THE STAR : SATURDAY 10 JULY 2010

South Africa's octopus also predicts Spain
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa, host for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, has its own version of the psychic German octopus Paul, which has been successfully predicting winners in all of Germany’s games in the tournament, according to China’s Xinhua news agency

Athletes to have better varsity chance soon
KUALA LUMPUR: Take up sports and you will have a better chance to get into public universities.

Mixed feelings over making sports a must in schools
PETALING JAYA: Students and parents have mixed feelings about making sports compulsory for admission to public universities (IPTAs).

Perkasa has right to express views, says DPM
ABUJA: The views of Malay rights group Perkasa do not represent the position of the Government, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

D8 Summit ends with adoption of Abuja Declaration
ABUJA: The just-concluded D8 (Group of Eight Islamic developing countries) Summit was a success with all delegation heads adopting the Abuja Declaration, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

Seven soldiers jailed for ragging death
KUALA LUMPUR: Seven Royal Malay Regiment privates were each sentenced to seven years’ jail after they pleaded guilty to causing the death of another private after they assaulted him in a ragging incident.

No nude scenes please, we are Malaysians
KUALA LUMPUR: Local celebrities cannot bare all on the big screen, said Information, Communications, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

Family of 20 living in one small flat
PETALING JAYA: Unlike the homeless, they have a roof over their heads; but the poverty of the household of 20 was apparent.

Paul picks Spain but Mani’s on Holland for World Cup
SINGAPORE: A crowd of football fans leans forward as Mani, Singapore’s World Cup-forecasting parakeet, creeps out of his small wooden cage and chooses between two white cards – one hiding the flag of the Netherlands, the other Spain.

Illegal sand miners leave a crater in estate
NIBONG TEBAL: A 30m deep crater-shaped hole has been dug up in a former oil palm plantation in Jalan Tasek, Lima Kongsi here.

Oil sheen sighted off East Coast
KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas has taken emergency measures to shut down production pipelines at offshore platforms 240km off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia after a thin layer of oil sheen was sighted.

Dog shooter hits man by mistake
JITRA: A seafood restaurant worker was accidentally shot by a man aiming to shoot a stray dog.

Sultan of Kelantan to undergo follow-up treatment in Singapore
KOTA BARU: Sultan Kelantan, Sultan Ismail Petra will be brought to Mount Elizabeth in Singapore on July 14 to undergo follow-up treatment, according to the comptroller of the Kelantan royal household Datuk Abdul Halim Hamad.

Merge automotive firms to create bigger and more capable company
KUALA LUMPUR: Local automotive companies could merge to create a bigger and more capable company, proposed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Panel set up to 'stop lies'
PUTRAJAYA: The Government has decided to set up a committee to stop the dissemination of false news, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

MIC members to form anti-GAS club to counter allegations
KLANG: Eighteen MIC members are planning to form the MIC Supporters Club, aimed at countering allegations brought up by the leaders of Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) against the MIC leadership.

Samy Vellu on MIC’s transformation
KUALA LUMPUR: The future direction and transformation of MIC since 2008 are among the topics Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is expected to address in his speech at the MIC annual general assembly today.

The beginning of Samy’s long goodbye
The succession issue will be top of the list when MIC delegates attend the 64th AGM today.

Leukaemia boy normal again, to get MIC Youth help
KUALA LUMPUR: Darwin Raj Barath was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of seven and had to leave school halfway through Year One in 2004.

Suhakam against comic ban
PETALING JAYA: Suhakam has urged the Home Ministry to lift the ban on political comic books by Zunar.

Five ex-councillors grilled over art gallery graft allegations
KLANG: Five former Hulu Selangor District Council (MDHS) councillors were questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations of graft against a council staff member yesterday.

Kampung Pokok Asam villagers stage protest
GEORGE TOWN: Kampung Pokok Asam villagers who are facing eviction to make way for development at the village are upset that their pleas to the state government have fallen on deaf ears.

TNB: Register online for bill info
PETALING JAYA: Customers of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) are advised to register at its free web-based service for their online bill information.

Shame over swearing-in, says MCA man
PETALING JAYA: Selangor MCA claimed that the postponement of two swearing-in ceremonies of local councillors here had occurred because the state government failed to get its house in order.

