Rosmah's trial: RM5mil cash was for 'RM', says witness
KUALA LUMPUR: The RM5mil in cash that was transported to a residential unit in the Pavilion building in the city was meant for "RM", the High Court heard. Earlier, Razak, 52, told the court that he and Saidi had carried two luggage bags filled with RM5mil of cash into the unit in Pavilion, sometime in December. "A month or two after the incident, Saidi told me that the money was meant for RM. Rosmah allegedly committed the offence at Lygon Cafe, Sunway Putra Mall in Jalan Putra here between January and April 2016. In the second charge, she was accused of receiving RM1.5mil from Saidi as a reward for assisting Jepak Holdings obtain the same project.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 08:26 UTC
Thailand wants nationals out of China
BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN): The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs has advised Thais in China to leave the country as the Covid-19 coronavirus spreads. Noting that the outbreak has been formally recognised as an international public health emergency, it posted on Facebook on Wednesday (Feb 19) the contact information for the Thai Embassy in Beijing and all Thai consulates elsewhere in China. The department urged Thais in China to leave while airlines are still operating. “We also ask Thais to avoid travelling to China if there is no essential need, ” it said. It is applicable for THAI roundtrip tickets and roundtrip codeshare flights with THAI Smile to Tokyo (Narita, Haneda), Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Sendai, Seoul, Busan, Taipei, Kaohsiung and Singapore, as well as roundtrip codeshare flights with THAI Smile to and from Chiang Mai-Kaohsiung.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 08:15 UTC
Vietnam abandons "competitive bidding" plan for solar power plants
HANOI, Feb 20 (Vietnam News/ANN) — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has had a change of heart on the bidding mechanism for solar power tariffs in Việt Nam. In the middle of last month, the ministry was still studying a bidding plan for solar projects in the country. However, it now says using a bidding mechanism for solar power tariffs could have negative impacts. MoIT thought using a bidding mechanism could waste more time, money and resources for investors. The report recommends Viet Nam adopt two new deployment schemes for projects: competitive bidding for solar parks and substation-based bidding.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 07:41 UTC
Patients and families condemn Hong Kong medical strike
The man called the strike “ridiculous” as its slogan, “Save Hong Kong”, was the opposite of the anxiety and pain the strike brought to patients. In addition to a large number of delayed medical appointments, the five-day strike greatly upset the families of some patients. When Sun’s daughter and his wife recalled the darkest night in their lives, their eyes welled up with tears. Sun’s wife has been greatly distressed by his death. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, chairwoman of the New People’s Party, said the political party has received 23 requests from victims for assistance relating to the hospital strike.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 07:30 UTC
Businessman loses RM266k in scam in bid to buy face masks
SIBU: A businessman lost RM266,153 in a scam when he tried to purchase 20,000 boxes of face masks on the Internet. He said that the victim was told by Heston that he was selling the masks at S$14 (RM41.81) per box. "After making the payment, the victim told his Singaporean friend that the face masks would be sent to his home address," he said on Thursday (Feb 20). However, after payment was made, his Singaporean friend did not receive the items while Heston had disappeared. The case, ACP Stanley, said is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 07:30 UTC
China donates coronavirus test kits to Japan
TOKYO, Feb 20 (China Daily/ANN): China has donated a batch of novel coronavirus test kits to Japan, according to the Chinese embassy in Japan. China reached out to Japan upon learning the latter didn't have enough test kits, and sent the kits to Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases after coordinating with various parties, the embassy's spokesperson saidon Thursday. China is paying close attention to the development of the novel coronavirus in Japan and empathizes with what Japan is going through, the spokesperson said. The virus knows no border, and it takes joint effort by different countries to tackle the epidemic, the spokesperson said, adding China will continue to do what it can to assist and work closely with Japan to fight the disease. Japan was among the first countries to send medical supplies to China when the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan started.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 06:56 UTC
From zero to Muay Thai hero
Mohd Irwan, 22, who is from Teluk Intan, Perak, has set his sights on becoming a world-class Muay Thai fighter and is currently undergoing rigorous training at Discover Muay Thai academy located in Jalan Alor, here. Mohd Irwan, who joined the academy in 2018, has so far already emerged champion at nine Muay Thai competitions in Malaysia and Thailand. "Initially, I thought I was there only to learn Muay Thai, but it turned out that discipline was given utmost importance and we also had to attend classes on religion and entrepreneurship, as well as learn English," he said, adding that Muay Thai training only started at 3pm. Later, they have to attend English or religious classes before Muay Thai training under Thai coach Kru Slatan, who is a two-time World Muaythai Council champion. At night, the trainees will assist coaches at the Dragon Muay Thai training centre to train students.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 06:45 UTC
Freshly fired man sets fire to car
SIBU An Indonesian man, believed to be mentally ill, set fire to a car he was travelling in on Thursday (Feb 20) in Sarikei. The incident occurred at KM20 along the Sarikei-Sibu Road, near the second Nyelong Bridge, around 9.20am. The man from Sambas, Indonesia had been working at an oil palm plantation in Sibu. “Arriving at a place, the man suddenly took out a match and set fire to the vehicle. “Firefighters took only 25 minutes to extinguish the fire that had totally destroyed the car, ” Mahmudin said.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 06:22 UTC
South Korea coronavirus cases surge, majority linked to Daegu church
SEOUL: The mayor of a South Korean city at the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak told residents to stay indoors on Thursday as a surge in confirmed cases linked to a local church raised the prospect of wider transmission. South Korean health officials spray disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu on February 20, 2020 as about 40 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus confirmed after they attended same church services. - A cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred on a cult church in the South Korean city of Daegu leaped to 39 cases on February 20, as the country's total jumped for the second successive day. The church at the centre of the outbreak is a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious movement founded in 1984 by South Korean Lee Man-hee who has about 500,000 followers. Shincheonji said on Wednesday it had closed its Daegu church and instructed that services elsewhere be held online or individually at home.
