News writing Assignment 1

Earthquake Story

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS- Earthquake shook three Aleutian Island fishing villages and strong earthquake hit Aleutian Islands at Sunday night.

Aleutian Islands earthquake hit at Sunday 7:01 p.m. George Carts said the quake was felt strongly in the towns of Unalaska, Dutch Harbor and Nikolski. These three fishing villages are located on western islands in the Aleutian chain. George Carts said, "There was some very minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged."

The distance of the epicentre in the North Pacific about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski whereas 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. There have 20 aftershocks and one measured 5.0 level of the earthquake on the scale. This level not powerful enough to cause a tsunami, officials said.

Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported it measured has 6.6 level of earthquake on Richter scale. The earthquake of 6.6 magnitudes can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas. There have no reports of injuries or major damage.

Richter scale measures ground motion and is recorded on seismographs and each increase of one number means a tenfold increase in magnitude. For instance, 7.5 is 10 times greater than 6.5. Official categories: 3.5 can cause slight damage; 4, moderate damage; 5, considerable damage; 6, severe damage; 7, major earthquake, can cause widespread heavy damage; 8, great quake. After all, Aleutians are sparsely settled.           

News writing Assignment 1

Malaysia Green Forum 2010

PUTRAJAYA- Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak gave a speech on title of Malaysia Green Forum 2010 which the government with an opportunity to reaffirm its resounding commitment towards environmental sustainability in Malaysia.

The purpose of Malaysia Green Forum is to build an action-oriented network relate with environmental problems in a whole manner is certainly refreshing. The participation of senior government officials, industry captains, society leaders and academic profesionals from within and outside the country has drawn by MGF 2010. Malaysia consider as the richest biodiversity in the world, prized with 16 million hectares of tropical forest area.

Malaysia is earliest nations in the world which adopted a serious concern towards Environment Quality Act in 1974. Sustainability concept was an integral part of Third Malaysia Plan and before the idea of Sustainable Development was popularized in the late eighties by the Brundtland Report. Y.A.B Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi bought 14 agencies from 4 different ministries together when he established the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2004 that paved the way for a more detailed and cohesive way in settling environmental problems.

The government has constantly permitted its promises to environmental sustainability over the years and mortgage to continue this throughout administration. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak announced the formation of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water after six day of taking office. Growing need and urgency of green technology towards sustainable development is still continues by the government to identify it. A technical arm called The National Green Technology Center also came to being through a restructuring exercise of the then Malaysia Energy Centre.

MGF 2010 has associated leaders and professionals from the very multiple backgrounds on platform where environmental problems can be dealt with the overall. The government is welcomes all the constructive creative ideas that could make this Malaysia greener and more sustainable.

5W 1H

Abandoned woman gets a fresh start

By M. SIVANANTHA SHARMA
north@thestar.com.my

BUTTERWORTH: A 29-year-old woman who was allegedly pushed out of a car by her mother in Mak Mandin here will have a chance to start her life afresh at a welfare department skills training centre in Ipoh.
Officers from the Seberang Perai Utara welfare office brought Zuraini Abdul Kadir to her aunt's house in Kampung Federal to sign a letter of consent for the woman, said to be mentally disabled, to be placed at the Bengkel Bina Semangat centre.
Zuraini's aunt, Zaitun Abu Ghani, 39, thanked Bagan Barisan Nasional coordinator David Chua for his help in getting the welfare department's assistance for her niece.
She said Chua had visited her several times to help Zuraini, who was placed at a transit centre in Bagan Jermal here after she was rescued.

Well-cared for: Zaitun kissing Zuraini on the cheek before she leaves for Ipoh.

Zuraini was said to be previously housed at an orphanage in Johor before she came to stay with her father and stepmother in Seberang Jaya.
About three weeks before the incident, Zuraini was sent to live with her biological mother.
It was reported that passers-by in Taman Cantik here saw a woman stopping her car and pushing Zuraini out of the vehicle, together with a bag of clothes, by the roadside on Sept 20.
The divorcee had reportedly tried to drop off her daughter at her ex-husband's low-cost apartment but Zuraini's stepmother apparently refused to take her in.
After failing to locate a relative's house in Mak Mandin, Zuraini's mother allegedly decided to abandon her daughter by the roadside.
Zuraini said she looked forward to learning new skills at the training centre.
“I will be making new friends and this will help me forget my worries,” she said before leaving for Ipoh.
Zuraini added that she would come to see her aunt during public holidays.

• HUMAN INTEREST

1. WHAT- have a chance to start her life afresh
2. WHO- 29-year-old woman and her mother
3. WHERE- welfare department skills training centre in Ipoh
4. WHEN- (no)
5. WHY- allegedly pushed out of a car
6. HOW- (no)

Wednesday October 3, 2012

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/3/nation/12114603&sec=nation

5W 1H

Mother appeals to daughter to return after going missing for second time

KUALA TERENGGANU: A distraught mother in Chendering here appealed to her 17-year-old daughter who has gone missing for the second time this year to return home.
Zakiah Abdul Majid, 49, said her daughter, Noor Farah Hieza Mokhtar first went missing in May
She has then gone missing again since Aug 20 and had left the house dressed in a t-shirt and pants about 2pm.
The girl was found in Johor Baru, 17 days after she disappeared the first time, she added.
"I believe she left with only her identity card as her purse and mobile phone are here," said Zakiah, here Sunday.
"We don't know if she has a boyfriend as she spent most of her time with us since dropping out of school after Form Three and helped with our small business," she said.
Meanwhile, the girl's father Mokhtar Harun, appealed to anyone with information on his daughter's whereabouts to contact him at 014-8324040. - Bernama

