Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

---

Man jailed for attacking wife’s lover Posted: A PRODUCTION worker, who returned home early from work to find his wife having sex with another man. was jailed for two months for attacking his wife's lover with two meat cleaving knives. Zhuang Minhai, 29, attacked Zhang Zhiyang, 22, who as a result sustained an 8cm-long cut and a fracture of his right arm. Both men and Zhuang's wife, Lin Liyun, 29, are Chinese nationals and worked in the same factory. A district court heard that on April 26, Zhuang was scheduled to work the night shift however he went home at 8.30pm because he was feeling unwell. When he returned to their rented room at Boon Lay Drive, he found his wife in bed with Zhang. He punched the other man on the back several times and told him to leave the room. When Zhang refused, Zhuang armed himself with two meat cleavers from the kitchen. Zhang was able to evade the first two swings of the choppers but he was slashed by the third attack. He underwent surgery the next day. The landlady called the police after the commotion Zhuang pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to Zhang. Defence counsel Justin Phua said that his client had paid the victim S$4,000 (RM10,186) to cover the medical expenses and a further S$5,000 (RM12,732) in compensation. The lawyer also told the court that Zhuang, who had worked here since 2001, had a "heart-to-heart talk" with Lin and has forgiven her. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Consumers unfazed by food price hike Posted: CONSUMERS in Singapore are relatively unfazed by the thought of food prices heading north, with 69% indicating there is enough flexibility in their household budget to absorb a rise in food prices. They also do not think that they would make significant sacrifices to their spending in other areas if food prices do rise, according to a report released yesterday by research firm Nielsen. A similar sentiment was seen in other countries in Southeast Asia including Thailand (78%), Indonesia (70%), Vietnam (70%), Malaysia (66%) and the Philippines (58%). The survey, which polled more than 29,000 Internet respondents in 58 countries also found that while many Singaporeans were unlikely to make significant spending cuts to cope with rising food prices, many indicated that they would look to dine out less, buy fewer clothes and accessories and eat less snack foods should the need arise. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

You are subscribed to email updates from Regional Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

---

<i>The Simpsons</i> to kill off a character in new season Posted: Executive producer Al Jean also announces a The Simpsons-Futurama crossover episode in 2014. The Simpsons may be going strong in its 25th season, but a major character from the long-running animated series will soon meet his or her maker. In a conference call with reporters last week, executive producer Al Jean revealed plans to kill off a character in the season ahead. "We're actually working on a script where a character will pass away," Jean said. "I'll give a clue that the actor playing the character won an Emmy for playing that character, but I won't say who it is." Simpsons fanatics will know that this hint doesn't exactly narrow things down: Nearly every member of the core ensemble of voice-over performers has won an Emmy, including Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Barney, Krusty), Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty, Selma), Hank Azaria (Apu and practically everyone else on the show), Nancy Cartwright (Bart) and Yeardley Smith (Lisa). Even a few guest stars have picked up Emmys for Simpsons appearances, including Anne Hathaway for voicing Princess Penelope and Kelsey Grammer for Sideshow Bob. In other words, pretty much anyone could go. Death has come to Springfield in the past, most recently with the untimely passing of Maude Flanders, wife of the Simpsons' preternaturally cheerful next-door neighbour Ned, who bit the dust after falling off a grandstand at the racetrack. The 25th season of The Simpsons premiered Sunday night in the United States with a Homeland spoof guest starring Kristen Wiig. In the press call, Jean also teased some other highlights in the season ahead, including a Futurama crossover episode set to air sometime in May and a wedding, officiated by Stan Lee, for Comic Book Guy. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

You are subscribed to email updates from TV To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

---

• Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2'
• Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up
• Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra

Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2' Posted: MULTI-AWARD-WINNING film and television stalwart Rosyam Nor is one actor who is happy when the audience hates him. KL Gangster 2 marks an acting comeback for the 46-year-old who has spent the past two years working as a producer and director. So keen were the filmmakers to get him on board the action flick that they wrote the role of murderous mob boss Tailong specifically for him as enticement. Rosyam says: "I felt I had a huge responsibility to bring the character to life. So I tried to make him as violent and vile as possible. If the viewers don't hate me, then I haven't done my job." To play the gun-and-sword-wielding gang leader, he studied the movements and mannerisms of reptiles such as crocodiles, lizards and snakes. "He's like a reptile, the way he looks at people, the way he moves." His commitment to the role carried on from research into filming. Despite being older than his co-stars Aaron Aziz, 37, and Adi Putra, 32, he insisted on doing all but three of the action and fight scenes himself. "I think I made the shooting longer because I had to take a lot of breaks in between the action scenes to catch my breath," he says with a laugh. "And for that, I am grateful to Aaron, Adi and the rest of the cast and crew." The nephew of late Malaysian film veteran Hussein Abu Hassan, Rosyam is a decorated actor. His accolades include Best Supporting Male Actor award at the 1998 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, for his role as a serial killer and rapist in the 1998 thriller Lenjan. He burst onto the scene in 1986 with teen drama Gila-Gila Remaja, which was directed by his uncle and co-starred his cousin, Faizal Hussein. Rosyam, a father of five, is modest when told that Adi had mentioned in an interview that he was excited to work with him, describing the older actor as his mentor. Rosyam says: "I treat him and Aaron like my younger brothers. I was also learning from them and adapting myself to their style. We are all on the same level." He also had no problems taking orders from a younger director, Syamsul Yusof, 29. "It's my first time working under him and I must say he is very meticulous in his work he is detailed and he knows what he wants. Even though he is younger than me, I have a lot of respect for him as a director." – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Related story: Aaron Aziz gang up with Adi Putra

Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up Posted: Filming with real fire was nerve-racking for co-stars Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok. LONG-TIME collaborators Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok play a pair of firemen brothers trying to rescue people from a burning office tower in their new movie, Inferno. The serious firefighting drama features many scenes of massive fires and the actors are not ashamed to admit that they felt "nervous" on the set when they had to do most of the stunts themselves. The film's fire scenes are a combination of real footage of fire and computer-generated imagery. Reportedly, 70% of what is seen onscreen are real flames. Koo, 42, says: "There were some scenes where the script said a stunt double would come in. But when we were about to start filming, we didn't see any stunt doubles, so we ended up having to do a lot of the action stuff on our own." Lau, 49, adds: "Of course, if you're very scared, you can tell the directors and they will arrange for a double. But as two male actors, we just decided to keep that to ourselves and go in and do the stunts." The film also stars Malaysian actress Lee Sinje, 37, who is married to the film's co-director Oxide Pang in real life. Ask if there was any pressure acting opposite her and Koo, ever ready with a joke, says: "Even though she plays Ching Wan's wife, I ended up having a lot more scenes with her. And as soon as I knew that, I felt reassured, because the director will protect me from harm since he has to protect his wife, right?" More seriously, Lau says: "Sinje is an excellent actress and she does not get any preferential treatment on the set. You don't even think about whether she's married to the director or not. You just do your part and she does hers." Put the two actors together in the same room and some black humour is inevitable. At the interview, Lau readily admits that he is "always goofing around only with Louis". Speaking in a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese, he adds: "I think it's because we've done many comedies together before, so we just naturally like to joke about things on set." The chemistry is apparent between the two actors, who have played a good number of strong, silent and cool guys on screen. With each other, however, they are sunny and relaxed, often completing each other's sentences. Perhaps a bromance is inevitable - after all, they have worked a dozen times together: Since their first collaboration in the comedy La Brassiere (2001), they have gone on to co-star in a clutch of diverse films, from the colourful retro comedy Fantasia (2004) to gambling comedy Poker King (2009) to crime thriller Overheard (2009). Besides making light of the prospect of getting burnt, the two leading men wisecrack about their tanned skin: Lau has naturally dark skin, while Koo reportedly goes for tanning sessions to set himself apart from the usual fair-skinned idol. Koo deadpans that their dark complexion gives the lighting departments on movie sets quite a headache. "When the two of us are in a scene together, it's no problem because the lighting guys will just shine extra light on us. But when someone else comes into the picture, that's when it gets challenging. "That's why all women who make movies with me look super pretty. The light makes them extra fair and it's almost like we're making a music video or something," he says with a laugh. The two actors clearly get along, but are quick to point out that they have major differences too. Lau, who is married to former actress Amy Kwok, 46, and has no children, says: "Louis is actually the more serious and calm one, and I'm more cheeky. We have very contrasting personalities." He adds half-jokingly that compared with Koo's "workaholic" ways, he is more relaxed. "I don't like to overload myself with work. I need to go home and spend some time with my wife," says Lau. "Though the funny thing is that, when I'm working in Hong Kong and go home after shoots, my wife and I have nothing much to talk about. When I'm filming in other places, we suddenly have to be texting and calling each other, and we have so much to talk about." As for Koo's supposedly very hardworking lifestyle, there seems to be some evidence for it. The bachelor lets on that he is "so busy" with work, he does not even have time to undergo a simple Lasik surgery for his myopia. He explains: "In the movie, I have to dive into the water and save some people, but that was really difficult because I wear contact lenses. Still, I had to bear it. I didn't go for Lasik surgery because you need about two weeks to rest your eyes afterwards, and I don't have two weeks of free time to do that." In fact, neither he nor Lau has had time to watch their new film yet. "We've been promoting this movie for weeks now, but we never had the time to sit down at the premieres to watch the movie. We're always whisked away to our next event and destination," says Koo. Hopefully, they will get the chance to catch it some time before they start the promotional rounds for upcoming crime thriller The White Storm which, once again, stars the two actors. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > Inferno is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.

Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra Posted: Despite all the brouhaha, the cast of KL Gangster 2 is optimistic about the film. WATCHING gangster movies when he was younger has paid off for Aaron Aziz. "I watched the Young And Dangerous series and when I went to Hong Kong, I expected to see people fighting in the streets. But that didn't happen, of course." The highly anticipated follow-up to 2011's KL Gangster took RM12mil at the box office and is the highest-grossing local film of all time. Aaron, 37, and Adi Putra anchor the film and play a pair of brothers caught up in the seedy underbelly of Kuala Lumpur. While the original film has been praised for being gritty and realistic, Aaron and the film's producer, Datuk Yusof Haslam, insist that the story in the two films depict a hyper-realised and exaggerated version of the world of gangsters in KL. "It's fiction, a work of fantasy," says Yusof, whose son Syamsul Yusof is the director and writer behind the two films. Indeed it is. KL Gangster 2, a prequel to the first film, features violent street brawls and shoot-outs between warring gang members armed with machine guns. Mob boss Tailong, played by veteran actor Rosyam Nor, flies around in a helicopter and fires at his pursuing enemies with a gun in each hand while perched atop a Hummer sport-utility vehicle speeding along a highway. KL Gangster 2 has been the victim of a different kind of crime. A month before its cinematic release, the entire film was leaked online and sold as pirated DVDs. The stress brought about by piracy took its toll on Syamsul, who has refused to appear at the film's promotional activities and has been avoiding the press since the issue arose. The new film, which cost RM4.5mil to make and took close to two years to complete, is the biggest undertaking to date for film and television company Skop Production, which Yusof set up in 1985. In comparison, the original film cost RM1.5mil. While the first film starts out with Malek being released from prison and depicts the two brothers as enemies, the prequel tells of how Malek got into a life of crime and how the feud between the siblings escalated. Adi says that everyone involved in the movie is aware that the expectations of fans of the first movie are high. "The pressure is definitely there for us to make this movie even better than the first. There's a lot more action in this movie. We want the scenes to be more memorable," he says. The father of one, who is married to film producer Aida Yusof, came under media scrutiny when he became embroiled in a scandal – a Johor businessman lodged a police report against the actor in August, accusing him of sending lewd photos and text messages to his wife. Adi declined to comment on the issue, saying that it is a police case and that he has to "respect the authorities" and let them handle it. Both he and Aaron are upset by the movie leak. Aaron says that having such a high-profile film such as KL Gangster 2 pirated before its release puts the spotlight on the real problems plaguing the local film industry. "I'm frustrated by the leak, just as I was frustrated when certain quarters in the Malaysian film industry accused Singaporean actors of coming in and stealing their jobs. Having pirates steal our work is a much bigger problem that is damaging to the whole industry," says Aaron who hails from Singapore. His starring role as Malek, a street-wise mechanic forced into a thug's life by family circumstances, cements his status as one of the top actors across the Causeway. He and his family are Malaysian permanent residents. Besides his action roles in blockbuster movies such as KL Gangster and race movie Evolusi KL Drift (2008) and its sequel, Evolusi KL Drift 2 (2010), Aaron is also famous for his romantic roles. His romance drama Ombak Rindu, released in the same year as KL Gangster, is the second-highest-grossing local film, with RM10.9mil in box office takings. He is also a familiar face on television, starring in popular dramas such as Nora Elena and Janji Diana. So influential is he that Syamsul gave him plenty of leeway to develop and flesh out his character as Malek. In the movie's climactic, three-way fight scene between Malek, Adi's character Jai and Tailong, the director went through three different choreographers because Aaron did not feel the fighting sequences were realistic enough. "In the end, I had to do the choreography myself. Much as I respect the original choreographers, I felt that the fighting styles of these three characters needed to have a flow and a natural rhythm," says the father of three, who has been based in Malaysia since 2006. Adi, too, had plenty of creative input and came up with his character's traits and quirks. For example, Jai, who sports a bleached hairdo in the sequel, is always seen with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. "The bleached hair and cigarette are my ideas. You'll have to watch the movie to find out why he never actually lights up the cigarettes," Adi says. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > KL Gangster 2 is playing in cinemas nationwide. Related story: Studying reptiles to play a villain in 'KL Gangster 2'

