Khamis, 4 Julai 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Youth fest mixes choir and wushu with beatbox and hip-hop

Posted:

ROCK bands, hip-hop dance groups and the Chinese martial art of wushu are all on the agenda at the revamped Singapore Youth Festival Celebrations this year.

The annual event will still feature traditional art forms like choir and drama performances, but the Ministry of Education has followed up with plans it announced last year to introduce more alternative areas.

Jay Huang, 17, a Secondary 2 student from Manjusri Secondary School, did not think he would be selected to perform beatboxing, a form of vocal percussion.

"Not everyone considers it an art, but now I'm more motivated to excel in it," he said.

The five-day event, now in its 47th year, began on Tuesday and will see about 5,000 students from 167 schools performing.

Among them will be Regent Secondary School's concert band, Qifa Primary's Malay dance troupe and a hip-hop routine by students from Juying Primary.

Performances will be held until Saturday at the Esplanade, Ngee Ann City, Suntec City and three National Library Board libraries.

In previous years, performers came mainly from seven categories – arts and crafts, band, Chinese orchestra, choir, dance, drama and instrumental ensembles.

To perform at the festival, schools had to take part in the annual inter-school arts assessment held between April and May, or be invited.

But this year, the ministry also invited schools to submit entries via YouTube for the first time.

A total of 180 were selected.

The assessment's award structure has also been streamlined to just three levels: distinction, accomplishment and commendation.

To get the highest award – a distinction – schools need to score only 75% from the judges.

Previously they needed to get 80% for gold, and 85% for gold with honours.

This previous system had drawn criticism for fuelling unhealthy competition and causing stress to festival participants. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Global firms want changes to Net licensing regulations

Posted:

FIVE major Internet and technology companies have expressed concern over new government licensing rules for online news sites, calling them "unwarranted and excessive".

They also warned that the new licensing framework could affect Singapore's business-friendly image and hamper innovation.

The companies – Facebook, Google, eBay, Yahoo and cloud computing firm Salesforce – also urged the Government to ease up on the rules.

The five are members of the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry association they had formed to represent their interests in Internet policy issues in the region.

Earlier this year, the five were among hundreds of companies, groups and individuals that objected to government legislation in the United States.

They said its Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, which aimed to address copyright infringement, would clamp down on free speech, innovation and the development of the Internet.

In Singapore, the new licensing regime affects only one of them: Yahoo. Its website Yahoo Singapore is among 10 sites that must have an individual licence.

Under the new framework, which kicked off on June 1, an individual licence is a must for websites with more than 50,000 Singapore visitors a month.

The licence entails putting up a US$50,000 (RM159,000) performance bond. Also, if or when told by the Government to take down prohibited content, the websites must comply in 24 hours.

Said the AIC: "This new regulation could unintentionally hamper Singapore's ability to continue to drive innovation, develop key industries in the technology space and attract investment.

The AIC made two requests.

One is for the regulation to include a statement that the websites will not be liable for content posted by users. To proactively police content is an "untenable position", the AIC said, noting that online platforms have "incentives" to address misuse of their services.

The second is for websites to be given a "reasonable timeframe" to comply, instead of up to 24 hours. The AIC said 24 hours was particularly difficult for international companies, which have to negotiate across time zones.

It also took issue with the US$50,000 bond, saying it would be a "financial risk" to start-ups. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Accidental success
Bling it on
Rising star

Accidental success

Posted:

Lance Reddick talks about working his way up to White House Down.

THOUGH he always felt something was pushing him towards acting, Lance Reddick ignored it. His dad was an attorney, and Reddick was on his way to becoming a classical music composer. Then something went awry.

"I always knew I had a thing when it came to acting but never took it seriously. I just thought people who wanted to be actors were silly," he says in the sunny patio restaurant of a hotel in Pasadena, California.

It may have been silly, but Reddick has managed to parlay that tom-foolery into a full blown career with memorable performances in TV shows like Oz, Fringe, Lost and The Wire and his new movie, White House Down.

For a guy who was too shy to even consider performing, he somehow beat the odds. He studied music composition at the prestigious Eastman School of Music, the piano his instrument. "Because my parents wanted to give me what they didn't have, I grew up around a bunch of affluent white kids," says Reddick.

"So everybody's parents were lawyers and doctors, bankers and architects. I didn't really get it. Now I do." He developed his first taste for music at an Episcopal elementary school when he started singing with the choir. "A lot of black people grow up singing gospel music. I grew up singing Gregorian chants and 16th century motets," he grins.

Still, he left Eastman before he graduated. "I realised I was in denial and I really wanted to be a rock star," he says.

"So, I got married straight out of school, moved to Boston because my wife at the time was from there. Two years later my daughter was born. And I found myself working three jobs, seven days a week."

He still wasn't sure what he wanted to do. But an excruciating back injury changed all that. "I was lifting a big bundle of newspapers, but it wasn't the lifting itself, it was the exhaustion. I'd come from a double shift of waiting tables to a double shift of delivering newspapers and I delivered the Wall Street Journal in downtown Boston ... I just cranked it up for about 24 hours, and I was just exhausted and something went," he says.

"At the time I was used to working on adrenaline and I worked out every day – even with all I had going on. So when I was in pain or exhausted I just ignored it and kept going."

Two weeks later he awoke unable to get out of bed. Fourteen days of bed rest forced him to re-evaluate his life.

"It sounds crazy but I thought, 'Well, I know the recording studio I'm working with is taking me for a ride. It's time for me to admit that to myself. So let me start from scratch. I can sing and I can act. So let me try to act ...' I went on a couple of musical theatre auditions and realised that wasn't me, so I started going on straight auditions and getting cast and getting cast and getting cast."

Though at one time he was co-starring in three shows at once, it wasn't always so easy. Married with a daughter, 24, and a son, 19, he and his first wife split in 1997. (He has since remarried).

