4 dead in shootout between Indian political parties

<p>THREE supporters of India’s ruling right-wing party and another from a rival regional party have been killed in a gun battle in West Bengal state, police and a local politician said today.</p> <p>At least 18 others were injured in the clashes that broke out yesterday in the eastern state that has been on edge since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an aggressive campaign to win parliamentary seats last year.</p>

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India moves step closer to extraditing Zakir Naik

<p>INDIA is one step shy of securing a red notice for the arrest of Zakir Naik after the nation’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) obtained a non-bailable warrant for the Islamic preacher, currently residing in Malaysia.</p> <p>The Times Now news portal in India <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/noose-tightens-around-zakir-naik-ed-to-move-interpol-to-issue-red-corner-notice-against-hate-preacher/433638">said the agency secured</a> the non-bailable warrant from a Mumbai special court after filing a charge sheet against Naik and other suspects, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.</p>

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TB ruled out over Orang Asli deaths as more seek treatment

A dwelling at the Orang Asli settlement in Kuala Koh, Gua Musang. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Kelantan Health Department has ruled out tuberculosis (TB) as the cause of death of two Orang Asli for the time being, as more residents from Kuala Koh Gua Musang were taken to health clinics to be treated for cough and fever.

In a statement, Kelantan health director Dr Zaini Hussin said 24 Orang Asli were brought to the Chiku 3 health clinic for treatment yesterday.

Earlier, it was reported that 29 Orang Asli, including three infants, either sought outpatient treatment or were referred to the Gua Musang Hospital and the Kuala Krai Hospital after falling ill.

“Checks revealed that they showed respiratory tract infections and the hospitals are currently doing other tests.

“But the test for TB turned out negative. We are still waiting for the results of the other tests,” Zaini said.

He said the patients were in stable condition and recovering.

Zaini identified pneumonia as the cause of death of two Orang Asli from the settlement.

Last night, police said a 30-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman died on Friday due to a viral infection in the lungs and not a “mysterious disease”.

Gua Musang police chief Taufik Maidin also refuted media reports that 13 people had died.

A Malay daily reported that members of the Bateq tribe of the Orang Asli community in Kuala Koh are living in fear after they claimed that 13 residents, including a year-old baby, had died due to illness during the Ramadan month.

Pressure mounts on aviation industry over climate change

Workers clean the body of a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A320 aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta. (Reuters pic)

PARIS: Under pressure from frequent flyers alarmed over climate change, the airline industry says it is “hellbent” on reducing emissions – but the technology needed to drastically reduce its carbon footprint is still out of reach.

In recent months climate activists have stepped up efforts to convince travellers to boycott air travel, with Swedish schoolgirl and campaigner Greta Thunberg spearheading the trains-over-planes movement and making “flygskam”, or flight shame, a buzzword in the Scandinavian country.

“The sector is under considerable pressure,” admitted Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), whose members met this week in Seoul.

The industry has been under fire over its carbon emissions, which at 285 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometre travelled by a passenger far exceed all other modes of transport. Road transportation follows at 158 and rail travel is at 14, according to European Environment Agency figures.

De Juniac said the industry was “hellbent” on lowering emissions but the sector is also accused of underestimating its environmental impact, with the IATA chief lobbying heavily against a “green tax” on aviation backed by several countries including the Netherlands.

“Often these taxes are absorbed in the budgets of states and are spent on whatever they want, except the environment,” he said.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) estimates that air transport is responsible for 2% of global CO2 emissions – roughly equivalent to the overall emissions of Germany, according to consulting firm Sia Partners.

But aircraft also emit particles such as nitrogen oxides, which can trap heat at high altitude, meaning the industry is actually responsible for 5% of global warming, according to the Climate Action Network, an umbrella group of environmental NGOs.

The industry has committed to improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% per year from 2009 to 2020 and stabilising its CO2 emissions in preparation for a 50% reduction by 2050 compared to 2005.

It is a major challenge given that the number of passengers is expected to double over the next two decades to reach 8.2 billion in 2037.

Biofuels, electric engines

Companies are banking on a new generation of less polluting planes with updated engines, aerodynamic modifications and fittings that weigh less – among them tablets to replace heavy pilot manuals.

However Shukor Yusof, analyst with Malaysia-based Endau Analytics, told AFP the industry had made progress but “that all these technological advances to cut emissions are tough to implement quickly due to the nature of the industry hemmed by high costs and the fact that planes typically take decades before they are replaced”.

