From left: Minister for Transport S Iswaran, Formula One Group chief executive Stefano Domenicali, and HPL co-founder and managing director Ong Beng Seng. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/S ISWARAN
CO-FOUNDER and managing director of Hotel Properties Limited : H15 0% (HPL), Ong Beng Seng, has been asked by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to provide information on his interactions with Minister for Transport S Iswaran.
The minister is currently on a leave of absence while assisting in CPIB investigations into a case uncovered by the anti-graft agency.
While details of the probe have yet to be revealed, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (Jul 12) stated that the government and PAP will not sweep anything under the carpet, even if disclosure is potentially embarrassing or damaging.
Though no charges have been filed against Ong, he was issued a notice of arrest and has posted bail of S$100,000, said HPL on Friday.
Ong will be travelling from Jul 14 and will surrender his passport to CPIB upon his return to Singapore.
Cyprus becomes ‘island of dead cats’ after outbreak of feline coronavirus kills 300,000.@sneweyy reports 👇https://t.co/e9hqribCh7
— Telegraph Global Health Security (@TelGlobalHealth) July 11, 2023
Cyprus becomes ‘island of dead cats’ after outbreak of feline coronavirus kills 300,000
Experts warn that ‘many cats’ could die if the virus circulating in Cyprus makes its way to Britain
By Sarah Newey, Global Health Security Correspondent 11 July 2023 • 4:05pm
A feline coronavirus risks turning Cyprus into an “island of dead cats”, experts have warned after as many as 300,000 were killed in an outbreak.
Both stray and domestic cats have been killed by feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a coronavirus strain, since January. Experts have warned that “many cats” could die if the virus circulating in Cyprus makes its way to Britain.
The country, sometimes called the “island of cats”, is home to the earliest evidence of the animal’s domestication. But there is mounting unease about the threat posed by the cat Covid – which does not infect humans, but is mostly fatal if left untreated in felines.
“Local veterinarians have been reporting an alarming increase in FIP cases, which started in the capital city of Nicosia in January and spread throughout the whole island within three to four months,” said Dr Demetris Epaminondas, vice-president of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association.
In a recent blog post, he added that this is the first “outbreak of this extent” ever reported, with previous FIP clusters generally restricted to catteries. Symptoms include fever, abdominal swelling, energy loss, and sometimes even increased hostility. The virus generally affects kittens and young cats.
Prof Danièlle Gunn-Moore, a specialist in feline medicine at the University of Edinburgh, told the Telegraph that an outbreak of this size “has never been seen in living or reported history”, with increasing reports of dead cats laying in the streets and suspicions that this could be a new, deadlier strain of FIP. Tests are underway to determine this. .
Cyprus is a cat-loving country, and its history has long been intertwined with the furry creatures – archeologists have found evidence of their domestication dating back 9,500 years.
But on the island, locals who feed strays have reported that their regulars are increasingly disappearing as they succumb to the virus. Although just 107 cases have been officially reported, vets and animal advocates estimate the real figure is far higher.
“We have lost 300,000 cats since January [from FIP],” Dinos Ayiomamitis, head of Cats PAWS Cyprus and vice-president of Cyprus Voice for Animals, told Agence France Presse. The island’s feline population is estimated at around one million.
He said that part of the challenge around counting cases was that, with so many strays living across Cyprus, diagnosing and documenting every infection was almost impossible.
Dr Epaminondas said the “only way to stop the disease is medical treatment”, but this too has proved difficult. .
Experts want to start using two treatments on the cats, but bureaucratic hurdles and cost have so far hampered progress.
The drugs are remdesivir, used for Covid-19, and the closely related GS-441524. Although it is approved for use in animals in the UK, and for importation into Cyprus, it is expensive – between £2,500 and £6,000 for a cat weighing between 3kg and 4kg.
Another potential option is a cheaper antiviral used to treat Covid-19 in humans, called molnupiravir. Dr Epaminondas estimates this would cost around £170 per animal – yet an application by the vets association to authorise the treatment for cats was rejected in May, because the government said human drugs cannot be imported for use for veterinary care.
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government had indeed pledged in 2021 to waive billions in Felda settlers’ debt, the agency’s chairman confirmed today.
Responding to Muhyiddin’s insistence that he already absolved the debt, however, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the former prime minister never followed through, leaving Felda liable for over RM9 billion from its sukuk issuance.
