Selasa, 18 Mac 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Maldives police probe reports of MH370 sighting
Pakistani militant kills self, family in DIY bomb accident
Taiwan protesters occupy parliament over China trade pact

Maldives police probe reports of MH370 sighting

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:42 PM PDT

NEW DELHI: Police in the Maldives are probing reports that islanders in the tourism paradise saw a "low-flying jumbo jet" on the day the missing Malaysia Airlines plane vanished.

In a statement released late Tuesday, police said they were investigating a report on the Haveeru news website that local residents had spotted a large plane flying over the remote southern island of Kuda Huvadhoo on March 8.

"The police are looking into the reports in the media saying that a low-flying airplane was sighted above Kuda Huvadhoo," the statement said.

Several alleged sightings of the Boeing 777, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board, have proved to be false alarms and reports of debris at sea have also turned up nothing.

Haveeru said witnesses on Kuda Huvadhoo had seen a white aircraft with red stripes flying towards the southern tip of the Maldives.

"I've never seen a jet flying so low over our island before. We've seen seaplanes, but I'm sure that this was not one of those. I could even make out the doors on the plane clearly," the website quoted one witness as saying.

Haveeru journalist Farah Ahmed said several witnesses had given similar accounts.

"These people first heard a very loud noise from a plane flying unusually low and they came out to see it," Ahmed told AFP by phone from the Maldives capital Male, whose international airport daily handles dozens of wide-body jets bringing in thousands of tourists.

The hunt for the missing passenger jet now focuses on two vast search areas - a northern one spanning south and central Asia, and a southern corridor stretching deep into the southern Indian Ocean towards Australia.

The Maldives, located far from both arcs, is not among the 26 countries currently involved in the massive international search operation. -AFP

Pakistani militant kills self, family in DIY bomb accident

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:46 PM PDT

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: A militant commander and five family members including a child were killed when a bomb he was tinkering with exploded at his home in northwest Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday.

Aalim Deen Mehsud, a local commander of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the North Waziristan tribal area, was trying to remove explosive material from a mortar shell, triggering the blast, a security official said.

"He was trying to cut the shell with a hand saw and take out the explosives when the explosion occurred, killing himself, four women and a child of his family," the official told AFP.

Two other children were injured in the blast, the official said.

A local in the village of Talib Jan, where the incident happened, confirmed the deaths.

"Aalim Deen Mehsud and five members of his family have been killed in an explosion at his house," said Gul Hajjan, a resident of the village which is close to the Afghan border.

North Waziristan is one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal regions which Washington consider to be a major hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

The government opened negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last month in a bid to end a bloody insurgency which has cost thousands of lives and cost the economy tens of billions of dollars.

The process broke down for more than two weeks after militants killed 23 kidnapped soldiers, but later resumed after the Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire. -AFP

Taiwan protesters occupy parliament over China trade pact

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:53 PM PDT

TAIPEI: Around 200 Taiwanese students and activists were locked in a tense standoff with police Wednesday after they stormed the parliament in a bid to thwart government efforts to ratify a contentious trade agreement with China.

Tearing down signboards and chanting anti-government slogans, protesters unexpectedly broke through security barriers and took over the parliament's main chamber late Tuesday, in the first such occupation of the building in the island's history.

The protesters, mostly young students, have barricaded the entrance with ceiling-high piles of armchairs, blocking hundreds of policemen who attempted vigorously early Wednesday to push their way in to end the occupation.

The protesters are vehemently opposed to what they term illegal moves by the ruling Kuomintang party to pass the trade pact with China, the island's biggest trading partner, and are demanding that it be reviewed clause-by-clause.

"The trade pact must not be approved without careful deliberation and scrutiny in parliament," a student leader said.

The pact - designed to further open up trade between Taiwan and China, which split 65 years ago after a civil war - passed the first hurdle in parliament Monday after it was approved by a joint committee despite opposition concerns that it could hurt small service companies and damage the Taiwanese economy.

The committee's approval - the first of three ratifications needed to pass the bill - sparked a brawl between rival lawmakers and provoked three opposition Democratic Progressive Party legislators to stage a 70-hour hunger strike.

The China-sceptic DPP has pledged to mobilise supporters when parliament holds a full session on Friday for a second review of the bill.

The pact is one of the follow-up agreements to the sweeping Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010 to reduce trade barriers.

Under the deal, China will open 80 service sectors to Taiwanese companies, while Taiwan will allow Chinese investment in 64 sectors.

Cross-strait ties have improved markedly since President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang came to power in 2008 pledging to strengthen trade and tourism links. He was re-elected in January 2012.

But China still considers Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification - by force if necessary. -AFP

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Brad Pitt could headline 'True Detective' season 2

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:00 PM PDT

There is a real possibility that the Hollywood A-lister may star on TV.

Brad Pitt is reportedly among candidates to take over from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the second season of HBO's crime series, True Detective.

Officially, the premium cable network has yet to order the second season of the show but speculation abounds nonetheless. According to some sources, HBO is waiting to read the next story proposition from creator Nic Pizzolatto and to find out who is on the cast before making a formal decision.

According to Hollywoodlife.com, Brad Pitt is at the top of a short list of actors that could join the project for its second season. For the time being, there is no indication of whether the actor has been approached by producers or has agreed to enter talks.

Naturally, the report is to be taken with a grain of salt, although the idea of seeing Brad Pitt on the small screen doesn't seem as far-fetched as it once did.

Critics have begun taking TV series more seriously in recent years, and film stars seem to be following suit. Several renowned, award-winning filmmakers and actors – including Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Diane Kruger – have made their entrance into the TV world. Robert de Niro and Halle Berry will soon appear in their first TV roles on HBO and CBS respectively.

