Jumaat, 1 November 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


India election rally bomber dies of injuries

Posted:

Patna (India) (AFP) - A bomber who blew himself up while trying to evade arrest at a rally by Indian opposition leader Narendra Modi has died of his injuries in hospital, officials said Friday.

Ainul Ansari died late Thursday, four days after suffering serious brain injuries in the blast at the rally in the city of Patna where six other people were killed in a series of explosions.

"He succumbed to his injuries late last night," said Arun Kumar Singh, director of Patna's Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences.

"A team of five doctors tried their level best to save him but he was unconscious and not responding to any medicines," Singh told AFP.

Dozens of people were also injured in the string of explosions on Sunday, shortly before Modi was due to address a mass gathering of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Police say that Ansari suffered his injuries while he tried to strap two bombs around his waist.

The bombs went off as he tried to run away from police who had been alerted by a loud explosion when Ansari and another suspect activated an explosive device they prepared in a public toilet at a Patna railway station.

Singh said they had operated twice on Ansari, who had been in a coma since Sunday, but "nothing worked" as he had "splinters, iron pieces in his brain which were difficult to remove".

Ansari was one of four people who had been arrested after the blasts which have been blamed on the Indian Mujahideen, a domestic Islamist network.

The government has since ordered that security be increased at election rallies.

Modi is despised by many Muslims as he was chief minister of Gujarat in 2002 when the state was engulfed by communal riots in which up to 2,000 died.

Giant yellow duck victim of Taiwan quake

Posted:

Taipei (AFP) - A giant yellow duck on display in Taiwan became a high-profile victim of Thursday's earthquake after it deflated before exploding during an attempt to reinflate it, officials said Friday.

The 18-metre-tall (59-feet) duck in northern Taoyuan county began to deflate when an air pump went off during a power outage triggered by the 6.3-magnitude quake on Thursday night.

The earthquake shook buildings in the capital Taipei and across much of Taiwan, sending panicked residents running for shelter, although only a few minor injuries and little damage were reported.

However, organisers were forced to suspend the exhibit of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's giant bath-toy replica, after powerful winds caused the duck's rear end to burst while it was being re-inflated on Friday morning, rendering it a flattened yellow disc floating on a pond.

Officials said the damage would be difficult to repair and they were planning to borrow another Hofman-designed duck commissioned by Kaohsiung city government, which attracted four million visitors during a one-month display in the southern port earlier this year.

The duck in Kaohsiung -- a slightly larger version of the one that captivated Hong Kong recently -- was temporarily deflated and lifted to land as a safety precaution when the powerful Typhoon Usagi pounded the island in September.

Since 2007 the original duck designed by Hofman -- which is 16.5 metres tall -- has travelled to 13 cities in nine countries, including Brazil and Australia, on its journey around the world.

Two Germans kidnapped in eastern Lebanon

Posted:

BAALBEK, Lebanon, Nov 01, 2013 (AFP): Gunmen kidnapped two German citizens in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley on Friday, and are demanding ransom money for their release, according to the official National News Agency.

The two victims were "taken to an unknown location" after their kidnappers tried in vain to coerce a cash transfer bureau to hand over money in one of the abductees' names, said the NNA.

"The kidnappers later made a call to one of their friends, demanding ransom," the agency added.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Here's a scary thought ...

Posted:

WHEN senior editor Ann Marie Chandy suggested – well, "instructed" more like it – that the entertainment team do a Halloween issue, I was apprehensive. Are our readers interested in all things scary?

Apparently, the answer is yes. When we sent out a message to the other writers in Star2 to get them to tell us their favourite horror films of all time, the response was overwhelming!

I was a big fan of horror films growing up. I'd watch everything on haunted houses and scarred-faced demons, to slasher flicks and torture porn. Because I had an overactive imagination, I'd be frightened during bedtime – what if Freddy Krueger turned up?

So, I made a pact with myself: no more horror movies when I move into my new place and start living by myself. I've managed to keep the promise for five years ... but I had to break it a few months ago in the name of work.

I had to interview horror master James Wan, which meant I had to watch The Conjuring. I had my eyes closed half the time at a special preview in San Francisco for journalists. The group I was with (which included someone who has never watched a horror flick in his life and another who lives in a haunted apartment in Singapore and is prone to "see things") had a good time at the movie.

This is an indication of why the horror genre is doing brisk business – we just love to be scared silly.

"(Audiences) get so into it in horror movies. They scream, they laugh. It's like a roller-coaster ride," said Wan who directed recent horror box office successes Insidious: Chapter 2. It is true what the director said. At campfires, we tell ghost stories and at amusement parks, we make a beeline for the haunted house.

After The Conjuring, I have stopped watching horror movies because I don't want any sleepless nights. But have I banned everything spooky? Not exactly. I still park at Basement 4 at the office even though I've been told that there's a ghost (in a colourful shirt!) lurking about.

My friend Leonardo, who is an avid fan of horror films, summed it up best: "Every day, our life is filled with comedy, action and drama. You either experience it yourself or you read it in the papers. As for horror, you don't experience the supernatural on a daily basis. That's why some of us gravitate towards scary stuff."

With that, here are our scary treats for you this Halloween.

Related stories: 

Moments of terror

Terrorising villains

Of men and monsters

East or West: Who scares us best?

Homegrown horror hits

Bolly-good spooks 

Spooky melody

Let the hunt begin

Djinns, demons and hantu 

Star2's YouTube playlists: 

Top 10 horror movie made by Asian filmmakers

Top five scary music videos 

Top 10 horror movie themes

Top five monsters/ghouls/freaks you don't EVER want to bump into

Terrorising villains

Posted:

1. Jack Torrance (The Shining) – A writer takes the job of a caretaker at a hotel during winter when it's shut down. Built on a burial ground, the hotel has – within its four expansive walls – a lot of unsettled spirits looking for the next person to join them permanently. Poor Jack never knew what hit him; he slowly loses his sanity and gives in to the ghosts' deadly wishes. Winter is here to stay for this Jack.

Ju On..

