MALAYSIAN RINGGIT STRENGHTENS TO 5-MONTH HIGH

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia -  The ringgit strengthened to its highest level in three months to RM3.5462 at 8am yesterday, after more disappointing US economic data reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will not hike interest rates anytime soon. 

The recovery of oil prices was another promoting factor boosting the ringgit, as higher oil prices will ease the deficit pressures on the country.

The ringgit touched its weakest point on March 20, when it hit the RM3.7333 level. At its last price of 3.5635, the ringgit was still down by 1.92% from the 3.4965 level on a year-to-date basis. This is still one of its weakest levels in five years.

Measures by the Government over the last few months have included scrutinizing companies and individuals making big investments overseas in an effort to prevent any outflows of the ringgit for speculative purposes.

The US economy has been plagued by soft data over the last few months. The latest was last Friday, when data showed that business investment spending plans fell for a seventh straight month in March. 

The poor performance was likely aided by a strong dollar and lower energy prices.

The dismal report was just one of a slew of downbeat data on retail sales, industrial production, employment and housing starts that have hinted at insufficient growth momentum in the US economy. 

This, in turn, has cemented the view that the Fed will delay raising interest rates until later this year.

Manokaran Mottain, chief economist at Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd said the rising oil prices had also helped the ringgit and were a blessing to the country. With Malaysia being an oil producing country, higher oil prices would increase the earnings of national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), and thus potentially increase its dividends and royalties to be paid to the Government.

For the month of April, oil prices have more or less been on an upward trajectory. At US$64.14, it is now up 11.91% from its year-to-date level of US$57.33. Brent hit its low of US$46.59 on Jan 13.

Earlier this year, Petronas said that it would be planning its budget for 2015 based on an oil price forecast of US$55. In fact, some key projects would be deferred.

On a side note, foreign funds have been buyers of the Malaysian market over the last few weeks.

• Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad(MIDF) Research head, Zulkifli Hamzah said that the gradual build-up of a Malaysian equity portfolio by foreign investors continued for the sixth consecutive week.

Source: The Star

USA BALTIMORE RIOTS PROMPT STATE EMERGENCY

Baltimore erupted in violence on Monday as hundreds of rioters looted stores, set buildings on fire and injured at least 15 police officers following the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died after he was injured in police custody. 
The riots broke out just a few blocks from the funeral of Freddie Gray and then spread through much of West Baltimore in the most violent U.S.A demonstrations since looting in 
Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

Source: Agency, CBC...More...

MALAYSIAN BADMINTON HERO BANS FOR 8 MONTH FOR CONSUMING CAPSULES?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -  It is learn that shuttler Lee Chong Wei has been served with an eight-month ban over a doping violation.
The good news is that the sentence will be backdated from Aug 30 and he will be eligible to play in competitions from May 1.
Chong Wei will therefore be able to compete in three upcoming majors - the Sudirman Cup in Dongguan from May 10-17, the SEA Games in Singapore in June and the World Championships in Jakarta in August.
Consuming Cordyceps capsules containing dexamethasone was the main factor that caused the eight-month suspension of Datuk Lee Chong Wei
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Cordyceps is a natural food product and a form of herbal supplement that was taken by Chong Wei since he was 13 years old.
Chong Wei has been taking Cordyceps since he was 13 years old because his family believed that its was beneficial for his health, Khairy told a press conference on the outcome of the ace's doping hearing at the KBS Office here, yesterday.  

Source: The Star

GENDER EQUALITY - ALONG WAY AHEAD ?

DUBAI,United Arab Emirates -  The world has become wealthier, but at the same time more unequal today than at any other point since the Second World War some 75 years ago.
The gender gap, across the globe, is still wide, even in industrialized and developed nations. Women need to work more than men, but are still earning 24 per cent less than men, a UN report, which was released on Sunday, said
Global gender equality, Finland is leading the pack. Clinching the World Economic Fund's number one spot for gender equality in the Global Gender Gap report five years in a row (followed closely by Norway and Sweden), the European country continues to teach the world by example.
Unfortunately, many countries have yet to take notice. For example, in Bangladesh 80 percent of women have low-paying jobs, double the 40 percent of men in the same category.
Women in Saudi Arabia and Vatican City remain ineligible to vote—unlike their male counterparts—although a 2011 decree will hopefully allow Saudi women to vote for the first time in 2015.
And if you're a woman going to court in Yemen, you better bring a friend: Women aren't considered whole witnesses in the legal system and require the backing of a man or additional person. 
Oh, and don't even think about testifying about theft, libel, sodomy or adultery—those are off-limit topics for women.
Despite systemic international inequality gaining access to healthcare, education, high-paying jobs and personal safety, many potentially meaningful policies remain stagnant.
However, equality, experts say, is a very complex issue bigger than just a gap in numbers. 
To achieve equality, lots of efforts are needed as the existing system is a “system of inequality across the board”, they added.

Source: Gulf News...More...