Moreover, networks are beginning to transition to the cable format, meaning that seasons are shorter (12 episodes maximum). For film stars, who are often reluctant to sign on for a long-term commitment to a series, this is a key argument.

Given that True Detective was able to attract Matthew McConaughey, who won an Oscar this year for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, and Woody Harrelson, another Hollywood heavyweight, the prospect of Pitt's participation doesn't seem out of the question.

Incidentally, Pitt has worked behind the scenes on TV projects in the past. The actor is credited as an executive producer on an episode of ABC's Resurrection and on a number of TV movies, including Ryan Murphy's The Normal Heart, which HBO will air in May.

Astro B.yond enhanced search tool

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

Astro's new multilingual Electronic Programme Guide is a welcome change.

SOME of us channel-surf at random, trusting in the Force to bring us to that elusive beast – a channel that can satisfy everyone in the family, without the patriarch / matriarch / person paying the bill having to stomp on the floor and insist that "This stays on BPL / Hindi soap operas / WWE RAW (/ what-have-you)!"

Others prefer to more systematically search for the programmes they like, or may be interested in.

Whichever approach you prefer, if you're an Astro B.yond customer then you now have a handy "gadget" in the search toolbox – the new multilingual Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).

Astro began rolling out the service – available in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil – in phases from Feb 24 (leave your decoder on standby overnight to get the upgrade) and hopes to cover all its customers by the end of April.

The four language options pretty much speak for themselves; users can now search for programmes in the language of their choice. Additionally, the new EPG offers an improved personal video recorder (PVR) experience and easier shopping for Video On Demand (VOD) programming (so, keep an eye on that credit card bill).

All sorted out

The new EPG is neatly sorted out for convenient access. The top level menu consists of:

> TV Guide – channel and programme listings.

> MyTV – shows your library of recorded and downloaded (VOD) shows, bookings you've made, the Download Manager, your purchase history and a search function

> Video On Demand – basically a catalogue for stuff you can buy either piecemeal or via subscription, catch-up TV, and a search function. Browsing the store is cool, and tempting, but my willpower remains strong (at least until my credit card balance is ... healthy again).

> Preferences – where you choose stuff like language, parental controls, a screensaver, information banner (the window that pops up to tell you about a programme when you press the Info button) duration, edit your favourite channels (my household just has one fave – Zee Variasi, for Mum's daily dose), etc.

> Settings – lets you do the more advanced tinkering with your network connection, display resolution, sound, and such. Me, I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie.

> Help – in case you didn't let sleeping dogs lie.

> Search – if you're not sure what this does, Google it. Seriously though, the search function in the new EPG gives you a good range of parameters to define when you're searching for programmes. For example, just for channel type, you can search: All / HD, Malay, Chinese, Indian/Tamil, Sports, Movies, Entertainment, News, Education, Kids, Documentaries, Lifestyle, Radio, and Favourites.

It's the little differences

Those familiar with the old Astro TV guide will notice that the new EPG menus scroll horizontally, mostly left to right, although the VOD catalogue scrolls in a "circle" – when you reach the end, it starts again from the first item without you having to go back.

The most noticeable difference is that the current channel you're watching no longer appears as a small window in the corner of the guide. Instead, the information you're browsing fills almost the whole screen as a near-opaque layer. You can still hear what's going on but most of the image will be covered by the guide.

This is probably what I missed most with the new EPG, and I went through the Settings menu – being careful not to tread on napping Rottweilers – but couldn't find any option to bring back that tiny picture.

Alas, the old programme guide will be totally gone once you've upgraded to the new EPG and you can't ever get it back, according to the FAQ provided by Astro. Still, the improvements do outweigh this one loss. And don't worry, anything you've recorded/downloaded previously will not be affected by upgrading to the new EPG.

It's so ... neat

Ever since upgrading to Astro IPTV and getting PVR functionality in the process, I've been like a kid in a candy store – who am I kidding, I've been like myself in a candy store.

As a result, my list of recorded shows looked rather messy. I'd have three episodes of Diners, Drive-ins And Dives, then an episode of Serangoon Road, an episode of Vikings, WWE RAW, more DDD, another Serangoon Road ... in short, I'd have to do a $#%@load of scrolling to find the stuff I was in the mood to watch at a given time.

Not any more. For me, the best part of the new EPG is the improved PVR section, under MyTV / MyLibrary. Series are now conveniently sorted into Series Link "folders" so all my Serangoon Road, DDD, Vikings and WWE RAW recordings are tucked away neatly here, shortening the list and reducing scrolling time.

Series Link also shows the next scheduled recording, and it helps as a reminder to NOT switch off the system then. You can also sort recorded shows in alphabetical order, arrange series by season and episode, thereby eliminating rojak lists like what I had previously.

One odd thing: a standalone movie that I recorded off Celestial Movies, Master Of Kung Fu, showed up in a Series Link tab. Guess this could happen when several different shows have similar titles – something for the EPG folks to look into, I guess.

Programme information is also improved, giving you a quick summary of not just the synopsis but icons to denote aspect ratio, rating, sound, HD/SD, recording locked (to prevent accidental deletion) and so on.

While this is just scratching the surface of the new features, the experience has been a satisfying – and importantly, significantly enhanced – one overall.

For more info on the EPG, check out Ch 100 or visit astro.com.my/epg

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Seven celebs who want your money for their projects

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:25 PM PDT

As Veronica Mars the movie hits cinemas in the US, other celebrities are now jumping on the crowd-funding bandwagon.

There had been other celebrity-driven Kickstarter campaigns, but it was the wild, US$5.2mil (RM16.64mil) success of Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas' drive for a Veronica Mars movie adaptation that really clued in Hollywood to the fiscal might and possibilities of crowdfunding.

Now, a year later, it seems like everyone is asking fans for cash.

