Waiting period for kidney transplants 5 to 10 years in Malaysia

Kidney failure patients nationwide need to wait for an agonising five to 10 years before they can undergo organ transplant.

National Kidney Foundation (NKF) head of public education, Maznifah Fatah said the waiting period was quite long as only one per cent of the nation’s 30 million population had pledged to donate their organs.

“This is because of the lack of public awareness on the importance of organ donation to help those in need,” she said when met at an organ donation campaign held at the Besraya Headquarters, Lok Yew Toll Plaza here today.

She said at present, there were more than 19,000 kidney patients waiting for transplants.

Maznifah added that besides kidney patients, there were others who were waiting for organ transplants including heart (seven), liver (six) and lung (six).

She said the kidney foundation was organising an awareness campaign to educate the public on the importance of organ donation,” she said.

Meanwhile, Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd business unit head, Md Zohir Harun said the programme which was conducted jointly with the NKF was a show of support for the organ donation campaign.

“This is the second time this programme is being conducted to encourage the public and our staff to join this campaign and become organ donors,” he said.

Besraya employee Khairunnisa Md Ismail, 30, said the programme made it easy for the staff to get information on organ donation and at the same time, a medical check-up.

“Through programmes such as this, we can detect diseases early and determine if we have a health problem,” she said.

Nor Arif Mustapah, 25, who patrols the Besraya highways said the programme allowed them to have a medical check-up without having to go to a health centre.

Among the free health checks conducted during the programme involve the kidneys, breasts, eyes and weight.

— Bernama

Thai police surround scandal-hit Buddhist temple after PM

Soldiers and police surrounded a scandal-hit Buddhist temple on Bangkok’s outskirts early Thursday (Feb 16) in apparent preparation for a raid, to arrest the sect’s spiritual leader, after Thailand’s military leader invoked special powers to put the site under military control.

A cat-and-mouse game between investigators and the powerful Wat Dhammakaya temple in Bangkok has played out for months over allegations that its former abbot accepted illicit funds.

Authorities have so far been reluctant to raid the super-rich temple’s space-age 1,000-acre compound.

Previous attempts saw thousands of devotees of the breakaway order turn out to defend the septuagenarian monk who is believed to be holed up inside.

The monk, Phra Dhammachayo, is accused of accepting embezzled funds worth 1.2 billion baht (US$33 million) from the owner of a cooperative bank who was jailed.

Early on Thursday, hundreds of police and soldiers were bussed into the site, locking down roads leading to the vast temple, following a sudden order endorsed by junta leader and prime minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

The order invoked special powers, known as Section 44, putting the area under military control.

“Authorities can prevent people entering the area, evict them … demolish or destroy buildings,” it said. Anyone obstructing efforts to “effectively implement the law” faces one year in jail and a fine.

In an emailed statement the temple said “4,000 police and military” had been deployed with blockades “now prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving”.

The temple is also accused of having close links to ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.

The administration of his sister Yingluck, who was also prime minister, was also toppled by the military again in 2014.

The sect runs a sophisticated PR operation, including its own channel as well as hosting several spectacular gatherings of orange-robed monks each year.

In the last 30 years the Dhammakaya temple has grown exponentially, raising tens of millions of dollars.

– AFP/de

Lady in Fox sexual harassment case receives subpoena

U.S. prosecutors have subpoenaed one of the women who claims she was sexually harassed by former Fox News chairman, Roger Ailes, and compelled her to testify before a federal grand jury.

New York City lawyer, Judd Burstein said his client had received the subpoena on Monday from the securities fraud unit of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan. The subpoena compelled the client’s testimony before a federal grand jury, Burstein said.

Fox has been in communication with the U.S. Attorney’s office for months and will continue to cooperate on all inquiries with any interested authorities, the spokeswoman said.

An attorney for Ailes did not respond to a request for comment. Ailes has previously denied allegations of harassment.

Burstein said prosecutors told him the investigation focuses on alleged sexual harassment at Fox, but declined to elaborate further. He also declined to identify the client who received the subpoena.

It was not clear how the investigation could be tied to securities fraud. Federal securities law requires companies to report legal settlements, including in sexual harassment cases, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ailes resigned last year after former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, filed a lawsuit against him claiming she was harassed and had her contract canceled when she rebuffed Ailes’ advances. The network agreed to pay US$20 million to settle the case on behalf of Ailes, who denied the allegation.

