Zika: Two sisters test positive in Miri

and Setapak
By Bernama - 14 September 2016 @ 12:35 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: Two new Zika virus infection cases were detected involving two
sisters in Miri, Sarawak and Setapak here, raising the total of cases to six so far.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the fifth case involved a 35-
year-old woman in Miri, who was now two months pregnant, and used to work in
Singapore.

The last time the woman visited Singapore was between July 24 and 29 for six
days, he said in a statement here today.

Dr Subramaniam said the woman was taken to a private clinic in Miri on Sept 6
after suffering from a prolonged fever, flu and sore throat.

The Zika Virus test results, based on samples sent to a private laboratory in Kuala
Lumpur and to the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) showed positive, he said.

Dr Subramaniam said the woman was admitted to a hospital in Miri on Sunday for
further examination.

However, all six family members of the patient who lived in the same house did not
show any symptoms or signs of Zika infection.

On the other hand, her 39-year-old sister who lives in Setapak was hospitalised in
Kuala Lumpur on the same day (Sunday).

Dr Subramaniam said the elder sister had shown symptoms and had a history of
visiting her sister in Miri on Aug 26, before leaving for Kuala Lumpur on Sept 6.

Following the two cases, he said preventive action and vector control had been
implemented in the residential areas of the two patients, including eradicating
Aedes breeding grounds, performing larvasiding, fogging and educating other
residents about the dangers of the Zika Virus. -- Bernama

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172912/zika-two-sisters-test-positive-miri-and-

setapak
Property sales down by 39 pct in first
half of 2016, says Rehda
By Bernama - 14 September 2016 @ 5:34 PM

PETALING JAYA: Property sales in Malaysia slipped by 39 per cent in the first half of
2016 (H1 2016) when compared to the robust 52 per cent growth a year ago, due
to slower demand and end-financing related issues.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) president, Datuk Seri FD
Iskandar, said first-time buyers declined by 13 per cent in 1H 2016.

He said half the residential units launched were priced below RM500,000 and all
states retained prices, except Malacca.

"The main issue the purchasers are facing is when they get financing up to 75 to
80 per cent," he said after a media briefing on Rehda's Property Industry Survey
here today.

He said the proposed financing scheme by property developers should only be

given to first-time home-buyers and only for affordable houses priced at
RM500,000 and below.

Iskandar said the end-financing by home-builders were ultimately to help first-time

buyers bridge the gap in the funds needed for the initial payment.

However, only developers with strong balance sheets could give the facility to
home-buyers and they were not many of them, he said. --Bernama

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/173096/property-sales-down-39-pct-first-half-

2016-says-rehda
Unemployed man charged with abusing
three-year-old girl
By Bernama - 14 September 2016 @ 4:58 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: An unemployed man was charged in the Selayang Magistrates

Court here today with neglecting and abusing a three-year-old girl.

Shahrul Nizam Amad Kamal, 26, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge before
Magistrate Nurul Izzah Hasan Basri.

Shahrul Nizam, as the person having the care of the child, was alleged to have
committed the offence at a nursery at Selayang Baru, Batu Caves, Gombak here
between 11 am and 4.50 pm between Aug 20 and 28 this year.

The charge, under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, provides an
imprisonment for up to 10 years, or with fine of not more than RM20,000, or both,
if found guilty. The court set bail at RM5,000 with one surety and fixed Oct 14 for
mention.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Khairul Azhwa Yusrie
Mohamad, while Shahrul Nizam was represented by Izleen Ismail. --Bernama

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/173084/unemployed-man-charged-abusing-

three-year-old-girl
Woman who lost job while pregnant
files complaint
By AP - 13 September 2016 @ 8:40 AM

DURHAM: A woman who lost her job at a clothing embroidery plant while she was
pregnant said she had no idea of federal laws designed to protect her employment
until she contacted a lawyer, and she has filed a federal complaint against the
company.

Gillian Thomas, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, told The News
& Observer of Raleigh (http://bit.ly/2cRCmFS) that Kendall Todd should have been
advised about federal protections by her employer.

Thats what an employer should do, said Thomas, who has taken up Todds case.
Kendall Todd should not have been put through this.

Todd worked at Royal Threads, an Aberdeen-based company that embroiders logos

on promotional products and apparel. She had to stand for most of her 10-hour
shift, which paid $8.75 an hour, she said, adding that the job also required lifting
boxes of apparel that could weigh 20 pounds.

