Malaysia didn’t go back to the future for Najib’s 1MDB verdict

July 29, 2020 | 6:31 pm

By Daniel Moss

THIS DEVELOPMENT, in a Malaysian courtroom, truly is unprecedented.

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak was found guilty Tuesday on charges of abusing power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust. The verdicts in the high court capped the first of a series of trials stemming from scandals at state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB. The judge sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and a fine of 210 million ringgit (nearly $50 million). His legal team will work to keep him out of custody during the appeals process.

The saga enmeshed Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Hollywood and spurred an outcry that helped drive Najib’s party from government in 2018, the first time the long-suffering opposition won a general election. The revolution was short-lived; the new cabinet collapsed less than halfway through its five-year term, largely because its two leaders, Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim, couldn’t bury decades of rivalry. But the team was in power long enough to preside over something extremely important — the arrest and charging of Najib with an array of corruption offenses, a first for anyone who ever held Malaysia’s top office.

For all the rancor and disillusionment that accompanied the implosion of Mahathir’s second spell as premier — he ran the country between 1981 and 2003, at the head of the party that Najib later led — the nonagenarian politician engineered a couple of big things. Najib’s appearance in a courtroom as a defendant was one of them. The pursuit of former leaders has characterized the transition to a fuller version of democracy in places like South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Malaysia has now had its turn. Najib, who maintains his innocence, will appeal, and the legal process still has a long course to run. No matter. The Southeast Asian country has crossed a milestone in the rule of law. Goldman, which settled with the government last week for $3.9 billion, will be content to have sealed that deal before there’s any fallout.

When I was Bloomberg News’s bureau chief in Kuala Lumpur during the late 1990s, I couldn’t conceive of a prime minister busted for so much as a parking infringement, such was the authority of the long-ruling United Malays National Organization. Mahathir sat atop the power structure and survived a serious challenge during the Asian financial crisis from his deputy, Anwar, that ended in trials and imprisonment for his erstwhile protege.

Najib, then an up-and-comer, was never just a run-of-the-mill politician. Even after leading UMNO to historic defeat and being charged, he has rebounded as a popular figure. His pedigree is deeply woven into Malaysia’s political, economic, and social fabric. He is descended from aristocrats and is the son of the country’s second prime minister, who presided over contentious affirmative-action laws that enshrine benefits and preferences for the Malay majority.

Najib’s status is what makes it amazing that things got as far as a courtroom, much less that the judge turned thumbs down on all seven counts. The decision is emphatic enough that the appeals process will have to stand up to scrutiny. While it runs, Najib can keep rebuilding his following in UMNO and await a shift in the political winds; by-election candidates are happy to have selfies with him and his supporters are scattered through many branches of the party. There’s always the prospect of a royal pardon.

When UMNO maneuvered its way back into power in March by allying with defectors from Mahathir’s camp, the disappointment among reformers was palpable. Many feared political expediency would mean that the new prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, a party stalwart, would take a more lenient stance and that Najib would somehow escape the law. After all, given the pandemic and a deep economic slump, who could blame voters if they lost interest?

The real significance of these court proceedings so far is that they happened, period. Granted, it took a historic change of government. That may be one of Mahathir’s real services to his country after a life in and around politics. He created the circumstances that facilitated this unprecedented chain of events. The opposition now knows it can win, under the right circumstances, and leaders can be held to account.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

HK facing worst wave of virus

July 29, 2020 | 5:07 pm

ONCE a coronavirus success story, Hong Kong is facing its worst outbreak yet, and policy makers are realizing how little they can do without making a bad situation worse.

New infections have broken records in nine of the last 20 days. But unlike other global cities, Hong Kong has been reluctant to impose stay-at-home restrictions or close nonessential businesses. Instead, the rules have gotten incrementally tighter, changing by the week. Public gatherings were limited to four people, then two. Dining-in was banned for dinner, then lunch. Masks were required on public transport, then all indoor public spaces, now everywhere outdoors as well.

The steady drip of half-measures goes against what the short history of the pandemic has shown to work: broad and stringent lockdowns levied early on the infection curve. In Australia and other places currently fighting flare-ups, officials have quickly reinstated tight restrictions.

