Gunfire disrupts Cameroon prime minister's visit to separatist region
DOUALA (Reuters) - Distant machine gun fire interrupted a speech by Cameroonian Prime Minister Dion Ngute on Tuesday during a visit to the capital of the restive North West region that Anglophone separatists had vowed to disrupt. A video on social media shows Ngute trailing off mid-speech as the crowd turns and exclaims at a burst of far-off shots. There was no immediate comment from the prime minister's office. Before the shots rang out, Ngute told a cheering crowd that he was there to help resolve the crisis. "There will be planned military operations to challenge the colonial prime minister's visit," they said on Monday.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 19:07 UTC
Oil hits multi-year highs as OPEC+ sticks to output plan
Brent crude settled up $1.30, or 1.6%, at $82.56. Oil prices have already surged more than 50% this year, adding to inflationary pressures that crude-consuming nations such as the United States and India are concerned will derail recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Late last month, the OPEC+ Joint Technical Committee (JTC) said it expected a 1.1 million bpd supply deficit this year, which could turn into a 1.4 million bpd surplus next year. Despite pressure to ramp up output, OPEC+ was concerned that a fourth global wave of COVID-19 infections could hit the demand recovery, a source told Reuters a little before Monday's talks. U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories are likely to have fallen last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed.- Reuters
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 18:56 UTC
UWC makes police report against parties impersonating group CEO
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 5): UWC Bhd said it has made a police report in relation to certain parties who have been impersonating its executive director and group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Ng Chai Eng, as well as employees, representatives and agents of the integrated engineering supporting services provider. In a statement, the group said these unscrupulous parties have impersonated UWC through social networking sites. "Correspondences via social networking sites that claim to be from UWC to seek personal information or engage in any form of business transaction are hoaxes. "If the public is doubtful of the authenticity of any communiqué which they received from UWC, the public is strongly advised to contact UWC directly for verification, either by phone at +604–5556937 or by email at [email protected]," it said. At 3.48pm, UWC's share price was down eight sen or 1.29% to RM6.10, giving a market capitalisation of RM6.71 billion.
Source:The Edge Markets
October 05, 2021 08:15 UTC
Eight Sabah districts lagging behind in vaccinations
KOTA KINABALU: Eight Sabah districts continue to remain in "isolation" as they have yet to reach the 60% fully vaccinated mark to open up its borders for inter district travel within zones. Two urban east coast Sabah districts; Tawau and Sandakan, together with Kinabatangan, Telupid, Tongod, Semporna, Papar and Nabawan, have yet to cross the mark. Masidi, who is state Covid 19 spokesman, said that the state CITF calculates their zoning eligibility based on statistics submitted by the CITF district chairman. Sabah Community Development and People Well-being Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya also gave little indication on the reasons why the districts were failing to reach their respective targets. Sabah's daily vaccinations were averaging about 20,000 daily, a far cry from the momentum it picked up early last month where daily vaccinations averaged between 45,000 to 60,000.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 07:41 UTC
AsiaPac central banks will prioritise stability as they create digital currencies
In its report on Tuesday, credit analyst Gavin Gunning said "central banks will likely lean toward a model where banks and other financial intermediaries continue to play a strong intermediation role, rather than one where central banks alone manage their digital currencies". The report was entitled: "The Future Of Banking: Central Bank Digital Currencies In Asia-Pacific--Pathways Are Plenty, Destination Is Uncertain." S&P Global Ratings said commercial banks play a key role in intermediating between savers and borrowers, and they work closely with central banks in the process. Central banks will ultimately want to avoid significant disruption, and avoid unintended consequences," the rating agency said. Most central banks are at least examining CBDCsIn Asia-Pacific developed markets, approaches are diverse and well-progressed.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 07:18 UTC
UK's Johnson: 127 drivers applied for fuel trucker visas
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that 127 drivers had applied for fuel trucker visas amid an acute shortage of drivers that has strained supply chains to breaking point. Johnson told BBC TV that the haulage industry had been asked to provide the details of drivers who were willing to come to Britain, and it had only given 127 names. The Times newspaper reported that just 27 fuel tanker drivers had applied. With fuel companies and supermarkets warning that a shortage of drivers was hitting deliveries, the government said late last month that it would temporarily reverse its immigration rules and give 5,000 visas for EU drivers to operate in Britain. It said 300 of those could arrive immediately to drive oil tankers.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 07:11 UTC
Witnesses of fatal accident on NKVE urged to contact cops
PETALING JAYA: Witnesses of a fatal road accident along the NKVE on Monday (Oct 4) have been urged to come forward and help police investigations. In a statement on Tuesday (Oct 5), Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid said the accident occurred at 5.32pm on Monday along KM22.7 towards Kuala Lumpur. "The victim was rushed to the Sungai Buloh hospital for treatment. However he passed away today (Tuesday) at 2.40pm while receiving treatment. Those with information on the incident are urged to contact traffic investigating officer Insp Mohamad Khairil Helmi Mohamad Isa at 019-331 8339, or the nearest police station.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 07:07 UTC
Azmin: Govt drawing up incentives to encourage M'sians to use electric vehicles
KUALA LUMPUR: The government is studying incentive packages to encourage electric vehicle (EV) ownership among Malaysians, says Senior Minister (International and Trade) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. Azmin said this involved road tax exemptions, incentives via income tax returns, and income tax relief for the installation of EV facilities. "Among incentives enjoyed by the OEM include pioneer status, investment tax allowances, as well as import and excise duty exemption," he added. Azmin said efforts to encourage the use of EVs among Malaysians is also in line with the government's efforts to attract high-value investments. "These efforts will contribute towards the government's move to make Malaysia a carbon-neutral country by 2050," he added.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 07:07 UTC
