Five dead, 600 injured as snow storm hits Japan: reports

Five dead, 600 injured as snow storm hits Japan: reports
Two dead as train derails in French Alps
Syria barrel bomb raids on Aleppo ‘kill 20′
Fadillah: Government to do more for motorsports community
Mandate given, Taib to decide
BR1M 3.0 to be launched on Feb 22, says Najib

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 06:50 PM PST

JAPAN: The heaviest snow in decades in Tokyo and other areas of Japan has left at least five dead and 600 injured across the country by early Sunday, reports said.

As much as 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) of snow was recorded in Tokyo by late Saturday, the heaviest fall in the capital for 45 years, according to the meteorological agency.

The snow storm hit the capital on the eve of its gubernatorial election. Observers say the heavy snowfall may affect voter turnout in the city of 13 million people.

As a depression moved along the Pacific coast north Saturday, the northeastern city of Sendai saw 35 centimetres (13.8 inches) of snow, the heaviest in 78 years.

Local media said at least five people have been killed in snow-linked accidents — mostly crashes after their cars skidded on icy roads.

Public broadcaster NHK reported more than 600 people were injured across the nation.

More than 20,000 households were still without electricity early Sunday while airlines cancelled 200 domestic flights a day after more than 740 flights were grounded Saturday.

Nearly 5,000 people were stranded at Narita airport Saturday as traffic linking the airport to the capital was disrupted, NHK said.

Further snowfall is expected Sunday in northern Japan, the weather agency said. – AFP

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Two dead as train derails in French Alps

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 03:45 PM PST

At least two people were killed, including a Russian woman, when a tourist train derailed in the Alps in southern France, local emergency services said on Saturday.

The Train des Pignes, a small private railway which operates on a single track between Nice and Dignes-les-Bains, came off the rails when hit by a boulder that had fallen from the surrounding hills, according to local daily Nice Matin.

Local authorities confirmed early Saturday afternoon that one of the dead was a Russian woman. Meanwhile, Nice Matin reported that the second victim was a local woman from the Nice area. At least eight people were injured in the incident.

"It was as if the boulder fell from the sky, like in an earthquake," said Jean-Jacques Messaoud, who was aboard the train when the accident happened.

Another passenger, Floriane Bonnet, was relaxing at the back of the train when the accident happened.

"I didn't understand, I was thrown to the left and I saw the first half of the train go down the embankment. I tried to break a window but couldn't manage it so I left through the front."

The train was still dangling dramatically from the tracks three hours after the accident, the side of one car caved in from the boulder. A total of 110 firefighters and 32 vehicles were deployed to the scene, as well as two helicopters.

Over 100 years old, the Train des Pignes is hugely popular among tourists. It takes passengers on a picturesque 151-kilometre (90-mile) journey from the sea to the mountains of Haute-Provence, crossing over bridges and viaducts and chugging through valleys and gorges.

French Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier was due to visit the scene of the accident on Saturday afternoon. – AFP

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Syria barrel bomb raids on Aleppo ‘kill 20′

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 03:20 PM PST

SYRIAN: New aerial bombardment from explosives-packed barrel bombs in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo killed at least 20 people on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The raids came as in the oil-rich east, the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and allied Islamist rebel groups launched a new offensive against the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The Observatory said 20 people including two children were killed in separate barrel bomb attacks on Aleppo's eastern rebel-held neighbourhoods.

Hundreds of people have been killed in several waves of barrel bomb assaults, each lasting several days, since December 15, the Britain-based group says.

Thousands of people have fled the areas being targeted.

The raids come as government forces press an advance into the east and north of Aleppo city, large swathes of which fell to the opposition after a massive rebel offensive in July 2012.

Rights groups have condemned the regime's use of barrel bombs as indiscriminate.

On Saturday, helicopters also dropped barrel bombs on Daraya, a rebel bastion southwest of Damascus, which has been under siege for more than a year.

In a separate development, Al-Nusra Front and rebel brigades including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham launched a new offensive in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor against their erstwhile ally ISIL, the Observatory said.

While ISIL was once welcomed by rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, abuses by the group turned much of the opposition against them.

Saturday's offensive comes just over a month after three massive rebel alliances declared war against ISIL in much of the north.

Both Al-Nusra and ISIL grew out of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but have split in Syria.

More than 1,800 people, mostly fighters, died in January fighting between rebels and ISIL in northern Syria.

Saturday's clashes come a day after ISIL took over several rival rebel bases in Hasakeh province north of Deir Ezzor.

Both Deir Ezzor and Hasakeh are strategic because they lie on Syria's border with Iraq.

