Friday, March 31, 2017
Malaysian wins Best Supporting Actor Award In Indonesia - Congratulations are in order for Malaysian actor Chew Kin Wah.
He received the Best Supporting Actor award (Pemeran Pendukung Pria Terbaik) at the prestigious Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards 2017 (IBOMA) recently his role in the Indonesian flick Cek Toko Sebelah. Chew beat other nominees like Indonesian actors Alex Abbad and Cornelio Sunny for the award.
According to a report on bintang.com, Chew was surprised by his win. “Cek Toko Sebelah was a film made with honesty. There were no special effects. No overseas shoot. We had a simple story. Thank you for this honour. I don’t know what to say,” he said in his acceptance speech.
In Cek Toko Sebelah, Chew plays Koh Afuk, a store owner looking to pass down the family’s store business to son Edwin (Ernest Prakasa). However, Edwin is reluctant to take over the business as he has his own successful career. Cek Toko Sebelah was the big winner at the star-studded event held in Jakarta, Indonesia as it also took home awards for Best Supporting Actress (Asri Wilas), Best Screenplay (Ernest), Best Newcomer (Gisella Anastasia), Best Poster and the top prize, Best Film.
The comedy released in December last year was a major box office hit in Indonesia, drawing in over two million viewers.
Cricket - New Zealand's World Cup Hero Elliott Quits Internationals - Grant Elliott, who smashed a six off South Africa paceman Dale Steyn to put New Zealand into their maiden World Cup final in 2015, has confirmed his retirement from international cricket after signing a deal to play in England's Twenty20 competition.
The all-rounder joins New Zealand internationals Colin de Grandhomme and Jeetan Patel at the Birmingham Bears after signing a Kolpak deal, which means he gives up his right to play for his country and is not classed as an overseas player in county cricket.
The South Africa-born 38-year-old confirmed his retirement from the Black Caps after an awards night on Thursday.
"Loved playing with the @BLACKCAPS and to have made some special friendships along the way. A team environment I will never forget," he wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of himself with New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee and captain Kane Williamson.
Elliott played 83 one-day internationals and five test matches, with his last New Zealand match in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 against England a year ago.
A destructive batsman when on song and a handy swing bowler, Elliott will be remembered in New Zealand for his starring role for the co-hosts at the World Cup.
He scored an unbeaten 84 in the Auckland semi-final, with his six on the second-last ball sending a packed Eden Park into raptures, while leaving a number of South Africa players in tears.
He then top-scored for the Black Caps with 83 in their loss to Australia in the final.
You’re Never Too Old To Enjoy Italy - We went to Europe for sightseeing in August 2015.
It took us months of preparation. We went online well in advance to buy train tickets for our trip from Rome to Salzburg – the “Rome of the North” – as well as entrance tickets to the Colosseum and the Vatican.
We arrived early morning in Rome and made our way to explore the world-renowned Colosseum. After that, we spent some time strolling along the Roman Forum before sampling some of the finest Italian pizza for dinner.
Rome is known not only for its iconic buildings, but also skilful pickpockets. I lost my medicine in my handbag without realising it.
The following day, we visited the Vatican. Although art is not my cup of tea, Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling was amazing. We also visited St Peter’s Basilica, one of the largest churches in the world. After that, we enjoyed sampling gelato ice-cream before moving to the Roman Pantheon, which was once dedicated to all the pagan gods.
We did not miss the beautiful Spanish Steps at the Piazza di Spagna and Trevi Fountain. Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was under renovation. Still we were able to admire this exceptional Baroque masterpiece made famous by a number of movies. As for dinner, we found a Chinese restaurant to dine in.
On the third day, we moved on to Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. On the day of our arrival, we wandered around the city (which is almost like a museum in itself), spotted The Duomo, visited David (the famous statue) and crossed over the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. There were many stalls on the bridge and we managed to buy some souvenirs.
We went on a guided tour of: a vineyard in Chianti, for wine-tasting; the unique medieval cities of Sienna and San Gimignano; and Pisa, to see the famous leaning tower.
Our tour guide spoke in English and gave detailed information on these places. We were told that Carlo Collodi (real name: Carlo Lorenzini), the author of The Adventures Of Pinocchio, used Collodi as his pen name because he was brought up in the town of Collodi.
