LIFE ON PLANET AT STAKE?
PARIS: France's top diplomat, who will preside over a
year-end Paris summit tasked with inking a climate rescue pact, warned Sunday
of looming planetary "catastrophe" if negotiations fail.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius's remarks came as separate
reports warned of the devastating effects of global warming on the poor and
those living in megacities around the world.
- "It is life on our planet itself which is at stake," Fabius told journalists as ministers and climate envoys from 70 countries met for pre-summit talks to iron out tough political questions.
- With the key UN conference just three weeks away, he also announced that Russia's President Vladimir Putin would attend the November 30 opening.
- Russia, a major oil producer, is seen as a deal-maker or -breaker in the years-long attempt to negotiate the world's first truly universal pact to curb climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
- "There is absolute urgency," said Fabius, to achieve the UN goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
The UN's climate science panel has warned of an average
temperature rise of "four, five, six degrees, if we do not act extremely
quickly," he said.
"This would have catastrophic consequences because
there would be drought... and colossal migration problems, including problems
of war and peace."
A World Bank study warned that global warming could elevate
levels of disease, ravage crops and push 100 million more people into poverty.
levels of disease, ravage crops and push 100 million more people into poverty.
"The poor are more vulnerable to climate-related shocks
than wealthier people because they are more exposed, lose more in relative
terms, and lack the financial systems and social safety nets that would allow
them to better prepare and cope," it said.
Source: Tribune...More...
MALAYSIA HEALTH MINISTRY TO STUDY LAWS TO BAN VAPING?
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - The Health Ministry has formed a special
committee to study the issues surrounding the vape industry following a heated
debate over a proposed ban on vaping.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said that the
committee would be the point of reference over the issues to prevent
conflicting statements from other Government departments.
- "The committee is being chaired by director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, deputy director-general for public health Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, disease control department director Dr Chong Chee Keong and several other experts," he said.
- Noor Hisham, speaking to reporters at the same event, said that the committee would be meeting on Monday, and would issue an official statement after discussing the matter together.
On Thursday, vape store owners were caught by surprise when
the Health Ministry conducted a nationwide raid which businessmen claimed caused
losses running into millions of ringgit.
A Health Ministry spokesman said that the raid and
confiscation were done to monitor the nicotine content of vape liquid in the
market, and that some stores did not possess a valid license.
Source: The Star
JAPAN DISTRICT ISSUES FIRST GAY UNION CERTIFICATE
Two Tokyo districts issued Japan's first certificates
officially recognizing same-sex partnerships on Thursday, a major step forward
for gay couples in a nation where being openly gay remains largely taboo.
The move may seem insignificant compared to the United
States, which has made gay marriage legal in all 50 states, but just approving
the measures earlier this year set off an unprecedented discussion on equality and
has paved the way for other Japanese cities to consider similar steps.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community
has been all but invisible in Japan, and legally binding civil unions remain a
distant dream.
- Hiroko Masuhara and Koyuki Higashi arrived at city hall in the trendy Shibuya district early in the morning to collect the certificate that will allow them to rent an apartment, visit each other in hospital and gain a variety of other benefits as a couple.
- "I am exhilarated that the city I am living has recognized my partner as my family," a smiling Masuhara told reporters.
- Shibuya and Setagaya, considered the wealthiest of Tokyo's 23 wards, began issuing the certificates on Thursday. While the papers do not provide any legal recognition of same-sex unions, all agreed that it was an important beginning.
- "I hope that this will be a step forward not only for Tokyo but for the whole of Japan to become a more comfortable place to live in, because there are LGBTs nationwide," said Higashi, although she said she still hadn't abandoned a dream of one day getting legally married.
- Shibuya mayor Ken Hasebe, who ran for office on a pro-LGBT rights campaign, congratulated the couple. "It took a long time to get here," he said.
The central government, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe(photo),
has said it needs to be "very careful" when considering whether or
not to make changes in the constitution allowing same-sex marriage, and some
older Japanese remain wary.
But younger Japanese are generally in favor of LGBT rights
and Japan's new education minister, Hiroshi Hase, surprised the LGBT community
last month by vowing in an interview to promote LGBT rights ahead of the Tokyo
Olympics in 2020.
Olympics in 2020.
Source: Reuters
CONDOM SHORTAGE HAMPERS INDIA’S AID FIGHT
NEW DELHI, India - Sex worker Shaalu is using fewer condoms
when she meets her clients in New Delhi -- not out of choice, but because a
funding crunch and procurement delays in the state-run HIV/AIDS programme have
disrupted supplies of free condoms.
