STORY TO BE TOLD

'Incredible Hulk' Lou Ferrigno coming to KL

The Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, is heading this way on May 27.

Ferrigno - famed for his role as the green-skinned giant in the 1970s television show - will be heading a line-up of global speakers at the 2011 National Achievers Congress in Singapore first before crossing over to Kuala Lumpur.

Now in its 19th year, the Congress is a platform for learning and development that over the years, has presented former US President Bill Clinton, ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and many others, to thousands of Singaporeans and Malaysians.

The Congress, which takes place in Singapore in 2011 from May 20 to May 22, generally attracts 6,000 to 7,000 delegates.

A bodybuilder-turned-actor, Lou Ferrigno has starred in over 40 films and acted in several TV shows. However, a little-known fact about the actor is that he developed an ear infection as an infant, which led to hearing loss.

Despite this, at the age of 21, Ferrigno became the youngest contender to win the Mr Universe title. He set another record by becoming the only man to win the competition two years in a row with another win the following year.

Ferrigno is regularly invited by universities, corporations and non-profit organisations to share his inspiring story and give motivational speeches all over the world.

Richard Tan, chief executive of Success Resources which is bringing Ferrigno to Singapore and also to Malaysia from May 27-29, said: "Lou Ferrigno is truly an American icon and undoubtedly one of the stars in his field. His achievements are outstanding and we know that what he has to say at the National Achievers Congress will be of significant interest to thousands of Singaporeans and Malaysians."

Source: The Straits Times/ANN
Published March 1 2011

Medical student charged with murder

A medical student has been charged with the murder of her wealthy TV executive boyfriend in a suspected love triangle in London, UK.

Mundill Kaur MahilMundill Kaur Mahil, 19, a student at Brighton University, appeared in court Monday after 21-year old Gagandip Singh’s battered body was found in the boot of his burnt-out car.

According to the Daily Mail, Mahil is alleged to have lured the owner of satellite channel Sikh TV to Brighton where he was killed.

The body of Gagandip, who was the president of the British Sikh Student Federation, was reportedly bundled into the boot of the C-class Mercedes Benz.

The car was driven to London and set ablaze in a muddy suburban lane, the paper said.

A post-mortem report had claimed that 21-year-old Gagandip of Bexleyheath, South-East London, had suffered severe head injuries.Gagandip Singh

Mahil, from Chatham, Kent, had allegedly started a relationship with another student, Harvinder Singh Shoker, 19.

He was also charged with Gagandip's murder on Monday.

District Judge Fiona Barrie remanded them in custody until further hearings at the Old Bailey, the paper added.

Gagandip’s father Charanjit Singh was shot in an apparent contract killing in India in 2009 over a business deal. Five people are due to stand trial in India for his murder.

Source: ANI
Published Mar 1 2011

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RM1.15 billion yacht for dictator's son

The son of Equatorial Guinea's dictator of 30 years commissioned plans to build a superyacht costing $380 million (RM1.15 billion), nearly three times what the country spends on health and education each year, a corruption watchdog said on Monday.

Global Witness said in a statement that German company Kusch Yachts has been asked to build the yacht, housing a cinema, restaurant , bar and swimming pool, though construction has not yet started.

Global Witness has been urging Washington to institute sanctions against Teodorin Obiang, whose extravagant lifestyle currently includes a $35 million (RM106.8 million) mansion in Malibu, California , a $33 million (RM100 million) jet and a fleet of luxury cars, while earning a salary of $6,799 (RM20,747) a month as the country's agriculture minister.

The government press office in Equatorial Guinea confirmed that the president's son had ordered the yacht design, but said he "then dismissed the idea of buying it" .

It said that if the order had gone ahead, he would have bought it with income from private business activities and not "with funds derived from sources of illegal financing or corruption".

President Teodoro Obiang, who reportedly is grooming his son to succeed him as president, took power in a bloody 1979 coup.

Forbes magazine has estimated his wealth at around $600 million (RM1.83 billion).

Teodorin Obiang justified his wealth in a sworn affidavit to a South African court questioning his ownership of luxury mansions and expensive cars in Cape Town in 2006.

He stated that public officials in his country are allowed to partner with foreign companies bidding for government contracts and said this means "a cabinet minister ends up with a sizable part of the contract price in his bank account".

A US justice department investigation into US banks accepting some $75 million from Teodorin Obiang had said in a 2007 report that "it is suspected that a large portion of Teodoro Nguema Obiang's assets have originated from extortion, theft of public funds, or other corrupt conduct".

