Distressed family members of those on board the flight have also been gathering at Beijing airport.
Chang
Ken Fei, a Malaysian waiting at the airport for friends to arrive,
said: "I got here at 7:00am. At first I thought the plane was just
delayed as normal, so I came a bit later, I've just been waiting and
waiting."
"I asked them what was going on but they just tell us, 'we don't know'."
If
the plane is found to have crashed, the loss would mark the second
fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 in less than a year, after an
unblemished safety record since the jet entered service in 1995.
Last year, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash landed in San Francisco, killing three passengers.
Boeing
said it was aware of reports that the Malaysia Airlines plane was
missing and was monitoring the situation but had no further comment.
Among
previous accidents involving Malaysia Airlines planes, one of the
smaller Twin Otter aircraft crashed upon landing in Malaysia's Sabah
state on Borneo island last October, killing a co-pilot and a passenger.
And a jet crashed in 1977 in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malaysia
Airlines has still not been able to confirm what happened to the
flight. The airline has confirmed that there were 4 Americans — 3 adults
and one infant — aboard the flight, which also carried Canadians and
Australians, and a majority of Chinese and Malay passengers.
Malaysia Airlines lost contact with a commercial aircraft bound from
Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China, the airline reported Saturday morning.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER that was carrying 227 passengers and
12 crew members, was scheduled to land at 6:30 a.m., but lost contact
with air traffic control at 2:40 a.m. on March 8. Its whereabouts are
unknown.
At 7:24 a.m. local time, the airline posted a message to its Facebook page
stating it was working with local search and rescue authorities to find
the aircraft, and that it would continue to provide updates. It
encouraged the public to contact a number provided for information.
A search for the flight on FlightAware.com showed its status as "result unknown" and included a map that depicted its partially completed route.
Malaysia Airlines VP of operations Fuad Sharuji told
CNN's Anderson Cooper that it had tried but "failed to establish any
contact" with the plane before he detailed concerns about how much fuel
it was carrying.
There were "about seven hours of fuel on board this aircraft and we
suspect that by 8:30 this aircraft would have run out of fuel," Faruji
said. He added, "At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is
right now."
Kuala Lumpur is the hub for Malaysia Airlines, which services over 60
destinations globally with a heavy presence in Asia, according to its
website. The airline told the BBC that it would hold a press conference on the situation later in the day.
According to Reuters, Boeing's 777 had a solid safety record after its 1995 introduction up until last summer's Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, Calif.
We will continue to update this post with more information as it arises.
SINGAPORE - Straits Times Press, the book publishing unit of Singapore
Press Holdings (SPH), announced in Jul 29, 2013 the launch of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's
new book
Malaysia is prepared to lose its talent through its race-based
policies in order to maintain the dominance of one race, said Lee Kuan
Yew in his new book which was launched August 6, 2013 in Singapore.
And although Malaysia has acknowledged the fact that they are losing
these talents and is making an attempt to lure Malaysians back from
overseas, such efforts may be too little too late, he said.
"This is putting the country at a disadvantage. It is voluntarily
shrinking the talent pool needed to build the kind of society that makes
use of talent from all races.
"They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the
dominance of one race," he said in the 400-page book called "One Man's
View of the World" (pic).
It features conversations between Lee and his long-time admirer, Helmut
Schmidt, former leader of West Germany. They discussed world affairs
when Schmidt visited Singapore last year.
In the book, Lee pointed out that Malaysia is losing ground and giving
other countries a head start in the external competition.
About 400,000 of some one million Malaysians overseas are in Singapore, according to the World Bank.
When announcing the five-year plan for Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Razak said in Parliament in 2011, the government would set up
a talent corporation to lure some 700,000 Malaysians working abroad
back to the country.
But in his book, Lee said the demographic changes in Malaysia will lead to a further entrenchment of Malay privileges.
He noted that in the last 10 years, since the enactment of the New
Economic Policy, the proportion of Malaysian Chinese and Indians of the
total population has fallen dramatically.