Cops put an end to big-time illegal money-lending syndicate
IPOH: Police have foiled an illegal money lending syndicate believed to be raking in an estimated RM17,000 daily or RM150,000 in monthly collections with the arrest of two loan sharks.

Mt Everest climbers get Datukships
GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia’s first Mount Everest conquerers N. Mohanadas and M. Magendran have been conferred Datukships in conjunction with the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas’ 72nd birthday celebration .

MTUC and MEF differ on amendments
PETALING JAYA: The MTUC and Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) have voiced differing opinions on the Employment Act amendments.

Shahrizat: New law a good start to cut sexual harassment
KUALA LUMPUR: Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil said the Employment (Amendment) Bill would send a strong message that sexual harassment cannot be tolerated.

Govt approves RM4.3mil for breast cancer patients
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has approved a RM4.3mil scheme to help breast cancer survivors in the lower income group buy prosthesis and special bras, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil.

Move to pig area farming, farmers urged
PORT DICKSON: Pig farmers are urged to move into the integrated Pig Farming Area (PFA) in Bukit Pelandok near here so that the five-year-old modern facility can commence operations.

TreatsPoints can be used to pay traffic summonses
KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank card members can use their TreatsPoints to settle traffic summonses at the Maybank Treats Fair 2010 at Midvalley Megamall here until tomorrow.

Harakah replies to showcause
KUALA LUMPUR: Harakah has replied to a show cause letter it received on Thursday from the Home Ministry, said its managing director Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.

When complaints are seen as a sign of strength
It is time a new complaints culture is created, which does not tolerate apathy toward complaints, but regards them as tools to improve our service.

Folk shaken up by tremors, fear homes may collapse
KUCHING: Some 20 residents and owners of a block of shophouses at RPR Batu Kawa Phase II here had to abandon their homes in the middle of the night when the block showed signs of collapsing.
Johor State Assembly

Johor to discuss the building of replacement bridge
NUSAJAYA: Johor will discuss the building of a new bridge to replace the 87-year-old Johor causeway with Singapore after issues relating to the points of agreement (POA) are resolved.

Reps get their little kicks over W-Cup finals
NUSAJAYA: The so-called psychic Paul the Octopus made an “appearance” at the state assembly after assemblymen digressed from their debate to dwell on the World Cup Final.

Learn other languages to boost unity, says rep
NUSAJAYA: Students have been urged to learn other languages to enhance unity, said a Barisan Nasio­nal assemblyman.

Chegubard arrested for alleged seditious blog posting
PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin has been detained by police for allegedly posting a seditious remark on his blog regarding the Yang DiPertuan Agong and the royal institution.

Proper signboards to guide motorists to Ipoh
IPOH: Improvements will be made to signboards along the northbound stretch of the North-South Express­way leading to the Ipoh Selatan toll exit.

20 love-cheat ring members nabbed
KUALA LUMPUR: Twenty foreign nationals, believed to be members of a syndicate which preyed on single and lonely women, were detained in operations conducted by the police two weeks ago.

Foul-mouthed teens rob shop owners of RM3,000
KLANG: A gang of about 25 teen­agers, one armed with a parang, stormed two shops in Jalan Cokmar Mutiara in Bukit Raja, North Klang, before robbing the owners of about RM3,000.

Computer glitch affects thousands of commuters
PETALING JAYA: Thousands of commuters were stranded when a computer glitch caused a snarl on the RapidKL LRT Kelana Jaya line during the evening peak period yesterday.

Bank robber flees with RM36,000
PETALING JAYA: A man made a quick getaway after robbing a bank of RM36,000 along Jalan Kenari in Puchong.

Civil servants in transfer exercise to improve public service
MARAN: About 800 civil servants in the state have been involved in a series of re-deployment exercises as part of efforts to provide efficient services to the public.

Casanovas lure women into sex by spiking their drinks
CASANOVAS are luring women into having sex with them by spiking their drinks with a substance that farmers use on pigs to encourage them to breed, reported Harian Metro.

Students forced to steal to pay bookies
STUDENTS who lost bets in the World Cup have been asked to steal by illegal bookies after they failed to pay up, China Press reported.

HRP wants King’s help in scholarship issue
THE Human Rights Party (HRP) is seeking the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s intervention to help top Indian students secure scholarships and study loans as well as university and matriculation placement, Malay­sia Nanban reported.