2. Vengeful spirit (Ju-on) – Convinced his wife is having an affair, a man kills her and their son. All that rage has caused a curse to remain in the home where they died. Anyone who comes in contact with the location is affected and soon starts to see a creepy kid and his cat. This, ultimately, signals their imminent end.

3. Bride In Black (Insidious: Chapter 2) – Josh Lambert has had this old woman in a black wedding dress shadowing him since he was a child. Finally, the "Dark Bride" gets access to him when Josh enters the other side to retrieve his lost son. As it turns out, the spirit is that of a serial killer. Now that it has possessed Josh, it gets to terrorise every member of the Lambert family.

4. Pazuzu (The Exorcist) – This 1971 release is one of the most horrifying films to depict demonic possession. After moving to her new home, 12-year-old Regan MacNeil turns into a foul-mouthed little girl. Regan 2.0 also develops a really bad skin problem – with cracks and unhealthy colour on her cheeks that no make-up can hide. All these changes are no thanks to a demon named Pazuzu that has conveniently made her its new home.

5. Chucky (Child's Play) – This is the first film in a string of many featuring the possessed doll named Chucky, which has put a fear in many younger audience. A red-haired, blue-eyed doll comes to life when a homicidal maniac's soul is transferred into it, so he can escape the death sentence and continue killing. Even in a body of doll, Chucky remains a menace and a killer.

6. Damien Thorn (The Omen) – Say hello to Damien, the spawn of Satan. His parents may have been happy to take him home from hospital – after their own was stillborn – but soon they are having a tough time as the unruly boy is sullen to a fault. Things take a turn for the worse when his governess commits suicide. Later, gleefully, he knocks his mother off the balcony with his tricycle. A black hound (might as well be from hell) seems to have taken a liking to him too.

7. Bathsheba (The Conjuring) – The Perrons move into their new house at a countryside, only to discover that the original occupant – (spoiler alert!) a witch who killed her own child before committing suicide – is still living there, haunting the house. This evil spirit plans to do harm to every member of the Perron family, starting with the mother.

8. Pennywise, The Dancing Clown (It) – No one really remembers much about the plot of this film but everyone remembers the sadistic and wisecracking clown called Pennywise. Its main weapons are candy and balloons; with these, it lures children and consumes them. And with this film, the fear of clowns becomes truly justified.

9. Sadako Yamamura (Ringu) – Anyone else covered their TV set with a cloth after watching this film? This Japanese horror resuscitated the genre, unleashing many knock-offs, besides scaring the bejeezus out of us. The plot is simple: Whoever watches the cursed video is dead within a week. When her son watches it, Ryuji has no choice but to find the truth about the cursed tape. There is a tragic story behind it, but this doesn't take away an ounce of shock at seeing the spirit (with long, unruly hair and staggered movements) coming out of the TV to claim its victim.

Freddy Krueger is not anyone's man of dreams.

10. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street) – Freddy Krueger creates the most horrific nightmares, one that usually ends with the dreamer's death. A few children on Elm Street are too afraid to go to sleep as they don't want to meet the badly burnt man in a red-and-green striped sweater, wearing gloves with razor sharp knives and a penchant for twisted nursery rhymes. We totally understand.

Related story:

Of men and monsters

>> Check out our playlist of "Top five monsters/ghouls/freaks you don't EVER want to bump into"

Daniel Radcliffe to play athlete in film

Posted:

The grown-up Harry Potter star is set to portray British sportsman Sebastian Coe.

Daniel Radcliffe is to play British athletics great Sebastian Coe in a film about his rivalry with fellow middle-distance runner Steve Ovett, filmmakers announced recently.

Gold will examine the tussles between countrymen Coe and Ovett, who exchanged titles and world records during the early 1980s.

Ovett beat Coe over 800m at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, but Coe claimed revenge in the 1,500m final six days later and successfully defended his title at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Coe went on to head the organising committee of the 2012 London Olympics and is the current chairman of the British Olympic Association.

The film is expected to focus on Coe and Ovett's preparations for the 1980 Olympics, but it has not yet been announced who will play Ovett.

"You were either an Ovett person or a Coe person and that's what makes it such a great character piece as well," said the film's producer, Vicky Licorish.

Filming for the movie, which was first announced in February 2010, is expected to begin in April next year.

The screenplay will be based on an account of the rivalry in a book called The Perfect Distance by British athletics journalist Pat Butcher.

Radcliffe, 24, shot to fame by playing the title role in eight film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series of books about child wizard Harry Potter. — AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


Here's a scary thought ...

Posted:

WHEN senior editor Ann Marie Chandy suggested – well, "instructed" more like it – that the entertainment team do a Halloween issue, I was apprehensive. Are our readers interested in all things scary?

Apparently, the answer is yes. When we sent out a message to the other writers in Star2 to get them to tell us their favourite horror films of all time, the response was overwhelming!

I was a big fan of horror films growing up. I'd watch everything on haunted houses and scarred-faced demons, to slasher flicks and torture porn. Because I had an overactive imagination, I'd be frightened during bedtime – what if Freddy Krueger turned up?

So, I made a pact with myself: no more horror movies when I move into my new place and start living by myself. I've managed to keep the promise for five years ... but I had to break it a few months ago in the name of work.

I had to interview horror master James Wan, which meant I had to watch The Conjuring. I had my eyes closed half the time at a special preview in San Francisco for journalists. The group I was with (which included someone who has never watched a horror flick in his life and another who lives in a haunted apartment in Singapore and is prone to "see things") had a good time at the movie.

This is an indication of why the horror genre is doing brisk business – we just love to be scared silly.

"(Audiences) get so into it in horror movies. They scream, they laugh. It's like a roller-coaster ride," said Wan who directed recent horror box office successes Insidious: Chapter 2. It is true what the director said. At campfires, we tell ghost stories and at amusement parks, we make a beeline for the haunted house.

After The Conjuring, I have stopped watching horror movies because I don't want any sleepless nights. But have I banned everything spooky? Not exactly. I still park at Basement 4 at the office even though I've been told that there's a ghost (in a colourful shirt!) lurking about.

My friend Leonardo, who is an avid fan of horror films, summed it up best: "Every day, our life is filled with comedy, action and drama. You either experience it yourself or you read it in the papers. As for horror, you don't experience the supernatural on a daily basis. That's why some of us gravitate towards scary stuff."

