A(H1N1): WHO gives M'sia thumbs-up for quick detection, treatment

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given Malaysia the thumbs-up for being quick to detect and treat Influenza A(H1N1) cases.

Nation celebrates 52nd Merdeka Day

The national-level 52nd Merdeka celebration today was a brief and moderate affair in view of the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic and in observance of the Ramadan fasting month, but the occasion was not without the fanfare and spirit of independence with the participation of people of all races in line with the 1Malaysia concept.

Carrying the theme "1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now", the event was held at Parliament Square instead of Dataran Merdeka, and was confined to a rally and performances without the usual parade of contingents and the participation of school children.

Nevertheless, Parliament Square, often the venue of welcoming ceremonies for visiting foreign dignitaries, was a scene of varied colours with the participants in their colourful attire as well as the members of the security forces in their respective uniforms.

The rally began soon after the arrival of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah at 8am.

Uproar over exploding iPhones

Half a dozen new cases of "exploding iPhones" emerged in France on Wednesday, as Apple faced an official inquiry and calls to come clean over possible risks linked to its wildly popular smartphone.

An 80-year-old pensioner from the Paris suburbs said on Wednesday his iPhone screen cracked up in his hands, a day after a supermarket watchman claimed he was hurt in the eye when his screen suddenly shattered this week.

Ten French consumers have now come forward saying their iPhone screens exploded or cracked without explanation, according to an AFP tally, including a first case in mid-August in which a teenager suffered an eye injury. Apple is accused of trying to hush up 15 cases of iPod music players heating up and bursting into flames in the United States and in one similar British case, all apparently due to overheated lithium ion batteries.

None of the incidents has caused a serious injury but Apple was forced to defend the safety of its flagship smartphone before the European Union this month, insisting the exploding screen cases were "isolated incidents".

Avoiding masturbation and homosexual acts do not prevent A(H1N1)

There is no scientific basis on allegations that avoiding masturbation and homosexual activities prevent the spread of the influenza virus A (H1N1). “There is absolutely no truth to it. The A (H1N1) virus infects the upper respiratory track and has nothing to do with the blood system,” said Professor Dr Sazaly Abu Bakar. Sazaly, who is the director of Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC) in the faculty of medicine in Universiti of Malaya (UM) said the virus enters the lungs but it does not get into the blood system. “It’s not like dengue or measles where the virus goes into the blood system.” On Monday, theSun published a report by eminent practitioner of complimentary therapy Dr VM Palaniappan that such activities caused the body to develop friction heat which produced acid and makes the body hyper-acidised, giving burning sensation while urinating, making the person an easy target for H1N1 infection. Palaniappan who was a former associate professor of ecology at UM said the high acidity in the body resulted in loss of immunity, making the body susceptible to viral diseases. In his blog ecohealingsystem.blogspot.com, Palaniappan also revealed excessive physical activity such as running marathons also produces acid due to excessive metabolic activity.

Beer sale rule: no display, sale only on request

Convenience stores in Shah Alam will practise self-regulation in the sale of beer and alcoholic drinks to respect the sensitivities of the Muslim community on the issue, including not displaying such drinks and only selling them on request at the cashier's counter.

Not all taxis to charge new fares tomorrow

Higher taxi fares come into force tomorrow but not all taxis in this city will be able to charge passengers the new fares, according to two taxi operators associations. 
 
The Federal Territory and Selangor Taxi Owners and Drivers Association and the Federal Territory and Selangor Taxi Operators Association said the calibration of the meters of all the taxis would not be completed in time. 
 
The new flag-off fare for taxis is RM3, up from RM2, while passengers will be charged 10 sen for every 115m instead of the present 150m. 
 
For taxis caught in a traffic jam, the fare will be RM3 for the first three minutes and 10 sen for every subsequent 21 seconds instead of 45 seconds. 
 
Federal Territory and Selangor Taxi Owners and Drivers Association chairman Yeoh Mot Lee said a majority of the taxi operators were expected to retain the existing fare structure because the procedure for getting the approval to charge the new fare was "complicated and time-consuming". 
  
"The government has announced that the taxi fare would be adjusted from tomorrow but taxi operators must first visit the taxi meter supplier to get their meters calibrated with the new fare structure before sending the vehicle to Puspakom for further inspection to obtain the approval for fare adjustment.  
 
"This procedure is expected to take about two weeks to be completed and thus not every taxi operator will have the adjusted fares tomorrow," he told Bernama.

RapidKL to discontinue daily pass system

RapidKL is discontinuing its daily pass system effective Sept 1, and commuters will now be charged according to the number of trips and the zones travelled in a day.

For local (feeder bus) routes, passengers will now be charged RM1 per trip, while for the main routes, the charge is RM1 to RM3 according to the number of zones travelled. There are four zones in all.

Presently, passengers on local and main routes pay RM1 and RM2 respectively for a daily pass, which allows unlimited travel in a day.

To ease the burden of commuters, RapidKL is introducing different types of monthly passes 
>> Local routes only – RM40 per month (new)
>> For all routes (local, city and main) – RM100 (up from RM80)
>> Integrated LRT and bus passes – RM150 (up from RM135)
>> Concession passes for senior citizens, schools kids and disabled persons for all routes – RM50 (new)

Suffian said the new monthly buses passes will be sold from Aug 20 onwards. 

