Ahad, 5 Mei 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio


It’s no secret

Posted: 06 May 2013 02:32 AM PDT

988 wants you to win a car. But first, you must be their Secret Agent.

HERE's a chance for you to win RM100 as well as a car in 988's Secret Tune contest. 988 listeners who are able to call in and correctly guess the song and name of artiste will win RM100. The winner is then selected as the station's "Secret Agent" to be in the running to win a brand new Toyota Camry worth RM150,000.

Secret Tune radio contest runs from now until May 24. Listeners who are selected as "Secret Agent" are invited to Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya, on May 26 for the final showdown. The last one standing wins the car!

Contest runs Monday to Friday, from 10am to 10pm. So, stay tuned to 988 for the cue to call. You might just be the lucky one who drives away with a brand new Toyota Camry.

Also on 988 this week

The Feature (Monday, Tuesday, 9am-10am)

As the prices of property in Kuala Lumpur are constantly on the rise, just how long do most people have to save up to buy a house?

Join 988 for an in-depth discussion on terrace houses, condos, second-hand properties and more.

Morning Up VIP (Wednesday-Friday, 9am-10am)

The VIP for this week is funnyman Bu Xue Liang, better known as A-Liang. A famous host, actor and singer in Taiwan, A-Liang is well-known for his memorable line: "You will leave traces wherever you go."

Music Gets Crazy (Monday-Friday, 1pm-4pm)

Catch Asia's A-list pop idols in Stars Guide this week namely dancing queen Jolin Tsai Yi Lin, multi-lingual singer Calvin Chen IJue and drama idol Joseph Cheng Yuan Chang.

Music VIP (Monday-Friday, 2pm)

Taiwanese alternative rock band Mayday is the epitome of positive energy and creative fervour.

Get to know more about this five-man band.

For more information, log on to www.988.com.my. 988 is a subsidiary of Star Radio Group.

Star power

Posted: 06 May 2013 02:33 AM PDT

CELEBRATE Malaysian pop star Datuk Siti Nurhaliza's illustrious career as she performs alongside the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) in July.

The Pahang native ventured into showbiz back in 1995 after winning the talent competition RTM Bintang HMI.

Soft and wispy at times, strong and commanding at others, Siti's voice would later go on to win the regional singing competition, Voice Of Asia, held in Kazakhstan.

She has since earned more than 200 accolades and not forgetting the golden opportunity to perform at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, London, in 2005.

The sum of her achievements landed her yet another accolade when she entered the Malaysia Book Of Records for being the country's most awarded artiste.

And she is showing no signs of slowing down.

The 34-year-old vocalist released her first English album, All Your Love, a little over a year ago.

Follow the singer's nearly two-decade long musical journey on July 5–7, at 8.30pm in the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, Kuala Lumpur.

Witness the MPO's symphonic interpretations of some of Siti's biggest pop tunes such as Muara Hati, Purnama Merindu, Cindai, Biarlah Rahsia, Hanya Dia, Seindah Biasa, Badarsila, Kau Kekasihku and Di Taman Teman.

Tickets, priced at RM400, RM330, RM250 and RM150, are available via email booking (dfp_boxoffice@pertronas.com.my) and phone booking (03-20517007).

Visit mpo.com.my for more information.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Egypt's prime minister unhurt by shooting near his car - police

Posted: 05 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police on Sunday detained a young man who opened fire on Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's convoy and his four companions in Cairo in an incident the authorities said had no political motive. Kandil was not injured.

The young men were on their way to settle a feud when their vehicle crossed paths with Kandil's convoy at 10.00 p.m. British time in Dokki, a residential and commercial district of the capital, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil addresses delegates during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos January 24, 2013 (File photo). REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil addresses delegates during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos January 24, 2013 (File photo). REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

When Kandil's security guards tried to force the vehicle away from the convoy, one of the men fired two shots at their car. The police gave chase and caught the five men, the Interior Ministry said. The incident had no "political motives or other dimensions", it added.

The five men were aged between 18 and 29, the Interior Ministry statement said.

(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Christopher Wilson)


Related Stories:
Gunmen kill alcohol seller in Egypt's Sinai

Egypt's prime minister unhurt by shooting near his car - police

Posted: 05 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police on Sunday detained a young man who opened fire on Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's convoy and his four companions in Cairo in an incident the authorities said had no political motive. Kandil was not injured.

The young men were on their way to settle a feud when their vehicle crossed paths with Kandil's convoy at 10.00 p.m. British time in Dokki, a residential and commercial district of the capital, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil addresses delegates during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos January 24, 2013 (File photo). REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil addresses delegates during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos January 24, 2013 (File photo). REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

When Kandil's security guards tried to force the vehicle away from the convoy, one of the men fired two shots at their car. The police gave chase and caught the five men, the Interior Ministry said. The incident had no "political motives or other dimensions", it added.

The five men were aged between 18 and 29, the Interior Ministry statement said.

