TILL DEATH DO US PART WINS TOP PULITZER AWARD
The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, USA with a
staff of 80 and a daily circulation of 85,000, won the most prestigious of the
Pulitzer Prizes for journalism awarded last Monday for a series on the high
number of deaths resulting from domestic abuse in the state.Their work told the tales of domestic abuse survivors and of the 300 women in the Palmetto State who have been shot, stabbed, strangled, beaten, bludgeoned or burned to death by men during the past decade while
legislators did little to quell the bloodshed.The series, titled Till Death Do Us Part, was awarded the gold medal for public service, the first Pulitzer the paper has won since 1925.
It is the first time in five years that the prize has gone to such a small newspaper.
A panel of seven judges from news media and academia called the newspaper’s work “riveting.” The honor was announced Monday afternoon at Columbia University in New
York City.
Source: Agency
MANY ARAB YOUTH BELIEVE LOSING THEIR LANGUAGE VALUE?
DUBAI, U.A.E. - Many Arab youth believe is losing its language value as more and more
of their peers are conversing more in English, the Arab Youth Survey found. For example, in Dubai although Arabic is the official language of the UAE, English is the most spoken language.
Three out of four (73 per cent) respondents agree that the Arabic language is central to their identity.
On the other hand, almost half of those polled (47 per cent) say that the Arabic language is losing its value while one in three (34 per cent) disagrees.
Furthermore, two out of three respondents (63 per cent)
agree that knowing English can advance their career more than knowing Arabic.Significantly, 36 per cent of young Arabs use English more than Arabic on a daily basis, the survey found.
The phenomenon is particularly prevalent in the GCC where 56 per cent say they use English more than Arabic, versus 24 per cent in non-GCC countries.
- As a result, two in three (63 per cent) are concerned about the declining use of Arabic with a fairly even split between GCC (61 per cent) and non-GCC (65 per cent).
- In context of this concern, youth in the GCC are more confident about their national government’s ability to deal with the issue, with 69 per cent expressing confidence that their government can preserve the Arabic language.
Source: Agency
S. KOREAN PM TENDERS RESIGNATION OVER BRIBERY SCANDAL
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-Koo(photo) was left in
political limbo on Tuesday after offering to resign over a scandal involving
bribery allegations against senior members of President Park Geun-Hye’s
administration.Park is currently on a trip to Latin America and a presidential spokeswoman said she would formally decide on whether to accept the resignation when she returned next week.
“I find it regrettable. I also feel sympathy for the agony
of the prime minister,”
The President Park Geun-hye(photo) said in a written statement from Lima
after being informed of Lee’s offer.
Lee, who has only been in the job for two months, tendered
his resignation late Monday after the main opposition party said it would seek
his impeachment.Lee’s office said he had reported to work Tuesday morning.
Source: AFP
PROTEST OVER CROSS AFFIXED TO HOUSE OF WORSHIP IN PJ MALAYSIA, BE REMOVED?
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - About 50 residents gathered outside a new church in Taman
Medan, Petaling Jaya today to demand that the cross affixed to the house of
worship be removed as it was "challenging Islam", The Star Online
reported today.According to the news portal, the locals demonstrated peacefully during the church service at 10am for the cross to be taken down.
The protesters said the presence of a cross in a
Muslim-majority area posed a challenge to the religion and could sway the faith
of the youth, The Star Online reported.However according to Petaling Jaya Selatan MP said Umno was behind the protest The locals who protested outside a church in Taman Medan yesterday were all Umno members from the Petaling Jaya division, PKR lawmaker Hee Loy Sian said yesterday.
The group demanded
that the church's cross be taken down on account of it being a challenge to
Islam, news portal Malaysiakini reported."The people who protested claimed themselves to be residents but all of them were Umno members," Hee reportedly told a ceramah in Taman Medan last night.
"Who was present? The secretary, the former Petaling Jaya Selatan Umno wanita chief who was also a candidate for the Taman Medan
state seat and also other Umno division leaders."Hee reportedly accused Umno of "inciting" and "intimidating" the church's congregation during yesterday’s protest, which coincided with the church's Sunday service.
The protesters, led by Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, reportedly said the presence of a cross in a Muslim-majority area posed a challenge to the religion and could sway the faith of youths.
Source: The Star, The Malaysia Insider
THOUSANDS RALLY IN GERMANY AGAINST US-EU TRADE DEAL?
Thousands of people across Germany demonstrated Saturday against
a planned free-trade deal between Europe and the United States.The protests, billed as a "Global Day of Action," came ahead of a new round of talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, beginning Monday in New York.
Opposition to the agreement centers on concerns it will lower food and other safety standards.
In Germany, it also reflects rising anti-Americanism. The
sentiments have been fueled in part by revelations of U.S. spying, including
the wiretapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone.President Barack Obama has said the deal will help grow the U.S. and European Union economies, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, increasing exports, and decreasing trade and investment barriers.
