Officials in Nepal have yet to officially confirm the number of Malaysians who are still uncontactable, following the massive landslide and flash flood near the border with Tibet.
It was earlier reported that up to 55 of our nationals are still unaccounted for.
Our Foreign Minister says authorities there as well as the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu are still gathering and cross-checking information from the various travel agencies.
He adds that efforts to locate the Malaysians are being hampered by disruptions to communication and transportation networks.
It comes as the death toll in Nepal and Tibet rose to around 380, with as many as 1,300 others still missing.
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At last look…20 areas nationwide are recording unhealthy air quality levels.
The affected states are Sarawak, Putrajaya, KL, Selangor, Penang, Perak, Kedah, and Negeri Sembilan.
Sri Aman in Sarawak is the worst-affected with an API reading of 199…which is just below the ‘very unhealthy’ level of 200.
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Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s National Day address on August 30th has been moved indoors due to the haze.
The communications ministry says the event, which was originally scheduled to be held at Dataran Merdeka in KL, will now be switched to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre instead.
It explains that this is to ensure the safety, health and comfort of guests and the public.
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In other news…
The Health Ministry is still studying whether to start using a dengue vaccine, saying it needs to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the pricey drug.
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And Peter Cullen, who voiced the character Optimus Prime in the original Transformers TV series and its subsequent movie spinoffs has died at the age of 85.