"I am more scared of HIV now," said Shaalu, 32,
who often resorts to unsafe sex as free condoms are scarce and she is hard
pressed for funds to repay a debt of $4,500.
India provides free condoms under its community-based AIDS
prevention programme that targets high-risk groups like sex workers. That
strategy, the World Bank estimates, helped avert 3 
million HIV infections
between 1995 and 2015.
million HIV infections
between 1995 and 2015.
But government data released last week showed about
two-thirds of India's 31 state AIDS units had less than a month's supply of
condoms. Some states only have enough for a few days.
Reliable supplies are key experts fear that the shortage
could lead to more unsafe sex and increased infections, among the
poor.
Source: Reuters...More...
A MALAYSIAN WHO THOUGHT HE HAD FATALLY STABBED WIFE KILLS HIMSELF
MARANG, Malaysia - A
municipal Council labourer took his own life after he had stabbed his wife and
believed she was dead in Kampung Gong Beris here.
Mohd Dzulkifili Ismail, 28, was found in a pool of
blood in his house by his brother at
about 6am on Wednesday.
The wife, Sofia Talaha, 26, however, survived the stabbing
and is admitted at the Hospital Sultanah But Zahirah in Kuala Terengganu.
State CID chief Asst Comm Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Hamzah
said Mohd Dzulkifli was believed to have stabbed his wife after an argument
broke out.
He said a knife, believed to be the weapon used to attack
the wife, was found beside Mohd Dzulkifili's body.
"We are investigating the motive of the incident. There
are other aspects that we are looking at
including financial burden and what
the argument was about," he said.
including financial burden and what
the argument was about," he said.
Source: The Star
AFGHAN WOMAN STONED TO DEATH FOR ELOPING?
KABUL, Afghanistan – A young Afghan woman who was married
against her will has been stoned to death after she eloped with another man,
officials said Tuesday, in an attack recorded in a graphic video.
The video of the stoning shows a woman in a hole in the
ground as men almost casually hurl stones at her with sickening thuds, local
officials told AFP.
The woman, named by officials as Rokhsahana and aged between
19 and 21, can be heard repeating the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith,
her voice growing increasingly high-pitched in the nearly 30-second clip run in
Afghan media.
- Local authorities confirmed the footage, which is playing on Afghan media and is going viral on Facebook. “Yes, the footage shown in the media is related to Rokhsahana, who was stoned to death,” a spokesman for the provincial governor told AFP.
The killing took place about a week ago in Ghalmeen, an area
some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Ghor provincial capital of Firozkoh,
governor Seema Joyenda said.Rokhsahana had been “stoned to death by Taliban, local religious leaders and irresponsible armed warlords,” Joyenda told AFP.
- Joyenda, one of Afghanistan’s only two female governors, said that according to authorities’ information Rokhsahana’s family had “married her to someone against her will and she was eloping with a man her age”.
- She condemned the stoning, calling on Kabul to take action to “clean the area”.
- “This is the first incident in this area but will not be the last. Women in general have problems all over the country, but especially in Ghor… The man with whom she was eloping has not been stoned.”
- Ghor police chief Mustafa Mohseni told AFP that the incident happened in a Taliban-controlled area, confirming that it was the first such incident “this year”.
Shariah law decrees stoning as the punishment for men and
women convicted of having sex outside marriage, but the penalty is very rarely
applied in Muslim countries.
It was relatively common in Afghanistan during the Taliban
rule from 1996-2001, however.
SourceL – AFP
TUN MAHATHIR WANTS MALAYSIAN PM AND THOSE BEHIND 1MDB CHARGE FOR SABOTAGE?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The people behind 1MDB should be charged in
court for sabotage of the Malaysian banking and financial systems, said former
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in his latest blog posting. 
“Since it was Prime
Minister Najib Abdul Razak who created 1MDB, to borrow RM42 billion and
invested the money to lose it, he should also be charged with sabotage.”
1MDB may sell at 5000 per cent above the purchase price,
land that it bought at RM60 p.s.f. from the government, and repay the loans, he
conceded. “But the fact remains that had 1MDB not been created, the huge sum of
borrowed money would not have disappeared.”
For this, he demanded, 1MDB and those responsible must still
be 
charged for abuses of the banking and financial system, the repayment of
loans notwithstanding.
charged for abuses of the banking and financial system, the repayment of
loans notwithstanding.
The creators of 1MDB and the managers are the people who
sabotaged this country, he argued. “The country, before 1MDB, had a good record
for financial management and a sound banking system.”
