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Coronavirus: Singapore’s struggle to source nasal swabs shows why test kits are so scarce

In a back room of Singaporean dentist Teehee Dental Works, three orange-topped boxes hum with a sterile buzz.Over the next three hours, a thousand strands of liquid resin will form and harden to become plastic nasal swabs, ready to be used in Covid-19 test kits. Those 3D printers – normally making dentures and crowns – are a part of a local effort to re-tool some of Singapore’s industries to respond to a growing need for test kits amid the widening coronavirus pandemic.With one of Asia’s…




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Coronavirus survivors: they said we brought the plague to Indonesia, say country’s first patients

Ratri Anindyajati had plenty of things to worry about when she, her sister and her mother became the first three people in Indonesia to catch the coronavirus. Little did she know that personal abuse and social stigma would be among them.But that was exactly what came her way after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo revealed to a stunned nation on March 2 that Indonesia had recorded its first two infections. Though he did not name the victims, their details soon leaked out; Anindyajati’s younger…




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Coronavirus survivors: Covid-19 felt worse than when I was shot, says Muay Thai camp owner who attended Lumpinee fight

The night of March 6, 2020, started much like every other night for boxing camp owner Pitak Kaewprapol – with a visit to a fight.Pitak and thousands of other Muay Thai fans had packed the New Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok to watch an evening of kick-boxing, ignoring a government order just three days earlier requiring large gatherings to be cancelled or postponed.Like many others among the crowd of fans, tourists, celebrities, trainers and promoters who packed the 5,000-capacity stadium,…




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Coronavirus survivors: aged 93, this Indian man did everything with his wife. Including getting Covid-19

When 93-year-old Thomas Abraham was being treated for Covid-19 in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Kottayam, southern India, the one thing he missed was making black coffee for his wife, Mariyamma, 88.He need not have worried, the two would soon be having their morning cuppa together again – Mariyamma had contracted the disease too and both were being treated in the same hospital.“[At first] we were in separate wards but when both of us started missing each other, the doctors moved us…




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Coronavirus: anxiety over Chinese workers in Indonesia as job losses increase

Rising job losses and persistent xenophobia over the origins of the coronavirus are leading to growing resentment against Chinese migrant workers in Indonesia. Last week, legislators in Southwest Sulawesi province rejected the planned arrival of about 500 workers hired by the Chinese-backed PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry and PT Obsidian Stainless Steel despite permits being issued by the central government in Jakarta. The provincial governor Ali Mazi told state news agency Antara he…




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How Singapore’s president spoke up for home businesses amid pressure to ease tighter circuit breaker rules

Picka.treatsg, an online business operating out of a Singapore public flat, saw an increase in orders of its cakes late last month, after the authorities announced commercial snack and drinks outlets would have to temporarily stop operating.This came amid tighter restrictions during Singapore’s circuit breaker or partial lockdown period, and just before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.Singapore moves nursing-home employees into hotels to protect elderlyWith orders growing from…




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Malaysia’s Mahathir, Anwar say Muhyiddin’s government doesn’t have mandate to rule

Malaysia’s on-again-off-again political partners Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim said “it’s time” to restore an election mandate that they won two years ago, issuing a statement together for the first time since internal bickering in February led to the collapse of their ruling coalition. The two leaders – now in the opposition – said the current government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin wasn’t the choice of voters at ballot boxes and does not have a mandate to rule. The statement…




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British population in Czech Republic growing faster since Brexit referendum

Prague Daily Monitor

According to data released by the Ministry of Interior, the number of British citizens living in the Czech Republic has increased about 35% since the Brexit referendum, and Brits with their permanent residence in the Czech Republic have risen almost 55% since 2016.

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Strong winds rip through Prague Tuesday afternoon

Prague Daily Monitor

Strong winds felled trees on to cars and flung loose materials across the city on Tuesday afternoon. The spokesperson for the Prague Firefighter Brigade said that "so far we have responded to 23 incidents related to wind up to 15:00. The most common calls were related to fallen trees, scattered branches and debris."

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Prague wants CZK 350 million tram line extension from Modřany to Nové Dvory

Prague Daily Monitor

The Prague Transport Authority (DPP) is funding a project to extend the tram track from Sídliště Modřany to Nové Dvory. The extension will be 1.8 kilometers long and cost about CZK 350 million. The target completion date would be 2027.

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MPs vote to limit automatic release from prison for pregnant women

Prague Daily Monitor

Judges will no longer have to automatically pause or delay sentences for pregnant women, or women with a child under one year old, and release them from prison if the case includes particularly serious crimes. The judges will be able to make the decision according to factors including danger to those involved. The notion was passed at the first reading in the Lower House and drafted by politicians from almost every political party.