Zach Braff got much attention for his request that fans kick in US$3mil/RM9.6mil (of a US$5mil/RM16mil budget) for Wish I Was Here, which debuted at Sundance and sold to Focus Features for a reported US$3mil or so. Spike Lee, too, used the site for his next joint, just passing his US$1.25mil (RM4mil) goal.

In recent weeks, several more big names have humbled themselves in pitch videos and brief explanatory notes in order to flatter and entice fans into funding their ambitions.

Shaquille O'Neal

The all-time great NBA centre and multimedia personality made over US$300mil (RM960mil) in his career, when playing contracts and endorsements are tallied up, and he continues to cash cheques by appearing on television and pitching products. But the big Diesel is still asking fans and gamers to pitch in US$450,000 (RM1.44mil), via Indiegogo, toward the development of a sequel to his 1994 fighting console game.

"Let's get one thing straight. It's going to take more than US$450,000 to fund the game. Yes, I am putting my money into the game. And the fans have always been my partners," O'Neal told The Wrap at SXSW. "We just wanted to use it as a measuring source, to see if there's some excitement, and there has been a lot of excitement."

With 38 days left, the campaign has raised about US$90,000 (RM288,000). If you donate US$600 (RM1,920), Shaq will follow you on Twitter.

Zachary Levi

A favourite amongst geeks for his role in Chuck and obvious love for nerdy things otherwise, Levi is asking his adoring fans for US$1mil (RM3.2mil) to stage another Nerd HQ festival adjacent to San Diego Comic-Con. It is an event thrown by his company, The Nerd Machine, at Petco Park every year, where they hold four days of dance parties and panel discussions and other activities that can be built by a giant machine of nerds.

Zachary Levi as the lovable nerd in Chuck.

It is a free event, but it costs a pretty penny, and apparently they couldn't get the funding to make it happen this year. So, in order to keep the spirit of the nerd burning, Levi and his machine need US$1mil, for "venue, staging, production crew, event lighting, video, audio, staff, security, and activations", according to the Indiegogo page for their campaign.

The event raises money for Operation Smile, a popular charity, so basically, donations are being made toward raising money (and doing fun stuff, too).

There are no prizes for people who donate, other than getting their names written on a big wall of people who donated, but the nerd machine will keep on chugging!

Katherine Heigl

The principal photography on the ZZZquil pitchwoman and ZyZZyx Road actress' next movie, a romantic dramedy called Jenny's Wedding, is already complete. But the film, which co-stars Alexis Bledel, needs an additional US$150,000 (RM480,000) to get through post-production.

And so, the Jenny's Wedding crew is turning to Indiegogo for the cash. So far, they've taken in US$48,000 (RM153,600) and have 15 days left to get the money.

Matt Walsh

A founder of Upright Citizens Brigade and a hero to all comedy nerds, Walsh is finally getting recognition for his on-screen talents, with a regular role in Veep and a starring turn in David Cross' Sundance film Hits. Now, he's in the filmmaking business, and is looking for just a little over US$52,000 (RM166,400) to finish post on his improv-driven movie, A Better You.

So, why should fans donate? "One, I'm not truly famous, I'm more of a 'Hey, I know that guy' celebrity," he wrote on his Indiegogo page. "Two: I'm not rich and my wife and I have three kids so the money I make – I can't tell you where it all goes, but it's not for champagne or tropical vacations."

Neil Young

It took just one day for the rock legend to raise almost double the stated goal of US$800,000 (RM2.56mil) to launch Pono, his high-quality digital music player and marketplace. It didn't hurt that he had a slate of other leading lights – including Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Kid Rock, Dave Grohl, T-Bone Burnett, Rick Rubin, and Eddie Vedder – vouching for the sophisticated audio experience that Young is promising.

With 32 days to go, he's now up to over US$3mil and counting. More like knocking on heaven's safe, am I right?

Scott Ian

The guitarist of the heavy metal band Anthrax went on a spoken word tour, and now he's looking to fans to bankroll the DVD release of his act, which is creatively titled Speaking Words. He's up to 31% of an unspecified goal, but it must be somewhat sizable; he's offering to take a fan out for a wild night in Las Vegas for a US$25,000 (RM80,000) pledge. For the more frugal Anthrax enthusiast, a guitar built from wood from the church in Night Of The Living Dead is available for a mere US$12,500 (RM40,000).

So, get it while it's hot, if you're into Henry Rollins and/or fake church guitars.

Matthew Modine

The veteran actor is looking for US$5mil for a movie called The Rocking Horsemen, a coming-of-age stories set in the 1960s. But instead of just asking calling for some generosity and offering some small prizes in return, he's offering them a stake in the possible profits, through a site called Slated.

It's not all that often that films that size make much money, but at least there's a shot. — Reuters

Chris Pine admits New Zealand drink driving charge

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 06:55 PM PDT

Actor's licence suspended for six months.

Star Trek actor Chris Pine pleaded guilty on March 17 to drink driving in New Zealand and had his licence suspended for six months, reports said.

Pine, 33, was charged after he failed a breath test this month in the South Island town of Methven, where he had been attending a party after completing the science fiction film Z for Zachariah, New Zealand Newswire reported.

Judge Joanna Maze denied an application from the American's lawyers to discharge him without conviction, saying she was "obliged to treat offenders alike".

She suspended Pine's New Zealand driver's licence for six months and fined him NZ$93 (RM260) Fairfax New Zealand reported.

Pine, who is best known for playing Captain Kirk in director J.J. Abrams's Star Trek reboot, declined to speak to media outside the Ashburton courthouse before being driven away. – AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Seven celebs who want your money for their projects

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 10:25 PM PDT

As Veronica Mars the movie hits cinemas in the US, other celebrities are now jumping on the crowd-funding bandwagon.

Now, a year later, it seems like everyone is asking fans for cash.