While still modest compared with outbreaks in many global cities, the uptick in Hong Kong is particularly troubling, arriving after months with near-zero community transmission and from as yet untraceable origins — exactly the circumstances in which the tightest restrictions are thought to be the most effective.

But going further in Hong Kong could lead to a humanitarian crisis. “It is extremely difficult to enforce a lockdown in Hong Kong,” said Fernando Cheung, a lawmaker with a record of social advocacy. “There are more than 200,000 people living in subdivided units, some without private toilets and others combining their kitchens, toilets, and sleeping places all in one room. To ask people not to step out of that environment for a long period of time is inhumane and impractical.”

With the average apartment running around 500 square feet -— about the size of a New York City studio — it’s not just the city’s 1.4 million poorest residents living in tiny spaces. Refrigerators are too small, shelf space too limited to stock up on a week’s worth of food at a time. And while ordering groceries online has become standard in other modern cities, it isn’t common or easy in Hong Kong.

“A full lockdown? Nobody will say that this isn’t in the arsenal, but logistically it’s a nightmare,” Bernard Chan, a top adviser to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said in an interview. “People still need to go out and buy groceries. And people live in such a tight environment, even going down the lift you’re exposed.”

NANO HOMES
The challenge facing Hong Kong offers more evidence of the disparate impact of the pandemic along existing social and economic fault lines. From the US to parts of Europe and South America, the most vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of the health crisis, made worse by dysfunctional institutions and structures.

The city’s lockdown dilemma has already played out in some developing countries like India, where the measure caused economic devastation and starvation without slowing down the virus. The country abandoned its lockdown last month and cases have accelerated to nearly 50,000 a day.

Whether or not Hong Kong officials tighten restrictions further, time is running out on the current strategy. Some 80% of isolation beds and wards in public hospitals are full, and the city’s testing capacity is limited. The government is trying to add capacity with private testing labs in Hong Kong and mainland China, and preparing community isolation centers for patients in stable condition.

Meanwhile, the economy is already in deep recession, rocked first by months of anti-Beijing protests, then by the pandemic. The government reports second-quarter growth figures on Wednesday, and economists expect a contraction of 8.2% compared with a year ago and near the record first-quarter decline of 8.9%. The unemployment rate has more than doubled to 6.2% in the past 12 months, reaching a 15-year high.

In its current state of political and economic fragility, Hong Kong can’t impose heavy lockdowns to eliminate all cases the way mainland China does, said Lam Ching Choi, a medical doctor and adviser to Ms. Lam. Instead, the measures have to balance personal and economic needs with public health outcomes, and allow the city to remain an open, international financial center.

“Our trust level is maybe the lowest compared with western countries because of the social events that happened this year,” Ms. Lam said in an interview. “So we must listen to our people and not affect their work, their daily lives — like shopping or visiting their family members.”

The poorest in one of the world’s most unequal societies are already suffering under the new restrictions, even if they’re not officially locked down.

“This is a humanitarian disaster for the poor,” said Ng Wai Tung, a social worker at the Society for Communication Organization. Some of the city’s poorest families have to share masks because they can’t afford more. Many have lost jobs, he said, and homeless people have lost access to public showers.

At 62, Yu Kwan-yee works two cleaning jobs to afford the rent on a subdivided unit in a poor neighborhood. “I feel depressed, as I have to sit on the bed and face the walls,” she said. “When others can have room to hoard food, I need to go to wet markets every day. It’s risky — who wouldn’t worry?” — Bloomberg

US warns vs planting mystery seeds from China

July 29, 2020 | 5:07 pm

US FEDERAL AGENCIES are investigating suspicious and unsolicited packages of seeds that have been arriving at addresses across America and appear to come from China.

Anyone who receives the shipments should hold onto the seeds and packaging and immediately contact officials, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a statement.

The USDA doesn’t have any evidence to indicate this is something other than a “brushing scam,” where a seller sends unsolicited packages so they can post false customer reviews online and boost sales, it said.

Authorities in Canada also said there have been reports of its citizens receiving unsolicited seed packages, echoing the USDA’s warning not to plant them.

“Unauthorized seeds could be the seeds of invasive plants, or carry plant pests, which can be harmful when introduced into Canada,” the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement. “These species can invade agricultural and natural areas, causing serious damage to our plant resources.”