"The Chinese made up 35.6 percent of the population in 1970. They were
down to 24.6 percent at the last census in 2010. Over that same period,
the Indian numbers fell from 10.8 percent to 7.3 percent," he said.
He added, "40 percent of our migrants are from Malaysia.
"Those with the means to do so leave for countries farther afield. In
the early days, Taiwan was a popular destination among the
Chinese-educated.
"In recent years, Malaysian Chinese and Indians have been settling in
Europe, America and Australia. Some have done very well for themselves,
such as Penny Wong, Australia’s current finance minister.
"Among those who have chosen to remain in Malaysia, some lack the means
to leave and others are making a good living through business despite
the discriminatory policies. Many in this latter class partner with
Malays who have connections."
World Bank data for 2012 showed that the island republic has raced
ahead of its neighbour, with gross domestic product per capita of
US$51,709 compared with Malaysia’s US$10,381.
Najib had said Malaysia is set to become a high income developed nation
as early as 2018, two years earlier than the targeted 2020.
Lee said in his book the separation of Singapore and Malaysia in 1965
marked "the end of a different vision in Malaysia on the race issue".
He added, "Much of what has been achieved in Singapore could have been
replicated throughout Malaysia. Both countries would have been better
off."
People stand along the Marina Bay promenade in Singapore on March 4, 2014. The soaring cost of cars and utilities as well as a strong currency have made Singapore the world's most expensive city, toppling Tokyo from the top spot, a survey showed March 4. AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
SINGAPORE - Singapore on Wednesday
played down a global survey showing that it is now the world’s most
expensive city, a finding which has triggered outrage among Singaporeans
struggling with rising costs.
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said reports like the 2014
Worldwide Cost of Living survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
are aimed at measuring expatriates’ expenses.
“It is not that these surveys are wrong, or that they are misguided. But
they are measuring something quite different from the cost of living
for an ordinary local in different cities around the world,” Tharman
said in a parliamentary speech.
In the survey released Tuesday, Singapore toppled Tokyo as the world’s
costliest city, a result the EIU attributed to the high cost of cars and
utilities as well as a strong local currency. Paris was in second
place.
The survey examines prices of 160 products and services including food,
toiletries, clothes and domestic help in 140 cities, and is aimed at
helping companies calculate allowances for executives overseas.
Tharman noted that the basket of goods and services evaluated by the EIU
included imported cheese, filet mignon, “Burberry-type raincoats,” the
four best seats in a theater and three-course dinners for four in
high-end restaurants.
“The EIU tries to put together a basket of what they think are
expatriate costs, perhaps more on the higher end of expatriates,”
Tharman said. ”
It is quite different from the goods and services
consumed by ordinary Singaporeans.”
He also reiterated a point noted by the EIU — that Singapore’s rising
living costs for expatriates are driven by the strengthening of its
currency.
“What is important for us is that Singaporeans, and particularly low-
and middle-income Singaporeans, have incomes that grow faster than the
cost of living,” Tharman said.
Jon Copestake, editor of the EIU report, acknowledged the points raised
by Tharman but told AFP the basket of goods includes many everyday items
as well.
“The survey basket ranges from a loaf of bread to a luxury car. In fact,
the highest-weighted category in our survey is that of groceries and
everyday staples which include goods like fresh fruits and vegetables,
meat, fish, rice, etc.,” Copestake said.
“Expatriates make up a very significant proportion of Singapore’s
population, and this means that the results of our survey will be more
keenly felt by a higher proportion of the people who live and work
there.”
The survey’s release provoked strong online reactions from Singaporeans,
who saw it as confirmation of their complaints about soaring living
costs.
Others however saw it as a sign that Singapore has attained high living standards.
Singapore’s per capita income of more than $51,000 in 2012 masks a widening income gap between the richest and poorest citizens.
By Bhavan Jaipragas, AFP
S’pore ranked world’s most expensive city by EIU
.