In recent weeks, several more big names have humbled themselves in pitch videos and brief explanatory notes in order to flatter and entice fans into funding their ambitions.

Shaquille O'Neal

With 38 days left, the campaign has raised about US$90,000 (RM288,000). If you donate US$600 (RM1,920), Shaq will follow you on Twitter.

Zachary Levi

Zachary Levi as the lovable nerd in Chuck.

The event raises money for Operation Smile, a popular charity, so basically, donations are being made toward raising money (and doing fun stuff, too).

There are no prizes for people who donate, other than getting their names written on a big wall of people who donated, but the nerd machine will keep on chugging!

Katherine Heigl

And so, the Jenny's Wedding crew is turning to Indiegogo for the cash. So far, they've taken in US$48,000 (RM153,600) and have 15 days left to get the money.

Matt Walsh

Neil Young

With 32 days to go, he's now up to over US$3mil and counting. More like knocking on heaven's safe, am I right?

Scott Ian

So, get it while it's hot, if you're into Henry Rollins and/or fake church guitars.

Matthew Modine

It's not all that often that films that size make much money, but at least there's a shot. — Reuters

Chris Pine admits New Zealand drink driving charge

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 06:55 PM PDT

Actor's licence suspended for six months.

Star Trek actor Chris Pine pleaded guilty on March 17 to drink driving in New Zealand and had his licence suspended for six months, reports said.

Judge Joanna Maze denied an application from the American's lawyers to discharge him without conviction, saying she was "obliged to treat offenders alike".

She suspended Pine's New Zealand driver's licence for six months and fined him NZ$93 (RM260) Fairfax New Zealand reported.

Pine, who is best known for playing Captain Kirk in director J.J. Abrams's Star Trek reboot, declined to speak to media outside the Ashburton courthouse before being driven away. – AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

China to boost textile jobs in Xinjiang in stability push
Brazil to drop local data storage rule in Internet bill
Venezuelan Congress seeks probe of opposition leader over protests

China to boost textile jobs in Xinjiang in stability push

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:45 PM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to more than double the number of people working in the textile industry in the far western region of Xinjiang to help maintain social stability by drawing people away from extremism, a state newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people and strategically located on the borders of central Asia, has been beset by violence for years, blamed by the government on Islamist militants and separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

Exiles and many rights groups though say the real cause of the unrest is China's heavy-handed policies including restrictions on Islam and the Uighur people's culture and language.

The government strongly denies such accusations but it has begun to recognise the economic roots of some of the upheaval, especially underdevelopment and a lack of jobs in heavily Uighur areas like rural southern Xinjiang, and it has poured money in to rectify the problem.

In the last plan, the government wants to increase to one million people the number of people working in Xinjiang's textile industry by 2020, up from the current 200,000, the official China Daily said.

"Textiles is a labour-intensive with a long production chain. The best option is to create a large number of jobs in southern Xinjiang," Liang Yong, deputy head of a Xinjiang economic development body, told the newspaper.

More than half of China's cotton is grown in Xinjiang, much of it by a commercial arm of the country's military.

The government says young people with little education and few job prospects can be drawn to militancy.

"High school graduates who are under 28 and unemployed are much more easily manipulated by religious extremism," the paper quoted Guilistan Azez, the deputy headmaster of a school in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, as saying.

The southern Xinjiang city of Aksu will be one of the focus hubs for textile production, the report added.

The government said last month it would pump 61.66 billion yuan ($10.17 billion) in extra funds into Xinjiang this year to improve housing and employment.

State media has reported that President Xi Jinping was shifting the region's focus to maintaining stability over development, after a series of attacks last year fuelled by what the government said was religious extremism.

More than 100 people, including several policemen, have been killed in violence in Xinjiang since last April, according to state media reports.

This month, 29 people were stabbed to death at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, in an attack blamed by the government on Xinjiang militants.

In the latest incident, near Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, police shot dead a man who attacked and killed a policeman, the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday. The attacker was Uighur, judging by his name. Police provided no motive.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Brazil to drop local data storage rule in Internet bill

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:35 PM PDT

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil will drop a controversial provision that would have forced global Internet companies to store data on Brazilian users inside the country to shield them from U.S. spying, a government minister said on Tuesday.

The rule was added last year to proposed Internet governance legislation after revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency had spied on the digital communications of Brazilians, including those of their President Dilma Rousseff and the country's biggest company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Instead, the legislation will say that companies such as Google Inc and Facebook Inc are subject to Brazilian laws in cases involving information on Brazilians even if the data is stored abroad, congressional relations minister Ideli Salvatti told reporters.

She said the bill, which is opposed by Rousseff allies in the lower chamber of Congress, has enough support to be put to the vote on Wednesday.

Salvatti said the government will not negotiate a key provision in the bill on net neutrality, which has faced strong opposition from telecom companies in Brazil because it would bar them from introducing differential pricing according to Internet usage and speeds, such as higher rates for downloading videos.

Regulation of the business aspects of the new legislation can be done later by executive decree, she said.

The legislation dubbed Brazil's "Internet Constitution" protects freedom of expression, safeguards privacy and sets limits to the gathering and use of metadata on Internet users.

It ran into opposition from government allies in the PMDB party, Brazil´s largest, who opposed the net neutrality provision, while the requirement for in-country data storage had the Internet companies up in arms. They complained it would increase their costs and erect unnecessary barriers in one of the world's largest Internet markets.

However, following the spying revelations based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, requiring Internet companies to store data on Brazilians inside the country so that it could be subject to Brazilian laws became a priority for Rousseff.

Documents leaked by Snowden last year included revelations that the NSA secretly collected data stored on servers by Internet companies such as Google and Yahoo Inc.

Facebook has some 70 million users in Brazil, its third biggest market after the United States and India, and Google has a big slice of the local digital advertising market.