With that, here are our scary treats for you this Halloween.

Related stories: 

Moments of terror

Terrorising villains

Of men and monsters

East or West: Who scares us best?

Homegrown horror hits

Bolly-good spooks 

Spooky melody

Let the hunt begin

Djinns, demons and hantu 

Star2's YouTube playlists: 

Top 10 horror movie made by Asian filmmakers

Top five scary music videos 

Top 10 horror movie themes

Top five monsters/ghouls/freaks you don't EVER want to bump into

Terrorising villains

Posted:

1. Jack Torrance (The Shining) – A writer takes the job of a caretaker at a hotel during winter when it's shut down. Built on a burial ground, the hotel has – within its four expansive walls – a lot of unsettled spirits looking for the next person to join them permanently. Poor Jack never knew what hit him; he slowly loses his sanity and gives in to the ghosts' deadly wishes. Winter is here to stay for this Jack.

Ju On..

2. Vengeful spirit (Ju-on) – Convinced his wife is having an affair, a man kills her and their son. All that rage has caused a curse to remain in the home where they died. Anyone who comes in contact with the location is affected and soon starts to see a creepy kid and his cat. This, ultimately, signals their imminent end.

3. Bride In Black (Insidious: Chapter 2) – Josh Lambert has had this old woman in a black wedding dress shadowing him since he was a child. Finally, the "Dark Bride" gets access to him when Josh enters the other side to retrieve his lost son. As it turns out, the spirit is that of a serial killer. Now that it has possessed Josh, it gets to terrorise every member of the Lambert family.

4. Pazuzu (The Exorcist) – This 1971 release is one of the most horrifying films to depict demonic possession. After moving to her new home, 12-year-old Regan MacNeil turns into a foul-mouthed little girl. Regan 2.0 also develops a really bad skin problem – with cracks and unhealthy colour on her cheeks that no make-up can hide. All these changes are no thanks to a demon named Pazuzu that has conveniently made her its new home.

5. Chucky (Child's Play) – This is the first film in a string of many featuring the possessed doll named Chucky, which has put a fear in many younger audience. A red-haired, blue-eyed doll comes to life when a homicidal maniac's soul is transferred into it, so he can escape the death sentence and continue killing. Even in a body of doll, Chucky remains a menace and a killer.

6. Damien Thorn (The Omen) – Say hello to Damien, the spawn of Satan. His parents may have been happy to take him home from hospital – after their own was stillborn – but soon they are having a tough time as the unruly boy is sullen to a fault. Things take a turn for the worse when his governess commits suicide. Later, gleefully, he knocks his mother off the balcony with his tricycle. A black hound (might as well be from hell) seems to have taken a liking to him too.

7. Bathsheba (The Conjuring) – The Perrons move into their new house at a countryside, only to discover that the original occupant – (spoiler alert!) a witch who killed her own child before committing suicide – is still living there, haunting the house. This evil spirit plans to do harm to every member of the Perron family, starting with the mother.

8. Pennywise, The Dancing Clown (It) – No one really remembers much about the plot of this film but everyone remembers the sadistic and wisecracking clown called Pennywise. Its main weapons are candy and balloons; with these, it lures children and consumes them. And with this film, the fear of clowns becomes truly justified.

9. Sadako Yamamura (Ringu) – Anyone else covered their TV set with a cloth after watching this film? This Japanese horror resuscitated the genre, unleashing many knock-offs, besides scaring the bejeezus out of us. The plot is simple: Whoever watches the cursed video is dead within a week. When her son watches it, Ryuji has no choice but to find the truth about the cursed tape. There is a tragic story behind it, but this doesn't take away an ounce of shock at seeing the spirit (with long, unruly hair and staggered movements) coming out of the TV to claim its victim.

Freddy Krueger is not anyone's man of dreams.

10. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street) – Freddy Krueger creates the most horrific nightmares, one that usually ends with the dreamer's death. A few children on Elm Street are too afraid to go to sleep as they don't want to meet the badly burnt man in a red-and-green striped sweater, wearing gloves with razor sharp knives and a penchant for twisted nursery rhymes. We totally understand.

Related story:

Of men and monsters

>> Check out our playlist of "Top five monsters/ghouls/freaks you don't EVER want to bump into"

Daniel Radcliffe to play athlete in film

Posted:

The grown-up Harry Potter star is set to portray British sportsman Sebastian Coe.

Daniel Radcliffe is to play British athletics great Sebastian Coe in a film about his rivalry with fellow middle-distance runner Steve Ovett, filmmakers announced recently.

Gold will examine the tussles between countrymen Coe and Ovett, who exchanged titles and world records during the early 1980s.

Ovett beat Coe over 800m at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, but Coe claimed revenge in the 1,500m final six days later and successfully defended his title at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Coe went on to head the organising committee of the 2012 London Olympics and is the current chairman of the British Olympic Association.

The film is expected to focus on Coe and Ovett's preparations for the 1980 Olympics, but it has not yet been announced who will play Ovett.

"You were either an Ovett person or a Coe person and that's what makes it such a great character piece as well," said the film's producer, Vicky Licorish.

Filming for the movie, which was first announced in February 2010, is expected to begin in April next year.

The screenplay will be based on an account of the rivalry in a book called The Perfect Distance by British athletics journalist Pat Butcher.

Radcliffe, 24, shot to fame by playing the title role in eight film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series of books about child wizard Harry Potter. — AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Lone gunman opens fire at Los Angeles airport, killing security agent

Posted:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A lone gunman stormed into a packed terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport and opened fire with an assault weapon on Friday, killing a federal security agent before he was shot and captured, authorities said.

The gunfire in Terminal 3 touched off panic and chaos at one of the world's busiest airports as hundreds of travellers ran frantically for safety or dove for cover behind racks of luggage and loud alarms blared.

A number of people were injured, including two who were shot and wounded and others hurt in the pandemonium. Nearly 750 flights were halted, grounded or diverted as police evacuated passengers and shut down three terminals. Streets around the airport were blocked off for hours, snarling traffic for miles.