You are subscribed to email updates from Movies To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

---

• Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2'
• Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up
• Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra

Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2' Posted: MULTI-AWARD-WINNING film and television stalwart Rosyam Nor is one actor who is happy when the audience hates him. KL Gangster 2 marks an acting comeback for the 46-year-old who has spent the past two years working as a producer and director. So keen were the filmmakers to get him on board the action flick that they wrote the role of murderous mob boss Tailong specifically for him as enticement. Rosyam says: "I felt I had a huge responsibility to bring the character to life. So I tried to make him as violent and vile as possible. If the viewers don't hate me, then I haven't done my job." To play the gun-and-sword-wielding gang leader, he studied the movements and mannerisms of reptiles such as crocodiles, lizards and snakes. "He's like a reptile, the way he looks at people, the way he moves." His commitment to the role carried on from research into filming. Despite being older than his co-stars Aaron Aziz, 37, and Adi Putra, 32, he insisted on doing all but three of the action and fight scenes himself. "I think I made the shooting longer because I had to take a lot of breaks in between the action scenes to catch my breath," he says with a laugh. "And for that, I am grateful to Aaron, Adi and the rest of the cast and crew." The nephew of late Malaysian film veteran Hussein Abu Hassan, Rosyam is a decorated actor. His accolades include Best Supporting Male Actor award at the 1998 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, for his role as a serial killer and rapist in the 1998 thriller Lenjan. He burst onto the scene in 1986 with teen drama Gila-Gila Remaja, which was directed by his uncle and co-starred his cousin, Faizal Hussein. Rosyam, a father of five, is modest when told that Adi had mentioned in an interview that he was excited to work with him, describing the older actor as his mentor. Rosyam says: "I treat him and Aaron like my younger brothers. I was also learning from them and adapting myself to their style. We are all on the same level." He also had no problems taking orders from a younger director, Syamsul Yusof, 29. "It's my first time working under him and I must say he is very meticulous in his work he is detailed and he knows what he wants. Even though he is younger than me, I have a lot of respect for him as a director." – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Related story: Aaron Aziz gang up with Adi Putra

Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up Posted: Filming with real fire was nerve-racking for co-stars Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok. LONG-TIME collaborators Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok play a pair of firemen brothers trying to rescue people from a burning office tower in their new movie, Inferno. The serious firefighting drama features many scenes of massive fires and the actors are not ashamed to admit that they felt "nervous" on the set when they had to do most of the stunts themselves. The film's fire scenes are a combination of real footage of fire and computer-generated imagery. Reportedly, 70% of what is seen onscreen are real flames. Koo, 42, says: "There were some scenes where the script said a stunt double would come in. But when we were about to start filming, we didn't see any stunt doubles, so we ended up having to do a lot of the action stuff on our own." Lau, 49, adds: "Of course, if you're very scared, you can tell the directors and they will arrange for a double. But as two male actors, we just decided to keep that to ourselves and go in and do the stunts." The film also stars Malaysian actress Lee Sinje, 37, who is married to the film's co-director Oxide Pang in real life. Ask if there was any pressure acting opposite her and Koo, ever ready with a joke, says: "Even though she plays Ching Wan's wife, I ended up having a lot more scenes with her. And as soon as I knew that, I felt reassured, because the director will protect me from harm since he has to protect his wife, right?" More seriously, Lau says: "Sinje is an excellent actress and she does not get any preferential treatment on the set. You don't even think about whether she's married to the director or not. You just do your part and she does hers." Put the two actors together in the same room and some black humour is inevitable. At the interview, Lau readily admits that he is "always goofing around only with Louis". Speaking in a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese, he adds: "I think it's because we've done many comedies together before, so we just naturally like to joke about things on set." The chemistry is apparent between the two actors, who have played a good number of strong, silent and cool guys on screen. With each other, however, they are sunny and relaxed, often completing each other's sentences. Perhaps a bromance is inevitable - after all, they have worked a dozen times together: Since their first collaboration in the comedy La Brassiere (2001), they have gone on to co-star in a clutch of diverse films, from the colourful retro comedy Fantasia (2004) to gambling comedy Poker King (2009) to crime thriller Overheard (2009). Besides making light of the prospect of getting burnt, the two leading men wisecrack about their tanned skin: Lau has naturally dark skin, while Koo reportedly goes for tanning sessions to set himself apart from the usual fair-skinned idol. Koo deadpans that their dark complexion gives the lighting departments on movie sets quite a headache. "When the two of us are in a scene together, it's no problem because the lighting guys will just shine extra light on us. But when someone else comes into the picture, that's when it gets challenging. "That's why all women who make movies with me look super pretty. The light makes them extra fair and it's almost like we're making a music video or something," he says with a laugh. The two actors clearly get along, but are quick to point out that they have major differences too. Lau, who is married to former actress Amy Kwok, 46, and has no children, says: "Louis is actually the more serious and calm one, and I'm more cheeky. We have very contrasting personalities." He adds half-jokingly that compared with Koo's "workaholic" ways, he is more relaxed. "I don't like to overload myself with work. I need to go home and spend some time with my wife," says Lau. "Though the funny thing is that, when I'm working in Hong Kong and go home after shoots, my wife and I have nothing much to talk about. When I'm filming in other places, we suddenly have to be texting and calling each other, and we have so much to talk about." As for Koo's supposedly very hardworking lifestyle, there seems to be some evidence for it. The bachelor lets on that he is "so busy" with work, he does not even have time to undergo a simple Lasik surgery for his myopia. He explains: "In the movie, I have to dive into the water and save some people, but that was really difficult because I wear contact lenses. Still, I had to bear it. I didn't go for Lasik surgery because you need about two weeks to rest your eyes afterwards, and I don't have two weeks of free time to do that." In fact, neither he nor Lau has had time to watch their new film yet. "We've been promoting this movie for weeks now, but we never had the time to sit down at the premieres to watch the movie. We're always whisked away to our next event and destination," says Koo. Hopefully, they will get the chance to catch it some time before they start the promotional rounds for upcoming crime thriller The White Storm which, once again, stars the two actors. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > Inferno is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.

Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra Posted: Despite all the brouhaha, the cast of KL Gangster 2 is optimistic about the film. WATCHING gangster movies when he was younger has paid off for Aaron Aziz. "I watched the Young And Dangerous series and when I went to Hong Kong, I expected to see people fighting in the streets. But that didn't happen, of course." The highly anticipated follow-up to 2011's KL Gangster took RM12mil at the box office and is the highest-grossing local film of all time. Aaron, 37, and Adi Putra anchor the film and play a pair of brothers caught up in the seedy underbelly of Kuala Lumpur. While the original film has been praised for being gritty and realistic, Aaron and the film's producer, Datuk Yusof Haslam, insist that the story in the two films depict a hyper-realised and exaggerated version of the world of gangsters in KL. "It's fiction, a work of fantasy," says Yusof, whose son Syamsul Yusof is the director and writer behind the two films. Indeed it is. KL Gangster 2, a prequel to the first film, features violent street brawls and shoot-outs between warring gang members armed with machine guns. Mob boss Tailong, played by veteran actor Rosyam Nor, flies around in a helicopter and fires at his pursuing enemies with a gun in each hand while perched atop a Hummer sport-utility vehicle speeding along a highway. KL Gangster 2 has been the victim of a different kind of crime. A month before its cinematic release, the entire film was leaked online and sold as pirated DVDs. The stress brought about by piracy took its toll on Syamsul, who has refused to appear at the film's promotional activities and has been avoiding the press since the issue arose. The new film, which cost RM4.5mil to make and took close to two years to complete, is the biggest undertaking to date for film and television company Skop Production, which Yusof set up in 1985. In comparison, the original film cost RM1.5mil. While the first film starts out with Malek being released from prison and depicts the two brothers as enemies, the prequel tells of how Malek got into a life of crime and how the feud between the siblings escalated. Adi says that everyone involved in the movie is aware that the expectations of fans of the first movie are high. "The pressure is definitely there for us to make this movie even better than the first. There's a lot more action in this movie. We want the scenes to be more memorable," he says. The father of one, who is married to film producer Aida Yusof, came under media scrutiny when he became embroiled in a scandal – a Johor businessman lodged a police report against the actor in August, accusing him of sending lewd photos and text messages to his wife. Adi declined to comment on the issue, saying that it is a police case and that he has to "respect the authorities" and let them handle it. Both he and Aaron are upset by the movie leak. Aaron says that having such a high-profile film such as KL Gangster 2 pirated before its release puts the spotlight on the real problems plaguing the local film industry. "I'm frustrated by the leak, just as I was frustrated when certain quarters in the Malaysian film industry accused Singaporean actors of coming in and stealing their jobs. Having pirates steal our work is a much bigger problem that is damaging to the whole industry," says Aaron who hails from Singapore. His starring role as Malek, a street-wise mechanic forced into a thug's life by family circumstances, cements his status as one of the top actors across the Causeway. He and his family are Malaysian permanent residents. Besides his action roles in blockbuster movies such as KL Gangster and race movie Evolusi KL Drift (2008) and its sequel, Evolusi KL Drift 2 (2010), Aaron is also famous for his romantic roles. His romance drama Ombak Rindu, released in the same year as KL Gangster, is the second-highest-grossing local film, with RM10.9mil in box office takings. He is also a familiar face on television, starring in popular dramas such as Nora Elena and Janji Diana. So influential is he that Syamsul gave him plenty of leeway to develop and flesh out his character as Malek. In the movie's climactic, three-way fight scene between Malek, Adi's character Jai and Tailong, the director went through three different choreographers because Aaron did not feel the fighting sequences were realistic enough. "In the end, I had to do the choreography myself. Much as I respect the original choreographers, I felt that the fighting styles of these three characters needed to have a flow and a natural rhythm," says the father of three, who has been based in Malaysia since 2006. Adi, too, had plenty of creative input and came up with his character's traits and quirks. For example, Jai, who sports a bleached hairdo in the sequel, is always seen with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. "The bleached hair and cigarette are my ideas. You'll have to watch the movie to find out why he never actually lights up the cigarettes," Adi says. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > KL Gangster 2 is playing in cinemas nationwide. Related story: Studying reptiles to play a villain in 'KL Gangster 2'

You are subscribed to email updates from Movies To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: World Updates

---

• Mexico urges U.S. to reach deal on raising debt ceiling
• Pakistan quake toll reaches 515 as insurgents hamper aid efforts
• U.S. leans toward withholding most military aid from Egypt - source

