Latest news with #280
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- New Straits Times
Capsized boat victims believed not wearing life jackets
KLANG: All victims involved in the capsized boat incident in the waters off Tanjung Harapan here yesterday were believed not to be wearing life jackets. North Klang district police chief ACP S. Vijaya Rao said initial investigations also revealed that the boat, which was being test-driven, was operated by its owner at the time. He said the absence of life jackets had made the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the remaining two missing victims among the six people on board more difficult. "Those who engage in activities at sea must wear life jackets, which are very useful during emergencies like this capsized boat incident, in addition to having swimming skills," he said at a press conference at the search site in Tanjung Harapan today. Vijaya said the location where the boat capsized had been identified, but strong currents may have swept the two missing victims away and caused them to drown. Meanwhile, he said police had recorded statements from three individuals, including one survivor. "The actual cause of the incident has yet to be determined, and the case is being investigated under Section 280 of the Penal Code," he said. In the incident at about 5pm, three individuals including a child died, one survived (Alvin Chang Yan Qin, 17), while a married couple remains missing. The deceased victims were Darren Gan, 3; Cheu Son Hin, 50; and Fong Yong Sen, 29, while those still missing have been identified as Gan Hon Tat, 32, and his wife Careen Man, 29, both from Klang Utama. – Bernama
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Toyota Industries sinks after parent takeover bid misses expectations
Investors gave a thumbs-down to Toyota Motor's $33bn (R587.91bn) take-private offer for Toyota Industries on Wednesday, highlighting concerns minority shareholders would be short-changed in a landmark restructuring for Japan Inc. Shares of Toyota Industries, a key Toyota Group company, fell 12% in Tokyo trade a day after the world's top-selling carmaker unveiled plans to take its subsidiary private. The complex, ¥4.7-trillion (R587.88bn) transaction includes an offer price of ¥16,300 (R2,020) a share for Toyota Industries. While that represents a 23% premium to the price before news of the deal broke in April, it is well below the ¥18,400 (R2,280) shares were trading at on Tuesday, before the offer was formally announced. The shares closed at ¥16,205 (R2,008) on Wednesday. 'To be clear, we welcome the attempt to clear up the parent-subsidiary governance issue. We don't like the price,' said David Mitchinson, founding partner and chief investment officer of Zennor Asset Management, which owns Toyota Industries shares. When asked if Zennor would tender its shares, he said: 'We will have to see how this develops, as there seems strong opposition from many shareholders.' While the deal will see some Toyota Group companies unwind cross-shareholdings — a plus for corporate governance — it also appears to strengthen the founding Toyoda family's control over the broader group.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pa. legislators advance 2 election reform bills. Here's what they would, wouldn't change
With Pennsylvania's municipal primary less than a week away, state lawmakers have advanced two election-related bills. But the bills so far are moving ahead strictly along party lines. Pennsylvania primary 2025: What to know about candidates Commonwealth, Superior courts The House's State Government Committee on May 13 approved H.B. 280, which would allow independent, unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in Pennsylvania's primary elections. That would allow 1.3 million registered voters to take part in the primaries without requiring them to register with the two major political parties. The committee's 14 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while all 12 Republicans voted no. All 102 House Democrats also used their one-seat advantage to pass H.B. 1396, which would allow for early, in-person voting, require the use of electronic poll books and drop boxes for mail-in ballots, provide a seven-day pre-canvassing window for county boards of elections to open, sort and scan mail-in ballots and give voters six days to cure mail-in ballot defects like a missing signature. The bill is bound for the Senate. Voting rights groups celebrated H.B. 1396's passage. 'This legislation is what Pennsylvania's elections need to get up to speed in the 21st century while ensuring voters have more ways to access the ballot," Deborah Hinchey, director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit All Voting Is Local, said in a statement. "House Bill 1396 would give our voters more of the options they want when it comes to casting their ballots. Voting early in person and having drop boxes in every county are popular voting options that Pennsylvanians deserve." Hinchey added that "everyone wins" with the bill because it "modernizes the technological aspects of election administration" to make it more secure. Angela Valvano, executive director of Better PA, called the bill "practical and necessary" and said the changes it makes to the state's election code are not partisan. 'Pennsylvania has the opportunity to become a national model for election modernization, but only if we act now and give our election officials the tools they need to run smooth, secure elections that work for all voters,"she said in calling on the state Senate to pass the bill." But with no Republican support in the House, in large part because the bill lacks a voter ID requirement, the prospects of it passing the GOP-controlled Senate are likely slim. The bill, if passed and signed into law, would require one in-person early voting site, located in the county seat, per 100,000 registered voters in a county. Early voting would be offered 11 days prior to an election, through the Sunday before the election, for eight to 12 hours, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Voters would have the option to vote on a paper ballot or, if offered in the county, on an electronic voting machine; require counties to have two mail-in ballot drop boxes, but would not limit the number of drop boxes in a county. At least one must be accessible to voters 24-hours a day; require counties with more than 100,000 registered voters to provide one additional drop box for every additional 50,000 voters registered on the date of the prior year's general election; require counties to use electronic poll books, starting in 2027, in every voting precinct. The poll books