After we checked out of our hotel in Florence, we caught an early train to Verona. We wanted to spend half a day in Verona before crossing partially over Germany to Salzburg, Austria. In fact, we had our breakfast in the train. We also enjoyed some sumptuous Italian pizza for lunch in the captivating Piazza delle Erbe, before visiting Juliet’s Balcony (of Romeo And Juliet fame).
We boarded the afternoon train and planned to reach Salzburg by midnight. Everything seemed ordinary until we heard that there was a substantial number of refugees on board! We found out that Germany and Austria were accepting these Syrian refugees. Because of this, some parts of the Germany-Austria border were closed. Nevertheless, a replacement bus service was provided to ferry us to the main railway station in Salzburg. In spite of the delay, we managed to contact our hotel to keep the room for us.
The next morning, we went for a saltmine tour in Hallein, Austria. We learned the history of the salt industry in Salzburg. Despite being a septuagenarian, I could slide down two extra-long wooden slides inside the mine. After that, we visited the Celtic Museum. In the Iron Age, the Celtic tribes occupied some parts of Europe. Unfortunately, the nearby Silent Night Museum was closed that day. When we returned to Salzburg, we indulged in a buffet meal in a Chinese restaurant.
On our second day in Austria, we bought tickets for the hop-on hop-off Sound Of Music bus tour from the main railway station. We visited notable places like Mozart’s residence, the shopping street Getreidegasse (where we bought some Mozart Chocolate), Mirabell Gardens and Hellbrunn Palace. On our way out of the palace, we spotted the huge gazebo where the song Sixteen Going On Seventeen (in The Sound of Music movie) was sung.
We took an overnight train, sleeping in the couchette compartments that had six beds (just nice for the six of us), to Venice. We spent a night there to catch the night view of the splendid city before returning to Malaysia.
Tricks You Can Do To Avoid Neck Pain At Work - Sometimes all it takes is something small: exposure to a cold draught, sleeping on the wrong pillow or sitting tensely at a computer for a long time.
You wake up the next morning with a neck so stiff that you can hardly turn your head. It’s a problem almost everyone has had.
“Extended sitting, poor posture at an office, unaccustomed or uneven strain on the body, and also, stress can cause neck tension,” says physiotherapist Ute Merz.
Poor posture puts undue strain on muscles. Taking a few simple precautionary measures, however, generally proves effective.
“If you sit in an office all day, you should make sure that your workplace is ergonomically friendly – for example, that the computer-monitor viewing angle, chair height and lighting are right,” Merz says.
It’s also important to change your seating position as often as possible. She advises standing up more frequently, making telephone calls while standing every once in a while, and consciously sitting down with your neck and back straight.
Although neck pain normally goes away by itself after a few days, the first signs of tension shouldn’t be ignored, she says.
If exercises to counteract it aren’t begun immediately, she warns, there’s a risk of recurrent headaches.
“Tension in certain neck muscles is closely linked to migraine attacks,” notes Dr Florian Heinen, a neuropaediatrician.
People should see a doctor if they’re unable to get rid of their neck pain themselves.
The same goes if the pain radiates into their arms or their hands suddenly go numb.
The problem could be a pinched nerve or spinal damage.
“Sometimes, muscle tension has the protective function of preventing certain motions when there’s a spinal disorder,” says Dr Bernd Kladny, an orthopaedic and casualty surgeon.
A definite cause such as a herniated disk that’s putting pressure on nerves must be treated immediately, but such cases are fairly rare. An examining doctor frequently finds no physical problem.
“Sometimes, the culprit is what’s colloquially called locked-up joints,” Dr Kladny says.
In this case, flexibility must be restored to the cervical vertebrae in the neck by means of a cervical manipulation, also known as a chiropractic adjustment, or stretching therapies.
Treatment is more complicated if neck tension has become chronic, that is, has persisted for three months or more. “When pain is chronic, it becomes an illness itself and a cause is frequently no longer found,” Dr Kladny says.
Psychological factors typically play a key role. Stress leads to muscle tension, and persistent muscle tension can lead to anxiety and depression, causing more stress.
