Sabtu, 11 Jun 2011

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NST Online: Latest


Bangladesh hit by second nationwide strike

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 10:55 PM PDT

DHAKA - Bangladesh was brought to a halt for the second time in a week on Sunday as a 36-hour nationwide opposition strike over changes in the electoral system began, amid tight security.

Police said 9,000 policemen and 3,000 paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were deployed in the capital Dhaka after five vehicles, including three buses, were torched on Saturday, creating widespread panic.

Shops, businesses and schools were shut on Sunday — a weekday in the Muslim-majority nation — and major roads and highways were deserted.


The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its key Islamist ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, are enforcing the strike in protest against changes in the electoral system, which they say unfairly favour the incumbent government.

Dhaka police spokesman Masud Ahmed said magistrates were deployed on the roads to tackle violence head-on. - AFP

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Sabahan urged to take advantage of Firefly flights

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:45 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU -- Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri today urged Sabahans to take advantage of the flight services provided by community airline Firefly, now that it is operating the Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Lumpur route.

He said the airline using Boeing 737-800 aircraft for the route was a boon for passengers as besides the low fares, they could travel in comfort.

The service would also give the tourism industry in Sabah a further boost, he told Bernama here today.


He said that the Kota Kinabalu International Airport was currently handling around six million passengers a year and that based on growth projection of seven per cent annually, the figure waas expected to rise to 10 million by 2020.

Sabah would benefit immensely from this as tourism was it most important economic sector, he added. -- BERNAMA

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NST Online: Topnews

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Dengue vaccine out soon

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:24 AM PDT

Dengue vaccine out soon

2011/06/11
By Chandra Devi Renganayar
chandra@nst.com.my


Final trials starting thismonth

KUALA LUMPUR: A dengue vaccine developed by theHealthMinistry and a private company is expected to be available soon,with the final phase of clinical trials to start thismonth.

Thismuch anticipated vaccine, said to be the first in theworld, is set to

become amedical breakthrough.

While there are a fewongoing vaccine development programmes, there has so far been no tested and approved vaccine for the dengue virus.


Director-general ofHealthDatukDr Hasan Abdul Rahman told theNew Sunday Times that the latest phase, the third,would target 1,500 subjects in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The trials are jointly conducted by theministry and Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccine division of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis.

"Similar studies are being undertaken in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Because the scope is wide, we have broken it up into several trials."

It is understood that the first and second phase of clinical trials have yielded positive results.

While the primary sites are in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Dr Hasan said smaller scale trials of the same study were also being conducted in the state hospitals of Perak, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak.

The University Malaya Medical Centre is also involved in the study.

Currently there is no specific treatment for the mosquito-borne disease. Until the vaccination is made available, destroying the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes remain the primary means of preventing dengue fever.

In view of the public health threat, the ministry had rolled out many campaigns to raise awareness and to curb the spread of the disease.

These included the "10-minute a week" campaign encouraging the public to set aside 10 minutes in a week to clean their houses and remove possible mosquito breeding areas.

However, Dr Hasan said there is a "laissez-faire attitude" among the public when it comes to clean-up projects.

Although there is high awareness of dengue prevention practices among the public, many are reluctant to participate in community clean-up projects

"Even as early as 2006 when the ministry conducted the National and Health Morbidity Survey, we found that many were aware of dengue prevention practices. About 82 per cent were knowledgeable on dengue transmission but only 14 per cent participated in community clean-up projects in their area.

"In fact, 21.4 per cent were never involved in such activities. More recent findings from community feedback also show a similar trend, that is, the knowledge is high but action is limited."

The public, Dr Hasan said, must realise that it is up to them to ensure the breeding places of Aedes mosquitoes are eliminated.

"It is impossible for the Health Department to check every single house in the country," he added.

The country recorded 45,901 cases last year, a 12 per cent increase and 134 people died from the disease.

For the last five months of this year, 8,496 dengue cases were reported with 13 deaths recorded.

An increase in the number of dengue cases were seen in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Sabah and Pahang.

Sanofi-Pasteur hopes to launch the vaccine in four years' time for priority countries with 100 million doses annually.

While dengue vaccine development has been undertaken by other research institutions and pharmaceutical companies, Sanofi-Pasteur's vaccine is the only one that has targeted the four different dengue viruses, said Dr Jean Lang, associate vice-president at Sanofi-Pasteur's global department of research and development.