"An individual came into Terminal 3 of this airport, pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire in the terminal," Patrick Gannon, chief of the Los Angeles Airport Police, told a news conference.

Gannon said the gunman, a U.S. citizen who appeared to be acting alone, pushed through the screening gates and ran into a food court area, where law enforcement officers caught up, shot him at least once and took him into custody.

"The suspect got back very far into a terminal. There is a Burger King that is quite a ways away from the screening station, and he was able to get back there," Gannon said.

Special Agent David Bowdich of the FBI identified the suspect as 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia, a resident of the Los Angeles area, who was being treated for his injuries at a local hospital. There were no further details on his condition.

Bowdich said the investigation would probe both the shooting itself and the background and motivations of the gunman.

"Our goal is to do a true scrub on the individual to find out what was the tipping point for this person," he said.

Several news organizations reported that Ciancia had ties to New Jersey, and that police there were serving a search warrant at his childhood home in Pennsville.

The shooting was not the first such incident at the airport. In 2002, an Egyptian-born gunman opened fire at the ticket counter of Israeli airline El Al, killing a flight attendant and a passenger before he was shot and killed.

'I RAN LIKE HELL'

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which runs security screenings at U.S. airports, confirmed that one of its agents had been killed, the first from the agency to die in the line of duty.

Bowdich said a total of three people had been shot, including two TSA agents, and that a number of other people were hurt while fleeing the scene as gunfire rang out.

Lauren Stephens, 47, said she had just put her luggage on the scale at the ticket counter at Terminal 3 when she heard a series of gunshots.

"Everybody hit the ground. I jumped over the desk where the conveyor belt is. The woman who was checking me in hit the ground, all the workers did. Everybody pancaked down on the ground," she said.

"More gunshots started. Somebody just yelled 'Run' at the top of their lungs. It sounded like he was coming our way. I don't know if that was just because he was turning the gun around," Stephens said. "I just left my bag and I just ran like hell. Everybody ran. People were falling. People were just trying to help each other out."

Video footage broadcast on CNN showed airport police shouting at travellers to get down as hundreds of people sprint past them, some carrying or dragging luggage. Loud alarms sound in the terminal and police sirens can be heard wailing outside.

'MORE THAN 100 ROUNDS'

Jose Mares, who was catching a flight back to his home in Norman, Oklahoma, with his wife, told Reuters he was about 20 to 30 yards (18 to 27 meters) away from a man with a gun on the second level of Terminal 3 when the man opened fire. Mares, 31, said he used his own body to shield his wife from the bullets.

"As I'm getting on top of her I'm reaching for more luggage and that's when I stacked luggage like two high and then made a row of luggage," he said. "I was in the corner and I'm looking at the guy just shooting randomly, like I saw a TSA (agent) go down."

Three male victims hurt in the incident were taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre, where one was listed in critical condition and two others in fair condition, said Mark Wheeler, a spokesman for the hospital.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that had police not moved to stop the gunman as quickly as they did the carnage could have been much worse.

"There were more than 100 more rounds that could have literally killed everybody in that terminal today," he said. "If it were not for their actions, there could have been a lot more damage."

President Barack Obama was briefed on the incident and White House officials are in touch with law enforcement officials on the ground, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

"We're concerned about it, but I'll let law enforcement folks talk about it directly," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Los Angeles International Airport is the world's sixth busiest, handling over 63 million passengers in 2012, according to its official website.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, Tim Reid, Nichola Groom, Alex Dobuzinskis, Dana Feldman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento; Eric Johnson in Seattle; Tim Gaynor in Phoenix and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Cynthia Johnston and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Lisa Shumaker)

Pakistani Taliban chief killed in drone strike

Posted:

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday, security and Taliban sources said, in a blow to the fragmented movement fighting against the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

Hakimullah Mehsud was one of the most wanted and feared men in Pakistan with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, leading an insurgency from a mountain hideout in North Waziristan, the Taliban's stronghold on the Afghan frontier.

"We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack," a senior Taliban commander said.

In Washington, two U.S. officials confirmed Mehsud's death in a CIA drone strike. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

At the White House, a spokeswoman said officials had seen the reports Mehsud may have been killed in Pakistan. "We are not in a position to confirm those reports, but if true, this would be a serious loss" for the Pakistan Taliban, Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement.

She noted that the Pakistan Taliban had claimed responsibility for the failed bomb plot at New York's Times Square in 2010, and that Mehsud was wanted in connection with the killing of seven CIA employees in Afghanistan in 2009.

The killing of Mehsud was the latest setback for the Pakistani Taliban, a group aligned with its Afghan namesakes and which has staged attacks against Pakistani armed forces and civilians in its fight to topple the government.

His death is almost certain to scuttle the prospect of peace talks between the Taliban and the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who won a landslide election victory in May by promising to bring peace to the country.

Pakistan had informed the United States and Britain that peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban were imminent, said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA and White House official with extensive experience in the region.

"So the drone strike is very awkward and difficult for Sharif. Conspiracy theories in Pakistan will assume he agrees to the strike even as he proposed peace talks with Mehsud," Riedel said via email. "Another setback for U.S.-Pakistan relations ironically."

FUNERAL

The government never clarified which factions of the Taliban it was willing to talk to or whether it would comply with the Taliban's demands to release its prisoners and withdraw the army from Taliban strongholds in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The government, which officially condemns U.S. drone strikes, issued its usual statement denouncing the attack, but did not comment on reports of Mehsud's death.

Mehsud's funeral will be held on Saturday at 3 p.m. (1000 GMT) in Miranshah, the main regional city, the Taliban commander said, an event likely to stir tension in a region already suffering from an escalating insurgency.

Pakistan, a nation of 180 million people, has been plagued by violence, including the homegrown Taliban insurgency that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

But the Taliban has been weakened by a series of counter-attacks. In May, a U.S. drone strike killed Mehsud's second-in-command, and one of his most trusted lieutenants was captured in Afghanistan last month.

A senior Pakistani Taliban source said it held an emergency meeting after Mehsud's death and approved two commanders, Maulvi Omar Khalid and Maulana Fazlullah, to replace him.