“Previously, when Tan Sri was the PM, you said the government would give (Felda) RM1 billion each year for 10 years. This should have started in 2022, but it didn’t happen. It never came to fruition.
“It was only promised, not implemented. Because there was no formal document with Felda to help settle its debt,” Ahmad Shabery said on Facebook today.
Instead, it was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s national unity government that followed through with the arrangement, he said,
The Anwar government both formalised the debt restructuring and committed to paying Felda up to RM1 billion yearly for the next decade to ensure its liabilities could be cleared, Ahmad Shabery said.
Yesterday, national news agency Bernama reported that the federal government had approved an annual allocation of RM1 billion per year for the next decade to ensure Felda’s survival, wiping out settlers’ debt from the 2012 listing of FGV Holdings in in the process.
The announcement upset Muhyiddin, who claimed today that he was the one responsible for waiving the settlers’ debt and that Anwar was lying to claim credit.
Anwar said earlier that while Muhyiddin’s administration had agreed to the plan, it never put it into action as no funds were allocated in Budget 2021 and Budget 2022.
Instead, the PM said it was only when he tabled Budget 2023 that the funds were finally made available to Felda.
Maaf Tan Sri, jangan gopoh sangat. Cerita jangan tak habis.
Betul, tahun 2021 diumum hutang peneroka kepada Felda dilupus. Tapi Felda pulak berhutang melalui sukuk untuk ambik alih FGV, bayar hutang KWSP dan May Bank. Banyak tu lebih RM 9 Bilion.
Macamana Felda nak bayar hutang?
Dulu Tan Sri semasa jadi PM kata kerajaan akan bayar RM 1 bilion setahun selama 10 tahun. Sepatutnya dah mula bayar tahun 2022. Tapi ia tak berlaku. Buah yang ditunggu tak jatuh2.
Ia hanya janji, tapi tak laksana. Sebab tak ada hitam putih dengan Felda untuk bantu selesaikan hutang yang banyak itu.
PMX, Kerajaan Perpaduan baru2 ini putuskan penyelesaian. Buat Perjanjian dengan Felda untuk selesaikan sukuk. Kerajaan Perpaduan bagi komitmen bayar RM1 bilion setahun kepada Felda untuk selesaikan hutang itu.
Alhamdulillah Felda lega dan boleh bantu lagi peneroka.
Sorry Tan Sri, don’t be so stupid. Don’t end the story.
That’s right, in 2021 it was announced that the settlers’ debt to Felda was abolished. But Felda owes debt through sukuk to take over FGV, paying off the debts of KWSP and May Bank. That’s a lot more than RM 9 Billion.
How will Felda pay off his debts?
In the past, Tan Sri when he was PM said the government would pay RM1 billion a year for 10 years. Should have started paying in 2022. But it doesn’t apply. The fruit that is waited for does not fall.
It’s just a promise, but it’s not fulfilled. Because there’s no black and white with Felda to help settle that huge debt.
PMX, the United Government has recently decided on a solution. Make an Agreement with Felda to finish the stump. The Perpaduan Government committed to paying RM1 billion a year to Felda to settle the debt.
Alhamdulillah Felda is relieved and can help more settlers.
RFK Jr., anti-vaxxers, and a measles outbreak: Mehdi’s deep dive into how anti-vaccines work to sow mistrust made an outbreak more deadly. https://t.co/EQnjjesCUA via @YouTube@mehdirhasan
BREAKING: Qin Gang – former Ambassador of China to the US – died/murdered last December by cyanide injection, and his mistress Fu Xiaotian is now in a Beijing prison. [To be verified] pic.twitter.com/9fYlUInNZG
Actually, long before Politico's report yesterday about #QinGang's death, the following info was circulated on Chinese social platforms, only I didn't share it as I didn't know how true it was: "Qin Gang was executed by injection. His final wish was that his family would not… https://t.co/KandenO6FD
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) December 8, 2023
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What happened to former foreign minister Qin Gang? Two "people with access to top Chinese officials…claim Qin died, either from suicide or torture, in late July in the military hospital in Beijing that treats China’s top leaders." https://t.co/Heg5RH0GuP
According to several people with access to high-level 🇨🇳 officials, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko’s real mission in Beijing in June was to inform Xi that his foreign minister and several top officers in the PLA had been… pic.twitter.com/hjDENeZPB4
“China’s ousted foreign minister Qin Gang had an extramarital affair with a high-profile Chinese television presenter who had a child through surrogacy in the United States.”