"She made three times the money I did," he recalls. "God rest her soul, she passed away a couple years ago, but she was a brilliant artist, really talented. We didn't make it, but she was a great lady," he sighs.

"Six months after she left, I got The Siege and I was ducking the landlord. And I had the kids every other week, so I was borrowing money to buy groceries. I got The Siege, then I got I Dreamed Of Africa, then went to the Guthrie and got to play Marc Antony (in Julius Caesar.) I came back home to New York and didn't work for six months. For somebody who's always doing a side job or has a trust fund or savings, it's one thing. But I didn't ... The only reason I didn't quit was I didn't have any alternatives. What was I going to do, wait tables? The only way to get out of the situation I was in was to make it." – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Lance Reddick, opens in cinemas nationwide today. Read Star2's interview with Tatum this Sunday.

Bling it on

Posted:

Emma Watson is keen to step away from her past at Hogwarts – but not to jump on to the celebrity rollercoaster.

IF the Harry Potter franchise was one of the most overwhelming cinematic phenomena of recent history, the films' plucky Hermione, Emma Watson, shows no sign of being swamped by her past.

The actor's latest foray beyond Hogwarts sees her as part of a young ensemble cast for Sofia Coppola's latest work, The Bling Ring, which opened the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section back in May.

Speaking before the premiere, Watson said: "Harry Potter feels like such a long time ago; so much has happened in the last three or four years, but obviously it's still very present, it's still being played in people's living rooms. I'm not trying to run away from it ... but it's that I've had such an amazing three or four years having a chance to transform into new roles and work with new creative people."

Watson, who also took a role in 2011's My Week With Marilyn and will appear in Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah, added that she had relished the chance to work in a freer fashion: "I am used to really having to stick to my lines because people know them by heart, so it was lovely just to be able to ad lib or improvise."

Coppola's film is based on the true story of a group of suburban Los Angeles teenagers, some from privileged backgrounds, who stole luxury goods from the houses of the rich and famous out of a desire to possess their wardrobes and lifestyles.

Watson researched her role, she said, by watching reality TV shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and The Hills. She said: "It wasn't so much about the stealing, it was more that they wanted to pretend for two hours that they were Paris Hilton. That they were living that lifestyle for real."

Among their most prominent targets was Hilton – whose front door key they found under her doormat. Between October 2008 and November 2009, the group stole more than US$3mil (RM9.4mil) worth of items, including "a stash of Rolexes" from British actor Orlando Bloom, according to an account by one of the real "bling ring", Nick Prugo. The teenagers used Google Maps to identify escape and entry points and social media to know when the celebrities were away from home. They also boasted of their new possessions on Facebook.

The real Hilton makes a brief appearance in a film that piles on the ironies: her home was used as a location, so we see her jewels and designer clothing; the Louis XIV-style armchairs heaped with cushions screenprinted with her face; and her "nightclub room" complete with its own poledancing pole.

Having a film made about their exploits might be regarded as the final victory for the real-life "bling ring" – but according to Coppola, that was far from her intention. "I changed the names of the characters because I didn't want to make them more famous," she said, adding that it was "not a documentary" and she was "not too concerned with the reactions" of the people on whom the story is based.

Coppola was born into celebrity as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola; Watson had it thrust upon her as a child. But Watson distinguished herself from the celebrities touched on in the film. "There are celebrities that create a brand and create a business and a whole job, a whole life, out of other people's interest in their lives, and then there are celebrities or people who have a craft or a trade," she said.

"As long as people understand the difference, then it's okay," she said.

Coppola added that what had drawn her to the story was that "it could not have happened 10 years ago" and depended on the rise of social media and a celebrity-news cycle.

"There's so much information, and a lack of privacy: these kids knew so much about the people that they felt they (really) knew them. They knew what they were having for breakfast." – Guardian News & Media

Rising star

Posted:

It's been hard to avoid Andrea Riseborough on the big screen this year. The 31-year-old British actress, who first gained notice in this country in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky and Madonna's W.E., has had four films released in the space of two months – Oblivion, Welcome To The Punch, Disconnect and the thriller Shadow Dancer.

"Every job is a milestone," Riseborough says, fresh from the New York set of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's all-star comedy, Birdman.

"That first chance to work with Mike Leigh, or just taking a day of work in a Roger Michell movie (Venus), joining Birdman to work with Inarritu, I'm adding up the milestones, the steps along the path. An actor's career is always a work in progress, nothing that you should ever let yourself get caught up in as it's happening."

Riseborough, having cut her teeth working with the improvisational Leigh, is a writer as well as actress.

But when documentary filmmaker James Marsh pitched her the fictional feature Shadow Dancer, which has her playing a damaged, dedicated IRA member in 1990s Belfast whom British agent Clive Owen sets out to "turn", the writer in her became an eraser.

"I was unclear about who Collette was, because in the original script, she talks an awful lot. Too much, I thought.

"I had a grasp of the situation she was in but not the person that she was. I think I took the role just to figure out who she was. If I didn't commit to the film, I'd never do the research and I'd never figure her out."

Her research made her realise "she should speak less and less and do more with her eyes. In that part of the world, even now, people are very economical with their words. They lived in a very dangerous and paranoid place for a very long time. Her silences give her an authenticity. People didn't talk. Talking could get you killed."

With cop thrillers, science fiction, period-piece dramas and contemporary dramas on her resume and a quartet of projects at various stages of completion, one credit that stands out is Birdman, a comedy about a washed-up screen superhero who stages a Broadway show to make his comeback.

Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis and ex-screen superheroes Edward Norton and Michael Keaton also star. Can Riseborough hold her own in a comedy?

"Oh, I've been doing comedy since I was, what, nine? I did Magicians (2007). Well, that didn't work as well as it should have, but it was supposed to be a comedy." – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Fast and fabulous
Dream plots for TV spin-offs
Spoilt for choice

Fast and fabulous

Posted:

Jaime Dempsey explores Malaysia on a motorcycle and wants you to come along for the ride.