18 PEOPLE DIE ON MALAYSIAN ROADS EVERY DAY

Malaysian Road Transport Department(JPJ) Director-General Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad said, an average of 18 people die every day in road accidents nationwide according to 2014 statistics.
During the same period an average of 1,330 accidents were recorded daily, Ismail Ahmad said.
"JPJ is facing is a huge challenge to reduce these figures, especially with almost 1.5 million new cars being registered annually," he said, adding that there were 600,000 new drivers registered in 2014.
He stressed that in the England, a country with a population of 60 million people, only 800 people were killed in road accidents annually.
He said during the national-level JPJ Day celebrations in Johore bahru, the task of reducing road accidents should be a concerted one and not just involve JPJ and the police.
Ismail stressed that among the JPJ's initiatives to help reduce road accidents included having early education targeting primary and secondary schools, revamping the syllabus for new drivers and having young JPJ squad members nationwide.

Source: The Star

NEPAL QUAKE TOLL CROSSES 2,200, CONTINUE CLIMBING

KATHMANDU, Nepal -  Sleeping in the streets and shell-shocked, Nepalese cremated the dead and dug through rubble for the missing Sunday, a day after a massive Himalayan earthquake killed more than 2,200 people, reports AP.
Aftershocks tormented them, making buildings sway and sending panicked Kathmandu residents running into the streets.
The cawing of crows mixed with terrified screams as the worst of the aftershocks - magnitude 6.7 - pummelled the capital city. It came as planeloads of supplies, doctors and relief workers from neighboring countries began arriving in this poor Himalayan nation.
No deaths or injuries were reported from the early Sunday afternoon quake, but it took an emotional toll.
Earlier an official in Nepal said that at least 2,152 people are now confirmed dead in the massive earthquake that hit just outside of Kathmandu.
A 7.9 magnitude temblor struck Nepal before noon on Saturday and was most severely felt in the capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. Aftershocks are rippled through the region Sunday, spreading fear and panic.
The biggest of the aftershocks was magnitude 6.7 and sent people yelling and running for open ground on Sunday. 

Source: Gulf News...More...

MALAYSIAN POLICE NABBED 12 ARMED MEN LINKED TO ISLAMIC STATE, EXPLOSIVE SEIZED

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia -  Police have arrested 12 suspects linked to the Islamic State (IS) militants who were planning attacks in the Klang Valley, according to Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar on Sunday.
In a two-day crackdown, the Inspector-General of Police said the 12 men, aged between 17 and 41, had planned to launch attacks on "strategic" and “high-value targets”.  
“On Saturday and Sunday, the Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in an operation in Hulu Langat, Selangor and Cheras arrested members of a terror cell suspected to have links to the IS.
“The plan was a response to a call by the IS central leadership in Syria to attack high-value targets of importance to secular Islamic nations which they claim to be their enemies," said Khalid.  
Chemicals used in explosives were also seized. It included about 20kg of ammonium nitrate and a similar amount of potassium nitrate.
Other items seized were an IS flag, two remote control units, alarm motors, wiring, four nine-volt batteries, a digital scale, two measuring cups, and three pieces of PVC piping.
Khalid said the men had been arrested for offences under the Penal Code and would be investigated under the provisions of the Special Offences (Security Measures) Act.

Source: The Star

MALAYSIA’ FIRST NET PROVIDER JARING IN LIQUIDATION?

Malaysia's first internet provider Jaring Communications Sdn Bhd has been put under the care of a liquidator after a court order last Thursday.
Dr Mohamed Awang Lah, the former Jaring chief executive officer said he was sad that the entity he had helped to start back in 1986 under the name RangKoM, later launched as Jaring in 1992, had been left to deteriorate into the present condition.
Jaring was also a subsidiary of Mimos and subsequently taken over by the Finance Ministry in 2007.  
In August last year, Jaring was reportedly bought over by Utusan Printcorp for over RM100 million.
A few months later in October, The Malaysian Insider reported some 70 Utusan Printcorp staff held a protest to demand their unpaid salaries which was three months in arrears. Jaring staff were also among those reported not to have received their pay.
Jaring was among three contractors that received a full payment of RM88.13 million by the Ministry of Communication and Multimedia for an incomplete broadband project 
in Sabah and Sarawak, according to the first 
series of the Auditor-General's Report 2014.

Source: Agency

POWERFUL NEPAL QUAKE KILLS 449

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu today causing buildings to collapse, injuring many and leaving a pall of dust over the city, witnesses said.
The death toll from a powerful quake that struck Nepal on Saturday has risen to 449, most of it in the Kathmandu Valley, police said.
“The number of dead so far is 449,” police deputy inspector general Kamal Singh Bam said.
At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. It was unclear how many people were injured.
A Reuters reporter in Kathmandu said he had seen some buildings collapse and walls of several houses reduced to rubble.
An historic tower built in the 19th century in Kathmandu collapsed, trapping at least 50 people, Nepal media reported.
The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony on its eighth floor.
Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and other northern cities in India, with reports of tremors lasting almost one minute.
“Massive tremors have been felt here in Delhi and several other parts of India,” said a newsreader on NDTV in Delhi.

