Parents: Staggered reopening is best
PETALING JAYA: Concerned parents are not in a rush for schools to reopen until it is safe, saying that they prefer a staggered resumption of classes. Muhyiddin said he hoped that the Health Ministry could guide and assist the Education Ministry in resolving the issues raised. Another parent David Yee said staggered classes would be a good method to “space out” students who did return to school. Educationist and former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said staggered classes was a way forward as the schools reopen. “Get opinions from parents and PTAs about staggered classes or ask for their suggestions.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 23:15 UTC
Less fanfare but Gawai joyously celebrated
PETALING JAYA: Unlike previous years, this year’s Gawai Dayak festival will be celebrated in a more subdued manner for Sarawakian Christine Lyana Raymond Mocheg. Christine said that she and her family still felt the joy of celebrating the Gawai Dayak festival together. She wished all Malaysians who are celebrating the festival a “Happy Gawai Dayak”. “Although we differ in cultural practices and we are apart physically, we can still celebrate Gawai Dayak together as one in order to honour the traditions that have been preserved for generations. “It gives me great pleasure to wish all Malaysians celebrating, happy Gawai Dayak, Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai Lantang Senang Nguan Menua, ” Halimah said.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 23:11 UTC
Weaving a way to join global fight
To date, over 15,000 handwoven masks have been produced by the weavers, whereby 12,000 have been sold and 2,000 were donated to communities in Cambodia. The masks comes in both plain and a striped pattern known as kroma, which is unique to the Cambodian silk-weaving heritage. The face mask initiative also provides supplementary economic opportunities for the weavers and Cambodia’s weaving communities in an effort to ensure fair pricing and protect the welfare of the people. “I am thankful that I can earn up to US$320 (RM1,392) per month from this face mask project. Article type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 18 Cxense type: free User access status: 3
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 23:03 UTC
Protect your child from online predators
Explaining the ITU’s Child Online Protection initiative, he said the tech sector has an important role to play in preventing violence online against children. “Online is an escape for children, away from stress of family life, which can be worse during this period at home,” she said. They start conditioning the kids online, and capitalise on it after the lockdown period,” said Victor. According to Victor, children are also more open to talking to strangers due to having more free time during the pandemic. Asked what parents could do to taper children’s time online, Cheng said it comes down to creating alternatives to fill their time.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 22:52 UTC
Fires burn near White House in violent U.S. protests
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Fires burned near the White House, stores were looted in New York City and Southern California, and a tanker truck drove into marchers in Minneapolis as the United States struggled to contain chaotic protests over race and policing. The unrest began with peaceful protests over the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody. Video footage showed a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, 46, for nearly nine minutes before he died on May 25. CHAOTIC SCENES AROUND WHITE HOUSEIn Washington, D.C., protesters set fires near the White House on Sunday. In New York City, where store windows were smashed, police arrested about 350 people and 30 officers suffered minor injuries during clashes.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 14:41 UTC
Covid-19: Bosses to get RM150 subsidy for screening of workers
PETALING JAYA: The Social Security Organisation (Socso) will provide a RM150 subsidy to employers for their workers' Covid-19 screening, says the Human Resources Ministry.Its minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said his ministry through Socso will provide employers a RM150 subsidy for each Covid-19 screening undertaken by workers who are Socso contributors.“In accordance with the government’s objective to ensure a safe and healthy workplace, the Human Resources Ministry though Socso will provide a subsidy to employers for the Covid-19 test conducted under the Prihatin Screening Programme (PSP Perkeso).“This subsidy programme will utilise the previously approved RM200mil allocation from Socso,” he said in a statement on Sunday (May 31).The screening subsidy scheme will take effect from Monday (June 1).Employers, he added, can send their workers to undergo screening at any clinics or hospitals approved by the Health Ministry.“Under this subsidy programme, foreign workers in the construction and security services sectors in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will be prioritised for the Covid-19 screening.“This is in line with the government’s recommendation to undertake targeted screening for high-risk workers to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission.“For workers who are not in the target group, the cost of Covid-19 screening should be borne by the employer as a continuity to the efforts to prevent the outbreak among all workers in the country,” he said.He added that the Human Resources Ministry, along with the Health and Works Ministries, have also decided to increase the number of Covid-19 screening service providers.The procedure of the subsidy programme will be updated from time to time, with the latest information available at the Prihatin portal ( https://prihatin.perkeso.gov.my ).