– Reuters

Kanye West unveils new Yeezy line during New York Fashion Week

3 months after being hospitalized for exhaustion, rapper Kanye West made his first major public appearance yesterday, turning up for his Yeezy fashion show during New York Fashion Week.

With his wife, Kim Kardashian West in the front row next to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, West debuted the fifth season of his high-end athleisure wear collection for Adidas to the fashion world’s elite.

The show, which has become one of the most exclusive presentations during recent fashion weeks, was not live-streamed on the music streaming website TIDAL as some of West’s shows have been in the past.

Many social media users expressed their frustrations when they learned they would not be able to watch online, but critics were positive about the 39-year-old singer’s latest runway show, saying the emphasis was on his new collection, rather than him.

“To me it felt like the most traditional fashion show that he’s done,” said Rickie De Sole, W Magazine’s fashion market and accessories director, who was at the show.

“It had a polish to it. It felt like a serious fashion show. It felt substantial and there was less hoopla. It really was all about the fashion,” De Sole added.

The collection was dominated by denim, high-waisted jeans, hoodie sweatshirts, baseball caps, cargo pants, knee-high boots and, of course, sneakers.

Muslim model Halima Aden, the 19-year-old Somali-American who competed for Miss Minnesota wearing a burkini and who recently scored a major modeling contract with talent agency IMG, strutted the catwalk wearing a floor-length fur coat and a hijab.

Buzz had been building around the appearance of the so-called “Yeezy Runner” after West was photographed wearing the oversized white sneakers by paparazzi in January.

Kanye emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most high-profile supporters during the 2016 election campaign and met the then president-elect at Trump Tower in New York in December, making him the target of outrage and sarcasm from fans.

– Reuters

Mystery witness to testify against Robert Durst of ‘The Jinx’

Robert Durst, the real estate scion tied to several slayings explored in HBO’s series “The Jinx,” returned to a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, Feb 15, to face a prosecution witness whose identity was being kept secret until taking the stand.

Durst, 73, is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a writer and longtime confidante of his, Susan Berman, in December 2000, and prosecutors say the secret witness fears his or her life may be put in danger by testifying.

Berman was found slain execution-style in her Los Angeles apartment, not long after police in New York had reopened an investigation into the disappearance and presumed killing of Durst’s spouse, Kathleen, two decades earlier.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles say they suspect Durst killed Berman, 55, because of what she knew about his wife’s unsolved demise in 1982.

The judge has given approval for Wednesday’s witness to testify well in advance of the actual trial, with questioning and cross-examination by both sides videotaped and preserved in the event anything should prevent the person from appearing in court later.

An 85-year-old retired dean of the New York City medical school attended by Durst’s wife before she vanished was permitted to testify under similar conditions on Tuesday due to his advanced age.

Durst has pleaded not guilty in the murder case and said he had nothing to do with the fate of either women. He was questioned in the probe of his wife’s disappearance but has not been charged, and her body has never been found.

His ties to both cases, and his 2003 acquittal in the killing and dismemberment of a Texas neighbour, were chronicled in the popular multi-part HBO documentary “The Jinx” last year.

Durst was formally charged with the Berman killing a day after HBO aired the final episode of its series, in which Durst was recorded muttering to himself off-camera: “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

Durst told authorities after his arrest that he smoked marijuana daily and was high on methamphetamine during his appearance on “The Jinx,” according to court records. Prosecutors have put his estimated net worth at some US$100 million.

– Reuters

Canadian radio show host, Stuart McLean dies at 68

Stuart McLean, a Canadian humorist and broadcaster known for his popular syndicated comic radio show, The Vinyl Cafe, died on Wednesday at the age of 68, said CBC. 

Doctors had been treating McLean for melanoma since late 2015. In a December 2016 blog post to fans, he said the treatment had not been totally successful.

The Vinyl Cafe, a weekly CBC show broadcast in both Canada and the United States, started in 1994 and focussed on the life and misadventures of Dave, owner of a small record store, and his wife Morley.

McLean, who began his career as a journalist making CBC radio documentaries, wrote a series of best-selling books based on the show. He started taking The Vinyl Cafe on the road in 2008, travelling to both Canada and the UInitd States.

