The Malaysian Insider :: ALL

Two Mexican generals detained for alleged drug gang ties

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:51:35 GMT

MEXICO CITY, May 16 — Two Mexican generals, including the former deputy minister of defense who helped lead the escalation of the country’s war against drug gangs, are being investigated for ties to organised crime, the attorney general’s office said today. Mexican soldiers yesterday detained Tomas Angeles Dauahare, who served as the army‘s second ...

US to freeze assets to help Yemeni transition

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:33:40 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 16 — US President Barack Obama today ordered the freezing of US assets of anyone the United States considers to be obstructing the Washington-backed political transition in Yemen. The executive order targets “certain members of the Government of Yemen and others,” according to a copy of the document released by the White House that ...

Barcelona’s Alves to have surgery on fractured collarbone

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:33:03 GMT

MADRID, May 16 – Barcelona defender Dani Alves fractured his right collarbone during training today and is due to have surgery later in the afternoon, the Spanish club said in statement. A news conference will be held at 1800 GMT when the club doctors will give further details. The Brazil international is set to miss Barcelona’s last game of the ...

Sauber gives CEO Kaltenborn a stake in F1 team

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:18:59 GMT

LONDON, May 16 – The Swiss founder and owner of Sauber has given the Formula One team’s chief executive a third of the company to ensure she stays on to lead it after he retires. Peter Sauber, 68, transferred the stake to Indian-born CEO Monisha Kaltenborn at the end of last year but the agreement was only made public today. Sauber has designated ...

Berlin airport opening delayed until 2013

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:18:38 GMT

BERLIN, May 16 — Berlin’s new airport will not now open until 2013 due to fire regulations, German paper Bild reported today, heaping further embarrassment on authorities who had said the hold-up would only stretch to three months. The capital’s long-awaited new airport had been due to open on June 3, replacing two from the Cold War era. But just ...

Mladic taunts survivors at start of genocide trial

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:14:58 GMT

THE HAGUE, May 16 — Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic made a throat-slitting gesture to a woman who lost her son, husband and brothers in the Srebenica massacre at the start of his trial today for some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two. Mladic, now 70, flashed a defiant thumbs-up as he entered the courtroom — the last of the ...

English the preferred language for world business

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:34 GMT

NEW YORK, May 16 – Workers whose jobs require them to interact with people in foreign countries say that English is the dominant language of business, according to a new poll. More than one quarter of employees in 26 countries around the world told an Ipsos poll that their jobs involve dealing with people in other countries. And of those, ...

‘Moonrise Kingdom’ called ‘very, very funny,’ ‘chic and charming’: Twitter highlights from Cannes

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:59:37 GMT

CANNES, May 16 — Wes Anderson’s tale of young love and escape Moonrise Kingdom is the opening film for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Critics and other attendees of the first screening took to Twitter to express their opinions, a selection of which can be found below in the first of a series of articles from Relaxnews examining social media ...

Playful Aduriz masters culinary mind games

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:48:08 GMT

TORONTO, May 16 — Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, the culinary conjurer behind one of the top-ranked restaurant in the world, enjoys a good gag as he lets his imagination run wild at Mugaritz, set in the hills outside San Sebastian in northern Spain. An early protégé of Ferran Adria at El Bulli, Aduriz, 40, is famous for tricks such as disguising ...

Need for faster financial instruments launch, says China’s central bank

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:44:29 GMT

BEIJING, May 16 – China should quicken the pace of launching new financial instruments and capital markets must to be strengthened to improve their contribution to supporting economic activity, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said today. Zhou made his comments in a speech to an audience of financial regulators and industry ...

German minister steps down, replaced by Merkel ally

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:42:56 GMT

BERLIN, May 16 — German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen, who took the blame for a historic defeat for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in a regional election on Sunday, is to step down and be replaced by her parliamentary whip Peter Altmaier, official sources said today. Merkel was expected to make the announcement in a statement to ...

Hollande government to be dominated by moderates, Aubry out

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:34:36 GMT

PARIS, May 16 — The government of France’s new President Francois Hollande is likely to be dominated by moderate social democrats after party leader Martine Aubry, overlooked for the prime minister’s role, said today she would not be in the cabinet. Aubry, daughter of former European Commission president Jacques Delors and on the left of the ...

Terry named in England squad, Gerrard captain

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:10:05 GMT

LONDON, May 16 – England manager Roy Hodgson included Chelsea’s John Terry, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy in a 23-man squad with Steven Gerrard named as captain today for next month’s European Championship. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was left out but his club team mate Wayne Rooney was included ...

