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NST Online Business Times : latest
NST Online Business Times : latest |
| US stocks plunge on eurozone turmoil Posted: 09 Sep 2011 06:34 PM PDT NEW YORK: US stocks plunged on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding more than 300 points, as global stock markets were stung by fresh anxiety in the eurozone over Greece's bailout. The Dow fell 303.68 points (2.69 percent) to close at 10,992.13. The broader S&P 500 fell 31.67 points (2.67 percent) to 1,154.23, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 61.15 points (2.42 percent) to 2,467.99. Early losses on Wall Street accelerated after the unexpected news that the European Central Bank's chief economist, Juergen Stark, was resigning "for personal reasons". Hours after his resignation was announced, Stark called for drastic reforms to the eurozone, as ECB watchers suggested that the bank was deeply split over its handling of Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
"The markets are falling sharply because there is a lot of fear that there might be a European sovereign debt situation, and in particular in Greece," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist of Rockwell Global Capital. Shell-shocked investors scurried for the safety of US Treasuries, sending the yield on the 10-year note to its lowest level in history. The 10-year yield dropped as low as 1.896 percent, falling below 1.9 percent for the first time ever, before making a partial rebound. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. Financial stocks were down sharply, although US banks fared better than some of their counterparts in Europe: Citigroup sank 4.4 percent and JPMorgan Chase dropped 4.3 percent. McDonald's gave the Dow a case of heartburn; shares of the globe-spanning restaurant chain plunged 4.0 percent after it reported that its August sales were worse than expected. Hewlett-Packard dived 5.1 percent. Investors have dumped shares of the tech firm since it unveiled a controversial restructuring plan last month that includes the spin-off of its personal computer business. -- AFP |
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NST Online: Sports
NST Online: Sports |
| Rugby / World Cup: Tonga no match for All Blacks Posted: 09 Sep 2011 05:22 PM PDT AUCKLAND: The All Blacks backs, working off the magic passing of Sonny Bill Williams in the first half, ignited the Rugby World Cup as they set up a 41-10 victory over Tonga in the opening match here yesterday. On a calm night in a packed stadium of 60,000, the All Blacks scored six tries to one with Williams figuring in three of them. But it was not the complete package the tournament top seeds were after to send an emphatic message to the rest of the field and it was their worst performance in four outings against the Pacific islanders.
"Perhaps in the second half we spent some time in their 22 and we didn't manage to get much, so that's something that we're going to work on," he said. "We talked about it at half-time: if you give an opportunity once, it's easy to concede a try and get a bit loose. I suppose that's a little disappointing but again we created opportunities and for the most part it's a good start."
They were on track in the first half but their cohesion deserted them after the break when Tonga brought on four fresh forwards and put noticeable steel into their backline defence. There was a period of humiliation for the All Blacks when they were forced to concede a series of defensive penalties and the Tongans showed their disdain for the power of the All Blacks pack by opting for scrums.
Following a grand opening extravaganza which featured All Blacks icon Jonah Lomu who is of Tongan descent, the tournament favourites soaked up the best Tonga had to offer for the first 12 minutes before unleashing their fire power. The four first half tries, two each to Israel Dagg and Richard Kahui, were all long-range affairs as the All Blacks carved up the loose Tongan defence. The islanders much vaunted forward power was then not enough to hold off the black attack with McCaw, at his third Cup, controlling the breakdown and Williams' passing setting up the All Blacks flyers. Dagg had the honour of scoring the first try of the World Cup, the result of deft work by Kahui who opened the Tongan defence to send Sonny Bill Williams inside the Tongan 22. When Williams was tackled Kahui popped up to keep the momentum going and Dagg was up from fullback to receive the final pass. Kahui benefitted from a Williams' magic pass to score next when the inside centre produced a deft unload to Toeava cutting infield and Kahui raced across from the opposite wing to finish the move. A Williams pass in the tackle to Toava produced Dagg's second try before the fullback fed Kahui for try number four and the All Blacks had 29 points before a Kurt Morath penalty put Tonga on the board. But it was a different Tonga after the break and in the first 15 minutes after the resumption Williams, Ma'a Nonu, Toeava (twice) and Brad Thorn were all dropped in crunching tackles in reach of the try line. Kahui snapped the spell, re-gathering his own chip kick and passed to the ever-present Dagg for his third try. Taumalolo scored Tonga's try in the 73rd minute before the All Blacks closed out the game with Ma'a Nonu scoring in the dying stages. -- AFP |
| Archery: Possible double looms large Posted: 09 Sep 2011 05:20 PM PDT 2011/09/10 Khairul Anuar Mohamad (left) and Cheng Chu Sian together with Wan Khalmizan (inset) are in the recurve team final. A day after Khairul Anuar Mohamad created history by becoming the first Malaysian to reach a World Cup final in an individual event, he was back at it again, combining with Cheng Chu Sian and Wan Khalmizan Wan Abd Aziz into a final showdown with top seeds United States. Khairul Anuar will also be facing an American in the individual final when he goes up against Jake Kaminski, hoping to write another chapter into the history books.