“Stuart was an exceptional storyteller who has left an indelible mark on CBC Radio and countless communities across Canada,” Susan Marjetti, executive director of CBC Radio, said in a statement.

– Reuters

A Suspect arrested over death of Kim Jong Un's half-brother

A female suspect carrying a Vietnamese passport has been arrested. South Korean intelligence has confirmed the North Korean man was killed with poison

A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of Kim Jong Un's half-brother, Malaysian police said.

She was detained Wednesday at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 carrying a Vietnamese travel document.

Earlier, South Korea's intelligence committee said two Asian women were suspected of murdering Kim Jong Nam, who died soon after being attacked at the same airport.

Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy on his body.

Kim is believed to have been poisoned, South Korea's National Assembly Intelligence Committee Chairman Lee Cheol Woo told a press briefing Wednesday.

Lee did not say how Kim was poisoned or how South Korea obtained the information.According to CNN's Will Ripley, who is in Pyongyang, Kim's death has not been publicized in North Korea and is unlikely to be, given political sensitivities.

Kim was boarding a flight to the island of Macau, a Chinese territory, to visit his family when he was attacked, Lee said.

TV screens show pictures of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.

Kim went to the counter at KLIA asking for help, the Royal Malaysian Police said in a statement.

A Malaysian official told CNN that the man was then taken to an airport clinic, which decided to send him to the hospital. He died en route.

"The deceased ... felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind," Selangor State Criminal Investigations Department Chief Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said Wednesday it was working with Malaysian authorities, while the country's acting President and Prime Minister discussed the death at a National Security Council meeting.

The North Korean embassy in Malaysia said they had no information about Kim's death when contacted by CNN, but a car with a North Korean flag on it was seen entering the hospital mortuary where Kim's body is believed to be.

Journalists gather outside the forensic department of a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.

Unsubstantiated reports

Numerous unsubstantiated reports of how Kim was attacked have been circulated but Malaysian police are providing few details.

The Malaysian inspector general of police said in a news release Tuesday the deceased North Korean man was traveling with a passport bearing the name Kim Chol.

Kim, who was in his mid-40s, had a reputation for traveling on fake passports -- it may have even been tied to his fall from grace in his home country.

Kim Jong Nam, left, was the half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, right.

While Kim was the most public of all Kim Jong Il's sons before his half-brother Kim Jong Un took power, it was reported he lost favor with his father after he used a forged document to try to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.

His absence from his father's funeral in 2011 fueled earlier rumors that he had beenbanished from North Korea.

North Korean playboy

Kim Jong Nam was the son of Kim Jong Il and Song Hye Rim, one of his favored mistresses.

He had a different mother to North Korea's current leader Kim Jong Un, his father's youngest son, who was born to another mistress, Ko Yong Hui.

Kim Jong Nam didn't believe his brother had the ability to properly lead North Korea, according to author Yoji Gomi who wrote the 2012 book "My Father, Kim Jong Il, and Me."

Kim Jong Nam (R) with his father, former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (L), according to CNN-affiliate KBS.

But he never actually met his Kim Jong Un, due to the North Korean practice of raising potential successors separately.

After his departure from North Korea, the older Kim made his name for being an overweight and careless playboy, who was also willing to speak out about his family.

"He spoke out against his father's 'military first' policy," Gomi told CNN in 2012. "He wants North Korea to embrace economic reform and open its doors."

- CNN

California lawmaker makes push for health warning labels on soda

A California state senator is  introducing a law that would require sugary drink manufacturers to put a warning label on their products, the latest effort in the “War on Sugar.”

Officials and public health advocates have heightened their criticism of sugar as a key contributor to health epidemics like obesity and diabetes, and California has become a major battle ground in the fight against what they say is excessive sugar consumption.

San Francisco is battling Big Soda in court over a law requiring a warning label on advertisements for sugary drinks, and voters in four Bay Area cities have approved taxes on the products. On Monday, Democratic state Senator Bill Monning for a third time introduced a bill that would place warning labels on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages sold in California.

Similar bills from Monning failed in 2014 and 2015, but the lawmaker said he sees a rising tide of support.

“Certainly the victories in local communities show a growing awareness of the health risk posed by these drinks,” Monning said by telephone, referring to votes in November in three Bay Area cities approving soda levies. Voters in Berkeley had approved a soda tax in 2014.

“This is not a tax measure. We’re not taking products off the shelves. This is about consumers’ right to know,” he said.