Always game to try new things, Jaime Dempsey decided to send in an audition tape to host a new series on the History Channel called Ride N' Seek.

It helped that the 37-year-old American has been riding motorbikes for 17 years, and was very keen to explore Malaysia on a two-wheeler. What is amazing about her story is that she heard about the job from a friend of a friend who lives in Malaysia.

She shares: "I have some friends who live out here, from when I went to school in Britain. We stayed in touch, and through word of mouth 'it' found me. It was a total fluke ... It was just destiny."

In person, Dempsey is a pretty blonde who laughs easily and is very chatty, especially about her experiences with bikes and travelling around Malaysia.

Wearing a sleeveless T-shirt (to show off the two colourful tattoos on her arms) and jeans, she looks comfortable being the centre of attention even though this is her first gig as a TV host.

According to Dempsey, her regular job is as an assistant designer (swimwear) for a company in California, where she lives, which brings her in close contact with the surfer and snowboarder community – "People who look like me. So I fit in there."

The Illinois-born Dempsey was taught by her then-boyfriend how to ride a bike. As she got more confident, she wanted to ride the bike herself and took a motorcycle course to learn how to be safe on the road.

She loves being on a bike compared to being in a car as all her senses are engaged and it allows her "to zip through traffic, especially in LA, which is a major plus. Once I get behind the car, I'm like ugh, it's so slow."

Over the years, she has owned bikes like a 1972 Yamaha XS650, Harley Iron 883 and a Ducati Monster 695. For Ride N' Seek, she wanted to bring "a little piece of home" with her, so she decided to ride a Harley, which got her a lot of thumbs up whenever she stopped at a traffic light in Malaysia.

Starting her journey in Johor, Ride N' Seek sees her travelling to a new state (Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Malacca) in every episode.

At these locations, she does different activities like driving a Formula One car, riding an ostrich, feeding a 130-year-old crocodile, waking up in a houseboat on Lake Kenyir, and jumping into water and letting hundreds of fishes nibble on her.

During the three months of filming, she fell in love with Malaysian food.

"You would think that I would have lost some weight from all that sweating because the heat here is intense. But I ate so much food – I love the spicy assam laksa in Penang, so good! And I had cendol just about every place I went and drank about three teh ais a day," she concludes with a laugh.

Jaime Dempsey answers five burning questions:

How do you deal with helmet hair?
Helmet hair is a huge problem (laughs). I had my hair down for the first episode, but every time I took the helmet off, I would just be drenched in sweat. So I had it up for the rest of the time. But normally, I keep, like, a brush or comb on me and a hair band around my wrist. That's what I do.

Can you ride pillion?
No, not a fan. I used to love it; that's what got me riding motorcycles. But now that I've got my own (bike), I am never riding in the back again. Never.

How many tattoos do you have?
I don't know. Too many to count (laughs). I started 17 years ago and they all have different meanings. It's all part of the biker culture. Once you start, you can't stop.

Do you have a favourite stretch for riding?
Where I live there is a road called the Pacific Coast Highway. It stretches along the entire coast of California and there are a lot of different places to stop along the way. So me and a bunch of other bikers – all guys, of course, because I can't find any girls to ride with – go up the coast, stop and watch the surfers, then just ride through the canyon. California has pretty nice places for riding.

Did you pass the motorcycle course the first time you took it?
I passed with flying colours.

> Ride N' Seek premieres tonight at 10pm on the History Channel (Astro Ch 555 / HD Ch 575).

Dream plots for TV spin-offs

Posted:

Star2 takes a stab at scriptwriting to pen their dream plots for some high-profiled spin-offs.

THE past few weeks have seen some surprising changes in the American television scene, thanks to this year's upfront sessions. Many shows that were initially thought to be doing well have been cancelled, while some programmes that have waned in popularity are still getting the greenlight for another season or two.

New series have also been ordered by a few of the big studios, and the more promising – or exciting – ones include Almost Human, Believe (both of which are produced by director J.J. Abrams' company, Bad Robot), About A Boy, Mom, Michael J. Fox Show and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There are also a number of spin-offs or prequels of really popular shows like The Originals (The Vampire Diaries), Ravenswood (Pretty Little Liars), 24: Live Another Day (24) and Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (Once Upon A Time).

Here's our quirky take – our wishlist, if you will – on these four new spin-offs.

The Originals

From: The Vampire Diaries

Advertised storyline: In The Originals, werewolf vampire hybrid Klaus (played by actor Joseph Morgan) returns to the French Quarter of New Orleans, and viewers get to learn more about his mysterious origins. The upcoming series also focuses on the "Original" family of vampires when Klaus reunites with his former protege, the dreaded Marcel (Charles Michael Davis). Later on, he learns that a former one-night stand, Hayley (Phoebe Tonkins) is pregnant with his child.

What we want to see: Judging from the way the writers outlined the plot, it looks like Klaus is in for some big-time dramatic family reunion. I'd like to see Klaus retire from searching for a cure for his werewolf "curse" and just focus on being a dad. This way, he gets to take his kid hunting for vampires, terrorise humans and you know, just be their own wolfpack. They should also rename the show Modern Werewolf Family.

Dream cast: Who gets to play the kid? That Luke Dunphy boy (Nolan Gould) from Modern Family would be a great candidate. Maybe Benicio Del Toro (simply because he was the "Wolfman") as Klaus' long-lost brother, so that the kid gets a great uncle who'll take him to do stupid things. Oh, Wesley Snipes can be the family guardian. Just because. – Angelin Yeoh

Ravenswood

From: Pretty Little Liars

Advertised storyline: Set in the fictional town of Ravenswood, Pennsylvania, the series follows five strangers whose lives become intertwined by a deadly curse.

