Sarawak longhouse chiefs urged to join in anti-dengue fight

Sarawak longhouse chiefs urged to join in anti-dengue fight
Nestle adds skincare muscle by completing Valeant deal
Neymar wants Messi to beat Germans in World Cup final
FIFA partner exec flees ticket sales arrest
Manhunt for Indonesian man with homemade gun in Miri
Construction worker impaled on iron rod

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:24 PM PDT

JULAU: Longhouse chiefs in the state have been urged to join in the fight to stop the spread of dengue fever.

1Malaysia Sarawak Advisory Council chairman Datuk Joseph Salang said the fight must go on despite a drop from 786 cases between January to June last year, to 674 cases and three deaths in the same period this year, as state health department statistics showed.

"We must never be complacent as when dengue spreads, it can become an epidemic.

"Peninsula Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur is expriencing a serious upsurge in the cases," he said at a meet-the-people session at Rh Jelian Laja in Nanga Matop here last night.

(Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam had recently said there had been a 246 per cent spike in dengue cases and 215 per cent increase in the number of deaths nationwide.

He said between January and June 28 this year, Malaysia recorded 44,518 dengue cases, an increase of 31,660 from the 12,858 cases reported in the corresponding period last year.

Eighty-five deaths were recorded this year, an increase of 58 from only 27 in the same period in 2013, according to Subramaniam.)

Meanwhile, Salang said the chiefs should organise regular cleaning campaigns in their respective longhouse compounds to destroy all potential aedes mosquito breeding places like discarded fruit shells, empty tins and others.

"Dengue is a life threatening sickness and can spread easily," he said. –BERNAMA

Nestle adds skincare muscle by completing Valeant deal

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:17 PM PDT

Swiss food giant Nestle announced Thursday that it had bolstered its hand in the medical skin treatment market by finalising a deal with Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

"As a result of the successful conclusion of the regulatory process and customary closing conditions, Nestle today completed its acquisition of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International's commercialisation rights to several key injectable aesthetic dermatology products in the US and Canada," a statement said.

The deal, worth around $1.4 billion, was announced on May 28 but needed a green light from regulators to be complete.

North America accounts for more than half of the fast-growing global medical aesthetics market, according to Nestle.

Among the specialised products to which the rights have been acquired are the corrective facial aesthetic treatments Restylane, Perlane and Emervel.

They are manufactured by Nestle's Galderma medical unit, which sells them in all markets except North America, where Valeant has held the distribution rights.

The deal also covered Dysport, an aesthetic dermatology treatment branded as Azzalure in Europe.

It is sold at the global level by Galderma, which has gained Valeant's rights in North America as well.

Finally, Nestle also acquired global rights to Sculptra, an aesthetic and medical treatment owned by Valeant.

Nestle had made its market intentions clear in February when it announced the creation of its Nestle Skin Health division, following a decision to reduce its stake in French group L'Oreal.

Nestle Skin Health — which also focuses on hair- and nail-care — was formally created on June 30.

Its bedrock was Galderma, a Nestle and L'Oreal joint venture which became fully-owned by Nestle on Tuesday after the Swiss group completed its acquisition of L'Oreal's 50 percent stake. -AFP

Neymar wants Messi to beat Germans in World Cup final

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:16 PM PDT

Brazilian superstar Neymar said Thursday he wants team-mate Lionel Messi to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup final against Germany.

At an emotional press conference, Neymar broke down in tears as he relived the challenge which broke a vertebrae in his back and left him fearing he would be paralysed.

With Brazil's dream of winning a sixth World Cup decimated by their 7-1 hammering by Germany, Neymar said he wants Barcelona team-mate Messi to claim the trophy on Sunday against the Germans.

"Messi's history in the sport is so important, he has won a lot of trophies and I will be cheering for him," Neymar told a press conference.

"He is a friend, he is my team-mate and I wish him luck."

Neymar was ruled out of the World Cup in a rugged challenge by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga in Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final win.

The 22-year-old wiped away tears as he described his fears immediately after the knee in the back that he would be paralysed.

"I was blessed in that situation because it wasn't more serious. Two more centimetres up and, well, I could be in a wheelchair. So it is really difficult.

"It happened at such an important point in my career," he said.

"It was something I cannot accept. That challenge and what happened was unacceptable," he added.

"I would not say there was malice because I can't speak for him, but everyone who understands football knows that challenge was not normal.

"When someone comes from behind I can't do anything about it. I did not have any control and I ended up being hurt."

FIFA decided not to take action against Zuniga for the challenge that will keep Neymar out of action for up to six weeks.

Neymar, though, insisted he held no bad feelings towards Zuniga after the Napoli defender called to apologise to him.

"Of course I would forgive him. I do not feel any anger, he even called me the next day to apologise. He said he didn't mean to hurt me and apologise."

Neymar returned to Brazil's training camp in Teresopolis for the first time since the incident on Thursday in a bid to lift his teammates' spirits after their humiliation at the hands of Germany.

"It is not a pleasant situation, but it is good just to be back here so I can see my friends and I told them we stared together so we should finish this together regardless of the result."