(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Christopher Wilson)


Related Stories:
Gunmen kill alcohol seller in Egypt's Sinai

Copyright © 2013 Reuters

Germany riveted at start of neo-Nazi murder trial

Posted: 05 May 2013 04:18 PM PDT

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - The surviving member of a neo-Nazi cell blamed for a series of racist murders that scandalised Germany and shamed its authorities goes on trial on Monday in one of the most anticipated court cases in recent German history.

File photo of Uwe Mundlos, Beate Zschaepe and Uwe Boehnhardt (L-R) of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU), in an undated handout picture provided by the German Federal Police Bundeskriminalamt in Wiesbaden March 14, 2013. Quelle:Bundeskriminalamt/Handout via Reuters

File photo of Uwe Mundlos, Beate Zschaepe and Uwe Boehnhardt (L-R) of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU), in an undated handout picture provided by the German Federal Police Bundeskriminalamt in Wiesbaden March 14, 2013. Quelle:Bundeskriminalamt/Handout via Reuters

The chance discovery of the gang, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which had gone undetected for more than a decade, has forced Germany to acknowledge it has a more militant and dangerous neo-Nazi fringe than previously thought, and exposed staggering intelligence failings.

The trial in Munich will focus on 38-year-old Beate Zschaepe, who is charged with complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000-2007, as well as two bombings in immigrant areas of Cologne, and 15 bank robberies.

"With its historical, social and political dimensions the NSU trial is one of the most significant of post-war German history," lawyers for the family of the first victim, flower seller Enver Simsek, said in a statement.

The case has profoundly shaken a country that believed it had learned the lessons of its past, and has reopened an uncomfortable debate about whether Germany must do more to tackle the far-right and lingering racist attitudes.

Four others charged with assisting the NSU will sit with Zschaepe on the bench.

DOUBLE SUICIDE

The existence of the gang only came to light in November 2011 when the two men believed to have founded the NSU with Zschaepe, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt, committed suicide after a botched bank robbery and set their caravan ablaze in the eastern town of Eisenach.

In the charred vehicle, police found the gun used to murder all 10 victims. They also found a grotesque DVD presenting the NSU and claiming responsibility for the killings. In it the bodies of the murder victims are pictured while a cartoon Pink Panther tots up the number of dead.

After her companions' suicides, Zschaepe is believed to have set fire to a flat she shared with the men in Zwickau, 180 km (110 miles) away, and gone on the run. Four days later she turned herself in to police in her hometown of Jena, saying "I'm the one you are looking for."

For the victims' families the trial will be the first chance to come face to face with Zschaepe, a woman whose troubling, blank expression and resolute silence since her arrest has left people struggling to make sense of her motives.

The trial offers a chance for the woman dubbed "Nazi bride" in the media to break her silence, but few think she will.

Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, wrote to Zschaepe in May 2012, addressing her as "Dear Sister" and urging her to use the trial to spread far-right ideology, according to German media.

Hearings are scheduled into early 2014, and witnesses due to appear include Zschaepe's estranged relatives and the parents of Mundlos and Boehnhardt.

FAMILIES' GRIEF

Prosecutors say the gang chose people running small businesses or shops as easy, vulnerable targets, in an attempt to terrify migrants and hound them out of Germany.

Some of the relatives even came under suspicion themselves because police simply did not consider a far-right motive.

"All the relatives have the huge problem that they were never treated as victims. During the investigations they were either considered suspects, or as relatives of criminals," said lawyer Angelika Lex.

The start of the trial comes as a relief to families, after it was postponed by a fortnight due to the court's poor handling of media access. It initially did not guarantee any Turkish media a courtroom seat, despite the number of Turkish victims.

This prompted a successful complaint by a Turkish newspaper and the Munich court was ordered to redistribute seats, which it did via a lottery.

While judges try Zschaepe and the NSU's suspected accomplices, Germany's lower house of parliament is conducting its own inquiry into the institutional failings.

Germany's patchwork of intelligence agencies are set to undergo reforms, after the inquiry found they failed to share information and neglected the far-right threat. The head of domestic intelligence resigned last July.

The trio had been known to authorities during their teenage years in Jena, for their racist hate crimes and bomb making, but had managed to escape arrest and assume new identities.

(Additional reporting by Reuters television in Munich; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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KLCI surges to historic high of 1,826

Posted: 05 May 2013 07:28 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's blue chips surged to an all-time high of 1,826 early Monday, powered by aggressive buying of FBM KLCI stocks after the Barisan Nasional won 133 parliamentary seats at the 13th General Elections to continue to rule the country.

The relief rally broke past all technical indicators, surging 131.45 points or 7.75%, while CIMB Equities Research upgraded Malaysia from Neutral to Overweight and raised its end-2013 KLCI target from 1,640 to 1,850.

At 9.48am, the KLCI was up 55.88 points to 1,750.65. Turnover was 433.36 million shares valued at RM1.39bil. There were 557 gainers, 33 losers and 69 counters unchanged.