The reported espionage using powerful Internet surveillance programs upset relations between the United States and Brazil and led Rousseff to cancel a state visit to Washington in October and denounce massive electronic surveillance of the Internet in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, another leader allegedly spied on by the NSA, have led international efforts to limit mass electronic surveillance and Brazil will host a global conference on the future of Internet governance next month.

(Additional reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Venezuelan Congress seeks probe of opposition leader over protests

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:20 PM PDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Congress on Tuesday requested a criminal investigation of opposition deputy Maria Corina Machado for crimes including treason in relation to her involvement in anti-government protests that have left dozens dead.

Machado, a 46-year-old engineer, has been one of the most visible leaders in six weeks of opposition demonstrations against socialist President Nicolas Maduro that have unleashed the country's worst unrest in a decade.

Ruling Socialist Party legislators, who hold a majority of the seats, voted to ask the state prosecutor to investigate Machado for offenses that range from damaging buildings to inciting civil war.

"We will not permit impunity. We will ensure revenge for those deaths. We will ensure these deaths will be paid for," said legislator Tania Diaz of the ruling Socialist Party. "Anyone who violates the right to life is violating the constitution."

The move comes a month after the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who along with Machado launched a national movement at the start of the year under the banner "The Exit" that is meant to help end 15 years of socialist rule.

Tuesday's theatrical session included a slick video of Machado's anti-government activism of the last decade that highlighted her links to the United States, the Venezuelan government's ideological adversary.

Machado sat stone-faced as legislators rattled off accusations, with some legislators chanting "Justice, justice."

"I'm convinced that this attack against me is the product of a regime that's terrified by an unprecedented citizens' movement," Machado said in a defiant press conference on Tuesday night, vowing the opposition would keep up protests.

"They are determined to break us, and we are determined to win our freedom," she said, calling Maduro a dictator.

OPPOSITION HARDLINER

She cannot be tried without approval from both the state prosecutor and the Supreme Court, and another assembly vote as to whether she should be stripped of her parliamentary immunity, according to a constitutional lawyer consulted by Reuters.

Decisions by the courts and the state prosecutors' office have frequently been in line with the Socialist Party, meaning the process could take place quickly.

Machado helped turned sporadic student demonstrations in the western Andes region that began in January into a nationwide protest movement that has included both peaceful marches and violent melees between hooded youths and anti-riot troops.

She has urged demonstrators to stay in the streets to protest inflation of 57 percent, chronic product shortages and one of the world's highest rates of violent crime.

Machado, elected to Congress in 2010, is frequently pilloried by Chavez supporters as an out-of-touch elitist whose wealthy background makes her incapable of relating to the poor.

Despite her high profile during the protests, many Maduro opponents criticize her as shrill and overly confrontational.

She rose to prominence in 2003 through an organization that helped the opposition gather signatures for what would ultimately be a failed recall referendum in 2004 against the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.

That group received financing from the United States, in what Chavez call Washington's meddling in the country's affairs.

In one well-known exchange with Chavez in Congress, Machado called on him to halt state takeovers of private businesses, coining the phrase "to expropriate is to steal."

Chavez refused to enter into a debate, dismissing her by saying "an eagle doesn't hunt a fly."

Government critics point out that she signed a 2002 decree that dissolved state institutions during the de facto government that ruled for less than two days during Chavez's ouster.

She won less than 5 percent of the vote in the 2012 opposition primaries to choose a candidate who would face down Chavez in that year's election. Chavez died of cancer a year ago.

(Editing by Jan Paschal and Eric walsh)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business

Porsche to replace engines in all its 2014 911 GT3 Sports cars
Kimlun warrants see strong buying interest
Google takes consumers' wrists to next frontier with android watch

Porsche to replace engines in all its 2014 911 GT3 Sports cars

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:14 PM PDT

Porsche will replace the engines in all of its current model year 911 GT3 sports cars and has told owners to stop driving the cars because they could catch fire, the Volkswagen AG unit said on Tuesday.

Last month, Porsche from its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany said it was recalling all of the 785 of the model year 2014 911 GT3 cars produced because of the fire risk.

The action was taken after Porsche said it investigated two engine fires in which a loosened fastener caused oil to leak, which then caught fire. In the two fires, in Italy and in Switzerland, no one was injured, a Porsche official said.

Porsche is cooperating with U.S. regulators in the recall and engine replacements, and is in touch with each customer who owns one of the affected vehicles, the Porsche official said.

Porsche did not say how much it will cost to replace the 785 engines. The new engines will have "optimized fasteners," the company said.

The GT3 is the sportiest of the 16 variants of the Porsche 911 sold in the U.S. market. The GT3 is often driven by their owners on race tracks.

Of the 785 GT3 models that will have engines replaced, about 400 were shipped to the United States, and about half of those have been sold, a Porsche official said.

Other 911 models and variants are not affected.

The two-seat sports car has a base price of about $131,000 (94,200 euros) in the United States and about 137,000 euros ($191,000) in Europe.- Reuters

Kimlun warrants see strong buying interest

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:08 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Kimlun Corporation Bhd's warrants, which were listed on Wednesday, attracted heavy buying interest, with buy orders at 30.5 sen.

As at 10am, there were buy orders for 38.59 million warrants at 30.5 sen but there were no sellers, according to stock market data.

Analysts had said the theoretical fair value of the warrants would be 58 sen per warrant.

The share price, however, slipped three sen to RM1.53. Turnover was 319,100 shares done at prices ranging from RM1.53 to RM1.55.

Kimlun's corporate exercise had involved a renounceable rights issue of 60.112 million new 50 sen shares at RM1.10 each on the basis of one for every four existing shares with 60.11 million free detachable warrants.

The warrants were issued on the basis of one warrant for every one rights shares subscribed on Feb 18 at an issue price of RM1.10 per rights shares.

