tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47126640954539702552024-03-08T11:40:52.345+08:00NEWSAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-10577280034568551812013-04-23T08:04:00.000+08:002013-04-23T08:04:52.774+08:00Woman stabbed by robbers dies shortly<img alt="Woman stabbed by robbers dies shortly after" class="img1" height="240" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/CA/B8F5F719C4ED958DC61C07DC1AD71.jpg" title="Woman stabbed by robbers dies shortly after" width="320" /><br />
<br />
A woman died after being stabbed by robbers on Saturday evening while
she was on her way with her family to a charity run at Gasing Hills,
Petaling Jaya. Madam Irene Ong was walking with her daughter when two
men on a motorcycle came from behind. Ong knew something wasn’t right
and pushed her daughter away. She was stabbed four times by the pillion
rider.<br />
The robbers then tried to snatch her pouch while her
daughter was running to look for help. By the time her husband ran to
her aid, she had passed away due to the loss of blood. According to
sources, the deceased’s last words to her daughter were “I love you.”<br />
In
light of the tragic incident of Madam Ong and the rampant snatch thefts
that have been occurring lately, what can we as citizens and as a
community do to protect ourselves and deter such crimes from happening?
Request for more police patrols around Bukit Gasing or the community
coming together to organise a crime watch around the area?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-70839774271130384362013-04-17T08:14:00.000+08:002013-04-17T08:14:51.206+08:00AirAsia starts recruiting pilots for Indian ventureAsia's largest budget carrier AirAsia announced Saturday it has begun
recruiting pilots for the no-frills Indian airline joint venture it
plans to launch later this year.<br />
<br />
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AirAsia is
searching for India-based captains and co-pilots, the carrier said on
its website. Group chief executive Tony Fernandes added on his Facebook
page: "Come fly with us! AirAsia India is hiring pilots."<br />
Last
month, the Malaysia-based company won approval from India's foreign
investment panel to set up an airline in a joint venture with the giant
Tata group, a government official said.<br />
"The way things are going,
it looks like we will start operations in September provided we get all
the necessary approvals," Bo Lingam, chief operating officer of Air
Asia, was quoted as saying by India's Economic Times.<br />
The venture still has to obtain a flying licence from India's aviation regulator, among other steps.<br />
The company will recruit 100 employees to begin with for its Indian operations, the newspaper said.<br />
AirAsia
will have a 49 percent stake in the carrier while India's Tata Group
will hold 30 percent. The remainder will be held by entrepreneur Arun
Bhatia's Telstra Tradeplace.<br />
Fernandes, a former record industry
executive, took over insolvent AirAsia in 2001 and turned it into one of
the aviation sector's biggest success stories.<br />
AirAsia's entry
would mark the first by a foreign carrier in the Indian aviation sector
since the government last September relaxed rules allowing overseas
airlines to take up to 49 percent stakes in domestic carriers.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-81712630317546205912013-04-17T08:05:00.000+08:002013-04-17T08:05:30.578+08:00Strong quake jolts Iran, felt in Gulf and South Asia<a href="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/F4/4E84D8057451398F5F7833778C5_h427_w622_m2_q100_cZICIoPAz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Strong quake jolts Iran, felt in Gulf and South Asia" border="0" class="img1" height="219" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/F4/4E84D8057451398F5F7833778C5_h427_w622_m2_q100_cZICIoPAz.jpg" title="Strong quake jolts Iran, felt in Gulf and South Asia" width="320" /></a>A powerful earthquake rattled Iran on Tuesday, and was felt in the Gulf
and South Asia, where at least five people died and frightened office
workers fled from buildings<br />
<br />
<div class="abs">
Pakistanis
wait outside after evacuating nearby buildings following tremors in
Karachi, on April 16, 2013. A powerful earthquake has rattled Iran on
Tuesday, and was felt in the Gulf and South Asia, where at least five
people died and frightened office workers fled from buildings, reports
said.</div>
It comes a week after one struck near Iran's Gulf port city of Bushehr, killing at least 30 people and injuring 800.<br />
At
least 27 people were hurt in Iran on Tuesday, according to a local
governor speaking to the official IRNA news agency, but there was no
immediate confirmation of any deaths.<br />
In Pakistan, the quake brought down homes, killing at least five people and injuring others, a hospital official said.<br />
"We
have received five dead bodies," Ashraf Baloch told AFP by telephone
from Mashkail in Washuk district, around three kilometres (1.8 miles)
from the border with Iran.<br />
A local health official in Iran told
the Fars news agency that more than 20 villages were probably "severely
damaged," based on initial reports.<br />
But the deputy head of Iran's
state crisis management organisation, Morteza Akbarpour, told Fars news
agency casualties should be low considering the rural setting of the
stricken area.<br />
IRNA said crisis management authorities had declared a state of emergency in the quake-hit area.<br />
The head of Iran's Red Crescent rescue corps, Mahmoud Mozafar, said communications to the stricken areas have been cut.<br />
The
earthquake also shook buildings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, across the
waters of the Gulf in the United Arab Emirates. It was also felt in the
Saudi capital Riyadh and in Oman.<br />
In the tourist hub of Dubai,
residential and office buildings were evacuated and thousands of people
gathered outside skyscrapers.<br />
"Everybody's on the streets. There's
a state of panic," said the director of an insurance company in the
city centre who identified himself only as Rami.<br />
The grandiose
Dubai Mall was completely evacuated, according to employees who said
people were evacuated from towers in Downtown Dubai, home to the world's
tallest building.<br />
The quake was also strongly felt in Kuwait,
particularly in coastal areas, and in the Bahraini capital Manama, where
buildings in the central financial district were evacuated.<br />
It
was felt across northern India, including in the capital New Delhi.
where tremors rattled buildings and led many office workers to run into
the street as a precaution.<br />
"We felt the jerks," said SC Basu, a
retired government engineer who lives in the east of the Indian capital.