The 10th-seeded Malaysians maintained their consistent showing by beating fellow surprise packages Finland 221-215 in the semi-finals as the Americans eliminated France 226-215 in the last four. Malaysia have lost their two previous meetings with the US in the World Cup series, both times in Porec, Croatia in 2009 and 2011 with the sole win coming at the Beijing Good Luck tournament in 2007.
The performance in Shanghai will give the archers a huge boost ahead of the London Olympics after having secured three quota spots by finishing ninth in the team event at the World Championships in Italy this year. |
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NST Online: StreetsJohor
NST Online: StreetsJohor |
| Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:44 AM PDT 2011/09/08 No shouting is required when buying fish at the Kuala Muda Whispering Fish Auction KEPALA BATAS: Buying fish at the famous Kuala Muda Whispering Fish Auction at the Penang-Kedah border is an "intimate" affair. No elbowing, pushing or shouting is required. Just by whispering is enough.
Then, the bidding war begins in a very gentleman-like manner. The interested buyers take their turns to whisper their offers to the respective fishermen. When the fishermen have decided on their preferred bidders, the catches are taken aside and the money is paid. There are no disputes.
The whispering auction, according to the local community, has existed since the day of their forefathers and many claim that it is the only place in the country that featured such a unique practice. Fishmonger Koay Beng Hock, 34, from Penang Island said he visits the auction every in the morning to get fresh supply of seafood for his stall in the Batu Lanchang afternoon market. "People come here from all over the state for the catches. You can get good bargains," he said. The "whispering", he revealed, allowed each potential buyer to remain discreet about his offer and stand a better chance to get the catch but because most of the buyers there were regulars in the same business, they could each guess how much the other person was offering. Most of the buyers are wholesalers and fishmongers. But the fishermen also sell their fish to restaurateurs and households in smaller numbers. "That is why the fishermen never haul up all their catch at once, but break them up into smaller numbers to accommodate smaller groups of clients. "This whispering arrangement benefits the fishermen as they can sell directly to their customers," said Kuala Muda Seberang Prai fishermen unit head Jasmin Saad. He said there were some 250 fishermen operating on the Seberang Prai side of Kuala Muda while another 250 operated on the other side of the river in Kedah. |
| Durians — love them or loathe them Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:07 AM PDT AT a recent fruit fest, the organisers generously provided some 800kg of durian for guests to enjoy. The durian-tasting session was to start in half an hour but I saw a few die-hard durian lovers already at the fruit table and a line quickly formed behind them, snaking long and winding around the event area. Once the D2, D13 and D24 durians were opened, these fans did not hesitate to pick up their share and even went back again and again to help themselves to more of the plump yellow-fleshed pieces of durian.
After all, there was a queue of people who had yet to savour their first morsels. It was disturbing that these seemingly educated, civilised and matured-looking people were driven to behave in such an uncouth manner because of their desire for more durians.
Or, by sleight of hand, they can switch a bag of carefully-chosen durians for rotten ones, so that by the time the unsuspecting customer discovers it at home, it would be too late or inconvenient to return the fruits. This often happens at makeshift stalls because they know that customers cannot find them again at that same spot.
