KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) will investigate allegations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that some varsity students and lecturers are involved in bribery.

“When varsity students are said to be involved, we have to check whether they are still studying or have graduated from university,” Minister Idris Jusoh said when met at the Parliament lobby here today.

MACC deputy chief commissioner (Prevention) Shamsun Baharin Mohd Jamil had earlier revealed that some varsity students were willing to bribe their lecturers to get high marks or to pass them in their examinations.

However, he said only a small number of students were involved.

Meanwhile when asked to comment on claims that Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) had stopped funding Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes, Idris said he would seek a clarification on the matter from the agency.

The matter was raised by reporters following information from the agency’s officer that Mara would no longer provide funding for PhD programmes abroad and would only finance students pursuing their diplomas locally.

“Apart from Mara and MyBrain, we also have academic training schemes, and research grant schemes with many other organisations that are offering PhD scholarships,” he said.

You’ve most likely enjoyed cacio e pepe (meaning “cheese and pepper”) on spaghetti, but the super simple and tasty pasta topping can be used on almost anything, including plain ol’ potato chips.

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While Americans vote in crucial races for president, Congress, and state and local governments this year, many states will also decide on critical ballot measures to alter the very way we conduct our elections themselves. Proposed changes would affect the electoral system, access to voting, and campaign finance. When self-interested officeholders manipulate the system to stifle competition, and when Republicans try to make it harder to cast a ballot, initiatives are an excellent way to advance pro-democracy reform. Below, we’ll take a look at some of this November’s most important ballot measures.

Electoral System Reforms

Voters in Maine have the opportunity to end plurality-winner elections (also called “first past the post”), where the candidate with the most votes wins regardless of whether or not they have a majority—a system used almost universally throughout the country. It’s a system that, for instance, allowed Trump-supporting authoritarian and racist Republican Gov. Paul LePage to win with pluralities in 2010 and 2014 after Democrats and left-leaning independents split the vote. Now, Maine will vote on whether to adopt instant runoff voting, sometimes called ranked-choice voting, making it the first state to do so if the measure passes like the polls predict.

This system would allow voters to rank their top five preferred candidates in congressional and state races. If no one wins a majority in the first round, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their voters are redistributed to their next highest preference. This process repeats until someone wins a majority. The beauty of this system is that it significantly reduces the likelihood that a candidate wins solely thanks to a split opposition, which is how LePage became governor in the first place—something Mainers likely regret after now that he’s become a national embarrassment.

This reform could lead to much greater electoral competition, too, as it could allow independents and third parties to compete without fear of playing spoiler. That could be particularly valuable for voters in districts that strongly favor one party or the other, since competition is a defining aspect of truly democratic elections. Unfortunately, this reform has its drawbacks: It makes voting more complicated, and it can still sometimes produce the “wrong” winner. However, it’s a major improvement upon our current system, and success in Maine could serve as a model for states across the country.

PETALING JAYA: Commuters affected by delays in LRT and KL Monorail train services will be refunded in the form of coupons, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad says.

In a statement issued today, Prasarana said that a coupon will be issued to commuters if the LRT and Monorail train services they intended to take were late by 15 minutes.

The coupon will entitle commuters to a free one-way trip, and will be valid for five days from the date of issue, Prasarana added.

This however only applied to commuters who were forced to cancel their trips due to a delay in the train service.

Commuters who continued their journeys despite the 15-minute delay were however not entitled to the coupon.

Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri said in the Dewan Rakyat that refunds would be available for commuters if their scheduled LRT and KL Monorail rides were late by 15 minutes.

Nancy also said the refunds would come in the form of a coupon for the following day for affected commuters.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) Secretary-General Paul Selvaraj in welcoming the government’s decision, said, “It’s a good move. It is high time that some form of compensation is given when commuters are late because of public transport.”

This move will make public transportation in the country more reliable, Paul said, adding that other countries as well had implemented the compensation system for affected commuters.

However, Paul said that KTM Berhad should be included in the compensation system.

“The people cannot rely on KTM. KTM is the worst and they really need to buck up.

“There should be a time frame for KTM services to be upgraded.”

Luxury labels are having a rough go of it lately, what with fewer tourists flocking to department stores and slowing traffic at standalone stores. So if you’re looking for a wide variety of handbag options this holiday season, you might be limited in your choices: the luxury retailers that usually peddle high-end handbags are trimming their lineups.

Millennial shoppers aren’t as into the whole luxury thing, Bloomberg reports, and department stores have continued to see traffic slow down. So in order to survive the holiday season, retailers are introducing fewer new lines, instead of throwing a whole bunch of choices at shoppers, one analyst for the fashion industry said.

“Reducing the number of products, making sure they are choosing their products really smartly, can help make sure they’re getting full-price sales rather than discount,” she told Bloomberg.

To that end, the number of new purses introduced by Nordstrom and Bloomingdales dipped 23% and 3% respectively, which is in contrast with an uptick of 5% and 11% the year before. Barneys had 41% fewer new lines in the third quarter of this year compared to a 46% in 2015.

In the meantime, brands like Coach, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade are turning away from selling to department stores in an effort to reinvigorate the luxury aspect of their brands.

Handbag Sellers Slashing Their Lineups as Luxury Demand Wanes [Bloomberg]

PETALING JAYA: Posting a caricature of Prime Minister Najib Razak in a clown get-up on Facebook has resulted in a PKR assemblyman being summoned by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

According to news portal Malaysiakini, Abdul Yunus Jamhari posted the caricature on his Facebook page under the name ‘Rakyat Marhaen’ on Oct 22.