To break this vicious cycle, individual treatment plans must be made that also take the patient’s mental health and social environment into account.
U.S. U.N. Ambassador Says Washington's Focus No Longer On Removing Assad In Syria - The United States' diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer focused on making the war-torn country's president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama administration's initial and public stance on Assad's fate.
The view of the Trump administration is also at odds with European powers, who insist Assad must step down. The shift drew a strong rebuke from at least two Republican senators.
"You pick and choose your battles and when we're looking at this, it's about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told a small group of reporters.
"Do we think he's a hindrance? Yes. Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No," she said. "What we are going to focus on is putting the pressure in there so that we can start to make a change in Syria."
In Ankara on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Assad's longer-term status "will be decided by the Syrian people."
The Obama administration, in its later years, was focused on reaching a deal with Russia that would eventually see Assad go, though it also shifted its focus to the fight against Islamic State militants, who captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
As presidential nominee, Donald Trump said defeating Islamic State was a higher priority than persuading Assad to step down.
"We can't necessarily focus on Assad the way that the previous administration did," said Haley, a former governor of South Carolina. "Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria."
On Wednesday, Haley accused Russia, Iran and the "Assad regime" of committing war crimes. She has also said the United States supports the U.N.-led Syria peace talks, that Syria could no longer be a "safe haven for terrorists" and that it was important "we get Iran and their proxies out."
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that Haley's remarks reflected "a measure of just realism, accepting the facts on the ground. ... Assad is never going to have sufficient force to reassert control over the whole country. ... Our focus is on defeating ISIS and al Qaeda and preventing Syria from being used as a terrorist safe haven.”
But Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, in separate, strongly worded statements, denounced the shift in the U.S. stance.
McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tillerson's statement "overlooks the tragic reality that the Syrian people cannot decide the fate of Assad or the future of their country when they are being slaughtered" by Assad's military, Russia's air force and Iranian-backed militias.
"I hope President Trump will make clear that America will not follow this self-destructive and self-defeating path," McCain said, adding that U.S. allies could fear a bargain with Assad and Russia "sealed with an empty promise of counterterrorism cooperation."
Graham, who like McCain is a foreign policy hawk and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said it would be a "grave mistake" to drop the removal of Assad as an objective, and would be crushing news to the Syrian opposition and U.S. allies in the region.
In addition, leaving Assad in power is "a great reward for Russia and Iran," Graham said.
CONTRADICTORY MESSAGES
Syrian opposition member Farah al-Attasi said the State Department and the White House were sending contradictory messages on Syria and should start leading and not focus exclusively on fighting Islamic State.
Britain and France reinforced their stance on Assad earlier on Thursday.
French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters: "Assad is not and cannot be the future of his country."
Robert Ford, who resigned in 2014 as U.S. ambassador to Syria over policy disagreements, said the U.S. government's policy since late 2014 had been to focus more specifically on the fight against Islamic State as well as al Qaeda, "even if it never acknowledged that its focus on Syria had shifted."
"Ambassador Haley's remarks just confirm that the Trump administration is following the same path," said Ford, who is now a fellow at the Middle East Institute and senior fellow at Yale.
Since the uprising that led to the six-year-long civil war in Syria, the Obama administration had insisted Assad must go.
But in mid-2014 as Washington increased support to moderate rebels to fight Assad's regime, U.S. officials privately conceded Assad was not going anywhere soon and admitted the difficulty in removing him.
By September 2015, then-Secretary of State Kerry said Assad had to go but the timing of his departure should be decided through negotiation.
It Was Tense Until We Left North Korean Airspace, Says Pilot - Despite having flown rescue missions into conflict areas like Libya, Lt Colonel Hasrizan Kamis, who flew the nine stranded Malaysian embassy staff in North Korea home, only started breathing easy upon leaving North Korean airspace.
The airman, who has 26 years experience under his belt, flew with a Royal Malaysian Air Force crew of two pilots, two co-pilots and two quartermasters.
Hasrizan said the crew had pretended to be civilian pilots to stay on the safe side.
"We got the standby order on Monday and took off on a Bombardier Global Express business jet around 10.30am on Thursday from Subang air base.
