Datasets:
Recag
/
C4_40

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
text
stringlengths
10
78.4k
As the Commission of Inquiry Act 1948 is under the President, the relevant Cabinet Paper, regarding the proposed amendment, is due to be submitted to the Cabinet by the President himself, the senior official of the AG’s Department said.
Under the Bribery or Corruption Act of 2004, three powers have been assigned to CIABOC. They are investigation, determining decisions to file legal action and directing as well as handling the complaints in the cases. Under this, CIABOC has the authority to implement the law against Ministers or Parliamentarians and State Officials who have engaged in giving bribes or receiving them as well as engaging in corruption and acquiring property illegally.
The CID wouldn’t have a clue of what’s in the Bond Report.
What a waste of time or, on the other hand, is the AG passing the buck?
It is time to bring foreign prosecutors in to handle these high profile, complex cases!
And also, Foreign Judges because some of own travel to Pa*** Road at night.
THOSE living in PPR Kota Damansara, Jalan Pekaka 8/7 in Petaling Jaya, are generally from the lower income bracket and mostly former squatters who had to resettle in the high-rise flats and adapt to a different lifestyle.
Some of the occupants, many of whom are single parents, the disabled or elderly, live in poverty. They welcome any form of help.
Thankfully, there are some individuals who are determined to lend them a helping hand so this community can lead a better life and engage in healthy and educational activities.
One such person is Chan Li Jin, 43, who has been teaching gardening skills to the women living here.
Chan, who is a writer by profession and lives in Rawang, has been visiting the community once a week to teach them about gardening since November last year.
She used to write health-related articles but recently decided to carry out activities that help the community instead.
With several other volunteers, Chan started a gardening pilot project called Subur (Malay for fertile) at the PPR’s Block C.
“The project aims to foster better ties among the PPR community through gardening and vegetable-planting.
“We also plan to grow decorative plants later because beautiful landscaping has a positive effect on mental health,” said Chan.
She added that her project had stirred interest among the residents with more coming forward to learn and take part.
Presently, 12 women from the PPR are involved in the project. Several are single mothers, widows and divorcees.
“Gardening enables people to interact with others, especially neighbours.
“Based on my observations, curious residents are visiting the plot daily. Those who were sceptical initially, seem interested to become involved,” she said.
With proper guidance and encouragement, Chan said the residents were happy to be involved in the gardening activities.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) had approved the use of a 20m x 3m land near the parking bays for Subur’s activities. The council had provided soil and coco-peat (processed coconut and padi husks).
Chan said the hardest part was getting started, but that after that, it was not a problem.
“The women were delighted when the first batch of crops, such as corn and spinach, were recently harvested and they shared it among themselves.
Chan said many living there had two jobs to make ends meet and had no time for any form of recreation.
“Gardening has had a positive effect on them and this in turn will also help their families,” she said.
Another individual who works closely with this community is Jeffrey Phang.
He is the chairman of Friends of Kota Damansara — an environment non-governmental organisation. With the help of a group of volunteers, they conduct English lessons for the children here on Sundays.
Phang said when he first visited the community, he found the flats in need of repairs and gathered a group of volunteers to help out.
Phang and the volunteers sought help from MBPJ to help the community.
The state recently appointed Perumahan dan Hartanah Sdn Bhd to maintain the flats.
“Most of our volunteers are working professionals and they teach English to the children aged four to 17 and help them with their homework,” said Phang.
He added that MBPJ should allocate funds to address social problems faced by the community.
Phang said the volunteers have plans to provide indoor games, screen movies with positive messages and engage the community in healthy activities.
“We want this neighbourhood to change into a more liveable, safer and harmonious place,” he said, adding that RM100,000 was raised via a Community Care Carnival in 2011 to facilitate community projects.
Phang said several non-governmental organisations such as the Rotary Club of Gombak and Tropicana Medical Centre were involved in the project.