"Our beds shook and crockery rattled. Many people left for outside."<br />
There
were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties in India, but
concern remains high just 10 days after the collapse of a building in
Mumbai killed 72 people.<br />
Iran's Seismological Centre said the
7.5-magnitude quake struck at 3:14 pm (1044 GMT) in the southeast near
the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan.<br />
It had initially put the depth of the quake at 18km (11 miles) but later revised it to 95km (59 miles).<br />
The
US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 7.8, and said it
struck near the Iranian city of Khash, in the province of Sistan
Baluchistan.<br />
Dr David Rothery, chair of the volcanoes, earthquakes
and tsunamis course at Britain's Open University, said "this morning's
earthquake in Iran was strong... but fortunately its source was quite
deep.<br />
"Although the ground probably shook for the best part of a
minute, the intensity of the shaking was less than it would have been
for a shallower earthquake of the same magnitude."<br />
But he added
that the area "is mountainous, and damage can be expected from
landslides as well as because of poorly constructed buildings."<br />
Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating.<br />
A
double earthquake, one measuring 6.2 and the other 6.0, struck
northwest Iran last August, killing more than 300 people and injuring
3,000.<br />
In December 2010, a massive quake struck the southern city
of Bam. It killed 26,271 people -- about a quarter of the population --
and destroyed the city's ancient mud-built citadel.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-90351794961444802802013-04-15T12:13:00.000+08:002013-04-15T12:13:55.127+08:00Black Bear Becomes First To Undergo Brain Surgery <img alt="Black Bear Becomes First To Undergo Brain Surgery" class="thumbnail single-leader attachment-single-leader fancybox_border mediaFrame scaleMe" height="185" src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2013/04/shutterstock_130421525.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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A three-year old Asiatic black bear by the name of Champa has <a class="external" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308288/Bear-sore-head-Champa-hailed-medical-pioneer-world-undergo-brain-surgery.html" target="_blank" title="Daily Mail">undergone brain surgery,</a> and in the process has become the first of her kind to do so.<br />
<a class="external" href="http://www.geekosystem.com/first-bear-brain-surgery/" target="_blank" title="Geek O System">Champa</a>
is based in the mountains of northern Laos, and after losing her vision
and becoming more violent vets in her sanctuary came to the conclusion
that she was suffering from hydrocephalus, otherwise know as ‘water on
the <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/347593/part-of-an-idaho-beauty-queens-skull-stored-in-her-stomach-after-brain-injury/" title="Inquisitr">brain</a>.’<br />
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Due to this condition she constantly felt as if she was suffering
from a migraine. Previously, Champa had always stood out due to her
protruding forehead and she often had difficulties socialising with
other bears around her.<br />
However, rather than being put down because of her conditions, the
Buddhist traditions in Laos, as well as various wildlife protection
laws, meant that Champa was forced to undergo a six surgery.<br />
A South African veterinary surgeon was flown in from her usual place
of work at the Edinburgh Zoo, in Scotland, to complete the procedure.<br />
This operation, which took place in February, consisted of drilling a
small hole behind one of the bear’s ears, before then using an
ultrasound probe to confirm that she was indeed hydrocephalic.<br />
A thin tube was then inserted into her <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/547526/pig-tapeworm-removed-from-punk-rock-singers-brain/" title="Inquisitr">brain</a>, which then threaded under her skin to the abdomen, where they drained the fluid from the cavity.<br />
Matt Hunt, the chief executive of the sanctuary, noted that Champa
was instantly different after the ordeal. “There was a lot more
recognition,” he stated. “We can’t know if her vision is fully
recovered, but everyone certainly believes her vision has improved.”<br />
The sanctuary where Champa is based is entitled Free the Bears, and
protects these bears from wildlife traffickers. The Asiatic black bear
is currently listed as vulnerable on the list of threatened species,
whilst its bile is often used in Chinese and Korean medicine.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-11639482400697980422013-04-15T12:09:00.001+08:002013-04-15T12:09:17.937+08:00Kim Jong-Un ‘Struggling,’ Says Former North Korean Spy <img alt="Kim Jong-Un ‘Struggling,’ Says Former North Korean Spy" class="thumbnail single-leader attachment-single-leader fancybox_border mediaFrame scaleMe" height="185" src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2013/04/kim-jong-un-struggling-to-keep-control-north-korea-military.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<a class="external" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/spy-claims-kim-jongun-is-struggling-to-control-the-north-korean-army-8567796.html" target="_blank">Kim Jong-Un is “struggling”</a>
to maintain control of North Korea’s military forces. According to a
former North Korean spy and terrorist who took orders directly from his
father, the bombastic young dictator that everyone loves to hate is
still fighting to consolidate power with a show of force.<br />
That’s the read from convicted terrorist Kim Hyun-He, who placed a
bomb on a South Korean airliner in 1987. The bomb exploded, killing 115
people. She was captured and sentenced to death but ultimately pardoned
because it was established that she herself was a victim of
brainwashing. She now lives in hiding in Seoul, South Korea, and she
gave her thoughts last night on the situation to Australia’s ABC TV from
a secret location.<br />
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Poor Kim Jong-Un. A stone-hearted strongman waving nuclear threats just can’t get any respect these days.<br />
When he announced that doomsday might be coming as soon as Wednesday
or Thursday of last week, a cheeky British tabloid published probably <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/611786/kim-jong-un-grease-photos-probably-some-other-korean-named-kim/">false photos</a> of the alleged young Kim Jong-Un playing a role as a leather-jacket wearing hoodlum in the musical <i>Grease.</i><br />
<a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/615545/john-mccain-calls-north-korean-dictator-a-clown-video/" target="_blank">John McCain</a> called him “a clown.” <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/605332/north-koreas-war-would-be-unbelievable-and-absurd-fidel-castro-says/" target="_blank"">Fidel Castro</a> said that the threats were absurd. Anonymous hacked North Korea and turned admittedly chunky <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/603720/anonymous-hacks-north-korea-turns-kim-jong-un-into-a-pig/" target="_blank">Kim Jong-Un into a pig.</a><br />
