Sabah records 118 new COVID-19 cases

Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said the number was a decrease of 54 cases compared to the previous day.

"Today, only five districts recorded new double -digit cases, led by Kota Kinabalu with 17 cases followed by Papar with 15 cases, Tuaran 15, Penampang 13 and Sandakan 12.

"Ranau only recorded two new cases yesterday and Beaufort also only recorded eight new cases. Six districts did not record any new cases," he said in a statement here today.

He said, as mentioned earlier, the fluctuation in the number of daily cases in Sabah was greatly influenced by the emergence of new clusters from time to time.

He said the community's responsible attitude such as compliance with all COVID-19 SOPs was also an important factor in maintaining the number of new cases at a low level in Sabah.

"All citizens play a role as 'front line' workers in our state's efforts to eradicate the spread of this virus.

“A total of 114 of the 118 new cases today are in Category 1 and 2, two cases in Category 3 and Category 4 respectively. There are no patients in Category 5,” he said.

Huobi launches $100M Lunar New Year campaign to support metaverse development

London, Jan. 24, 2022, PRNewswire – Huobi Global, one of the world’s leading digital-asset exchanges, announced today the official launch of its Lunar New Year campaign dubbed Prime Fest: Tiger Year. 

Lasting until Feb. 14, 2022, the campaign encourages users to explore future possibilities in the metaverse — an expansive network of virtual worlds that may incorporate augmented reality, virtual reality, 3D holographic avatars, video and other means of communication in the future. To promote the development of the metaverse, Huobi is doling out US$100 million in prizes and rewards, including access to new metaverse token listings under Primelist, high-yielding asset management products under PrimeEarn, and special blind box draws under PrimeBox. Huobi will also invite participants to register for DIDs (decentralized identifiers), or personalized virtual identities in the metaverse. These users will be eligible to win unique tiger-themed nonfungible token (NFT) avatars. 

Huobi’s DIDs are designed as users’ entry points into the metaverse, providing an access point between Web 2.0 and Web3. DIDs are widely considered a prerequisite for anyone looking to enter the metaverse, not only granting users access but also recording and verifying all information and activity on blockchains. DIDs offer users security, ownership and interoperability. Huobi’s NFT platform launched its own DIDs at the end of 2021 to give select users access to exclusive NFT releases, airdrops and other special benefits.  

“Our emphasis on the metaverse reflects our intentions to provide a more fun and unique crypto experience,” Huobi co-founder Du Jun said. “We’re not just another spot-trading exchange; we pride ourselves on our diverse set of products and services, and the promotions we run are designed to gamify the trading experience and make it more fun.”

Huobi has supported GameFi and metaverse projects through investments and token listings. In September 2021, Huobi launched a $10-million fund to invest in emerging GameFi projects. The fund invested in Zuki Moba, a Vietnam-based community-oriented MOBA Esports Game (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and Project SEED, a GameFi project utilizing a "Play to Earn" model. 

In the last year, Huobi listed tokens such as Decimated (DIO), a multiplayer online role-playing game in a dystopian cyberpunk metaverse, and ERTHA, a game where players explore and investigate a virtual world by specializing and increasing the strengths of their respective NFTs and countries.

To learn more about Prime Fest: Tiger Year, click here.

About Huobi Group

As a world-leading company in the blockchain industry, Huobi Group was founded in 2013 with a mission to make breakthroughs in core blockchain technology and integration blockchain technology with other industries. Huobi Group has expanded into public blockchains, digital-asset trading, wallets, mining pools, proprietary investments, incubation, digital-asset research and more. Huobi Group has established a global digital economy industry ecosystem by investing in more than 60 upstream and downstream companies in the blockchain industry. 

This is a paid press release. Cointelegraph does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Cointelegraph is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services mentioned in the press release.

Huobi - Huobi Global is a leading global digital asset exchange that is dedicated to providing secure and reliable digital asset trading and asset management services. Since its founding in 2013, Huobi Global has grown into a premier cryptocurrency trading platform, distinguishing itself through cutting-edge technology, a vast array of diversified products, and a truly global presence, covering more than 130 countries around the world.

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GBPJPY broke through the floor and ran lower

GBPJPY on the hourly chart

Yesterday, I posted about the    GBPJPY . The pair had continued to find support against a floor at the 155.39 to 155.44 area, but also found resistance against the falling 100 hour moving average (blue line in the chart above). Something had to eventually give, and that was the floor. Once the price broke below the floor at 155.39, buyers turned to sellers and the move to the downside was on.

The momentum took the price to a low today of 153.90 (149 pip fall). The pair approached a swing area and the 50% midpoint of the move up from the December 20 low between 153.639 and 153.752. The pair slowed ahead of that area, but will remain a target on more downside momentum. Also in play on the downside would be the 100 day moving average at 153.318 (lower blue line) and the 200 day moving average at 153.003 (lower green line on the chart above).

Close risk now would be the broken 38.2% retracement of the move up from the December 20 low at 154.612, also the old swing level around 154.862. Stay below those levels and the sellers remain more in control, at least in the short term.

US suspends 44 flights by Chinese carriers after Beijing action

The decision will cut some flights by Xiamen, Air China , China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. — AFP pic

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 — The US government said yesterday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government’s decision to suspend some US carrier flights over Covid-19 concerns.

The suspensions will begin on January 30 with Xiamen Airlines’ scheduled Los Angeles-to-Xiamen flight and run through March 29, the Transportation Department said.

The decision will cut some flights by Xiamen, Air China , China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.

Since December 31, Chinese authorities have suspended 20 United Airlines, 10 American Airlines and 14 Delta Air Lines flights, after some passengers tested positive for Covid-19. As recently as Tuesday, the Transportation Department said the Chinese government had announced new US flight cancellations.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Friday the policy for international passenger flights entering China has “been applied equally to Chinese and foreign airlines in a fair, open and transparent way.”