China’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the problem parcels are forged and not from the Asian nation. China Post has strictly followed regulations that ban the sending and receiving of seeds, and has talked to its US counterparts about returning parcels to the Asian nation so it can investigate further, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

The USDA is collecting the seed packages and will test their contents for anything that could be of concern to US agriculture or the environment, it said. — Bloomberg

Bio-secure bubble presents unusual challenges for NBA

July 29, 2020 | 5:01 pm

LOS ANGELES — An NBA season like no other resumes inside a bio-secure bubble in Orlando this week, following a four-and-a-half month break, in what will probably be the most uniquely challenging title run in the 74-year history of the league.

Bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy in October will require a level of mental toughness never seen before. Players have to stay away from their families for three months, play in front of empty stands and also subject themselves to regular COVID-19 tests.

“We are in uncharted waters,” Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said on Tuesday.

“Twenty two teams in a bubble, isolated on a campus, in a dorm living together in the middle of a pandemic. We’ve got civil unrest in our country and players have left their families at home.

“Whoever wins this championship, with everything that’s going on in the world, they will have wanted it.”

Miller, who will be calling games for broadcaster TNT, said he had only been at the Orlando campus for three days and was already “going crazy.”

Some players have even likened their stay at the Walt Disney World Resort to being in jail.

“Just left the crib to head to the bubble … felt like I’m headed to do a bid man!” Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said on Twitter earlier this month, using a slang term to compare the stint in Florida to a prison sentence.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, an MVP candidate in search of his first championship, added: “This is going be the toughest championship you could ever win because circumstances are really, really tough.”

OFF-COURT CHALLENGES
The challenges extend beyond the bubble and the still raging pandemic that forced the NBA to shut down on March 11.

The death of several high profile Black people, including George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May, has also galvanized the league to take action against racial injustice and police brutality.

The basketball courts at the Orlando campus will have the words “Black Lives Matter” written on them and players will be permitted to put social justice messages on their jerseys, shoes and warm up shirts.

“People talk about the physical aspect it takes to win a championship, and it’s a lot,” Miller said.

“But whoever wins this championship, that team is going to have to be mentally locked in.”

And the challenges the bubble presents will only grow as time passes.

“It’s fun now because they’ve been off for four-and-a-half months and they’re just glad to be playing basketball,” Miller said.

“Once teams start dwindling down and you’re still in the bubble, you’re still on the campus, you’re still getting that room service, your family is still not there and there’s still no fans, there’s still a pandemic on the outside and you’re still getting tested every single day.

“You, your team mates, your coaches, your support staff — everyone has to be mentally strong. All it takes is a small sliver for that to be fractured.”

No matter who wins the title, they will not have long to celebrate.

The finals are scheduled to end no later than Oct. 13 and training camps for the next season could begin as early as Nov. 10 with opening night on Dec. 1, according to ESPN.

The NBA also hopes teams can play in their home markets next season since asking all 30 teams to spend another season inside a bubble is probably not realistic. — Reuters

Elite new coach Racela confident wards can make things happen

July 29, 2020 | 5:00 pm

TASKED to help steer the Blackwater Elite to respectability in the Philippine Basketball Association, new coach Nash Racela said he is confident of his wards making things happen but admittedly in a gradual manner.

Mr. Racela, 48, joined the Elite in the offseason and is looking to take a young crew and the struggling squad to a level of consistency in winning in the local pro league.

And having had the opportunity to work for some time with the pieces at his disposal, the former TNT KaTropa coach said the outlook for the team is positive and that they cannot wait to explore the team’s potential.

“Our mindset is to improve day-to-day and we always believe in the saying that slow progress is still progress,” Mr. Racela shared during his recent guesting, along with older brother Olsen, on Tiebreaker Vods’ Coaches Unfiltered podcast.

Mr. Racela, who also had a stint with Far Eastern University as coach, said they were seeing continued development in the team until the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ground everything to a halt.

“Before the pandemic we were seeing improvements already in the team. If you watched us during our first tune-up game, we were beaten by a wide margin which was really embarrassing. But towards the end of February, our performance improved. Then came the pandemic and all the activities stopped. But again, as long as we focus on continuing to grow, I think we will be okay in time; that Blackwater can be competitive,” he said.