Even former vice-president Dick Cheney, who’s always up for a good
war, conceded only that we might be “in the deep doo-doo” with the young
and impetuous dictator. Doo-doo? You run a whole country, and you can’t
even get an upgrade to s**t?<br />
Despite breathless reports that the missile is now upright, it didn’t
go off at the appointed time. An internet wit spread the word that the
test was delayed because of North Korea’s <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/614597/north-korea-missile-test-delayed-by-windows-8-kim-jong-un-to-declare-war-on-microsoft/" target="_blank">reliance on Windows 8 software,</a> and that North Korea has now declared war on Microsoft.<br />
Yeppers, there’s no doubt that Kim Jong-Un is struggling to get the
respect of the west. But his own military? That’s another question.<br />
Some observers have cautioned that Ms. Kim Hyun-He’s take could be
way out of date. She knew the father, not the son, and it isn’t known if
she still has current contacts feeding her information from North
Korea.<br />
Far from struggling, those analysts point out that <a class="external" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2013/0412/Kim-Jong-un-s-goal-Status-as-the-unequivocal-god-king-of-the-North" target="_blank">Kim Jong-Un</a>
appears to have a firm grip on the North Korean armed forces — so firm
that he has successfully removed senior generals. That includes four
officials that actually carried the casket of his father at the state
funeral.<br />
“He is proving he is the leader, the decider…a leader in power, a
leader from the get-go,” said Joseph DeTrani, a former North Korean
ambassador.<br />
While the world waits to see when, or if, the next much-ballyhooed
missile test will launch, the jokes will probably continue. At the end
of the day, almost everyone seems to agree that it isn’t about starting a
nuclear war. It’s about blackmail.<br />
“He’s also using the nuclear program as a <a class="external" href="http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/16671010/kim-jong-un-struggling-ex-n-korean-spy/" target="_blank">bargaining chip for aid,</a> to keep the public behind him,” said Kim Hyun-He.<br />
Whether you think he’s a pathetic blackmailer, a serious danger, or
just a joke, Kim Jong-Un’s struggle for respect is far from over.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-56060358684541030632013-04-11T19:02:00.000+08:002013-04-11T19:02:15.577+08:00Seoul calls Pyongyang to come to dialogue table<h2>
SEOUL: South Korea on Thursday called on North Korea (DPRK) to come
to the dialogue table to resolve the political deadlock, China's Xinhua
news agency reported. </h2>
"The suspension in operation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a
symbol of the inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, is an act
that does not do any good to our nation's future," Unification Minister
Ryoo Kihl-jae said in a formal statement. <br />
Ryoo said that "the normalisation of the Kaesong complex should be made
through dialogue," urging Pyongyang to "come to the dialogue table to
discuss what the North (DPRK) wants." <br />
Asked whether the statement is a formal proposal for dialogue with
Pyongyang, Ryoo told reporters that it would be a declaration to make
certain that "all the problems, including the Kaesong Industrial Complex
problem and the escalating threats by North Korea, should be resolved
through dialogue" rather than the government's formal suggestion for
dialogue. <br />
Ryoo strongly urged Pyongyang to stop heightening tensions on the
Korean Peninsula, expressing his regrets over the North Korea's repeated
provocative threats. <br />
His comments came amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. A
spokesman of North Korea's General Bureau for Central Guidance to the
Development of the Special Zone told the official Korea Central News<br />
Agency that the Kaesong industrial zone may cease to exist if the South
Korean authority continues its confrontation policy. <br />
The industrial zone, established under an agreement reached at the
unprecedented inter-Korean summit in 2000, stopped operations from
Tuesday as around 53,000 North Korean workers failed to report to work
following North Korea's announcement of withdrawal of all its workers
from the North Korea's border town of Kaesong. <br />
<br />
<img alt="South Korea" class="articleImage" height="207" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.253308.1365670717%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="320" /><br />
South Korean army tanks move at a shooting range in the border city of
Paju on April 11, 2013. North Korea kept the world on edge on April 11,
over an expected missile launch while turning its own energies to
celebrating leaders past and present amid soaring tensions on the Korean
peninsula.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-72746314327050623892013-04-11T18:56:00.000+08:002013-04-11T18:56:04.799+08:00Bomb kills 2 soldiers, wounds 6 in south Thailand<h2>
PATTANI, Thailand: Police say two soldiers were killed and six were
wounded in a roadside bombing in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south. </h2>
Police Col. Manit Yimsai said Thursday that suspected insurgents
detonated an improvised bomb hidden on the road surface in Pattani
province’s Panarae district. <br />
The soldiers were in two armored vehicles traveling Wednesday night to
inspect damages from an earlier militant attack. One of the personnel
carriers was badly damaged. <br />
The attack was one of 36 incidents overnight in Pattani. Authorities
said suspected militants set fires on tires, cell towers, telephone
booths, buildings and closed-circuit cameras. No other casualties were
reported. <br />
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand’s three
southernmost provinces since an Islamist insurgency erupted in 2004.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Pattani" class="articleImage" height="303" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.253210.1365660673%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="454" /><br />
Thai security forces inspect the site of a roadside bomb attack on an
armoured vehicle by suspected separatist militants which killed two
soldiers and injured six in Thailand's restive southern province of
Pattani on April 11, 2013. More than 5,500 people have been killed in
nine years of bloodshed in Thailand's Muslim-majority south near the
border with Malaysia, with shadowy insurgent groups blamed for
near-daily bombings and shootings.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-83282654989247166552013-04-11T18:52:00.000+08:002013-04-11T18:52:31.894+08:00Flash flood in several areas in KL<div class="news-article">
<h2>
KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of road users in the city centre
were stuck in massive traffic jams after flash floods occurred in
several areas, with Jalan Tun Razak closed for traffic since about
5.30pm.</h2>
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<div>
Information received from the City Hall’s Integrated Transport
Information System (ITIS) said all major roads leading out of and into
the city centre are seeing major traffic crawl due to the wet weather.</div>
