KUANTAN: Gold-mining activities using cyanide in Bukit Koman, Raub, have been given the green light to proceed, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk T. Murugiah.
He said the decision was reached after taking into consideration environment and health reports from the state.
He said all complaints and concerns raised by residents about the usage of cyanide had been addressed by the authorities.
“As such, I do not see why we should issue a stop-work order on the gold-mining activities.
“If the residents can furnish proof that their health is at risk, we will take prompt action,” he said after chairing a meeting on public complaints at the state Public Complaints Bureau headquarters in Teruntum Complex yesterday.
Murugiah was disappointed that none of the affected residents turned up for the meeting except for a few representatives from an opposition party.
In detailing the reports, he said the noise level emitted from the mine was within the permissible level of 55dBA.
“Samples taken from rivers and underground water showed there were no traces of poison and that it is safe for human consumption.
“Interviews and medical check-ups conducted on 246 residents in March showed they were all healthy except for six who complained of headache and dizziness,” he said, adding that health officers confirmed that their sickness was not due to the effects of cyanide.
The authorities, he said, would continue to monitor the situation and conduct periodical checks on the water quality, environment and health of the residents.
Next week, he would meet residents and inspect the mine.
“I was told that the nearest house to the mine was 600m away which is in compliance with the Environment Department requirements,” he said.
Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd director Datuk Azinudin Abd Rahim, who was also present, said they had invested RM80mil for the entire project and adhered to international safety standards.
He said the mine started operations in February, providing em-ployment to 170 workers, mostly locals.
“If health is the issue, then our workers will be the first to experience sickness. To date, we have no workers falling sick as all precautionary measures are in place,” he said.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A(H1N1): 19-month-old toddler among 11 new cases
PUTRAJAYA: A 19-month-old baby is among 11 new cases of influenza A (H1N1), Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.
The toddler, the 84th case, was among those placed under home quarantine after being found to have had contact with the 72nd confirmed case in the country, an 11-year-old Indonesian boy who arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal on board Flight AK702 on Monday at 1.55pm.
Liow said the child was warded at Seremban Hospital on Tuesday after developing a cough and test results the next day confirmed the presence of the flu virus.
“However, the child’s three other family members who were also quarantined have tested negative,” he told a press conference after handing out excellent service awards to 535 ministry staff yesterday.
Liow said yesterday’s three locally transmitted cases and eight imported cases brought the total number now to 91, but 35 of the patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
One of the three locally transmitted cases involved a foreign student in Kuala Lumpur while three of the imported cases were foreigners – from Ireland, Australia and the Philippines.
The foreign student is a 24-year-old Yemeni studying at a private institution and living in Kuala Lumpur, who had contact with the 63rd confirmed case on Tuesday – a Yemeni on holiday here.
In Alor Setar, the Kedah Health Department is looking for those who came into contact with a 29-year-old woman from Sungai Petani, who is the 86th patient in the country. The woman was among 10 people who had gone to Phuket for five days before returning to the LCCT on Flight AK823 (Seat 28A) at 10am on Sunday.
The group continued its journey to Penang the same day on Flight AK5368 (her seat was 22F) and arrived in Penang at 4.30pm.
Three other people confirmed as having the virus in Kedah were a 21-year-old university student, who returned from Toronto with his two sisters aged 18 and 25.
The toddler, the 84th case, was among those placed under home quarantine after being found to have had contact with the 72nd confirmed case in the country, an 11-year-old Indonesian boy who arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal on board Flight AK702 on Monday at 1.55pm.
Liow said the child was warded at Seremban Hospital on Tuesday after developing a cough and test results the next day confirmed the presence of the flu virus.
“However, the child’s three other family members who were also quarantined have tested negative,” he told a press conference after handing out excellent service awards to 535 ministry staff yesterday.
Liow said yesterday’s three locally transmitted cases and eight imported cases brought the total number now to 91, but 35 of the patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
One of the three locally transmitted cases involved a foreign student in Kuala Lumpur while three of the imported cases were foreigners – from Ireland, Australia and the Philippines.
The foreign student is a 24-year-old Yemeni studying at a private institution and living in Kuala Lumpur, who had contact with the 63rd confirmed case on Tuesday – a Yemeni on holiday here.