In the caricature captioned ‘Bapa Songlap Negara’ (Father of Corruption), Najib is seen flashing his middle finger and holding a wad of RM100 notes.

According to the report, Abdul Yunus has agreed to give his statement at the MCMC office in Bandar Meru Raya, Ipoh at 11am tomorrow.

The caricature of Najib wearing clown makeup was first posted by graphic artist Fahmi Reza for a poster campaign early this year. The images swept across social media with the hashtag #KitaSemuaPenghasut which translates to “we are all seditious.”

In June, Fahmi was charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act over the same caricature.

PETALING JAYA: A Petronas subsidiary involved in the construction of oil rigs for offshore exploration and production has seen revenue and profits drop considerably in the past year.

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, in which Petronas has a 67 per cent stake through MISC Bhd, suffered its fourth consecutive quarter of losses due to fewer and lower-valued projects, the Nikkei Asian Review reported last Friday.

Announcing its third quarter results for the year, Malaysia Marine reported its quarterly revenue fell nearly 24 per cent year-on-year to RM333.5 million from RM436.3 million.

As a result, it recorded a net loss for the three months ending Sept 30 at RM4.5 million, compared with the net profit of RM17 million it made a year earlier, the company said.

“The continued downturn of the oil and gas industry is expected to impact the group’s business with significant offshore project cancellations and deferments.

“This is expected to result in further decline in asset utilization, currently being assessed for impairment which will significantly affect the current year financial result,” the company said in a statement, according to the report.

In the first nine months of the year, Malaysia Marine recorded a net loss of RM14.6 million compared with the net profit of RM71 million it made for the corresponding period last year. This was due to revenue dropping by almost half to RM887.7 million from RM1.74 billion last year.

Malaysia Marine is just one more in a list of casualties suffering from the effects of the plunge in global oil prices over the past two years. Major oil producers have been forced to scale back on their exploration activities and halt expansion plans.

Though the price of crude oil has gained nearly 38 per cent so far this year, prices remain far below its triple-digit peak in mid-2014.

As of last Friday, the global benchmark for crude oil, Brent Crude, was trading at around US$50.30 a barrel.

The report quoted analysts as saying that the results came in below market expectations and flagged risk of lower margins amid depleting orders that the company has struggled to replenish.

“This is worrying, given that it provides minimal earnings visibility.

“With its continuous decreasing yard utilisation, we do not discount the possibility of impairment in the coming quarters,” Kenanga Investment Bank’s analyst Sean Lim told Nikkei.

Friday’s closing price for Malaysia Marine fell 2.0 per cent to RM1.00 in Bursa Malaysia, which was a reverse on the trend of the market which was up by 0.1 per cent.

IPOH: A broken dish thrown by a man at his older brother during a fiery argument cut short the Deepavali joy for one family when the sibling bled to death.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malindo Air announced it will now fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand, daily.

PETALING JAYA: Celebrity Chef Redzuwan Ismail, also known as Chef Wan, defended himself today after controversy erupted online over a giant bowl of Sarawak laksa that was thrown away after setting a record.

“I didn’t cook the laksa nor was I aware that they (the organizers) were not feeding it to others until I was there pagi tu (that morning),” Chef Wan said in an online posting.

Chef Wan who was present at the record-breaking event in Kuching, wrote on his Instagram account that he had been invited to give a cooking demonstration after the launch of Plaza Merdeka’s new food hall by Ragad Walled Al-Kurdi, wife of the Sarawak Governor.

When he arrived in Sarawak two nights ago, Plaza Merdeka representatives approached him to take part in the event to cook the biggest bowl of Sarawak laksa.

“Naturally I said yes…I was also excited to know how big the bowl was and the record that they had to achieve to be in the Malaysian Book of Records.”

The organisers came under fire for wasting food by throwing away the laksa after setting the record, according to the Borneo Post.

One of Chef Wan’s followers had also asked him yesterday what would happen to the Sarawak laksa after the event was over. “Datuk, I would like to question whether the laksa can be eaten? Did they distribute it? Don’t tell me they broke a record and then let the food go to waste?”

Chef Wan responded by saying the food would have been contaminated from being left out in the open for hours. “You simply cannot take that risk,” was part of his response.

Criticism was also posted on a Facebook page called Sarawak Update, in which a user said: “Stupid organizer and stupid leaders should be inserted into Guinness World Book Of Records for being jailed after a record for wasting food” and pointed out that it was a serious offence in some developed countries to waste food.

Facebook user Ben Yap took Malaysian elites to task over the wastage, adding that they have “never known hunger”.

“Malaysia at its best…. After record-breaking feat the entire bowl is put in the bin. Thank you Malaysian Aristocrats for showing us how easily you waste thousands of dollars all for a little line in a book,” he said.

At the event, 15 cooks were reported to have taken 18 hours to prepare the biggest bowl of Sarawak laksa, using 100kg of Sarawak laksa paste, 225kg of rice noodles, 90kg of prawns, 1,008 eggs, 90kg of bean sprouts, and 80kg of chicken.

 

 

Passengers exiting the customs area at the Kuala Lumpur International airport in Malaysia are faced with this huge Samsung ad featuring their now banned product that is smoking hot… in a very wrong way.

There is an issue with the batteries on these devices that have lead these phones to catch fire on the ground and unfortunately in the air as well. Airline regulators and airlines have banned passengers to even carry this phone with them on the aircraft.

