AF7 champ. :Hafiz

Last night was the final episode of AF7 which was aired for the last 10 weeks. Initially there were 14 participants chosen from thousands of hopefuls throughout the nation.

This is a TV reality show, where the participants were judged by SMS. whereby the most popular participants will proceed to the next stage. 5 reached the final, where they have to sing 2 numbers.

The last 2 edition was won by the gals and this is the first time that a Sarawakian became a Champ.

Hafiz was from Kuching and was voted as the most popular contestant in the final. It was a dream come true for the lad as he has waited 12 years to achieve his ambition to become a champion one day.

Man U wins 3rd Premier League title in a row

Manchester United sealed a third successive Premier League title by getting the point they needed against Arsenal - but the Old Trafford celebrations only started after an afternoon gripped by tension.

Manchester United has won the Premier League for the third season in a row after a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford.

United needed only a point to clinch the title on Saturday, and the result puts the club out of reach of second-place Liverpool, which is seven points behind and has two games to play.

United has now won 11 Premier League titles in the last 17 seasons under manager Alex Ferguson and is tied with Liverpool on 18 in the all-time list of English league champions.

Ferguson now has 25 major trophies since he arrived at the club in 1986 and hopes to make it 26 when United faces Barcelona in the Champions League final on May 27 in Rome.

Heavy security in major drug trafficking trial

The magistrate's court here was heavily guarded when the main suspect for the country's biggest drug trafficking case was charged today. Lee Yong Toe, a 48-year-old lorry driver from Taman Iskandar, Johor Baru, was brought to court about 2.45pm with his eyes covered with a pair of dark goggles.

He was heavily escorted by dozens of policemen, some of whom were armed with submachine guns.

The situation was tense outside the court and reporters covering the case were not allowed to take their belongings inside the court, except a note book.

Even the pens for writing were supplied by the policemen after a thorough body check was made on each reporter and member of the public who wanted to follow the proceedings.

"This is a big case and we cannot allow any type of recording material, in whatever form, inside," said a policeman on duty.
Lee was later charged with trafficking in 978.015kg of syabu (methamphetamine) at Km3 Jalan Cenderawasih here about 6.45am on May 2.

He was alleged to have committed the offence with another person still at large.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Fadhli Mahmud appeared for the prosecution while Lee was represented by counsel Mashanida Mohamad Mazalan.

Magistrate Emma Shahriana Ali fixed July 15 for mention after Fadhli said he had to wait for a report from the Chemistry Department.

Meanwhile, in Kuantan another two suspects were taken to the magistrate's court in the afternoon.

The suspects, aged between 40 and 50-years-old, were also heavily guarded before the police obtained a 60-day remand order.

Another suspect, a Datuk in his 30s, is expected to be charged in Johor Baru soon.

On May 2, police busted the biggest syndicate in the country when they stopped a lorry and confiscated the RM254 million worth of syabu here.

Outbreak of leptospirosis

A Myanmar illegal immigrant from the Juru detention centre here died of leptospirosis at Bukit Mertajam Hospital on Tuesday.

As of noon yesterday, 26 cases were reported -- 24 cases are being treated at Bukit Mertajam Hospital and two at Seberang Jaya Hospital.

All affected were detainees at the centre.

The 21-year-old Myanmar died after being treated at the hospital's intensive care unit for suspected leptospirosis since his admission on May 7.

He showed symptoms of pedal oedema (fluid accumulation in the leg), fever, decreased urine output, constipation and lethargy.
Three cases with similar symptoms were also reported on Tuesday and upon further investigations by the state health department and Seberang Perai Tengah district health office, more cases were identified and referred to Bukit Mertajam Hospital.

The department said samples from the camp's water supply had been taken for checks on contamination, and that its health teams were visiting the camp daily to monitor the inmates for similar symptoms.

Disinfection had also been carried out at the detention camp's blocks, toilets and bathrooms.

It is believed that the outbreak of the disease was caused by rat urine.

Sources said initial investigations revealed that bacteria similar to that found in rat urine was found in the fresh water sample taken from the camp.

The source, however, said the situation was under control.

Checks at the detention depot yesterday showed that the compound was placed on high security.

Rela personnel manning the entrance said they received instructions to bar visitors who did not have the immigration department's permission to enter the camp.

State immigration department officials could not be reached for comment.

Leptospirosis, which is also known as Weil's disease or syndrome, canicola fever or Fort Bragg fever, is a rare and severe contagious bacterial infection that affects humans and a wide range of animals.

The infection is commonly transmitted to humans by allowing animal urine-contaminated water to come in contact with unhealed breaks in the skin, eyes or the mucous membranes.