When Todd became pregnant in August 2015 and developed morning sickness, she
had difficulty sleeping at night, sometimes had to make urgent trips to the
restroom outside her work breaks and once needed an ambulance to take her to
the hospital because of abdominal pain.

As a result of my severe pregnancy symptoms, I sometimes arrived late, had to

leave early, or had to stay home, Todd said in a complaint to the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. I never was informed that my attendance
was jeopardizing my job.

Thomas said Royal Threads violated the federal Family and Medical Leave Act by
punishing Todd for attendance infractions while not taking similar actions against
workers who werent pregnant. She said the company further violated the act by
not offering Todd a less strenuous job while she was expecting.

The company declined to comment to the newspaper, and Royal Threads owner
Lori Pry didnt immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking
comment Monday.

With no income and a young son to care for, Todd applied for unemployment in
December. Thats when she learned her former employer was contending she
walked off the job and was ineligible for benefits. Todds boyfriend then contacted
the ACLU, and she learned of the federal protections she said she was never told
about.

The couple was forced to live for several months in a homeless shelter before
family helped them pay for an apartment in Durham. Her daughter was born in the
spring. --AP

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172697/woman-who-lost-job-while-pregnant-

files-complaint
Mom pleads guilty to killing 2 kids,
hurting 2 siblings
By AP - 13 September 2016 @ 9:30 AM

ROCKVILLE: A Maryland woman pleaded guilty Monday to killing two of her children
and badly injuring two of their siblings during what she believed was an exorcism
in 2014.

Zakieya Avery, 31, and her roommate stabbed the four children on Jan. 17, 2014
because they believed killing them was the only way to rid them of demons.
Prosecutors said Averys youngest child, 18-month-old Norell, was stabbed more
than 20 times. Her 2-year-old, Zyana, was choked and stabbed in the chest and
back.

Satan will not take my kids, Avery said during the attacks, according to a
summary of the crimes prosecutors presented Monday in court in Montgomery
County.

Two older children, ages 5 and 8, survived.

Averys attorney is expected to make the case she was not criminally responsible
for her actions. If a judge agrees she could be sent to a psychiatric hospital. If shes
found to be sane, she could face four, consecutive life sentences.

Psychiatrists for the state concluded that at the time of the attacks, she did
appreciate criminality, but an attorney retained by Averys attorney, Brian
Shefferman, came to a different conclusion. Court records show Avery had been
hospitalized several times for mental illness before being arrested in the deaths of
her children.

Averys roommate, Monifa Sanford, who was also charged in the killings, previously
took a plea deal in the case which found her not criminally responsible and
committed her to a psychiatric hospital for an undetermined amount of time. --AP

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172709/mom-pleads-guilty-killing-2-kids-hurting-

2-siblings
Indonesian clerics issue fatwa against
forest fires
By AFP - 14 September 2016 @ 1:10 PM

JAKARTA: Indonesias top Islamic clerical body said Wednesday it has issued a
fatwa against intentionally starting forest fires in a bid to stop the blazes that cloak
Southeast Asia in haze every year.

The religious edict by the Indonesian Ulema Council said it was haram, or against
Islamic law, for Muslims to start fires on purpose in forests or on plantation land.

The Koran states that we are not allowed to harm the environment, and forest
burning causes damage not only to the environment but also to peoples health
even neighbouring countries are complaining, Huzaemah Tahido Yanggo, head of
the bodys fatwa council, told AFP.

The fires and subsequent smog occur annually to varying degrees in the
archipelagos Sumatra island and the Indonesian part of Borneo during the dry
season, and are started to quickly and cheaply clear land for palm oil and
pulpwood plantations.

The blazes last year were among the worst in memory and cloaked large parts of
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in choking smog for weeks.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar welcomed the fatwa and said
she hoped Islamic preachers would spread news of it to local communities: The
most important follow-up is communicating it to the public.

Fatwas have no legal force and are aimed at encouraging the devout in the worlds
most populous Muslim-majority country against taking a certain course of action.

But it remained unclear whether the latest edict, issued Tuesday, would have any
practical effect in the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and 255
million inhabitants.

The council has previously issued fatwas to protect the environment, including one
against the illegal hunting and trade in endangered animals in the biodiverse
country, which environmentalists said was the worlds first.

The move by the clerics follows efforts by Jakarta to prevent a repeat of last years
haze disaster. Authorities plan to stop granting new land concessions for palm oil
plantations, and have established a new agency to restore millions of hectares of
carbon-rich peatlands susceptible to fires.