"We were the first to invest in the R&D for a dengue vaccine in the 1990s and today this vaccine is the world's most clinically advanced dengue vaccine candidate.

"The scientific challenge was to choose the right approach to have a well tolerated vaccine that offers protection against the four serotypes of the dengue virus," he said.

Fifteen endemic and non-endemic countries have been included in the company's global clinical study programme which includes Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Globally, 45,000 participants will be included in the clinical study programme.

Dr Lang said Phase I and 2 of clinical studies among children and adults have been evaluated in the United States, Asia and Latin America and efficacy results from a Thai study is expected to be available at the end of next year.

"We have observed positive results in our clinical trials. A balanced immune response against all four serotypes was observed after three doses of the vaccine.

"The vaccine is well tolerated with similar safety profile after each dose.

"We have no doubts that we will be the first to roll out the dengue vaccine within a few years."

About 2.5 billion people are at risk in over 100 countries.

An estimated 220 million people are infected annually and about two million, mostly children, develop dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Dr Lang acknowledged that it would be a challenge to make it accessible to everyone at risk.

In response to this global need for a dengue vaccine, the company is building a new vaccine production centre in France, he said.

It is intended to reduce the time necessary to provide access to the vaccine once it is licensed.

The centre is expected to be operational in 2014.

Dr Lang also said implementation of dengue vaccination programmes would face challenges.

"Creating vaccination policies as well as dealing with access and financing mechanisms for people most in need must be looked at.

"It is crucial for the public health community to work together to start preparing for vaccination programmes. We are collaborating with international groups such as the Dengue Vaccine Initiative to raise awareness and move dengue vaccination higher on the global health agenda," said Dr Lang.

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Experts to gather ideas from online community

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 09:19 AM PDT


The 1Malaysia Roundtable members include (clockwise from left) educator and creativity expert Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, Institute of Strategic and International Studies chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, national cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, Talent Corporation Malaysia chief executive officer Johan Mahmood Merican and television and theatre personality Low Ngai Yuen.

The 1Malaysia Roundtable members include (clockwise from left) educator and creativity expert Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, Institute of Strategic and International Studies chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, national cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, Talent Corporation Malaysia chief executive officer Johan Mahmood Merican and television and theatre personality Low Ngai Yuen.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is looking forward to the online 1Malaysia Roundtable going live tomorrow to get fresh ideas and potential solutions from the people.

"I hope all of us will take this opportunity to come together and produce ideas and creative solutions. Do inform your family and friends so that we can get as many suggestions as possible," he said in his latest blog posting, "Take a seat at the 1Malaysia Roundtable".

Najib said the online 1Malaysia Roundtable, on the website http://www.1malaysia.com.my, would allow all Malaysians, regardless of geographic location, profession or age, to provide fair and constructive comments, suggestions or ideas to better the lives of the people.


The areas to be discussed include the economy, national unity, health, youth activity and sports.

The roundtable would be moderated by some of the most respected and celebrated individuals of the nation, Najib said.

The prime minister said he had over the past month told his office to engage a number of Malaysians who were recognised as icons or role models in their fields, including a few based overseas.


Najib said these subject matter experts (SMEX) would join him in guiding participants through discussions and in gathering ideas for review and consideration.

"These SMEX are committed to shed some light on issues, share their time and experience to help you shape your ideas, and finally present to me the key highlights of your discussion for further study or consideration for implementation."

Najib said he had also scheduled a special session to meet the 1Malaysia Roundtable SMEX and would tweet more about it in due course.


The SMEX include former national football player and pundit Serbegeth "Shebby" Singh; corporate leader and AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes; educator and creativity expert Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, television personality Aznil Nawawi; actress and television personality Lisa Surihani; television and theatre personality Low Ngai Yuen; and the Malaysian inventor of the pen drive, Pua Khein Seng.

Among the others are Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason; recording artistes Amy Search and Pete Teo; Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Seri Tengku Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz; social media expert David Lian; and 1Malaysia and national unity advocate Anas Zubedy.