For the currently suspended PBA season, the Elite are made up of young veterans and upstarts.

With the team are Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Mac Belo, Niño Canaleta, Mike Cortez, Carl Bryan Cruz, Ed Daquioag, James Sena, Don Trollano, Yousef Taha and Roi Sumang.

Also in the lineup are Paul Desiderio, Chris Javier, Marion Magat, Diego Dario, Ron Dennison, Mike Tolomia and rookie Maurice Shaw.

Mr. Racela said with the kind of team they have he sees a running squad that could also put pressure on the defensive end.

“In terms of system, I’ve been consistent ever since that I want a team that runs. I think with Blackwater I’m very fortunate to have a young group of players at least majority of them who could really run and put pressure on the defensive end. That is what we want to be consistent with in our game,” he said.

The Blackwater coach went on to say that they see rookie Shaw as being of help although they are not putting too much pressure on the Filipino-American player in his first year with the team.

“With Maurice Shaw, initially we’re not setting high goals for him. We want him to be very serviceable, be a defender, be an anchor of the defense, grab some rebounds, intimidate the opposing teams especially when they attack the basket,” said Mr. Racela of his 35-year-old rookie, the second overall pick in last year’s draft.

“Based on our tuneup games, he has been able to do what we are asking of him. Slowly he has been adjusting to the style of play here in the PBA. We’re very positive with Maurice Shaw,” he added.

Like the rest of the league, Blackwater is preparing to return to gym training sessions after the PBA was given the nod to do so with the issuance of the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) from the government.

The JAO came from the Games and Amusements Board, Department of Health and the Philippine Sports Commission and contains the implementing guidelines governing the conduct of professional and nonprofessional sports training while the country is under community quarantine brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blackwater hopes to begin non-scrimmage workouts once it completes the first of a series of swab testings for all of its team personnel, which is one of the conditions set by the league, and approved by the government, for the return of activities. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Abelardo seeks to get back to winning in ONE Championship return

July 29, 2020 | 5:00 pm

SET TO SEE action when ONE Championship makes its comeback tomorrow from a months-long, coronavirus-forced break, Filipino-Kiwi fighter Mark “Tyson” Fairtex Abelardo is angling to make it a winning return for him after losing in his previous fight.

Part of “ONE: No Surrender” on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand, Mr. Abelardo (19-7) is set to face promotion-debuting Fabrício “Wonder Boy” Andrade (2-2) of Brazil in a 67-kilogram catchweight encounter.

Mr. Abelardo is coming off a loss to Troy Worthen in February this year in Singapore, the last live event staged by ONE before going to a break because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. He yielded to his American opponent via unanimous decision.

Given the chance to get back on the winning track just as ONE makes its return, Mr. Abelardo said he is very excited about his upcoming fight.

“It’s amazing, it’s good to be back, especially with competing. When ONE said they were going to come back and they announced the show, it was perfect. I wanted to get on it and I was like, let’s do it,” said 28-year-old Abelardo.

Coming off a loss, Mr. Abelardo knows that his upcoming fight is important to stabilize his ONE career.

The Fil-Kiwi won his first three fights in the promotion, before going 1-2 in his last three assignments.

Despite that, Mr. Abelardo remains undeterred and views his recent “struggles” as opportunities to get better.

“It’s just like a small bump in the journey. You know you can’t win them all, you just got to get better, prove yourself and put on a better performance in the next fight and that’s what I plan to do,” he said.

No Surrender will be headlined by the flyweight muay thai world championship clash between reigning champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon of Thailand and compatriot Petchdam Petchyindee Academy.

Co-headlining is the featherweight muay thai world championship battle of champion Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy of Thailand against Yodsanklai Iwe Fairtex.

The event will be played at the Impact Arena in Bangkok without live audience as a precautionary measure against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

No Surrender will be aired live over ONE Sports+ and ONE Sports on July 31 at 8:30 p.m. with an encore telecast on Aug. 1 at 8 a.m. and Aug. 3 at 9 p.m. over ONE Sports, and on Aug. 1 at 11 p.m. over TV5. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Milo brings mission of building champions online

July 29, 2020 | 4:59 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FORCED to adjust by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Milo Philippines has decided to take its mission of continuing to build champions online through the Milo Homecourt project.