How did they miss the link? — Tulsathit Taptim

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:05:59 GMT

MAY 16 — The British media have credited Manchester City’s “crazily dramatic” Premier League title win on Sunday to anything and anyone but the right thing(s) and the right one(s). Steve Jobs would have traced the dots and found their origin in Thailand. Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp strike against Queens Park Rangers that turned the watching world on ...

Twists and turns — Lim Sue Goan

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:50 GMT

MAY 16 — Socialist Francois Hollande won the French presidential election while the two major parties in the Greek ruling coalition failed to win a parliamentary majority. The election results have made Malaysian leaders uneasy. The election result in France might cause the deterioration of the debt crisis in Europe, which might affect our economy ...

Bradley Cooper stars in ‘Hit and Run’

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — The first trailer for the romantic-comedy Hit and Run, starring Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) and Kristin Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) was released May 15. Cooper, who wears dreadlocks, plays the former cohort of Dax Shepard’s character, an ex-bank robber in the witness protection programme whose past returns to haunt ...

Singapore Airlines to suspend services to Abu Dhabi, Athens

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:43:38 GMT

SINGAPORE, May 16 — Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), which is struggling with weak load factors, said today it will suspend services to Abu Dhabi and Athens from October 26 due to weak demand. SIA, the world’s second-largest carrier by market value, currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi three times a week. The Singapore flag carrier flies to the ...

Nazri: Bar Council has no right to reject law academy

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:41:58 GMT

JAKARTA, May 16 — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz today said that the Bar Council had no right to reject the proposed setting up of a Law Academy. He (picture) said the establishment of the academy was proposed for the benefit of those with a legal background who did not belong to any association, like ...

The bell tolls for the in-car CD player

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:31:23 GMT

DETROIT, May 16 — CD players could become the next victim of the struggle to shed pounds from cars in the name of fuel efficiency. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, senior Ford designer Michael Arbaugh revealed recently that he was “looking forward to the day” when designers ditch CD players on dashboards forever. The reason is simple — ...

Baron Cohen’s dictator storms Cannes, camel in tow

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:14:45 GMT

CANNES, May 16 — It took no less than a live camel strolling the promenade in Cannes to steal the show on the film festival’s opening day, a feat that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen pulled off with chutzpah today. The British satirist, star of “Borat” and “Bruno,” used the novel public relations stunt to draw attention to the US opening of his new ...

Sources: Apple readies iPhone with larger screen

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:07:19 GMT

TOKYO, May 16 — Apple Inc plans to use a larger screen on the next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, people familiar with the situation said today. The new iPhone screens will measure four inches from corner to corner, one source said. That would represent a roughly 30 per ...

Ukraine dismisses EU plea over jailed Tymoshenko

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:56:13 GMT

KIEV, May 16 — Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov today brushed aside Western concerns about his government’s treatment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as misguided and unwarranted, indicating that Kiev was unlikely to change its mind. The EU has condemned the sentencing of former prime minister Tymoshenko — the top opponent of President ...

DBKL, police keep watch over Ambiga’s residence

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:47:02 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 – Police and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) enforcement unit today patrolled the residence of Datuk S. Ambiga at Jalan Setiakasih 1, Bukit Damansara here. Two DBKL vans with 10 enforcement officers and a police patrol car were seen keeping watch over the area this afternoon and as of 7pm, there were no peddlers or groups at ...

Media Prima Q1 profit down to RM28.9m

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:34:32 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 – Media Prima Bhd’s pre-tax profit for its first fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012, dropped to RM28.922 million from RM47.561 million recorded in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue for the three-month period was also down to RM335.284 million from RM354.189 million previously. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, ...

WCT hopeful of clinching RM1b contracts

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:29:34 GMT

KLANG, May 16 – WCT Bhd, a civil engineering and construction company, hopes to secure contracts worth RM1 billion, out of RM5 billion worth of contracts the group is bidding for internationally and locally, says independent non-executive chairman Datuk Ahmad Sufian. The company is mostly bidding for infrastructure projects and 40 per cent of the ...

EC: List of voters with shared addresses now online

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:21:51 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — The Election Commission (EC) is displaying the electoral roll of voters who registered in groups using common addresses for verification by the voters concerned. Its public relations officer, Sabri Said, said the electoral roll will be available for viewing at the EC’s official website, www.spr.gov.my, for 30 days from ...