The high cost of cars and utilities as well as a strong currency have made Singapore the world's most expensive city. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Singapore has jumped to the top of the
Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) ranking of the world's most
expensive cities, overtaking the likes of Tokyo and Osaka as the
Singapore dollar appreciated against the yen.
Singapore was ranked sixth in the EIU's survey last year, behind the two Japanese cities, Sydney, Oslo and Melbourne.
According to the EIU, Osaka and Tokyo fell off the top of its cost of living ranking because of the weaker yen.
Tokyo,
the most expensive city to live in for 2013, fell to joint sixth place
alongside Caracas, Geneva and Melbourne, while Paris is second, ahead of
Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.
Ten years ago, Singapore was number 18 on the list.
The
EIU report compares the price of products and services such as food,
clothing, transport and domestic help among 140 cities with New York
city as a base.
According to the survey, Singapore's curbs on
car ownership, which include a quota system and high taxes, make it the
most expensive city to run a car.
A new Toyota Corolla Altis, for example, could cost as much as US$110,000 in Singapore but only US$35,000 in Malaysia.
And overall transport costs in Singapore are almost three times higher than those in New York.
But the survey does not include public transport, which is most commonly used by Singaporeans.
In
addition, the lack of natural resources and energy supplies means
Singapore is the third most expensive city for utility costs.
The
survey also shows that Singapore is the priciest place in the world to
buy clothes, as shopping malls along the prime Orchard Road shopping
belt import luxury European brands.
As for housing, Singapore,
being smaller in size than New York City, has seen home prices jump to
record highs in recent years amid rising wealth and an influx of
foreigners.
But the survey does not include public housing.
And
it must be noted that the EIU survey is aimed at helping companies and
HR managers calculate allowances for executives or expatriates being
sent overseas.
This means that their spending patterns may
differ from locals. Hence, while cars and utilities are expensive,
public transport and hawker food in Singapore are cheaper than in most
developed cities.
And latest data also show that in January,
consumer prices in Singapore rose at their slowest pace in four years,
rising by 1.4 per cent from a year ago.
City on fire: Anti-government protesters clashing with police in the centre of Kiev in Ukraine. — AFP
The ousters of
democratically-elected leaders have often been carried out directly or
indirectly by champions of democracy themselves.
IF Ukraine is on the brink of a catastrophe, it is mainly because
the present regime in Kiev and its supporters, backed by certain
Western powers, violated a fundamental principle of democratic
governance. They ousted a democratically-elected president through
illegal means.
President Viktor Yanukovich, who had come to power through a free
and fair election in 2010, should have been removed through the ballot
box.
His opponents not only betrayed a democratic principle. They
subverted a “Peace Deal” signed between them and Yanukovich on Feb 21 in
which the latter had agreed to form a national unity government within
10 days that would include opposition representatives; reinstate the
2004 Constitution; relinquish control over Ukraine’s security services;
and hold presidential and parliamentary elections by December.
According to the deal, endorsed by Germany, France and Poland, Yanukovich would remain president until the elections.
His co-signatories had no intention of honouring the agreement.
Without following procedures, the parliament – with the backing of
the military – voted immediately to remove Yanukovich and impeach him.
The parliamentary speaker was elected interim president and after a few
days a new regime was installed.
One of the first acts of parliament was to proclaim that Ukrainian
is the sole official language of the country, thus downgrading the
Russian language, the mother tongue of one-fifth of the population.
Anti-Russian rhetoric which had become more strident than ever in
the course of the protest against the Yanukovich government has reached a
crescendo in the wake of the overthrow of the government.
The protest gives us an idea of some of the underlying issues that have brought Ukraine to the precipice.
There was undoubtedly a great deal of anger in the western part of
the country, including Kiev, over the decision of the Russian-backed
Yanukovich to reject closer economic ties with the European Union (EU)
in favour of financial assistance from Moscow.
It explains to some extent the massive demonstrations of the last
few months. Police brutality, corruption within the government and
cronyism associated with Yanukovich had further incensed the people.