The legislation would require companies like Coca-Cola Co and Pepsi Co Inc to put warning labels on beverages sold in California that have added sugars and have 75 or more calories per 12 ounces. The warning would state that drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Soda companies are already facing declining sales of their namesake beverages and trying to introduce new products to meet changing tastes.

“America’s beverage companies already provide fact-based, easy-to-use calorie labels on the front of every bottle, can and pack we produce,” said an American Beverage Association spokeswoman, adding that “misleading warnings” won’t solve complex public health problems.

ABA has sued San Francisco to block the city from introducing a warning label on sugar-sweetened beverages. It recently lost a legal challenge to block a soda tax from being rolled out in Philadelphia last month.

Coca-Cola and the ABA have been sued by a nonprofit group for allegedly misleading consumers about the health risks from consuming sugary beverages. 

– Reuters

US Secret Service chief to retire in March

Joseph Clancy, US Secret Service chief, will retire in early March 2017, the elite agency tasked with protecting the US president said on Tuesday (Feb 14).

 Clancy, former head of US President, Barack Obama’s detail, returned from a previous retirement to steer the agency two years ago, amid outcry over several security lapses at the White House that tarnished the agency’s image.

Clancy, who prior to his first retirement had served the agency for nearly three decades  will officially step down once more on Mar 4, and new US President Donald Trump will appoint his successor.

The Secret Service, made up of some 6,500 people, is also responsible for the security of former presidents and vice presidents, as well as foreign heads of state and government on official visits.

– AFP/de

Rock singer Debbie Harry crowned Style Icon at Elle Style Awards

Debbie Harry, the frontwoman of rock band Blondie, was crowned a fashion icon at London’s Elle Style Awards, and she thanked her punk influences for defining her style.

“Coming from the punk point of view, which was very deconstructionist, destructive, and disrespectful, you have to find something in yourself that makes you feel a lot of different ways,” she told Reuters at the red carpet event late Monday.

“So you have to feel beautiful, you have to feel comfortable. I have to feel sexy.”

Harry, who attended the event with Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, playfully wore a crown designed by Vivienne Westwood, while posing for photographers. Harry also wore a Westwood red suit with a black-and-white shirt and shoes.

Blondie, an American punk band famous for hits like “Heart of Glass” and “Call Me” in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is expected to release their 11th studio album, “Pollinator”, in May.

“It’s about the ongoing circle of culture and how we all feed off of each other and I think at this particular time…it’s very important to remember that. That we’re all so deeply connected,” Harry said about the new album.

British actress and United Nations Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson, was given the Woman of the Year award in recognition of her acting career and work for gender equality.

– Reuters

The World’s largest seaplane to make maiden flight soon

The AG600, said to be the world’s largest seaplane will be making its maiden flight in the first half of 2017, Chinese state media said last Wednesday.

The amphibious aircraft’s four engines successfully passed a series of rigorous tests between Feb 11 and 14, after rolling off a production line in the southern city of Zhuhai last July.

Its maker the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) had told Xinhua that the AG600 is 37 metres long with a wingspan of 38.8 metres.

It is by far the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, about the size of a Boeing 737, AVIC’s deputy general manager Geng Ruguang said.

It was designed for fighting forest fires and performing marine rescue missions, said Xinhua, with excellent maneuverability and a relatively wide range of search scope.

The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes, can collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds and is capable of rescuing up to 50 people far offshore.

In the July report, Xinhua also cited chief designer Huang Lingcai as saying that the AG600 is “like a ship that can fly, with advanced gas-water dynamic engineering and underwater corrosion resistance technology”.

“The latest breakthrough in China’s aviation industry, which demonstrates an overall improvement of China’s national strength and research capacity,” said Huang.

– CNA/hs

CCTV Image of Jong nam’s alleged assassin caught on CCTV: Watch Video

 A clear image of a woman believed to be one of the assassins who killed Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been captured by CCTV cameras at KLIA2.

The image shows a woman in her middle-age and of Asian descent.

She also can be seen wearing a white long-sleeve t-shirt with the word “LOL” in large letters and a blue short skirt, with her right hand over a small sling handbag.

Meanwhile, South Korean news broadcaster YTN News earlier released several photographs of KLIA2’s CCTV footage of one of the alleged assassins who assassinated Kim Jong-nam

Police have confirmed a North Korean who died at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) on Monday was Kim Jong-Nam.