Mexico urges U.S. to reach deal on raising debt ceiling Posted: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's finance minister urged the United States on Tuesday to reach an agreement on raising its debt ceiling, saying a failure to do so could seriously damage financial markets and the global economy. "(This) has the potential to enormously affect financial markets and therefore not just the United States' economy but also the economies of the rest of the world," Finance Minister Luis Videgaray told Mexican radio. "It's an event that could be so serious that I think we all trust that the lawmakers and the executive of the United States will find the means to reach an agreement," he added. The U.S. Congress has so far failed to strike a deal to raise the government's borrowing cap, which is set to expire on October 17. Treasury officials have said hitting that limit and defaulting on government obligations could cause lasting harm to the United States' international reputation. Markets have been roiled and the dollar is near its recent eight-month low against other major currencies as U.S. lawmakers struggle to find a solution to both the debt ceiling and the government shutdown, now in its second week. U.S. President Barack Obama has said a default on the country's debts could have a major negative impact on the U.S. and world economies. The United States is Mexico's top trading partner, the destination of about 80 percent of Mexican exports. (Reporting by David Alire Garcia and Jean Luis Arce; Editing by Dave Graham and Peter Cooney)

Pakistan quake toll reaches 515 as insurgents hamper aid efforts Posted: AWARAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - The death toll from an earthquake in southwestern Pakistan has reached 515, a provincial official said Friday, as insurgents continue to hamper relief efforts. Babar Yaqoob, the Chief Secretary of Baluchistan, gave the updated death toll as he was touring the destroyed region of Awaran, where the earthquake struck on Tuesday. The area is also a stronghold of separatist Baluch insurgents, who have shot at helicopters carrying military officials in charge of responding to the disaster. "There is a law and order situation here and other hurdles but despite everything, we will get to every last person," said Lt. Gen. Nasir Janjua, the highest ranking military official in the province. (The story was refiled to correct typo in dateline of Sept 27 story) (Reporting by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Nick Macfie)

U.S. leans toward withholding most military aid from Egypt - source Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is leaning toward withholding most military aid to Egypt except to promote counterterrorism, security in the Sinai Peninsula that borders Israel, and other such priorities, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official said U.S. President Barack Obama had not made a final decision on the issue, which has vexed U.S. officials as they balance a desire to be seen promoting democracy and rights with a desire to keep up some cooperation with Egypt's military. The military on July 3 overthrew President Mohamed Mursi, who emerged from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement to become the country's first freely elected president last year after the February 2011 fall of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. Mursi supporters and security forces have repeatedly clashed since, including on Sunday, one of the bloodiest days since the military took power, with state media reporting 57 people dead. After Mursi's ouster, the Obama administration said it would suspend about $585 million (364 million pounds) in military assistance to Egypt pending a wider policy review. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration was now leaning toward continuing to withhold most of that, with the exceptions described above. The official said the United States was also leaning toward continuing some economic aid to Egypt, but chiefly funds that go to nongovernmental groups rather than to the government itself. A second U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said a decision on the aid was likely to be made public by the end of the week, although he noted that an announcement has been repeatedly postponed. Egypt for decades has been among the largest recipients of U.S. military and economic aid because of its 1979 peace treaty with U.S. ally Israel, which agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula it seized from Egypt in 1967 as a result of the pact. The United States has long provided Egypt with about $1.55 billion in annual aid, including $1.3 billion in military assistance. OBAMA'S DILEMMA The removal of Mursi has left Obama with an acute dilemma: whether to get tough with the army for toppling a democratically elected president, albeit an Islamist who had few friends in Washington, or whether to acquiesce in his overthrow. U.S. officials have said there has been a sharp debate within the administration for months over the issue, with one saying that the Pentagon had argued for continuing military aid, while others urged a significant reduction. At the U.N. General Assembly on September 24, Obama appeared to split the difference, saying the United States would maintain constructive ties with Egypt's interim government despite its anti-democratic moves - including an emergency law and restrictions on opposition parties, the media and civil society. He also suggested that some military aid would depend on the interim government embracing a more inclusive democracy. "Going forward, the United States will maintain a constructive relationship with the interim government that promotes core interests like the Camp David Accords and counterterrorism," he said, referring to the U.S.-brokered agreements that led to the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. "We'll continue support in areas like education that directly benefit the Egyptian people," he added. "But we have not proceeded with the delivery of certain military systems, and our support will depend upon Egypt's progress in pursuing a more democratic path." Earlier on Tuesday, CNN quoted a U.S. official as saying that an "accumulation of events," including the recent violence, had led to the decision on a "full suspension" of aid, a report the White House denied. "The reports that we are halting all military assistance to Egypt are false," Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement. "We will announce the future of our assistance relationship with Egypt in the coming days, but as the president made clear at (the U.N. General Assembly), that assistance relationship will continue." The Pentagon declined all comment. Vanessa Murray, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign military aid and sales, earlier told Reuters there had been no change in policy or status regarding Egypt. Officials at General Dynamics Corp, which makes M1A1 tank kits for Egypt, and Boeing Co, which is building Apache helicopters for the Arab country, said late on Tuesday they had not been notified of any decision to halt military aid. There was no immediate comment from Lockheed Martin Corp, which is building F-16 fighter jets for Egypt. Shipments of four F-16s have already been halted temporarily, and eight more jets were due to be delivered in December. Two former government officials familiar with foreign military sales have said the Obama administration is likely to curtail certain high-visibility weapons sales such as the 12 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16s due to be delivered to Egypt this year to send a message to the military. The planes could be fairly easily adapted for sale to other countries, they said.

You are subscribed to email updates from World To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Business

---

• Asia infrastructure surge to boost world trade, says HSBC
• KLCI opens Wednesday lower as US debt ceiling looms
• Billionaire Buffett's Berkshire discloses 2.8% stake in Goldman Sachs

Asia infrastructure surge to boost world trade, says HSBC Posted: KUALA LUMPUR: Asia's infrastructure surge will boost world trade as infrastructure trade is set to triple by 2030 and its share of global trade is expected to rise significantly, according to HSBC's latest trade forecast report. In a statement today, HSBC said in its Trade Confidence Index (TCI) conducted last June, international businesses around the world reported a slight increase in confidence in global trade prospects, with confidence amongst global and Asian traders rising slightly to 112, up from 111 in the second half of 2012. Ng Wei Wei, country head of global trade and receivables finance for HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, said Malaysia's TCI for the first quarter of 2013 remained robust at 114, and despite challenges in the global economy, the findings indicated infrastructure spending was going to outperform the downbeat trend. "In Malaysia, the government's Economic Transformation Programme continues to spur growth and domestic demand, with local players keen to participate in the increasing activity in the local business environment, and it also received international endorsement, demonstrated in the country's improvement in key global rankings," she said. HSBC said the report revealed that between 2013 and 2030, infrastructure-related trade would grow at an average of 9% with a rise in its share of overall merchandise trade, from 45% of total goods exports in 2013 to 54% by 2030. The report differentiates between goods for infrastructure the materials needed for infrastructure projects and investment equipment the machinery required by businesses to boost production. It stated India and China would overtake the US as lead importers of infrastructure-related goods by 2020. "Currently, the US is the biggest importer of infrastructure-related goods, but the report has predicted India will become the lead importer of goods for infrastructure as it invests in building its domestic networks, while China is set to become the top importer of investment equipment as it boosts manufacturing capacity by 2020," HSBC said. Meanwhile, other rapidly-growing Asian economies are expected to take an increasing share of infrastructure-related imports over time, with Malaysia, Korea and Vietnam moving up the rankings, it added – Bernama.