"Among these men, one will replace our slain Ameer (leader). Maulvi Omar Khalid ... is most likely to replace Hakimullah Mehsud," said a senior Pakistani Taliban official.

He said the Taliban would hold a tribal meeting early on Saturday to decide on further actions. "You will see our reaction," he said.

YOUNG COMMANDER

The Pakistani Taliban acts as an umbrella for various jihadist groups operating in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, which are separate, but allied to the Afghan Taliban.

Several intelligence, army and Taliban sources across Pakistan confirmed Mehsud, believed to be in his mid-30s, had been killed in the drone strike in North Waziristan.

His bodyguard and driver were also killed, they said.

The drones fired four missiles at a compound in Danda Darpa Khel, a village about 5 km (3 miles) from the regional capital of Miranshah, sources said. Mehsud had been attending a gathering of 25 Taliban leaders to discuss the government's offer of talks, they said.

The information could not be independently verified because journalists have no access to the affected areas.

Mehsud was brought into the insurgency by his cousin Qari Hussain, who was the Taliban's top trainer for suicide bombers until he was killed in a drone strike.

He lacked formal education or religious training, but Mehsud was a popular figure known for his jokes and interest in modern technology, said Reuters journalists who had met him.

He was the driver for the former head of the Pakistani Taliban, and then rose through the ranks to become the movement's spokesman, although he was known for his emotional outbursts during conversations.

Mehsud took over the Pakistani Taliban in August 2009 after a drone strike killed the previous leader, his mentor.

Mehsud had two wives and moved frequently because of his fear of U.S. drone strikes.

In recent months, analysts say rivalries with other Taliban commanders over revenues from extortion and kidnapping had sharpened, rising tension within the fragmented movement.

The United States offered $5 million for Mehsud's capture after he appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan in 2009.

U.S. prosecutors have charged him with involvement in the attack. The Taliban is also accused of plotting to bomb Times Square in 2010.

Although Mehsud's death will bring calls for revenge, it may make negotiations with the militants easier in the long run, said Saifullah Mahsud, director of the Pakistani think tank FATA Research Centre.

"Hakimullah Mehsud was a very controversial figure and he had very tough demands," he said.

But the strike did not signal the end of the Pakistani Taliban, he said.

"It's a very decentralised organisation. They've lost leaders to drone strikes before."

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, and Hafiz Wazir in Wana and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Maria Golovnina, Alison Williams and Peter Cooney)

Africans push deferral of Kenya trials with U.N. draft resolution

Posted:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rwanda, Togo and Morocco circulated among U.N. Security Council members on Friday a draft resolution to defer the International Criminal Court trials of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto for one year.

The African Union asked the Security Council last week to postpone the trials of Kenyatta and Ruto so they can deal with the aftermath of the Nairobi mall attack by al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab, in which at least 67 people were killed in September.

Kenyatta and Ruto face charges related to the violence after Kenya's 2007 elections, in which 1,200 people died. Both deny the charges and have tried to have the cases adjourned or halted. Ruto's trial started last month, while Kenyatta's trial is due to start on February 5 after being delayed for a third time.

The Security Council can defer International Criminal Court proceedings for one year under Article 16 of the Rome Statute that established The Hague-based court a decade ago. The council would need to adopt a resolution to take that step.

"We are mandated by the African Union to ensure the deferral is granted," Rwandan U.N. Ambassador Eugene Gasana told Reuters in a statement on Friday. "We have a draft resolution ... we do hope and wish that it will be supported by all council members."

But the 15-member Security Council, which heard an impassioned plea for a deferral from a delegation of African ministers during an informal meeting on Thursday, is split. Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States stated on Thursday that it was opposed to a deferral.

A resolution needs nine votes and no veto by any of the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France. Council diplomats said there was not enough support for a deferral of the Kenyan cases to be approved.

Some U.N. diplomats have noted that the council had already turned down a previous deferral request by Kenya in 2011 and rejected a request in May for the cases to be terminated because the council had no such power.

The Kenyan cases have caused a growing backlash against the International Criminal Court from some African governments, which regard it as a tool of Western powers used to unfairly target Africans.

The African Union also plans to raise its issues with the International Criminal Court at a November meeting of the Assembly of State Parties, which is made up of the 122 members of the court.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Jackie Frank)

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FB’s ad warning sounds a note of caution for Twitter

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SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc's investors and other proponents of the social network like to say that it captures one of the greatest concentrations of human attention on the planet and thus offers a boundless opportunity for advertisers.

But Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman on Wednesday cast doubt on those assertions by suggesting that there may be a limit on how many ads Facebook can show users before they get turned off.

Ebersman's warning carries far-reaching implications for not only Facebook but also other social media companies including Twitter Inc, which is in the middle of a roadshow to promote its IPO to investors.

Twitter has yet to turn a profit, but it is pitching an advertising business model similar to Facebook's.

"It's important for investors to realise that there is a limitation on the mobile ad revenue that can be generated. The sky isn't the limit when it comes to that," said Jeff Sica, the founder of Sica Wealth Management. "That's the issue with Facebook. That will be the issue with Twitter."

Seven-year old Twitter faces an additional challenge: its active user base, now at 230 million, has expanded much more slowly compared to Facebook, due in part to its struggle to retain newcomers. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll found 36% of Twitter users do not use the online messaging service.

"You don't know how many people sign up and don't use it, how many abandoned accounts they have," said Adam Grossman, an analyst at Middleton & Co who attended a roadshow lunch presentation by Twitter executives in Boston on Thursday.

Twitter has set a price range of US$17 to US$21 per share for its IPO, which aims to raise up to US$1.6bil. The price range values Twitter at up to US$11bil, less than the US$15bil that some analysts had expected.

One investor who attended the Thursday luncheon said Twitter's ubiquitous brand name will draw some investors.

"It's a company that has changed the world so I wouldn't bet against it," said the investor, who did not want to be identified. "But they also haven't created a business model which has proven that they can continue to grow at 100% a year and be profitable."

THIRD-PARTY ADS

Twitter is trying to expand its ad business in other ways. This week it closed a US$350mil deal to acquire MoPub, an ad network that serves ads within mobile apps.