Have you ever experienced the following scenario: you buy 1 kg of apples at Rs 100 per kg, only to find out they were available at Rs 80 per kg just a few feet away? Aren't you disappointed at having to pay more for the same quality of apples?
The same also applies to stocks.
If you buy a share of company 'A' for Rs 100 and later on find out that the share of company 'B', with better earning prospects, is available for Rs 60, it is bound to disappoint you.
So how do you find quality bargains? How can you decide if the current stock prices make sense? Does the price justify the earning prospects of the company?
The answer to these questions is: Price-Earning (PE) ratio.
Introduction to PE ratio: PE ratio is one of the most widely used tools for stock selection. It is calculated by dividing the current market price of the stock by its earning per share (EPS). It shows the sum of money you are ready to pay for each rupee worth of the earnings of the company.
Assume there are two companies 'A' and 'B', operating in the same sector. If PE of 'A' is 30 and PE of 'B' is 22, then 'B' is considered to be a better buy, as the market price has not gone up to reveal the earnings prospects of the company. But 'A' is considered to show higher growth prospects as compared to 'B'.
Understanding PE gives the investors an idea if the stock has sufficient growth potential. Stocks with low PE can be considered good bargains as their growth potential is still unknown to the market.
If the PE is high, it warns of an over-priced stock. It means the stock's price is much higher than its actual growth potential. So these stocks are more liable to crash drastically. This was evident in the recent market crash when the stocks of all Reliance companies fell sharply.
This will allow savvy investors to sell their holdings before the stock price crashes.
Interpretation of PE ratio is heavily dependent on comparison of the company with its peers. Also PE that is considered very high in certain sectors can be considered very low in other sectors.
For instance, companies in IT and telecom sectors have higher PE ratio than the companies in manufacturing or textile sectors.
Also PE ratio is not totally neutral. Any major announcement of a major order or acquisition by the company will certainly push up its PE. On the other hand, low PE may not indicate a good buy but could signify more serious issues facing the company. So it is very important to perform a thorough research into the background of the company, before investing.
Besides EPS itself is assumed, as it forecasts future growth based on past performance. However, there is no guarantee that the company can continue to maintain its performance each year. Also the sector in which the company is operating may experience problems as was recently seen for the IT sector.
So PE ratio cannot be considered to be a totally reliable indicator of cheap, good stocks.
Yet, PE ratio remains one of the most important ratios when it comes to stock selection.
Candidates opting for computer science, technology and engineering degrees are on the rise, according to figures from UCAS.
Students applying for computer science courses increased by 13% this year, with just over 100,000 applicants.
The university applicants’ service found students applying for technology-based degree courses rose to nearly 10,000, an increase of 15% on 2013.
Engineering also saw a spike in applicants to nearly 150,000, up by 11% on last year’s figures.
Furthermore, the percentage of applications for computer science, technology and engineering increased more than any other subject.
Computer science as a group subject was ranked the ninth most popular, with 103,590 applications. Engineering ranked sixth, with 148,950 applicants. Technology was second from bottom, with 10,290 applicants.
The most popular subject group applied for was medicine, with 381,050 applications. Business and administration studies ranked second, with 301,080 applications, followed by creative arts and design with 258,870, biological studies with 241,680 and social studies with 214,730.
Stephanie Fernandes, institution of engineering and technology education and skills policy advisor, said: “The UCAS figures show very welcome increases in university application figures for engineering, computer sciences and technologies courses.
The Lancaster Historical Society will present �Lancaster Then and Now: Views Past and Present� on Sunday, April 29, in the Dexter Room at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
The PowerPoint presentation was created and will be narrated by longtime Lancaster resident Heather Lennon. It will show the South Village and southern area of the town focusing on the changes to the landscape that have occurred over the decades. Lennon will share a picture of the area as she remembers it from her childhood in the 1950s.
This program is free to the public. The meeting is co-sponsored by the Lancaster Historical Commission. Attendees should use the rear entrance to the library.