KLCI opens Wednesday lower as US debt ceiling looms Posted: KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI kicked off Wednesday on a lower note, slipping almost five points lower as investors sentiments were tainted due to the concerns over the solution of the US budget. At 9.02am, the KLCI was down 4.09 points to 1,773.41. Turnover was 37.36 million valued at RM14.508mil. There were 51 gainers, 86 decliners and 110 counters unchanged. Reuters reported US stock futures rebounded from a one-month low on Wednesday on news that US President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen, seen as a proponent of dovish policy, as the next head of the US central bank. "Still, global shares are likely to stay under pressure as investors start to take precautions to protect themselves against the possibility the US government may default on its debt later this month," it said. BIMB Securities Research said equities were left to die another day as a solution over the US budget remains in a quandary, not to mention the looming debt ceiling crisis. It said already both China and Japan holding a combined US$2.4tril in US debts have fired warning shots. "Interestingly, Asian market performed with aplomb as almost all closed the day on a positive note possibly due to technical buying. "Locally, the FBMKLCI closed the day on a flat note after spending most of the day in negative territory again from last minute buying activities and ended the day 0.68 point higher at 1,777.50," it said. It noted although the downside bias for the local bourse remains, it is well supported at current levels. Another range trading day is in store within the 1,770 to 1,775 range. HwangDBS Vickers Research said on local corporate developments, the following stocks may have added interests today, such as DiGi.Com, following a news report on Khazanah selling up to RM293.5mil worth of shares in the telecommunication group and LPI Capital, after the company has reported a 27% on-year increase of its third quarter earnings. At Bursa Malaysia, KL Kepong fell 32 sen to RM22.34 and PPB Group 14 sen to RM14.24. Financial counters fell with HLFG down 28 sen to RM14.86 and Affin 11 sen to RM4.21. DiGi fell seven sen to RM4.90. Ho Hup rose seven sen to RM1.55, QL six sen to RM3.88 and Sumatec 2.5 sen to 62 sen.

Billionaire Buffett&#39;s Berkshire discloses 2.8% stake in Goldman Sachs Posted: NEW YORK: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> disclosed a 2.8 percent passive stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> as it converted warrants acquired during the financial crisis. Buffett received the warrants five years ago when his investment in Goldman was seen as a vote of confidence in the bank, which was reeling from turmoil in the credit market. Under Buffett's deal with Goldman, Berkshire had the right to buy about 43.5 million Goldman shares - or a roughly 9 percent stake then - at an exercise price of $115 per share. Goldman had amended the deal in March, which gave Berkshire a much smaller stake but did not require it to commit any capital to exercise the warrants. Reuters reported last week that Berkshire would convert the warrants into shares equal in value to the difference between the warrants' exercise price and the average closing price for Goldman shares in the 10 trading days up to October 1. The billionaire investor disclosed the stake of 13.06 million shares as of October 1 in a regulatory filing late on Tuesday. (http://r.reuters.com/vyv63v) The stake, valued at about $2 billion based on Goldman's Tuesday close of $153.05, makes Berkshire the sixth-largest external investor in the bank, according to Thomson Reuters data. - Reuters

You are subscribed to email updates from Business News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

---

• Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2'
• Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up
• Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra

Studying reptiles to play villain in 'KL Gangster 2' Posted: MULTI-AWARD-WINNING film and television stalwart Rosyam Nor is one actor who is happy when the audience hates him. KL Gangster 2 marks an acting comeback for the 46-year-old who has spent the past two years working as a producer and director. So keen were the filmmakers to get him on board the action flick that they wrote the role of murderous mob boss Tailong specifically for him as enticement. Rosyam says: "I felt I had a huge responsibility to bring the character to life. So I tried to make him as violent and vile as possible. If the viewers don't hate me, then I haven't done my job." To play the gun-and-sword-wielding gang leader, he studied the movements and mannerisms of reptiles such as crocodiles, lizards and snakes. "He's like a reptile, the way he looks at people, the way he moves." His commitment to the role carried on from research into filming. Despite being older than his co-stars Aaron Aziz, 37, and Adi Putra, 32, he insisted on doing all but three of the action and fight scenes himself. "I think I made the shooting longer because I had to take a lot of breaks in between the action scenes to catch my breath," he says with a laugh. "And for that, I am grateful to Aaron, Adi and the rest of the cast and crew." The nephew of late Malaysian film veteran Hussein Abu Hassan, Rosyam is a decorated actor. His accolades include Best Supporting Male Actor award at the 1998 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, for his role as a serial killer and rapist in the 1998 thriller Lenjan. He burst onto the scene in 1986 with teen drama Gila-Gila Remaja, which was directed by his uncle and co-starred his cousin, Faizal Hussein. Rosyam, a father of five, is modest when told that Adi had mentioned in an interview that he was excited to work with him, describing the older actor as his mentor. Rosyam says: "I treat him and Aaron like my younger brothers. I was also learning from them and adapting myself to their style. We are all on the same level." He also had no problems taking orders from a younger director, Syamsul Yusof, 29. "It's my first time working under him and I must say he is very meticulous in his work he is detailed and he knows what he wants. Even though he is younger than me, I have a lot of respect for him as a director." – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Related story: Aaron Aziz gang up with Adi Putra