"The consumer eyeballs and the amount of ads they can absorb without being irritated, is finite," said Rich Wong, a venture capitalist at Accel Partners, who invested in MoPub and AdMob, a mobile ad network that Google Inc acquired for US$750mil.

With MoPub, Twitter will be able to serve ads in other apps to grow revenue without cluttering its own users' Twitter streams, Wong said. "By leasing real estate, you can expand by orders of magnitude the eyeballs you can get to," he said.

It remains to be seen whether MoPub can unearth new revenue for Twitter. But some industry experts liken the deal to Google's US$3.1bil acquisition of DoubleClick in 2008, which helped the search giant improve its ability to place targeted ads on Web pages across the Internet, not just google.com.

In the case of MoPub, Twitter will serve ads within third-party mobile apps, such as games, rather than websites.

In late September, Facebook also resumed work on its own mobile ad network after it appeared to put the project on hold earlier in the year, according to several tech blogs.

The renewed effort to seek other sources of revenue could be explained by Facebook's reluctance to show more than one ad per 20 stories in a user's news feed. Ebersman told analysts on Wednesday that the 5% ad ratio would not increase by much in the future.

That surprised some analysts and investors who had expected a higher rate.

"Five percent is relatively low," said Brian Blau, a Gartner analyst. "I'm surprised that it's only 5%. I was anticipating more, to really push the boundaries."

BETTER TARGETING

According to its investor prospectus, Twitter now makes a little over US$0.65 per user compared to Facebook's US$1.72. Analysts believe Twitter has room to grow in getting more revenue per user because Chief Executive Dick Costolo has been cautious so far about injecting more ads into Twitter streams.

Twitter's format and the nature of its fast-scrolling content also differs from Facebook, which means Twitter users may be more tolerant of ads, said Gartner's Blau.

But if Twitter's ability to show more ads becomes limited, then it would have to seek higher ad prices by promising marketers the ability to target users with greater accuracy.

In the past year, Twitter has expanded its targeting features to show ads to users who live in certain metropolitan areas, or show interest in certain topics.

Twitter infers what its users are interested in based on who they follow and what they tweet. In July, the company also began to use cookies to track the Web pages that its users visit, a commonly employed technique among Internet firms.

But even when displaying the highly personalised ads prized by marketers, social media companies have had to weigh the value of the ad versus their "creepiness factor," which could scare away fickle users – Reuters.

Wall St ends higher after factory data; Dow, S&P up for week

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NEW YORK: U.S. stocks rose on Friday after surprisingly strong manufacturing data overshadowed expectations that the Federal Reserve might reduce stimulus earlier than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 rose for the week as well, their fourth straight week of gains.

Factory activity expanded around the world, several business surveys showed, with Chinese manufacturers reporting the fastest upturn in 18 months. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Friday its index of U.S. factory activity rose to 56.4 in October, its best reading since April 2011.

While the news underscored views that the Federal Reserve may be considering scaling back its stimulus sooner than some market participants have been expecting, it also gave investors surprising evidence of the manufacturing sector's strength.

The reports "confirmed that maybe the economy isn't quite as weak or rolling over" as some expected, said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets.

The Fed on Wednesday decided to continue its stimulus program, citing economic weakness.

Boeing Co shares gained 1.9 percent to $133.03, a day after it said it would increase production of its 737 aircraft to 47 planes per month by 2017 from 38 now - a move that analysts said bodes well for the company.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.80 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 15,615.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 5.10 points, or 0.29 percent, to finish at 1,761.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 3,922.04.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.5 percent.

On the Nasdaq, shares of First Solar Inc jumped 17.6 percent to $59.14 after the U.S. solar panel manufacturer's results beat forecasts and the company raised its full-year profit outlook.

Among decliners, shares of Chevron Corp slid 1.6 percent to $118.01 after third-quarter revenue fell short of expectations.

American International Group Inc dropped 6.5 percent to $48.28, a day after the insurer reported earnings that slightly beat expectations. However, analysts expected better results in the insurer's consumer lines business and said it benefited from a favorable tax rate this most recent quarter.

The latest results show the mixed picture in earnings. With about 74 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported results so far, 68.5 percent have topped Wall Street's expectations, above the long-term average of 63 percent, while just 53.3 percent have topped revenue forecasts, below the 61 percent average since 2002, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Although the three major U.S. stock indexes ended Friday's session with modest gains, the market's breadth was negative.

Decliners outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, three stocks fell for every two that rose. - Reuters

Some Wall Street brokerages push up Twitter IPO targets

Posted:

SAN FRANCISCO: Morningstar on Friday joined three other brokerages in setting price targets for Twitter Inc well above its IPO price range, suggesting the stock has room to rise at least 30 percent.

The Wall Street brokerage on Friday set a price target of $26 a share, compared to the initial public offering's $17 to $20 indicative range. Last month, Pivotal Research had set its price target for the social media micro-messaging company at $29 a share, SunTrust at $50 and Topeka Capital at $54.

Twitter, which is wrapping up its first week of meetings with prospective investors across the United States, will arrive on the New York Stock Exchange with a fraction of the users and revenue - and hype - that accompanied Facebook Inc's much-heralded debut last year.

Twitter said in October it doubled its revenue in the third quarter to $168 million, but its losses widened as costs grew. It has never made a profit.

Morningstar analyst Rick Summer said Twitter's user growth will form a "critical mass" that would capture new advertising budgets. Twitter, which has partnered with broadcasters to position itself as a "second screen" to traditional TV, could receive a slice of advertising deals that previously would have gone to TV exclusively.

"For example, the company recently agreed to a commercial deal with the National Football League to distribute proprietary content (short replays) to Twitter users," Summer said in a research note.

Some analysts say Twitter could grow above the valuation of roughly $11 billion inferred by the company's IPO plans. Others worry, however, that Twitter has so far offered scant evidence it can generate enough revenue with its staple "promoted tweets" ad product, especially without significantly growing its number of users - never a guarantee in the fickle world of social media.

Investors who met with Twitter executives during this week's roadshow say they are optimistic about the deal, in part because they see little sign of some of the exuberance that preceded Facebook's IPO and in part because of what they argue are reasonable valuations.