BAT rose RM3.04 to RM65.40, PetGas RM1.30 to RM20.86, CIMB 73 sen to RM8.34 while KLK gained 66 sen to RM21.60.

HLFG rose 66 sen to RM15.96, Genting 55 sen to RM10.54 and PPB Group 34 sen to RM12.94.

Public Invest Research said with the largest overhang on markets out of the way, the next question was the positioning of the investors' portfolio for the months ahead.

"Our suggested stocks at the end of last year has yielded a year-to-date return of about 10.9% versus the weighted- benchmark index return of 2.3%, amplifying our point of a winning strategy (for now) coming from stock-specific investments," it said.

Hwang DBS Vickers Research said in terms of share price actions, counters that will probably attract added interest this week include construction plays - Gamuda, MMC, MRCB and IJM - as mega infrastructure projects (such as MRT, LRT system extensions and high-speed rail) will proceed according to plans.

HDBSVR said market laggards like CIMB and DRB-Hicom would see trading interest while Tenaga might benefit from tariff hikes arising from the implementation of a proposed fuel cost pass-through formula.

Automotive companies - UMW, APM and MBM - could see trading interest in response to a likely announcement of a national automotive plan in the near future (following the Barisan Nasional coalition's promise to gradually reduce car selling prices in its election manifesto).

 

Will billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway find it hard to grow?(update)

Posted: 05 May 2013 06:45 PM PDT

OMAHA, Nebraska: Short-seller Douglas Kass, Warren Buffett's handpicked bear, raised a concern on the minds of many shareholders at the "Woodstock for capitalists" this weekend: Has Berkshire Hathaway Inc become so big that it will find it hard to grow?

Many retail investors who converged on Omaha, Nebraska, for Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday acknowledged that its fastest growth days are likely behind it. But they said Berkshire is still a good long-term bet as faith remains in Buffett and his management team's more than 4-decade-long record of stellar returns, and the company's tentacles into many sectors of the U.S. economy.

"Yes, it is a concern, but I have to get my expectations in line," said Julie Fehrnstrom, a mother of three from Orinda, California, attending her fifth meeting. "They are not driven by short-term decision making and they have really smart management. You really don't always find that."

Sherrie Palmer, a social worker from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, was attending her first Berkshire meeting, one of 35,000 or so investors.

"The steepness of the growth is levelling off, but it's not a concern," Palmer said. "We like the manner in which decisions are made and I don't worry about this being an organization jumping to a fad that won't pan out."

Patience has served Berkshire shareholders well. Investing in companies with dependable businesses and sound management has helped Berkshire as an investment trounce major competitors since Buffett took it over in 1965. Berkshire is now one of the largest U.S. companies by market value, with more than 288,000 employees in dozens of businesses, covering everything from ice cream to underwear and insurance to railroads.

But its massive size - currently around $268 billion (172.07 billion pounds) in market value - has made it hard for Berkshire to grow as fast as it once did. While Berkshire performs well in down markets, it can lag in rising markets.

Buffett reminded shareholders that 2009-2013 may prove to be the first five-year period ever when the company's growth in book value per share will lag the Standard & Poor's 500 index including dividends.

"People who buy stocks now and hold stocks for 20 years will make money," Buffett told Reuters Insider in an interview on Saturday evening. "Those who hold for 20 days, I don't know what will happen."

M&A, SUCCESSION

It has also become harder for the company to find deals that are large enough to move the needle. In February, Berkshire, along with Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, struck a deal to buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, and Buffett said he was looking for more big acquisitions.

But in an interview on Friday, Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said high prices have made attractive deals scarce. "With interest rates at zero, the prices being paid for businesses are very high," Berkshire's second-in-command said.

Still, size has advantages. Berkshire's quarterly profit rose nearly 51 percent on solid performance in insurance and many of its other units. The results showed that its more than 80 businesses are benefiting from a strengthening economy, as illustrated by increased traffic on its Burlington Northern railroad unit, new customers for its McLane food distribution business and stepped-up demand for its Forest River recreational vehicles, to name just a few.

"In the 1990s, Warren was criticized for not being 'state of the art,'" said Arthur Cohen, a financial adviser from Highland Park, Illinois, who was attending his 15th meeting. "I'm not critical of his performance since."

Investors have also worried about what will happen to Berkshire after Buffett, 82, and Munger, 89, leave. In his most extensive comments to date about the future of Berkshire after he is gone, Buffett said he still expects the conglomerate to be a partner of choice for distressed companies.

Buffett said he and his board are "solidly in agreement" on who should be the next chief executive - but offered no names - and said his son, Howard, would become chairman to ensure that Berkshire had the right CEO in place.

"The key is preserving a culture and having a successor, a CEO that will have more brains, more energy, more passion for it than even I have," Buffett said in response to a shareholder question at the meeting.