Source: AP
Published Mar 1 2011

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Breast milk ice cream seized

Local government officials in London have confiscated ice cream made with human breast milk from a shop amid concerns the dessert is unsafe.

A spokeswoman from Westminster City Council said it was responding to two complaints from the public over whether a shop should be selling edibles made from other people's bodily fluids and awaiting guidance from Britain's Food Standards Agency.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with council policy.

The official said the ice cream, marketed as "Baby Gaga" and launched last week, is being tested with the full cooperation of The Icecreamists, the parlor marketing the dessert.

Viruses, including hepatitis, can be passed on through breast milk.

The company has said that the milk was screened in line with blood donor requirements before being pasteurized and churned together with vanilla pods and lemon zest.

The dish comes in a martini glass and sells for 14 Pounds (RM69.36) each.

"As far as we are aware there is no law prohibiting a business from selling breast milk ice cream," Matt O'Connor, founder of The Icecreamists, said in a statement.

The company paid women who responded to an online ad to donate their breast milk and said all of its products meet the "highest and safest" of food standards.

The company said it has had a "huge response" to its "fresh take" on the world of ice cream.

The Icecreamists said at the time that its "Baby Gaga" ice cream sold out as soon as it launched on Friday, but that women had signed up to donate more milk.
Source: AP

Published Mar 1 2011

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EPF to increase overseas investments

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is planning to increase its overseas investments to generate higher returns for its members.

Chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said its current investment of RM40.53bil in overseas markets only represented 9.2% of EPF’s overall RM440.52bil investment last year.

“At this juncture, our overseas investment is very small, particularly in terms of exposure to each investment avenue,” he said at the opening of the International Corporate Governance Network Conference hosted by EPF yesterday.

“We are looking to increase our exposure in the international market to diversify our portfolio.”

Being the oldest provident fund in the world, Malaysia’s EPF was ranked as the world’s 19th biggest pension fund in 2009 with assets amounting to US$109bil (RM330bil) then, he said.

With the amount having grown to RM440.52bil, the EPF has a great responsibility to manage and grow members’ savings prudently, he added.

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Teacher moved out while molest probe is under way
By KANG SOON CHEN
educate@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: The disciplinary teacher, who allegedly molested 11 Form Three female students in Ampang, has been transferred out with immediate effect.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said it was best for the teacher to be removed from the school while police investigations were under way.

“Under the ministry’s guidelines, teachers cannot touch any body part of a female student when meting out punishment,” he said after meeting several parties, including Hulu Langat district education officers, Teratai assemblyman Jenice Lee, the affected students and their parents at his office yesterday.

He added that a witness must be present when the punishment was carried out.

In the incident last Friday, the students claimed that they were caned and molested by the teacher.

It was reported that they were caught along with two male classmates in a classroom during the school assembly, and taken to the school’s disciplinary room.

One of the female students said the teacher caned the male students on the buttocks and told them to leave the room before drawing the curtain.

“Before he caned the first female student, he felt her wrist for her pulse and commented that her heartbeat was too fast,” she alleged.

The teacher then related an incident in which a student he had caned fainted because his heart was beating too fast.

“The teacher then proceeded to put his hand on our chests, one-by-one, on the pretext of making sure that our heartbeats were all right before caning us on our palms,” she claimed, adding that she was allegedly touched on the chest more than three times.

It was also alleged that the teacher slipped his hand into their pockets to “check” whether they brought mobile phones to school.

The students later alerted their parents who informed the school authorities. The parents sought Lee’s assistance who helped them lodge a police report.

“We decided to go to the police because the school authorities re­­fused to take action,” Lee claimed.

Dr Wee has instructed the district education office and school authorities to provide counselling to the students, who had been traumatised by the incident.

He added that the affected students were also given the option of transferring to another school if they did not want to continue their studies in the same school.

Dr Wee said the teacher had crossed the line based on the complaints by the students.

Enam Peserta Mentor 5 Diumum
Oleh KEMALIA OTHMAN


Barisan peserta Mentor musim ke 5

PETALING JAYA: Enam peserta dipilih sebagai “protoge” dalam rancangan Mentor musim ke 5 yang bakal berlangsung pada 6 Mac ini.

Antara peserta tersebut ialah Salma, Ayish, Ratna, Shiha, Aiman dan Iqa.

Kesemua mereka telah memulakan latihan dan persiapan bersama Mentor masing-masing iaitu Erra Fazira (Salma), Noh Hujan (Ayish), Afdlin Shauki (Ratna), Datuk Sharifah Aini (Shiha), Rahim Maarof (Aiman) dan Edry Halim (Iqa).