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Police seek arsonist with burnt hands: suspect set nine cars ablaze

Prague Daily Monitor

A suspect has been caught on camera during an incident which set ablaze nine cars in Prague 9 on street Na Obratce. The damage is estimated to be about CZK 5 million, four cars being totally gutted. Police are looking for a suspect with serious burns on his/her hands.

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A blast of winter accompanied by heavy winds

Prague Daily Monitor

Tuesday saw a small return of winter to the Czech Republic. Temperatures dropped during the morning as clouds cleared. Soon heavy winds followed and reaped destruction on infrastructure. At the height of the destruction there were almost 18,000 households across the country with electricity outages during the day. The worst outages were felt in Southern Moravia according to E.ON. Meteorologists are also warning people to be safe in the mountains as wet snow can break branches and fell trees.

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Fraudster posing as CIA agent draws over CZK 1.5M from women

Prague Daily Monitor

A serial con-artist, defrauding women into thinking he was a CIA agent or a director of a shopping mall, has been captured by police in Kladno. The 47 year old man, wanted for another fraud he was convicted for, has a five year prison term outstanding. The man has several prior convictions, which in the past were also fraud related; an example: conning women out of money in Tábor area or around Prague, posing as a medical doctor.

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Friday random news clippings

Prague Daily Monitor

Most mountain ranges across the country have received fresh snow. All suspected cases of coronavirus in the country have been tested negative. A young man was convicted of growing marijuana and sentenced to three years in prison. The Prague Monitor is continuing its fundraiser to upgrade its systems.

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Over the weekend and back to work

Prague Daily Monitor

Over the weekend the weather was great, if not ideal for skiing and mountain sports. The combination of a snow dump in many areas and ideal sunny conditions brought lots of visitors to the hills. Weather wise the sun and pleasant conditions will give way to a wet unpredictable week.

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In Search of Prague: The Renaissance of Monastic Beer Brewing

by Ileana Lobkowicz | Prague Daily Monitor

There's no doubt that the Czech Republic has a long and proud history of beer, claiming the title of highest beer-consuming nation per capita. But what is perhaps less known is that beyond the country's drinking abilities lies a centuries-old tradition of brewing beer — and in the most unlikely of places: monasteries.

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High winds cause an estimated 50,000 trees to fall in Šumava Park

Prague Daily Monitor

The high winds from the "orkan" of the past few days have caused an estimated 50,000 trees to fall in the Šumava National Park. The exact count of the damage to the park is still being calculated by park rangers.

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Czech robs bank in Switzerland; later found by police having a beer at a local pub

Prague Daily Monitor

The city of Chur, Switzerland had some excitement on Thursday when a 55 year-old Czech walked into a bank with a pistol, shooting into the ceiling twice, terrifying patrons. The man managed to walk away from the bank with several tens of thousands of Swiss Francs. The suspect was found soon after, sitting in a pub calmly, drinking a beer reported a Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger.

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Heat wave breaks records across the country

Prague Daily Monitor

A common topic over the past several years: temperature records falling on the positive side. The past several years have been some of the hottest in human's short recorded history. Again yesterday several records were broken, including České Budějovice's Rožnov where the temperature has been measured for 136 years.

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Bolt driver forcibly removes blind woman from taxi; bothered by her seeing-eye dog

Prague Daily Monitor

According to a story run in Deník N, a blind woman going out for a morning walk ran into a nightmare scenario on Monday in Prague's trendy Žižkov area.

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ANO continues to be the most popular party, two January polls show

Prague Daily Monitor

Whether PM Andrej Babis (ANO) was attacked by the Million Moments demonstrations, accused by the European Commission of a conflict of interest in wrongfully taking European subsidies after an audit was completed, or the December investigation reopening concerning a construction project, his party continues to lead by a huge margin in polls.

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Another day of high winds and warmth: river levels rising

Prague Daily Monitor

As seems to be the norm this winter, the Czech Republic had another day of record warm temperatures on Sunday. With the warm temperatures came high velocity winds which knocked out electricity for hundreds of homes in the western part of the country, caused traffic accidents and as much as a 30% halt in railways service.

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New educational program for English-speaking children opens in Prague

Two Hour School

For bilingual families, choosing a school may no longer be a dilemma. The Two Hour School has opened in Prague.

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Coronavirus: symptoms, risks, and where to go to seek help

by Paul Lysek | Prague Daily Monitor/Unicare

With the headlines full of stories written to cause us anxiety about the flu and coronavirus, we asked our partners at Unicare, a Prague premium healthcare company, to help us write up some key important facts about what to look for and how to deal with symptoms.