Philippe Plouvier, associate director of consulting firm Boston Consulting Group in Paris, said “the constant renewal of the fleet is a major part of it (cutting emissions)”, explaining that the latest models of large aircraft reduce CO2 by 20 to 25%.

“But that only solves around 30% of the problem,” he said. The rest, he added, can only be resolved by developing sustainable biofuels or turning to electric power – technology which is currently impractical.

Several airlines have begun testing biofuels but production costs remain high and industry experts do not believe electric engines will be rolled out commercially for another two decades.

“Batteries today are still too big and heavy to be used as the main source of power for aircraft,” said Leithen Francis, managing director of Singapore-based aviation public relations agency Francis & Low.

“Aircraft today take off heavy – because the aircraft is carrying a full load of fuel – but then then the aircraft uses up its fuel during the flight and lands light.

“Aircraft powered by batteries will take off heavy and then have to land heavy, so developing aircraft that can do that – without having a hard landings or causing structural damage to the airframe – will be a challenge,” Francis told AFP.

The ICAO says better management of air traffic can help and a new generation of more fuel-efficient plane designs is predicted within five or ten years.

But time is not on the aviation industry’s side.

A landmark UN report last year concluded that CO2 emissions must drop 45% by 2030 – and reach “net zero” by 2050 – if the rise in Earth’s temperature is to be checked at the safer limit of 1.5C.

Plouvier of the Boston Consulting Group said to meet the 2050 goal, the aviation industry “must start today and very quickly”.

ESSZone curfew extended to June 25


Omar said the curfew, which was set to end tomorrow, has been extended to June 25. — Bernama pic
Omar said the curfew, which was set to end tomorrow, has been extended to June 25. — Bernama pic

KOTA KINABALU, June 9 — The 6pm to 6am curfew involving the waters of seven districts in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) which is to end tomorrow, has been extended to June 25, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah announced in  a statement here today. 

The districts are Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Sandakan and Beluran.

 The curfew was imposed due to security threats in these waters, especially from outlaws in the southern Philippines. 

However, those who depend on the sea for their livelihood can get exemption from the police. — Bernama

Heavy traffic on major highways as 'balik bandar' rush in full swing


Congestion has been reported at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar due to inbound traffic from Singapore while traffic on the North-South Highway was slow moving from the Menora Tunnel to the Simpang Pulai (Selatan) rest stop; Tapah to Sungkai and Bukit Tagar to Bukit Beruntung. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
Congestion has been reported at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar due to inbound traffic from Singapore while traffic on the North-South Highway was slow moving from the Menora Tunnel to the Simpang Pulai (Selatan) rest stop; Tapah to Sungkai and Bukit Tagar to Bukit Beruntung. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The “balik kampung” routine for Aidilftri is over and the ‘balik bandar” rush to get back to schools and workplaces in the heavily populated Klang Valley  tomorrow started very early this morning, resulting in clogging up of the major arteries in the peninsula. 

According to PLUS Trafik, as at 10am, there was congestion at  Bangunan Sultan Iskandar due to inbound traffic from Singapore while traffic on the North-South Highway was slow moving from the Menora Tunnel to  the Simpang Pulai (Selatan) rest stop;  Tapah to Sungkai and Bukit Tagar to Bukit Beruntung. 

An accident at KM204.2 (between  Bukit Merah and Taiping (Utara)) is also causing a jam because one lane is blocked. 

As for traffic from the east coast, the situation was the same from  Karak to the Bentong toll plaza and Lentang to Bukit Tinggi.  

The latest traffic updates are available on toll-free Plusline 1-800-88-0000 and Twitter at www.twitter.com/plustrafik or MHA (Malaysian Highway Authority) line at 1-800-88-7752 and Twitter at www.twitter.com/llminfotrafik. — Bernama

Venezuela’s border with Colombia to reopen, says Maduro

<p>VENEZUELA’S&nbsp;President Nicolas Maduro yesterday ordered the reopening of the country’s border with Colombia in western Tachira state, near where international aid refused by Caracas has amassed.</p> <p>The economically&nbsp;devastated South American nation is suffering from shortages of food, medicine and other essentials amid a power struggle between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries including the United States.&nbsp;</p>

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MACC chief should be apolitical, insists select committee chair

<p>THE new&nbsp;Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief&nbsp;should not be someone from political circles as it could compromise the agency, said the chair of a parliamentary select committee, William Leong.</p> <p>“The neutrality of the MACC chief is very important. Given the circumstances, the anti-corruption agency will invariably investigate reports related to politicians from both sides.&nbsp;</p>

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