Conclusion

These announcements that the FAs make about the banned Samsung Note 7 prior to the flights that I have recently taken seems to be never ending negative reminder about the quality and safety of Samsung products.

You would think that Samsung would have the resources to replace this advertisement at the Kuala Lumpur airport? I was certainly not the only passenger that realized the irony.

Here are five of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

PETALING JAYA: The National Special Operations Force (NSOF) was a hot topic on social media, albeit for the wrong reasons after netizens noticed that the agency’s motto used English that was well, less than ‘accurate’.

Many, including Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, retweeted a picture of a closeup of the NSOF crest and pointed out that the motto “Speed and Accurate” was grammatically wrong.

Khairy said it should either be “Speed and Accuracy” or “Fast and Accurate”.

“But not this,” he wrote before sharing the picture.

One of Khairy’s followers identified as Hisham suggested that the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka needs to be reprimanded, while another, Nezyrin Iklram said the copywriter should be fired.

Another netizen known as Rin wrote that the bad English on the uniform is the result of those fluent in the language being labelled “arrogant” or “over the top”.

Meanwhile, a tweet by user Tan Sri MamuTm simply said: “Riight…such english. Much wow.”

Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak launched the NSOF which serves as a permanent team to act swiftly against terrorist threats.

The NSOF is a joint initiative involving the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), the police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), with its personnel seconded to the team.

The first group will serve for at least three years while the next group will serve for at least two years.

The main task of NSOF is to eliminate all forms of terrorism on land, air or in the water and to be always prepared to react quickly against threats.

Meanwhile, still on social media, some people have also questioned the existence of the NSOF, wanting to know if it is a new “army” under the purview of the controversial National Security Council (NSC) Act, which is led by the prime minister.

BANGKOK: Thailand’s largest oil and gas explorer, PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, posted on Thursday a net profit in the third quarter versus a loss a year ago mainly due to an absence of an impairment loss and gains from oil hedging.

KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Oil & Gas Corp Bhd (UMW-OG) will provide a high pressure high temperature jack-up drilling rig and services to Hess Exploration and Production Malaysia BV for its North Malay basin operation.

PETALING JAYA: Just three days after joining a transport company, a former patient of Hospital Bahagia decided to end his life by jumping off a moving lorry, in Penang yesterday.

The lorry attendant had fastened a rope on to the passenger door of the lorry and slipped the other end around his neck just before making his sudden exit, shocking his colleague who was driving the vehicle at the time, TheSun reported.

The incident occurred yesterday afternoon in Prai Industrial Zone 1, Seberang Prai.

The lorry driver told police later that he thought his new assistant was just joking when the latter spoke of wanting to end his life.

“Suddenly, the driver noticed the deceased had taken a rope, which they use to tie up goods, and tied it around his throat and also the passenger handle.

“He then opened the door and jumped off the lorry,” the daily quoted Central Seberang Prai district police chief ACP Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid as saying.

The deceased was reportedly a 35-year-old man from Kampung Changkat Perah, Batuk Kurau, in Perak.

Police later learnt from the deceased’s wife that he had undergone treatment at Hospital Bahagia Tanjung Rambutan, Perak about three years ago.

“The wife said the deceased recently told her that he had heard a voice whispering to him and also sensed someone was following him.

“There were no criminal elements found at the scene,” Nik Ros Azhan told TheSun.

KUALA TERENGGANU: A contract worker was killed while his two colleagues suffered severe breathing difficulties after inhaling methane gas when cleaning a tank at a processing plant owned by Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB) in Kertih, yesterday.

In the 3pm incident the victim Mohd Marwan Mustafa Afandi, 35, died at the scene while Mohd Zul Aizat Aziz, 23, and Mohd Yaacob Badrishah, 24, were lucky to survive but experienced shortness of breath.

It is believed the incident occurred soon after the three victims entered the methane gas tank, located six meters from the ground and that was said to have been emptied for maintenance work.

Upon entering the tank, Mohd Mazwan suddenly collapsed and when his two colleagues, who were still outside tried to help, they suffered severe breathing difficulties.

However, both managed to climb out of the tank while Mohd Marwan was later brought out by a team of rescuers and sent to a nearby clinic. He was later pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, Kemaman OCPD Supt Mohd Said Ibrahim when contacted by Bernama, confirmed the incident.

The body was sent to the Kemaman Hospital for a post-mortem while the two other workers were sent to the same hospital for further treatment. They were reported to be in stable condition.

PGB, in a statement today, offered their condolences to the family of the deceased and said an investigation would be carried out into the incident.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Holdings Bhd is keen to embark on technology investment in North America, through Spark Labs, which has just launched its second location in the heart of New York City’s “Silicon Alley”.

5 Unethical Psychology Experiments That Were Once Conducted On Humans Today, there are many ethical codes that determine what you can and cannot do when experimenting on human subjects. However, as explained in a recent YouTube video by SciShow, it hasn’t always been like this. In the video, we...

KHAZIR: Jihadists with the Islamic State group were shaving their beards and changing hideouts in Mosul, residents said, as a major Iraqi offensive moved ever closer to the city on Wednesday.

With pressure building on the 10th day of the Mosul assault, Western defence chiefs were already looking ahead to the next target — IS’s other major stronghold of Raqa in Syria.

Recent advances on the eastern front have brought elite Iraqi forces to within five kilometres (three miles) of Mosul, and several residents reached by AFP said the jihadists seemed to be preparing for an assault on the city itself.

“I saw some Daesh (IS) members and they looked completely different from the last time I saw them,” eastern Mosul resident Abu Saif said.