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 14:03 UTC
Health DG: 17 out of 86 Covid-19 fatalities were smokers
PETALING JAYA: One in five people who died of Covid-19 in Malaysia was a smoker, says Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic). The Health director-general said this was based on the research of 86 of the victims who died of the disease, where 17 or 19.8% of them were smokers. Dr Noor Hisham said that smoking impairs lung function and results in the organ to be less resistant to the coronavirus and other diseases. Dr Noor Hisham said that according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, an estimated 21.3% of Malaysians were smokers. ‘This shows that there is an increasing consciousness of the public especially among smokers about the dangers of smoking,” he said.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 10:41 UTC
Indonesia Covid-19 cases go above 26,000; minister slammed for virus comments
JAKARTA: Indonesia reported on Sunday (May 31) that 700 new Covid-19 (coronavirus) infections have been confirmed, taking the tally in the South-East Asian nation to 26,473, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto. Yurianto also reported 40 new deaths from Covid-19, taking the total to 1,613, while 7,308 have recovered. Meanwhile, an Indonesian minister is under fire after he compared coronavirus to rebellious wives, in remarks aimed at soothing public fears about easing Covid-19 restrictions across the South-East Asian archipelago. Women's groups and social media users slammed the apparent joke by security minister Mohammad Mahfud MD, who made the comments during an online address to a local university earlier this week. Critics panned the remarks as sexist and said it underscored Jakarta's weak response to the virus outbreak.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 09:45 UTC
Winning Dhoni's trust key to getting India captaincy - Kohli
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India captain Virat Kohli believes he landed the job largely because his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni was impressed with his reading of situations in matches. Kohli, 31, replaced Dhoni as test captain in 2014-15 and took over the limited-overs reins in early 2017, becoming India's all-format leader as well the team's batting mainstay. "You start talking to the captain regularly," Kohli told team mate Ravichandran Ashwin in a chat on YouTube. "He would deny a lot of things but he would discuss a lot of things as well. Kohli led India to the top of the world test rankings in October 2016 where they remained until Australia replaced them this month.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 09:22 UTC
Somali minibus hits roadside bomb, six killed
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least six people were killed on Sunday when a minibus struck a roadside bomb near the Somali capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said. The vehicle was carrying passengers, mostly from the same extended family, from the city to a funeral in a nearby town, when it hit the explosive at Hawa Abdi village, 19 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu. "So far we know the blast killed six people and injured others... Somalia has been mired in conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 07:18 UTC
Curfews and clashes as US race protests escalate
MINNEAPOLIS (AFP): Curfews were imposed on major US cities as clashes over police brutality escalated across America with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold." Police and protesters clashed in numerous cities including Chicago and New York, with officers responding to projectiles with pepper spray while shop windows were smashed in Philadelphia. Trump blamed the extreme left for the violence, including widespread looting and arson in Minneapolis, saying rioters were dishonoring the memory of Floyd. - Rioters to be 'decimated' -Peaceful protests occurred too, including in Toronto as the movement spread beyond America's borders. At least eight states -- including Texas, Colorado and Georgia -- activated the National Guard, who were also deployed around the White House to help handle the protests there.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 07:07 UTC
Please let our stranded kids come home: Expat mothers plead for their children be let into the country
PETALING JAYA: A group of expatriate mothers here have pleaded with the government to allow their children who are stranded overseas to be allowed to return to Malaysia. Many of them no longer have dependant passes and can only come into the country on social-visit visas. While the government decided to let expatriates with MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visas back into the country, the rules on expatriates without MM2H is not as clear. He was supposed to come back during the Easter holidays in April, but Malaysia was already under the MCO. Saudjana said that during the holidays, her children would come back to Malaysia on short term visas because they hold Indonesian passports.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 06:45 UTC
Man, 64, detained for trying to ram cop manning MCO roadblock
BALIK PULAU: Police have arrested a 64-year-old man for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol after he tried to ram a policeman manning a roadblock to enforce the movement control order (MCO) here. Balik Pulau OCPD Supt A. Anbalagan said the incident occurred near Queensbay Mall at 10.30pm on Saturday (May 30). "We arrested the suspect after he tried to ram the policeman on duty and luckily the policeman managed to avoid being hit. "The suspect also uttered profanities towards the policeman during the arrest," he said in a statement Sunday (May 31). Supt Anbalagan said the suspect were arrested under Section 45A of the Road Transport Act 1987 and Section 186 of the Penal Code.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 03:45 UTC
Tougher drink-driving laws should cover other intoxicating substances as well, says Lee Lam Thye
PETALING JAYA: Stiffer penalties for drink driving should also be imposed on those found to be under the influence of other intoxicating substances while behind the wheel, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (pic). He said MCPF supported the government's move to take stern and drastic action with regard to the recent increase in fatal accident cases involving drink driving. He stressed that the foundation was not against individuals consuming alcohol but strongly opposes drink driving. There have been calls for stiffer penalties against drink driving following a spate of accidents including fatalities involving drunk drivers. Statistics showed that there were 21 accidents involving such drivers in the first five months of this year, from which eight lives were lost.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 02:37 UTC
Hidden gems in the pants
I'm a 25-year-old man, who is rather bothered by issues of my hidden gems in my pants. How does the hidden gems affect my ability to father a child in the future? Undescended testicle occur when a child is born with one or both missing “gems”, that is usually “lost” along the path. This is because one in 500 men born with one or both undescended testicle are noted to develop testicular cancer. The crypto-mystery of the causes of undescended testicle can never be fully understood, however the impact of the “missing gems in the pants” are well researched and documented.
Source:The Star
May 31, 2020 01:18 UTC