Category: General

JOHOR BAHRU: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia today attended the Istana Johor Aidilfitri Open House held at Istana Besar here today.

Also present were the Regent of Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Che’ Puan Mahkota Khaleeda, the Raja Muda Tunku Iskandar Abdul Jalil Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Johor Tunku Temenggong Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim.

Also attending the occasion were Johor Tunku Panglima Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Tunku Putera Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim, Datuk Dennis Muhammad Abdullah and Tunku Besar Zabedah Almarhum Sultan Iskandar.

The official social site of His Majesty, also mentioned that the rainy weather did not deter the people from turning up to greet the royal couple as well as the Johor royal family at the function organised by Jabatan Diraja Johor.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KOTA BHARU, Kota Bharu’s Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (Puspen) will market various types of murukku in the local market under the Sokongan Untuk Kepulihan Anda (SUKA) initiative implemented by the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), in June.

Its director Adzmiral Nawi said murukku was selected as the popular snack is very close to the consumers regardless of religion and race, especially when celebrating their respective festivals, and it is also very easy to make and does not require a lot of energy.

He said among the types of murukku that will be marketed are murukku bintang, murukku leper, murukku salted egg and murukku cheese and the selling price also depends on the type of murukku, starting from RM20 to RM30 per container.

‘We are currently planning to market this product by looking at the potential in the market and for a start, we will give the clients or residents’ families a taste of this murukku first during a visit in conjunction with the Aidilfitri celebration.

‘Once we receive fe
edback from the families, we will do promotions through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to create awareness among the community and any parties who want to collaborate and help us market the murukku,’ he told Bernama recently.

Commenting further, Adzmiral said the products produced 100 per cent by residents at the centre and assisted by some Puspen staff, can provide early exposure to how to process the snack and benefit them to work on it when they are released later thus generating income.

He said that the ingredients used to make this murukku are also easily available in the market such as rice flour, wheat flour, eggs, and margarine, and the time it takes to prepare is not too long.

‘Thus far, Kota Bharu Puspen has a total of 33 male residents, aged 21 and below, and on average they come to this centre voluntarily to undergo the rehabilitation phase after being caught with drugs.

‘Alhamdulillah, I saw that they were very happy when they were making the murukku and they ar
e fast learners. Some of them even said they want to sell murukku once they are back in the community,’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: The National Book Development Board (NBDB) will kick-off one of the country’s largest book fairs, highlighting the rich Filipino literature and culture.

The government body, tasked to develop the country’s book publishing industry, will open the second Philippine Book Festival at the World Trade Center in Pasay from April 25 to 28.

The four-day event will be unique from other book fairs and will feature an extensive collection of published works and titles from Filipino authors.

The fair will bring the ‘Rare Book Collection’ by the National Library of the Philippines, giving the public an opportunity to get a glimpse into its selection of rare manuscripts and facsimiles.

The event will also host a diverse range of talks and workshops such as “A Day with Gwy Saludes,” featuring an exclusive book signing and meet-and-greet session with the popular romance author.

Historian and bestselling author Ambeth Ocampo will lead “Ambeth Without the Overcoat,” a book signing session, while National Artist for
Film and Broadcast Arts, Ricky Lee, will present “Trip to Quiapo’.

‘This year, we have more authors and we bring together the best of Philippine content for the entire family. The country needs more reading spaces that encourage conversation, creation, and collaboration,’ said NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade.

‘Ang Philippine Book Festival ang nagsisilbing panghikayat ng NBDB sa iba pang mga organisasyon na lumahok at makiisa sa mga programang nagtutulak sa mga Filipino na magbasa dahil ang aklat ay para sa lahat (The Philippine Book Festival serves as NBDB’s way to encourage more organizations to join in the programs that encourage Filipinos to read because books are for everyone),’ she added.

The event runs longer this year to give ample time for teachers, librarians, and organizations to research the books they need for their schools, the NBDB said.

The NBDB is also working closely with the Department of Education (DepEd) to train more than 750 book evaluators and procurement officers to
scope and evaluate books to purchase for public school libraries and library hubs.

For the event, evaluators from all over the country will fly in to source educational books for the students of their regions, the NBDB said.

The fair is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with no entrance fees.

Registration is free at www.philippinebookfest.com.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: National University eyes win No. 4 when it battles San Juan Institute of Technology-Batangas on Friday in the girls division of the 2024 Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) U18 Championship at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

The Lady Bulldogs will take on the Batangas spikers (2-1) at 11:30 a.m.

NU beat La Salle-Lipa, 25-21, 25-16, for its third win last Sunday.

Colegio de Los Baños (1-2) faces Canossa Academy-Lipa (0-3) at 1 p.m. in the other Pool B match, while Mary Hill College Lucena (1-0) and Gracel Christian College (1-2) meet at 10 a.m. in Pool A.

In the boys division, unbeaten Angatleta Sports of Orion, Bataan hopes to move closer to sweeping Pool A when it tangles with Philippine Christian University (2-1) in the main game at 5:30 p.m.