Floating Dutch cow farm aims to curb climate impact
Among the cranes and containers of the port of Rotterdam is a surreal sight: a herd of cows peacefully feeding on board what calls itself the world’s first floating farm. With their floating farm, which opened in 2019, Peter and Minke say they wanted to “bring the countryside into the town”, boost consumer awareness and create agricultural space. The floating farm therefore aims to keep its cows’ feet dry in both the long-term, by being sustainable, and the short-term, by, well, floating. When she and her husband first approached port authorities with the idea to build a floating farm, they said “are you nuts?”, she recalls. They are also aiming to build a second floating farm to grow vegetables, and to export their idea, with a project already under way in the island nation of Singapore.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 06:56 UTC
UK is at a turning point: we want rising wages, PM Johnson says
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy is at a turning point and the government welcomes rising wages but will not return to the old approach of low investment and low skills, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday. "What I don't think would be a good idea would be to go backwards to the kind of low wage, low investment, low skill approach that we've had before. And so it's really a big turning point for the UK and an opportunity for us to go in a different direction," Johnson told BBC TV. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle)
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 06:45 UTC
Ex-aide was the one who solicited and received bribes for solar project, claims Rosmah
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 5): Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor testified on Tuesday that it was her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor who solicited bribes of RM187.5 million for a solar hybrid project in Sarawak, and received RM6.5 million cash. Rizal had been jointly charged with Rosmah on the corruption charges in relation to the solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak. "I have never ever asked or solicited for a bribe nor received any cash," Rosmah testified in her defence on Tuesday. She noted that her former aide admitted under oath in his testimony of receiving monies from Saidi and Rayyan. "I also heard similar complaints from FLOM's special officer Datin Seri Siti Azizah Sheikh Abod over Rizal," Rosmah said of the former aide.
Source:The Edge Markets
October 05, 2021 06:33 UTC
Bursa maintains downtrend as tech loses lustre
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia headed into the red at the opening bell as the pullback in equities seen in US markets dampened the local investor sentiment.Overnight, Wall Street retreated sharply as investors continued to rotate out of technology counters amid rising bond yields.The Nasdaq lost over 2% while the Dow Jones and S&P500 shed 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.At 9.30am, the FBM KLCI was down 5.87 points to 1,516.6, en route to its fourth straight day of losses.The market breadth was significantly negative with 445 decliners versus 197 gainers.The investor sentiment failed to be inspired by the rally in Brent crude prices past the US$80 a barrel in the previous session as Opec+ adhered to its schedule of gradual monthly output increases.However, the Bursa Malaysia Energy Index was seen jumping 3.5% while Petronas Chemicals one of the few advancers on the FBM KLCI, gaining four sen to RM8.69.The financial sector, which was the leading laggard in the previous session, remained shaky as Hong Leong Bank dropping six sen to RM18.72 and Public sliding one sen to RM4.02.Maybank and CIMB stayed firm to their previous day's close as investors weighed the recent selldown.Tech-related counters tracked the Nasdaq lower, led by MPI down 80 sen to RM44, Vitrox falling 26 sen to RM19.80 and UWC down six sen to RM6.12.Among top actives, Sapura Energy was flat at 10 sen, KNM rose one sen to 24.5 sen and AIM gained one sen to 22.5 sen.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 01:41 UTC
A look at Berlin through the eyes of someone who has lived on its streets
Seilwinder lived on the streets of the German capital from 2002 to 2009, battling with alcoholism. Seilwinder's tour takes his visitors through different parts of his life on the streets. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he worked as a seasonal agricultural labourer and received unemployment benefit. Some 2,000 homeless people were registered on the city's streets during Berlin's first census of the homeless in Jan 2020. The true number is probably far higher, says Barbara Breuer, spokesperson for the Berlin City Mission.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 00:56 UTC
Parliament to start winding up debates on 12MP on Tuesday (Oct 5)
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The winding up of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) in the Dewan Rakyat by ministries will begin on Tuesday (Oct 5) after five-year plan (from 2021 to 2025) was debated over four days. A total of 106 Members of Parliament from the government and Opposition blocs took part in the debate on the12MP after it was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Sept 27. Based on the Parliament calendar of the First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th Parliament, the winding-up of the 12MP is scheduled until Thursday. There will also a question by Datuk Mohd Salim Sharif (BN-Jempol) to the Education Minister on the effectiveness of the Home-based Learning and Teaching (PdPR) session module. The current Dewan Rakyat sitting is for 17 days until Oct 12.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 00:45 UTC
Encouraging safety self-regulation in workplaces
OCCUPATIONAL safety and health is a highly regulated area that is based on national planning and strategies to reduce accidents and diseases, raise awareness and inculcate a culture of safety in the workplace. In Malaysia, these actions have been successfully promulgated by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) with the introduction of the Occupational Safety and Health Master Plans (OSHMP) since 2005. Government departments, industrial associations, health and safety NGOs and employee associations are enlisted to implement OSHMP 2025. The main focus is to implement self-regulation particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which employ the largest number of workers in this country. Trade associations in the SME sector could assist their members to implement self-regulation.
Source:The Star
October 05, 2021 00:33 UTC