BIG BASH

As Berkshire has grown, so has the yearly extravaganza, now Omaha's second-biggest annual tourism event behind the College World Series baseball tournament. The event attracted many well-known investors, including Mario Gabelli, Leon Cooperman and Chris Davis, as well as mom-and-pop investors.

Missy Krasso, a driver for Happy Cab in Omaha, makes as much as $3,000 in fares during the Berkshire weekend. Wall Street tips well, she said.

Before the meeting began, Buffett roamed an exhibit hall at the arena featuring Berkshire-owned companies. Cherry Coke in hand, he dipped coconut bon-bons in a fondant coating at See's Candies, admired a model Burlington Northern railroad and tossed newspapers. Berkshire owns the Omaha World-Herald and others.

A new addition to the series of events around the meeting this year was an "Invest in Yourself" five-kilometre run through downtown Omaha, with Buffett starting it off, if not necessarily setting the pace.

The real mad sprint began at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, when dozens of shareholders rushed for the best seats directly in front of Buffett and Munger on the arena floor, large enough to be suitable for a rock-star concert.

Sherman Silber, a fertility doctor who has attended the meetings for 15 years, said he misses the "old format" where he could just go to the podium and ask a question. "Now you have to do all this lottery stuff," he said.

But Rosie Smith, a finance executive for a Baltimore book printer, said she keeps coming back for more.

"We came out here, and it was the wildest thing we've ever seen," she said, referring to the first of her 10 visits to the meeting. "Every year, it keeps snowballing." - Reuters

AFP meanwhile reported that billionaire Warren Buffett was optimistic on stocks

WASHINGTON: Billionaire Warren Buffett is praising the policies of both President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush for moving the US economy in the right direction.

US stocks soared to new closing records Friday after a strong US jobs report that saw unemployment fall to 7.5 percent revived confidence in the economic recovery.

The 82-year-old investor known as the "Oracle of Omaha" said he was optimistic that stock prices would continue to rise.

"They don't look overpriced. They certainly look more attractive than fixed-income investments to me," he told ABC's "This Week" television talkshow in an interview that aired Sunday.

Buffett said the economy has been improving gradually over the last four years, and it will take time before the US experiences more rapid growth.

But he praised the monetary and fiscal stimulus measures enacted under Bush and Obama.

"We've had a lot of fiscal stimulus. We've had an extraordinary amount of monetary stimulus. And I think those were the right things to be doing considering the incredible situation that existed in 2008," he said.

"Nothing is perfect, but we had some huge problems in 2008. And our country is doing reasonably well coming out of that.

"It's a lot slower than people would like, but it was a lot bigger problem than any of us had ever seen."

Buffett added: "I generally approve of what... the Bush administration did. I approve of what the Obama administration has done."

But he also criticized the political discourse in Washington for becoming "more and more partisan."

"So many elections are determined by the primaries and not the November elections, that it does tend to push both sides to the extremes and to cause them to dig in and feel that they can't bend from positions," Buffett said.

The chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company of about 70 businesses, also spoke in favor of immigration reform that would offer foreign students the chance to become citizens.

He said the US would benefit by making structural changes to ensure women are not relegated to a small sector of the economy.

The US Labor Department report found that the US economy added 165,000 jobs in April, well above market expectations, and also revised upward estimates from the previous two months.

The gains came even as taxes rose and government spending tightened under the sharp "sequester" cuts, which still threaten to hold economic growth back this year. - AFP

 

GE13: Investors to turn aggressive on post-election rally

Posted: 05 May 2013 06:35 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Investors are re-examining their investment strategies and turn from defensive to aggressive in anticipation of a post-election rally, said Hwang DBS Vickers Research (HDBSVR).

The research house said on Monday, the local bourse rose 0.3% year-to-date, which was the fourth lowest return among the 11 Asian stock exchanges, set to play catch-up with its regional counterparts. Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 31.7% year-to-date, Philippines up 24.1% and Indonesia up 14.1%.

"This comes as foreigners continue to park more money in Malaysia. According to the latest Bank Negara Malaysia's statistics, there was an increase in foreign holdings of Malaysian debt securities of RM6.5bil (to RM224.8bil) in March, following an outflow of RM10.7bil in February," it said.

HDBSVR said technically speaking, relief buying force may give a fillip to Malaysian equities this week as political risk diminishes following the GE 13 outcome.

"In terms of share price actions, counters that will probably attract added interest this week include construction plays - Gamuda, MMC, MRCB and IJM - as mega infrastructure projects (such as MRT, LRT system extensions and high-speed rail) will proceed according to plans," it said.

HDBSVR said market laggards like CIMB and DRB-Hicom would see trading interest while Tenaga might benefit from tariff hikes arising from the implementation of a proposed fuel cost pass-through formula.

Automotive companies - UMW, APM and MBM - could see trading interest in response to a likely announcement of a national automotive plan in the near future (following the Barisan Nasional coalition's promise to gradually reduce car selling prices in its election manifesto).