- In fact, he added, everyone, from the initial set-up of 1MDB , to the newspaper reporters and the reports to the police should all be charged with sabotage of Malaysia’s financial and banking systems.
- Mahathir confessed that he‘s confused by the Attorney General’s (AG) statement that sacked Umno Batu Kawan deputy divisional chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and senior lawyer Matthias Chang are being charged with sabotage of the nation’s banking and financial system.
- “I assume that their reports to the police authorities in the UK, Switzerland and Hong Kong, where the transactions took place, are the basis for these sabotage charges which upon conviction may land them in jail for up to 15 years,” said Mahathir.
- The former Prime Minister pointed out that the publication by the foreign press of the shenanigans in the investments by 1MDB came out long before Khairuddin’s reports. “These news reports were not casual reports but were very detailed descriptions of what and who were involved,’ said Mahathir. “They were reporting on what is well known to the whole world.
- Why were these newspaper reports not satisfactorily rebutted by 1MDB or the Ministry of Finance (MoF)?” he asked.
“The impression created
about Malaysia’s alleged abuses of the financial and banking systems could
result ultimately in the loss of confidence in the country’s political and
economic health and its financials.”
But had there been no 1MDB and no RM42 billion being
borrowed, stressed Mahathir, the press would not report nor would there be any
police reports.
“Wouldn’t these press reports then be considered as sabotage?”
“Wouldn’t these press reports then be considered as sabotage?”
Source: Free Malaysian Today
2 MILLION HECTARES OF INDONESIA FOREST BURNT SINCE JUNE?
More than two million hectares of Indonesia's forests were
burnt down in the past five months, Indonesian authorities have revealed, as
neighbouring countries get respite from the choking smoke.
Jakarta Globe reported the country's National Space and
Aviation Agency (Lapan) as estimating that 2,089,911 hectares of forest area
were lost to fires, based on satellite data collected from June 21 to October
20.
“We have compared the data gathered from before and after
the fires started,” Parwati Sofan, a senior official at Lapan was quoted as
telling a press 
conference in Central
Jakarta on Friday.
conference in Central
Jakarta on Friday.
It said Lapan estimated that 832,999 hectares of forests
were burnt in Sumatra, 806,817 hectares in Kalimantan, 353,191 hectares in
Papua, 30,912 hectares in Sulawesi, 30,162 hectares in Bali and Nusa Tenggara,
18,768 in Java, and 17,063 in Maluku.
- The figures may actually be higher, as Parwati reportedly said the satellite is unable to scan forest areas covered in smoke.
- He added that the numbers were expected to increase since they were still in the midst of collecting date.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency
(BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho reportedly said that 32% of the hot spots
were in non-concession forest areas, 20% in industrial forest areas, and 20% in
palm oil plantations.
Smoke from Indonesia's forest fires have choked neighbouring
countries for nearly two months now, forcing schools in Malaysia to close for
several days on end, flights to be cancelled, and a hike in illnesses across
several states.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
MALDIVES PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION PLOT SUSPECTS NAB BY MALAYSIAN POLICE
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Federal police arrested a Maldivian diplomat
on Wednesday in connection with the attempted assassination of Maldives president
Abdulla Yameen last month.
The 47-year-old Investment Counselor was nabbed by a team of
Special Branch's Counter-Terrorism Division (SB-CTD) operatives at a
condominium here.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said
the man was suspected to be involved with the assassination plot, involving a
bomb which was set off onboard a speedboat carrying Yameen near Male on Sept
28.
"On Oct 28, SB-CTD launched a special operation in
Kuala Lumpur and arrested a foreigner who is suspected to be involved in a plot
to assassinate the president of Maldives on Sept 28.
- "The suspect is a 47-year-old Maldivian man, who is also the country's Investment Counselor.
- "He was arrested in a condominium together with four other Maldivians - two men and two women, aged between 28 and 38," he said in a statement received from federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman earlier today.
- Khalid said the suspects were arrested under the Immigration Act, and had been deported to Maldives earlier today for further action by the country's authorities.
- He said the special operation's success was the result of close cooperation between SB-CTD and Maldives authorities.
In the attack, Yameen was unhurt, while his wife and two
aides sustained minor injuries from the blast.
On Oct 6, Reuters reported Minister in the President's
Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef saying that the explosion was an assassination
attempt.
Investigations into the incident resulted in Maldivian
vice-president Ahmed Adheeb’s arrest on Oct 24.
On the same day, Maldivian Home Minister Umar Naseer tweeted
that Adheeb was arrested under the charge of high treason.
Source: New Straits Times
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