For more information regarding this program, call (978) 365-5833.
With apologies to AOL and Frank Gruber, few big tech hits have come out of Washington DC. Which is strange, because on paper, DC has those “ingredients” for a high-tech ecosystem that so-called experts love to tout.
It has money, it has universities, it has AOL which could theoretically spin smart coders off, it has a big, honking, recession-proof customer right there in the form of the government. And there are a ton of smart tech people in the city. On the book tour for Sarah’s last book, nearly 400 people came to the DC event where she did a signing—a record on the 15-city tour.
But for all these attributes, DC has struggled to define its tech scene as more than just AOL. That may be changing. There is a cadre of smart, young techies pulled in by the Obama campaign and its social-media-can-win-elections-after-all aftermath. A lot of those people are spinning into companies that hope to use SMS, Twitter and other basic social media tactics to do more than just win elections—to change the world.
What’s interesting about this world is how much of a mirror image it is to Silicon Valley. It’s about trying to take tools created here and use them in innovative ways. And it’s not about getting rich—many of the most innovative techies in DC are starting non-profits. Increasingly, DC techies aren’t trying to be another Silicon Valley—they are creating their own ecosystem that’s in tune with why people move to DC and what DC has that no other place has.
Today, more than 90% of large companies use open source technology, and yet the largest software companies in the world are still proprietary vendors. Might we see something similar with social media? Taking out the handful of obvious winners like Facebook and Twitter, will the social impact—the change in how we donate money, talk to friends, live life and participate in government—be ultimately greater than the returns to shareholders?
We asked Scott Goodstein of Revolution Messaging—one of these digital do-gooders– to be our guest this week on Why Is This News? to talk about these trends. Sarah met Goodstein on a recent trip with the State Department to Colombia, where she also met other impressive digital do-gooders like Josh Nesbit from FrontlineSMS Medic and Maria Theresa Kumar of Voto Latino. Goodstein recently finished building a hate-crime alert system for the NAACP.
He called in tell us why DC matters – from a seedy hotel in Vegas. Oh, the glamour of being a Washington insider. . .
Increasing numbers of Sri Lankan refugees are returning from South India but the government has run out of money in essential programmes to help them rebuild their lives.
More than 550 refugees have returned to Sri Lanka this year to date, almost 20 per cent more than the total for last year. Most of them are settling in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Trincomalee and Kandy.
The Ministry of Rehabilitation and Resettlement asserts the government is encouraging refugees to return to their homeland but the practical back-up for this policy is inadequate.
Most of those returning to Sri Lanka have no homes as their dwellings were destroyed in the war.
Frank Vellachami, 37, who left came back to Sri Lanka with his family in the last week of September and settled in Talaimannar, said the whole family had been crammed into a single-room house in a refugee camp in India.
“It was the main reason for us to leave the refugee camps, and we wanted our children to live in their homeland but here our misery continues as our house is in a dilapidated condition,” Mr Vellachami said.
Former refugees are also finding it difficult to support themselves. “Before fleeing Sri Lanka we went fishing to earn our living. But we find our boats have been destroyed, which makes it hard for us to earn a living,” said Vellachami Jesuraja, 42, who lived in a refugee camp in India for 10 years.
Periyasami Kanakarasa, 40, who also returned from India, admitted that his family is facing a challenge with housing and finding jobs. “We informed the local District Secretary of our arrival and asked for help. Though they have assured they will provide help the process is delayed and is causing us misery,” Mr. Kanakarasa said.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which facilitated the return of the refugees, providing them with free air tickets, transportation fares and a reintegration grant, says the first three to six months is the most difficult period for returnees.
“Many of the individuals are returning to their places of origin after 10 to 20 years in refugee camps. Access to adequate housing, water, education, health and viable options to earn a living must be promoted by the government. This can become the key deciding factor for the voluntary return of Sri Lankan refugee residing elsewhere,” a spokesperson for UNHCR said.