He called the US move “very unreasonable” and added “We urge the US side to stop disrupting and restricting the normal passenger flights” by Chinese airlines.”

Airlines for America, a trade group representing the three US carriers affected by China’s move along with others, said it supported Washington’s action “to ensure the fair treatment of US airlines in the Chinese market.”

The Transportation Department said France and Germany have taken similar action against China’s Covid-19 actions. It said China’s suspension of the 44 flights “are adverse to the public interest and warrant proportionate remedial action.” It added that China’s “unilateral actions against the named US carriers are inconsistent” with a bilateral agreement.

China has also suspended numerous US flights by Chinese carriers after passengers later tested positive.

The department said it was prepared to revisit its action if China revised its “policies to bring about the necessary improved situation for US carriers.” It warned that if China cancels more flights, “we reserve the right to take additional action.”

China has all but shut its borders to travellers, cutting total international flights to just 200 a week, or 2 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in September.

The number of US flights being scrapped has surged since December, as infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus soared to record highs in the United States.

Beijing and Washington have sparred over air services since the start of the pandemic. In August, the US Transportation Department limited four flights from Chinese carriers to 40 per cent passenger capacity for four weeks after Beijing imposed identical limits on four United Airlines flights.

Before the recent cancellations, three US airlines and four Chinese carriers were operating about 20 flights a week between the countries, well below the figure of more than 100 per week before the pandemic. — Reuters

CRYPTOCURRENCY PREDICTIONS: TOP CRYPTOCURRENCIES RECOVERING FROM CRASH IN 2022

It is easy enough to determine some prominent cryptocurrencies surviving, if and when 8a crash does occur

Price volatility is a huge concern in the cryptocurrency market. There’s some degree of volatility involved with the stock market too, but the cryptocurrency market, being fairly new, comes with lesser understanding. Out of all the understanding that experts have, a recent trend was noticed by analysts – cryptocurrency crashes that usually occur on weekends. Stephen McKeon, a finance professor and partner at Collab+Currency, a crypto focussed investment fund explained in an interview that liquidy requires study of the supply of buyers and sellers. If there are few buyers compared to sellers or vice versa, transactions that fluctuate will result in a spike or crash. A good place to start is the top 20 most-traded cryptocurrencies. It is easy enough to determine some prominent survivors in this listing, if and when a crash does occur in cryptocurrency markets.

 Bitcoin

Bitcoin price has slumped to US$43,030 from the high of over US$47,700 on the 1st of January 2021. The falling cryptocurrency prices have dampened the celebration mood of retail crypto investors. But the downward price movement in crypto markets is nothing new, hence not surprising for hardcore crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and is fast emerging as a store of value. Its blockchain and codebase also spawned offshoots, such as Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Both are angling to become the preferred cryptocurrency for daily transactions.

Ethereum

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization saw a substantial drop as well. The Ethereum-based cryptocurrency witnessed a plunge of 8.3% over the past 24 hours after a healthy start to the year. However, Ethereum’s world of decentralized applications or Dapps is fast gaining traction and is responsible for a slew of tokens such as Populous, which are built off its platform.

XRP

XRP is an open-source cryptocurrency that uses an open-source distributed ledger called the XRP ledger. It is the native coin of Ripple, which is an enterprise blockchain company that facilitates global transactions. The creators claim that XRP was built for payments and can settle transactions faster than most other cryptocurrencies securely and efficiently.

Cardano

Cardano is a research-based cryptocurrency built by engineers, mathematicians, and cryptography experts. It is open-sourced and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof-of-stake. It can also facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with the ADA token. Cardano is one of the cryptocurrencies that are recovering from a crash in 2022.

Polygon

This platform looks to address many of the issues facing the Ethereum blockchain while still providing Defi solutions. Namely, the platform looks to create “Ethereum’s internet of blockchains” by connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks and aggregating scalable solutions on Ethereum. It is also one of the cryptocurrencies that are recovering from a crash.

 Litecoin

As one of the first digital currencies, Litecoin is increasingly getting adopted for real-world use, making it one of the fastest-growing digital currencies. The team has continuously been improving the network to increase speed, reduce cost and increase safety, making Litecoin one of the most attractive payment platforms. The latest update is about the increasing acceptance of Litecoin in the real world. More organizations are adopting LTC, with the recent being NetCent, Bitpay, and Verifone. Now Litecoin holders can buy goods and services from these stores. Litecoin Gaming is another recent development the team updated the community about. More is coming from the team.

Chainlink

Chainlink was designed with the motive of making smart contracts more useful. It is a decentralized network of oracles, which are capable of bringing real-world data into any blockchain network. Chainlink is the largest and most popular oracle network. Owing to its capability of integrating real-world data, the demand for Chainlink oracles will grow in the future.

 Polkadot

Polkadot was created based on research identifying the hurdles that blockchain networks will face in the future as crypto is becoming more mainstream and is promoting several innovations in the industry. One of the defining features that DOT possesses is functioning on a network that can connect other blockchain networks.

Dogecoin

The fact that Dogecoin still stands strong after not being taken seriously is a statement in itself. First, Redditors spiked the price to new heights in early 2021 as a way to prevent the speculated short-selling of Dogecoins by many Wall Street hedge funds. And then, Elon Musk called himself the “Dogefather” promoting this cryptocurrency further. While many argue the legitimacy of this coin, Dogecoin continues to have its share of market value.

 Shiba Inu

Launched in August 2020, the rise of Shiba Inu in such a short time is nothing short of uncanny. At one point, Dogecoin stayed as the top meme currency without much competition. However, SHIB, another namecoin that was created out of online jokes that went viral in 2013 came to the play.