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Among the affected roads and highways were the Middle Ring-Road 1 (MRR1), Jalan Duta, Jalan Kuching, and Jalan Mahameru.</div>
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“Jalan Tun Razak at both sides have been closed to traffic since about 5.30pm after water started flowing into the road.</div>
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“The rain has stopped, and hopefully the flash flood will subside
soon,” said an ITIS officer when contacted through its hotline.</div>
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The officer also said that Jalan Genting Klang was hit by a flashflood
at an early stage of the heavy rain, but the water has subsided and the
road is now clear for traffic.</div>
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Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART Tunnel) hotline when
contacted said the tunnel was closed to traffic since 4.25pm to allow
excess water to be channelled out of the city.</div>
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“We have re-opened the tunnel for traffic from the city centre heading
to Cheras and Seremban, while the other side (leading into the city from
Cheras and Seremban), is still closed,” said an officer.</div>
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<div>
Meanwhile, latest information received was that the flashflood that hit
Jalan Tun Razak, said to be as deep as about one-metre earlier, has
subsided to about 1 foot at about 7pm and is clear for traffic.</div>
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<img alt="KL flash flood" class="articleImage" height="244" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.18842.1323783695%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="320" /> <div class="articleImageCaption caption" style="display: block;">
Flash flood in Jalan Salleh, Kampung Baru did not recede until 9.30pm today. </div>
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<img alt="flash flood in KL" class="articleImage" height="217" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.18840.1323783154%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="320" /> </div>
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A man treading flood waters to check on his car which is partly
submerged at Jalan Lai Tet Loke after a 3-hour continous rain flooded
several roads in Kuala Lumpur today. -- Bernama picture</div>
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<img alt="Jalan Tun Razak floods" class="articleImage" height="243" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.18809.1323774602%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="320" /></div>
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Flash floods along Jalan Tun Razak</div>
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Heavy downpour for almost two hours caused a flash flood in the city
today. This photo was taken from the 15th floor of Wisma Bernama along
Jalan Tun Razak. </div>
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<a href="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.18804.1323773078%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tun Razak flash flood" border="0" class="articleImage" height="240" src="http://www.nst.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.18804.1323773078%21/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_454/image.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Photo: N/A, License: N/A" width="320" /></a><br /> </div>
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Bird's eye view of the flash flood along Jalan Tun Razak</div>
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DBKL officers work to remove an uprooted tree that fell on a car in Taman Danau
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-70174443371349207472013-04-10T10:47:00.000+08:002013-04-10T10:47:55.375+08:00Texas College Stabbing Suspect In Custody, Said To Be 21-Year-Old Male Student <img alt="Texas College Stabbing Suspect In Custody, Said To Be 21-Year-Old Male Student" class="thumbnail single-leader attachment-single-leader fancybox_border mediaFrame scaleMe" height="185" src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2013/04/Texas-College-Stabbing-Suspect.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
The Texas college stabbing suspect has been arrested after slashing
at least 14 people with an X-Acto knife on the campus of Line Star
College’s CyFair campus in Cypress.<br />
The suspect is described as a white male, believed to be 21 years old and <a class="external" href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/lone-star-stabbing-184840929.html" target="_blank">enrolled at the school</a>.<br />
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Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said police learned of the Texas
college stabbing at 11:12 am on Tuesday when reports came in of a white
male “on the loose stabbing people.”<br />
Police said the student went building-to-building on campus at the Texas community college <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/610780/five-stabbed-at-lone-star-college/">stabbing students</a>
before he was subdued and arrested. The attack sent 12 people to area
hospitals, including four taken be helicopter. Several others refused
treatment at the scene, said Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department spokesman
Robert Rasa.<br />
Garcia said the fast work of others on campus prevented the Texas college stabbing from being any worse.<br />
“Some of the details in the call slip did indicate that students or
faculty were actively responding to work to subdue this individual,”
Garcia said. “So we’re proud of those folks, but we’re glad no one else
is injured any more severely than they are.”<br />
Lone Star student Michael Chalfan <a class="external" href="http://www.khou.com/news/local/At-least-5-injured-in-incident-at-Lone-Star-College-202146521.html" target="_blank">helped tackle the suspect</a> and said it was a harrowing scene.<br />
“Had a sinister look on his face, kind of like a smile and a satisfactory grin after doing it,” Chalfan said.<br />
As the stabbing was taking place, <a class="external" href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20130409-lone-star-college-student-arrested-in-stabbing-attack-at-houston-area-campus.ece" target="_blank">Lone Star officials warned people on campus</a>
to take shelter and watch out for a second suspect. Those reports were
later amended, with authorities saying the lone 21-year-old white male
was responsible.<br />
“It was the same suspect going from building to building,” department spokesman Thomas Gilliland said.<br />
Witnesses described a chaotic scene on campus, with reports spreading quickly through social networks and among students.<br />
Courtland Sedlachek, 18, said he was in class when the phones of
everyone in class started buzzing with alerts of the incident. The room
was locked down, but students were soon let out in what he said was an
orderly but nervous evacuation.<br />
The Texas college stabbing isn’t the first instance of violence on
the Lone Star College campus. In January, two people were shot there.
