Since Dec 14, more Muscovites from risk groups have been able to sign up for vaccination against the coronavirus.

They are employees from public service centres, cultural institutions, as well as trade and service workers—people who are in contact by the nature of their work with millions of citizens, risk themselves and in case of illness will pose a threat to others.

The opportunity to expand the list of workers who can receive vaccination has appeared due to the receipt of a new batch of vaccines.

You can make an appointment for vaccination through the Internet, at information kiosks of city polyclinics, as well as by calling the phone number of a specific vaccination centre.

Vaccination is voluntary only for people between the ages of 18 and 60. I myself cannot get vaccinated because I am over 60 years old.

The situation is the same even for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said recently he had not yet been vaccinated as it was not yet available to people of his age — the Russian head of state is 68 years old.

He said he would do it later when the vaccine was open to people of his age.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the capital’s polyclinics, social services and all utilities will be open on New Year’s to provide medicine and food to those who observe their home regime.

The Moscow train will also operate on New Year’s Eve to prevent crowds.

By Dr Victor A. Pogadaev.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2020/12/652578/quiet-christmas-new-year-celebration-russias-capital

THE Covid-19 pandemic has almost taken over our lives this year, hogging the media with news of doom and gloom.

To add to the already troubled times, the crises surrounding Brexit have added to the uncertainties for Britain and Europe.

Christmas was decidedly bleak, with images of truckers stranded in Dover as they were not allowed to leave the United Kingdom when France closed its border to prevent new cases from a coronavirus variant.

But from every dark cloud, there’s usually a ray of sunshine.

Recently, we read about Cecilia Chuah and her family in Melbourne, Australia, who fed the homeless there and provided them with clothing to keep them warm.

There’s also the touching story about Ustaz Ebit Lew who helped a family who had been living in a car find a new home.

Here in the UK, the generosity of Malaysians continues.

Lizana Moha, or Liza, lives in Tilmanstone, a small and quiet village of Kentin the south east of England, where thousands of truckers are stranded.

She had read about the honourable efforts of the Sikh community there, who rallied together and provided more than 800 free hot meals to ensure that the truckers did not go hungry while waiting to be tested before they are allowed to drive across the Channel Tunnel.

The local community there had also been helping by lowering food supplies from the overhead bridge to the truckers.

Liza found her calling. The former Malaysian Airlines stewardess who is married to Charles Woodgate, fondly known as Che Ali, knew that the holiday season is a time for giving and sharing.

Subsequently, she posted on her Facebook page that she and her volunteer friends were going to give the stranded hauliers on the M256 motorway some hot food. She appealed for anyone with excess food, drinks and cakes to donate. And certainly, she wasn’t disappointed.

Her fellow villagers and neighbours had been quick to reach out to the hauliers, many of whom had already seen their plans to spend Christmas with their families ruined.

Liza, who hails from Ipoh, has made England her home since 2001. She acquired her cooking skills from her mother, Hajjah Ropeah, and teaches Malaysian cuisine at Chequers Kitchen, school of Cookery in Deal, Kent.

She also helps with any voluntary work in and around her area.

As the pandemic had dashed her plans to travel back to Malaysia, the mother of two now makes herself busy to keep her mind off missing her mum in Ipoh.

To help ease the hardship of the hauliers stranded in what seemed to be the among the coldest winter nights this year, she cooked chicken curry and mixed vegetables to go with rice.

She and her friends also sent donations to Manston airport for food to be distributed to the overnight hauliers.

Despite all her work, she still made it home to cook a full Christmas dinner with puddings for her husband and two boys, who had also been instrumental with their support and help.

Another kind soul is Noor Azlina Zainal Abidin, who together with her husband Grenville Peter Mills, are the owners of Cafe Rasa Malaysia at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, East London. The couple, who dream of opening a soup kitchen to feed the needy, now provide packed hot turkey meals for the rough sleepers and homeless in Kent, where they live.

“It is nothing special, just a small contribution from us,” said Azlina.

Malaysians who have made their homes abroad have been giving back to the communities they live in.

Syebvonne Nguyen from Ipoh made thousands of masks and cooked and cared for those who couldn’t leave their homes during the pandemic, just like Dr Eliesmaziah Elias who made personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals in her hometown in Manchester and was given recognition by the local mayor for her contribution.

Last but not least, there is Mercy Malaysia UK (MMUK) which has done so much during the pandemic by providing face masks and PPE to hospitals, care homes and the community.

For the coming new year, MMUK in collaboration with a Malaysian restaurant in London, Putera Puteri, will be providing food to the homeless and rough sleepers.

The pandemic may have an ugly face, but it certainly brings out the best in all us.

By Zaharah Othman.

