Latest news with #ART
The Sun
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Johor leads Malaysia's GDP growth with 6.4% surge in 2024
JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor state government is confident that the state is on the right track to emerge as Malaysia's new economic driver when it records the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2024. The state's Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources Committee chairman Lee Ting Han said that, based on a report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Johor recorded a GDP growth of 6.4 per cent, surpassing the national growth rate of 5.1 per cent. 'I would like to express my gratitude and pride for the official report which confirmed that Johor recorded the highest GDP growth in Malaysia for 2024, surpassing the national growth rate,' he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. He said Johor's GDP has now reached RM158.0 billion, strengthening its position as one of the main contributors to the country's economy along with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak. The outstanding achievement was contributed by balanced growth in several sectors, including a 42.7 per cent surge in the construction sector, driven by large-scale data centre projects and digital infrastructure, such as cooling systems and high-capacity optical fibres, he said. Lee said the state government is also actively collaborating with the federal government to implement high-impact projects such as the widening of the North-South Expressway, the Senai-Desaru Expressway, the ART project in Iskandar Malaysia, the RTS Link and the proposed Southern Route Commuter service. Johor is also improving its investment and workforce ecosystem through initiatives such as the Johor Malaysian Investment Facilitation Centre and the Johor Talent Development Council to meet future industry demands. He said the two main policies, namely the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and the Forest City Special Financial Zone, are aimed at strengthening the regional investment and financial services ecosystem. 'With a combination of large-scale infrastructure projects, progressive investment policies and a strategic position at the crossroads of ASEAN economies, Johor is not only recording growth but is also shaping the future of the country's economy,' he said.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Bursa rebounds after lower open on economic optimism
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower on Wednesday but rebounded soon after, supported by continued buying in selected heavyweights amid optimism over the domestic economic outlook, an analyst said. At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.48 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 1,545.01 from Tuesday's close of 1,541.53. The benchmark index had earlier opened 1.80 points lower at 1,539.73. Market breadth was positive, with 187 gainers outpacing 139 decliners. A total of 299 counters were unchanged, while 1,766 were untraded and 14 suspended. Turnover stood at 168.64 million shares worth RM133.79 million. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that with a weak lead from overnight Wall Street, the local bourse was expected to open on a muted note. "However, we maintain a positive stance on data centre and renewable energy-related stocks, given the recent agreement signed by Gamuda with a renewable energy developer. "Also, with Tenaga Nasional's capital expenditure extending into the second half of 2025, we believe this will benefit power infrastructure specialists and cable manufacturers," the brokerage said in a note. On the construction front, Malacca Securities expected the sector to trade on firmer footing, supported by higher project billings and anticipation of the final alignment announcement for the Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system in Johor, estimated to be worth between RM6 billion and RM7 billion. Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose 5.0 sen to RM9.77, Public Bank added 2.0 sen to RM4.28, CIMB and IHH Healthcare gained 1.0 sen each to RM6.76 and RM6.81, respectively, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.90. In active trade, TWL and newly listed ASM Automation were flat at 4.0 sen and 17 sen, respectively. NEXG rose half-a-sen to 38 sen, while Gamuda advanced 5.0 sen to RM5.02. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 20.76 points to 11,545.35, the FBMT 100 Index gained 19.85 points to 11,323.67, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 18.12 points to 11,579.53. The FBM 70 Index edged up 3.96 points to 16,561.33, while the FBM ACE Index slipped 4.19 points to 4,487.82. By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 37.15 points to 17,641.79, the Plantation Index added 11.28 points to 7,413.44, and the Energy Index rose 2.75 points to 744.29. The Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.32 of-a-point to 153.98.