In Alor Setar, the Kedah Health Department is looking for those who came into contact with a 29-year-old woman from Sungai Petani, who is the 86th patient in the country. The woman was among 10 people who had gone to Phuket for five days before returning to the LCCT on Flight AK823 (Seat 28A) at 10am on Sunday.
The group continued its journey to Penang the same day on Flight AK5368 (her seat was 22F) and arrived in Penang at 4.30pm.
Three other people confirmed as having the virus in Kedah were a 21-year-old university student, who returned from Toronto with his two sisters aged 18 and 25.
Bodies of Air France captain, steward found
(CNN) -- Search crews have recovered the bodies of the flight captain and a steward from the Air France flight that crashed off the coast of Brazil
The two flight members are among the victims that have been identified, Air France said in a statement Thursday. About a dozen victims have been identified among roughly 50 bodies recovered from the crash of Flight 447, which killed 228 people on June 1, authorities in Brazil said this week.
Crews continue to search for bodies, wreckage and flight-data recorders that apparently rest deep on the ocean floor. Data from the recorders may be crucial in helping investigators determine what caused the plane to crash.
Autopsies conducted on some of the 50 bodies found so far show they suffered broken bones, including arms, legs and hips, Brazilian authorities have told French investigators, according to Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of the French accident investigation board.
Such injuries suggest that the plane broke apart in midair, experts have said.
Asked about that theory, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told France's RTL radio this week that he would not go that far.
"What I know is that the investigators would like to know the causes of death," Gourgeon said. "That knowledge of causes of death will better clarify what exactly happened. Were the victims killed before the impact, or during impact?"
Searchers have found dozens of pieces of debris in the water and think they know the general location of the wreck, but Arslanian said this week that there is a chance the entire aircraft may never be found.
Air France plans to pay relatives of the victims an initial compensation equivalent to about $24,500, or 17,500 euros, for each victim, Gourgeon has said. The airliner said this week that it has been in touch with about 1,800 relatives of the people who died when the Airbus A330 crashed, but that it has been difficult tracing the relatives of all 228 victims.
"The modern world is different and we often have only a cell phone, and as you can imagine, this cell phone is unfortunately in the aircraft," Gourgeon said. "So we probably (will put in) more hours to access all the relatives."
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The company is also providing families with counseling, he said.
The were 32 different nationalities present on Flight 447.
The two flight members are among the victims that have been identified, Air France said in a statement Thursday. About a dozen victims have been identified among roughly 50 bodies recovered from the crash of Flight 447, which killed 228 people on June 1, authorities in Brazil said this week.
Crews continue to search for bodies, wreckage and flight-data recorders that apparently rest deep on the ocean floor. Data from the recorders may be crucial in helping investigators determine what caused the plane to crash.
Autopsies conducted on some of the 50 bodies found so far show they suffered broken bones, including arms, legs and hips, Brazilian authorities have told French investigators, according to Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of the French accident investigation board.
Such injuries suggest that the plane broke apart in midair, experts have said.
Asked about that theory, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told France's RTL radio this week that he would not go that far.
"What I know is that the investigators would like to know the causes of death," Gourgeon said. "That knowledge of causes of death will better clarify what exactly happened. Were the victims killed before the impact, or during impact?"
Searchers have found dozens of pieces of debris in the water and think they know the general location of the wreck, but Arslanian said this week that there is a chance the entire aircraft may never be found.
Air France plans to pay relatives of the victims an initial compensation equivalent to about $24,500, or 17,500 euros, for each victim, Gourgeon has said. The airliner said this week that it has been in touch with about 1,800 relatives of the people who died when the Airbus A330 crashed, but that it has been difficult tracing the relatives of all 228 victims.
"The modern world is different and we often have only a cell phone, and as you can imagine, this cell phone is unfortunately in the aircraft," Gourgeon said. "So we probably (will put in) more hours to access all the relatives."
advertisement
The company is also providing families with counseling, he said.
The were 32 different nationalities present on Flight 447.
Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital
LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted "King of Pop" who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. He was 50.
The person said Jackson died in a Los Angeles hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters.
His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grownup life. His skin became lighter and his nose narrower. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson's rented home, was roped off with police tape.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died," a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out, shortly after the news was annunced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.
In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."
2009 06 26
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