The online initiative, done in collaboration with Milo’s partner organizations, provides a wealth of sports content, with interactive and physical activities aimed at empowering parents to continue their kids’ champion journeys through sports even while at home amid COVID-19.

“With the situation right now with the pandemic, young people really have to stay at home. But it does not mean they should stop being active,” said Lester Castillo, assistant vice-president, Nestle Philippines-Milo, during Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum where they discussed what Milo Homecourt is all about.

“During this time, moms and dads are seeking imaginative ways to keep their kids active and moving, and sports is the perfect outlet to promote not just a healthy lifestyle, but also instill valuable life lessons that their kids can use to grow into well-rounded individuals. And the Milo Home Court can be a useful resource for that,” he added.

Under the campaign, Milo brings its signature sports clinics to the digital space with the Milo Sports Clinics Online.

The online program is available on the Milo YouTube channel where parents can find free video lessons for nine sports disciplines namely arnis, badminton, basketball, football, gymnastics, karatedo, volleyball, taekwondo and tennis.

All online courses are developed and facilitated by Milo’s expert coaches and mentors from its partners such as the Philippine Taekwondo Association and the Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK), ensuring that kids receive the best kind of training.

Homecourt also includes interactive training classes that will help kids further develop their skill sets and gain a better understanding of their strengths. These classes come with a minimal enrollment fee, and provide aspiring athletes the advantage of real-time supervision and expert assessment by the best coaches in and outside of the country.

The program begins next month with live online classes in karate and taekwondo. Because of the limited slots available though, parents are encouraged to enroll their children early.

Through the initiative as well, Milo is looking to help support the livelihood of coaches and trainers, who were displaced by the pandemic.

“It’s a very good project. It has never been done before. And you wouldn’t automatically think that sports like karate can be taught online but we were able to find ways. I’m proud that many sports right now are trying online training,” same Southeast Asian Games gold medal-winning karateka Jamie Lim, a product of the Milo sports program.

Ms. Lim, daughter of basketball legend Samboy Lim, and AAK’s Richard Lim joined Mr. Castillo during their PSA Forum session.

The Milo Home Court campaign is in support of World Health Organization’s Global Recommendation on Physical Activity for Health.

For more information about the Milo Home Court campaign, visit the Milo Philippines YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ2Wzb2qXmrCgIYnPq6VfvQ/playlists) and the Milo Facebook page (www.facebook.com/milo.ph).

NFL: More players opt out of season as training camps open

July 29, 2020 | 4:59 pm

NEW England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Patrick Chung and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Eddie Goldman have decided to skip the upcoming NFL season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, US media reported on Tuesday.

Six players on the six-time Super Bowl-winning Patriots have now decided to opt out of the season, ESPN reported, as the NFL opened training camps for all players on Tuesday.

The reports did not specify why Hightower and Chung had decided to skip the season, though Goldman cited concerns over COVID-19 in his decision, according to the NFL Network.

Hightower, whose fiancee gave birth earlier this month, posted a message to “Pats Nation” on his Twitter account, thanking the fans for their support.

A Chicago Bears spokesman said the team did not have any official statement to share. A spokesman for the Patriots said they were unable to confirm any players had opted out, citing the “formal process” that all players must undergo with the league in order to do so. — Reuters

PSC webinars for para-athletes successfully held

July 29, 2020 | 4:58 pm

NATIONAL para-athletes and coaches were the focus of a series of online seminars hosted by the Philippine Sports Commission recently.

Took place from July 17 to 23, the week-long sessions for the differently abled were dubbed as “PARA-Athletes: Isang selebrasyon ng pagpupugay at pasasalamat sa mga natatanging Filipino Para-Athletes” and conducted by the PSC Sports Rehabilitation Unit along with the Philippine Paralympic Committee.

The webinars were geared towards further shoring up knowledge and awareness for the paralympic movement and recognizing the achievements of para-athletes.

“Our goal is to raise social media awareness about para-sports, para-athletes and persons with disabilities, and recognize their achievements for the country,” said PSC Sports Rehabilitation officer-in-charge Rico Barin in a statement.