He also announced that from September onwards, those using Touch ‘n’ Go cards to pay fares will no longer be able to do so on RapidKL buses due to upgrading works on the system.

Medical tourists to bring in RM540mil by 2010

The Tourism Ministry expects medical tourism to grow significantly and contribute RM540 million in revenue by end of 2010.

The ministry's deputy secretary-general Dr. Junaida Lee Abdullah said some 625,000 medical tourists are expected to visit Malaysia next year and the ministry is taking the necessary steps to promote and boost the industry.

"The numbers are growing exponentially and the APHM (Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia) data shows revenue generated from foreign patients grew from RM14.1 million in 1998 to RM299.1 million in 2008," said Junaida.

She said the number of foreign patients rose from 39,114 in 1998 to 374,063 in 2008.

Penang mulls making Gurney Drive a no-smoking public area

The state government is considering gazetting Gurney Drive as a no-smoking public area. More public areas were being surveyed to be gazetted as non-smoking areas, including water reserves like Mengkuang and Air Itam dams.

Approved.... Water taxi system for Penang

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has approved a plan to set up jetties for the operation of regular and chartered water taxis on Penang island and Seberang Prai.

A committee, which includes officials from the Economic Planning Unit, Transport Ministry, NCIA and PPC, is now being formed to oversee a preliminary detailed study of the project.

Under Phase I, 10 jetties are proposed to be built in Teluk Bahang, Tanjong Bungah, Tanjong Tokong, George Town, Pantai Jerejak (in Bayan Baru) and Batu Maung on the island, and Bagan Ajam, Butterworth, Pulau Aman and Nibong Tebal on the mainland.

The sea transport system would effectively cut down travel time and link remote places in the state.

Penang to produce transport master plan

In efforts to combat traffic congestion in Penang, the state government hopes to produce a master plan encompassing a mass transportation system.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said among the modes of transportation proposed are hybrid buses, monorails, trams and water taxis.

A (H1N1): School and kindergarten close voluntarily

One international school and one kindergarten have voluntarily closed to stop the spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

As of 8am today, 53 new cases were detected -- 41 imported and 12 local transmissions, including two cases from a private company in Cyberjaya, bringing the country's total to 627.

Drop in dengue, chikugunya cases

Dengue cases on the whole decreased nationwide, with 691 cases reported to the Health Ministry in the 26th week from June 28 to July 4.

This is an 8% drop from the previous week with 749 cases recorded.

A(H1N1) : 45 new cases detected

Forty-five new cases of influenza A(H1N1), 22 local transmissions and the rest imported, were detected yesterday bringing to 513 the total number of cases confirmed since the outbreak in May.

A statement from the Health Ministry today said out of the 513 cases, 430 (84%) have recovered while 83 are being treated at designated hospitals.

Pandemic at critical stage

With 34 local transmissions out of the 75 new Influenza A(H1N1) cases today, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai warned that the pandemic is at a critical level.

Malacca and George Town stay on Heritage list

Unesco will not de-list or downgrade the status of Malacca and George Town from its World Heritage List, ending a protracted controversy over four high-rise buildings approved by the Penang government in George Town’s heritage zone.

A source told theSun today the world body made the decision not to place the two cities, which are jointly listed, into its List of World Heritage in Danger, during a review on Sunday in Seville, Spain.

The review was held during a meeting of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee (WHC), which is holding its 33rd annual session from Thursday to today.

Influenza A(H1N1) statistics as at 8am Friday (June 26):

> New cases (last 24 hours) : 14 (13 imported, one locally-transmitted)
> Nationalities of new cases: 10 Malaysians, three Australians and one Filipino.
> Imported cases were from: Melbourne (5), London (3), Phuket (2), Manila (1), Istanbul (1) and Singapore (1).
> Locally-transmitted case: six-year old boy with no history of overseas travel. Is the child of an imported case, a stewardess who has confirmed positive on June 23
> Total to date: 105 cases (90 imported, 15 locally-transmitted).

Two more schools closed as more flu victims detected

The Seri Cempaka International School in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, has been ordered to close until Saturday and the Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Assunta 1 in Petaling Jaya for a week.

Top floor of two pre-war buidings collapse

The top floor of two unoccupied double storey pre-war shop houses in Jalan Telaga Air, Butterworth collapsed about 3.45pm today.

The collapse was believed to be due to the poor structure of the buildings which were built in 1940s. No one was injured in the incident.

Want a plastic bag? Pay 20sen

Come July 6, patrons of supermarkets and hypermarkets in Penang will have to pay 20 sen for each plastic bag that they obtain from the respective outlets where they shop.

The new initiative was recently agreed upon and supported by over 250 supermarkets, hypermarkets, shops and pharmacies in the state, as part of the state government’s ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ campaign.

Participating outlets have undertaken to encourage patrons to instead use bags made of canvas, cloth, jute or recyclable paper, or cardboard boxes, and to shun plastic bags which are non-biodegradable.

Money collected from the sale of the plastic bags will be channelled to the state government's ‘Partner Against Poverty’ campaign aimed at assisting poor families.