Bataan rolled to its third consecutive victory at the expense of Golden Whiskers Club, 25-16, 25-19, last week.

Other matches pit Canossa Academy-Lipa (1-2) against Golden Whiskers Club (0-2) at 2:30 p.m. in Pool A, while Colegio de Lo
s Baños (0-3) and Aguaveia Volleyball Club (0-2) clash at 4 p.m. in Pool B.

The top 4 teams from each pool will advance to the knockout quarter finals featuring a regular best-of-five play. The semifinals and finals also have a knockout format.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Thursday they have reviewed the request of Francisco Motors for the implementation of its TsuperHero pilot program and found several technical factors that must be addressed before special permits are granted.

The LTFRB said the ‘proposed route Merry Homes, Caloocan to Sta. Monica Shop and Ride, Novaliches, Quezon City is not an existing route of (the) CAZANOVA Transport Service Cooperative.’

Francisco Motors has said it would work with the CAZANOVA Transport Service Cooperative for the pilot of the TsuperHero program.

According to the LTFRB, the existing routes are Cielito Homes-Nova via Camarin Road Quirino with 39 authorized units and Almar Subdivision-Gotesco Commonwealth via Regalado with 12 authorized units.

‘As seen on the route map, the endpoint of the proposed route Sta. Monica Shop and Ride, Novaliches, Quezon City amounted to a modification of its original route,’ the LTFRB said in a news release.

‘Memorandum Circula
r No. 2023-037 provides for the Guidelines for the Amendment of Fixed Routes of PUVs in MUCEP Area. Inclusion of the proposed route to any initiatives, like the ‘TsuperHero Program’ is not under any of the conditions specified in the Memorandum Circular.’

The agency noted that ‘under the existing policy, special permits are issued by the Board once the proposed routes are opened (through) a Memorandum Circular, as stated in LTFRB’s Citizens Charter.’

On Francisco Motor’s proposal to offer for free their modernized jeepneys to those joining the TsuperHero program, the LTFRB found that Francisco Motors ‘do(es) not have a Certificate of Compliance from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).”

Regarding the proposal on unlimited rides, the LTFRB pointed out that ‘Francisco Motors does not have the authority to determine or prescribe the fares of the units to be used in the pilot implementation.’

On the request for equity subsidy before the DOTr, the LTFRB said Francisco Motors ‘is not any of those financial
institutions or partnership concessions specified in the Department Order, which are authorized to assist Transport Service Entities (TSE) in the acquisition of their modern units.’

The LTFRB cited Section 6 Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Support of Department Order 2023-022, which states that “the Department of Transportation shall partner with financial institutions, either government financing institutions (GFIs) or private financial institutions (PFIs), public-private partnership concessions, Official Development Assistance (ODA) partners, international financial institutions, or a combination thereof for programs to assist the transport service entities in the acquisition of modern PUV units.”

Source: Philippines News Agency

ANKARA: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday, marking the first time that a serving or former leader of the self-governed island has met with the Chinese top in nine years, state media reported.

The two last met in Singapore in Nov. 2015, when Ma was in office, marking the first cross-strait summit since the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war, English daily South China Morning Post reported.

Footage aired on local TV channels showed the pair shaking hands ahead of their closed-door talks.

The former leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, who was leading a group of Taiwanese students on a cultural exchange trip, wrapped up an 11-day ‘journey of peace’ to China, following a landmark visit just more than a year ago.

His visit came amid soaring cross-strait tensions, with just more than a month to go before William Lai Ching-te of the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) takes
over as Taiwan’s president.

Lai, who serves as vice president under the current administration, has been labeled by Beijing as a ‘separatist’ who could bring war to the island.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Source: Philippines News Agency

COTABATO: A religious leader in the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has appealed to parents to get their children vaccinated against measles as the number of cases in the region continues to rise.

Bangsamoro Grand Mufti Sheik Abdulrauf Guialani aired the call on Thursday, as he assured people in the region that the vaccines are safe and healthy.

‘Please allow your children to be vaccinated. I assure you that the vaccines are safe and ‘halal’ (permissive) in Islam according to the study by the Ulama (Islamic scholars),’ Guialani said.

Dr. Qarneyn Abas, deputy minister of BARMM’s Ministry of Health (MOH), said the number of measles cases in the region has risen to 848 since January, with three fatalities.

Abas admitted that the parents’ hesitancy to have their children vaccinated remained a significant challenge for more than 2,590 village health workers in their ongoing vaccination drive.

He noted that after thorough study and research, the Muslim religious leaders came up with a ‘fatwa’ (edi
ct) in 2019 declaring vaccination is allowed in Islam.

To arrest the measles outbreak, the MOH-BARMM launched a massive 15-day vaccination campaign on April 1 to reach 1.3 million vulnerable children in the region.

As of Wednesday, the MOH-BARMM recorded 232,880 children who received the measles vaccines.

Source: Philippines News Agency