KJ: Pharmacists are vital
KUALA LUMPUR: Community pharmacists are urged to work together with the government, learn from each other, as well as guide Malaysians into the endemic phase as the nation prepares to live with Covid-19. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said community pharmacists play an important role in the fight against Covid-19 as they are the primary point of care and gatekeepers of the nation’s healthcare system. “You are frontlining it... when doctors and hospitals, those in the front line of healthcare are overburdened, the next in line must step in, and these are our community pharmacists. Khairy said that self-test kits are another important area where community pharmacists come in, where along with other healthcare facilities, pharmacies are the proper channels to buy self-test kits from. He said community pharmacists can educate the public on how to use the self-test kits – its storage and disposal – providing follow-up and counselling once the results are out, and advising clients on the differences between the brands.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 22:07 UTC
Be patient, your turn will come
We wouldn’t want to accidentally create Covid-19 clusters at PPV when our aim is to prevent the spread of this disease! However, just like adults, there are also some teenagers who are wary of getting the vaccine. It was reported on Aug 30 that three such students lodged a police report to uphold their right to refuse the Covid-19 vaccine. The most serious, although extremely rare, side effect of this vaccine is myocarditis, which tends to affect young males after the second dose. Even so, the Health Ministry states that the chances of a person developing myocarditis from Covid-19 is 37 times higher than the risk of myocarditis from the vaccine.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 21:56 UTC
Covid-19: Prices of self-test kits to be reduced before school term begins
KUALA BERANG (Bernama): Prices of Covid-19 self-test kits will be reduced by the end of this month to make it more affordable for parents to carry out screening test for their children before the school session starts on Oct 3. Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid said the latest price would be announced soon. Starting Sept 5, the maximum retail price for a Covid-19 self-test kit is RM19.90 while the wholesale price is RM16. "Although the current price is considered cheap, it can be quite high for parents with schooling children. A family of five children would need RM100 to buy the self-test kits.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 09:22 UTC
Haitian migrants on the move weigh jobs in Mexico after clearout
On Friday, the United States said a border camp between the cities of Del Rio in Texas and Ciudad Acuna in Mexico had been emptied of thousands of migrants, most of them Haitian. Some were flown out, while others stay in the United States for now. Thousands have fanned out across northern Mexico in recent weeks, spurring concern among officials that mass crossings such as those seen in Ciudad Acuna could happen elsewhere. In the city of Monterrey a few hundred kilometers to the southeast, about 2,000 Haitians have gathered, tallies by migrant shelters show. Roberson, a 42-year-old Haitian solderer who had traveled from Brazil, said he was fed up with paying money to "guides" and had just submitted an application for asylum in Mexico.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 09:00 UTC
Sultan Ibrahim hopes govt immediately reviews strict 'MM2H' conditions
JOHOR BAHRU (Sept 25): The Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has expressed hope that the federal government immediately reviews the strict conditions for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme which were set recently. He raised the issue during an audience with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Saturday morning. Sultan Ibrahim said Johor is a key destination for foreign investors and the state is among the main contributors to Malaysia's economic growth. "Review the strict conditions set recently, and maintain the old conditions by making some improvements, so that it can provide a positive balance, especially in terms of economic growth," read a statement released on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page. This was Ismail Sabri’s first official visit to the Johor palace after taking oath as the ninth prime minister on Aug 21.
Source:The Edge Markets
September 25, 2021 08:48 UTC
Japan's Princess Mako to give up one-off payment in controversial marriage -media
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Princess Mako is set to forego a one-off million-dollar payment for giving up her royal status to wed a college classmate, media said on Saturday, clearing the way for a marriage delayed for years by controversy over her fiance. The 29-year-old grand-daughter of then-Emperor Akihito and her former college classmate, Kei Komuro, announced their engagement in 2017. But the marriage was put off after reports of a financial dispute between Komuro's mother and her former fiance. He was shown sporting a ponytail, a detail that has caused an uproar among some Japanese users of Twitter. Under Japan's males-only royal succession law, female members of the imperial family lose their status on marrying commoners.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 08:30 UTC
KATC aims to be Sabahan-led aerospace tech company by 2026, says CEO
KOTA KINABALU: KKIP Aerospace Training Centre (KATC) plans to be a Sabahan-led aerospace technological company by 2026 and is planning for more collaboration and training to achieve this. KATC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KKIP Sdn Bhd. To that end, Aminuddin said a MOU was inked between SMTRACK Bhd, Borneo Jet & Cargo Sdn Bhd and Borneo Drone Sdn Bhd. The establishment of Borneo Jet & Cargo (in partnership with Helistar Resources Sdn Bhd) and Borneo Drone in Sabah, meanwhile, will support KATC's aspirations of becoming an aerospace technological company by 2026, Aminuddin added. “The collaborations with SMTRACK, Borneo Jet & Cargo and Borneo Drone will provide the knowledge and exposure to the people of Sabah to become experts in the field.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 07:41 UTC