On Friday, he called for the negotiations to move forward."Now that Congress is considering important bipartisan legislation for trade promotion authority, TTIP negotiations need to make major progress this year," he said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Top U.S. lawmakers reached a deal Thursday on legislation giving Obama "trade promotion
authority" to seal the TTIP.
Source: Agency
VISITING MALAYSIA’S LOST WORLD
Malaysian Borneo is one of those rare places where you can
sense the adventure in the air, along with the green smells from thousands of
miles of rainforest just waiting to be explored. Borneo is the third-largest
island in the world, and a virtual paradise on earth for anyone who shares a
love for plants, wildlife, and adventure.
The island of Borneo is divided between Malaysia, Indonesia,
and the small, independent nation of Brunei.
The Indonesian part of Borneo --
known as Kalimantan -- covers around 73% of the island, while Malaysian Borneo
occupies the rest along the northern edge.
Malaysian Borneo has two states, Sarawak and SABAH, which
are separated by the independent country of Brunei. Sarawak's capital of
Kuching and Sabah's capital of Kota Kinabalu are the usual entry points, and
act as hubs for exploring Borneo's wild attractions.
A tropical paradise of soft sand and crystal-clear waters
together with world-class resorts and facilities.
This is
Sabah Malaysian Borneo, create perfect enriching
experience that’s more than just business.
1)Maliau Basin
Nature explorers will simply love the Maliau Basin as it is
an excellent site for jungle trekking and bird watching. It contains an unusual
assemblage of 12 forest types, comprising mainly of lower montane forest
dominated by majestic Agathis trees, rare montane heath forest and lowland, and
hill diperocarp forest. The highlight of the adventure is to trek the majestic
7 tiers Maliau Falls.
Keen visitors must, however, obtain a permission to enter
the Maliau Basin in advance from Yayasan Sabah. Also bear in mind that Maliau
Basin is a remote, atavistic and isolated area with limited access,
communications and safety facilities.
Nature explorers will simply love the Maliau Basin as it is
an excellent site for jungle trekking and bird watching.
At night, visitors may
also take a night drive for wildlife spotting. Water babies can also take a dip
in the beautiful waterfall.
Getting There
Maliau Basin Conservation Area is reachable by road either
via Tawau or Keningau. The journey is on four wheel drive and depends so much
on the weather as most of the journey is 
on logging roads to reach the Maliau
Basin Security Gate.
on logging roads to reach the Maliau
Basin Security Gate.
Journey from both Tawau and Keningau to the Security Gate of
Maliau Basin Conservation takes 5 hours; the distance from Tawau to Maliau
Basin Conservation Security Gate is 190 kilometers. Flying is another fabulous
option should you have extra allocations for this luxury.
There are several
helipads available which can be used for emergency evacuations or by visitors
who prefer to fly rather than walk.
2) Danum Valley Conservation Area
Being remote from human habitation and almost alien to
modern civilization makes the Danum Valley Conservation Area is a naturalists’
paradise.
Recognized as one of the world’s most complex ecosystem, this forest
serves as a natural home for endangered wildlife species such as banteng, Asian
elephant, clouded leopard, orang utan, proboscis monkey, as well as a vast range
of Sabah’s lowland fauna.
Here, visitors also get the chance to visit an ancient
Kadazandusun burial site, complete with belian coffins and ceramic spirit jars.
Three burial sites have been discovered in Danum Valley—two near the field
centre and one below the cliff, overlooking Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
Getting There
Lahad Datu has direct daily flights from Kota Kinabalu and
Kuala Lumpur. Another way of transportation would be air-conditioned coaches
from Kota Kinabalu which will take about 7 hours drive to reach Lahad Datu.
Sources: Malaysia Tourism, Agencies
MALAYSIA PM AND WIFE SUE OPPOSITION POLITICAN, NEWS PORTAL OWNER FOR DEFAMATION
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor are suing Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) vice president Mohd Rafizi Ramli(above photo) and an online news portal owner for
allegedly defaming them over a speech made in relation to the removal of oil
subsidies.They said that Mohd Rafizi had delivered a slanderous speech against them at a forum in Bandar Tun Razak on Nov 22 last year on issues relating to oil subsidies.
Najib, said that the
PKR secretary-general had uttered offending words in respect of his office,
while Rosmah said his words implied she had committed a criminal act.They said that the recording of the speech was uploaded by Chan Chee Kong onto Media Rakyat's website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.
Chan is the sole proprietor of MR Multimedia, the owner of online news portal Mediarakyat.
When contacted, the couple's lead counsel Datuk Mohd
Hafarizam Harun said his clients filed the civil suit to vindicate them from
the vilification and vicious attacks of late by certain Opposition leaders."Whilst my clients accept constructive criticism in politics and issues, defamatory remarks are not acceptable. Let the court decide," said Mohd Hafarizam.
In the statement of claim, they are seeking general damages, aggravated and exemplary, for slander and libel.
In
the statement of claim, they are seeking general damages, aggravated
and exemplary, for slander and libel. - See more at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysian-pm-najib-and-wife-sues-opposition-politician-news-portal-o#sthash.HeoFpHUn.dpuf
Source: Agency
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