"We were not sure what to expect as we entered North Korean air space," he said when met at the Bunga Raya Complex of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday.
However, Hasrizan said there was nothing unusual during the whole trip.
"The only issue was that there was a long delay between the time we landed in Pyongyang, at 4.30pm Malaysian time, and the time we were allowed to take off, at around 7.45pm," he said, adding that he didn't know the reason for the delay.
The flight then stopped at Fuzhou Changle airport in China to refuel before returning to Malaysia.
"I am just thankful that we were able to bring our countrymen home," he said.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Review: Ghost In The Shell - In one Ghost In The Shell scene, Scarlett Johansson’s Major does a “deep dive” into the cyber-mind of a compromised android, in which she really gets into its mind, memories, and every deep, dark secret that it might have.
It’s too bad the movie itself doesn’t do the same thing with its source material.
This Hollywood version of the iconic manga/anime is more like a shallow dip into that cyberpunk world than a deep dive.
Johansson stars as Major Mira Killen, an agent of counter-terrorism unit Section 9, which also includes agents Batou (Pilou Asbæk), Togusa (Chin Han) and led by Chief Daisuke Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano).
Fully cybernetic apart from her brain, Major is a cyborg with superhuman capabilities, but has no memory of her life before her brain was transferred to this body. After a run-in with a hacker called Kuze (Michael Pitt), she starts getting glitches in memories, and soon learns that her past is not what she thinks it is.
Created by Masamune Shirow, Ghost In The Shell began life as a manga called Kokaku Kidotai (“Mobile Armoured Riot Police”), that ran from 1989 to 1990.
The manga spawned a franchise that included two television series, video games and three feature-length anime movies – the most iconic of which was 1995’s Ghost In The Shell, directed by Mamoru Oshii.
It is from that Oshii’s film that this version draws most of its influences.
ALSO READ: Pete Teo gets punched in the face for Ghost In The Shell.
From the iconic opening “shelling sequence” in which Major’s brain is transplanted into her cybernetic body, to the camo fight scene, some of the film’s best scenes were lifted directly from the anime.
Visually, the movie is stunning, and the faithful reenactment of some of the anime’s more iconic scenes will certainly please the fans.
However, the visual brilliance of the movie only slightly mask the hollowness of the movie’s shell.
Much has been said about the film’s supposed “white-washing” in casting Johansson as The Major, who was originally a Japanese woman called Motoko Kusanagi.
While it can be quite distracting to have an actress as well-known as Johansson in the role, the real issue here isn’t who the actress is, but rather, why her Major is such a major letdown.
The “ghost” in the title refers to the human soul residing inside a cybernetic “shell”, but there is hardly any soul in the way Johansson’s character is portrayed.
In the manga, Major is a feisty, almost comical character who is completely self-aware of just what she is.
In the 1995 anime, she is a lot more serious, and philosophises a lot about her own existence.
The Hollywood version, however, dumbs her character down to a brooding superhero, and dilutes the existential philosophising to a simple question of “Who am I?”.
It’s not just Major who gets that treatment. The orginial franchise’s science fiction concepts, technologies and futuristic elements form the foundation of the Ghost In The Shell universe, but director Rupert Sanders merely uses them as visual candy or plot devices to move the action from one scene to another.
And don’t even get me started on Cutter (Peter Ferdinando), an appropriately named cookie-cutter corporate bad guy who just sees Major as an asset.
This over-simplification of the original franchise’s themes and characters is what frustrates the most about the movie.
While it is understandable that the producers might have wanted a simpler version of the story to introduce the franchise to non-fans, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this would have been a much better movie had it featured a fully-formed Major instead of one who is still obviously in the infancy of her development.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying Cruise Into Second Round At Indian Open - Shuttlers Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying hit the ground running to check into the mixed doubles second round at the Indian Open.
The world No. 6 didn’t put a foot wrong as they thumped homesters Venkat Gaurav Prasad-Juhi Dewangan 21-12, 21-12 in the first round in New Delhi yesterday.
It was the perfect start for the Olympic silver medallists who are still reeling from the narrow three-game loss to China’s Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong at the All-England final two weeks ago.
