Crumbling classrooms raise concern
PUPILS of SJK(T) Ladang Kerling have been forced to attend classes sitting on the floor in a dingy room with a termite-damaged roof at a nearby national school, Malaysia Nanban reported.
School board chairman M. Kumaran said the Public Works Department had stopped buses from using the road leading to the school as it is badly damaged.
He said the Selangor education department allowed them to use rooms at a nearby school until the road was fixed, but no effort was made to prepare them.
> Goa's chief minister had to step in after doctors threatened a strike over Health Minister Vishwajit Rane publicly scolding and threatening a doctor with suspension, Makkal Osai reported.
A viral video of the incident sparked public backlash, prompting Vishwajit to apologise, saying he acted out of emotion.
The Goa Association of Resident Doctors rejected the apology and warned of a strike unless a sincere one was made. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant vowed to review the doctors' demands.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
4 days ago
- Daily Express
Sugud holds Chinese herbs potential
Published on: Sunday, August 10, 2025 Published on: Sun, Aug 10, 2025 Text Size: Clarence with Liew and his delegation. PENAMPANG: The Firewood Protected Forest in Kampung Sugud holds potential for developing traditional Chinese herbs, based on a site visit by two China entrepreneurs, Yang Bin and Hou Guoqiang. Sabah-China Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) President Datuk Frankie Liew arranged the visit upon the invitation of Datuk Seri Clarence Bongkos Malakun, Chairman of the ITCC Shopping Mall in Penampang. Advertisement Clarence said the protected forest area covers some 1,000 acres and is suitable for the cultivation and development of medicinal herbs. Over 300 types of medicinal herbs have already been identified in the area, including local varieties of ginseng and other herbal plants. Based on available data, the primary forest type in the Sugud Firewood Protected Area is Lowland Mixed Dipterocarp Forest, characterised by a rich variety of plant species. These include genera such as Shorea, Dryobalanops, Dipterocarpus, Anisoptera, Syzygium, Koompassia, Tetracera and Hopea. This type of forest is home to many tree species of significant economic value such as Seraya/Meranti, Kapur, Keruing and Mersawa/Pengiran which are highly prized for their valuable timber. Advertisement In addition to traditional knowledge passed down through generations, Sabah and Malaysia as a whole have undertaken extensive research to explore the applications of traditional medicine, especially herbal remedies. Although a significant amount of data has been collected, it remains incomplete and lacks an accessible, comprehensive compilation of results. Forests are a vital reservoir of medicinal compounds, offering a rich and diverse array of natural substances with potential applications in pharmaceuticals and health supplements. It is noteworthy that around 25 per cent of modern Western medicines are derived from the rainforest. Given that less than 5 per cent of tropical forest plant species have been studied for their potential medicinal value, this statistic highlights the immense untapped potential. Both lowland and montane mixed Dipterocarp forests – of which the Sugud Firewood Protected Area is an example of the latter – are prime habitats for a wide range of recognised medicinal plants and herbs. Yang Bin, Director of the Foshan Liaison Office of the Sabah-China Chamber of Commerce, said the State has great development potential. The Foshan Meichenhui Cultural Arts Co Ltd President said many enterprises in Foshan, China are keen to expand overseas and Sabah is their top choice. He added that China herbal medicine has strong development potential, noting that China has a long-standing history in traditional medicine. With the China Government actively supporting the development of traditional medicine enterprises. Meanwhile, Hou Guoqiang, President of Foshan Juanqiang Steel Structure Engineering Co Ltd, said steel materials have strong potential for development in Sabah, especially in the construction of factories, roads and bridges. He emphasised that their technical capabilities are a key strength. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Sinar Daily
5 days ago
- Sinar Daily
Dangerous dreams: Inside internet's 'sleepmaxxing' craze
WASHINGTON - From mouth taping to rope-assisted neck swinging, a viral social media trend is promoting extreme bedtime routines that claim to deliver perfect sleep -- despite scant medical evidence and potential safety risks. Influencers on platforms including TikTok and X are fueling a growing wellness obsession popularly known as "sleepmaxxing," a catch-all term for activities and products aimed at optimising sleep quality. The explosive rise of the trend -- generating tens of millions of posts -- underscores social media's power to legitimise unproven health practices, particularly as tech platforms scale back content moderation. One so-called insomnia cure involves people hanging by their necks with ropes or belts and swinging their bodies in the air. "Those who try it claim their sleep problems have