 

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Sports

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Tomic's father in Spain incident

Posted: 05 May 2013 06:57 PM PDT

SYDNEY: The father of Australia's top-rated tennis player Bernard Tomic could face charges over an incident in Madrid, Tennis Australia said on Monday, amid reports he was involved in an allegedly assault.

Todd Woodbridge, the head of men's tennis for TA, confirmed reports that John Tomic was involved in an incident but said the details were as yet unclear.

"We're still trying to ascertain if or what charges have been laid," Woodbridge told local radio, without commenting on Australian reports that Tomic was detained for allegedly striking his son's hitting partner, Thomas Drouet.

"What's important for us at Tennis Australia is that this allegation is thrown toward John, his dad, and not to Bernard."

In a statement, Tennis Australia said the allegations were "very concerning".

"We are working closely with ATP officials who are investigating the incident and are unable to comment further until the full facts are known," it said.

Bernard Tomic, currently ranked 49, last year created more headlines off the court than on it, including run-ins with police in his sports car and claims he was not trying hard enough.

The 20-year-old recently was recalled to Australia's Davis Cup team after captain Patrick Rafter disciplined him for a lack of professionalism following admissions that he gave less than full effort in matches at New York and Shanghai last year.

Tomic won both his singles matches and clinched victory for Australia in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group One second-round tie against Uzbekistan last month.

But he has made a poor start to this year's European clay court season and in his latest match lost in straight sets to Czech veteran Radek Stepanek in the first round of the Madrid Masters. -AFP

Pavlyuchenkova wins first clay title in grand style

Posted: 05 May 2013 06:48 PM PDT

OEIRAS (Portugal): Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday to win the Portugal Open and claim her first trophy on clay.

The third-seeded champion, coached by former Swiss great Martina Hingis, earned the fifth title of her career while leaving her opponent winless from five finals.

One of those was at the same venue a year ago, when Suarez Navarro went down to Kaia Kanepi, an opponent she beat in the semi-finals this week.

Pavlyuchenkova has been working with Hingis officially for just a few weeks and the game style and fighting determination of Switzerland's five-time Grand Slam champion may be rubbing off on the 21-year-old right-hander. "She was really happy with the win," said Pavlyuchenkova of her mentor's first win as a coach.

The winner was less than thrilled with a slow start to her own game.

"I was disappointed with the way I started. But then I relaxed, and started waiting for my chances after she had pinned me to the baseline. I was trying to dictate and wait for the right moment. It worked at the end."

Pavlyuchenkova flew straight to Spain on Saturday for a first-round start at the Madrid Masters against world No. 3 Victoria Azarenka, who has not played for more than a month due to injury and has yet to step on to clay.

"It's a really tough draw, but for both of us. She's not played for a while and I already have some events on clay.

"I can't say what will happen but I'll try my best. I won't be scared, that's for sure. I'll just go out there and try to make her play."

Pavlyuchenkova now owns five career titles, including two this season after winning the Monterrey event for a third time.

Veteran Haas back in Munich final after 13 years

Posted: 05 May 2013 04:23 PM PDT

MUNICH: Evergreen Tommy Haas reached the Munich claycourt final on Saturday, 13 years after his first appearance ended in defeat.

Haas, 35, saw off Croatia's Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-3 and will now face defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber in an all-German final.

Haas reached the Munich final in 2000 when he lost in straight sets to Argentina's Franco Squillari.

"It's quite crazy (to be back in the final). I don't think it's really hit me yet," said Haas, who will be seeking his 14th career title.

"Thirteen years is a long time and it's pretty impressive, I think, to achieve something like that.

"I'd like to go one step further and win the title here once, that's my main goal right now."

It will be the first all-German final on the tour since 2011 in Halle.

Haas is bidding to win the tournament for the first time on his 10th appearance in Munich.

"It's great for German tennis," added Haas, a former world number two.

"We played really well last year in all the German events and now again we're going to have an all-German final, which I think is great for the fans." — AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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GE13: BN wins with 133, wrests back Kedah

Posted: 05 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional won 133 parliamentary seats at the 13th general election to record a slightly reduced performance compared to 2008 but managed to wrest Kedah from Pakatan Rakyat.

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP won 89 seats.

The ruling coalition failed to regain Selangor and Penang while retaining Perak with a slim three-seat majority, due to what Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak described as a "Chinese tsunami".

While Peninsular Malay and Bumiputra voters from Sabah and Sarawak mostly kept their faith in Barisan to deliver the ruling coalition a two-thirds victory, Chinese voters rewarded Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP with 38 seats.

"There was a tsunami among the Chinese community which supported the Opposition," Najib told a press conference at Barisan headquarters at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib also noted the racial polarisation in the trend of voting, and said this could lead to conflicts in society if it was not dealt with.

"Therefore, we will undertake a process of national reconciliation so that we can set aside any extremism and communalism with policies based on moderation."