Suspect in toddler abuse case arrested

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:46:59 GMT

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 16 — The main suspect in the child abuse case of two-year-old Mohd Danish Aiman Abdullah was arrested today. State CID chief, ACP K. Manoharan said the suspect, 31, was nabbed at about 2pm at a food stall belonging to his family in Manir, here, by policemen from the Kuala Terengganu district headquarters while on patrol in ...

PAS perlu ikhlas jika mahu bermuzakarah dengan UMNO, kata Fatmi

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:45:23 GMT

KOTA BAHARU, 16 Mei — Setiausaha Politik kepada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Mohd Fatmi Che Salleh berkata PAS perlu ikhlas jika berhasrat mahu mengadakan muzakarah dengan Umno sekiranya bertujuan memantapkan perpaduan bangsa Melayu dan memperteguhkan Islam di negara ini.Fatmi menambah PAS tidak sepatutnya meletakkan syarat tertentu bagi mengadakan ...

Fear factor sends UK’s FTSE down through 5,400 mark

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:38:55 GMT

LONDON, May 16 – Britain’s top share index fell through the 5,400 point level for the first time since mid-December, driven lower by a slump in heavyweight mining stocks and fears over Greece, which have pushed investors out of equities and into cash or gilts. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.9 per cent, or 51.12 points, to 5,386.50 points – its ...

Abdul Taib Mahmud: Jangan buat kenyataan negatif tentang mana-mana kaum

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:30:53 GMT

KUCHING, 16 Mei — Ketua Menteri Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud hari ini telah memberi nasihat kepada pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) dan individu supaya tidak membuat kenyataan negatif tentang mana-mana kaum di negara ini.Beliau berkata demikian selepas penyiaran berita Harian Metro bertarikh 13 Mei ang telah menyiarkan rencana bertajuk “Ibuku ...

Association wants London hecklers brought to book

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:25:48 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — The foreign and higher education ministries should single out those who heckled and showed disrespect to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a meeting with Malaysians in London yesterday. Malaysian Ex-Policemen’s Association information chief Mohd Zainan Yunus said, such behaviour created a bad impression of ...

Ahmad Maslan urges all Malays in DAP to quit party

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:16:35 GMT

PONTIAN, May 16 — The resignation of DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim proves that the Malays have no place in that opposition party, says Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan. In this regard, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department is calling on the small group of Malays in DAP to quit the party as it “has no ...

SE Asia Stocks: Shares fall amid Greek political turmoil

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:05:39 GMT

BANGKOK, May 16 – Shares in Philippines and Malaysia suffered their biggest daily loss in seven months today as equity markets in southeast Asia followed a broad global selloff, touched off by worries that the euro zone’s debt crisis would worsen. The Philippine index finished down 2.3 per cent at 4,864.23 while Malaysia’s main share index ended ...

Asia’s new elite — Shaun Tan

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:59:10 GMT

MAY 16 — “Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two; one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another.” — Plato, The Republic It can be said that the walls around gated communities mark the borders of a foreign country. Of course, not all exclusive neighbourhoods are surrounded by walls — many are not — ...

Indonesia finds black box from crashed Russian Sukhoi

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:47:30 GMT

JAKARTA, May 16 — Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency has found a black box flight recorder from a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed during a demonstration flight killing all 45 people on board, an agency official said today. The aircraft crashed on May 9 on the slopes of a dormant volcano about 64km south of Jakarta. Those on the ...

Bayern to use home changing room in Champions League final

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:46:08 GMT

BERLIN, May 16 – Bayern Munich have been given the go-ahead by European soccer’s governing body UEFA to use their home changing room at the Allianz Arena for Saturday’s Champions League final against Chelsea, a club official said today. Bayern, aiming to become the first team of the host city to win a Champions League final on home soil, are ...

Dortmund’s Kagawa wants Premier League move

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:35:52 GMT

SINGAPORE, May 16 – Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa has spoken to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and would like to move to an English Premier League club, the Japanese international said today. “It was good to meet and actually talk to him. He had some nice things to say to me,” the 23-year-old told reporters. Kagawa (picture) ...

Obama, Democrats’ April fundraising drops to US$43.6m

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:34:28 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 16 — US President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and Democratic groups affiliated with it raised US$43.6 million (RM135.5 million) in April, a decrease from the previous month despite the start of a robust general election campaign against Republican Mitt Romney. Ninety-eight per cent of the donations were less than US$250 in ...