Heart and Soul: Journey with my art mentor
I met Adrian Foo by chance one day about eight years ago. It was the name of a shop – Art Muffin. I ventured into the shop and met Adrian Foo, the owner who also gave art classes. From then on, my journey in art with him began – with him challenging me initially, and later with me challenging him. He had trained many young adults to be art teachers and helped them set up their own art centres.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 06:56 UTC
India will export 8 million vaccine doses under Quad Partnership by end of October
NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Bloomberg): India will make 8 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine available by the end of October under the Quad Partnership, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. The Quad countries will pay for the vaccine and India will bear a certain share of the cost, he said. It would be compatible with our decision to resume vaccine export,” Shringla told reporters. Home to the world’s largest vaccine-manufacturing industry, India deferred exports in early April after a surge in delta variant infections began to sweep through the country. The Quad countries have promised to donate 1.2 billion doses of vaccines globally.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 06:45 UTC
Immigration nabs factory owner, 45 foreign nationals in raid
KUALA LUMPUR: A Bangladeshi clothing factory owner and 45 foreign workers were detained following several raids in Ampang. Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said investigations showed that the suspect used forged work permits for foreign workers obtained through the ID-Hack syndicate to establish a company here. Khairul Dzaimee said the suspect's illegal business has led to RM700,000 losses in foreign workers' levy for the government. Some of them even owned forged permits, which were produced by the ID-Hack syndicate," he said. We will step up efforts to track down the remaining work permits issued by the ID-Hack syndicate," he added.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 06:33 UTC
Profiling coronavirus mutations help scientists find weak spots
(Sept 25): Erica Ollmann Saphire spent the past year and a half profiling the coronavirus, creating intricate three-dimensional images in her San Diego lab to understand its most problematic features. That information is now revealing the pathogen’s weak spots and ways to exploit them. “We now have a framework for selecting durable antibody cocktails for Covid-19 treatment,” said Ollmann Saphire, who is president and chief executive officer at the La Jolla Institute. One “rock star” antibody developed by a collaborating lab is so far outperforming more than 350 other candidates analyzed by the Coronavirus Immunotherapy Consortium that Ollmann Saphire is leading. “It’s fantastic,” Ollmann Saphire said.
Source:The Edge Markets
September 25, 2021 06:00 UTC
Unfair to make seniors go for medical check-up before driving licence renewal, says group
PETALING JAYA: A proposal to compel senior citizens to undergo a medical check-up and be declared fit before they renew their driving license is unfair, says the Sarawak Gerontology and Geriatrics Society (SGGS). "It is my belief that most road accidents in the country are caused by younger people, not senior citizens. On Friday (Sept 24), the police proposed that the government limit the issuance of motor vehicle licences to senior citizens. He said that senior citizens should also undergo a medical check-up and get approval from a doctor to ascertain that they are fit to drive. He added that it was not suitable for senior citizens aged 70 and above to renew their driving licence for a five-year period due to the age factor.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 04:52 UTC
Bones need more than milk (and calcium)
For generations, we’ve been telling our children to down glasses of milk to stock up on calcium. Countless children are told to be good and drink their milk, with their parents preaching that this is the key to strong, healthy bones. Dairy products are indeed rich in calcium, and an adequate calcium balance is vital for the human body. Around 98% of the calcium in the body is found in the bones – and thus, is a decisive factor in terms of their stability. For comparison: a glass of milk contains some 240mg of calcium, while a litre of mineral water may contain 300mg and more.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 04:52 UTC
11YO Malaysian student inventor praised by US talk show host James Corden
She's already won three international awards for her breakthrough idea," Corden said on his show recently. The Late Late Show also tweeted about Maryam. She calls her product "YAM 2.0". Yam 2.0 won Maryam not just the gold medal but also the Canadian Special Award, as well as the coveted Best Young Inventor Award at iCAN 2021. She then found an article that cited the benefits of the shells for llivestock, in particular a compound called chitin, and went about creating Yam 2.0.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 04:16 UTC
CPO futures expected to trend lower on profit-taking next week
KUALA LUMPUR: The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trend lower next week on profit-taking activities, said Interband Group of Companies senior palm oil trader Jim Teh. "There will be a lot of palm oil demand for Christmas, mainly from Europe. As such, the price movement next week is expected to hover between RM4,200 and RM4,300 per tonne, he said. For the week just ended, Malaysian CPO futures finished mostly higher, driven by concerns over weak production and expectation of strong demand in upcoming weeks. The physical CPO price for October South added RM70 to RM4,670 a tonne.
Source:The Star
September 25, 2021 03:56 UTC