At an IPO price range of $17 to $20, Twitter would be valuing itself at 17 to 20 times trailing 12-month sales, according to Reuters' calculations based on IPO filings, excluding shares issued in the future. Facebook trades at about 17 times trailing 12-month sales and LinkedIn Corp at roughly 19 times.

Final pricing is expected on Nov. 6.

LIMITATION

Jeff Sica, founder of Sica Wealth Management, whose clients own shares in Twitter, said that at an investor lunch, "All they could really talk about is a one dimensional way to make money" in breaking news and media. "That's when you start to see the limitation for revenue generation going forward."

Also, Facebook on Wednesday said it would cap how often ads are shown to users, leading analysts to believe the company may have discovered a limit to how many social media ads can be exposed to users before they get irritated. In the very long run, that could hold implications for Twitter, given their similarity in advertising models.

But bullish analysts note explosive revenue gains by both companies.

Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research, saw positive signs in Twitter's third quarter, saying that the 123 percent revenue growth exceeded his expectations while user growth appeared robust.

The bull case for Twitter was first made weeks ago by Robert Peck, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey who slapped a $50 price target on Twitter before the company priced its shares.

"Many investors will look at Twitter vs. Facebook, as an appropriate comparison. While we think there are many similarities between the two companies, we think Twitter is a unique company, with aspects of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Yahoo in its DNA," Peck said.

Topeka Capital similarly saw value in Twitter's unique network. "Twitter has become synonymous with social TV," analyst Victor Anthony wrote. "If Twitter captures just 1 percent of these global TV ad budgets, that could mean over $2 billion in revenues for Twitter annually." - Reuters

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Gerard Butler will save London

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The actor is set to reprise his role in the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler will return to the screen as Mike Banning for the sequel to the successful action film released last March.

The producers of London Has Fallen are currently presenting this sequel to Olympus Has Fallen at the American Film Market in Los Angeles. The screenplay will focus on a large-scale terrorist attack being planned in the British capital during the funeral of the Prime Minister, Screendaily.com reports.

The international importance of the crisis will permit the film's producers to bring back Aaron Eckhart in the role of the fictional American President Benjamin Asher, whose life was in danger in the original film. Gerard Butler, playing the film's protagonist, will once again take on the task of saving the world, with help this time from an agent from the MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service.

Shooting on London Has Fallen is expected to begin on May 5, 2014. Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Radha Mitchell will also reprise their roles for the film's sequel. On the other hand, Antoine Fuqua will not return to the director's chair, and his replacement has not yet been announced.

The premise of Olympus Has Fallen is heading across the pond for a sequel on a terrorist threat in London. — AFP Relaxnews

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Phone buyers aim for gold

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KUALA LUMPUR: Champagne gold proves to be a hit among most Malaysians as they lined up to be among the first in the country to grab the latest iPhone 5s at local telcos.

Most said that they were hoping to get their hands on the new Apple smartphones before they run out of stock. The iPhone 5s went on sale in Malaysia from 12.01am yesterday.

At the Celcom Blue Cube store at Sunway Pyramid, over 200 customers waited in line – some even before the outlet opened for business – to be the first customers to pick up the new phones.

First in line was network presentation editor Mohd Abdullah Mohd Azam, 26, who had been waiting with his pregnant wife since 8.45am.

"I have been using the iPhone 4s for the past two years and am going to switch to the champagne gold 32GB iPhone 5s," he said.

Both Mohd Abdullah and his wife had intended to buy the iPhones, but were instead rewarded for being first in line with a free champagne gold iPhone 5s each by Celcom.

Ahmad Izzudin Ahmad Borhanudin, 26, who was second in line at Blue Cube, was also hoping for the gold iPhone 5s, adding that it was unique as the colour was a first for Apple products.

The DiGi launch at the company's store in SS2, Petaling Jaya, was similarly crowded, with people gathering a little later in the evening for the midnight launch.

First in line was designer Jason Ooi Seng Oon, 21, who had been waiting since 5.30pm.

Ooi, who was also aiming for the gold iPhone 5s, said he was formerly a BlackBerry user.

"The main reason I am getting an iPhone is because my friends who were BlackBerry users convinced me to change to an iPhone after they did," said Ooi.

Maxis Berhad was the only local telco that did not have a public launching for the new Apple smartphones, opting instead to hold a private event for Maxis One Club customers.

In terms of pricing, there are varying plans available from each telco – depending on the iPhone model and amount of data subscribed to – with detailed rates available on their websites.

Apple has reportedly had problems keeping up with demand for the new iPhones, especially for the gold coloured one.

IGP: Beware of copycat robberies by security guards

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Police are not ruling out the possibility of more cases of rogue security guards.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said that it was possible that the latest case yesterday, where a security guard robbed a jewellery store where he worked at, was a copycat crime.

"It is possible that this security guard got the idea from the security guard from the AmBank robbery. I do not rule out more cases involving security guards who rob their employers," he said.

Khalid also urged all security companies to check their personnel thoroughly.

"If there is any doubt or red flags, please contact the police and we will help you," he said.

He also revealed police were paying closer attention to security guards now and random checks were ongoing nationwide.

"My men will be conducting spot checks on all security guards, on their documents, including licence to carry firearms," he said.

Security Services Association of Malaysia (SSAM) president Datuk Shaheen Mirza Habib said the security firm that hired the guard involved in the jewellery shop heist should be investigated to see if the rogue guard was vetted properly by his employers.

"If it turns out to be a similar case as the AmBank robbery, serious action should be taken," said Shaheen.

Related stories:

Robbed by its security guard

IGP: Beware of copycat robberies by security guards

'Firm's operations illegal from today'

MIC: Polls crucial to ensure right faces are in place

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: The MIC elections is crucial as a new line of leaders will emerge, including young ones, who will form the second echelon, said Federal Territory MIC information chief Anbumani Balan (pic).

Party delegates' decision, he said, would be crucial for the party's new direction. MIC needs a young and dynamic second echelon who are visionary and able to help the Indian community with strategic ideas and proper plans.

"Every vote is important. The team that is selected will lead the party into the next general election.

"Delegates must choose leaders who will perform and have the best interests of the party and the community at heart," he said.

