News Writing (PM Speech)

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak launched Malaysia Green Forum 2010 on 26^th April at Sri Siantan Conference Hall.

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

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 has paved the way for a more comprehensive and cohesive approach in tackling environmental issues, he added.

The forum had drawn the participation of senior government officials, industry captains, society leaders and academic experts from within and outside the country, with the aim to establish an action‐oriented network that deals with environmental issues in a holistic manner.

According to the Prime Minister, the forum had united leaders and experts from very diverse backgrounds on a platform where environmental issues can be dealt with more holistically.

“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,” he said.

“I strongly believe it is our generational responsibility to ensure that we bequeath to our children a Malaysia that is as pristine as we inherit from our forefathers,” he added.

The National Green Technology Policy was launched last year and a technical arm called The National Green Technology Center also came to being through a restructuring exercise of the Malaysia Energy Center.

Malaysia is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, prized with 16 million hectares of tropical forest area, which covers 60 per cent of the countries land area. Preservation of this asset is the key to sustainability and over 73 per cent of the total forest area in this country is currently protected as national parks.

news writing assignment

ALUTIEN ISLAND: A 6.6 magnitude earthquake, about 40 miles east of the village of Nikolski and 850 miles southwest of Anchorage reported by Alaska Tsunami Warning Center at 7:01 p.m. PST on Sunday night.

The quake shook three fishing villages including Nikolski, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska for three minutes without causing injuries or major damage.

According to seismologist George Carts from Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, the quake was felt strongly on western islands in the Aleutian chain, resulting minor damage at Nikolski, with items knocked off shelves and small items damaged.

“There were 20 aftershocks; one measured 5.0 magnitudes on the scale. However, none was powerful enough to cause a tsunami,” officials said and Aleutians are sparsely settled.

Earthquake of 6.6 magnitude can cause severe damage if it hits populated areas.

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

Official categories of earthquake measurements in magnitude: 3.5 can cause slight damage; 4.0 can cause moderate damage; 5.0 can cause considerable damage; 6.0 can cause severe damage; 7.0 can cause major earthquake and widespread heavy damage; 8.0 are considered as great quake.