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Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Four on trial over orangutans killing

THREE Indonesians and a Malaysian went on trial yesterday for killing endangered orangutans and other protected primates as a means of pest control at a palm oil plantation on Borneo island.Prosecutors said the plantation manager, Malaysian national...

Ex-Sarawak rangers feel slighted over RM3,000 one-off payment

EX-SARAWAK rangers, who served during the Confrontation and Malayan Emergency, are slighted as their plea for the one-off RM3,000 payment enjoyed by ex-policemen had yet to get a reply. !Sarawak Rangers Association secretary-general Capt (R) Mohd...

RM120 million allocated for 1Azam programme in Sabah

A SUM of RM120 million had been allocated under the Program Akhiri Zaman Miskin (1Azam) to eradicate poverty in Sabah. !Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin said the allocation from the federal government was for two phases of the programme,...

Philippine rescuers search for earthquake survivors

RESCUERS in the Philippines dug through rubble with their bare hands yesterday in a frantic search for survivors, a day after a powerful earthquake killed dozens of people.The 6.7-magnitude quake hit a narrow strait between the heavily populated...

China fines parents of HK-born 2nd child

MAINLAND Chinese who have a second child in Hong Kong will be fined for breaching China's one-child policy, Chinese media quoted a family planning official as saying, as mainland Chinese women flock to the former British colony to give birth.!Hong...

Myanmar mulls civil service pay hike to combat graft

A TOP Myanmar official yesterday proposed a rise in civil service wages to combat widespread graft in a move likely to prove popular as the country heads towards landmark by-elections.Lower House speaker Shwe Mann, a former junta number three who is...

5 missing in Japan refinery tunnel collapse

DIVERS were searching for five workers after an undersea tunnel collapsed at one of Japan's biggest oil refineries yesterday, emergency services said.Six people were in the partially constructed tunnel at Kurashiki, 550 kilometres west of Tokyo,...

Pakistan hunts for survivors as factory toll hits 19

PAKISTANI rescuers yesterday pulled more survivors and bodies from the rubble of a factory that collapsed in the city of Lahore, as the death toll rose to 19 after the disaster.The three-storey building used to manufacture veterinary medicines came...

South Korea cram school accused of hi-tech copying

A TOP cram school in education-obsessed South Korea used tiny audio recorders and cameras hidden in pens to record exam questions and then passed them on to students, prosecutors said yesterday.They said the five bosses of Hackers Education Group, a...

IN BRIEF

US starts lifting Myanmar sanctionsWASHINGTON: The US on Monday lifted one of its many sanctions against Myanmar in recognition of recent positive moves toward political reform in the country after decades of direct military rule. US Secretary of...

China defends Syria veto, denies sheltering Assad

CHINA has denied US accusations it was protecting the Syrian regime, after drawing international criticism for vetoing a UN resolution condemning a deadly crackdown on protests by Damascus.Beijing called on both sides in the conflict to halt...

China to 'resolutely crack down' on Tibetan unrest

CHINA said yesterday it would "resolutely crack down" on any attempts to instigate violence in Tibetan-inhabited areas, where authorities have launched a deadly clampdown on protesters.At least two people were killed last month in clashes...

Afghan security guard kills colleagues, say police

AN AFGHAN security guard killed three colleagues and two police in southern Afghan city of Kandahar, the provincial authorities said yesterday. "A member of a private security company (is) responsible for shooting his friends," the...

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

ICT working group identifies projects for BIMP-EAGA

THE Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Working Group for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) has identified three major projects to be included in the BIMP-EAGA Implementation...

Villagers may have helped kill Abu Sayyaf commander

ABU Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail had deviated from the brutal image of his al-Qaida-linked militant group by playing doctor to poor Filipino villagers, whose backing he needed to stay safe from military troops. But those villagers may have been...

Modenas eyes 15% market share in Sarawak this year

MOTOSIKAL dan Enjin Nasional Sdn Bhd (Modenas), the national motorcycle maker, wants to increase its market share in Sarawak to 15 per cent this year, with the sale of its latest edition, Motosikal Rakyat 1 (MR1), and another new model to be...

Central Philippines quake kills 43

A 6.8-MAGNITUDE earthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines yesterday, killing at least 43 people and causing widespread panic, officials said.The powerful quake hit in a narrow strait between the heavily populated island provinces of...

2002 Bali blast suspect to be tried

THE alleged mastermind behind Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attack that killed more than 200 people in Bali a decade ago will likely stand trial next week, a prosecutor said yesterday.Umar Patek, 41, could face death by firing squad if convicted...

Laos probes sale of babies to foreigners

LAOS is investigating a retired justice ministry official for allegedly selling adopted babies to Americans, Canadians and Australians for thousands of dollars each, a report said.The official is accused of seeking out unwanted babies in poor, rural...

Myanmar panel says Suu Kyi can run for parliament

MYANMAR'S Election Commission yesterday gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the green light to run for parliamentary by-elections, another step toward political openness in a country emerging from nearly a half-century of iron-fisted military...