Sean Lau and Louis Koo all fired up Posted: Filming with real fire was nerve-racking for co-stars Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok. LONG-TIME collaborators Sean Lau Ching Wan and Louis Koo Tin Lok play a pair of firemen brothers trying to rescue people from a burning office tower in their new movie, Inferno. The serious firefighting drama features many scenes of massive fires and the actors are not ashamed to admit that they felt "nervous" on the set when they had to do most of the stunts themselves. The film's fire scenes are a combination of real footage of fire and computer-generated imagery. Reportedly, 70% of what is seen onscreen are real flames. Koo, 42, says: "There were some scenes where the script said a stunt double would come in. But when we were about to start filming, we didn't see any stunt doubles, so we ended up having to do a lot of the action stuff on our own." Lau, 49, adds: "Of course, if you're very scared, you can tell the directors and they will arrange for a double. But as two male actors, we just decided to keep that to ourselves and go in and do the stunts." The film also stars Malaysian actress Lee Sinje, 37, who is married to the film's co-director Oxide Pang in real life. Ask if there was any pressure acting opposite her and Koo, ever ready with a joke, says: "Even though she plays Ching Wan's wife, I ended up having a lot more scenes with her. And as soon as I knew that, I felt reassured, because the director will protect me from harm since he has to protect his wife, right?" More seriously, Lau says: "Sinje is an excellent actress and she does not get any preferential treatment on the set. You don't even think about whether she's married to the director or not. You just do your part and she does hers." Put the two actors together in the same room and some black humour is inevitable. At the interview, Lau readily admits that he is "always goofing around only with Louis". Speaking in a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese, he adds: "I think it's because we've done many comedies together before, so we just naturally like to joke about things on set." The chemistry is apparent between the two actors, who have played a good number of strong, silent and cool guys on screen. With each other, however, they are sunny and relaxed, often completing each other's sentences. Perhaps a bromance is inevitable - after all, they have worked a dozen times together: Since their first collaboration in the comedy La Brassiere (2001), they have gone on to co-star in a clutch of diverse films, from the colourful retro comedy Fantasia (2004) to gambling comedy Poker King (2009) to crime thriller Overheard (2009). Besides making light of the prospect of getting burnt, the two leading men wisecrack about their tanned skin: Lau has naturally dark skin, while Koo reportedly goes for tanning sessions to set himself apart from the usual fair-skinned idol. Koo deadpans that their dark complexion gives the lighting departments on movie sets quite a headache. "When the two of us are in a scene together, it's no problem because the lighting guys will just shine extra light on us. But when someone else comes into the picture, that's when it gets challenging. "That's why all women who make movies with me look super pretty. The light makes them extra fair and it's almost like we're making a music video or something," he says with a laugh. The two actors clearly get along, but are quick to point out that they have major differences too. Lau, who is married to former actress Amy Kwok, 46, and has no children, says: "Louis is actually the more serious and calm one, and I'm more cheeky. We have very contrasting personalities." He adds half-jokingly that compared with Koo's "workaholic" ways, he is more relaxed. "I don't like to overload myself with work. I need to go home and spend some time with my wife," says Lau. "Though the funny thing is that, when I'm working in Hong Kong and go home after shoots, my wife and I have nothing much to talk about. When I'm filming in other places, we suddenly have to be texting and calling each other, and we have so much to talk about." As for Koo's supposedly very hardworking lifestyle, there seems to be some evidence for it. The bachelor lets on that he is "so busy" with work, he does not even have time to undergo a simple Lasik surgery for his myopia. He explains: "In the movie, I have to dive into the water and save some people, but that was really difficult because I wear contact lenses. Still, I had to bear it. I didn't go for Lasik surgery because you need about two weeks to rest your eyes afterwards, and I don't have two weeks of free time to do that." In fact, neither he nor Lau has had time to watch their new film yet. "We've been promoting this movie for weeks now, but we never had the time to sit down at the premieres to watch the movie. We're always whisked away to our next event and destination," says Koo. Hopefully, they will get the chance to catch it some time before they start the promotional rounds for upcoming crime thriller The White Storm which, once again, stars the two actors. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > Inferno is currently playing in cinemas nationwide.

Aaron Aziz gangs up with Adi Putra Posted: Despite all the brouhaha, the cast of KL Gangster 2 is optimistic about the film. WATCHING gangster movies when he was younger has paid off for Aaron Aziz. "I watched the Young And Dangerous series and when I went to Hong Kong, I expected to see people fighting in the streets. But that didn't happen, of course." The highly anticipated follow-up to 2011's KL Gangster took RM12mil at the box office and is the highest-grossing local film of all time. Aaron, 37, and Adi Putra anchor the film and play a pair of brothers caught up in the seedy underbelly of Kuala Lumpur. While the original film has been praised for being gritty and realistic, Aaron and the film's producer, Datuk Yusof Haslam, insist that the story in the two films depict a hyper-realised and exaggerated version of the world of gangsters in KL. "It's fiction, a work of fantasy," says Yusof, whose son Syamsul Yusof is the director and writer behind the two films. Indeed it is. KL Gangster 2, a prequel to the first film, features violent street brawls and shoot-outs between warring gang members armed with machine guns. Mob boss Tailong, played by veteran actor Rosyam Nor, flies around in a helicopter and fires at his pursuing enemies with a gun in each hand while perched atop a Hummer sport-utility vehicle speeding along a highway. KL Gangster 2 has been the victim of a different kind of crime. A month before its cinematic release, the entire film was leaked online and sold as pirated DVDs. The stress brought about by piracy took its toll on Syamsul, who has refused to appear at the film's promotional activities and has been avoiding the press since the issue arose. The new film, which cost RM4.5mil to make and took close to two years to complete, is the biggest undertaking to date for film and television company Skop Production, which Yusof set up in 1985. In comparison, the original film cost RM1.5mil. While the first film starts out with Malek being released from prison and depicts the two brothers as enemies, the prequel tells of how Malek got into a life of crime and how the feud between the siblings escalated. Adi says that everyone involved in the movie is aware that the expectations of fans of the first movie are high. "The pressure is definitely there for us to make this movie even better than the first. There's a lot more action in this movie. We want the scenes to be more memorable," he says. The father of one, who is married to film producer Aida Yusof, came under media scrutiny when he became embroiled in a scandal – a Johor businessman lodged a police report against the actor in August, accusing him of sending lewd photos and text messages to his wife. Adi declined to comment on the issue, saying that it is a police case and that he has to "respect the authorities" and let them handle it. Both he and Aaron are upset by the movie leak. Aaron says that having such a high-profile film such as KL Gangster 2 pirated before its release puts the spotlight on the real problems plaguing the local film industry. "I'm frustrated by the leak, just as I was frustrated when certain quarters in the Malaysian film industry accused Singaporean actors of coming in and stealing their jobs. Having pirates steal our work is a much bigger problem that is damaging to the whole industry," says Aaron who hails from Singapore. His starring role as Malek, a street-wise mechanic forced into a thug's life by family circumstances, cements his status as one of the top actors across the Causeway. He and his family are Malaysian permanent residents. Besides his action roles in blockbuster movies such as KL Gangster and race movie Evolusi KL Drift (2008) and its sequel, Evolusi KL Drift 2 (2010), Aaron is also famous for his romantic roles. His romance drama Ombak Rindu, released in the same year as KL Gangster, is the second-highest-grossing local film, with RM10.9mil in box office takings. He is also a familiar face on television, starring in popular dramas such as Nora Elena and Janji Diana. So influential is he that Syamsul gave him plenty of leeway to develop and flesh out his character as Malek. In the movie's climactic, three-way fight scene between Malek, Adi's character Jai and Tailong, the director went through three different choreographers because Aaron did not feel the fighting sequences were realistic enough. "In the end, I had to do the choreography myself. Much as I respect the original choreographers, I felt that the fighting styles of these three characters needed to have a flow and a natural rhythm," says the father of three, who has been based in Malaysia since 2006. Adi, too, had plenty of creative input and came up with his character's traits and quirks. For example, Jai, who sports a bleached hairdo in the sequel, is always seen with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. "The bleached hair and cigarette are my ideas. You'll have to watch the movie to find out why he never actually lights up the cigarettes," Adi says. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network > KL Gangster 2 is playing in cinemas nationwide. Related story: Studying reptiles to play a villain in 'KL Gangster 2'