And, despite not being able to take part himself, he urged the rest of the Brazil squad to at least salvage some pride against the Netherlands in their third-place playoff on Saturday.

"What matters is that we are united and we are going to finish this with honour on Saturday," he said.

"We had the chance to be champion in our country and we failed. We didn't get it right, we fell short. We know we had a good campaign, but we did not play our best.

"We did not show how good Brazilian football is, its superiority and charm, but we have to look at this last match as if it were the final.

"Victory won't assimilate all the pain we feel today, but it is important." -AFP

FIFA partner exec flees ticket sales arrest

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:15 PM PDT

An executive from the World Cup's hospitality services firm escaped out the back door of his plush Rio de Janeiro hotel Thursday to avoid arrest on charges of illegally selling tickets, police said.

Raymond Whelan, a British director of FIFA partner company Match Services, fled the luxurious Copacabana Palace Hotel after a judge ordered him and 10 other suspects to be held in detention, the Rio prosecutor's office said.

"The Englishman fled through the hotel's back door and is considered a fugitive," Rio police said in a separate statement.

"We saw him in (security) footage leaving in a hurry," Fabio Barucke, the case's lead investigator, was quoted as saying by the G1 news website, adding that Whelan had fled an hour before police arrived.

Police have launched a manhunt for Whelan, who is accused of being involved with a scalping network that has sold thousands of tickets worth millions of dollars, going back to the 2002 World Cup.

Whelan, who denies the charges, was initially arrested on Monday but was granted preventive release the next day.

Police filed charges against him and 11 other suspects on Wednesday and submitted the case to prosecutors, who requested an arrest warrant against all except one who was cooperating with investigators.

Prosecutors said the 12 suspects face charges of organized crime, illegal ticket sales, corruption, money laundering and tax fraud.

Brazilian media have published leaked phone calls between Whelan and one of the chief suspects in the case, French-Algerian Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, discussing hospitality packages for games including Sunday's final.

But Match Services has defended Whelan, saying he was innocent and that there was nothing illegal about the conversations.

The Zurich-based company says Whelan was discussing the sale of 24 hospitality packages at the correct price, though he rounded up the figure to $25,000 from $24,750 per package, and that the deal was never concluded.

Match Services said Wednesday that Whelan would voluntarily relinquish his World Cup accreditation but that he had not committed any wrongdoing.

Prior to the news of Whelan's sudden disappearance, the executive chairman of Match Services and its sister company Match Hospitality issued a statement criticizing Rio police.

"Those responsible for the investigation from the 18th Precinct of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro are not experts in FIFA World Cup ticketing or hospitality," chairman Jaime Byrom said in the statement.

"Notwithstanding our belief that the action taken against Mr Whelan was illegal and baseless, Match Services and I personally remain totally committed to assist the authorities from the 18th Precinct or any other jurisdiction in FIFA?s fight against illegal ticket sales."

Byrom said cooperation with the authorities had led to "a number of successful arrests of actual touts." -AFP

Manhunt for Indonesian man with homemade gun in Miri

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:58 PM PDT

MIRI: An Indonesian man, identified as Rijal, is at large after injuring a countryman with a homemade pump gun at 6.30am Wednesday.

The suspect, a Bugis, was described as dangerous and unstable after beating up another Indonesian, Mustari, who received four stitches for injuries on the lips, mouth and back.

Miri police chief ACP Gan Tian Kee said no shots were fired in the incident at a farm in Jalan Besar, Sungai Tangit and the victim was now in stable condition.

"The suspect was being investigated under Section 324 of the Penal Code for deliberately causing hurt," he told Bernama here yesterday and said the victim, a tractor driver, 52, had lodged a police report at 8.18pm Wednesday.

Gan said in the incident, the victim was with nine other workers on the way to work on the tractor and the suspect suddenly pointed a pump gun at the driver.

Gan said the suspect then warned the victim to return to Indonesia and proceeded to assault the victim with the butt of the gun.

He said in less than two weeks, there were three cases involving homemade pump gun and air gun.

He said one case was resolved with the arrest of six suspects last week and a homemade pump gun and air gun were seized by police.

Yesterday in Sibu, Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman said the problem of homemade weapons was getting serious in Sarawak based on the large number of seizures during Ops Cantas in Sarawak. — Bernama

Construction worker impaled on iron rod

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:57 PM PDT

KUCHING: A construction worker is lucky to still be alive after a seemingly innocuous fall into a drain resulted in him being impaled on an iron rod on Wednesday.

The incident happened around 9pm when the 37-year-old was making his way back to his living quarters at a construction site at Jalan Haji Taha.

According to his co-workers, the victim failed to notice a newly-constructed drain in front of him due to the darkness. He ended up falling in and was impaled by a protruding iron rod, which pierced his stomach but did not go all the way
through.

Despite the intense pain, he was able to dislodge himself from the rod and sought help from his co-workers, who immediately rushed him to the Sarawak General Hospital. The victim is currently warded in stable condition after undergoing an operation later the same night.

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