The much anticipated increase in support by Indian voters appeared to have been muted with MIC winning four parliamentary seats, the same number which the party held going into the polls.

While the sentiments of Malay voters were mixed, a swing towards Barisan managed to off-set the slide in the level of Chinese voter support towards the ruling coalition.

Barisan's weaker performance compared to the 138 parliament seats it won in the last general election is likely to be the focus of the coalition's election post-mortem.

The outcome is also expected to feature prominently at the internal party elections scheduled later this year for Barisan component parties such as Umno, MCA and Gerakan.

Najib thanked voters for their support of the coalition to continue to lead the country.

"I hope for the sake of the country that all sides especially the Opposition will accept this decision with an open heart and allow the democratic process to proceed smoothly.

"The will of the people must be respected. There have been several improvements made to the election process," he said.

The Barisan chairman reaffirmed that all pledges in the Barisan manifesto would be fulfilled, and a mechanism created to monitor their implementation.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

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GE13: Surprises and shocks

GE13: Surprises and shocks

Posted: 05 May 2013 01:29 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA: The 13th general election saw some big names fall and some "underdogs" taking the home run. Some managed to overcome closely-fought battles to retain their seats.

Among the losers were Lembah Pantai Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Ghani Othman, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, PAS' Datuk Husam Musa, Mohamad Sabu and Salahuddin Ayub, PKR's Datuk Saifuddin Nasution, MCA's Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and Datuk Donald Lim as well as Umno's Dr Puad Zarkashi.

The two Perkasa candidates - Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Datuk Zulkifli Nordin - also failed in their attempt to return to Parliament after becoming independents following the 2008 elections.

PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar defeated Nong Chik with a 1,847-vote majority for the Lembah Pantai seat, while Ghani lost his bid for the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang with a 14,762-vote majority.

Lim, the former Ipoh Timur MP, contested in Johor for the first time as part of Pakatan's bid to wrest Johor from Barisan.

Mohd Ali, who was contesting in the Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in Malacca, lost by 5,447 votes to PKR's Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Barisan secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor beat Husam to retain the Putrajaya parliamentary seat with a 5,541-vote majority.

Barisan's Datuk Othman Abdul defeated PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in Pendang with a 2,638-vote majority. Pulai incumbent Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed from Barisan beat PAS' Salahuddin by 3,226 votes.

Barisan's Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir beat Saifuddin with a 1,871 majority to clinch the Kulim-Bandar Baharu seat.

Kong, the MCA secretary-general and incumbent in the Lumut parliamentary seat, conceded defeat Sunday night to PKR's First Admiral (R) Mohd Imran Abdul Hamid, who won by a 8,168-vote majority, while Puad lost his traditional Batu Pahat seat to PKR's Mohd Idris Jusi by 1,732 votes.

Lim, who was contesting in Selayang for the first time, lost by 17,846 votes to PKR's incumbent William Leong.

Ibrahim, who is Perkasa president and Pasir Mas incumbent, lost to PAS' Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, the son of PAS spiritual leader and caretaker Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, with a majority of 8,047 votes.

His vice-president Zulkifli who contested as a Barisan-friendly candidate in Shah Alam, was defeated by PAS' incumbent Khalid Samad by 10,939 votes.

MIC's Datuk S.K. Devamany, who contested in the Sungai Siput for the first time, failed to topple its incumbent Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, who won by a majority of 2,793 votes. Devamany was the incumbent for Cameron Highlands.

Several parliamentary candidates romped home with big wins, including DAP's Teresa Kok, who retained her Seputeh seat with a whopping 51,552-vote majority.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

Related Stories:
GE13: BN wins with 133, wrests back Kedah

GE13: Najib - We will undertake national reconciliation

Posted: 05 May 2013 01:17 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who won his first mandate Sunday to lead the country, said the voter polarisation trend was worrying.

"One of the programmes we will undertake is national reconciliation," he added.

Despite the extent of the swing against Barisan, Najib said the coalition did not fall.

"We have got a lot of resilience as a party.

"Not many can claim the kind of support that Barisan has achieved," he said.

Najib said it was a fair and free election and the results should be accepted.

"There's a lot of things we have to as a party.

"We need time to analyse the results so that the appropriate actions can be taken," he said.

Najib also thanked the people for choosing Barisan as their government.

"I also thank the Barisan machinery. The elections went smoothly and were more transparent," he told a press conference at PWTC early Monday.

Najib said a few factors, including less support from the Chinese, prevented Barisan from a bigger win.

"At least, we manage to wrest Kedah back.

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Iron Man 3 sets the ball rolling for summer blockbuster movies

Posted: 04 May 2013 11:54 PM PDT

This year, there is an impressive list of big-budget films to attract audiences.

HOLLYWOOD'S summer movie season has officially kicked off with the release of Iron Man 3, which is currently showing in cinemas nationwide.

Like in recent years, there are plenty of sequels, superhero movies and adaptations to look out for, but this is not necessarily a bad thing (if Iron Man 3 is anything to go by).