But these legitimate concerns tell only one side of the story. The
protest movement had also brought to the fore neo-Nazis and fascists
sworn to violence. Armed and organised groups such as the Svoboda and
the Right Sector provide muscle power to the protest.
They are known to have targeted Jewish synagogues and Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
It is the militias associated with these groups that are in control of street politics in Kiev.
Elites in Germany, France, Britain, the United States and within the
Nato establishment as a whole are very much aware of the role of
neo-Nazi and fascist elements in the protest and in the current Kiev
regime.
Indeed, certain American and European leaders had instigated the
demonstrators and were directly involved in the machinations to bring
down Yanukovich.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Victoria Nuland had in
her infamous telephone conversation with the US Ambassador to Ukraine
admitted that her country had spent US$5bil (approximately RM16bil)
promoting anti-Russian groups in Ukraine.
For the United States and the European Union, control over Ukraine serves at least two goals.
It expands their military reach through Nato right up to the
doorstep of Russia, challenging the latter’s time-honoured relationship
with its strategic neighbour. It brings Ukraine within the EU’s economic
sphere.
Even as it is, almost half of Ukraine’s US$35bil (RM115bil) debt is
owed to Western banks, which would want the country to adopt austerity
measures to remunerate them.
It is largely because of these geopolitical and geo-economic
challenges that Russian President Vladimir Putin is flexing his
military muscles in Crimea, in the eastern Ukraine region, which not
only has a preponderantly Russian-speaking population but is also home
to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Besides, Ukraine is the cradle of Russian
civilisation.
This is why Putin will go all out to protect Russian interests in
Ukraine, but at the same time, there is every reason to believe that he
will avoid a military confrontation and try to work out a political
solution based upon the Peace Deal.
The catastrophe in Ukraine reveals five dimensions in the politics of the ouster of democratically-elected governments:
The determined drive to overthrow the government by dissidents and opponents, which is often uncompromising;
The exploitation of genuine people-related issues and grievances;
The mobilisation of a significant segment of the populace behind these mass concerns;
The resort to violence through militant groups often with a pronounced right-wing orientation; and
The forging of strong linkages between domestic anti-government
forces and Western governments and other Western actors, including
banks and non-governmental organisations, whose collective aim is to
perpetuate Western control and dominance or Western hegemony.
Some of these dimensions are also present in Venezuela where there
is another concerted attempt to oust a democratically-elected
government.
Some genuine economic grievances related to the rising cost of
living and unemployment are being manipulated and distorted to give the
erroneous impression that the Maduro government does not care for the
people.
President Nicolas Maduro, it is alleged, is suppressing dissent with brutal force.
The truth is that a lot of the violence is emanating from groups
linked to disgruntled elites who are opposed to the egalitarian policies
pursued by Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
They are disseminating fake pictures through social media as part of
their false propaganda about the Venezuelan government’s violence
against the people – pictures which have now been exposed for what they
are by media analysts.
Support for this propaganda and for the street protests in Venezuela
comes from US foundations such as the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED). It has been estimated that in 2012 alone, the NED gave more than
US$1.3mil (RM4mil) to organisations and projects in Venezuela
ostensibly to promote “human rights,” “democratic ideas” and
“accountability.”
The majority of Venezuelans have no doubt at all that this funding
is to undermine a government which is not only determined to defend the
nation’s independence in the face of Washington’s dominance but is also
pioneering a movement to strengthen regional cooperation in Latin
America and the Caribbean as a bulwark against the US’ hegemonic
agenda.
It is because other countries in the region such as Bolivia, Brazil,
Argentina, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Paraguay know what the US elite is
trying to do in Venezuela that they have described “the recent violent
acts” in the country “ as attempts to destabilise the democratic order.”
A third country where a democratically-elected leader is under
tremendous pressure from street demonstrators at this juncture is
Thailand.
Though some of the issues articulated by the demonstrators are
legitimate, the fact remains that they do not represent majority
sentiment which is still in favour of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
and her exiled brother, former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
As in Ukraine and Venezuela, violence – albeit on a much lower scale
– has seeped into the struggle for power between the incumbent and the
protesters. However, foreign involvement is not that obvious to most of
us.