Source: Reuters

WOMAN STRIPS TO AVOID PAYING FOR CHICKEN RICE IN MALAYSIA?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - An unidentified woman stripped off her clothes to avoid paying for a meal worth around RM18  in Petaling Street.
The woman went to a chicken rice restaurant with a man around 3pm on Thursday, Apr 23.
A nearby stall owner identified only as Wong said the woman had two plates of chicken rice before trying to leave without paying.
"When the restaurant operator tried to stop her, she denied having eaten there.
"However, she was shown a CCTV recording of her eating in the restaurant, so she started stripping to avoid paying," said Wong, who runs a jewellery stall beside the restaurant.
A video of the woman taking off her top was uploaded on YouTube a few hours after the incident but has since been taken down.
Witnesses said the woman's companion, described as a Caucasian, got into a scuffle off camera with the restaurant operator when she was not allowed to leave.
The duo reportedly fled when policemen arrived at the scene.

Source: –The Star

3 POLICEMEN ARRESTED IN INDIA FOR RAPING MODEL

MUMBAI, India – Police in Mumbai have arrested three officers who allegedly raped a model in a police station and then demanded several thousand dollars as blackmail to keep quiet, a deputy commissioner said today.
Three other men have also been arrested after the 29-year-old woman said the officers bundled her into a car as she was leaving an upmarket hotel in India’s financial capital on April 3.
Deputy commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni said the woman has alleged she was then driven to a police outpost and raped by the officers before they extorted up to 500,000 rupees from her.
Local media have reported that the woman’s friend had gone to the police station to deliver the money after traveling to several ATMs in the night.
The woman reportedly sent a text message to Mumbai’s police commissioner Rakesh Maria several days later alerting him to the incident, before meeting him to give more details.

• India introduced tough laws against sex offenders in the wake of the fatal gang-rape of a Delhi student in the capital in December 2012 that sparked mass street protests.
• But sexual violence against women has continued at frightening levels throughout the country.

Source: – AFP

MALAYSIA MAHATHIR SAYS 1MDB FUND VANISH, DEMANDS PM RESIGN

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday launched the fiercest yet in a series of attacks on the country's prime minister, demanding he account for the disappearance of billions of dollars borrowed by state fund 1MDB, or resign.
"It is this disappearance of a huge amount of borrowed money by 1MDB and the inability to answer questions regarding what happened to the funds that disqualifies Najib from being prime minister of Malaysia," the 89-year-old wrote in his blog.
Najib Razak chairs the advisory board of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a power plant and property fund whose 42 billion ringgit ($11.58 billion) debt has weighed on Malaysia's sovereign rating and the ringgit in recent months.
However, the prime minister has ordered an audit of 1MDB's accounts by the country's Auditor General.

Source: AsiaOne

CROWDS DENOUNCING ATTACKS ON MIGRANTS IN S. AFRICA

Soldiers were deployed in Johannesburg this week to aid police in operations against hostels in Johannesburg's Alexandra township housing South African men who are accused of targeting migrants from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and other African countries.
Many immigrants have been forced to flee their homes and abandon their small shops as marauding mobs hunted down foreigners at night.
Over 5,000 people from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi still seek refuge in displacement camps, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said in a statement.
He said, Injured Malawian and Zimbabwean men told medics that they are too afraid to openly seek medical treatment for their wounds and fractures for fear of further attack.
In central Johannesburg several thousand demonstrators marched  to protest against a spate of deadly attacks on immigrants.
Crowds sang songs denouncing xenophobia and carried banners that read "We are all Africans" on Thursday.
The marchers passed through neighbourhoods that are home to many immigrants, a large number of whom come from other African countries. Migrant workers crowded balconies, shouting their support.

Source: Al Jazeera

ZUNAR HEADS CARTOON EXHIBITION ON ANWAR, MALAYSIAN POLITICAL ISSUES

Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar is leading a group of 20 cartoonists in an exhibition on Saturday to highlight economic and political issues as well as the plight of jailed opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Not cowed by the actions taken against him, including nine sedition charges for criticising the Federal Court's decision to uphold Anwar's sodomy conviction, Zunar, whose real name is Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, said the exhibition would also touch on issues such as the Sedition Act, the goods and services tax (GST), Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota), the prime minister and his wife, the private jet and others.

• He said the exhibition, which would feature his work and the works of other members of the Independent Cartoonist Group (KKI), was part of the “Selangor Cartoon World – Right to Creativity” programme jointly organised by the Selangor government and Petaling Jaya City Council.
•  The event will be held on Saturday, from 9am to 6pm, at Tasik Taman Jaya, Petaling Jaya.

It will also host other programmes open for public participation such as caricature, cartoon drawing workshop, a sketch corner, as well as drawing and colouring competition for children.
Other cartoonists are Megat, Baba, Aku Napie, amn, Bai, mrsyed, A.Z, Haili, JOCA, Sukhbir Cheema, Art Saad, Benny Loh, Brado Otai, Kafang, Tuyuk, Orang-Orang, Jonos dan Siti Atikah.
Zunar has been hounded by the police over the years, and was probed under the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Penal Code, over his satirical cartoons that poked fun at Barisan Nasional leaders.

Source: The Malaysian Insider...More...