What we want to see: In Ravenswood, which is just one town over from Rosewood – where Pretty Little Liars is set – lives (horror! shock!) Alison (Sasha Pieterse)! Yes, the very same Alison who is supposed to be dead (you'd know this if you watched PLL). Never mind that; in soap operas, characters who are dead have been known to be resurrected. Student by day (karma's a b**** as she's being bullied in her new school), Alison moonlights as a call girl at night. Why? She needs the money to fund the on-going torture of her four friends in Rosewood. Yes, Alison is "A" and is in cahoots with Red Coat (who still remains a mystery) to inflict emotional and psychological pain on Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Emily. Her illicit occupation soon leads her to another problem. One of her regular Johns is found dead in her boudoir but Alison couldn't have killed him as she was in Rosewood spying on her friends. She can't possibly go to the police without her identity revealed. So, her madame helps discard the body ... but Alison has a hefty price to pay!

Dream cast: Marcia Cross (as the Madame), Julian McMahon (as the dead John appearing in flashbacks), Becki Newton and Lindsay Lohan (as Alison's colleagues), Amanda Bynes (as the Queen Bee who bullies Alison), Colton Haynes (as Queen Bee's boyfriend who might or might not have some feelings for Alison) and Christopher Meloni (as Alison's principal who has a dark past). – Gordon Kho

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

From: Once Upon A Time

Advertised storyline: Loosely based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, this fantasy drama is set in Victorian times in London, where a more grown up Alice is institutionalised by her father who thought that she had lost her mind after talking about falling in love with a genie named Cyrus and hanging out with a talking rabbit. Just as she's about to get a "permanent cure", in walks a Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger ...

What we want to see: Instead of forever pining for her lost love aka Cyrus, Alice should concentrate on her career as a much sought-after nanny in the "other wonderland", which I'm hoping is a lot like Beverly Hills. Or perhaps even Beverly Hills itself. Since Alice has a proclivity to fantasies and talking rabbits, kids just adore her. Her daily routines and dramas would include ducking sexual advances from employees, hiding from a stalker (Cyrus!), avoiding confrontation from "The Mothers", a group of loveless, bitter careerwomen whose kids prefer spending time with the help than them. Oh, and her love life is rocking, thanks to Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger.

Dream cast: AnnaSophia Robb as Alice, with Kristin Chenoweth as leader of The Mothers. Robert Pattinson can be Cyrus (the character wears a big ruby necklace, which would go well with Pattinson's glistening chest), while James McAvoy is perfect as Leather Jacket-Wearing stranger. – Melody L. Goh

24: Live Another Day

From: 24

Advertised storyline: Jack Bauer returns.

What we want to see: The show is set several years following the events of the final season of 24, when Jack Bauer walked into the unknown. He resurfaces after a newly elected president decides to acknowledge the sacrifices and good work Jack has put in over the years to keep the country safe. A press conference is called at the White House, and Jack arrives with his daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) and best friend Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) – and yes, he's wearing a smile, for a change. Of course, that is also the day when a disgruntled soldier decides to strike an attack on the White House with his loyal men. Kim is caught in the crossfire and dies (to the delight of fans, yay!). The entire season – which is just 12-episode long this time around – is shot within 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – from the West Wing to the President's living quarters to the secret labyrinth beneath the grounds of White House. Jack has to put away his grief – and get back into action to save White House, and all in it, from going down.

Dream cast: It would've been great if Homeland's Damian Lewis was available for the role of the soldier. Since that's not going to happen, we'll take Matthew Fox. To keep the 24 tradition of casting against type when it comes to POTUS, I vote for Jennifer Beals. She plays a strong willed president of multiracial background, whose life partner is a woman. Other actors involved in this political thriller include Madeleine Stowe as the scheming vice president, America Ferrera as the clumsy, and poncho-wearing, press secretary and Tricia Helfer as the hot tempered chief of staff. Yes, it is an all-female administration. – Mumtaj Begum

Spoilt for choice

Posted:

There are now even more reasons to stay home and watch television.

TELEVISION is fast becoming a one-stop entertainment centre for many people these days. Apart from the long list of shows available to viewers, you can also listen to music, play games and watch movies on your television set.

In some cases, you can even use your TV to surf the Internet and book a taxi!

Recognising this, Astro has added 11 new channels to its broadcast, and introduced five new package options for customers to choose from. Among the new channels are Maya, Hua Hee Dai, Quan Jia, HBO Family, HBO Signature and HBO Hits (all available in HD), as well as Comedy Central, WE tv, Lifetime, Star Vijay, and Raj TV. There are also two new sports channels added to the line-up.

Some of these channels have been up and running since March, with Lifetime being the most recent one to go live; Hua Hee Dai and Maya are the last to be launched on June 24. However, Astro has attained five more new channels which will kick off in the months to come.

"We are committed to providing the best viewing and customer experience to Astro's growing customer base with greater choice of content. Across our multiple products and services, we offer a breadth of content packages spanning multiple genres, which we believe appeal to all customer segments in the urban and rural areas," said Astro's chief commercial officer Liew Swee Lin, at the launch of the Astro Lifestyle Centre in Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur.

At the centre, new and existing customers would be able to get all the information they need about the new packages, and even have a glimpse of what each channel offers. Of course, you can also browse Astro's website, or call the hotline number. "We would like to ensure that our customers have a great experience with Astro at all touch points," added Liew.

Aside from the new additions, Astro has also pumped up its list of movies available via the Astro Best and Astro First services. In case you don't already know, these two channels allow viewers to "buy" the latest local, regional and even international movies and watch them in the comfort of their own home.

Customers can now watch local and regional blockbusters on Astro First two weeks after the movies open at the cinemas, like the recently-released Kil, Awie's Bikers Kental, Aaron Aziz's Lari and Get Together, a comedy from Taiwan. So, if you're a closet Awie fan and can't bring yourself to watch the really silly Bikers Kental (which also stars Zizan Razak) in public, you can now check it out via Astro First.