• HUMAN INTEREST

1. WHAT- Missing for second time
2. WHO- Mother and 17-year-old daughter
3. WHERE- Chendering, Kuala Terengganu
4. WHEN- This year
5. WHY- (no)
6. HOW- (no)

Sunday September 30, 2012 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/30/nation/20120930185852&sec=nation 

5W 1H

Lorry driver awakened by gunshots

KLANG: Two gunmen on a motorcycle fired several shots in the direction of a lorry driver's house in Taman Sri Andalas Sunday.
The incident occurred at 6.15am, when lorry driver P. Muthusamy, 55, was asleep in the house in Jalan Tun Razak.
Klang (South) police chief ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop said Muthusamy was initially awakened by the sound of gunshots in front of the house.
He said the lorry driver told the police that when he opened the main door two gunmen on a black Yamaha RXZ motorcycle fired two more shots at the house before escaping.
A police team found two bullet holes on the front door where two glass frames were broken.
The police also found six spent bullets outside the perimeter fence of the house. - Bernama

• PROXIMITY

1. WHAT- (no)
2. WHO- Two gunmen and lorry driver
3. WHERE- Taman Sri Andalas, Klang
4. WHEN- Sunday
5. WHY- (no)
6. HOW-  Fired several shots

Sunday September 30 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/30/nation/20120930204914&sec=nation

5W 1H

Study: Smoking, heavy drinking linked to earlier onset of pancreatic cancer

WASHINGTON: Those who smoke and drink heavily may develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
The study involved 811 pancreatic cancer patients from the international database Pancreatic Cancer Collaborative Registry, which gathers information on patients with pancreatic cancer and at high-risk for developing pancreatic cancer.
Citing the study, China's Xinhua news agency said Tuesday that heavy smokers were defined as those who smoked more than a pack per day, and heavy drinking was measured at about three average drinks per day.
The researchers from University of Michigan Health System found the heavy smokers with pancreatic cancer were diagnosed around age 62 and heavy drinkers at age 61 almost a decade earlier than the average age of 72.
However, the harmful effects of heavy drinking and smoking could be reversed after 10 years, former smokers and drinkers who quit their habits faced no extra risk of earlier diagnosis, the study said.
The researchers cautioned that the study only indicates these habits can lead to developing pancreatic cancer earlier in life, instead of proving the habits caused cancer. - Bernama

• CONSEQUENCE

1. WHAT-  May develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than those who don't
2. WHO- Smoker and drinker
3. WHERE- Washington
4. WHEN- (no)
5. WHY- Smoke and drink heavily
6. HOW- (no)

Tuesday October 2, 2012

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/2/nation/20121002094242&sec=nation 

5W 1H

PM: Hire more women

By LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has challenged public-listed companies to appoint more women to their board of directors.
He said that there are about 200 capable women who have been trained by the Government for such tasks.
The public sector has appointed many women as top decision makers, and it was now up to the private sector to follow suit, he added.
“Don't give the excuse that we have no women. Yes, we do. Ask the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry for the list of women who can serve as directors,” the Prime Minister said at the National Women's Day Celebration 2012 yesterday.

Tribute to women: Najib and Rosmah sharing a light moment with the Anugerah Tokoh Wanita recipients (from left) Puan Seri Sukumari Sekhar, Datuk F.R. Bhupalan, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Heng Seai Kie, Puan Seri Professor Datuk Dr Fatimah Hamid Don and the Ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur during the celebration.

The ministry's Malaysian Directors' Academy had targeted about 200 competent and experienced women to be trained and offered as potential candidates for the boards of directors of companies by December this year.
A total of RM50mil has been allocated in Budget 2013 to, among others, train 500 women as board members under the Women Director's Programme.
Najib also hoped that more companies and government departments would set up childcare centres as employers would be given a double deduction on the allowance or subsidies provided to the employees and expenses for the maintenance of the centres.
“We hope that these measures will enable more women to join the workforce,” he said, adding that currently only 46% of women work.
The ministry's NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women director Tan Sri Dr Rafiah Salim said that to date, about 400 candidates have registered with the Women Directors' Registry, with 100 of them trained and ready for board placement.
Securities Commission market oversight director Hasnah Omar said the programme was timely, given the fact that women make up more than 50% of the country's population.
Among the 100 are First Principles Sdn Bhd principal consultant Datin Meha Sivamohan, Sibu Water Board deputy general manager Alice Jawan, AJA EQS Certification Malaysia Sdn Bhd group CEO Jacqueline Francis, Shearn Delamore & Co advocate and solicitor Cheow Wai Yee and Negri Sembilan Pardons Board member Tunku Datuk Nazihah Tunku Mohd Rus.

• CONSEQUENCE

1. WHAT- Appoint more women to their board of directors
2. WHO- Datuk Seri Najib Razak
3. WHERE- Petaling Jaya
4. WHEN- (no)
5. WHY- (no)
6. HOW- Challenged public-listed companies

Wednesday October 3, 2012

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/3/nation/12118387&sec=nation