Google takes consumers' wrists to next frontier with android watch

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:05 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO: Voice-controlled smartwatches that track heart rates and connect to phones and tablets will debut later this year as Google Inc partners with electronics, technology and fashion companies to take consumers to the next promised frontier in computing.

Google on Tuesday unveiled plans to help develop the watches and other wearable computers based on its Android mobile operating system, which already runs more than three out of four smartphones sold worldwide.

The Android Wear project is open to software makers to create apps for the watches, putting Google at the forefront of efforts to jumpstart the nascent wearable computing market.

The news comes as speculation swirls around iPhone-maker Apple Inc's plans for wearable computers, including a smartwatch of its own. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has promised new "product categories" later this year.

A video posted on Google's blog on Tuesday showed people speaking into their watches to check sports scores, control music, send replies to text messages and even open their home garages.

By aligning itself with a broad spectrum of partners to develop the smartwatches, Google is hoping to replicate the success that helped make its free Android software the most popular smartphone operating system, analysts said.

LG Electronics said on Tuesday it would introduce its first Android watch, the G Watch, in the second quarter. Motorola said its Moto 360 Android watch would be available this summer. Fossil Group Inc, which makes watches, handbags and other accessories, also announced that it was working with Google on Android devices.

Many believe wearable computers represent the next big shift in technology, just as smartphones evolved from personal computers, but efforts by various companies so far have had mixed results.

Samsung was among the first to sell a smartwatch for consumers, but its maiden effort, the Galaxy Gear, was widely panned by reviewers.

Google's announcement "definitely gives wearables a status that it's a market in its own right and it needs to be treated with the respect that a separate operating system branch gives it," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Kantar World Panel.

FITNESS TRACKERS

Android smartwatches will connect wirelessly to a mobile phone and can be outfitted with a variety of sensors, Google said. That means that apps developed for Android watches will be able to monitor fitness and health information such as a wearer's heart rate or distance jogged.

Google released an Android Wear Developer Preview on Tuesday, saying it would allow software makers to begin creating specialized apps for the watches.

Google has also been developing Google Glass, a small stamp-sized screen attached to a pair of eyeglass frames. Google Glass can record video, access email, provide turn-by-turn driving directions and retrieve info from the Web by connecting wirelessly to a user's cell phone, but it has also raised concerns ranging from privacy intrusions to distracted driving.

Smartwatches have a better chance of catching on with the general public than Google Glass, said Ramon Llamas, an analyst with industry research firm IDC.

"It's a really cool idea, but there's something that creeps people out about it," Llamas said of Google Glass.

The success of smartwatches will depend on the device's price, battery life and the appeal of the watches' designs, he said.

Motorola said it would share more details about its forthcoming Moto 360 smartwatch when it holds a special online press conference on Wednesday. Google recently announced plans to sell its Motorola business to Chinese PC-maker Lenovo Group Ltd.

Juniper Research expects more than 130 million smart wearable devices will ship by 2018. Moreover, global shipments of wearable "smart glasses" alone will reach 10 million each year by 2018, compared with an estimated 87,000 in 2013, according to the research firm.

MUST HAVE OR NICE TO HAVE?

Google, whose projects range from self-driving cars to robots, likely sees smartwatches as part of the future evolution of computing, said Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler. But he said it remained to be seen whether smartwatches will become an indispensable digital accessory or a "nice-to-have" gadget.

"At this point I would still view it as a niche product," he said.

Among the more than 10 companies that are partnering with Google on Android watches are Samsung Electronics Co, HTC Corp, Asustek Computer Inc, Intel Corp, Qualcomm Inc, Broadcom Corp and Mediatek Inc.

Qualcomm and its manufacturing customers are working on "multiple" wearable devices based on its Snapdragon processors, spokesman Jon Carvill said. He declined to elaborate.

"We've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with mobile technology," Google said in a post on its official blog on Tuesday. "That's why we're so excited about wearables — they understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word."

Shares of Google closed 1.6 percent higher at $1,211.22 on Tuesday. Shares of Fossil Group rose 4.6 percent to $118.04.- Reuters

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Clash of the titans

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

Marvel and DC are set on a cinematic crash course, with both houses intent on releasing blockbuster comic hero movies on the same day in May 2016.

Marvel already had the May 6 date staked out for an unnamed entry in its ongoing filmhouse franchise when Warner Bros announced its own Superman vs. Batman flick would move from July 2015 onto Marvel's May day.

Zack Snyder is to direct, with Ben Affleck cast as Batman and Henry Cavill returning as Supes.

Affleck has already appeared in the lead role of Daredevil (2003) and as 1950s Superman actor George Reeves in Hollywoodland (2006).

Now, The Hollywood Reporter claims to have unveiled the Marvel film's secret identity – none other than a third Captain America film, whose second part releases end of this month.

Previously, Captain America: The First Avenger banked US$370mil (RM1.2bil) following its 2011 release, on a budget of US$140mil (RM459mil), while this year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier has a budget of US$170mil (RM557mil). – AFP Relaxnews

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

Susceptible
The October List
Break My Heart 1,000 Times

Susceptible

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

ARE we genetically destined to turn into our parents and repeat their mistakes?

This question haunts Susceptible, the graphic memoir of Canadian artist, writer and musician Geneviève Castrée.

Some of us would have railed at the unfair cards life has dealt us – admit it, you must have whined "If only we could choose our parents!" once or twice. At least when you wondered what it would have been like to have a trust fund or blue blood. But Castree admirably sidesteps this in her courageous autobiography.

She begins her life story with her "birth" – as a small child caught up in the veins of a leafy shrub.

"I often think about what is innate and what is acquired ... I wonder if it is possible for a sadness to be passed from one generation to the other," she asks.