Young returnees who were educated in India find it difficult to have their certificates recognised by higher education bodies and employers.
Jennifer Jesuraja, who was educated in India to a level equivalent to Sri Lanka’s GCE Ordinary Level, has to spend another two years in school here to gain an O-Level. Another girl, Sahaya Meclin, who had been top of her class in India and holds an Indian diploma in computer science, is unable to find work appropriate to her qualifications.
“I cannot even apply for higher studies as converting my certificates to Sri Lanka is tough. Now I am looking for job of any kind, be it skilled or even unskilled as it is tough to survive without a job,” Miss Meclin said.
The Ministry of Rehabilitation and Resettlement said returning refugees could apply for support through programmes that benefit all war victims, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and war widows: there was no special government-funded programme to address the returnees’ needs.
“All returnees who face difficulties over housing can apply for [support under] the welfare programme for war victims,” the Secretary for the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, V Sivaganasothy said.
Officials admit, however, that funding allotted to housing schemes for war victims has been used up, which means refugees have to wait months longer for help.
The Government Agent of the Mannar district, where many of the returnees have settled, said many of them had applied for funding to rebuild their homes. “The people have to wait for the ministry to announce new programmes to address their needs as the funds allocated to us have already been used,” the GA, Mr. M.Y.S. Deshapriya, said.
To address unemployment among the refugees, the ministry has a programme through which applicants will be given help for self-employment through a Rs 100,000 grant for each family.
Talaimannar, on the north-western coast of the Mannar district, was the main jumping-off point for Sri Lankans fleeing from their homeland. It lies only 18 miles far from the Indian town of Dhanushkodi, the main destination for the refugees.
The village is known for it close connections with India, mainly in trade, and Talaimanar residents recall the old times, when they used to get goods from India cheaper than they could buy them in Sri Lanka.
The bombing of Mannar bridge by the LTTE in 1990 made the transportation of goods from elsewhere in Sri Lanka into Mannar a tough task so the people found it easier to get goods from India.
Now the situation has changed and no one is interested in going to India, and also the laws are stricter. A Sri Lankan who now sails into India without a passport would no longer be allowed in as a refugee but would be sent back or kept in custody for violating immigration laws.
A few years back, when the immigration laws were not strict, there was a huge outflow of Talaimannar residents to India by sea. Rev T. Navaratnam, a priest of a church at Talaimannar, confirmed that none of them travelled on passports. According to the people who live in Talaimannar, about 90 per cent of the population had been to India through the sea route and had lived in refugee camps at India. Many houses here have been locked up for years as the owners are still in refugee camps in India.
Frank Vellachami, 37, who had lived 10 years in one such refugee camp, recollects that he left Talaimannar on June 27, 2006 with his family, travelling in their own fishing boat at night with two other families and reaching Dhanushkodi by 5am. There, they straightaway surrendered to police and were sent to the refugee camp.
During the civil war, India was familiar with the inflow of refugees. According to UNHRC data, there are 117 refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.
An interesting bit of trivia shared by the refugee returnees was that there were cricket and volleyball tournaments played between these refugee camps.
When asked about the life inside the refugee camp, Periyasami Kanakarasa,40, explained that the Indian government provided adequate facilities. Camp residents were given a monthly grant about Rs. (Indian) 3,500 for a family of four along with ration of 12kg of rice per person and 5 litres of kerosene for a family.
Though refugees were allowed to work outside the refugee camps, they were not allowed to own any possessions.
Some had bitter experiences at the refugee camps during the tensions following the LTTE’s assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Sunil, 49, who said he had been in India at that time said he and others had been taken to jail at Vellore.
They did not face abuse but their incarceration restricted their ability to work. They were allowed to live with their families inside jail. “Only the women were allowed to go outside of the jail, for three hours every day to buy provisions,” said Mr Sunil.