significantly improved," said one clip on X that racked up more than 11 million views. Experts have raised alarm about the trick, following a Chinese state broadcaster's report that attributed at least one fatality in China last year to a similar "neck hanging" routine. Such sleepmaxxing techniques are "ridiculous, potentially harmful, and evidence-free," Timothy Caulfield, a misinformation expert from the University of Alberta in Canada, told AFP. "It is a good example of how social media can normalise the absurd." Another popular practice is taping of the mouth for sleep, promoted as a way to encourage nasal breathing. Influencers claim it offers broad benefits, from better sleep and improved oral health to reduced snoring. But a report from George Washington University found that most of these claims were not supported by medical research. Experts have also warned the practice could be dangerous, particularly for those suffering from sleep apnea, a condition that disrupts breathing during sleep. Other unfounded tricks touted by sleepmaxxing influencers include wearing blue- or red-tinted glasses, using weighted blankets, and eating two kiwis just before bed. - 'Damaging' - "My concern with the 'sleepmaxxing' trend -- particularly as it's presented on platforms like TikTok -- is that much of the advice being shared can be actively unhelpful, even damaging, for people struggling with real sleep issues," Kathryn Pinkham, a Britain-based insomnia specialist, told AFP. "While some of these tips might be harmless for people who generally sleep well, they can increase pressure and anxiety for those dealing with chronic insomnia or other persistent sleep problems." While sound and sufficient sleep is considered a cornerstone of good health, experts warn that the trend may be contributing to orthosomnia, an obsessive preoccupation with achieving perfect sleep. "The pressure to get perfect sleep is embedded in the sleepmaxxing culture," said Eric Zhou of Harvard Medical School. "While prioritising restful sleep is commendable, setting perfection as your goal is problematic. Even good sleepers vary from night to night." Pinkham added that poor sleep was often fuelled by the "anxiety to fix it," a fact largely unacknowledged by sleepmaxxing influencers. "The more we try to control sleep with hacks or rigid routines, the more vigilant and stressed we become -- paradoxically making sleep harder," Pinkham said. - Beauty over health - Many sleepmaxxing posts focus on enhancing physical appearance rather than improving health, reflecting an overlap with "looksmaxxing" -- another online trend that encourages unproven and sometimes dangerous techniques to boost sexual appeal. Some sleepmaxxing influencers have sought to profit from the trend's growing popularity, promoting products such as mouth tapes, sleep-enhancing drink powders, and "sleepmax gummies" containing melatonin. That may be in violation of legal norms in some countries like Britain, where melatonin is available only as a prescription drug. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended against using melatonin to treat insomnia in adults, citing inconsistent medical evidence regarding its effectiveness. Some medical experts also caution about the impact of the placebo effect on insomnia patients using sleep medication -- when people report real improvement after taking a fake or nonexistent treatment because of their beliefs. "Many of these tips come from non-experts and aren't grounded in clinical evidence," said Pinkham. "For people with genuine sleep issues, this kind of advice often adds pressure rather than relief." - Caleigh Keating and Anuj Chopra with Rachel Blundy / AFP
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Malay Mail
Sarawak cancer centre project tops MA63 meeting agenda this Monday
KUCHING, Aug 9 — The proposed Sarawak Cancer Centre project will be among the items on the agenda at the upcoming Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) meeting this Monday. Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said that preparations for the centre are underway, and coordination with key stakeholders is progressing smoothly. 'We have now finalised that the construction of the hospital will be undertaken by the Public Works Department (JKR) Malaysia instead of the Sarawak JKR. 'Yesterday, I also had a meeting with the Sarawak State Health Department, and they informed me that everything has been finalised. When you build a hospital, you must also ask the end user, in this case, the healthcare professionals, what is needed,' he told reporters after the launch of Batu Kawah National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) here today. Dr Sim, who is also Sarawak's Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, said he and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad will attend the meeting in Kuala Lumpur. On March 30 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the federal government had agreed to the construction of the Sarawak Cancer Centre in Samarahan Division. According to Anwar, through the project, the Sarawak government is creating history by becoming the first state government to finance a federal project in advance, to speed up its implementation. — Bernama
