Giant hailstones batter Hong Kong

Giant hailstones batter Hong Kong
Search for MH370 ‘black box’ to get underway
More LED lights in city – mayor
Police recover three abandoned motorcycles
Fire destroys house
Boy killed as vehicle tries to avoid buffalo

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT

HONG KONG: Giant hailstones smashed windows at a Hong Kong shopping mall Sunday as torrential rainstorms drenched the Sevens rugby tournament and delayed dozens of flights.

Authorities issued the highest black rainstorm warning late Sunday when rainfall exceeded 80 millimetres (more than three inches) an hour in parts of the territory.

The Hong Kong Observatory said it had recorded 8,703 lightning strikes, with more than 3,500 in just one hour.

The rainstorm caused flooding, shutting down several roads and causing delays to train services, while more than 100 flights had to be delayed due to "adverse weather", the authorities said.

In an upscale shopping mall in Kowloon Tong district, torrents of water poured through the roof after glass panes were smashed by giant hailstones, local media reported.

Television footage showed umbrella-carrying shoppers wading through the drenched mall.

At the Hong Kong Sevens, New Zealand performed their traditional haka during a tropical downpour before defeating England 26-7 in a rain-drenched cup final.

Elsewhere, a stack of about 20 containers collapsed at the docks, crushing a truck, local broadcaster RTHK reported.

The Observatory said more rain was excepted in the next few days, with "squally thunderstorms" at times.

It said the stormy weather was due to a trough of low pressure affecting coastal areas of neighbouring Guangdong province in southern China. -AFP

Search for MH370 ‘black box’ to get underway

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 05:28 PM PDT

PERTH: An Australian ship carrying equipment to locate the "black box" from flight MH370 was to put to sea on Monday but experts warned surface debris must be found first to narrow down the search zone.

The hunt for physical evidence that the Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people crashed more than three weeks ago, as Kuala Lumpur has declared, has so far proved fruitless despite a massive operation involving seven countries.

Hopes raised by debris sightings have repeatedly been crushed as the items turned out to be random sea junk such as fishing gear.

More objects were seen by aircraft on Sunday with several items retrieved by Australia's HMAS Success and China's Haixun 01, but the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said: "Nothing has yet been verified as being from MH370."

The growing search resumed on Monday across a sweeping expanse of the southern Indian Ocean the size of Norway, with 10 planes taking to the skies from Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea and the US.

Ten ships are also now scouring the desolate seas 1,850 kilometres west of Perth for clues, with seven from China, two from Australia and a merchant vessel. AMSA warned that "some parts of the search area will experience low cloud and rain throughout the day".

Australia's Ocean Shield, fitted with a US-supplied black box detector, known as a towed pinger locator, and an autonomous underwater vehicle that can comb the seabed using electronic sensors, was also to leave Perth.

But Captain Mark Matthews from the US Navy, who was involved in the search for an Air France jet which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, said the crash site must be identified first to allow any pings from the recorder to be located.

"It is critical that we find that surface debris so we can reduce the area that we'd need to conduct an underwater search in," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Right now the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which would take an untenable amount of time to search."

With MH370 vanishing on March 8 and a black box usually giving off signals for 30 days there are fears that it could already be too late with Ocean Shield taking up to three days to get to the area, although Matthews said the pinger could last up to 15 days longer than that.

Australian Navy Commodore Peter Leavy, the commander of the military arm of the search, said the focus Monday was still to find debris and confirm it was from the plane then work backwards to a possible crash site.

"The search area remains vast and this equipment can only be effectively employed when there is a high probability that the final location of Flight MH370 is better known," he said.

While Malaysia remains in charge of the search operation under international protocols, Australia has assumed increasing responsibility with retired air chief marshal Angus Houston on Sunday appointed to head a new joint agency coordination centre in Perth.

His job will involve coordinating diplomatic contacts between search participants and ensuring families get all the information and help they need.

About two-thirds of those on board the plane were Chinese and many of their families have been highly critical of the way Malaysia has treated them, accusing Kuala Lumpur of providing insufficient information as they endure an agonising wait to learn the fate of their loved ones

Malaysia believes the flight was deliberately redirected by someone on board, but nothing else is known.

Relatives of Chinese passengers arrived Sunday in Kuala Lumpur — some angrily seeking answers and others seeking closure.

Many passengers are particularly incensed at the announcement on March 24 by Prime Minister Najib Razak that — based on detailed British analysis of satellite and other data — the plane had been lost at sea.

Clinging to shreds of hope, several desperate relatives refuse to accept this until wreckage is found.

"Tell us the truth. Give us our relatives back," read one poster displayed Sunday by the Chinese relatives who travelled to Malaysia.

But not all were in militant mood.

At a regular briefing by Malaysian officials for family members in Beijing, a woman said not all the group members took the trip to put pressure on the Malaysian government.