Read more  @ https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2020/12/652356/spirit-charity-amid-adversity

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah expressed their hopes for peace, prosperity, unity and jubilation among those celebrating Christmas.

In a statement today, Istana Negara’s Comptroller of the Royal Household, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said Al-Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah also hoped the people would not be dejected by the year’s sombre mood following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Although Christmas Day this year will be ushered according to regulations and restrictions, Their Majesties said the people should be grateful since they are blessed with good health to celebrate the festive occasion with their families and loved ones.

“Their Majesties also reminded the people who celebrate the festive occasion to remain cautious and disciplined in looking after their safety and health by complying with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) implemented by the government and health authorities.

Their Majesties, he said, also called on the people to continue praying for the country to be blessed and protected from any form of threats as well as for continued prosperity and unity that have long been enjoyed by the nation.

On other matters, Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah who is on a five-day visit to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is expected to return home tomorrow (Dec 25).

“In line with the SOP by the government, Al-Sultan Abdullah will undergo a Covid-19 test upon his arrival from Abu Dhabi at the Bunga Raya Complex of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

“Al-Sultan Abdullah will also celebrate the New Year at Istana Negara since His Majesty has been advised to undergo self-quarantine as required by the Health Ministry for those returning or entering Malaysia from abroad,” he said.

By Adib Povera.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/12/651993/king-and-queen-convey-christmas-wishes

PARIS: The world is readying for a downbeat festive season with Christmas plans in tatters and New Year celebrations without crowds or fireworks – all scuppered by new virus curbs.

Here is an overview of how Covid-19 is putting a kibosh on the festivities.

Lockdowns

With a new strain “out of control” and more than 40 countries banning travel with Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson scraps plans to relax the rules over Christmas and tells people to stay home. London and southeast England – where the new strain is worst – will remain in lockdown until Dec 30.

In Italy people can only leave their homes once a day until Jan 6, with bars, restaurants and non-essential shops also shuttered.

The Netherlands has reimposed a lockdown until Jan 19 with schools and all non-essential shops closed, while Germany is under partial lockdown till Jan 10.

Norway has called on its population to follow a voluntary lockdown, while Sweden has done a U-turn on its lax attitude to the virus by asking people to wear masks on public transport at peak times.

France has slightly eased its lockdown, but has also introduced a curfew from 8pm every night with a one-day reprieve on Dec 25.

Christmas gatherings

Among the countries allowing gatherings over Christmas, Belgium is setting its limit to just one guest per household, and two guests for people living alone. Luxembourg is allowing two guests per household.

From Dec 24 to 26 in Germany, gatherings are limited to close family members.

The Netherlands is advising households to welcome no more than three guests at Christmas while France has set the maximum at six adults around the dinner table.

Quebec in Canada has scrapped its decision to allow gatherings over a four-day period during Christmas, in light of the sharp rise in new infections there.

And Ireland declared a cold Christmas Tuesday with families urged to stay at home and only two households allowed to mix from Dec 27.

Christmas shopping

Last-minute Christmas shopping is off in Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the southeast of England where non-essential shops have shut.

And there is no hope of warming up with some mulled wine in Germany from traditional outdoor stands, all shut this year.

Non-essential shops have reopened in France, but there will be no restaurants open for New Year celebrations, nor live shows.

In Switzerland, restaurants, as well as culture and sports facilities are all closing their doors before Christmas, while shops will stay open.

Christmas Mass

Pope Francis has brought the Vatican’s Christmas midnight mass forward by two hours due to Italy’s curfew.

Christmas mass in Bethlehem will take place without worshippers.

Singing in churches in Switzerland is banned, while in Greece churches will open for the festive period but with a capacity of nine people, and 25 in cathedrals.

Croatia has imposed travel restrictions for the holidays but eased curbs on Christmas masses.

New Year

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Austria have all announced fresh lockdowns immediately after Christmas.

While Portugal is imposing a curfew on New Year’s Eve and Kazakhstan will ban all mass gatherings and events from Dec 25 and through the New Year.

A partial lockdown will come into force in Poland for three weeks starting Dec 28.

And schools, universities, non-essential shops, restaurants, cinemas and sports venues will all shut in Ukraine from Jan 8 to 24.

by AFP.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/12/651558/how-covid-ruining-christmas-new-year

RIYADH: Christmas trees and glittery ornaments are for sale at a Saudi gift shop, a once unthinkable sight in the cradle of Islam where all public non-Muslim worship is banned.

In recent years, festive sales have gradually crept into the capital Riyadh, a sign of loosening social restrictions after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to steer the conservative Gulf kingdom towards an “open, moderate Islam.”

“I didn’t ever imagine I’d see this” in Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh resident told AFP at the shop selling trees, Santa Claus outfits as well as tinsel, baubles and other ornaments.