Both survived, and police charged a suspect in the incident.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-39701441704856838652013-04-10T10:44:00.000+08:002013-04-10T10:44:26.958+08:00Saddam Hussein Still Causing Trouble: Iraq Demands Return Of Statue’s Buttock <img alt="Saddam Hussein Still Causing Trouble: Iraq Demands Return Of Statue’s Buttock" class="thumbnail single-leader attachment-single-leader" height="185" src="http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2013/04/Saddam-Hussein-Still-Causing-Trouble-Iraq-Demands-Return-Of-Statues-Buttock.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
The Saddam Hussein statue famously pulled down in Baghdad’s main square is at the center of <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/184064/iraq-would-like-saddam-husseins-bronze-butt-returned-immediately/">a dispute</a> between the Iraqi government and a former SAS soldier.<br />
The Saddam statue was pulled down by a US tank exactly ten years ago
today in scenes that were broadcast around the world. However, parts of
the statue were taken by troops or civilians as souvenirs. The Iraqi
government is demanding the return of the missing pieces, arguing it is
“part of their historical and cultural heritage.”<br />
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Fifty-three-year-old Nigel Ely owns one of the pieces requested by Iraq. Specifically, he owns Saddam’s left buttock.<br />
Former British paratrooper Ely, who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War,
was working as a photojournalist in Baghdad in April 2003. When he
showed up in Baghdad’s Firdous Square the day after the statue was
hauled down, he tells the <em><a class="external" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22071942" target="_blank">BBC</a></em> the statue was “surrounded by tanks.”<br />
Ely recalls how he introduced himself as a Gulf War veteran to US
marines guarding the relic before asking whether he could take a piece
of it:<br />
“They said ‘Yea, buddy’ and I hacked off a piece with the help of the US marines.”<br />
Armed with a sledgehammer and chisel, Mr. Ely broke off a 0.6m chunk
of the bronze statue depicting the late dictator’s buttock. He had
acquired a memorable souvenir.<br />
In the years since, Ely has attempted to sell the bronzed buttock,
even turning the chunk of statue into a piece of “war relic art.” He
intends to raise money for military charities and groups, but buyers
seem in short supply. In October 2011, the relic failed to meet its
reserve of $383,000 in an auction in Derby.<br />
In 2012, UK police questioned Mr. Ely over the statue after receiving
a complaint from the Iraqi government. Mr. Ely has since said he has
tried to resolve the matter with the Iraqi authorities but with no luck.
He says:<br />
“Everyone is running scared of it. Maybe they just don’t want to be associated with it [the statue].”<br />
The former soldier has said he aims to strike a deal with the Iraqi
government whereby the troublesome buttock can be sold to raise money
for charity.<br />
<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wss_urnuB7o&feature=player_embedded<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-36648481989966430312013-04-09T11:33:00.000+08:002013-04-09T11:33:32.527+08:00Britain's Margaret Thatcher, the 'Iron Lady', dead at 87Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the controversial "Iron Lady"
who dominated a generation of British politics and won international
acclaim for helping to end the Cold War, has died following a stroke.
She was 87.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="Britain's Margaret Thatcher, the 'Iron Lady', dead at 87" class="img1" height="212" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/2B/9A97F34F5AB788EF5548E15B4C16_h414_w622_m2_q100_cKelbqwww.jpg" title="Britain's Margaret Thatcher, the 'Iron Lady', dead at 87" width="320" /><br />
<div class="abs">
Flowers
and mementos left by members of the public and admirers sit outside the
home of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in central
London on April 8th 2013. Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the
controversial "Iron Lady" who dominated a generation of British politics
and won international acclaim for helping to end the Cold War, has died
following a stroke. She was 87.</div>
World leaders Monday
paid tribute to Britain's only woman premier, whose polarising 11 years
in office saw her take on trade unions, go to war in the Falklands and
wield her signature handbag against the European Union.<br />
Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II said she was saddened by Thatcher's death as Prime
Minister David Cameron recalled parliament for a special tribute
session, while mining leaders and Irish republicans said she left a
disastrous legacy.<br />
"Today we lost a great leader, great Prime
Minister and a great Briton. Margaret Thatcher didn't just lead our
country -- she saved our country," said a sombre Cameron, who cut short a
trip to European capitals and flew back to London after the news of her
death broke.<br />
Her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Monday she had
"died peacefully following a stroke this morning." She was staying at
the Ritz Hotel in London when she died, he added.<br />
Red white and
blue Union flags flew at half mast over Buckingham Palace, the Houses of
Parliament and the prime minister's Downing Street official residence,
while mourners left flowers outside Thatcher's house.<br />
Britain
announced plans for a ceremonial funeral next week of the kind given to
Princess Diana, although it is a step short of a full state funeral
accorded to monarchs and World War II premier Winston Churchill.<br />
Wearing
a black tie in a sign of mourning, Cameron said in a speech outside
Downing Street that "we can't deny that Margaret Thatcher divided
opinion", but hailed her "lion-hearted love of this country."<br />
The former Conservative Party leader was the 20th century's longest continuous occupant of Downing Street from 1979 to 1990.<br />
Right-wingers
hailed Thatcher as having hauled Britain out of the economic doldrums
but the left accused her of dismantling traditional industry and
destroying the fabric of society.<br />
The once formidable Thatcher
suffered from dementia in recent years -- her illness becoming the
subject of a film starring Meryl Streep, who hailed her Monday as a
"pioneer for women".<br />
Thatcher was told by doctors to quit public
speaking a decade ago after a series of minor strokes. She was last in
hospital in December for a minor operation to remove a growth from her
bladder.<br />
On the world stage, Thatcher in the 1980s built a close
"special relationship" with US president Ronald Reagan which helped
bring the curtain down on Soviet Communism. She also fiercely opposed
closer political ties with Europe.<br />
President Barack Obama said the
United States had lost a "true friend", and Russian leader Vladimir
Putin hailed her as a "brilliant political figure".<br />
Former Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose good relations with Thatcher played a
part in ending the Cold War, said she would live on in "memory and in
history", while Helmut Kohl, the father of Germany's 1990 reunification,
praised her "love of freedom".<br />
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
called Thatcher an "extraordinary leader", and French President Francois
Hollande declared she had left a "profound mark" on Britain.<br />
Two
former US presidents also remembered the legendary British premier, with
George H. W. Bush saying she was "a leader of rare character" and Bill
Clinton hailing her as an "iconic stateswoman" who lived a "remarkable
life".<br />
Pope Francis praised Thatcher's "promotion of freedom" and said he was "saddened" by her passing.<br />
Britain's
86-year-old queen, who shared weekly chats with Thatcher during her