“They had trimmed their beards and changed their clothes,” the former businessman said. “They must be scared… they are also probably preparing to escape the city.”

Residents and military officials said many IS fighters had relocated within Mosul, moving from the east to their traditional bastions on the western bank of the Tigris river, closer to escape routes to Syria.

The sounds of fighting on the northern and eastern fronts of the Mosul offensive could now be heard inside the city, residents said, and US-led coalition aircraft were flying lower over it than usual.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters have been advancing on Mosul from the south, east and north after an offensive was launched on October 17 to retake the last major Iraqi city under IS control.

Raqa in ‘next weeks’

The assault is backed by air and ground support from the US-led coalition — which also includes Britain and France — that launched a campaign against IS two years ago.

Iraqi federal forces, allied with Kurdish peshmerga fighters, have taken a string of towns and villages in a cautious but steady advance over the past week in the face of shelling, sniper fire and suicide car bombings.

About 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters are believed to be inside Mosul, Iraq’s second city, alongside more than a million trapped civilians.

With the noose tightening on Mosul, officials from the 60-nation anti-IS coalition have increasingly pointed to the next phase of the fight.

Both US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and British counterpart Michael Fallon said Wednesday they expected an offensive on Raqa to be launched within weeks.

“It starts in the next few weeks,” Carter told NBC News before arriving in Brussels for a two-day meeting of NATO defence chiefs.

“That has long been our plan and we will be capable of resourcing both,” Carter said.

If Mosul falls, Raqa will remain as the only major city in either Syria or Iraq under IS control, the vestige of a cross-border “caliphate” the jihadists declared after seizing large parts of both countries in mid-2014.

An offensive against Raqa is likely to be far more complicated than the assault on Mosul however, because unlike in Iraq the coalition does not have a strong ally on the ground in Syria.

Syria’s five-year civil war has left the country in chaos, with jihadists, US-backed rebels, Syrian Kurds and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces all engaged on multiple fronts.

‘Wave of displaced’

Aid workers have warned of a major potential humanitarian crisis once fighting begins inside Mosul itself and civilians were already leaving in growing numbers.

An Iraqi minister said Wednesday that more than 3,300 fleeing civilians had sought help from the government the day before, the most for a single day so far.

There was “a big wave of displaced people… the greatest number since the start of the military operation,” Displacement and Migration Minister Jassem Mohammed al-Jaff said.

The number of people who fled their homes since the start of the offensive on October topped 10,000, the UN said late Wednesday.

The fighting has taken place in sparsely populated areas so far and while the numbers have been growing more rapidly this week, they are still a fraction of the huge displacement aid workers expect later.

At a camp near Khazir, the number of recently displaced people being bused in was higher than usual.

“We’re definitely better off here. We were being bombarded from all sides, by aircraft and tanks,” said a man who fled the village of Bazwaya and gave his name as Abu Ahmad.

The families joined a camp where hundreds of blue and white tents stood covered in the dust stirred up by the wind, as scores of aid workers distributed mattresses, blankets, food and water bottles.

The humanitarian community fears it will be overwhelmed when the million-plus people believed to still be trapped in Mosul find a way out.

Sometimes people are worried, or afraid, that they might have a bedbug infestation. Having bedbugs in the house is not necessarily a sign of a dirty home, for even some 5-star hotels have bedbugs. However, sometimes bedbugs can be hard to find, as they often hide out in particular crevices of a mattress, a box spring, a headboard. Their size and color can elude the human eye, and they do not feed until night time. There are, however, several easy ways to identify bed bugs and bed bug infestations.

EditSteps

EditIdentifying the Possible Bedbug Problem

1. Check your mattress for bedbugs. Bedbugs tend to live and migrate towards mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards. These are small, brownish red insects that are oval in shape. They live off of the blood in animals and humans. Look around the edges of your mattress, the creases of your sheets, and pillowcases. If there is a bedbug problem, you will see a mass of small black bugs ranging from eggs (1mm) to adults (5mm, size of an appleseed). While most are black, some are pearl white, and the size of a pinhead.^[1]
   
   • Bedbugs however do not always mass together. Sometimes they are more spread out, across the entire mattress or bed spread. In that case, use a magnifying glass to check around the edges of your mattress and sheets.
   • A flashlight can also help in a dim bedroom. Hold your flashlight about 6 inches away from the mattress in order to use the light effectively.
   • Bedbugs do not fly, but they do however move rather quickly along multiple surfaces, including but not limited to: ceilings, walls, and fabrics. If the bug you find does have wings, or is flying, the bug is probably a mosquito or a fly, rather than a bedbug.
2. Locate fecal waste products on your mattress. Bedbugs feed for approximately 3-10 minutes a day before they retreat. Their fecal matter appears to the human eye as small black specks (the size of a marker dot). This is because they feed on blood, and then that blood dries when it is released by the bedbugs.^[2]
   
   • Often times the bedbug defecates where it originally ate. This includes, but is not limited to, edges of mattresses, creases in bed spreads, and cracks in a headboard.
   • You might have to use a magnifying glass if the excrement is spread out over a wide area (not clumped together). Rub your hand gently over the surface area to see if anything kicks up, or has been embedded.
   • Get near the area you think the bedbugs might be. Put your hand near the potentially affected area and waft your hand. If bedbugs have produced fecal matter you should be able to detect a musty odor from the bedbug's scent glands.
3. Check mattress for egg shells and case skins. Bedbugs, like all other bugs, mate, reproduce, and shed their skin. When bedbugs mate they can produce hundreds of offspring, which can then lead to the production of a ton of exoskeleton waste products.^[3]
   