“I am surprised,” said the resident, declining to be identified.

For decades, Christmas sales were largely underground, and Christians from the Philippines, Lebanon and other countries celebrated behind closed doors or in expat enclaves.

“It was very difficult to find such” Christmas items in the kingdom, said Mary, a Lebanese expat based in Riyadh who preferred to be identified by her first name.

“Many of my friends used to buy them from Lebanon or Syria and sneak them into the country,” she said.

In 2018, amid Prince Mohammed’s liberalisation drive, Saudi customs authorities warned on Twitter that Christmas trees were forbidden from entering the country.

But the tweet, which drew sharp online ridicule, appeared to go unheeded.

In a sign of the changing times, the Riyadh shop manager, Omar, who declined to provide his surname, said this year his store sold not just Christmas items but also outfits for Halloween – widely seen by arch-conservatives as an American tradition that is a deviation from Islam.

Saudi Arabia is the custodian of Makkah and Madinah, Islam’s two holiest sites.

The Arab kingdom has long been accused of exporting its ultra-conservative Wahhabist Sunni doctrine around the world but has been slowly pushing for inter-religious exchange.

It has even hosted officials linked to the Vatican as well as Jewish figures in recent years.

Local officials say school textbooks, once well-known for denigrating Jews and other non-Muslims as “swines” and “apes”, are undergoing revision as part of Prince Mohammed’s campaign to combat extremism in education.

The heir to the Saudi throne has curbed the influence of the once-powerful religious police, as he permits mixed-gender music concerts, cinemas and other entertainment, but temples and churches are still forbidden.

Earlier this month, the United States reconfirmed Saudi Arabia’s place among a list of countries on a religious freedom blacklist.

The countries are accused of engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”, according to the US State Department.

Last month, Prince Mohammed pledged to strike extremists with an “iron fist”, after a bombing against a gathering of Western diplomats at a non-Muslim cemetery in the Red Sea city of Jeddah that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

by AFP.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/12/651072/christmas-finally-arrives-saudi-arabia

LONDON: British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”.

Hancock warned that the strict measures that affect almost a third of England’s population could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out.

“We acted very quickly and decisively,” Hancock told Sky News, justifying the “stay at home” order, ban on family gatherings over Christmas and closure of non-essential shops.

“Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control.”

Around 16.4 million people entered the strictest “tier four” measures from Sunday, or 31 percent of England’s population.

They are not allowed to hold family gatherings for Christmas, while in the rest of the country households are allowed to mix on Christmas Day alone.

London’s Metropolitan Police said that it would take action against those who “make reckless decisions that risk lives.”

Other UK regions have also tightened their anti-virus measures in response.

Wales introduced a strict lockdown from Sunday, while Scotland has banned travel to and from other UK regions for Christmas. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland will enter fresh lockdowns on December 26.

Hancock told Sky News that the situation was “deadly serious.”

“It’s going to be very difficult to keep it under control until we have the vaccine rolled out,” he said, adding: “This is what we face over the next couple of months.”

The UK hopes to reach a figure of half a million vaccinations over the weekend, the health minister said.

Scientists first discovered the new variant in a patient in September, Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told Sky News.

She said that scientists in November found the new strain was behind a cluster of cases in Kent and spreading into London and Essex and informed the government on December 11.

Public Health England then again notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain, she said.

She confirmed the figure given by Johnson that the new virus strain could be 70 percent more transmissible while saying this was an initial figure.

“I think 70 percent looks like a good number to land on at the moment,” she said.

The virus has been found in all regions of England but in small numbers, Hopkins said.

Hancock said cases have also been identified in Australia and Europe.

Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said Saturday that the new strain “contains 23 different changes,” including to the way the virus binds to human cells and enters cells.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News that London now has the same number of inpatients with the virus as during the peak of the first wave in April. Cases have also grown rapidly among those aged 10 to 19, he said.

Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Observer weekly that “if this new variant is behind the increase in this age group, then that is a big worry.”

The grave situation prompted widespread criticism of the prime minister for promising last week not to “cancel Christmas.”

“Not much was understood about this mutant virus. But that uncertainty should have been enough for the PM to see that then was the time to call off Christmas,” wrote The Sunday Mirror weekly.

Labour Leader Keir Starmer said in a video statement: “We have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late.”

Some Londoners backed the lockdown measures.

“See I think it’s the right move at the moment,” said Marcel Hadula.

“We don’t want to overwhelm the NHS, because if we do that, then how can we effectively treat everybody that will come into contact with this new strain of the Covid virus?”

But Chiara Morreale said her relatives were likely to break the lockdown rules over Christmas.

“On Christmas (Day) there’s a good chance, my auntie and uncle will come around,” she said.

by AFP.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/12/650983/britain-says-new-virus-strain-out-control