Fourth seeds Peng Soon-Liu Ying next face Indonesia’s Edi Subaktiar-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, who edged the Malaysian-Indian pairing of K. Yogendran-Prajakta Sawant 21-16, 16-21, 21-16, for a place in the quarter-finals.
“The Indian pair were not very strong, but it was a good warm-up ahead of the tougher matches to come. We have not played Edi-Gloria before but we’ll be well prepared,” said Peng Soon.
Liu Ying, who had operations on her two knees in 2015, added: “It was good that today’s match wasn’t tough. And I didn’t need to strain myself too much as my knees still hurt every now and then. ”
In the men’s doubles, world No. 2 Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong also got off to a winning start to move into the second round.
Top seeds V Shem-Wee Kiong were, however, given a scare by Thailand’s world No. 28 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kedren Kittinupong before prevailing 21-17, 21-19.
V Shem-Wee Kiong, who were the Indian Open semi-finalists last year, will meet the Indo-Malaysian pair of Hendra Setiawan-Tan Boon Heong in the second round.
World No. 93 Hendra-Boon Heong, who came through the qualifiers, eliminated homesters Ketan Chahal-Tanveer Gill 21-15, 21-15.
Survey: People Who Travel Are More Interesting - Just got out of a relationship? At a crossroads in your career? Stuck in an overall life rut? Book a trip to a new destination or hit the road solo for the first time. Because according to the results of a new survey, the thrill of stepping out of your comfort zone is the key to rebuilding your confidence, broadening your horizons and ultimately finding success.
Those are the findings of a new global survey, which asked more than 15,000 respondents in 20 countries to share how first-time travel – be it their first time travelling abroad, to a new destination, or travelling solo – changed their lives.
In the survey, commissioned by online site Booking.com, nearly two-thirds (65%) agreed that undertaking a new travel experience helped increase their confidence.
Respondents also said their experiences helped them meet new people (40%); cook and eat new types of food (43% ); learn a new language (29%); and inspired them to learn about another culture (29%).
The inverse is also true, with 61% agreeing that people who are well-travelled tend to be more interesting compared to homebodiesa who have never gone abroad. Nearly half (45%) also perceived globetrotters as more successful in their lives and careers.
Some of the respondents who stepped out of their comfort zone to undertake a new travel challenge also reaped dramatic rewards, with one in 10 reporting that a first-time travel experience has led to a new job or relationship.
For a sizeable 21%, their travel experience was also credited with a life move to a completely new destination.
“The adrenalin and confidence boost that travelling somewhere for the first time gives us makes it irresistible.
“Our first time travel experiences open our minds, sparks our imagination and inspires us to continue trying something new or change direction in life.
“Once you catch the travel bug, it’s simply contagious,” said Pepijn Rijvers, chief marketing officer at Booking.com.
In another Booking.com survey of 12,780 people, nearly half (45%) of respondents said they plan to be more adventurous in 2017 and try new things.
The most popular first-time experiences cited among respondents included volunteering trips (21%), spiritual adventures (23% ), eco-tours (39%), and road trips (44%).
When Your Child Is Allergic To Food - Allergenic foods are basically foods that are known to cause allergies in certain individuals.
A food allergy is a result of an immune system response to the presence of specific food types. It is different from food intolerance, which is a digestive system response (e.g. what happens when your child’s body has difficulty digesting food).
There are eight major types of allergenic foods, namely milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybean.
Recognising food allergy
In general, the symptoms associated with food allergies can be difficult to connect to specific foods. Typical allergy symptoms include hives; flushed skin or rash; mouth feels tingly or itchy; face, tongue or lip swelling; vomiting and/or diarrhoea; abdominal cramps; coughing or wheezing; dizziness and/or light-headedness; swelling of the throat and vocal cords; difficulty breathing; and loss of consciousness.
Since young children may not know how to adequately describe the symptoms, they may say things like “My mouth feels tingly” or “My tongue feels heavy/numb”. The key is to stay alert for any signs of distress which could indicate an allergic reaction.
Food allergies often cause symptoms within two hours of ingestion, with some reactions happening within minutes. However, there are very rare cases where the reaction is delayed by up to six hours or more.