Over 300 para-athletes from athletics, sitting volleyball, football, swimming, chess, archery, wheelchair basketball, cycling, dancesport, triathlon, bowling, powerlifting, badminton, table tennis, goalball and boccia, took part in the week-long program, held in conjunction with the celebration of the National Council on Disability Affairs’ 42^nd National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR).

Topics on body and postural mechanics, proper mobilization and transfer strategies for para-athletes, as well as online zumba session were conducted by PSC’s Physical Therapists’ Arryl Puchero, Maya Angelou Mel, Jaja Antonio, Riggs Poblete, Christine Magtibay, and Fatima Pereyra.

PPC President Michael Barredo and Secretary-General Walter Torres thanked PSC Chairman William Ramirez and the whole sports body for initiating such a program, seeing it as going a long way in further giving attention to differently abled athletes and raise their self-esteem, especially amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We thank Chairman Ramirez for making sure that our para-athletes are educated on sports psychology programs like this to reinforce their training and skills,” said Barredo.

“This tribute given to our para-athletes during the NDPR week is a boost in their morale self-esteem, especially at times like this when the pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of sporting events,” former Olympian fencer Torres, for his part, said.

Seeing how the webinars were warmly received, the PSC said its sports rehab unit is looking at holding similar initiatives in the future. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

MLB shuts Miami Marlins down for a week in bid to contain virus

July 29, 2020 | 4:58 pm

MAJOR League Baseball has postponed all Miami Marlins games through Sunday in a bid to contain a COVID-19 outbreak among its players that could potentially endanger the 2020 season.

Miami, who opened their season last Friday in Philadelphia, have reportedly had 17 confirmed cases — 15 players and two coaches — over the last five days.

The team will now have to make up seven games during the truncated, 60-game schedule after MLB postponed two of its games on Monday and five more on Tuesday.

“Given the current circumstances, MLB believes that it is most prudent to allow the Marlins time to focus on providing care for their players and planning their baseball operations for a resumption early next week,” MLB said in a statement.

The Marlins said their players are having a difficult time enduring this experience and that the team reached out to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred with concern for the health and safety of the team and their opponents.

“We have moved to a daily testing schedule while we isolate and quarantine appropriately, along with enacting additional preventative procedures with our travelling party,” Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said in a statement.

“For the time being, we will remain in Philadelphia and gather information in order to make informed decisions and prepare for our return to action next week.”

MLB also postponed the remainder of the Phillies-Yankees series, scheduled to be played on Tuesday in Philadelphia and Wednesday and Thursday in New York, “out of an abundance of caution.” Their Monday game was previously postponed.

DILIGENCE VITAL
According to MLB, in over 6,400 tests conducted since last Friday there have been no new positive tests of on-field personnel from any of the other 29 clubs.

“The difficult circumstances of one club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field,” said MLB. “The realities of the virus still loom large, and we must operate with that in mind every day.”

According to MLB’s operations manual for the novel coronavirus-delayed season, team members who test positive must have two negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart before they are allowed to return to team facilities.

Anthony Fauci, the leading US expert on infectious diseases, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” program earlier on Tuesday that it was too soon to halt all MLB action.

“You just have to watch this, this could put it in danger. I don’t believe they need to stop, but we just need to follow this and see what happens with other teams on a day by day basis,” said Fauci, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch in MLB’s season opener last Thursday in Washington.

MLB had planned to open its 162-game regular season in March but postponed it because of the pandemic.

Manfred, who has the power to shut down the regular season if circumstances make it unsafe, told the MLB Network on Monday that the league was prepared to handle outbreaks such as the one with the Marlins.

“Obviously, we don’t want any player to get exposed. It’s not a positive thing, but I don’t see it as a nightmare,” he said.

“We built the protocols to allow us to continue to play, that’s why we have the expanded rosters, that’s why we have the pool of additional players. We think we can keep people safe and continue to play.” — Reuters

Four ways a brand can communicate with the youth through music streaming

July 29, 2020 | 4:55 pm

By Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

Music streaming has become an essential part of a young person’s lifestyle. Spotify’s total monthly active users grew by 29% year-on-year to 299 million, according to its second-quarter earnings report.

Digital audio is a new playground for marketers promoting their brands to twenty- and thirty-somethings. Jan-Paul Jeffrey, head of marketing for Asia at Spotify, shared four trends that the music streaming platform identified in a study of Southeast Asian youth, conducted with research firms Culture Co-op and YouGov.