From the trailers, Star Trek Into Darkness looks promising, while Pixar, which has yet to do any wrong, has Monsters University to entertain us with. The Fast & Furious franchise continues life on the fast lane with movie No. 6 (May 23). At the same time, there are sequels that make us wonder why there's life after the first film – The Hangover III (May 30), Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (Aug 18) and The Smurfs 2 (Aug 8).

There are also first-time adaptations of comic books. R.I.P.D. (July 18), starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, is about cops from the afterlife keeping Earth free from roaming dead folk; while director Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim (July 11) is about a time when humankind faces an undefeatable enemy – gargantuan alien creatures. To fight back, the humans pilot huge robots. Idris Elba stars.

Perhaps the most curious of adaptations is The Great Gatsby (May 16), directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire – the material and cast list are more suited for awards season. Something more "appropriate" for the summer is The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (Aug 22), aimed at the young adult audience.

This year also sees our favourite girls Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy teaming up in a cop/buddy film, The Heat (June 27). Other notable titles include Now You See Me (May 30), The Internship and After Earth (both on June 6), Turbo (July 18), Despicable Me 2 (July 3), The Conjuring (Aug 1), 300: Rise Of An Empire (Aug 8) and Kick-Ass 2 (Aug 8).

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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Politics on the page

Posted: 04 May 2013 11:43 PM PDT

No, we're not talking about dry academic tomes. These are powerful fictional tales that make telling political points.

DESPITE being fictional, novels can often make as strong a statement about life as their non-fiction counterparts. As our nation goes to the polls today for our 13th general election, we look at some defining works of fiction that deal with politics, governance and society (arranged in no particular order)

1984 by George Orwell (1949): This classic dystopian novel talks about a society where compliant citizens are subjected to omnipresent government surveillance and mind control, and independent thought is criminalised. Though penned in 1949, Orwell's story feels ever-more plausible in our age of social media, electronic surveillance and online personal data collection.

All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946): Often touted as one of the best novels ever written on American politics, this Pulitzer Prize-winning work traces the dramatic political career of Willie Stark, who is said to resemble the real-life Huey "Kingfish" Long of Louisiana. An unvarnished look at how politics can alter one's convictions, Stark starts off as an idealistic "man of the people", but soon becomes corrupted by success.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981): An allegorical novel that uses the story of its protagonist, Saleem Sinai, to examine India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the subsequent Partition of the country into India and Pakistan, this book was awarded the Booker Of Bookers Prize in 1993. Born at the stroke of midnight at the very moment of India's independence, Saleem finds that his life is mirrored in events that happen to his country, and remarkably, that he is linked with all the other children born in India at that same time.

Wag The Dog by Larry Beinhart (originally published as American Hero, 1993): This conspiracy novel uses satire to examine the role media propaganda can play in aiding the political process. Suggesting that Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 US invasion of Iraq, was scripted and engineered in order to get George H.W. Bush re-elected to a second term as US president, the book makes what initially seems like an improbable premise increasingly likely.

Blindness by Jose Saramago (1995): In this story by the Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author, a mysterious mass epidemic of blindness strikes the citizens of an unnamed city, creating a rapid breakdown of social order. The fractured government responds by quarantining more and more people. Mirroring the horror of many real-world events, this is a searing look at oppressive governing systems.

V For Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd (comic book series, 1982-1989): This celebrated graphic novel depicts a post-nuclear Britain, where a fascist party called Norsefire rules the country as a police state. Working to bring down this totalitarian government is a masked revolutionary known as V, who starts a violent yet highly theatrical campaign. Widely regarded as one of the best comic books ever written, this is an excellent examination of anarchy and freedom.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726): The book recounts the voyages of ship surgeon Lemuel Gulliver, who lands on four fantastical lands, each with its own races of people with unique systems of government and societies. This political parody uses fantasy and humour to examine themes that continue to be relevant today, such as government systems, corruption, discrimination and religious divides.

Big Breasts And Wide Hips by Mo Yan (2012): Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his stories that use magical realism to reflect on very real issues, Mo Yan traces China in the 20th century through the story of one person in this book. This tale of an ineffectual man who cannot wean himself from his mother's milk, is faced with constant bad luck and poverty, finds himself incarcerated, and then finally in the midst of a capitalistic society, is highly symbolic yet painful in its realities.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961): Set during World War II, this satirical historical novel follows a US army captain as he and his squadron struggle to keep their sanity amidst war and fulfil their duty so that they can return home. A darkly funny critique of bureaucratic reasoning and spurious legal processes, the book has also made "Catch-22" an oft-used phrase in the English language.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960): This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic is renowned for its themes of racial injustice set against the backdrop of a small town in the American Deep South during the Great Depression. Seen through the eyes of the six-year-old Scout, the story examines the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman, and Scout's father Atticus who defends him. Besides laying bare issues of prejudice, the book also gives us, in Atticus Finch, one of the most famous fictional heroes ever written.