   • Look near the edges of your mattress, creases in the bed spread, and the cracks of your headboard. See if there are small, white larvae (1mm, size of a pinpoint) bunched together. Also, look for clear, tan, or dark brown excess skin in those places as well.
   • Because the larvae are small, and the exoskeleton waste is likely to be clear, you will want to use a magnifying glass to detect any potential problems. Run your hand gently over the surface to see if anything has been lodged inward or embedded.
   • If your bed has any brown, black, or red marks on it, this could be because bedbugs have been squashed and killed during the night.
4. Examine your headboard and box spring. While these places are not primary feeding grounds for bedbugs, they are great places for them to live, retreat after feeding, and to reproduce. Cracks and crevices are perfect breeding grounds which need a thorough going over.^[4]
   
   • Remove the dust cover over the bottom of your box spring. Examine the cracks and seams in the wood framing. Use a magnifying glass and a flashlight to inspect the area. Look for black specks (living bedbugs) or pearl white larvae.
   • Peel back the fabric where it is stapled to the bed frame. Check in the crevices and underneath the surface area.
   • Bedbugs love to live and breed where wood frames meet, or where the wood has come to be split apart by age and maturation, so you will want to check there too.
5. Investigate the clutter around your bed. Bedbugs love to hide out in small crevices wherever they can reproduce. These can include books, night stands, telephones, radios, and even electrical outlets.^[5]
   
   • Open up your books that are near your bed and flip through the pages. Check and make sure that there are no black, or dark red specks within the pages.
   • Lift up your radios and telephones. Use a magnifying glass and a flash light to inspect the places where the wooden boards of your night stand are nailed together.
   • Unscrew your electrical outlets. Make sure that when you do so, you first cut the circuit breaker for that particular bedroom. Use a flashlight and see if there are any remnants of bedbugs, whether they be alive, shells, or fecal matter.
6. Scan the edges of your carpet. Different types of flooring like carpeting (tight or loose) or linoleum are great places for bedbugs to hide out. These are also perfect for seclusion which bedbugs need to reproduce. If you can do so, without damaging your carpet/linoleum, peel up the edge. Use a magnifying glass and a flash light to detect any bedbugs, shells, or defecation. Do the same around the floor boards where the wood paneling meets the floor.
   
7. Probe your closet and clothes. Bedbugs love to live on the fabrics of shirts and pants, especially if they have not been washed in a while. The closet provides seclusion, heat, and yet still easy access to your bed.
   
   • Go in your closet and inspect your clothes. Rub your hands against the fabric of your hanging clothes. See if any dark black specks begin to release as you apply pressure.
   • You can do the same with your clothes in a dresser drawer. Rub your hands against the fabric. Check with a magnifying glass and a flashlight the cracks and crevices of the inner paneling of the dresser.
8. Survey your bedroom for loose wallpaper and/or peeling paint. These are another great area for bedbugs to roam about. They get seclusion and easy access to your bed. If the bedbugs are not readily apparent, peel back some of the chipped paint and/or wallpaper. Look for tiny white larvae using your magnifying glass. There may be also black specks which pop out as you peel some of the paint and/or wallpaper back.^[6]
   
9. Check your skin for bite marks. Bedbugs generally feed at night (nocturnal) on human flesh in order to extract blood. These bite marks are often mistaken for mosquito bites, but are very different.^[7]
   
   • Inspect your ankles/feet in the mornings. Bedbugs feed on exposed skin, and the ankle/feet area is the part most likely to be exposed at night. However, the marks could occur almost anywhere along your body.
   • Notice whether or not you see bite marks after you wake up in the morning. Bedbugs bite in linear groups of three, as compared to the mosquito which generally only bites once. Bedbug bites appear as a series of small red dots.^[8]
   • These bites are mostly painless at first. However, if you notice that they begin to itch after a few days they most likely are bedbugs. The itchiness and swelling can last up to nine days.
10. Call an exterminator. Sometimes bedbugs are hard to find, or not readily apparent. A great thing to do is to call your local exterminator who is trained in the field, to come and inspect the house. He or she will be able to give you an exact answer.
    

EditTreating an In-House Bedbug Problem

1. Clean your bedding and linens. This is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of bedbugs. The insects do not last long in extreme heat, so putting your sheets, pillow cases, and comforter in the washer can help.
   
   • Simply put your linens in the washer. Make sure the water is hot. Check beforehand whether or not your bedding can be washed with hot water (look at the tag).^[9]
   • After they come out of the washer, put them immediately in the dryer at the highest temperature setting.
   • You can do the same with your clothes. However, you will need to be extra pre-cautious with clothes, as they might tend to shrink in both hot water, and the extreme heat of the dryer.
   • For items that cannot be washed, stick them in the dryer on high heat for thirty minutes.
2. Encase your bed with a tight fabric. Wrap your mattress and box spring with tightly woven fabric, such as a mattress cover. This will prevent the bedbugs from becoming embedded in the mattress and box spring cracks and crevices. It will also make it easier to get rid of the bedbugs because you can simply throw the fabric in the wash.
   
3. Use plastic cups around the feet of your bed. Buy four plastic cups and place them upright as if you were about to drink out of them. Sit each of your beds legs in one of the four cups. This can prevent the bedbugs from crawling out of your closet, or from your carpet, and onto your bed.
   