You are subscribed to email updates from Movies To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Nation

---

• NS trainee faces murder rap
• Ex-govt official charged with graft
• Borders manager has to stand trial

NS trainee faces murder rap Posted: PEKAN: A 17-year-old boy was charged at a magistrate's court here with the murder of a fellow National Service (NS) trainee last month. Five others face charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the victim, 18-year-old Muhammad Suhaimi Norhamidi, at the Pinggiran Pelangi NS camp. The six had allegedly attacked the victim between 1.30pm and 10.30pm at the dormitories of the camp for allegedly jumping queue during breakfast on Sept 22. No plea was recorded from the young murder suspect during the closed proceedings at the Pekan magistrate's court here yesterday. Magistrate Mohamed Ruhizat Abdullah fixed Dec 11 to mention the case. Lawyer Mohd Farid Abd Aziz represented the accused. Meanwhile, two youths, Muham­mad Syafiq Izzat Roslan, 18, and Mohd Nazeri Mustafa, 21, claimed trial to the charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the victim.Mohamed Ruhizat set bail at RM3,000 each and fixed Nov 13 for mention and Dec 11 and Dec 12 for the trial of the two. Three others - 23-year-old Mohd Firhan Hafizi Ismail, 23, and two other 17-year-olds - will go on trial on Dec 18 and Dec 19.The court also set bail at RM3,000 for each of the three. Lawyers Osman Abdullah and Noor Adilah Zarian represented the five while Deputy public prosecutor Syamsul Kahar Ahmad Nadri appeared for the prosecution. The murder charge carries the mandatory death sentence while the charge for causing hurt provides for imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to RM2,000, or both, upon conviction Two suspects were later found with fractured hands, said to be due to the blows they landed on the victim. Another trainee found his motionless body in the bathroom and alerted the camp administrators. Muhammad Suhaimi died without regaining consciousness at the Muadzam Shah Hospital. A post-mortem showed he died from internal bleeding in the head due to blunt trauma.

Ex-govt official charged with graft Posted: KUALA LUMPUR: A former Sarawak public works department official is charged with seven counts of accepting more than RM8,000 for his wife's car instalments as bribes. Ismail Ahim, 51, claimed trial to the charges before Sessions Court judge Mohd Nasir Nordin here yesterday. He was accused of accepting a cheque valued at RM1,078 on each of six counts and one count for RM2,156 between April 2007 and January 2008 from Syarikat Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd to pay for the car instalments of his wife, Norinah Abdul Ghani. He allegedly committed the offences during his position as Sarawak PWD quantity survey assistant director. Ismail was alleged to have accepted the cheques of RM1,078 at the Ambank branch in Taman Maluri. MACC deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais urged the court not to offer bail for Ismail while Counsel Fahri Azzat said his client was on a RM5,000 bail for another case. Judge Mohd Nasir allowed a bail of RM3,000 for each charge and set Nov 7 for mention.

Borders manager has to stand trial Posted: KUALA LUMPUR: Borders store manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz has failed in her bid to get a Syariah High Court to allow her charges over the distribution of the controversial Irshad Manji's translation book be withdrawn. Earlier, Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) prosecuting officer Che Saufi Che Hussin said they respected a civil court's decision on March 22 for Jawi to withdraw the case. "However, the Syariah Court could use its discretion on the matter," he said. Nik Raina's lawyer Rosli Dahlan, however, applied to the syarie judge to release her, saying that the civil court found the charge to be unfounded. Syarie judge Abdul Walid Abu Hassan dismissed the application yesterday, saying that Nik Raina had appeared to have used a civil court to avoid being tried at a Syariah Court. "The accused is supposed to get ready to be tried. If it is proven that she is not guilty then she can be acquitted," he said. "We still do not know whether the book is in contradiction with the Islamic law or not," he added. Abdul Walid said the prosecutor had the power to prosecute Nik Raina using a law approved by Parliament. "Is it proper for the civil court to forbid KPS (syarie prosecution chief) to stop the prosecution (against Nik Raina), especially when this case is still at appeal stage?" On June 19 last year, Nik Raina, 37, was charged at the Syariah High Court with distributing the book, which was deemed to be against Islamic law. No plea was taken from her. Nik Raina allegedly committed the offence at Borders bookshop, owned by Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd, at The Gardens Mall in Mid Valley City here on May 23, last year.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online : Nation Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my