Malaysia confirms first case of A(H1N1) flu

Malaysia on Friday confirmed its first case of the A(H1N1) flu in a 21-year-old student who returned from the United States on Wednesday morning.

All passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH091 from Newark on Wednesday are urged to contact the Health Ministry by calling 03-88810200 or 03-88810300

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the case made Malaysia the 36th country to be affected by the virus.

“Malaysia is now on high alert,” said Liow, who is in London now, enroute to Geneva, for a World Health Organisation meeting. He added he would return earlier than his scheduled return next Friday.

We are ready for polls

Barisan Nasional is ever ready to face the people in the event fresh state elections are called in Perak, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

The BN chairman and Umno president said the ruling coalition was not afraid as "we have to face the rakyat and we will face them whenever the time comes".

Calling for state elections, he said, was one of the options under the Constitution.

"It is up to the sultan (of Perak). So, it is not something that has to happen, but something which depends on the ruler."

Earlier, Najib, who is prime minister, addressed about 5,000 government servants at the Public Sector Workers Day event at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

Several quarters, including Gerakan, had urged Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir to immediately request for a dissolution of the state assembly.

Najib was also asked if he was receptive to the idea of a dialogue with the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, on the Perak crisis.

"As I have said earlier, it depends. In the first place, there must be mutual respect for one another. Then, we have to follow the rules and regulations, even if it is inside or outside the state assembly, and thirdly, there should be no preconditions.

"It must be open to explore any possibilities."

On Pas spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's rejection of a unity government between Umno and Pas, Najib said the question did not arise.

"We have not come up with anything. So, the question of it being turned down does not arise. There have been no proposals. What is there to reject?"

Replying to a question on the date of a BN convention, he said: "What is important is the outcome of the convention.

"We need to iron out some matters first as I do not want the convention to be held but the inputs and outcome are not there."

Ferguson stays cool on title bid

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Manchester United against complacency, even though they only need one more point to win the Premier League title.

United came from behind to beat Wigan 2-1 on Wednesday and a draw at home to Arsenal on Saturday will be enough.

But Ferguson warned: "We'll approach the game the way we always approach a game. We still have a job to do.

"It is against a very good Arsenal side - I don't take any notice of what is written, they are a very good side."

United had to come from behind to beat Wigan at the JJB Stadium, thanks to goals from Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick.

Aglaia tree compound patented for cancer study

THE state government has patented the Silvestrol/-CBL316, a compound extracted from a species of Aglaia mahogany trees, which is now in pre-clinical research stage for anti-cancer treatment.

The compound was discovered by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC).

Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource Management Naroden Majais said SBC was identifying, isolating and purifying the compound to be used in pre-clinical research with the National Cancer Institute and the Ohio State University Medical Centre for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

It was doing this in collaboration with the State Forest Department and the State Agriculture Research Centre, he told Vincent Goh (BN-Pelawan).

Naroden said SBC was also collaborating with the National Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation to screen, isolate and develop photodynamic agents from plants such as entemu, kacangma, sembong and lengkuas, which could be activated by light to treat cancers. These plants could have the potential for the development of cancer therapy.
SBC, he said, had also discovered a compound from fungi which could be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

It was working with the Nimura Genetic Solutions, a Japanese biotech company, on the potential of the compound.

Children sanitation alert issued

Millions of children's lives are being put at risk each year because aid agencies and governments make wrong choices about health care priorities.

This is the conclusion of a new report from the charity WaterAid.

It says that diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation is killing many more children than HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

The report says the global spending on HIV/Aids hugely outweighs the amounts spent on providing better sanitation.

Judge with eye for detail

Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim, who made the ru­­ling that Datuk Seri Mohammad Ni­­zar Jamaluddin is the rightful Perak Mentri Besar, is known to be a “fair judge” who does not care much for the political affiliations of the parties involved.

According to those who had worked with him in Sarawak, Justice Abdul Aziz dares to make decisions without fear or favour.

“He makes his rulings without considering the political background of the parties involved.

“His judgments are very detailed, and he looks at each case based on the merits of the case and not on the people in­­volved,” sources said yesterday.

Justice Abdul Aziz is from Penin­su­lar Malaysia but had served in Sara­wak for the last seven years.

He was elevated to the position of a judge in the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in 2003.

Man Utd 2-0 Man City

Tevez celebrates after scoring Man Utd's second against Man City

Meningitis outbreak: 434 under quarantine

Happy Wesak Day

Ohara Floral Art Society members decorated a Wesak Day float at the Malaysian Buddhist Association in Jalan Burma here yesterday. The float, with a giant statue of Lord Buddha, was decked with thousands of stalks of flowers.

Caught on camera

Labour' s Charles Clark was Education Secretary when he visited a north London school , only for a student to sabotage the press call