Meanwhile, those who are constantly busy and simply cannot find the time to head to the cinemas and watch movies can now enjoy them on TV via the Astro Best service. It's pretty convenient, and you can even hold your very own private movie viewing party at home, for example, and watch (in HD!) with friends or family members – you need to get your own popcorn and drinks, of course.

The movies featured on Astro Best are mostly Hollywood blockbusters that were released on the big screens about six months earlier; normally, it takes at least a year for these movies to go from cinema to TV. This is possible because of a partnership between Astro and studio giants like The Walt Disney Company and Lionsgate.

Among the latest movies that are currently on offer include the psychological thriller Side Effects starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum, fantasy drama Cloud Atlas, Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures and Disney's colourful Oz The Great And Powerful.

"The response for Astro First and Astro Best has been overwhelming, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. To date, we have garnered a staggering 6.2 million buys of movie titles collectively," explained vice president of Astro Content Agnes Rozario, in a press release.

She also said that the company is working with more partners to expand its movie line-up.

For more information on these services, check out their Facebook page ("AstroWorldOfMovies") or visit www.astro.com.my.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Accidental success
Bling it on
Rising star

Accidental success

Posted:

Lance Reddick talks about working his way up to White House Down.

Still, he left Eastman before he graduated. "I realised I was in denial and I really wanted to be a rock star," he says.

"So, I got married straight out of school, moved to Boston because my wife at the time was from there. Two years later my daughter was born. And I found myself working three jobs, seven days a week."

"At the time I was used to working on adrenaline and I worked out every day – even with all I had going on. So when I was in pain or exhausted I just ignored it and kept going."

Two weeks later he awoke unable to get out of bed. Fourteen days of bed rest forced him to re-evaluate his life.

Though at one time he was co-starring in three shows at once, it wasn't always so easy. Married with a daughter, 24, and a son, 19, he and his first wife split in 1997. (He has since remarried).

White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Lance Reddick, opens in cinemas nationwide today. Read Star2's interview with Tatum this Sunday.

Bling it on

Posted:

Emma Watson is keen to step away from her past at Hogwarts – but not to jump on to the celebrity rollercoaster.

IF the Harry Potter franchise was one of the most overwhelming cinematic phenomena of recent history, the films' plucky Hermione, Emma Watson, shows no sign of being swamped by her past.

"As long as people understand the difference, then it's okay," she said.

Coppola added that what had drawn her to the story was that "it could not have happened 10 years ago" and depended on the rise of social media and a celebrity-news cycle.

Rising star

Posted:

"Every job is a milestone," Riseborough says, fresh from the New York set of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's all-star comedy, Birdman.

Riseborough, having cut her teeth working with the improvisational Leigh, is a writer as well as actress.

"I was unclear about who Collette was, because in the original script, she talks an awful lot. Too much, I thought.

Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis and ex-screen superheroes Edward Norton and Michael Keaton also star. Can Riseborough hold her own in a comedy?

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Mexican generals accused of ties with drug cartel set free
Mexico volcano grounds US airlines
Mursi backers to protest after overthrow, arrests

Mexican generals accused of ties with drug cartel set free

Posted:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of three generals and two other officers accused of collaborating with a drug cartel after investigators determined there was insufficient evidence against them.

The generals, Roberto Dawe, Ricardo Escorcia and Ruben Perez, were accused of working with the Beltran Leyva cartel, a violent gang that has smuggled tons of cocaine, heroine, crystal meth and marijuana across the U.S. border.

The three had been senior figures in former President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on organized crime, which pitted the Mexican armed forced against powerful cartels.

Retired general Tomas Angeles was released in April after he was also acquitted for lack of evidence.

The case was seen as the most significant instance of armed-forces corruption in Calderon's conservative administration. Calderon left office last December after six years in power.

His successor, President Enrique Pena Nieto, has pledged to put an end to the violence that exploded under Calderon, and has taken an estimated 70,000 lives. He has so far placed less emphasis on direct confrontation with the gangs.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Mexico volcano grounds US airlines

Posted:

MEXICO CITY: Four US airlines canceled dozens of flights to and from Mexico City's international airport on Thursday after the Popocatepetl volcano blew ash and steam skyward, officials said.

American Airlines, US Airways, Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines "decided not to conduct operations to and from Mexico City," airport spokesman Jorge Andres Gomez told Milenio television.

A fifth US carrier, Spirit Airlines, canceled its flights to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Dallas, Texas, from the Toluca airport, 68 kilometers west of the capital. Another spokesman for the Mexico City airport told AFP that the airlines canceled a total of 47 flights between Mexico and the United States.

The airlines took the precautionary measure even though the airport decided to keep its runways open. "There is a very thin presence of ash, which does not harm operations or affect equipment.

The decision is not questionable, it's within their right," the spokesman said.

Volcanic activity at the snow-capped Popocatepetl, located 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the capital, has intensified since May, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to "yellow phase 3" for 27 days, just short of evacuation orders.

In its latest bulletin, the National Disaster Prevention Center said 12 hours of tremors were felt around the 5,452-meter (17,887-feet) volcano, which had spewed steam, gas and ash in the past 24 hours. - AFP

Mursi backers to protest after overthrow, arrests

Posted:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamist supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Mursi, will rally on Friday to express their outrage at his overthrow by the army and to reject a planned interim government backed by their liberal opponents.

Dozens of people were wounded in clashes in Mursi's home city on Thursday, raising fears of more of the violence in which several dozen have died in the past month. There were also militant attacks in the restive Sinai peninsula, next to Israel.

How the army deals with trouble will help determine future support for Cairo from the United States and other international powers. Concern that the generals have carried out a military coup against Egypt's first-ever freely elected leader has left Washington reviewing the $1.5 billion in military and civilian aid it annually gives Egypt.