Anbumani said the community, especially the youths, would be watching the elections closely to see the new line-up – from the vice-presidents to the central working committee (CWC) members.

"This is the time to choose the very best leaders to build the party. MIC needs reforms at every level," he said.

Anbumani also commended party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel for not condoning a "presidential line-up" as previously practised by the party.

"He has made the right move as in doing this, all eligible leaders will have the opportunity to contest," he added.

Palanivel had earlier said that although he had received text messages from party members seeking his "blessings" to contest, he did not reply them because he had decided not to endorse any candidate.

The elections for the deputy presidency, three vice-presidencies and 23 CWC posts will be held during the Nov 30 MIC general assembly in Malacca.

MIC Youth chief Datuk T. Mohan and Wanita chief Datin Paduka Komala Krishnamoorthy are not defending their posts.

MIC Youth secretary C. Sivarraajh is expected to be challenged by deputy Youth chief V. Mugilan for the Youth chief post with lawyers R. Thinalan facing Sashi Kumar Kannan for the deputy post.

Deputy Wanita chief Datin Dr. C.V. Premakumari will face MIC social and welfare bureau head Mohana Muniandy for the top post in the wing.

Related story:

Major changes in the MIC wings to come 

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'Anonymous' hack puts Singapore on alert

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SINGAPORE: Activist group Anonymous hacked a Singapore newspaper website Friday over Internet freedom in the city-state, where government agencies are now reportedly on alert for wider cyber attacks.

The website of the pro-government Straits Times was hacked early in the day by apparent members of the group, which is opposing recently introduced licensing rules for news websites in Singapore on censorship grounds.

The attackers, using the name "Messiah", took over the blog of a Straits Times journalist, saying she had distorted "our words and intentions" in a report on the group's threat a day earlier to "wage war" on the Singapore government.

"We oppose any form of Internet censorship among other things," said a post on the journalist's hacked blog, which is part of the newspaper's website and has been taken offline.

The hackers urged the journalist to apologise within 48 hours "to the citizens of Singapore for trying to mislead them".

If she fails to apologise, "then we expect her resignation", the hacker said in the hacked account, still visible in online caches.

"If those demands are met we will be on our way. But in the event our demands are not met in the next 48 hours, we will place you in our 'to do' list and next time you wont (sic) be let off this easy."

Asian media giant Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes the newspaper, said: "We have made a police report, and the police are investigating."

The attack on the Straits Times followed a post on the video-sharing site YouTube on Thursday in which a person claiming to speak for Anonymous warned the group would cause Singapore to suffer financial losses from "aggressive cyber intrusion".

Singapore, which has been governed by the same party for 54 years and strictly regulates the traditional media, is Southeast Asia's financial centre and hosts the regional headquarters of many global companies.

"We demand you reconsider the regulations of your (Internet) framework or we will be forced to go to war with you," a male voice said, addressing the government, as a person hiding behind a mask appeared in the YouTube clip.

The original video has been taken down, but has been copied by other users and can still be viewed online.

Reacting to the YouTube clip, Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority said: "We are aware of the video, and the police are investigating into the matter."

The Straits Times, meanwhile, said it had learned government agencies had been put on alert in Singapore following the initial threat on Thursday.

It said the alert directive came from the Government IT Security Incident Response Team, which was set up to coordinate responses to cyber attacks.

The new rules opposed by the hackers were imposed on June 1 and require annual licensing for news websites with at least 50,000 unique visitors from within Singapore every month.

Websites granted a licence must remove "prohibited content" such as articles that undermine "racial or religious harmony" within 24 hours of being notified by Singapore's media regulator.

The new rules have sparked anger in the city-state's robust blogging and social media community, which has accused the government of failing to carry out a consultation and raised fears the regulations are aimed at muzzling free expression.

Blogs and social media have gained popularity as alternative sources of news and opinion in Singapore, where mainstream newspapers and broadcasters are perceived to be pro-government.

Under Singapore's Internet code, prohibited content includes "material that is objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security, national harmony, or is otherwise prohibited by applicable Singapore laws."

Singapore authorities insist the licensing rules do not impinge on Internet freedom. -AFP

China accuses Japan of 'dangerous provocation' at sea

Posted:

BEIJING: Beijing's military accused Tokyo of a "highly dangerous provocation" by interfering in Chinese live-fire drills in the Pacific last week, warning that Japanese lives could be at stake, state media reported Friday.

Japanese ships and aircraft tailed Chinese navy vessels conducting the exercise in the western Pacific ocean, the defence ministry said, according to reports.

"The actions of the Japanese ships and planes not only interfered with our normal exercises but also endangered the safe navigation of Chinese ships and planes, and might lead to misjudgment and accidental injuries," the state-run China Daily quoted defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun as saying.

Yang made the comments at the defence ministry's monthly press briefing, which foreign media are barred from attending.

According to China's state-run Global Times, the People's Liberation Army Navy was conducting drills in the western Pacific last Friday when a Japanese warship "broke into the drill zone" and remained in the area for three days.

An unspecified number of Japanese aircraft also entered the area several times, tailing and monitoring the Chinese vessels, the report said.

The ministry had lodged a "solemn representation" over the action, it added.

China gave advance warning through the International Maritime Organization on October 23 of its plans to conduct the drills, the Global Times said.

Tokyo took issue with the complaint, with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato saying: "Japan is conducting warning and surveillance activities in the surrounding waters appropriately.

"It is not true that Japan interfered with military drills by Chinese naval vessels," he said, adding Tokyo had already made its case to Beijing.

The furious Chinese response - and implicit threat - marks a further deterioration in their already fraught relationship, which has soured in recent years as the two Asian giants exchange tough rhetoric over disputed islands in the East China Sea and Japanese leaders' visits to a controversial Tokyo war shrine.

The latest escalation comes a week after Beijing's defence ministry said that any Japanese move to shoot down Chinese drones would amount to an "act of war".

Also last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned China over its maritime activities, saying in a speech to Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force troops: "We will demonstrate our intention not to allow a change in the status quo."

"We must conduct surveillance and intelligence activities for that purpose," Abe said in his address, according to Japan's Kyodo news service. -AFP

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