How embarrassing! The #CCP's spokesperson couldn't even answer as simple a question as whether #QinGang is still the foreign minister of #China. I'd say it is really a tough job to do professional lying. Seems now many major media outs are covering this issue too. #Chinanewshttps://t.co/KandenO6FDpic.twitter.com/Twu71qM4Ja
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) July 18, 2023
"I have no information to offer", says fm spokesperson Mao Ning when asked about rumours that minister Qin Gang had an extramarital affair with Fu Xiaotian, a reporter from Phoenix TV. https://t.co/OCJ6raFGeV
Latest hearsay: #QinGang's disappearance is related to a power struggle with #WangYi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo and head of the Central Foreign Affairs Office. Everybody is waiting for #XiJinping's assessment on this matter. That's why #QinGang is still… https://t.co/KandenO6FD
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) July 17, 2023
Chinese language media in HK/Taiwan reporting “rumors” that China’s FM Qin Gang has gone MIA since June 25 due to to an alleged longtime extramarital affair with HK-based/CCP-leaning Phoenix TV presenter Fu Xiaotian https://t.co/AvMPpBuxmL
Therefore, in addition to the “health theory”, there is now a faction that speculates that Qin Gang may be involved in the “beauty pass” and was shot down. Some netizens named “Phoenix Satellite TV” beauty anchor Fu Xiaotian as possible “close friends” with Qin Gang. love scandal. However, some netizens believe that according to the style of Chinese officialdom, if the person has a high enough official position and a strong background, pornography and corruption are just embellishments, which will not shake the status of the person involved, and related news will definitely be overshadowed. Therefore, some netizens believe that Qin Gang’s “disappearance” may not only be shaken by a simple erotic scandal, but there may be more and greater “secrets” behind it.
On July 28, 2021, Qin Gang arrived in the United States as ambassador. Around January 20, 2022, Fu Xiaotian became pregnant. On March 21, 2022, Fu interviewed Qin. On November 23, 2022, the son was born. On December 30, 2022, Qin will be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. On March 12, 2023, Fu released a photo of his son, cheering for the “victorious closing” (Qin Gang became the State Councilor). On April 11, 2023, he and his son took the plane to leave Los Angeles for “Front”, and have since disappeared. On June 25, Qin Gang disappeared.
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About Chinese foreign minister #QinGang’s mysterious disappearance for 18 days. Some say he is under investigation for having an affair with Fu Xiaotian.
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) July 14, 2023
#CCP's Foreign Minister #QinGang has been missing for 15 days, sparking speculation in the international community. Hong Kong media outlet "Sing Tao Daily" reported that the reason for his disappearance is that he has contracted #COVID19. This also indicates that the #COVID… pic.twitter.com/Cytwzlt7UF
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng 曾錚真言 (@jenniferzeng97) July 10, 2023
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Qin Gang.. Missing in action …possibly COVID down… Wang Yi to act as replacement for ASEAN Summit at Jakarta pic.twitter.com/dxz8A6aJgr
PETALING JAYA: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has decreed that the issue of Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor’s remarks at a recent ceramah has yet to be resolved.
Sanusi allegedly insulted the Sultan of Selangor by appearing to question his choice of Amirudin Shari as the state’s menteri besar.
The PAS elections director has since apologised for the remark, saying it was distorted by his political rivals.
A statement on the Selangor Royal Office’s Facebook page said Sultan Sharafuddin granted audiences to Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi and Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan at Istana Bukit Kayangan in Shah Alam today.
“During separate audiences, they discussed Sanusi’s statement in a recent ceramah in Selangor which was deemed insulting to the Selangor royal institution,” the statement said.
“His Majesty has decreed that this matter is still unresolved.”
On Saturday, Sanusi said he had written to Sultan Sharafuddin to apologise for his remarks, which he said had been distorted by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
Despite Sanusi’s apology, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the police will continue its investigation into Sanusi’s remarks – with 57 police reports lodged about the matter as of Saturday morning.
*LAPORAN POLIS TERHADAP MENTERI BESAR KEDAH, MUHAMMAD SANUSI MD NOR YANG MENGHINA DAN MEMPERLEKEHKAN DYMM SULTAN SELANGOR DALAM SATU UCAPAN DI CERAMAH ANJURAN PERIKATAN NASIONAL*
Dimaklumkan bahawa KEADILAN Shah Alam akan membuat laporan polis berhubung ucapan… pic.twitter.com/0XiAlx2xKT
weehingthong 