The planned protests have the slogan "Friday of Rejection".

A military source said: "We will continue to secure the places of protest with troops, and jets if necessary, to make sure the pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators don't confront each other. We will let them demonstrate and go where they want."

Mursi's political opponents insist there was no coup. Rather, the army heeded the "will of the people" in forcing the president out. Millions rallied on Sunday to protest at a collapsing economy and political deadlock, in which Mursi had failed to build a broad consensus after a year in office.

After a busy day of diplomacy by concerned Obama administration officials interrupting their Independence Day holiday in Washington, the Egyptian armed forces command issued a late-night statement guaranteeing rights to protest and free expression and pledging not to pursue arbitrary measures against any political group.

The uncontroversial phrasing belied a busy 24 hours since the military chief suspended the constitution, detained Mursi and oversaw the swearing in of the chief justice of the constitutional court as Egypt's interim head of state.

In addition to Mursi, the country's first freely elected leader, several senior figures in his Muslim Brotherhood were arrested, security sources said. Prosecutors were investigating various charges, including incitement to violence and, in the case of Mursi himself, insulting the judiciary.

Television channels owned by or seen as sympathetic to the Brotherhood were unceremoniously taken off air. The state printer did not run off its party newspaper on Thursday.

In Zagazig, the Nile Delta city where Mursi has a family home, 80 people were injured. Witnesses said the army moved in to seal the area after an attack on pro-Mursi protesters by men on motorcycles led to clashes with sticks, knives and bottles.

For a movement that has been banned and politically oppressed for most of its 85-year history, such developments have reinforced impressions among the Islamists that a "deep state", once loyal to fallen autocrat Hosni Mubarak and his army-backed predecessors, is still determined to crush it.

U.S. CONCERN

The armed forces' longtime U.S. sponsor - which provides $1.3 billion in annual military aid - has voiced concern for human rights, but also for the stability of the biggest Arab nation. Egypt's peace with Israel and control of the Suez Canal give it a strategic importance for many beyond its 84 million people.

Washington, along with Middle Eastern allies from Israel to Saudi Arabia, are not lamenting the Brotherhood's stunning reversal. The organisation has long represented many Arabs' hopes for a better society but was found gravely wanting during Mursi's year of missteps and rancorous division.

The White House has avoided condemning Mursi's ouster as a "coup", a distinction that could trigger legal U.S. obstacles to aid. Some on Obama's national security team had contacted Egyptian officials "to convey the importance of a quick and responsible return of full authority to a democratically elected civilian government", it said.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the Egyptian military command said: "Wisdom, true nationalism and constructive human values that all religions have called for, require us now to avoid taking any exceptional or arbitrary measures against any faction or political current."

That appeared to be a response to concern internationally that, following Mursi's overthrow, there was a campaign of arrest and intimidation against the Brotherhood.

Egypt's caretaker Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed concern during a telephone call on Thursday for human rights:

"He was worried about the status of human rights," Amr said. "Understandably. I assured him there is no retribution, no acts of vengeance, that nobody will be treated outside the law."

Amr, a career diplomat who tended his resignation to Mursi after Sunday's anti-government protests, said he had spent the day calling international counterparts and briefing ambassadors with the message that there had been no "military coup" in Egypt. The army had merely heeded the popular will.

Of his conversation with Kerry, he said: "I told him that the main aim of the military now is to maintain security.

"There will be no acts of violence, no acts of exclusion. Everybody will be included. The idea is to have everybody participating in the transitional process."

"USURPERS"

Those were also sentiments expressed by Adli Mansour, the constitutional court chief justice sworn in as interim head of state. But a senior Brotherhood official said it would not work with "the usurper authorities".

Another of its politicians said Mursi's overthrow would push other groups, though not his own, to violent resistance.

The armed forces' statement also contained a warning to those Islamists planning to demonstrate on Friday. It said: "Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution."

That was a reference to fall of Mubarak, a key U.S. ally, in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings across the region.

But it added: "Excessive use of this right without reason could carry some negative implications, including blocking roads, delaying public benefits and destroying institutions, posing a threat to social peace, the national interest and damaging the security and economy in our precious Egypt."

Washington has been urging Egyptian leaders to resolve their differences quickly so that unrest which has sapped tourist revenue and investment ends and the economy can recover.

The Brotherhood renounced violence decades ago. Even among its allies who were engaged in armed struggle against Mubarak in the 1990s and beyond, there seems little appetite to resume it.

But Egypt does have troubles with militancy, not least in the largely empty Sinai peninsula, where radical Islamists with links to al Qaeda have become more active since Mubarak fell.

SINAI ATTACKS

Early on Friday, security sources and state television said Islamist gunmen opened fire on El-Arish airport, close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel and at three military checkpoints. A police station in Rafah on the Gaza border was hit by rockets, wounding several soldiers.

It was not clear whether the coordinated attack on several army positions was in response Mursi's overthrow.

Mursi's dramatic exit was greeted with delight by millions of jubilant people on the streets of Cairo and other cities on Wednesday evening, but there was simmering resentment among Egyptians who opposed the military intervention.

Following the swearing in of Mansour as interim head of state, the next step in the army's road map back to democracy is the formation of an interim government in the next few days. One state newspaper said it should be ready on Sunday.

After that, a panel is to revise the constitution in order to hold parliamentary and presidential elections.

Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister, head of the Arab League and now liberal party leader, told Reuters he expected the full transition to elected institutions to take no more than 12 months and possibly just six. "This is doable," he said.

Analysts at Stratfor consultancy, however, highlighted tensions among the Brotherhood's opponents, whose fragmentation helped the movement defeat them in elections last year.

"It will be difficult," it said, "For the disparate blend of liberal, secular and Islamist parties united in their shared desire to see Morsi deposed to maintain their cohesion."