As she struggles to escape her "veiny prison", her wild fetters bind her tighter and tighter to the point of suffocation, until her umbilical cord is suddenly cut.

Release, unfortunately, does not bring the freedom it promised, we discover as her life unfolds.

Going by her nickname Goglu, Castree draws us into her troubled adolescence through a lyrical span of cycles and circles of images and text. Her world is shaped by her emotionally-stunted mother Amere and the men she gets involved with: her absent father Tete d'Oeuf who sees her as an unwanted burden, and her abusive "stepfather" Amer, who not only rejects Goglu but also isolates her from her mother by setting the coke-snorting and free-loving Amere further along her self-destructive path.

As a child, Goglu's only escape from her harsh daily reality is her daydreams, especially of her distant father who she remembers fondly riding away into the bright light. (Later, she realises he is in British Columbia, "a mythical kingdom where dads go to disappear".)

She then seeks refuge in art and punk rock as she stumbles towards adulthood with its promise of independence.

Goglu finds herself repeating her mother's mistakes though, from drugs and hooking up with the wrong men, to getting knocked up at 17.

In an attempt to break the cycle that seems to be predestined for her, Goglu decides to terminate the pregnancy and take control of her fate.

Heavy stuff for a graphic novel, you say?

Funnily, despite the dire circumstances of Goglu's life, Susceptible is not as bleak and miserable as you might expect.

The deeper we get into Goglu's seemingly hopeless existence, the stronger her relentless spirit shines.

Castree's approach to her memoir, and its resulting tone, are the reasons why. Told retrospectively in bursts of memories, the story gives us the impression that time has given her the strength to stand back from her painful past and assess it objectively.

Instead of blaming her mother for all her woes, like many confessional memoirs do, Goglu tries to understand the societal forces that shaped her mother's life and which in turn, are shaping hers.

It has also allowed Castree to infuse the darkest episodes of her life with some dry humour and wit.

One such surreal, but hilarious chapter is House Fire 1, which depicts how her mother and a lover deal with a television that catches fire in the middle of the night.

There is a certain glibness to the narration; what did not kill her has made Goglu a stronger woman.

Yet Castree does not try to make light of her ordeal either; the accompanying text to her intricate drawings is in small, cursive fonts that force you to look closely at her experiences in all their grim details. They demand attention, and do not allow you to detach yourself from the story.

Another striking feature of Susceptible is how Castree makes use of her space – there are the more traditional panels and word balloons, but most of the memoir is told in blank pages that leave the characters floating in white space. The open, empty spaces are both foreboding and comforting, assuring us that Goglu can free herself from her fate, no matter how uncertain it is.

And this is how the book closes, with Goglu finally making the break from her mother – "I am eighteen. I have all my teeth. I can do whatever I want."

The October List

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

A race against time, with the clock going backwards!

IT is a common cliche: saying that someone does something so well, he could do it backwards.

In his latest novel, The October List, however, American author Jeffrey Deaver does just that. His tightly plotted thriller begins with the climax in its final chapter, and moves in reverse to where things began.

A striking way of telling a story, to be sure. But what is most striking about Deaver's novel is that he actually pulls it off!

Deaver's name will probably be familiar to thriller fans: he is, after all, the creator of beloved detectives Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance. His works include The Devil's Teardrop, The Broken Window and Carte Blanche, as well as The Bone Collector, which was made into a film in 1999 starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.

Deaver has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association as well as the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year.

The October List tells the tale of Gabriela, a single mother whose daughter has been kidnapped. Her kidnappers, led by the sinister Joseph, demand she pay them half a million dollars as well as find a mysterious document known as the "October List". On her side, however, is the dashing Daniel Reardon, a rough-and-ready action hero type who will do all he can to help.

The novel opens with Gabriela and Daniel facing the kidnappers with a gun, and moves backwards to the trigger point of these events. Twists and turns are aplenty: literally everybody in this story is not what they seem, with all of them possessing secrets of their own.

The October List's unusual format will no doubt draw comparisons to other stories with fractured timelines, such as Christopher Nolan's movie, Memento, or Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. In his Foreword, however, Deaver reveals that the main inspiration for his book was, surprisingly, a Broadway musical: Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Go Along, which also moves in reverse.

Let us address the elephant in the room: the novel's unusual format is very frustrating in the start. Having to constantly remind yourself that Chapter 2 happens BEFORE Chapter 1 can be quite a chore, and may cause readers with poor concentration to give up entirely.

Once you are accustomed to reverse gear, however, Deaver's novel makes for a refreshing and satisfying read. The October List is very well-plotted, and would probably be a decent tale even without its unique format. The story's characters are interesting: while many of them seem like stock characters in the beginning, it quickly becomes clear that this is not the case.

Deaver uses backward storytelling very effectively, even managing to create humour with it. Throughout the entire book, people refer to Reardon as looking like "that actor": however, it is not until Chapter 1 that we discover who it is!

This unusual style, however, is not without its flaws. For example, a lot of exposition is used to keep the reader updated, which can feel tiresome at times. Backwards storytelling also means it is difficult for The October List to build momentum: instead, Deaver builds suspense by throwing his readers headlong into the plot, and letting them discover things by themselves. One chapter has a mild mannered character recall an act of killing: what exactly happened? Another chapter has Gabriela and Reardon finding the October List. But how did they get there?

Characters are interesting, although it is difficult to really feel connected to them. Kepler and Surani, the two incompetent detectives attached to the case, are fun to read about, but the most fascinating character by a long shot is the mysterious Joseph, who seems capable of doing anything to achieve his goals.

Things are also wrapped together a bit too nicely at the end (or should we say the beginning?) as all plot threads are resolved in a long expository conversation by the main characters. A little more ambiguity would have been nice: The October List goes so out of its way to explain everyone's fate that it can feel a little contrived.