Bestsellers

Posted: 04 May 2013 11:42 PM PDT

FOR week ending April 28, 2013:

Non-fiction

1.       Limitless: Devotions For A Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic

2.       The Defining Decade by Meg Jay

3.       Unstoppable: The Incredible Power Of Faith In Action by Nick Vujicic

4.       Only 13: The True Story Of Lon by Julia Manzanares & Derek Kent

5.       Chicken Soup For The Soul: The Power Of Positive by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Amy Newmark

6.       Syed Mokhtar Albukhary: A Biography by Premilla Mohanlall

7.       Creating A Purposeful Life by Richard Fox

8.       Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed

9.       Mummy's Little Helper: The Heartrending True Story Of A Young Girl Secretly Caring For Her Severely Disabled Mother by Casey Watson

10.       Ninja: 1,000 Years Of The Shadow Warriors by John Man

Fiction

1.       I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

2.       Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

3.       The Host (movie tie-in) by Stephenie Meyer

4.       The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

5.       The Garden Of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

6.       Best Kept Secret (Clifton Chronicles #3) by Jeffrey Archer

7.       The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8.       Manuscript Found In Accra by Paulo Coelho

9.       Warm Bodies (movie tie-in) by Isaac Marion

10.       Taken (Give & Take) by Kelli Maine

> Weekly list compiled by MPH Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur; www.mphonline.com.

Truly special books

Posted: 04 May 2013 11:41 PM PDT

ANOTHER great writer is lost to us. E.L. Konigsburg died on April 19, aged 83, from complications arising from a stroke.

She was the author of 21 books and won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honour for the very first two she published. They were perhaps her best known novels, From The Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William Mckinley, And Me, Elizabeth. And 30 years later, Konigsburg won the Newbery Medal again, for my personal favourite, The View From Saturday.

I have only read five of Konigsburg's books – Mixed-Up Files, Saturday, The Second Mrs. Giaconda, A Proud Taste For Scarlet And Miniver, and, her last novel, The Mysterious Edge Of The Heroic World. I should really read more as I love and regularly re-read all but Mrs. Giaconda, which I don't own.

Konigsburg once said that the children in her books want to be like everyone else, but at the same time different too. They are real kids, and they are like us all. Don't we want to be special and yet accepted at the same time?

The Konigsburg children I know are ordinary kids with the usual fears and insecurities, but they are all also extraordinary people. Perhaps we are all extraordinary and simply need to be put in a novel for our gifts and special qualities to be noticed and recognised.

The View From Saturday is about four children who are chosen to form a team for an academic quiz. The story is told from the perspective of each of the children in turn, with Konigsburg looking closely into the lives, hearts and minds of each child, revealing more about individual characters as the story progresses by showing more about them, or, at times, the same details from different perspectives.

Like the other Konigsburg books I've read, Saturday is an easy and straightforward read in terms of language but a more complex one in terms of ideas and plot – Konigsburg's characters are usually in the process of finding themselves, grappling with questions of identity, trying to make sense of the roles they play in the world. And they are always trying to make connections – with people and places, needing to belong, and longing to live lives with meaning and make memories worth recalling.

A Proud Taste For Scarlet And Miniver is not a coming-of-age story but about Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was the wife of King Louis VII of France in the 12th century and, following the annulment of that marriage, she married King Henry II of England and bore him eight children, including two future English kings: Richard the Lionheart and John.

In Konigsburg's book, Eleanor has been in heaven for eight centuries, awaiting the admission of her husband, Henry II. While Eleanor waits, she is joined by three people from her life: Abbot Suger, friend and counsellor to King Louis VII; her mother-in-law, the Empress Matilda; and the soldier and statesman William the Marshal, who served the kings Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John, and Henry III. The abbot, the empress and the marshal take turns to narrate their stories and, in this way, life in the royal courts of 12th century France and England is presented, along with Eleanor's role as the most important woman in both these worlds.

Konigsburg portrays the queen as an extraordinary and intelligent woman, full of grace, vitality, courage and imagination. Most of all, Eleanor is shown as a drily witty and headstrong woman who does not suffer fools.

Scarlet may sound like a book that would appeal more to adult readers, but it is written in a lovely, frank and friendly style, without the graphic violence or a great deal of the political intrigue one would find in a historical novel set in that period and written for adults. Kids who have to study that branch of history might find this book helpful.

There, Scarlet and Saturday are most definitely the Konigsburg books I like the best, but as there are 16 others (including three picture books and two short story collections) I have yet to read, perhaps I'll find myself with new favourites before too long. Whatever the case may be, Konigsburg has given the world some truly special books that I hope will continue to remain in print for many years to come. If you haven't already, do give this author's work a try.

> Daphne Lee is a writer, editor, book reviewer and teacher. She runs a Facebook group, called The Places You Will Go, for lovers of all kinds of literature. Write to her at star2@thestar.com.my.

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