There is another type of food allergy with delayed reaction known as Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). This is a severe gastrointestinal reaction which usually occurs two to six hours after consuming milk, soy, certain grains or certain solid foods.
It typically occurs in young infants exposed to these foods for the first time. FPIES can lead to episodes of repetitive vomiting, which in turn can lead to dehydration. Some babies will even develop bloody diarrhoea.
While food allergies can be serious, there are steps you can take to manage this condition. Once food allergy is suspected, a diagnostic test should be done to complement the clinical history. This is done via a skin prick test or a blood test.
Handling food allergy
Once you have ascertained that your child has a food allergy, the best thing that can be done is to avoid the food in question, especially if she exhibits a severe reaction. Do note that if she has an allergy to a specific food, she may also be allergic to other related foods, e.g. one who is allergic to shrimp may also be allergic to crab.
Pay more attention to the ingredients list when you go grocery shopping.
Major allergenic foods may be listed clearly, e.g. “lecithin” (soy), “flour” (wheat), and “whey” (milk).
Some manufacturers may use a statement on the packaging stating that their product contains certain ingredients, e.g. “contains wheat, milk, and soy”.
There are also some manufacturers who list allergenic foods as “binder” or “emulsifiers”, which could signal the presence of eggs or soy respectively.
If you suspect that your child has a food allergy, you should keep a food diary. Be sure to list everything that you feed her, and keep the labels of any commercial products as well.
This will be a great help in assisting your paediatrician/allergist in determining if she is indeed allergic to any foods. Your child’s paediatrician/allergist will take any family and medical history necessary and carry out any relevant tests to determine if a food allergy exists.
If you do discover that your child has a severe reaction to certain foods, be sure to inform her school and caregivers about her condition. It may be helpful to provide them with an emergency card detailing how to prevent, recognise and manage her food allergies.
Court Decides Whether To Arrest Ousted South Korean President Park - A South Korean court began deliberating on Thursday whether to arrest ousted president Park Geun-hye, who was removed from office in a corruption scandal involving charges she solicited bribes from the country's largest conglomerate.
Park could become South Korea's third former leader to be jailed for wrongdoing. She is accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to contribute to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.
The 65-year-old appeared expressionless as she arrived at the Seoul Central District Court at 10:20 a.m. (0120 GMT) to plead her case that she should not be arrested while prosecutors investigate the scandal that has ensnared South Korea's political and business elite.
Park, South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, argues that she does not pose a flight risk and will not try to tamper with evidence.
She and Choi have both denied any wrongdoing.
A judge will study evidence and hear arguments from prosecutors and Park's lawyers before deciding whether an arrest warrant should be issued.
If Park is arrested, prosecutors will then have up to 20 days to file formal charges against her and put her on trial.
Park emerged from her private home and quickly stepped into a car before she was driven to the court in a motorcade. Police and security personnel blocked her supporters from spilling into the street to stop her car as it left her house in Seoul's upmarket Gangnam neighbourhood.
Prosecutors said on Monday Park was accused of soliciting companies for money and infringing upon the freedom of corporate management by using her power as the president. Park was questioned for 14 hours by prosecutors last week.
She could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted of receiving bribes from bosses of big conglomerates, including Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] chief Jay Y. Lee, in return for favours.
Lee, who denies charges that he provided bribes in return for favours for Samsung, and Choi are already in detention and are on trial separately.
If she is arrested, Park will likely be given a bigger cell than other inmates in a Seoul detention facility but be subject to the same rules on everything from meals to room inspections, former prosecution and correctional officials have said.
Park's hairdresser came to her home as usual on Thursday morning to coif the former president's hair in her favourite chignon style.
She was removed from office when a constitutional court upheld her parliamentary impeachment this month.
Sarah Lian: A Name Doesn't Represent A Person's Religion - A question on a Moral Studies paper for Year One students at a school here is coming under heavy criticism for being racist.
Actress Sarah Lian (pic) said that the question indoctrinated young children to typecast people according to name and religion.
The celebrity posted a photo of the exam paper on Facebook on Tuesday, calling it "archaic and racist".
The post has since gone viral and sparked outcry among Malaysians.