Menurut Eksekutif dan Pengarah Mentor 5, Muhamad Sufian Isa, setelah melakukan sesi uji bakat barisan Mentor telah melakukan pemilihan dengan teliti.

"Kami telah menerima penyertaan hampir tiga ribu orang di enam sesi uji bakat dan kiriman demo nyanyian.

"Selain menjadi inspirasi, Mentor juga menggalas tanggungjawab dalam perancangan strategi mengasah bakat protoge mereka," katanya pada sidang media Showcase Mentor musim ke 5, di sini, Selasa.

Tambahnya, cabaran utama ialah terhadap jangkauan penonton lebih tinggi berbanding tahun-tahun sebelum ini.

“Dua siaran Mentor minggu lalu menunjukkan rating yang tinggi iaitu 3 juta penonton, jadi cabarannya ialah kita mahu jumlah tersebut kekal dengan memberikan yang terbaik.

“Persiapan rapi telah dibuat untuk memastikan semua berjalan lancar untuk konsert pertama pada Ahad ini,” katanya.

Musim kelima masih mengekalkan format pemarkahan yang sama iaitu 50 peratus daripada juri berpengalaman, 30 peratus melalui undian khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) dan 20 peratus daripada juri awam.

Pengacara Mentor 5 masih mengekalkan Ally Iskandar, selain Nas Ahmad sebagai pengacara bersama untuk kisah di sebalik tabir.

Manakala Ajai sebagai Penasihat Vokal, Adam sebagai Penasihat Persembahan, FaizalUzir sebagai Pengarah Muzik dan Ramli M.S dilantik sebagai juri tetap buat pertama kalinya.

Juara rancangan itu melayakkan protoge membawa pulang sebuah kereta Chevrolet Cruz.

Kedua-dua protoge dan mentor masing-masing akan turut menerima wang tunai RM100,000.

Bagi tempat kedua protoge akan mendapat sebuah Vespa LX150 dan masing-masing akan menerima RM30,000 bagi mentor dan protoge.

Konsert mingguan Mentor akan disiarkan secara langsung dari Auditorium Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSB) pada setiap Ahad pukul 9 malam.

Persekolahan Satu Sesi Objektif Kerajaan

Oleh ARIFFUDDIN ISHAK

TEMERLOH: Kerajaan meletakkan matlamat melaksanakan secara menyeluruh sistem persekolahan satu sesi sekiranya keperluan infrastruktur dan tenaga pengajar mencukupi.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin berkata, sekiranya sistem berkenaan dilaksanakan ia akan menjadikan tempoh persekolahan lebih anjal bagi memberi ruang kepada guru dan pelajar menjalankan aktiviti kokurikulum.

"Sekolah satu sesi itu memang objektif kita, sekarang ini kalau ada sekolah rendah pun mungkin 60 hingga 70 peratus (laksanakan) satu sesi, tapi kalau sekolah menengah kurang daripada itu.

"Kalau sistem ini dapat kita laksanakan bermakna tempoh masa belajar boleh lebih anjal. Sekarang sekolah sesi pagi berlangsung sampai pukul 1 petang atau lebih sedikit, waktu petang ada sesi kedua dan ia akan tamat sampai larut petang.

"Jadi kalau nak buat aktiviti kokurikulum atau sukan agak sukar kecuali hari-hari lain, (sistem satu sesi) memang ada faedahnya," katanya pada sidang media selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan warga pendidik di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kerdau di sini, Selasa.

Beliau berkata demikian sebagai mengulas mengenai saranan Pengerusi Panel Penasihat Sekolah Kluster Kecemerlangan, Tan Sri Dr Abdul Rahman Arsyad supaya kerajaan melaksanakan persekolahan satu sesi dari pukul 8 pagi hingga 4 petang dengan memperkenalkan jadual waktu anjal kepada guru supaya tiada bebanan kerja berlebihan.

Mengulas lanjut, Muhyiddin yang juga Menteri Pelajaran berkata, kerajaan tidak meletakkan sebarang sasaran tempoh masa tertentu untuk melaksanakan sistem berkenaan.

"Untuk melaksanakannya, ia bermakna kita kena menyediakan lebih banyak sekolah dan yang lebih penting kita kena sediakan lebih banyak guru untuk tampung keperluan itu.

"Ini sasaran kita, tapi saya kurang pasti bila kita boleh sampai ke tahap itu. Tapi apapun yang sedang berlaku, kalau kita tak mampu laksanakan satu sesi kita gunakan dua sesi, setidak-tidaknya pembelajaran masih dapat diteruskan," katanya.