The other SMEX are Institute of Strategic and International Studies chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin; Talent Corporation Malaysia chief executive officer Johan Mahmood Merican; Malaysian Nature Society president Associate Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed; Global Environment Centre director Dr Faizal Parish; world No. 1 badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei; national cyclist Azizulhasni Awang; Formula 3 race driver Jazeman Jaafar; former wushu world champion Ho Ro Bin; and national squash player Azlan Iskandar.

Najib said the roundtable concept had long been in existence and was used by members of a community to discuss issues in a respectful manner, where everyone's right to speak was observed and input was valued.

He said the 1Malaysia Roundtable transformed the concept to fit a growing online community, tailored to the needs of Malaysians.

Najib said he wanted to experiment with the online idea for Malaysians to interact not just with him but also among themselves. He intended to lead a discussion next month to generate ideas from the public for the 2012 Budget, similar to what he did through his blog in preparing for the two previous budgets. -- Bernama

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NST Online: Sports

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NST Online: Sports


Rivals combine for gold

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 10:21 AM PDT


Nurul Azwan Saruni and Mohd Rizal Helmy Anuar won gold in the men’s pair.

Nurul Azwan Saruni and Mohd Rizal Helmy Anuar won gold in the men's pair.

NURUL Azwan Saruni and Rizal Helmy Anuar are fierce rivals in Malaysian Inter-varsity Sports Council (Masum) competitions but their joint efforts helped Terengganu reign supreme in Malaysia Games rowing at Putrajaya Water Sports Compex yesterday.

Nurul-Rizal captured the men's pair gold and were part of Terengganu's coxed eight team which also captured gold.

A failed protest by Selangor in the women's fours meant Terengganu won three of the five gold contested on the final day of rowing to lift their overall tally to five gold, one silver and two bronze medals.


Nurul has just obtained a diploma in fisheries from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu while Rizal is pursuing a degree in Islamic studies at Sultan Zainal Abidin University in Kuala Terengganu.

"We are happy to win two gold each to help Terengganu top the medal table and after this, we will compete against each other for the Masum gold," said Rizal.

"In fact, we were not expected to win the men's pair gold as Fadzelee Zainal-Khairul Safwan Khairuddin (Johor) are the favourites and we lost to them in the preliminary rounds."


Results -- Men's Singles Scull: 1 Muhammad Iqbal Ripangi (Joh) 8:33.02s; 2 Asraf Mohamad (Ter) 8:49.42; 3 Afiq Asyraf Abdul Malik (KL) 8:52.48.

Pair: Nurul Azwan Saruni-Rizal Helmy Anuar (Ter) 7:59.33; 2 Fadzelee Zainal-Khairul Safwan Khairuddin (Joh) 8:01.54; 3 Khairul Azim Baharudin-Abdul Muiz Rosli (Sel) 9:09.17.

Coxed Eight: 1 Terengganu 6:55.80; 2 Johor 6:56.46; 3 Selangor 7:14.45.


Womens' Doubles Scull (Lightweight): 1 Azian Othman-Razlinda Zailan (Joh) 9:24.62; 2 Nur Atika Safiee-Nur Fitrahtul Halily Khazali (KL) 9:32.03; 3 Nashua Suzaly-Nurul Farahin Fadzil (Ter) 9:40.83.

Women's Four (Lightweight): 1 Terengganu 8:54.63; 2 Johor 8:55.16; 3 Selangor 8:57.86.

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Stoner sets the pace in practice

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 08:44 AM PDT

SILVERSTONE: Australia's Casey Stoner dominated practice for today's British Grand Prix as the Honda rider looks to capitalise on his win in Barcelona last weekend.

Stoner recorded the fastest lap in both sessions on Friday with a best time of 2min 03.748sec in the morning, just 0.2sec off the circuit record held by world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

It was the perfect start for the Australian who will be taking part in his 150th career race today.


"I'm pretty happy with how the day has gone after mixed conditions, we've seen a dry track, a wet track and then a 50/50 track so it's been interesting to have these variants throughout the day, but in general the bike has worked well," said Stoner.

"The track seems pretty good but some of the older sections are retaining a lot more water which is causing difficulties as in some areas you could be out on slicks but other parts are drenched.

"Looking at the way the wet tyres are working at the moment we shouldn't have too much of a problem though, the track seems to be kind on the Bridgestone tyres and not destroying them and even after this afternoon's session we didn't have a too big a problem with them." -- AFP

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