Those minor nit picks aside, however, you will probably be very entertained by Deaver's latest novel. Deaver is called "the master of the plot twist" for good reason: some of The October List's shock developments will definitely keep you on tenterhooks.

Overall, The October List feels like a bit of a gimmick; to its credit, though, it is a very well-executed one. A gripping read, once you get used to the unusual format.

Break My Heart 1,000 Times

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

LOOKING at the cover and title of this book, I thought that Break My Heart 1,000 Times would be a sappy love story about a girl (it's always the girl who gets her heart broken, yes?) pining for a boy to reciprocate her undying love. Gosh, was I wrong. No, really. If I had bet my life on guessing the content of the book based on its cover, I would have written this review from my grave (assuming that my parents didn't decide to cremate me). Whoa, morbid much?

But, hey, how else do you expect me to react after staying up all night to read a young adult novel that revolves around a world in which ghosts pop up at unexpected places and roam freely during daylight like they belong with the undead?

Veronica Calder is your average teenager who just happens to live in a house with her mother and the ghosts of her father – who appears at 7.13am every morning just in time for breakfast – and a random boy – who appears in the bathroom every time she takes a shower.

However, these occurrences are nothing out of the ordinary for Veronica, her mother or anyone else in the world because after an incident, which is only referred to as The Event, happened and mysteriously killed two million people instantaneously, ghosts are regular fixtures everywhere.

However, trouble starts when Veronica's secondary school teacher August Bittner, a widower, starts showing a non-sexual but super creepy interest in her; Veronica is disturbed not only by his unwanted attention inside the classroom but also and eventually finds him following her even outside school hours.We eventually discover that, years ago, August lost his only daughter on Feb 29 – which is coincidentally Veronica's birthday – and figures that he has found a way to bring his daughter back by giving her the right body to "live" in. Yes, he believes that Veronica is the perfect host for his daughter's lost soul, and she is the key to reuniting his broken family. Well, August's plan seems pretty simple except for the fact that Veronica is alive and he needs her dead – on her birthday no less.

Sensing that her life is at risk, Veronica tries to prove that August is not the innocent ol' teacher that he pretends to be and that she may not his be first nor only victim in his crazy scheme. And along the way, Veronica gets into various dangerous situations, almost making the former's plan to kill her totally redundant.

The author successfully keeps the storyline moving at a fast pace without confusing the readers with too much information or fancy words that maybe only 3% of the world population understands.

More importantly, the author has done an excellent job of not portraying the protagonist as an annoying teenage girl that you want to kill yourself.

Veronica is a brave, level-headed, clever and compassionate girl who seems like a good role model for young readers to look up to.

She is a good student who loves her family and friends, unafraid to face her fears and definitely is not a … you know, that word that rhymes with "witch".

Break My Heart 1,000 Times is an easy read that takes less than a couple of hours to finish, although two things might keep replaying in your head way after you have put the book down. First, the question: Who the heck suggested the title, which has nothing to do with the story whatsoever? Secondly, the inevitable lesson that you learn at the end of it all: never judge a book by its cover. Oh yeah, lesson totally learned.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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Kajang by-election via Instagram
VMY unaffected by 'setbacks'
Jilted singer leaks naked photos of ex

Kajang by-election via Instagram

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Snapshots of bustling Kajang town as it enters by-election season.

VMY unaffected by 'setbacks'

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Programmes for Visit Malaysia Year 2014 will go on as planned despite "setbacks" such as the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane and the deaths from drug overdose at the Future Music Festival Asia 2014.

VMY 2014 secretariat general manager Nor Yahati Awang said the tourism industry is sensitive and such incidents were rather unfortunate.

"People will try to connect such incidents with the industry, unfortunately.

"Thankfully, all the programmes are going on as planned," she told reporters after attending the launch of the Menara Kuala Lumpur Commemorative Book in conjunction with VMY 2014 yesterday.

Menara Kuala Lumpur chairman Datuk Wira Othman Abdul launched the book titled Menara KL Towering Excellence.

On the six people who reportedly died of drug overdose at the Future Music Festival Asia 2014 in Bukit Jalil, Nor Yahati said all necessary precautions were taken before organising any event.

"In all our events, we cooperate with the authorities, including the police, without fail. We get clearance from the authorities first and we take all precautionary measures.

"What happened was unexpected," said Nor Yahati.

The Future Music Festival Asia is supported by Malaysia Major Events, a division of the Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau, an agency under the Ministry Of Tourism And Culture.

The deaths forced organisers to cancel its show last Friday.

The police said the victims all tested positive for drugs and the deaths were due to overdose.

Three people were reported to be in critical condition.

The three-day festival featured international acts like Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharrell Williams, Rudimental and Porter Robinson.

Jilted singer leaks naked photos of ex

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

A PUB singer in Singapore put up 100 nude photographs of his ex-girlfriend on the Internet after she dumped him, reported China Press.

The woman, a 26-year-old web producer, told Singapore daily The New Paper that the man, whom she dated for about three years, had hounded her for naked pictures of herself for him to "admire".

She was reluctant at first, but relented when the guy told her to prove her love by sending him the photos.

She first sent him half-nude photos of herself, but he was not satisfied, insisting on fully undressed ones.

Not long ago, she went through the man's phone and found such photos of other women in it. She promptly broke up with him.

She later found out that the ex-boyfriend had released her nude photos via his Facebook account, saying he would only remove the photos if she reunited with him.

She finally told her family about it. They then went to talk to the man and lodged a police report.

> Sin Chew Daily reported that a housewife found a dead 1.5m dugong, riddled with injuries on its head and body, on a beach in Papar, Sabah.

Roslina Amin, 52, was visiting the beach with her children on Saturday afternoon when she saw the carcass of the mammal, which fishermen in the area believed had been dead for about three days.

● Found in Translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.

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Selasa, 18 Mac 2014