My uncle was going from Johor Baru to visit relatives in Malacca and stopped along the way to buy some buah tangan (gifts that you take when visiting friends or relatives). How embarrassed he was when the durians he bought turned out to be rotten. Now, every season when we come across any dodgy-looking durians, this incident is retold because we can never forget how my uncle went looking for that dishonest dealer. Another favourite family durian anecdote involves Uncle Arthur who, as a boy, had the misfortune of being hit on his head by a falling durian. At that time, the family lived in an area around a pond in Johor Baru, close to what is now known as Jalan Quek Keng Kang, where there were many durian, ciku, rambutan and starfruit trees. When it happened, my uncle was momentarily stunned but thankfully had no lasting injury. He's a father of two and recently celebrated his 69th birthday. With the durian season in full swing, I'm receiving invitations to durian plantations for durian feasts, but my first question is, "Do you provide helmets?" They think I'm joking and just paranoid, but I don't fancy getting a thorny fruit falling from a height onto my head as that can cause serious damage. And I don't have a head as resilient as my uncle's! Last week, when the topic of durians came up in conversation, my friend Linda confessed that she and her husband can skip a meal and substitute it with just durians. If there was any excess, it would be packed and refrigerated, ready to be eaten for breakfast. Unlike them, who have each other to share their durian craze, my Uncle Victor, the family's durian king, ironically married a woman who doesn't like fruits. Maybe that's a good thing, since whenever his children were away, he would then bring his durians over to enjoy with us instead. The other night, Uncle Victor brought a stash of the choicest kampung durian to share with us, and I observed how skillfully he opened the fruits and neatly split open every uneven wedge. When a wedge that had worms was opened, he proved to be a fearless connoisseur who helped himself to whatever was in it. A lesser enthusiast might just discard whatever was worm-infested, but Uncle Victor made sure nothing was wasted. Durian fans are aware of the fruit's "warming properties", so they counteract it by consuming various remedies believed to help cool the body system. One way is to eat durian along with mangosteens. I was also taught the traditional method of mixing salt water in an empty pod to drink and wash my hand. Amazingly this will not only remove the pungent smell from my hand and mouth but will also discourage any throat infection. During the season, some fans will buy fresh durian and pack them in deep freeze so that it can be taken out, thawed and slowly savoured whenever they had a craving for its delectable custard-like taste. It's interesting that once you get past the smell, there's so much to enjoy and I take my hat off to foreigners with an adventurous palate who have acquired a taste for this fruit which is banned in many places because of its smell. It's been described to smell like garbage, dead meat and dirty socks but love it or loathe it, durian is clearly here to stay. |
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NST Online: Latest
NST Online: Latest |
| Deadly floods hit US northeast in wake of Irene Posted: 08 Sep 2011 11:35 PM PDT PHILADELPHIA: Heavy rain on Thursday swamped areas of the US northeast already sodden from Hurricane Irene, with up to five people killed as flash floods forced over 100,000 to leave their homes. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning for counties in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia, as towns became inundated, busy highways closed down and commuter lines backed up. US President Barack Obama declared an emergency in New York state, ordering federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts to "save lives and to protect property and public health and safety," the White House said.
Stephen Bekenich, the county's emergency management director, warned that those who remained in flood-prone areas could not count on being rescued. "If folks choose not to leave, they are taking (their) lives into their own hands," he said. "Help may not be able to reach them." The city of Binghamton, New York — where 8.5 inches (21.6 centimeters) of rain fell in 24 hours — ordered a mandatory city-wide evacuation, affecting 10,000 people.