would serve the same purpose as standard paper poll books. They would contain information such as voters' certificates, voting check lists, a numbered list of voters and a voting district register; More: $10.6 million deal awarded to revolutionize Pennsylvania's aged elections system require counties to record all mail-in or absentee ballots that lack a signature, notify the voter of the defect within 24 hours, either by phone or email, send them a letter about the defect, and provide the voter with a ballot curing form that can be completed electronically, by phone or on paper. The cure form must be completed by noon six days after the election; give county elections boards seven days prior to an election to pre-canvass mail-in and absentee ballots. Currently, they cannot begin the pre-canvassing process until the morning of the election; require election officials to place into a secrecy envelope any ballot that is either not sealed inside the returned envelope or that is contained in an envelope that contains text, markings or symbols that reveal a voter's identity, candidate preference or political affiliation. The presence of such markings shall not constitute a "fatal defect." Currently, these ballots are voided; and change the permanent mail-in ballot request form so the voter will receive a mail-in ballot for every election until they revoke their request. Currently, voters who make such a request only receive mail-in ballots for the calendar year and for special elections held before the third Monday of February of the subsequent year. The open primaries bill might fare better in the Senate. Pennsylvania is one of just 10 states with a closed primary system. While H.B. 280 received no GOP support on the State Government Committee or in the form of House co-sponsors, a similar measure in the state Senate, S.B. 400, has bipartisan backing. In fact, with six Republican cosponsors, including the primary sponsor, state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie County, Pennsylvania could be close to passing if H.B. 280 squeaks by in the lower chamber. That would require Democrats' full support in the House and nearly full backing in the Senate. If that happens, the Senate could pass the open primaries bill on a 29 to 21 vote. More: How 1.2 million voters in Pennsylvania could suddenly find their voice Nick Troiano of Voters First Pennsylvania, a project of Unite America, praised the committee vote, calling it a "no-brainer" because it will "expand voter participation, engage more independent voters, especially young people, and strengthen our democracy." 'Opening Pennsylvania's primaries is a critical step toward giving all registered voters a voice in every election," he said. "It is long overdue that Pennsylvania stop disenfranchising the 1.3 million Pennsylvanians who wish to remain independent. 'Polling shows that the people of Pennsylvania — Republican, Democrats, and independents — overwhelmingly support allowing independent voters to take part in primary elections. Pennsylvania's five most recent governors — Tom Wolf, Tom Corbett, Ed Rendell, Mark Schweiker, and Tom Ridge — have voiced support for open primaries. Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@ or on X at @ETNRink. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Inside PA election bills: Early voting, ballot curing, open primaries
TimesLIVE
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ford pulls guidance, warns it will take $1.5bn hit from Trump's tariffs
Ford Motor suspended its annual guidance on Monday due to uncertainty about US President Donald Trump's tariffs, saying the levies would cost the company about $1.5bn (R27,417,600,000) in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes. 'It's still too early to fully understand our competitors' responses to these tariffs,' Ford CEO Jim Farley told analysts on Monday evening. 'It's clear, however, that in this new environment, carmakers with the largest US footprint will have a big advantage.' Ford reported this after the close of the US stock trading session, and its shares fell about 2.3% in after-hours trade. The tariffs are expected to add $2.5bn (R45,700,998,500) in costs overall for the year, mainly related to expenses from importing vehicles from Mexico and China, Ford executives said. The carmaker suspended automotive exports to China, but still imports vehicles such as its Lincoln Nautilus from the country. Company executives said it has been able to reduce about $1bn (R18,280,400,000) of that cost through various actions, including transporting vehicles from Mexico to Canada using bond carriers, so they are not subject to US tariffs. In February, the Dearborn, Michigan carmaker projected earnings before interest and taxes of $7bn (R127,962,800,000) to $8.5bn (R155,379,986,400) for 2025. That forecast did not take tariffs into account. The carmaker's CFO Sherry House said it was on track to meet that guidance, excluding the fallout from tariffs. While rivals such as General Motors recently provided updated guidance, Ford executives said they have suspended the company's outlook until they have more clarity about the effect of retaliatory tariffs, as well as how consumers may react to price increases. 'It's a bold move for them to withdraw guidance when GM gave revised guidance including tariffs, though to be fair things are very uncertain,' said Morningstar research analyst David Whiston.
Malay Mail
29-04-2025
- Malay Mail
Sarawak Customs Dept seizes RM130,000 worth of meth disguised as tea packets at Miri courier service premises
KUCHING, April 29 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department crippled a drug trafficking syndicate with the seizure of more than RM130,000 worth of Methamphetamine in two raids in Miri. Sarawak Customs director Norizan Yahya said in the first raid conducted at 9.30am last Thursday, a team of customs officers from the narcotics unit conducted an inspection, using drug tracker dogs, at a courier company in Eastwood Valley Industrial Park. 'A package with two tea packets, suspected of containing Methamphetamine weighing 2.04 kilogrammes with an estimated value of RM65,280 addressed to an uninhabited dilapidated house, was found,' he said in a statement today. According to Norizan, the second raid, conducted on the same day and at the same place, led to the discovery of a package with two tea packets believed to contain the same drugs, of the same weight and the same value. 'The syndicate's modus operandi is to use air courier services from Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak, sending packages to uninhabited addresses to avoid detection by the authorities,' he said. — Bernama