The blazes have not been as serious this year with Singapore so far suffering just
one day of serious haze, although it is unclear whether that is due to official efforts
or a late rainy season. -- AFP

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172987/indonesian-clerics-issue-fatwa-against-

forest-fires

In 7th heaven
By Aiman Maulana - 12 September 2016 @ 2:02 PM

ITS almost a tradition. For the past three years, Apple had always released its
latest iPhones in September.

Whether you love it or hate it, one has to admit to being a little curious about new
iPhones.

Will there be a brand new feature to blow us away? Will the screens be bigger? Will
there be an improvement in the battery department?

MORE POWERFUL
The new iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus will be powered by Apples new A10 Fusion chip.
Apparently, this is so powerful that it is capable of console-level gaming. It is said
to be 40 per cent faster than the previous A9 chip in the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus
and iPhone SE. Its also 50 per cent faster than the A9 chip in graphics
performance.

The A10 Fusion chip is a 64-bit quad-core processor consisting of two high
performance cores and two energy-efficient cores. The energy-efficient cores are
designed to help improve battery life, while the high performance cores will ensure
smooth operations throughout.

GLOSSY GLORY
If you think the new iPhone 7 looks awfully familiar, I cant blame you. However,
instead of the matte metal finish that were so familiar with, the iPhone 7 and
iPhone 7 Plus have a glossy, mirrored design. Something else thats very hard to
miss is that it appears to have quite a bump on the camera, much like Huawei
Nexus 6P.

iPhone 7 also comes in a new colour, Jet Black, that is darker and richer than Space
Black.
Apple will also be releasing the new iPhones in standard black colour as well as
gold, silver and rose gold.

Aesthetics aside, Apple has confirmed that the new iPhones are IP67 water-
resistant. I still wouldnt take a bath with it though.

IMPROVED CAMERA
The camera in the new iPhone 7 has been upgraded to include optical image
stabilisation and a bright f/1.8 lens which is said to allow 50 per cent more light
than the f/2.2 lens in iPhone 6s. It still has a 12-megapixel sensor but is now 60 per
cent faster and 30 per cent more efficient. This means shooting photos will be
more convenient. The front camera has been upgraded to 7 megapixels, along with
automatic image stabilisation for better selfies and video recording.
The biggest upgrade is in the iPhone 7 Plus which features a dual-camera system
with 2x optical zoom. One of the lenses is a 28mm wide angle lens while the other
is a 60mm telephoto lens. With an upcoming software update, you can use both
lenses on the iPhone 7 Plus to mimic a shallow depth of field, similar to what you
can get with DSLRs.
However, due to the cameras sensor size, subjects would have to be close to the
camera for it to work.

REDESIGNED HOME BUTTON

The iPhones signature home button is also new. It is pressure-sensitive and no
longer clicks. It does simulate the click via vibration, similar to the ForceTouch
trackpad on Macbooks. The home button has the Taptic Engine haptic feedback
system from the Apple Watch, which can provide different vibration feedbacks for
specific types of notifications.

AU REVOIR HEADPHONE JACK!

Rumours have been circulating for quite some time about the removal of the
headphone jack on the iPhone.

Its true. In its place is a secondary speaker, which effectively means that the new
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have stereo speakers. To utilise the headphones, you
will need to connect it via the Lightning port, which is a good thing as it means that
Apple is moving towards digital audio with the iPhones, which means better audio
quality.

Along with the new iPhone, Apple announced a new set of wireless headphones
known as the AirPods.

It looks like the old earpods but is wireless and uses sensors to detect when
plugged into your ears. You can use it to activate Siri. If you want to use
headphones which utilises the standard stereo jack, the iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus
comes with a Lightning adapter for it. Yes, this means you cant listen to music on
your earphones when charging the device.
BEST BATTERY LIFE YET
The iPhone 7 will have approximately two hours more battery life than iPhone 6S,
while the iPhone 7 Plus has an extra hour compared to the iPhone 6S Plus. This
may not seem like much but a little improvement is still better than nothing.

MORE STORAGE
What is probably the best news is that there will no longer be a 16GB version for
the new iPhones. The lowest storage capacity is now 32GB. There will also be
128GB and 256GB variants.

HOW MUCH
The iPhone 7 is priced from US$649 (about RM2,626) and the iPhone 7 Plus is
US$769 (about RM3,100).

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172608/7th-heaven

One-year-old girl dies after father left
her in car for 5 hours
By Rizalman Hammim - 13 September 2016 @ 8:03 PM

KULAI: A one-year-old toddler died, believed due to suffocation, after she was left
in the back seat of her father's car for about five hours in Saleng here today.