Source:New Strait Times
February 20, 2020 06:22 UTC
Duterte sacks Immigration officers behind alleged kickbacks to allow entry of Chinese travellers
MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): President Rodrigo Duterte has relieved all officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) who supposedly receive kickbacks in exchange for the seamless entry of Chinese people into the country. The so-called 'pastillas' scheme at the airport was exposed by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros in a Senate hearing early this week. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo made the announcement on the relief of the immigration officials and personnel on Thursday (Feb 20) during a palace briefing. “The president considers this anomaly, which some define as the ‘pastillas scheme’, as a grave form of corruption that cannot be countenanced by the government, ” Panelo said. The scheme was called 'pastillas' supposedly because the bribe money would be rolled in a bond paper like the wrapping of the Filipino milk candy.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 06:22 UTC
Barber suffers slash wounds in attack
GEORGE TOWN: A 29-year-old barber suffered two slash wounds to his right arm during an attack while working in Pulau Tikus here on Wednesday (Feb 19). During the 10pm incident, the victim was cutting the hair of a customer at the barber shop when a man entered and slashed his right arm. George Town OCPD Asst Comm Soffian Santong said CCTV footage from the shop showed that the man entered the shop and slashed the victim before taking off. "The victim has a valid working permit at the barber shop. The owner of the shop has been in the business for 13 years running 14 other outlets within George Town," he said.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 06:22 UTC
Civil groups fight Myanmar Internet ban
NAYPYIDAW: The people are at risk of having their rights violated in areas where Internet access has been cut off by the government. On Feb 3, the government shut down Internet access in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Myebon townships in Rakhine and Paletwa in Chin. Rakhine state civil society organisations for peace spokes-man, U Khaing Kaung San, said denying Internet access to people violated their human rights. “In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, prohibiting people from access to information is a human rights violation. Last year, the government had also blocked Internet access in several townships in the two states, but had since reconnected the service, prior to the recent shutdown.
Source:New Strait Times
February 20, 2020 06:22 UTC
Singapore immigration issues 77 stay-home notices to check spread of Covid-19
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Immigration officers have issued 77 stay-home notices as of noon on Wednesday (Feb 19), 12 hours after the scheme kicked in. Those who are issued the new notices, which took effect at 11.59pm on Tuesday, cannot leave their homes for 14 days. This is stricter than the leave of absence (LOA), which allowed people to briefly leave their homes for necessities. Those who do not observe the stay-home period can be prosecuted under the Infectious Diseases Act, warned the ICA. In the notices by the Ministry of Health issued by the ICA at checkpoints, the recipient is warned of the consequences of flouting rules under the stay-home measure.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 05:48 UTC
Indonesian minister suggests ‘the rich’ should marry ‘the poor’ to reduce poverty rate
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy has suggested the country’s rich people should marry those from low-income families, arguing that such cross-class marriages can contribute to reducing the national poverty rate. There will be more poor households. Citing government data, the former education and culture minister said the number of poor households in the archipelago was roughly 5 million. “The number of Indonesian households is 57.1 million, 9.4 per cent or 5 million of which are categorised as poor. If added to the near-poor households, it is about 16.8 per cent or about 15 million households, ” Muhadjir said as quoted by tempo.co.
Source:The Star
February 20, 2020 05:03 UTC
#Showbiz: 'Remove videos or action will be taken' - Siti on latest single release
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top singer Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza is disappointed that her new single, 7 Nasihat, has been illegally shared online just hours after its release today. According to news reports, the single became a trending topic on Twitter after its release at midnight. The award-winning songstress expressed her disappointment on the matter and said that Universal Music was currently monitoring the situation before proceeding with any further action. My company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (SNP), and Universal Music will quickly monitor this matter.”“I ask whoever that has uploaded the song to immediately delete the videos before it is reported to the authorities for further action to be taken,” she said. Apparently, the new single is a teaser to Siti’s new full-length studio album that’s expected to be released on April 1.
Source:New Strait Times
February 20, 2020 04:52 UTC