time in power, was "sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness
Thatcher," Buckingham Palace said.<br />
Thatcher will receive a
ceremonial funeral with military honours at St Paul's Cathedral in
central London some time next week, although the date has not been
confirmed, Downing Street said.<br />
Her coffin will rest in the Houses
of Parliament the night before the funeral and will be taken through
the streets on a gun carriage to the cathedral.<br />
British newspapers
reported that the former premier had herself requested not to receive a
state funeral, knowing that it would prove divisive.<br />
The House of
Commons and House of Lords, the two chambers of parliament, will be
recalled on Wednesday so that lawmakers can pay tribute to Thatcher.<br />
Reaction to her death was mixed in Britain.<br />
But the coal miners' union defeated by Thatcher in the 1984-1985 strike issued a statement saying "good riddance".<br />
In the south London neighbourhood of Brixton, sworn enemies of the former Iron Lady held a street party to celebrate the news.<br />
Holding
placards saying "Rejoice -- Thatcher is dead", around 200 people
gathered in the neighbourhood, a hotspot of alternative culture, and
toasted her passing by drinking and dancing to hip-hop and reggae songs
blaring from sound systems.<br />
Thatcher was born Margaret Hilda
Roberts on October 13, 1925 in the market town of Grantham, eastern
England, the daughter of a grocer.<br />
After grammar school and a
degree in chemistry at Oxford University, she married businessman Denis
Thatcher in 1951 -- who died in 2003 -- and became the mother of twins,
Carol and Mark, in 1953.<br />
She was first elected to the House of
Commons in 1959 and succeeded former prime minister Edward Heath as
opposition Conservative leader in 1975 before becoming premier four
years later.<br />
Her enduring legacy can be summed up as "Thatcherism"
-- a set of policies which supporters say promoted personal freedom and
broke down the class divisions that had riven Britain for centuries.<br />
Pushing her
policies through pitched Thatcher's government into a string of tough
battles, while she also had to deal with unexpected setbacks.<br />
When
Argentina invaded the remote British territory of the Falkland Islands
in 1982, Thatcher dispatched troops and ships, securing victory in two
months.<br />
In 1984 Thatcher survived an Irish Republican Army bombing at a hotel in Brighton.<br />
Gerry
Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein republican party, said she had played a
"shameful role" in the troubles in Northern Ireland.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-22535808121289594602013-04-09T11:28:00.000+08:002013-04-09T11:28:51.431+08:00MCA drops Ng Yen Yen from Raub seat<br />
<br />
MCA chief Datuk Seri Lam Kang Sang today confirmed that Tourism
Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen has been dropped out of the candidate
list for Raub. She has served three terms so far. The MCA Chief also
further added that he had met with Prime Minister Najib on this matter
and the former would be filling the seat with a "winnable candidate."<br />
<a href="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/8E/F04BEAB216B153A8FF035D414CB5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lai Seng Sin, AP" border="0" class="img1" height="237" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/8E/F04BEAB216B153A8FF035D414CB5.jpg" title="Lai Seng Sin, AP" width="320" /></a>The
other option is Bilut state assemblyman Datuk Ho Chai Mun, who is a
senior Pahang state exco. He will be meeting DAP's Datuk Mohd Ariff
Sabri Abdul Aziz.<br />
Ng Yen Yen made headlines not too long ago when she was booed by the crowd in Melaka. <strong><a href="http://news.malaysia.msn.com/elections/ng-yen-yen%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98no-yes%e2%80%99-battle-speech">Read FULL STORY here</a></strong>.<br />
In 2011, she used the tourism ministry's RM1.8 <strong>million</strong> expenditure to develop six Facebook pages to promote Malaysian tourism.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>RELATED LINKS:</strong><br />
<strong><a href="http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=252243102">PM Najib vows more cash in Malaysians' pockets</a></strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-64238307283770593162013-04-07T12:44:00.000+08:002013-04-07T12:44:08.659+08:00US delays missile test over N. Korea tensionsThe Pentagon has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test due
to take place in California next week amid soaring nuclear tensions with
North Korea, an official said.<br />
<br />
<img alt="US delays missile test over N. Korea tensions" class="img1" height="204" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/7C/AD5CD627113F9D8F869C1F5E4A57BC_h399_w622_m2_q100_cQvoRFgEu.jpg" title="US delays missile test over N. Korea tensions" width="320" /> <br />
<br />
<div class="abs">
Soldiers
of the US Army's 23rd Chemical Battalion wear protective gear to give a
display of their equipment at Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, north of
Seoul, on April 4, 2013. The Pentagon has delayed an intercontinental
ballistic missile test due to take place in California next week amid
soaring nuclear tensions with North Korea, an official said.</div>
The
defense official told AFP that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
rescheduled the Minuteman 3 test at Vandenberg Air Force Base for some
time next month due to concerns the launch "might be misconstrued by
some as suggesting that we were intending to exacerbate the current
crisis with North Korea."<br />
"We wanted to avoid that misperception or manipulation," the US official added.<br />
"We are committed to testing our ICBMs to ensure a safe, secure, effective nuclear arsenal."<br />
North
Korea, incensed by UN sanctions and South Korea-US military drills, has
issued a series of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war in recent weeks.<br />
The
Pentagon's announcement followed reports that the North had loaded two
intermediate-range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in
underground facilities near its east coast.<br />
They were reported to
be untested Musudan missiles which are believed to have a range of
around 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers) that could theoretically be pushed
to 2,485 miles with a light payload.<br />
That would cover any target
in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases
located on the Pacific island of Guam.<br />
The North has no proven
inter-continental ballistic missile capability that would enable it to
strike more distant US targets, and many experts say it is unlikely it
can even mount a nuclear warhead on a mid-range missile.<br />
Nevertheless,
the international community is becoming increasingly skittish that,
with tensions showing no sign of de-escalating, there is a real risk of
the situation spiraling out of control.<br />
<br />
<img class="vxp_lead_with_image" src="http://img4.catalog.video.msn.com/Image.aspx?uuid=9a70106b-7a74-4f25-a870-cc1e30114912&w=608&h=342&so=4" style="height: 337px; width: 600px;" /><br />
<br />
<div class="vxpMultiLiteTitle vxp_tb8">
<b>US deploys missile defense system to Guam </b></div>
<div class="vxpMultiLiteTitle vxp_tb8">
<b> </b></div>
<div class="vxpMultiLiteTitle vxp_tb8">
<b> </b><span class="vxpMultiLiteDescriptionFull">The United States
says it is deploying a THAAD missile defense battery to defend its bases
on the Pacific island of Guam, following threats from North Korea. The
ground-based Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system will be in place
in the coming weeks, the Pentagon has said, and along with two Aegis
anti-missile destroyers sent to the western Pacific are aimed at
intercepting any North Korean strike fagainst US or allied targets.