WebMD
2 days ago
- Health
- WebMD
25 Years With HIV
It's hard to believe that last month marked 25 years since my HIV a quarter century y'all! I'm only 52, so I've lived nearly half of my life with HIV. I wasn't expecting to live beyond five years, so that's 20 years of borrowed time. Or is it? It's not exactly borrowed time when the science behind modern medicine is this solid. It's come so far in such a short time. I think people have trouble keeping up with the current situation. Perhaps change has come so fast that some have trouble believing it. Sadly, the horrific stigma that people living with HIV have to endure remains completely unchanged. It's as though no progress has been made at all. I've seen a lot of change, while some things never change. When I was diagnosed, medicines had only recently improved to become the lifesaving drugs we know today. Antiretrovirals (ARTs) were developed in 1996, and they changed everything. But it took time for this new paradigm to really reach the medical community. For several years, many primary care doctors didn't know how effective the new medication was. They didn't know it'd make the virus untransmittable. Many weren't knowledgeable about HIV or that new drugs even existed. When I was diagnosed in June 2000, I was given a one- to five-year death sentence. I shouldn't have been. ARTs had been out for four years. But my doctor was uninformed. This was common among doctors for years. Public knowledge of the disease has scarcely changed at all. To some degree I can understand. It took me many years to fully comprehend I wasn't going to die – at least not from AIDS. I lived in unnecessary terror, waiting to die, because education about HIV was scarce and almost taboo. Most education systems don't teach about HIV. It's treated like a controlled substance. If HIV advocates and educators are allowed into schools to talk about HIV, they're severely restricted on what they can and can't teach. So the education is inadequate and incomplete. This perpetuation of ignorance causes stigma to exist. And stigma kills. I lived with this disease for 15 years before I learned about U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable. That's when you take your meds as prescribed and reach an undetectable viral load (meaning that there's not enough virus in your blood to be counted). When you have an undetectable viral load, the virus becomes dormant and can't be transmitted. This is incredible information for people who live with HIV. It's changed everything we once knew about HIV – from being a death sentence to being no more than a chronic condition. It also means people with HIV can safely have intimate relationships and sexual intercourse. They can even have children without risking the safety of their child. Medical science that made this possible continues to evolve. An entire small cup of pills (called a cocktail) from the 1980s and '90s became a two-pill-a-day regimen. Then that became a one-pill-a-day routine. Without a cure, I thought one pill a day was as good as we could get. But today we have an injection that can last for months. Cure research has made incredible strides over the past few years. We're so close. But public perception of HIV hasn't abated, despite all the progress. Our society remains fearful and ignorant about HIV. People who live with HIV still suffer from strong stigma that's not just hurtful or rude, it can also be fatal. The last 25 years have been one hell of a journey. Times have changed. So have the meds. Now it's time for people to change, too.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Kerala HC upholds single judge's directive for re-look at age limits under ART Act
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that that Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is required to take a just and proper decision on a single judge's order to take a re-look for increasing the upper age limit of women and men prescribed for undergoing assisted reproductive procedure in the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) [ART] Act, 2021. The Bench comprising Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. made the observation recently while dismissing an appeal filed by the Centre against the single judge's verdict. The single judge had directed the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board to alert the Union government about the need for having a re-look at the upper age limit of 55 for men and 50 for women prescribed under Section 21(g) of the Act. The single judge passed the directive while allowing writ petitions filed by a few couples seeking to undergo ART procedure. They approached the court challenging the refusal of the hospital authorities to permit them to undergo the procedure as the husbands had crossed 55 , the upper age limit. The single judge had observed that the impact of the prescription of upper age limit on the liberty of individuals is a matter which the national board should bring to the notice of the Union government so as to effectuate a detailed discussion on the subject and pave the way for necessary amendments.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Dead man's mom in Mumbai wants his frozen semen to 'continue family line'
A unique legal battle is brewing in Mumbai, involving a mother's unexpected quest to become a grandmother, using her dead son's frozen sperm. The man's consent form, he clearly stated that the sperm should be discarded if he died. (Representational Image) The man, who was unmarried and undergoing chemotherapy, had decided to freeze his semen before starting cancer treatment. But in his consent form, he clearly stated that the sperm should be discarded if he died. Fast forward to earlier this year: the man passed away, and his grieving mother, hoping to continue the family lineage, approached the fertility centre where the sample was stored, news agency PTI reported. She requested they release the frozen semen so she could transfer it to an IVF centre in Gujarat for possible use in assisted reproduction. But there was a catch, the clinic refused. They cited the man's own instructions to discard the sample posthumously and pointed to the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, which mandates court approval in such cases to avoid ethical and legal complications, the report added. (Also Read: Indian-origin woman rants about zero veg food at US work event: 'I walked out so disappointed') Mother moves court Determined, the mother took the matter to the Bombay High Court, arguing that her son had signed the consent form without discussing it with his family. She believes the sperm shouldn't be discarded and deserves a second chance, possibly one that includes grandkids. In response, the court stepped in with an interim order on June 25, directing the fertility centre to preserve the frozen semen until the matter is heard in full on July 30. The judge also noted that the case raises important questions under the ART law, particularly around what happens to preserved genetic material after someone dies. (With PTI inputs) (Also Read: Indian-origin CEO posts about near-heart attack, internet slams him for turning hospital photo into LinkedIn content)