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Survey: Prague ranked 15th most wheelchair-friendly city in Europe

HomeToGo

As we celebrate the International Wheelchair Day this coming Sunday on March 1st, we are sharing the results of a report into the 'Most Wheelchair-Friendly Cities in Europe'. Prague ranked at spot #15 and was found to be more accessible than larger cities like Paris or London.

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Coronavirus: 6 infected, first school closed, biathlon without fans

Prague Daily Monitor

Some people are panicking, some people are fighting at the bulk retailers across the pond, some are getting haircuts in China with a meter distance between themselves and the barber. But what is actually going on here?

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SUNY Empire State College launches student exchange programs with UNYP

UNYP

Last month a new partnership agreement was signed between the University of New York in Prague and SUNY Empire State College. Under the agreement, SUNY Empire students would have access to new extensive study abroad and exchange programs between New York and the Czech Republic, which would incorporate a wide range of educational options to experience Prague.

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New coronavirus or Covid-19 Prague and Czech Republic update

Prague Daily Monitor

The Covid-19 virus brought new measures to the Czech Republic. With cases quickly growing to over 10,000 in Italy, and surrounding countries running over a thousand cases each, the Czech Republic has decided to try and get ahead of the virus and stop its spread. Schools are closed for an unspecified amount of time. All activities which have groups larger than 100 people are cancelled.

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Customer enters store without a mask, ends up in the hospital

Prague Daily Monitor

In Brno yesterday, a thirty-six year old man tried to enter a local supermarket without proper face protection. The fifty-nine year old security officer on duty was not willing to yield the rule and demanded the man not enter. A scuffle broke out and it ended with the customer being driven off in an ambulance.

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Infant mortality in Cambodia is being reduced with Czech help

Czech Development Agency

While as late as 1990 the WHO reported 116 deaths for every 1,000 births in Cambodia, the situation has now improved fourfold. This is credited to a Czech Development Agency project through which health care equipment and neonatal tools, including incubators, were provided to the Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh.

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Kenyans are watching use of IMF cash

This is relief money, meant to cushion suffering Kenyans against the ravages of Covid-19.




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Here is how to keep children from poor families in school

The conditions of slum life affect girls and boys from poor households in a similar way.




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Don’t neglect those with underlying illnesses

Community health workers can sensitise individuals.




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Parents are getting raw deal in virtual learning proposals

Virtual learning will leave out a significant proportion of learners.




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Agronomist notebook: Rains are here, watch out for grey mould in tomatoes

Disease, also known as Botrytis cinerea, turns fruits partially black to brown near the stalk




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Little-grown broccoli, cauliflower put good cash in farmer’s wallet

Samuel Murithi’s decision to grow the niche crops pays off as demand for the two vegetables picks up, thanks to their health benefits




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We opened grocery after Covid-19 shut our events planning business

Julie and Moses saw the disease shut down their events’ planning business, but this did not put them down. They now run a grocery store




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Vet on call: To cull or not to cull cow? All the points to consider

Age, milk output and breed are some of factors to keep in mind as you choose to reduce your herd




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Insuring more smallholder farmers will boost food security

Agricultural insurance has the potential to add immense value to agriculture value chains by facilitating access to means of production and changing behaviour by reducing uncertainty.




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Jacaranda offers great beauty and good wood carvings

Jacaranda was first introduced in Africa via Cape Town in 1829 before spreading to the rest of the continent.




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Making sweet silage for pigs from potato vines

Silage from the crop is one of the best feeds for the animals especially when they are three months of age and weigh more than 25kg




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Davis vs Frank sibling rivalry will return, vows younger Wanangwe

Davis, 29, has competed against his elder brother Frank, 33, in top flight hockey since 2012.




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Kipchumba cannot wait to run against world’s best in London

He won Beyond Zero Half Marathon this year.




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Virus threat forces Russia to curb WWII celebrations

Russia has become Europe's hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic.




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One of world's oldest men marks 116th birthday in South Africa

Fredie Blom says cigarettes were his only birthday wish this year.




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Pandemic fuels historic US job losses, EU wants borders kept shut

In the United States, 20.5 million jobs were wiped out in April -- the most ever reported .




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Britain to introduce two-week quarantine for arrivals: reports

More than 31,000 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have now died in Britain.




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We are not celebrating just yet, says Gor Mahia coach Polack

Rachier has refused to comment on the matter due to conflict of interest.




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Ethiopian troops admit shooting down Kenyan plane

Soldiers say they suspected aircraft was on suicide attack mission at the airstrip.