Duration: 00:17
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</span><span class="vxpMultiLiteDescriptionMore vxp_tl3"></span><br />
The latest crisis erupted when North Korea fired a long-range rocket
in December that could theoretically reach the continental United
States, but instead splashed down near the Philippines.<br />
The North later carried out its third nuclear test in February, defying even its main ally China.<br />
The
UN Security Council on March 7 unanimously approved new sanctions that
include greater scrutiny of shady financial dealings by the impoverished
regime.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-41580258271194666572013-04-07T12:32:00.001+08:002013-04-07T12:45:15.275+08:00Malaysia News:Anwar to defend Permatang PauhMalaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim confirms he will defend his Permatang Pauh seat.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img alt="BAZUKI MUHAMMAD, REUTERS" class="img1" height="260" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/42/31B2572994E3B0D13A292F4BC93086.jpg" title="BAZUKI MUHAMMAD, REUTERS" width="320" /><br />
Despite rumours that Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will
desert his Permatang Pauh seat in exchange for Tambun, Perak, the PKR
leader addressed it by confirming his decision to defend the former. In a
ceramah attended by hundreds of crowds in Taman Pauh, Anwar confirmed
his decision which received thunderous applause from the crowd.<br />
He
had also revealed earlier on that since he wouldn't be contesting in
Tambun, Siti Aishah Shaik Ismail, who is PKR's wanita youth chief will
be doing so.<br />
Anwar was Permatang Pauh's MP from 1982 onwards when
he joined UMNO. When he was imprisoned for sodomy charges, his wife, Dr.
Wan Azizah covered his seat in the 1999 General Election. Wan Azizah
will not be contesting in the 2013 General Election.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RELATED LINKS:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://news.malaysia.msn.com/elections/khairy-jamaluddin-will-not-be-contesting-in-ge13">Khairy Jamaluddin will not be contesting in GE13</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://news.malaysia.msn.com/elections/malaysia-deserves-better-open-letter-from-lim-guan-eng">Malaysia deserves better (An open letter from Lim Guan Eng)</a></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-53261825335597444352013-04-07T12:25:00.001+08:002013-04-07T12:25:49.725+08:00Afghan tragedy mars Kerry trip focused on Syria, MideastUS Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Turkey Sunday for key talks
on Syria and the Middle East on a visit overshadowed by the killing of a
young woman diplomat in an Afghan bombing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/7D/97505A25C329A08D17CC1D3AC669E9_h433_w622_m2_q100_cWmeRsDGx.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Afghan tragedy mars Kerry trip focused on Syria, Mideast" border="0" class="img1" height="222" src="http://sin.stb.s-msn.com/i/7D/97505A25C329A08D17CC1D3AC669E9_h433_w622_m2_q100_cWmeRsDGx.jpg" title="Afghan tragedy mars Kerry trip focused on Syria, Mideast" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="abs">
US
Secretary of State John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry board a
second plane after their original aircraft had mechanical problems on
April 6, 2013, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Kerry arrived in
Turkey Sunday for key talks on Syria and the Middle East on a visit
overshadowed by the killing of a young woman diplomat in an Afghan
bombing.</div>
The US foreign service employee, who Kerry
met late last month when he visited Kabul, died Saturday in a roadside
bombing attack of a NATO convoy in Zabul province which killed three
NATO troops and two civilians.<br />
"Our State Department family is
grieving over the loss of one of our own, an exceptional young Foreign
Service officer," Kerry said in a heartfelt statement, condemning the
bombing as "a despicable attack."<br />
Kerry was due to meet later
Sunday with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks set to focus on the burgeoning crisis in
Syria and the Middle East peace process.<br />
He would also "encourage
Turkey to expeditiously implement its agreement with Israel and fully
normalize their relationship to allow for deeper cooperation," a top
State Department official said, asking to remain anonymous.<br />
Israel
apologised to Ankara in late March for the deaths of nine Turkish
activists in a botched raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid
ship, in a breakthrough brokered by US President Barack Obama during a
visit to Jerusalem.<br />
The apology ended a nearly three-year rift
between Israel and Turkey -- two key US allies in the region -- and the
two countries are due to begin talks on compensation on April 12.<br />
But
they have yet to exchange ambassadors and fully restore diplomatic
ties, and the US official stressed this "was a pivotal time to encourage
them to keep moving forward."<br />
Erdogan accepted the apology "in
the name of the Turkish people" but said the country's future
relationship with Israel would depend on the Jewish state.<br />
Syria
will also loom large in their talks, with Turkey having kept its borders
open to refugees fleeing the conflict now in its third year.<br />
Turkey
has taken in some 190,000 refugees since the start of the conflict to
topple President Bashar al-Assad, most of whom are housed in 17 camps
stretched along the border with Syria, according to UN figures.<br />
The
huge flows are placing a massive burden on Turkish resources, and Kerry
would stress the need to keep the borders open as well as their shared
support for the Syrian opposition council, the official said.<br />
After
talks in Turkey, Kerry heads later Sunday to Israel and Ramallah in the
West Bank, where he will meet with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.<br />
He
will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
Monday, in what will be his third trip to the Middle East region since
the start of his tenure on February 1.<br />
US officials have said the
return visit will give him a chance to probe possibilities for
restarting the moribund peace process, which has stalled for over two
years, in the wake of Obama's trip last month.<br />
Kerry's departure
for Istanbul was delayed by about three hours when a door on his Boeing
757 malfunctioned, and he was visibly saddened by the tragedy in
Afghanistan as he waited with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry for a second
plane to be prepared.<br />
Before leaving, he phoned the parents of the
State Department employee to offer his condolences. Four other State
Department staff were injured, one critically, in the attack.<br />
The
Zabul bombing comes almost exactly seven months after ambassador Chris