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Mike Collett-White, Alexander Dziadosz, Seham El-Oraby, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Paul Taylor, and Patrick Werr in Cairo, Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria and Yursi Mohamed in Ismailia; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Philip Barbara)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

I-Bhd seals deal for Malaysia's first interactive wax museum
Airline sector said to be driving GDP
Ranhill eyes RM753m IPO

I-Bhd seals deal for Malaysia's first interactive wax museum

Posted:

ZHONGSHAN: Red Carpet@i-City, Malaysia's first interactive wax museum, is a step closer to completion after I-Bhd director Monica Ong sealed the deal with Zhongshan City Elephant Sculpture Art Co Ltd (ZCESA), which is designing and building the wax figures for i-City.

ZCESA was represented by Zhao Xue Rong during the signing ceremony. Also present to witness the event were the Malaysian consul-general in Guangzhou Francisco Munis, I-Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong, ZCESA president and chairman Liu Zhen and the project's creative design director Bernardo Munoz.

Ong said i-City's leisure component currently drew about 90,000 people a week and it anticipated Red Carpet to add at least another 10,000 visitors a week after it opens in August.

"Malaysia is very privileged to be the first home for these interactive wax exhibits that possess both voice and motion capabilities.

"The technology is not new but the idea to combine it into one product is," she said.

She added that I-Bhd's leisure segment had contributed RM32mil to the company's revenue last year and the company was expected to double the figure to RM64mil this year, with Red Carpet contributing significantly.

"Red Carpet is the main attraction we are rolling out for Visit Malaysia Year 2014, although there would be several smaller projects in the works," Ong said, adding that the Tourism Ministry had been supportive and was already heavily promoting Red Carpet@i-City in its campaigns.

Munoz was confident the project was the first of its kind in the world and he hoped to allow visitors to be involved with the exhibits in an environment that was sophisticated.

"Red Carpet will stand out as a brand because it is unique. It gives people the opportunity to rub shoulders with their favourite celebrities and even take pictures and interact with them," he said.

Ong added that various promotions would be offered for Red Carpet@i-City. She said tickets would be priced at RM80 for adults and RM40 for children. There will be a family package of RM180 for two adults and two children.

To encourage Internet purchases, Ong said there would be an additional discount of 10% for purchases made online.

She said the leisure segment contributed 50% of I-Bhd's revenue currently, but she expected the real estate segment to pick up in 2014.

Airline sector said to be driving GDP

Posted:

TOULOUSE: Premier short-haul airline operator Firefly Sdn Bhd sees the airline industry as a catalyst to continue driving Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth, on the back of increasing domestic flight traffic in Asia.

"I see the airlines driving the GDP instead of the GDP growth driving the industry. Without us, the growth may not be as high," chief executive officer (CEO) Ignatius Ong told reporters at a briefing.

Last year, Firefly recorded 1.7 million passengers.

Ong was in Toulouse to sign the first delivery of one of the 20 new ATR72-600 turbo-prop aircraft the airline had purchased from Avions de Transport Regional (ATR).

"We have been looking forward to this day for quite some time now. We are thrilled to finally receive our new aircraft. Our exclusive ATR72 fleet has allowed us to develop a unique high frequency network out of Subang, Penang and Johor Baru, which greatly benefits Firefly.

"It has also benefited our Malaysian communities, the economy as well as the rest of the population in the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle," he said at the handover ceremony at the ATR headquarters on Wednesday.

Ong highlighted that the new aircraft would replace the existing fleet of 12 ATR72-500s. "The new aircraft would reinforce existing routes such as Johor, as well as service new routes like Johor to Pekan Baru, Sumatra, which would begin on Aug 1, 2013," he said.

The first ATR72-600 plane's inaugural flight to Johor has been scheduled for July 12, 2013.

"The purchase of this new aircraft is part of our growth and expansion plan as well as our continuous effort to serve customers better. ATR aircraft are unrivalled in terms of passenger comfort and environmental friendliness. This would further improve guest experience," he said.

Ong is also considering expanding the airline's flight network to the Indochina region, into countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia.

Ong said Firefly's expansion plans depended on where the airline operator placed its hubs.

The Malaysia Airlines (MAS) subsidiary is currently operating from two hubs, namely Subang and Penang. It is also in the midst of establishing hubs in Johor and Kota Baru.

New destinations would probably only be added from next year onwards, said Ong.

Ong added that should the demand for Firefly flights increase in the next few years, Firefly may decide to continue using the ATR72-500 instead of replacing the whole ATR72-500 fleet with the ATR72-600 aircraft, which has the capacity to seat 72 passengers, to match the demand.

"We have the option of keeping the ATR72-500s," he said.

Meanwhile, Ong said he would jump at the opportunity if there were an option of buying a 90-seater aircraft from ATR. ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato said the aircraft manufacturer was currently checking the concept and configuration of establishing the 90-seater aircraft.

"We have received a lot of demand for the 90-seater from South-East Asian and Latin American major operators," Bagnato said.

However, the anticipated launch of the 90-seater next year would be subject to demand of at least 100 orders of the aircraft, as well as the approval of ATR's shareholders.

Firefly expects to receive its second ATR72-600 by the end of the year, while the remaining 18 aircraft will be delivered in stages over the next six years.

In December last year, MAS signed a RM3bil contract to purchase 36 new ATR aircraft for Firefly, including its sister company MASwings. Out of the total 36 aircraft, Firefly is taking 20 aircraft.

Ong aims to keep Firefly's fleet young, ranging from an average age of three years to a maximum of six years, with the purpose of keeping aircraft maintenance low.

Ranhill eyes RM753m IPO

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Ranhill Energy and Resources Bhd is seeking to raise up to RM753mil in its upcoming initial public offering slated for July 31, mainly to retire debts and expand its water business in China.

Currently, the water business contributes about 44% to the group's turnover, followed by oil and gas at around 37%.

"We will focus on growing our energy and resources sectors which are our core sectors," president and chief executive Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad said at the company's prospectus launch.

