STORY TO BE TOLD

NS trainees in flood-stricken areas told to contact department

ALOR STAR: The National Service Training Department has urged National Service (NS) trainees in flood-stricken areas in Kelantan, who have difficulty in registering themselves, to contact the department.

Its director-general, Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said this would enable the department to make arrangements for them to report for the training without having to postpone it.

"They should call the department at the phone number provided in the NS notification letter to enable the department to tell them on the next course of action.

"So far I have yet to receive a report on the number of trainees affected by the floods but once the floods subsided, those affected can report for the training," he told reporters at the launch of the NS series 8/2011 series for 715 trainees at the Darul Aman Stadium here Monday.

Abdul Hadi said about 140,000 trainees would be undergoing training in the series nationwide.

Eight training camps are opened in Kedah, namely in Langkawi, Sintok, Kuala Nerang, Kulim, Sik, Baling (one each), and Sungai Petani (two). - Bernama

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Weekend drama Believe In Love makes strong premiere
by javabeans | January 2, 2011

Believe In Love, which comes from the makers of 2009′s hit family series Sons of Sol Pharmacy, enjoyed a very strong first outing this weekend, with its first episode bringing in a 21.6% viewership rating (AGB Nielsen) on Saturday evening. In the same timeslot, its competitors brought in a 12.2% and 11.2% for SBS’s Laugh, Mom and MBC’s Gloria, respectively.

AGB numbers aren’t available yet for the second episode, but TNS gives 21.1% for Sunday. This bodes well for Believe In Love, which is already performing better than its predecessor; Marry Me started out with a 16.7% and averaged a 24.2% for its entire run, peaking with 34.8%. Meanwhile, Sol Pharmacy‘s first episode came in with a solid 18%, and went on to top 40%, so this is a good sign.

The drama is built around a normal family, with Song Jae-hyo at the center of it, playing a vice principal at a boys’ school. Simple conceit, but what this team did so well with Sol Pharmacy was creating heartwarming, hilarious bonds between its characters, most of whom were ordinary folk going about their lives and enduring the kinds of everyday dramas that real people face, whether it’s trying to balance family with career, or finding your special someone, or what to do when mom hates your special someone. All with a good-natured, bubbly sense of humor.

Though length keeps me from recapping family dramas (this one’s slated for 50 episodes), I still enjoy watching one on occasion, and I’m downloading this one as I type. While I’m not expecting much of it, if it turns out to be cheery and funny, and I’m always ready to welcome one of those to the dramascape.

Those who saw Sol Pharmacy will recognize a group of familiar faces. Its mom (Yoon Mi-ra), loud cousin Mi-ran (Ha Jae-sook), neighbor Brutus (Jo Jin-woong), and lovable-yet-obnoxious (or is it obnoxious-yet-lovable?) Dae-poong (Lee Pil-mo of the glorious HAIR!) are all in the new cast as well.

Others include Lee Jae-ryong (Goodbye Solo), Park Joo-mi (Ladies of the Palace), Hwang Woo-seul-hye (Crush & Blush), and Moon Jung-hee (Oh My Lady).

Perhaps you’ll also recognize others if not by name then by recent roles — whether it’s Melgidec from Runaway Plan B (Song Jae-hyo), the Sungkyunkwan thief’s little brother (Kim Dong-hyun, who has apparently switched over to a stage name in the past week, now Kim Da-yul), young Tak-gu (Oh Jae-mu), or the High Kick granny (Na Mun-hee).

Believe in Love airs on KBS on Saturdays and Sundays.

Via Yonhap News, Asiae

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Kellan Lutz wants to cut down on fast food and candy in 2011

Kellan Lutz wants to "eat better" in 2011

Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz wants to stop sinking his teeth into candy.

The 25-year-old revealed that one of his 2011 resolutions is to “eat better” and to cut down on the intake of unhealthy food like candy and fast food.

"I keep saying I want to quit candy, and I slowly decrease the candy intake.

"I eat late at night all the time, and I want to cut that back – and get more sleep. I live right across from Jack in the Box, so that's not good," he told People magazine.

Source: People

Published Jan 2 2011

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Singaporean golfer survives lightning strike

A golfer in his 60s was struck by lightning on Saturday afternoon on a golf course near Changi, Singapore, but survived with burns to his head and hand.

The skies were cloudy and there was a slight drizzle, but there was no lightning warning at the time, said golfers at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club.

Normally, a siren sounds to warn golfers to get off the course. The siren at the neighbouring Tanah Merah Country Club is also audible from Laguna National, and it too did not sound.

A golfer in her 50s, who declined to be named, said: 'It was very sudden lightning without any warning. We were on the 11th or 12th hole and he was on the 18th... I think lightning struck his driver and the current went through that way.'

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was called at 3.25pm, its spokesman said.

The man was conscious when he was sent to Changi General Hospital in an ambulance, which got there at 3.47pm. - The Straits Times/ANN

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110-year-old Ahmad Mohamad Isa reading his news in Kosmo!

Malaysian centenarian ready to wed again

Ahmad Mohamad Isa, 110, who told Kosmo! that he was looking for a wife, had his wish come true when an 82-year-old woman responded to his wish.

Ahmad, who has 20 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren, told the Malay-language tabloid earlier this week that he wanted company and a wife to take care of him.

The report grabbed the attention of Sanah Ahmad, a widow of 30 years and mother of nine, who said she was willing to do so and had asked her children to contact Ahmad's family to make arrangements.

'It doesn't matter who she is, as long as she can cook for me,' Ahmad told the paper on Sunday, saying he was happy and surprised at the news while his daughter would discuss the matter with Sanah's family.

'It is lonely to live alone and I am afraid to sleep alone. If I have a wife she can take care of me,' the centenarian, who has five previous marriages and suffers mild hearing and vision problems, said in an earlier interview.

Four of his wives have died and he divorced the fifth. Sanah said she was attracted to Ahmad as he bears a striking resemblance to her late husband and both men shared the same name.

Source: www.kosmo.com.my
Published Jan 2 2011

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New academic calendar causes confusion among undergrads

PETALING JAYA: Confusion reigned over the announcement that the new term for universities in the country will start in September instead of July this year.

The announcement by Deputy Higher Edu­cation Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has caught many undergraduates unawares.

They are unhappy that they were not informed of the change in the academic calendar.

Many are concerned that the later entry will also affect their convocation dates and asked if the extended holidays will not be a “waste of time”.

Although public universities welcomed the move to synchronise their academic calendars with that of foreign universities, many have yet to iron out conflicting details.

The new academic calendar, which was originally proposed back in 2009, is aimed at attracting more foreign students to local universities as well as keeping Malaysia from losing its brightest to overseas universities.

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Woman falls 12 floors to her death

PUTRAJAYA: A woman fell 12 floors to her death at an apartment block in Precinct 9 here after she is said to have tried climbing down from a rope made out of blankets.

Residents found the Indonesian’s body in a backlane, not far from a kindergarten at the bottom of the 14-storey apartment block, at about 7.30am yesterday.

A bag of clothes belonging to the victim was found nearby.

A resident, who declined to be named, said his wife had heard a loud thud late Saturday night but did not suspect anything unusual.

“We dismissed it as a large object being thrown out from one of the units,” he said, adding that the backlane was seldom used by residents and this could be why the victim’s body was not found sooner.

Putrajaya police chief Asst Comm Abdul Razak Abdul Majid said preliminary investigations did not show any presence of criminal elements linked to the death.

“We have classified the case as sudden death,” he said, adding that the victim’s remains had been sent to the Putrajaya Hospital for an autopsy.

When met, the victim’s employer declined comment.

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