Stevens and three other American staff were killed in a militant attack
on September 11 on the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-31217295472381310062013-04-07T12:21:00.000+08:002013-04-07T12:46:42.432+08:00Malaysia News: PM Najib vows more cash in Malaysians' pockets<br />Malaysia's premier Najib Razak unveiled a manifesto on Saturday pledging
bigger cash handouts, millions of new jobs and lower taxes and crime,
as he seeks his first mandate in looming national polls.<br />
<br />
<br />
Speaking to tens of thousands in a packed stadium just outside the
capital, he talked up Malaysia's economic prosperity over his four years
in power, promising to do better should he win convincingly in an
election expected late April.<br />
"We have fulfilled the hopes of the
people. If that was our performance over just four years, imagine what
we can achieve in the next five years if we have a strong mandate," he
said in a speech telecast live on national television.<br />
Najib, who
dissolved parliament Wednesday, has previously said he is "cautiously
optimistic" of a "big" win as his United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) faces what is seen as the toughest challenge to its 56 years in
power.<br />
The vote is tipped to be the closest ever, driven by
concerns over corruption, the rising cost of living and high crime under
an UMNO-dominated coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence
in 1957.<br />
Najib has worked hard to rebrand the 13-member Barisan
Nasional, or National Front, since taking over the coalition in 2009 by
launching a series of reforms to strengthen the economy and grant
greater civil liberties.<br />
He has reversed a recession, despite
global economic instability, with Malaysia recording a 5.6 percent
growth last year while keeping inflation and unemployment at 1.6 and 3.3
percent respectively.<br />
Launching Barisan's manifesto, he pledged
to gradually increase an annual handout he introduced two years ago for
millions of poor households from 500 ringgit ($164) to 1,200 ringgit
while lowering private and corporate income tax.<br />
The prime
minister also promised to build a million low-cost homes and attract 1.3
trillion ringgit in investment by 2020, creating 3.3 million jobs in
the country of 29 million people.<br />
The manifesto outlines plans to
expand the fight against crime and corruption by increasing the number
of special corruption courts and the police force by 4,000 each year.<br />
But
Ibrahim Suffian, director of independent pollster Merdeka Center, said
the steps taken to combat graft were merely "procedural and do not
tackle systemic issues".<br />
"Najib has instead made a hard sell on
his economic track record, but most people don't feel the 49 percent
increase in income over the past three years he talks about. That's the
disconnect," he added.<br />
Najib is facing his first test at the
ballot box and is under pressure to recover from the coalition's shock
2008 election result, when it lost its traditional two-thirds
parliamentary majority.<br />
Recently, influential ex-leader Mahathir
Mohamad said Najib could face a ruling-party leadership putsch if he
does not improve on the 2008 setback.<br />
The resurgent opposition,
led by charismatic former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, has gained
traction by pledging to tackle authoritarianism and graft and is equally
confident of victory.<br />
The opposition currently holds 75 of 222 parliamentary seats and controls four of the country's 13 states.<br />
The
Election Commission has said it will meet Wednesday to decide on a
polling date, which must be within 60 days of parliament's dissolution.
Analysts expect it to be held by the end of the month.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sharebabytopic.blogspot.com/">http://sharebabytopic.blogspot.com</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4712664095453970255.post-56233762970056731032013-04-07T12:12:00.000+08:002013-04-07T12:27:08.089+08:00Malaysia News:Malaysian PM Najib predicts victory at polls<div class="svrichtxt cf" id="svrichtxt">
<div id="page1">
Najib, who
dissolved parliament Wednesday in preparation for a general election
seen as the ruling coalition's toughest challenge after 56 years in
power, has urged voters to give him a strong mandate to rule.<br />
"We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to win big, which means two-thirds majority (in parliament)," he said.<br />
"We
have to work hard towards it and we have to make sure we minimise all
internal problems within the party," Najib said, in an apparent
reference to factional struggles within his United Malays National
Organisation (UMNO).<br />
The vote is tipped to be the closest ever,
driven by concerns over corruption, the rising cost of living and high
crime under the Barisan Nasional coalition which has ruled Malaysia
since independence in 1957.<br />
Najib has worked hard to rebrand UMNO,
which dominates the 13-member Barisan coalition, by launching a series
of reforms to strengthen the economy and grant greater civil liberties.<br />
"For four years we have fulfilled all our promises," he said after chairing an UMNO meeting.<br />
Recently,
ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad said Najib could face a ruling-party
leadership putsch if he does not improve on a 2008 polls setback.<br />
An
election commission official said Thursday that the election regulator
was expected to meet next week to decide on the polling date.<br />
The vote must be held within two months from the date parliament is dissolved. Analysts speculate it would be in late April.<br />
Najib
is facing his first test at the ballot box since taking over in 2009
and is unionder pressure to recover from the coalition's shock 2008
election result, when it lost its traditional two-thirds parliamentary
majority.<br />
The resurgent opposition, led by charismatic former
deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, has gained traction by pledging to tackle
authoritarianism and graft and is equally confident of victory.<br />
The opposition currently holds 75 of 222 parliamentary seats and controls four of the country's 13 states.<br />
Ambiga Sreenevasan, the co-chairman of electoral reform group Bersih, said the opposition had the odds stacked against it.<br />
"No
doubt the opposition goes into the race with a disadvantage. Please
allow the opposition to have access to the media," she told reporters.<br />
Currently the opposition does not have access to state media.<br />
"I
hope voters will come out in big numbers to dilute the discrepancies in
the electoral roll," she added, referring to claims the list does not
accurately represent the electorate.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172329810150741240noreply@blogger.com0