Newswriting Assignment 2

SRI SIANTAN CONFERENCE HALL, PUTRAJAYA- Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Tun Abdul Razak gave a speech about Malaysia Green Forum 2010 which government with an opportunity to reiterate its resounding commitment towards environmental sustainability in the country.

The forum’s aim of establishing an action oriented network that deals with environmental issues in a holistic manner is indeed refreshing and most welcomed. MGF2010 has drawn the participation of senior government officials, industry captains, society leaders and academic experts from within and outside the country.

“I hope a meeting of these brilliant minds would be able to come up with creative, innovative and pragmatic solutions to the green issues we face today, taking full consideration of the country’s inherent strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.” said by Dato’ Sri Najib.

The concept of sustainability was an integral part of our Third Malaysia Plan, even before the idea of Sustainable Development was popularized in the late eighties by the Brundtland Report. the critical contribution by Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for bringing together 14 agencies from 4 different ministries when he established the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2004 that paved the way for a more comprehensive and cohesive approach in tackling environmental issues.

The government has consistently affirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability over the years. The government continues to take cognizance of the growing need and urgency of green technology towards sustainable development.

“I am happy to see that MGF2010 has united leaders and experts from very diverse backgrounds on a platform where environmental issues can be dealt with more holistically.” Said by Dato’ Sri Najib.

Newswriting assignment 1

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS- A strong earthquake hit Aleutian Islands Sunday night, and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported it measured 6.6 on Richter scale, it shook three Aleutian Island fishing villages, Nikolski, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska for three minutes.

The quake hit at 7:01 p.m. PST. The epicenter in the North Pacific about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski and 850 miles southwest of Anchorage . There are no reports of injuries or major damage.

"There was some very minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged." said by George Carts.

Carts said the quake was felt strongly in the towns of Unalaska, Dutch Harbor and Nikolski. These three fishing villages are located on western islands in the Aleutian chain.

There were 20 aftershocks, one measured 5.0 on the scale. “There are none was powerful enough to cause a tsunami.” said by officer. The earthquake of 6.6 magnitudes can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas but Aleutians are sparsely settled.

Richter scale measures ground motion and is recorded on seismographs, it states that each increase of one number means a tenfold increase in magnitude, for example, 7.5 is 10 times greater than 6.5.

For the official categories, it also states that 3.5 can cause slight damage, 4 can cause moderate damage, 5 are considerable damage, 6 are consider severe damage, 7 can cause major earthquake and widespread heavy damage, and  8 cause great quake.