4. Get rid of the clutter around the bed. Because clutter is a great place for bedbugs to hide out, clean up the area around your bed. This will get rid of hiding places, and make your bedroom more sanitary in the process.^[10]
   
   • Stack up books, and place them far away from your bed, or on a bookshelf.
   • Clothes should also be clean, neatly folded, and placed far away from your bed. Hang them up in a closet, or keep them in a dresser drawer.
   • Make sure that your nightstand and/or desk are neat, and properly maintained. Pick up any garbage, cups, plates, utensils, napkins, tissues, etc. Wipe the surface down with a damp cloth, or use a healthy cleaning spray.
5. Vacuum the area around your bed frequently. Bedbugs like to embed in the fabric of the carpet, and use the carpet as a means to move around. Make sure that your vacuum is powerful enough to pick up materials which are deeply embedded.^[11]
   
   • Vacuums with cyclone technology, or 4-chamber suction are great for this job.
   • Vacuum regularly, whether it be once a day, or once a week. You do not want to attract the bedbugs in any way, and give them time to move about.
6. Repair cracks. Bedbugs love to breed and live within the cracks of furniture, bed posts, and headboards. Use putty, plaster, or safe wood glue to fill in the cracks which might have the potential to house the bugs.
   
7. Buy a portable heating chamber for your bedroom. These can be either handheld, or ones that sit upright on the floor. Because bedbugs cannot live in extreme temperatures, the heating chamber will kill them.^[12]
   
   • Use an upright heating chamber, and sit it on your bedroom floor. Turn the heat up to between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to shut the door to keep the heat in. Warning: Continuously check on your room that there isn't a fire resulting from the heating chamber.^[13]
   • Use a handheld heating chamber, and run it over the surfaces you believe to be infected. Be careful as to not touch the heating chamber directly, as it will be very hot.
   • After you have you have used either of these, clean the area of dead bedbugs. Vacuum the carpeting, wipe the wood furnishings, and throw your linens in the washer.
8. Get rid of your mattress/furniture. This is oftentimes a last resort, but if the bedbugs have overwhelmed the situation, it is best to start over.
   
   • Dispose of your mattress a great distance from your house. Either leave the mattress near the place where the trash men pick the garbage up, or take the mattress directly to the garbage dump. Do the same with any furniture infected with bedbugs.
   • Remember, secondhand furniture and mattresses are especially vulnerable to having bedbugs in them. If your furniture or mattresses are secondhand, it is even more of a necessity to rid yourself of these furnishings. They have likely already had bedbugs in them before, and are a breeding ground for more to come.
9. Use safe chemical treatments on and around your bed. There are many name brand bedbug removal chemical agents that are available at stores across the country. Find one that is safe to use, and that comes in a spray bottle form.^[14]
   
   • Spray the chemical agent onto the surface you wish to rid of bedbugs. Let it sit there for a few minutes.
   • You can also buy some chemicals which you can leave sit in a particular room which will kill bedbugs, much like the chemicals an exterminator uses.
   • After you have used the chemicals, wash the surface off with a damp washcloth or paper towel. Immediately dispose of the cloth as it will contain chemicals and dead bugs/feces/shells.
10. Call an exterminator. Rather than use chemicals which might be harmful, it might be better to call a professional. He or she will be able to document the problem, and provide an adequate chemical solution.
    

EditFixing an Out-of-House Bedbug Problem

1. Inspect your temporary housing. Whether it be an apartment, dormitory, cruise ship, hotel, or homeless shelter, it is critical that you examine the space for any bedbugs/feces/shells. Even the best, five star hotels, have been known to have bedbug problems.^[15]
   
   • Bring along a magnifying glass and a flashlight with you. Get up close and personal with your mattress, bedding, headboard, carpet, closets, and anywhere else you think bedbugs might be lurking. Check not only for small, dark, oval shaped bugs, but also little black marks (feces) and clear or yellowish bedbug shells.
   • If you find something suspicious, immediately contact the tenant of your temporary home. They will be able to bring in people who will clean the area, and disinfect.^[16]
2. Inspect your luggage after a trip. Upon returning home from a vacation, it is imperative that you check whether bedbugs from a hotel, cruise ship, etc. have entered into your luggage.
   
   • Use the magnifying glass and flashlight to first see whether there are any bedbugs. Check along the creases of the luggage where the fabric is sewn together, and check your clothes.
   • Whether you find bedbugs or not, it is best to disinfect anyways. Use a mild chemical agent and spray down your luggage (after you have taken your clothes out). After you have done so, wipe the luggage down with a clean, wet cloth or paper towel.
3. Wash your clothes frequently. The minute you get home from a vacation or retreat, put your clothes in the washer. Make sure the water is hot, which will kill any bedbugs. Finally, put them in the dryer at the highest heating setting.
   
4. Inspect your work related facilities. Believe it or not, work can be a great place for bedbugs to reside. They can camp out in break room furniture, teachers' lounges, offices, and storage facilities.
   
   • Use a magnifying glass and a flashlight to check the furniture. Look along the creases of the fabrics where they are sewn together. Inspect the wood paneling that s near the floor (baseboard). Check to see whether there are any cracks in the wall, peeling paint/wallpaper. These are great places for bedbugs to hide out.
   • Look for the bedbugs themselves, along with black dots (feces) and any clear bedbug shells.
   • If you are allowed to, clean the area with a safe chemical agent. Follow that by wiping the area clean with a wet washcloth or paper towel. If you are not allowed to disinfect the area, notify the supervisors of any bedbug problems you are aware of.
5. Educate the staff at your workplace. It is important that your fellow co-workers/employees knows what to look for when it comes to bedbugs. Let them know that it is important to be on notice of any small, dark, oval shaped bugs. As well as small dark marks which are bedbug feces, and clear or yellowish bedbug shells.^[17]
   
6. Establish a monitoring program at your workplace. Write up a schedule so each employee has a set time that they are to check for bedbugs. This will distribute the workload, and make sure that bedbugs are consistently being monitored for.
   