Ranhill Energy is offering up to 407 million shares priced at an indicative price of between RM1.70 and RM1.85.

A total of 328.7 million shares will be offered to institutional investors. Cornerstone investors Lembaga Tabung Haji, Eastspring Investments Bhd, Hwang Investment Management Bhd and Corston Smith Asset Management Bhd have agreed to buy from Ranhill Energy an aggregate of 118.3 million shares.

"The book building just started this morning, response has been good, it's been oversubscribed."

The book building will close on July 15.

Ranhill Energy's prospectus was supposed to be launched on June 28. However, the company took an additional week to include "additional disclosures" in its prospectus, said Rajiv Vijendran, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd managing director and regional head, equity capital markets.

Maybank Investment is the principal adviser for this exercise and joint global coordinator, bookrunner, managing underwriter and underwriter with CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.

Hamdan is making a comeback of sorts with the listing of Ranhill Energy.

His main listed vehicle previously was Ranhill Bhd, which was listed in 2001 and later taken private in 2011. Its utilities arm, Ranhill Utilities Bhd, was also formerly listed prior to being taken private in 2008.

The companies within Ranhill Energy are part of the previously listed Ranhill Bhd.

Hamdan said the board intended to recommend a dividend payout of 60% of its net profit for its financial year ending Dec 31, 2014, translating into a yield of about 5%. In its latest concluded financial year to Dec 31, 2012, it made a net profit of RM285.7mil.

In China, the company has a water and waste water treatment business, where it has signed memoranda of understanding to expand its capacity from its current 270 million litres per day by an additional 400 million litres per day.

In Malaysia, Ranhill Energy has been granted an exclusive licence by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to provide source-to-tap water supply services to end-customers in Johor.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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The Star Online: Nation

Have a ball with Chelsea - courtesy of The Star
Conversion clause: Proper measures must be in place to safeguard child's interest, says expert
Cops zero in on break-in gang that robbed Khairy's home

Have a ball with Chelsea - courtesy of The Star

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: The Star will be giving away more than 1,000 tickets for Chelsea Football Club's pre-season tour in Kuala Lumpur to its readers.

"With Jose Mourinho taking back the helm at Chelsea, the team's visit to Malaysia is highly anticipated by fans," said ProEvents International Sdn Bhd managing director San Boon Wah after handing over tickets to Star Publications (M) Bhd executive director and group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai at Menara Star yesterday.

Also present was ProEvents chief executive officer Julian Kam.

"During their visit in 2011, the team played to a capacity crowd of 85,000 at the Bukit Jalil stadium. That itself was a record for Chelsea," said San.

He said the team would be in Malaysia for a total of six days.

"Chelsea's tour is named Here to Play, Here to Stay because of the club's involvement in developing local football. There is a Chelsea Blue Pitch in Damansara Damai, Petaling Jaya, and the team will conduct coaching clinics and even have its training sessions on the pitch," said San.

The match between Chelsea and a Malaysia XI side will be played at the Shah Alam Stadium on Sunday, July 21, and is scheduled to kick off at 9.45pm.

He added that of the 60,000 tickets, 15,000 had already been sold.

"With three weeks to go, this is a surprising change because fans usually buy tickets a week before the match."

Details on ticket redemption will be announced soon.

Conversion clause: Proper measures must be in place to safeguard child's interest, says expert

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: A constitutional expert said a clause of the controversial Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill which allows minors to be converted with the consent of only one parent could remain but proper measures should be in place to safeguard the interest and welfare of the child.

One of the country's leading experts on Islamic constitutional law Assoc Prof Dr Shamrahayu Abd Aziz suggested that administrative measures be put in place to ensure that estranged partners did not convert children without the knowledge of the other.

"It should not be made 'ex parte' (one party) instead it should be 'inter partes' where both parties are invited by the court to give their views.

"The child's views should also be taken into consideration and (in the end) the court will decide on this after listening to all views and take into consideration the welfare of the child," she said.

Dr Shamrahayu, who is with International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), said that in many divorce cases, it was difficult to get both parents to agree on matters concerning their children and this included religion.

Muslim Lawyers Association (PPMM) president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said the 2009 Cabinet decision in disallowing the unilateral conversion of minors to Islam did not change the current laws.

"The court cannot in any way bow down to the Cabinet directive. In fact, the Cabinet cannot go beyond its power," he said.

Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia president Musa Awang said there was nothing radical about Sect 107 of the Bill (the section in question) as similar provision already existed in the current Act.

"We feel those who are disputing Sect 107 may not have understood it and they need further clarification," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said Section 107 was in line with the 1990 Federal Court decision on the Susie Teoh case as well as other cases which stated that an underage child can convert to Islam with the consent of the father or mother or guardian.

In Seremban, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the Negri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Council would only reverse its decision permitting one parent who had embraced Islam to convert his or her children into the religion if the National Fatwa Council allowed this.

Cops zero in on break-in gang that robbed Khairy's home

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the three house break-in gangs stalking residents in Bukit Damansara may have been responsible for the burglary at the Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's home over the weekend, said the police.

"We believe that there are two local gangs and one from Latin America which operate at different times of the day," said City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah.

He said that this was based on recent cases with similar modus operandi in the area.

"A few days before Khairy's house was robbed, there was another break-in at the same area.

"The robbers also scaled the outside wall and broke into the house," said SAC Ku.

During the robbery at Khairy's home, three men had scaled the wall of the bungalow belonging to his mother in Jalan Setiabistari at 5.30pm on Saturday before breaking in through the front door.

The only person in the house was a maid, who said that the men ransacked the place, escaping with several laptops, watches and other expensive items.

SAC Ku said that photofits of two suspects had been obtained from the maid.

The photos would be released to the public later.

"Guards have been assigned to Khairy's house," he told reporters here yesterday.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 4 Julai 2013