Deir Ezzor is a key conduit for ISIL to send weapons and fighters from Iraq into Syria. – AFP

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Fadillah: Government to do more for motorsports community

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 12:02 PM PST

KUCHING: Youths who are into motorsport-related activities are urged to maintain a close relationship with the government to ensure their needs and requests are met.

Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said the government was looking into providing the much needed facilities for the motorsports fraternity.

"We know that the talents, especially in motorsports, that we have are capable of bringing fame and glory to the state," he said at the Youth Motorsports Carnival at the compound of Masja here yesterday.

"But don't take your game to the streets."

Fadillah also advised the motorsports community to coordinate with each other and to hold frequent meetings with the relevant government bodies to ensure their voice is heard.

On the facilities at the circuit located at the parking lot of Stadium Sarawak, he said it would be upgraded.

"The available facilities should be put to good use and we will do the necessary steps to ensure that ample facilities are allocated to the motorsports community in the state."

He also advised the youths to take the sports seriously, citing examples of several well-known national riders who started on the streets before turning professional.

Organised by the Youth and Sports Department, the carnival, among others featured a motorbike drag race, autoshow, car booth sale and exhibition from various government agencies.

Also present was the Datuk Bandar of Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Julai.

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Mandate given, Taib to decide

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 12:02 PM PST

by Joanna Yap, Wilfred Pilo, Lian Cheng & Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 9, 2014, Sunday

Chief Minister to choose successor, decide date of retirement; needs time before announcement

KUCHING: Pehin Seri Abdul Taib Mahmud did not announce his retirement as widely anticipated yesterday but gave ample indications that he has decided to retire very soon.

Emerging from a Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Supreme Council Meeting, held at the party headquarters here yesterday, the 78-year-old Chief Minister said he would make an overall announcement on his retirement including his successor and the date of his retirement soon.

"Two days. I want to meditate on a few things and I will make an overall announcement, give me two days," he said when responding to media's questions.

PBB permanent chairman Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar later told a press conference that the supreme council and the party's caucus unanimously passed a resolution during the meeting to give Taib the mandate to nominate his own successor.

The resolution was proposed by the party's Information Chief Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem and seconded by deputy president Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg

Asfia said that he chaired the meeting as permanent chairman of the party to decide who would be the next chief minister as Taib had left the room during the discussion on his successor.

After some deliberation the supreme council and the caucus resolved to ask the Chief Minister to make the choice.

"The supreme council together with the caucus of the party unanimously gave the mandate to the Chief Minister and president of PBB to nominate a successor of his choice to be the next Chief Minister of Sarawak," said Asfia.

He added that the succession issue would be settled before the Chief Minister announced his resignation "within a reasonable time frame".

Asked if Taib would step down as Chief Minister this month, Asfia said the possibility could not be precluded.

He stressed that whoever was nominated by Taib as his successor would receive the full support of the party's supreme council and the caucus.

Asfia was coy when questioned by reporters on the number of potential successors but hinted that the choice was "very narrow – possibly three names".

"We have men of calibre in PBB and within the team; we can be rest assured the state is in safe hands. And the Head of State can even steady the hand of the chief executive," he said, allaying fears of instability in the wake of Taib's retirement.

Asfia, also revealed that the party's supreme council also decided to recommend Taib to be the next Head of State (TYT) in view of his "outstanding sterling contribution" to the state and nation after the term of Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin expires on Feb 28.

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BR1M 3.0 to be launched on Feb 22, says Najib

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 12:02 PM PST

TAIPING: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday announced that the national level launch of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) 3.0 will be held this Feb 22.

The prime minister said, at the parliamentary and state legislative assembly level, the BR1M distribution would be held this Feb 23.

The aid disbursement was as promised in the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto in which the amount would be raised from time to time up to RM1,200 for a period of seven years, he said when speaking at the Wisma Umno Bukit Gantang ground-breaking ceremony here yesterday.

Under the 2014 Budget which was announced by Najib in October last year, any household with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below is qualified to receive BR1M of RM650 and i-BR1M takaful contribution of RM50.

In reducing the people's burden, Najib said, apart from BR1M disbursement, the government also took the initiative to build the farmers' market, 1Malaysia People's Shop and strict enforcement on the prices of goods.

"At present the prices of goods have stabilised. This is the ups and downs of the economy but, at any rate, we must continue to back the people, which must be our priority.

"We do not want to burden the people, we only channelled the bulk of the subsidy to targeted subsidy and I believe it is the best method and we are now thinking of new steps which will be announced very soon," he said.

He said the government would not betray the trust given by the people during the last general election. — Bernama

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