   • Ask each employee to send in to you a time of the week that they are free to check the lounge, office, furniture, etc. Compile the list into a block schedule. List everyone's particular times on one master schedule.
   • Send this master schedule out to all employees, and post one on the wall near the lounge area. This will provide a consistent reminder to the rest of the staff.
7. Discourage panic amongst the staff. The office you work in should not be in hysteria over bedbugs. These are not lethal insects, and they are found even in the most clean environments. Make sure that your employees know what to look for, and are vigilant. However, looking for bedbugs should not replace normal work activities/interfere with your daily work life.^[18]
   
8. Create a to-go card for your purse and/or wallet. Write on a small sheet of paper, or on the back of a business card, what to look for when you are searching out bedbugs. You can then carry this around in your wallet/purse, and always be ready to look out for those pesky insects.^[19]
   

EditTips

• Be slow and methodical when you are checking your bedroom. Often times bedbugs are not readily apparent. Make sure to look closely and for long periods of time. Make sure to check, double check, and triple check the same areas.
• Call a friend or relative in for a second opinion. They will be able to help you look for bedbugs, as well as help you determine whether what you see are signs of bedbugs.
• Do not overreact to the situation. Remember that even very clean spaces can have bedbugs.
• Regularly clean your sheets and replace your mattress every few years.

EditWarnings

• Make sure that the chemical agents you use to remove bedbugs are safe to be around. If you are not sure, contact your local exterminator.

EditThings You'll Need

• Magnifying glass
• Flashlight
• Putty/caulk/wood glue
• Pesticides (check with local exterminator)
• Washcloth
• Washer/dryer

EditRelated wikiHows

• Prevent Bed Bugs
• Get Rid of Bed Bugs
• Recognize Bed Bugs
• Get Rid of Bed Bugs at Home

EditSources and Citations

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In its continuing quest to convince hungry consumers that it is the meat destination, Arby’s is adding a new protein to the menu in certain locations this fall: customers will be able to order venison meat sandwiches at participating restaurants in six states where deer hunting is popular.

Calling fall “Meats Season” for the millions of hunters in the U.S., Arby’s says the new offering is a thick-cut venison steak — marinated for three hours in garlic, salt, and pepper — topped with crispy onions and a juniper berry sauce on a toasted roll.

“Hunters hunt the meats, and we have the meats, so it makes sense for us to connect with them and offer a sandwich that they can’t get at any other restaurant chain,” said Rob Lynch, Chief Marketing Officer and Brand President of Arby’s in a statement. “We’re a brand that’s not afraid to take risks and while the Venison sandwich is probably the biggest stretch for us yet, it’s incredibly delicious and we can’t wait to get it in the hands of our guests.”

The new sandwich will make an appearance at 17 Arby’s locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Georgia. But there’s a pretty limited window of availability at each, so you’ll want to check the below list before you go:

Available Oct. 31-Nov. 3
• 2044 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37228

Available Nov. 4-6
• 3821 Tower Ave., Superior, WI 54880
• 1690 Park Place Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416
• 704 Highway 33 South, Cloquet, MN 55720
• 348 Lincoln Ave. SE, St. Cloud, MN 56301
• 3275 First St. S, St. Cloud, MN 56301
• 4415 Roswell Rd. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30342
Available Nov. 12-15
• 4229 W Vienna Rd., Clio, MI 48420
• 4040 17 Mile Rd. NE, Cedar Springs, MI 49319
• 1215 M 89, Plainwell, MI 49080
• 8685 Birch Run Rd., Birch Run, MI 48415

Available Nov. 25-28
• 5205 Library Road, Bethel Park, PA 15102
• 4260 Ohio River Blvd., Bellevue, PA 15202
• 16 Towne Center Drive, Leechburg, PA 15656
• 2539 W State St., New Castle, PA 16101
• 2648 Ellwood Rd., New Castle, PA 16101
• 3224 Wilmington Rd., New Castle, PA16105

Lots of people consume cheese and wine in concert, but science has now substantiated what we have always seem to have known in our guts: cheese actually makes wine taste better.

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Hallucinations are typically associated with psychedelic drugs, fever, and sleep deprivation. Illnesses like schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, migraines, and some forms of dementia can also cause them. In a new study published in eLife, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh teamed up...

PETALING JAYA: A charity home is forced to keep some severely mentally disabled inmates in pens at night as they lack funds to build rooms for all the inmates.

Rumah Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Batu Gajah chairman Sivalingam Ramasamy said that come bedtime, the severely disabled inmates would usually “attack” the others by biting and poking them in the eyes while they were sleeping.

“We had to separate these children to keep the others safe and since our funding is so small, our only resort was to put them in those pens,” he said.

Ten of these inmates are being kept in the pens at night.

The charity home houses some 47 disabled inmates between the ages of 15 and 60, while only six full-time workers along with some partially disabled volunteers are there to monitor them.

Sivalingam said due to the lack of funds, they could only afford to pay the workers a small allowance which was not sufficient to keep them.

“There aren’t enough workers to monitor all the inmates and even some of the workers we do have won’t stay for long.”

The practice of keeping these severely disabled inmates in pens began in 2009 and according to the home, the Welfare Department is aware of the practice.