Both Yingluck and the protest movement are regarded as pro-Western.
Nonetheless, there are groups in Washington and London who perceive the
current government in Bangkok as more inclined towards China compared to
the opposition Democratic Party or the protesters.
Is this one of the reasons why a section of the mainstream Western media appears to be supportive of the demonstrations?
There are a number of other instances of democratically-elected leaders being overthrown by illegal means.
The most recent – in July 2013 – was the unjust ouster of President
Mohamed Morsi of Egypt. In 1973, President Salvador Allende of Chile
was killed in a coup engineered by the CIA.
Another democratically-elected leader who was manoeuvred out of
office and jailed as a result of a British-US plot was Mohammed
Mosaddegh of Iran in 1953.
It is only too apparent that in most cases the ouster of
democratically-elected leaders have been carried out directly or
indirectly by the self-proclaimed champions of democracy themselves! It
reveals how hypocritical they are.
What really matters to the elites in the United States, Britain and
other Western countries is not democracy but the perpetuation of their
hegemonic power. Hegemony, not democracy, has always been their object
of worship.
By Chandra Muzaffar - The Star/Asia News Network > Dr Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International
Movement for a Just World (JUST). The views expressed are entirely the
writer’s own. Related posts:
AS a doctor I have always been asked questions by enthusiastic parents about the job.
Among the questions are: “How is it being a doctor?”, “What do you
think if my children become doctors?” and “How much do you earn per
month as a doctor?”
Despite an overflow into this profession, many parents are still
willing to invest in their children pursuing medicine. Recently, there
was an incident in my clinic that still remains in my mind.
There was a patient complaining of the bad attitude of another
medical practitioner. He was unhappy and alleged that the doctor did not
explain to him politely and treat him appropriately.
I was not present at that time to comment on it, but tried to
resolve the misunderstanding amicably by saying doctors too had bad
days.
To my surprise, the patient replied: “To me, doctors should always have good days.”
The doctor–patient relationship is unique. It’s like a weighing
scale that needs commitment from both parties to maintain its balance.
Undoubtedly, a patient sees a doctor when he or she is unwell and all patients deserve tender loving care from their doctors.
But how many patients have done anything to show their appreciation for what their doctors had done for them?
This is a routine day for a doctor. In government/private hospital
settings, a doctor has to do ward rounds every morning at 7am, usually
examining 30 to 50 patients, depending on “good or bad days”.
After the rounds, the doctor continues seeing follow-up patients at
the Out Patient Department (OPD) and that would easily be around 50
patients and more before late afternoon.
After the OPD service, the doctor has to do ward rounds again to review the patients.
On average, a doctor will see around 80 patients per day (working from 7am–5pm). This is one patient every 7.5 minutes.
That is why it is very common to hear patients saying that they
waited two hours in the long queue, only to be treated by the doctor in a
few minutes.
There is always a tendency for doctors to divide the time unequally
with every patient, on a case-by-case basis. In complicated or
life-threatening cases, more time is spent with the patient.
In a general practitioner’s clinic, the conditions are no better.
The general practitioner is virtually trapped in the small consultation
room for a whole day, seeing patients with various ailments.
Like every human being, doctors also face obstacles in life, besides the challenges from career, family, friends, etc.
Long working hours, patient load, stressful working environment and poor quality of life are issues faced by doctors.
We cannot be smiling happily all the time. Sometimes, doctors may
look cold and stern. Yet, we try our best to treat the illness of each
patient in every possible way.
We uphold the Hippocratic Oath that we took before joining this
sacred profession. The essence of the oath is “Above all, do no harm”.
Yes, you may be right that doctors earn well. To most of the
doctors, the money that we earn is merely numbers in a bank account. We
might not even have a chance to spend it all.
A word of thanks, a small card from patients will truly enrich our days.
A search for the flight on FlightAware.com showed its status as "result unknown" and included a map that depicted its partially completed route.