1. Super-serve your micro-communities.

Millennials and Gen Zs are connected across the world. They use technology to understand foreign cultures, with 60% claiming that they’re online friends with someone from abroad.

Through music, they’re able to foster communities with like-minded individuals across the globe over common interests in music, fashion, and social causes. On Spotify, they manifest through various musical microgenres. One such microgenre that has gained a huge following is K-pop, or Korean pop. It has amassed 41 billion streams on the platform, and its songs have been added to more than 96 million playlists.

Through listener data, Spotify can pinpoint trending artists based on location. This allows them to tailor-fit the artist lineup for Spotify on Stage, their flagship concert event.

“It’s about being part of local culture and fandom. As a marketer, I believe people can forget what you’ve told them, but they never forget how you made them feel,” said Mr. Jeffrey.

2. Amplify your values and take action.

Social consciousness and activism are important to Gen Zs and millennials. More than half (55%) say that they are constantly worried about the state of the world, while 56% affirm that they stand up for what they believe in.

However, this doesn’t mean that they no longer consume magazines, TV shows, and the like. Rather, they expect content creators to be part of the social debate. And when material resonates, it resonates hard. “This is America,” a two-year-old song by Childish Gambino talking about systemic inequalities, recently experienced a 3,000% spike in streaming in Southeast Asia in light of the recent movements in the United States.

This extends to brands, with 79% of young people expecting them to promote more progressive values and do their part in society. “Not that this is a marketing opportunity, but… it is crucial to understand their state of mind, and equally, how your brand will proceed in terms of the values that you represent,” said Mr. Jeffrey.

3. Consider your audience’s moods and moments.

While Gen Zs and millennials find fulfillment in being involved with social issues, it does take its toll on their mental health: 57% are worried about their mental well-being, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.

But through social media, they are able to speak up about their feelings and discuss them with others: 61% attest that their generation finds camaraderie in others by sharing deep feelings such as loneliness.

The study also found that music is a source of emotional well-being. For instance, in the first quarter of the year, total streams for Sleep, Calm, Sad, and Emo moments increased by 60% year-on-year across Southeast Asia. These playlists acted as a coping mechanism for anxiety and insomnia brought about by the pandemic.

As the world continues to struggle through difficult times, 65% of Gen Zs and millennials believe that brands should convey moral support and understanding through their messaging. It may be wise for brands to communicate patience and empathy across their platforms, said Mr. Jeffrey.

4. Captivate through audio creativity.

With the majority of Gen Zs and millennials finding that there’s too much visual stimulation nowadays, audio has become their respite: 92% stream music at least a few times a week, while 40% listen to podcasts at least once a week.

Their listening habits are also influenced by their activities. For example, most listeners stream while they are driving, commuting, exercising, and running. But since the pandemic happened, streams dropped during these moments. Instead, there was an increase while people were working from home, gaming online, shopping, doing household chores, or trying to sleep.

Interestingly, there was also an increase in activity-themed playlists. For example, 2,750 playlists were made specifically for banana bread-baking, which became a trend globally for people on quarantine.

Through these playlists, brands will able to gain key insights into the daily activities of young people. “It’s key to understanding exactly how the audience is tuned in, how receptive they would be to receiving your brand’s message,” said Mr. Jeffrey.

Indian tech moguls urge Modi to be tougher on Chinese rivals

July 29, 2020 | 3:03 pm

Leaders in India’s technology industry are urging the country to go even further to protect the interests of local companies against foreign rivals, or risk ceding the world’s fastest-growing Internet arena to Chinese and American monopolies.

Narendra Modi’s administration this month banned 59 Chinese apps in the country, including ByteDance Ltd.’s short-video hit TikTok, a dramatic policy shift aimed at improving local control and data security.

In separate interviews, Policybazaar co-founder Yashish Dahiya—whose company is backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd.—and MobiKwik frontman Bipin Preet Singh urged Mr. Modi to go further. Emboldened by growing hostility against its giant neighbor, they want regulators to curb their access to Indian markets, establish rules to wrest back control of user data and bankroll local startups.