Kulai police chief Superintendent Razak Md Said said the girl's father lodged a
police report on the incident at 4.15pm.

"According to the man, his wife had placed the girl in the back seat of his car so
that he could send her to a nursery located near the couple's home in Bandar Putra
at 9.30am.

"About 10am, the father left the house to go to work in Saleng, without realising
that his daughter was in the back seat of the vehicle," said Razak.

He said at 3pm, the father received a call from the girl's nanny asking why he did
not send the girl to the nursery as usual.

"He immediately rushed to the car and found the girl in a weak state and believed
to have died," said Razak.

He said the father then rushed the girl to the Temenggung Seri Maharaja Tun
Ibrahim Hospital here where the medical officer on duty pronounced her as dead.

"A post mortem will be conducted at 10am tomorrow morning to find out the cause
of death," said Razak.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 31(a) of the Child Act 2001 for
neglecting a child resulting in death.

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/172886/one-year-old-girl-dies-after-father-left-

her-car-5-hours
Brexit not the end of European Union,
Juncker says
Wednesday, 14 September 2016 | MYT 9:58 PM

STRASBOURG: The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, sought on

Wednesday to rally support for the European Union, saying the bloc battered by the UK
Brexit referendum was not about to break up despite its existential crisis.

In setting out the Commission's plans for the first time since the UK voted to exit the EU on
June 23, Juncker highlighted the British referendum as a warning that the EU faces a battle
for survival against nationalism in Europe.

"The European Union doesn't have enough union," Juncker told the European Parliament in
Strasbourg, noting his own executive was limited in its response to problems by division
among states that was the worst he had seen in three decades in EU politics.

"There are splits out there and often fragmentation exists," he said. "That is leaving scope
for galloping populism."

But he underlined he believed the world's biggest trade bloc was still an important force.
"The EU as such is not at risk."

Proof of that, Juncker said, was the success of a new European investment fund that the
former Luxembourg premier proposed to double to 630 billion euros ($707 billion) by 2022
to help with a sharp fall in spending since the global financial crisis, helping projects from
airports to broadband networks.

The 48-minute speech drew a standing ovation from the main parties in an assembly
dominated by supporters of closer European integration, but there was scorn from
eurosceptics, including Marine Le Pen, the French National Front leader, and Nigel Farage,
the triumphant Brexit campaigner from UKIP.

The pro-Brexit British Conservative leader, Syed Kamall was also dismissive: "Today was
billed as a relaunch, but sadly it's fundamentally the same mantra we've heard year after
year," he said, criticising plans for more EU military cooperation -- something long blocked
by Britain, whose voice no longer counts.

AFRICA FUND

Juncker also wanted to extend the fund to the private sector in Africa to help curb
emigration to Europe, starting with a pot of 44 million euros that could also be doubled
later on.

An Africa fund was part of Juncker's efforts to stress a more positive agenda, particularly
over the migration crisis that has deeply divided the European Union. He also had veiled
criticism of eastern European countries unwilling to take in refugees from North Africa and
the Middle East.

"Solidarity must come from the heart. It cannot be forced," Juncker said.

But the Juncker address offered few clues to the talks with London that the EU insists
cannot start until Prime Minister Theresa May formally sets starts a two-year countdown to
British departure. Juncker urged that to be done quickly and reiterated the EU negotiating
position that Britain could not retain its full EU market access if it blocks free immigration
from the EU.

"There can be no a la carte access to the single market," he said of British hopes to cut
immigration and keep free trade.

A summit of the 27 EU leaders in Bratislava on Friday is also unlikely to shed much light on
the Brexit issue. Juncker will travel there to urge national leaders to remember the big
picture and stop their "bickering".

"What are we instilling in terms of values in our children. Is this a union that has forgotten
its past, has no vision for the future? Our children deserve better," Juncker said, speaking
of his own father, a war veteran who died last month.

BORDER GUARDS
With Germany and France both facing major elections in the coming year, major changes
in the Union are unlikely, but EU officials are concerned that left-right political tensions
over fiscal policy in the euro zone or divisions over taking in refugees will jeopardise the
cohesion of the bloc.

Juncker also urged states to complete the setting up of a European Border and Coast
Guard, a project driven by last year's chaotic arrival of over a million migrants and
refugees, and proposed new cooperation among EU armies, as well as pushing for an
acceleration of capital markets union.