Conduct unbecoming army veterans — Capt. (Rtd.) Hussaini Abdul Karim

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:31:41 GMT

MAY 16 — I wish to refer to the report, “Group performs ‘butt exercises’ in front of Ambiga’s home” that appeared in The Star (Nation) today as written by Yuen Meikeng. As a former army officer, I feel grossly ashamed by the antics of those who have conducted themselves unbecomingly by performing “butt exercises” in front of Bersih co-chairman ...

Tunku Aziz a man of principle and integrity, says Kit Siang

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:15:25 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Lim Kit Siang has called Tunku Aziz Tunku Ibrahim “a man of principle and integrity” despite the former DAP vice-chairman accusing Lim’s son of being untrustworthy and lacking decency. Kit Siang’s son Guan Eng, the party secretary general, had publicly rebuked the ex-Bank Negara advisor for not toeing the party line and ...

Singapore Airlines to suspend services to Abu Dhabi, Athens

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:14:05 GMT

SINGAPORE, May 16 – Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) , which is struggling with weak load factors, said today it will suspend services to Abu Dhabi and Athens from Oct 26 due to weak demand. SIA, the world’s second-largest carrier by market value, currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi three times a week. The Singapore flag carrier flies to the Greek ...

China pushes N.Korea to drop nuclear test plan

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:13:22 GMT

BEIJING, May 16 — China has been quietly and gently pressuring North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, said two sources with knowledge of closed-door discussions between the countries, but there is no indication how the North will react. If North Korea goes ahead with the test, China would consider taking some retaliatory steps, but ...

Don’t deride any race, says Taib

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:02:20 GMT

KUCHING, May 16 — Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud today advised non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals not to make negative remarks about any race in the country unless it was necessary for a special purpose. This followed a recent report in a Malay tabloid alleging the Penans in Tinjar, Ulu Baram were practising ...

Hong Kong shares post biggest loss in six months, China slides

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:56:20 GMT

HONG KONG, May 16 – The Hang Seng index posted its biggest loss in six months today after mainland media reported flat loan growth for the country’s “Big Four” state-owned banks in the first two weeks of May, fanning fears about the slowing Chinese economy. Those concerns combined with Greece’s failure to form a government and a three-day losing ...

PAS always ready to talk Islam with Umno, says Nik Aziz

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:49:12 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said today PAS is ready to hold talks with political archrival Umno on issues concerning Muslims as national polls edge closer, two Malay-language dailies reported in their online editions. Both Sinar Harian Online and HarakahDaily.net reported the PAS spiritual advisor as saying his party had always ...

Iran nuclear concession would test big power unity

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:48:21 GMT

LONDON, May 16 — Facing an imminent toughening of sanctions, Iran is hinting at a readiness to give some ground in its long nuclear stand-off with world powers, but any flexibility could split their ranks and lead to protracted uncertainty about how to respond. The stakes are high, for the longer the impasse goes on, the closer Iran will get to ...

Muhyiddin: 28 recommendations to reduce teachers’ workload

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:36:12 GMT

KUALA KANGSAR, May 16 — A working committee established to see how teachers’ workload could be reduced is implementing 28 recommendations to address 14 issues that have been brought up, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said among measures being implemented include introducing a single data entry system in place of multiple ...

A Minute With: Lopez, Banks on expectations when ‘Expecting’

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:29:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 16 — Jennifer Lopez and Elizabeth Banks — stars of this Friday’s baby comedy movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” are two Hollywood moms who could not be more different. Lopez is a newly divorced, singer and actress with twin toddlers, Max and Emme, whose busy schedule includes being a judge on TV’s “American Idol” and ...

Samsung loses US$10b market value on Apple order report

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:12:37 GMT

SEOUL, May 16 – Shares in Samsung Electronics Co slumped more than 6 per cent today, wiping US$10 billion (RM31.18 billion) off the electronics giant’s market value, on a report that Apple placed huge chip orders with troubled Japanese chip rival Elpida. Taiwan’s DigiTimes, an online trade news site, reported that Apple recently placed large ...

Nik Aziz sedia muzakarah dengan Umno

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:11:54 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Mei — PAS hari ini menyatakan kesediaan untuk bermuzakarah dengan Umno bagi membincangkan isu yang timbul dalam kalangan umat Islam dengan lebih menyeluruh dan bukannya sekadar pandangan sebelah pihak. Kenyataan itu dikeluarkan Mursyidul Am parti Islam tersebut, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat (gambar) yang menyifatkan situasi semasa ...