“China has long been the bratty kid who thinks it’s OK to grab others’ cake without sharing your own,” Mr. Dahiya told Bloomberg News last week. India must strategically reduce market access before its neighbor becomes even more powerful. “If India doesn’t do it now, it can never be done,” said Mr. Dahiya, whose online insurance service targets a 2021 IPO at a $3.5 billion value.

Messrs. Dahiya and Singh are breaking with tradition in an Indian startup sector that over the past half-decade has attracted billions from Chinese companies and investment houses from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Hillhouse Capital. Their stance reflects a shift in sentiment after a mid-June Himalayan border clash left 20 soldiers dead—but also a wave of techno-nationalism as the coronavirus pummels global economies. It coincides with a surge of interest from American giants like Facebook Inc. and Google as India’s nascent digital economy blossoms.

“It’s not an easy position to take,” said Mr. Dahiya, whose Policybazaar is now trying to raise $250 million of pre-IPO financing. “A sovereign nation has no parent but someone’s got to stop China from misbehaving.”

On Tuesday, an official with China’s Indian embassy said Beijing will take “necessary measures” to protect the country’s companies from a ban that threatens their legitimate rights, and urged Modi’s government to reverse “wrongdoings.”

Before TikTok overtook YouTube to become India’s most popular social video platform, the dominance of WhatsApp and Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. in e-commerce had already rankled local businesses. Beijing is now the bigger target, as the world polarizes along US-China lines and American-backed local champions such as Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms emerge. The influx of American investment sets up a potential clash with China’s own internet titans in the future—provided they’re allowed to operate in the country.

That, along with trade barriers erected in just past weeks, may have fired up the entrepreneurs. The government should identify strategic sectors and nurture local startups, Mobikwik’s Mr. Singh advocated.

“The China versus US battleground is neither China nor the US, but India,” said Mr. Singh, whose Sequoia Capital-backed payments startup competes with both Google Pay and Alibaba-backed Paytm.

“If India’s entire 1.3 billion population is served only by foreign companies, how can that be a good thing?” he said in a telephone interview from his base in New Delhi. “Yet India doesn’t have a single technology giant, it’s become a growth engine for global companies. What is India doing wrong?”

India’s unprecedented apps ban thwarted the global ambitions of China’s technology giants just as the spotlight is turning on the world’s largest untapped digital frontier. India’s roaring digital economy, with half a billion users and growing, is witnessing pitched battles in everything from online retail and content streaming to messaging and digital payments—but largely between deep-pocketed foreign corporations. That’s coincided with growth tapering off at Infosys Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., which put India’s tech sector on the map but are now grappling with a fundamental shift to the cloud.

While India has attracted over $20 billion in just past months from American giants like Google and Facebook, China has over the years carved out a significant role in India’s tech industry, according to Mumbai-based think-tank Gateway House. Eighteen of India’s 30 unicorns are Chinese-funded, researchers Amit Bhandari, Blaise Fernandes and Aashna Agarwal said in a report. Apart from TikTok, smartphone brands like leader Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo have cornered three-quarters of the market. Firms like GGV Capital and Qiming Venture Partners nearly doubled Chinese investments in Indian startups to $3.9 billion in 2019, according to the Economic Times.

“I’m not advocating a closed or protectionist environment like China’s, but India needs local champions and also needs to safeguard its data and security,” Mr. Singh said. “We need competition, we need choices. But we can’t have a situation where there’s no Indian player in entire segments from search to messaging, social media, e-commerce and payments.”

Mr. Modi’s government has already set things in motion. It drafted an e-commerce policy that openly champions aid for local startups and oversight on how foreign companies handle data. A government panel recommended a data regulator to oversee monetization and privacy of user information to ensure “maximum social and economic benefits” for Indians. Local startups are enjoying something of a renaissance: TikTok-a-like Roposo is signing up half a million new users an hour.

But more is needed, Mr. Singh said. The system remains stacked against the hundreds of thousands of would-be entrepreneurs who have to take on global behemoths. The government could limit the influence of foreign capital as it has done in sectors like banking, he added.

Mobikwik has “raised $100 million so far and is taking on companies with a collective market value of over $2 trillion,” he said. “We are doing injustice to our entrepreneurs if we stack them against dollars and yuans in every single segment.” — Bloomberg

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