Compiled by LIEW JIA XIAN, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A MAN in Puducherry, India, climbed up a tree with a machete and refused to get down just to avoid getting vaccinated, Makkal Osai reported.

       The union territory in the southern part of India, which is approaching full vaccination status, has mobilised healthcare workers to identify and inoculate the holdouts.

       The officials who went house to house in Koodapakkam saw the 40-year-old man holing out in the tree and tried to persuade him to come down to get his details.

       The man rebuffed their calls and even loudly proclaimed from the tree that he would not get caught by them.

       The video that captured the incident has since gone viral online.

       > The Johor Baru district kabadi team won the state-level competition featuring eight teams, Malaysia Nanban reported.

       Johor Kabadi Association chairman M. Chandran said they were disappointed that the competition was put on hold for two years due to the pandemic.

       But they were overjoyed when they could host the event this year, which saw the participation of other races as well, he added.

       “This is an honour for the sport and shows its attraction as an intense competition,” he said.

       The event held at the Jementah hall in Segamat was opened by Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara, who expressed delight at seeing many Indian and even Malay youths showing interest in the traditional sport.

       He promised to continue his support for the annual competition.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.