The Moral Studies (Pendidikan Moral) exam paper from a national school in Petaling Jaya asked students to match the names to a picture of their place of worship.
The four names were Devi, Hock Lee, Kamal and Steve.
The places of worship were a church, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple, and a mosque.
In the photo, the seven-year-old daughter of Lian's friend matched Devi to the church, Steve to the Hindu temple, Kamal to the Chinese temple, and Hock Lee to the mosque.
All four of her answers were marked as wrong.
"A horrible approach to stereotyping people into names races and religions. I'm so furious at this form of racism," Lian wrote on Facebook.
In an interview with The Star Online, Lian said young children are impressionable and a question like this taught them to profile people from a very young age.
"You can't really use names to describe someone's religion. 'Kamal' could have been anyone, it's just a name," she said, explaining that a name alone does not represent someone's religion or place of worship.
Lian added that the question was flawed and that the student's answer was not incorrect.
"I think a more appropriate alternative would be if they asked to match the religion to the place of worship.
"A statement like 'Devi does not belong in a church' is not really true. But a Christian attends church, now that's true," she said.
Lian was grateful that her post started much discussion about the education system and questioned whether it provided students with the right resources and mindset to excel at an international level.
Centre For A Better Tomorrow vice-president Ng Yeen Seen said the relevant authorities must look into the matter as the "younger generation will be seriously misguided into accepting racial and religious stereotyping as justified and allowed".
When contacted, Deputy Education Minster Datuk P. Kamalanathan said he was unable to comment as Parliament was in session.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
This Is What The New Lara Croft Looks Like - Attention all Tomb Raider enthusiasts – Warner Bros and MGM have revealed the first look at Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft.
In newly-released photos, first published in Vanity Fair, Vikander is shown taking on the role first commandeered by Angelina Jolie in the 2001 big-screen adaptation of the hit Eidos action-adventure videogame franchise, which has sold more than 35 million units worldwide.
The photos show Vikander – clad in the character’s iconic outfit of a tank top and cargo pants – on an island off the coast of Japan. Armed with a piece of wood (or possible archaeological discovery), she looks ready to fight in one of the images.
Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug (The Wave) is directing the film, which also stars Dominic West (The Affair) and Walton Goggins (Sons Of Anarchy).
The movie will take a different direction than the original Tomb Raider, focusing instead on the videogame series’ 2013 reboot, which chronicled Croft’s origins and her first mission as an archaeologist.
In an interview with GQ, Uthuag explained that the film will present an entirely new version of Lara Croft that fans of the 2001 movie have yet to see.
“As an origin story, this movie will introduce Lara Croft as a young woman who hasn’t yet found her way and her place in the world; a young woman with great spirit and potential,” he said. “We follow her struggles and her journey toward becoming the person she was meant to be and earning the role of Tomb Raider.” – Reuters/Variety/Sarah Ahern
Offend It Like Beckham: England Star Upsets Hong Kong - David Beckham has scored an own goal on Facebook after upsetting Hong Kongers by lumping their city in with China -- then annoyed mainlanders when he tried to fix his mess.
The former England star planted his foot firmly in his mouth after a visit to the semi-autonomous city last week, telling followers on the social networking site he had enjoyed a “great 48 hours in China”.
The posting provoked an immediate backlash from fans in the city, which is officially part of China after being handed back by Britain in 1997 but is governed under a semi-autonomous “one country, two systems” formula designed to protect its freedoms and way of life.
”I like you a lot, thanks for visiting, but this is Hong Kong, not China,” wrote resident Phoebe Chow.
”We have our own government, currency, even football team,” Facebook user Ray Leung said.
Beckham, a model, UNICEF ambassador and the husband of a Spice Girl, tried to rectify his post, changing “China” to “Shanghai and Hong Kong” -- but then provoked howls from Chinese fans.
”So many HK idiots here dreaming they will (be) independent. David, you don’t need to edit your post because you were totally correct,” Zhang Yan commented.
Hong Kong enjoys greater liberties than seen in China, enshrined in a mini-constitution known as the Basic Law.
But Beijing’s perceived increasing influence and a lack of promised political reform in Hong Kong has sparked calls for self-determination for the territory, or even a complete split from the mainland.
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