Jong Nam was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur airport by two women believed to be North Korean operatives, who were at large.

Two women hailed a cab and fled immediately afterwards.

http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/video-image-of-jong-nams-alleged-assassin-caught-on-cctv/

South Korea suspects female assassins killed half brother of North Korean leader

South Korean spy agency suspects two female North Korean agents assassinated the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia, lawmakers in Seoul said on Wednesday, as Malaysian medical authorities sought a cause of death.

U.S. government sources also told Reuters they believed that North Korean assassins killed Kim Jong Nam, who according to Malaysian police died on Monday on his way to hospital from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

South Korean intelligence believed Kim Jong Nam was poisoned, lawmakers said after being briefed by the country’s spy agency.

They said the spy agency told them that the young, unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a “standing order” for his half-brother’s assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.

Kim had been at the airport’s low cost terminal to catch a flight to Macau on Monday, when someone grabbed or held Kim’s face from behind, after which he felt dizzy and sought help, Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters.

According to South Korea’s spy agency, Kim Jong Nam had been living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, under Beijing’s protection, the lawmakers said. One of them said Kim Jong Nam also had a wife and son in Beijing.

Kim Jong Nam had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated state.

“If the murder of Kim Jong Nam was confirmed to be committed by the North Korean regime, that would clearly depict the brutality and inhumanity of the Kim Jong Un regime,” South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the country’s acting president, told a security council meeting.

The meeting was called in response to Kim Jong Nam’s mysterious death, news of which first emerged late on Tuesday.

South Korea is acutely sensitive to any sign of potential instability in North Korea, and is still technically in a state of war with its impoverished and nuclear-armed neighbour.

– Reuters

Singer, Alanis Morissette loses millions to burglars

Burglars made off with US$2 million in jewellery from singer Alanis Morissette’s home in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, US media reported Tuesday.

The Canadian-born alternative rock giant was not at home when the thieves struck on Thursday, celebrity news website TMZ said, although police were not immediately able to confirm the report.

The break-in comes less than two weeks after Morissette’s former business manager, who worked for other entertainment and sports figures, admitted embezzling more than US$6.5 million from his clients.

Jonathan Schwartz, 48, entered his plea to federal wire and tax fraud charges for failing to disclose the embezzled funds to the Internal Revenue Service.

He is due to be sentenced on May 3, and faces a prison term between four and six years.

He acknowledged that between May 2010 and January 2014, he withdrew about $4.8 million belonging to Morissette without her knowledge.

Morissette said in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles last year that she fired Schwartz after growing suspicious when he could not provide timely information on her finances.

The singer was the voice behind a string of energetic rock anthems in the mid-1990s including You Oughta Know, Hand in My Pocket and You Learn.

Her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill won the Grammy for Album of the Year, making the then 21-year-old Morissette the youngest winner of the prestigious award until Taylor Swift.

– AFP/cy

FAA investigating airplane incident reported to involve Harrison Ford

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, said on Tuesday that it is investigating an incident involving a single-engine private plane that flew over an American Airlines Boeing 737 jet in Santa Ana, California.

NBC News reported that actor Harrison Ford was piloting the private plane, an Aviat Husky, that was involved in an incident at John Wayne Airport on Monday afternoon.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane was cleared to land at runway 20L and the pilot correctly read back the clearance. “The pilot then landed on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, overflying a Boeing 737 that was holding short of the runway,” Gregor said.

American Airlines flight 1546 to Dallas had 110 passengers and a six-person crew and was waiting for the private plane to land before taking off, a person familiar with the matter said. It left shortly after the private plane landed without incident.

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said the airline reported the incident to the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.

NBC News said Ford was captured on air traffic control recordings asking, “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?” Air traffic controllers informed Ford that he had landed on a taxiway rather than the runway, NBC said.

In 2015, Ford told investigators he did not recall the moments before he crashed his vintage plane onto a Los Angeles-area golf course, suffering serious injuries and badly damaging the aircraft.

The star of “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was the sole occupant of the 1942 single-engine Ryan Aeronautical ST-3KR when it went down on a golf course near the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in March 2015.

In 1999, Ford and a flight instructor were in a helicopter that crashed north of Los Angeles, reported a Los Angeles Times then.

– Reuters