"Some of the next of kin want to see for themselves the last place where their loved ones ever set foot," she added, breaking down in tears. - AFP

More LED lights in city – mayor

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 03:59 PM PDT

by Nancy Lai. Posted on March 31, 2014, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said that the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) is planning to replace streetlights in the state capital with LED streetlights to reduce usage of electricity.

According to him, City Hall has installed 360 LED lights along the bicycle and pedestrian track in Likas Bay, 76 along Jalan Pantai in the city and 30 units out of the city.

City Hall, he said, would also build 55 taxi and bus stands that will be using a solar energy PV off grid system in the city.

The mayor dislosed this during City Hall's annual observation of Earth Hour at the Tanjung Aru Beach 1 on Saturday evening

"DBKK will install more LED lights in Kota Kinabalu city if we get 300 and more people to sign up for tonight's Earth Night Walk," he said.

Abidin added that City Hall encouraged all new developments in the state capital to adopt green technology and also 'green technology buildings' so that they too can play their role in reducing global warming.

Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister cum the minister in-charge of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Datuk Ir Edward Yong Qui Fah, launched the Earth Hour 2014 programme by lighting the recycled candles.

He was accompanied by Abidin, Sabah Park Chairman cum WWF Sabah president Dato' Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahmood, deputy director general of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Joannes Solidau and Miss Earth Sabah 2012 Joanna Marie Faurillo and thousands of participants.

Later, Joanna led a Night Walk procession to the adjacent Prince Philip Park, joined by 600 over volunteers from various education institutions.

In his speech, Yong called on Sabahans to play a more proactive role in reducing their greenhouse emission by being more prudent in their electricity usage.

He said simple energy saving practices such as choosing energy saving electrical appliances, using public transportation, recycling and reducing the amount of rubbish dumped at landfills as well as using environmentally friendly products can go a long way if applied diligently.

He pointed out that the one-hour 'lights out' for Earth Hour is in fact not enough to bring about a huge impact on the world's climate which is why much more need to be done by everyone.

"We are now experiencing global warming and the world's weather is unpredictable. This will leave an impact on the people and we are now seeing the negative effect of global warming, such as extreme weather which has resulted in natural disasters that have claimed many lives.

"It is therefore up to us to do more than what we do when observing Earth Hour by playing our role to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Use your power to make change a reality as the responsibility to protect the environment belongs to everyone, not only the government and global organizations.

"The rakyat play an equally important role to care for the prosperity of all living things and not only be concerned about their own welfare," he stressed.

Yong pointed out that small acts like not doing open burning and using public transportation can help reduce global warming.

Entrepreneurs and manufacturers can contribute by using green technology and reducing wastage in their production, he said.

"The state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is very concerned about the environment, hence the priority towards preserving it," he said.

Police recover three abandoned motorcycles

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 03:56 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Traffic police recovered three abandoned motorcycles during 'Ops Samseng Jalanan dan Mabuk' here on Saturday night.

The Honda Ex5 bikes recovered are believed to have been reported stolen from the city area last year, the traffic police spokesman said.

According to him, police personnel found the motorcycles abandoned at the side of the road between Jalan Kemajuan and Jalan Tangki during the operation which started at 11.30pm on Saturday until 5am the following day.

He said that police believed the riders had abandoned the motorcycles out of fear of being caught in the operation.

The motorcycles, he added, had been modified for illegal racing.

He also said that five individuals were detained during the operation for driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Eight riders were also caught for committing various offences under the Road Transport Act 1987, including having no valid road tax, insurance cover and motorcycle licence," he said.

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Fire destroys house

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 03:55 PM PDT

Posted on March 31, 2014, Monday

PUTATAN: A house was destroyed in a fire at Kampung Petagas here yesterday.

No one was injured in the incident which occurred about 3.40pm.

According to the Fire and Rescue Services Department, they received a report on the fire at 3.48pm.

Four fire engines, including one from Penampang, were dispatched to the scene and the 30 firemen controlled the blaze by 5pm.

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Boy killed as vehicle tries to avoid buffalo

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 03:55 PM PDT

KENINGAU: An 11-year-old boy was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in overturned at Jalan Kampung Agudon here on Saturday.

Junior Lam sustained serious head injuries in the 5.45pm accident and was pronounced dead at the district hospital.

District police chief Superitendent Robert Salisip @ David who confirmed the case, said that the Toyota Hilux was driven by Junior's relative Eric Danson, 24.

He said Eric had tried to avoid hitting a buffalo on the narrow road and as a result lost control of the vehicle.

The Hilux went over to the side of the road where it hit a mound of soil and overturned, Robert said, adding that Junior was seated in the bucket of the vehicle with three others namely, Aaron Ling, Selvin Lim Hen and Salvin Lim Heng.

All four were thrown out of the bucket and Junior was believed to have been crushed by the vehicle, he said.

Robert disclosed that Eric, Aaron, Selvin and Salvin only sustained minor injuries. All were treated at the district hosptial.

He said that they were travelling from Kampung Mottou to Kampung Agudon when the accident occurred.

The case is being investigated under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.