“Of course we provide the inmates with mattresses, blankets and pillows but some of them throw the mattresses out of the pens.

“If I had the resources, first I would get more workers so that the inmates could be monitored closely, and I would also build more rooms for them.

“As it is, there’s not enough money to build rooms for all 47 of them.”

News of the disabled being kept in pens was first reported on the World of Buzz when a visitor, identified only as ‘Vivian’ went to check on her aunt at the home.

PETALING JAYA: The Veterinary Department has identified and questioned a man believed to have killed a dog that allegedly preyed on his chickens in Sabah.

The man’s cruel act was captured on video.

The department said the man was remanded and later released on bail, Star Online reported.

It is now gathering more information for further action.

The report said animal rights groups called for justice after the viral video emerged.

It showed a man dragging a dog tied with a rope to a drain and letting it dangle, choking it to death.

The incident is believed to have happened several months ago in Lahad Datu.

NEW YORK: Chinese conglomerate HNA Group will acquire a 25 percent stake in international hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, the companies announced Monday, another move expanding HNA’s presence in the sector.

HNA, an aviation and shipping group, announced in April that it had agreed to acquire Carlson Hotels Inc, which owns the Radisson and Park Plaza brands.

“This investment is consistent with our strategy to enhance our global tourism business, and we look forward to working together on new initiatives that leverage our respective strengths,” Adam Tan, vice chairman and CEO of HNA Group, said in a statement.

HNA is purchasing the Hilton stake from the investment firm Blackstone in a deal valued at $6.5 billion, or $26.25 a share.

That will reduce Blackstone’s share in Hilton to 21 percent. HNA also will hold a 25 percent stake in Park Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Grand Vacations after the two companies are spun off later this year.

Hilton CEO and President Christopher Nassetta said, “We believe this mutually beneficial relationship will open new opportunities for our brands and guests around the world, particularly in light of HNA’s strong position in the fast-growing Chinese travel and tourism market, the largest outbound travel and tourism market in the world,”

KUALA LUMPUR: Immediate action is needed to curtail corruption among students and lecturers in tertiary institutions (IPT) to improve grades as it affects the quality of graduates.

Peninsular Malay Students Federation President Zambri Mohd Isa said an integrity unit should be formed in IPTs to conduct an internal audit on all lecturers, including the marks given to students.

“If their work is audited, then lecturers who give incorrect marks to students could be detected.

“Stern action can then be taken and reported to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“We do not want the tertiary institutions to produce individuals without integrity,” he told Bernama here today.

In a newspaper report today, the MACC confirmed there was corruption in tertiary institutions where students gave lecturers money to improve their grades and pass examinations.

Zambri urged the MACC to provide details of the claims as it involved the image of local graduates.

“We need the details on which are the institutions, who the lecturers are and students involved.

“We do not want our graduates graduating by giving money to lecturers. What will be the quality of their qualification?”

Meanwhile, a member of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Corruption Irmohizam Ibrahim said it was feared that students would continue this habit of corruption in their future careers.

“As such, drastic action must be taken by tertiary institutions and the MACC to resolve this issue.”

Irmohizam, who is a former lecturer, said a slot on integrity should be included in the orientation programme or curriculum of the tertiary institutions to prevent it from continuing.

He added that an awareness campaign should also be held in tertiary institutions, involving students and the staff.

“Besides the students, lecturers must also be reminded of their ethics and the vow they took when they first became educators.”

Irmohizam, who is also Selangor Youth Council president, said the issue of students bribing lecturers to get better grades was very serious and stern action should be taken against the guilty parties.

He added that the tertiary institutions themselves should cooperate with the MACC by providing information to identify those who were guilty.

“They should be identified and stern action taken if the allegations are true because it would damage the credibility of local graduates and lecturers.”

Ever since having one of the most unlucky years in aviation history in 2014, Malaysia Airlines has been struggling financially. Rather than trying to rebuild itself as a global airline, the Oneworld carrier has decided to transition into a purely regional one. As part of this transition, Malaysia Airlines has been trying to sell or lease most of its long-haul aircraft since early 2015.

Malaysia Airlines has had an especially hard time disposing of its six Airbus A380s. This challenge is being further complicated now that other airlines are concurrently offloading older A380s onto the used aircraft market. So, the carrier has been pressured into coming up with more creative uses of its A380s.

Now, it seems to have a plan: It’ll start using its Airbus A380s for charter flights, in which the planes will be used for “religious pilgrimage traffic.” The high demand on these routes means that the airline is forced to focus more on capacity than comfort. So, Malaysia is planning to retrofit its A380s — which currently have 494 seats — to carry up to 700 passengers in an all-economy arrangement. Even at this capacity, Malaysia Airlines CEO Peter Bellew expects enough demand to necessitate “up to 20 A380s to carry pilgrims from around the world to Mecca.”

To most, 700 probably seems like an absurdly high number of seats for one aircraft. After all, Emirates’ new 615-passenger A380 just recently became the record holder for the most passengers. Believe it or not, the Airbus A380 is certified to safely transport up to 853 passengers (and 20 cabin crew) in an all-economy, 30-inch pitch arrangement. Thankfully for the 700 potential passengers, Malaysia Airlines’ current economy experience is fairly comfortable. It remains to be seen if the comfort level is different after the retrofit.

H/T: Air Transport World

Featured image courtesy of Oneworld.

We’ve grown wise to how stores try to trick you into paying more by using shady pricing psychology tricks. If we know how they work, though, why do we keep falling for them? In short, because we want to.

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