Claiming success in fostering investment by the application of seed capital and guarantees
from the EU and national governments, the Commission has put the European Fund for
Strategic Investment (EFSI) at the heart of its economic policy.

Set up last year to run for three years until 2018 with a target of mobilising 315 billion
euros of investment, the current EFSI target is based on 21 billion euros of EU money
being leveraged 15 times by other investors.

However, as the EU's current, seven-year budget programme ends in 2020, the total
target will rise to 500 billion euros for five years and the Commission will call on member
states to add to their contributions.

Brussels says the fund could also serve to bolster Internet connectivity across the bloc.

"We propose today to equip every European city with wireless internet," Juncker said,
revealing the kind of project he hopes can help build some love for the EU among ordinary
voters. Reuters

Read more: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/09/14/brexit-not-the-end-of-

european-union-juncker-says/
Uber launches groundbreaking
driverless car service
By AFP - 14 September 2016 @ 6:16 PM

PITTSBURGH: Uber launched a groundbreaking driverless car service Wednesday,

jumping ahead of Detroit auto giants and Silicon Valley rivals with technology that
could revolutionize transportation.

In an ambitious experiment, a fleet of cars laden with lasers, cameras and other
sensors but with no ones hands on the wheel were to be deployed by the web-
based ride service on the challenging roads of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, steering
themselves to pick up regular Uber passengers who are used to being fetched by
cars driven by humans.

Four of the Ford Fusion hybrids with their ungainly rooftop load of technology will
be deployed to a select customers on Wednesday, with the company showing at
least a dozen more ready to put on the streets.

And Uber is well-advanced in developing a self-drive car with Swedens Volvo,

expected to become the mainstay of the program in the near future.

The cars and their backing technology have been trained on the citys complicated
grid for less than two years, but demonstration rides ahead of the launch showed
them very able to handle most situations as able as many drivers.

Still, just to be sure, the Pittsburgh Uber regulars who summon a driverless car will
also get two company technicians with them to make sure everything goes right.

One will sit behind the wheel, with hands at the ready to take over in sticky spots,
while the other monitors the cars behavior.

Uber will not give a timeline, but it aims to reduce that to one technician, still
behind the wheel, to intervene and to satisfy existing state policies that require a
driver in a car.

The goal, Uber officials say, is to get to zero interventions, and no technician along
for the ride.

The move has put Uber ahead of the rest of the auto industry in getting such cars
out for the general public. The major automakers all have driverless car
development programs, as do tech giants Google and Apple. And many
automakers already have cars on the road with advanced driver assist technology,
most notably Tesla.

Indeed, Uber itself was beaten to the punch at launching the first driverless call
service by the Singapore startup nuTonomy, which put six cars on the road at the
end of August.

But the Singapore experiment is so far limited to a smallish area on the very flat,
well-planned Southeast Asia island. Ubers landscape is the whole of Pittsburgh, a
major US city with very steep hills, old narrow streets and multiple bridges and
highways built through the middle.

What allowed Uber to get to the front of the pack was not auto engineering but
rather its ability to accumulate and crunch massive amounts of data on road and
driving conditions collected from the billions of miles driven by Uber drivers.

We have one of the strongest self-driving engineering groups in the world, as well
as the experience that comes from running a ridesharing and delivery network in
hundreds of cities, said Uber founder and chief executive Travis Kalanick in a blog
post Wednesday.

The introduction of driverless cars challenges the image of what Uber has become:
an app-based service of the gig economy that gave millions of car owners
around the world the chance to make money ferrying passengers without taxicab
licenses or other permissions.

But Ubers vision suggests a world of taxis on call by app with no drivers at all.

Self-driving is core to Ubers mission, Anthony Levandowski, Ubers vice

president of engineering.

That would be far away, Uber officials stress. They still expect over the long time, a
mix of cars with and without drivers on the road.

Levandowski came to Uber when it took over his own startup Otto, which was
developing self-driving technology for commercial trucks. The company now has
six driverless trucks being tested on california roads.

Kalanick says the main aim is to create safer roads.

Self-driving Ubers have enormous potential to further our mission and improve
society: reducing the number of traffic accidents, which today kill 1.3 million
people a year; freeing up the 20 percent of space in cities currently used to park
the worlds billion plus cars; and cutting congestion, which wastes trillions of hours
every year, he said.

So far, company officials say, they have not experienced any accidents. But they
have trained the cars minders on how to respond if it happens, which they say is
inevitable. --AFP

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/173111/uber-launches-groundbreaking-

driverless-car-service