"We expect historic or near-historic flooding in many parts of the state," Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Ruth Miller told AFP. Three unconfirmed fatalities during the stormy weather have been reported to authorities in Pennsylvania, she said, as the state grappled with some of its worst flooding since 1972's benchmark Hurricane Agnes, which ravaged much of the mid-Atlantic region as a deadly tropical storm.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had earlier mobilized emergency response resources, also warned of further severe flooding, calling the situation "frightening." More potentially dangerous weather is expected in the northeast after Irene, which was blamed for more than 40 deaths. Three cyclones are brewing in the Atlantic: Tropical Storm Nate, hovering in the Gulf of Mexico and threatening Mexico and Texas; fast-moving Tropical Storm Maria, which could hit Puerto Rico early Sunday and the Bahamas next week; and Hurricane Katia, off the US east coast and expected to remain out at sea. The latest foul weather is the remains of Tropical Storm Lee, which slammed into the Gulf Coast on Sunday, dumping torrential rains on a huge swath of the American south, mid-Atlantic region and northeast already drenched by Irene. "It is a double-whammy," said spokesman Bill Peat of the New York state Office of Emergency Management. Irene dumped more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in parts of New York and Pennsylvania over the past four days, triggering huge floods. National Guard troops have been deployed in New York and Pennsylvania, and rescue personnel are on standby. The flash flood warnings include much of New Jersey, which suffered devastating flooding from Irene after it made landfall hundreds of miles (kilometers) south and trailed heavy rains all the way up the coast. - AFP
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| Unhealthy air in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:38 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Nilai area in Negeri Sembilan recorded an unhealty air quality, with an air pollutant index (API) reading of 101 at 11am today, the Department of Environment said. Thirty-five other areas recorded a moderate air quality while the air quality in 15 other areas was good. The reading in Bukit Rambai, Melaka was 96 at 11am while Petaling Jaya was at 94, Shah Alam (93) and Port Klang and Batu Muda at 88.
The department said in a statement yesterday that it expected the haze to persist in the next few days and advised the public not to carry out open burning. -- BERNAMA |
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NST Online: Topnews
NST Online: Topnews |
| Higher education liberalisation the right move: PM Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:33 PM PDT Higher education liberalisation the right move: PMKUALA LUMPUR: The government made the right decision to liberalise the higher education sector in 1996, enabling more students to pursue their tertiary education locally, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today. The Prime Minister said the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 had encouraged private sector and government-linked companies and foreign institutions to set up universities and branch campuses as well as conduct twinning programmes in the country. "It was a blue ocean strategy before the term was even coined and became popular in providing more places for Malaysians as local institutions cannot accommodate all the qualified students and not every Malaysian can afford the cost of an overseas education," he said at the 13th convocation of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman at Wisma MCA here.
Najib added that the willingness to invest in human capital development had held Malaysia in good stead as a nation. He said that in just one generation Malaysia was transformed from a low income agriculture economy into an upper middle income modern industrial economy.
"No economy can succeed without a highly skilled talent base that respond creatively to economic changes, and is centred on creating, developing and utilising knowledge," he said. He congratulated the graduands and told them graduands that their responsibility now is to propel the nation to greater heights.
The Prime Minister presented scrolls to 60 of the 2,773 graduands at the ceremony. -- BERNAMA Air your comment on this issue: Higher education liberalisation the right move: PMLog in with your Facebook account or use the form below to comment. New Straits Times reserves the right not to publish offensive or abusive comments and those of hate speech, harassment, commercial promos and invasion of privacy. Your IP will be logged and may be used to prevent further submission.The views expressed here are that of the members of the public and unless specifically stated are not those of NST. |
| Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:40 AM PDT 2011/09/08 KUALA LUMPUR: Women represent only 46 per cent of the labour force despite occupying up to 67 per cent of university places. A day after the New Straits Times reported on a growing gender imbalance of 70:30 in the newest batch of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia undergraduates, Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said trained human capital did not all end up at work. He said as such, the government should think of a way to keep women in the workforce as the relatively low percentage of female workers suggested that not all female undergraduates remained in employment.
"Many women decide to stay home after giving birth as they do not trust individuals, such as maids, to care for their children. Hence, more affordable and reliable childcare centres should be established," he said. The quality and security of childcare centres should also be improved, given the rising number of accidents reported recently.
While the UKM situation could be a one-off thing, the average university gender imbalance ratio remains at 67:33. Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said in most industries, female workers generally performed as well as their male counterparts.
He said universities were merit-based and reflected the fact that female students performed better than male students. "However, we should closely look into the reasons why this trend is continuing and find ways to address the fact that the men are simply not performing as well." Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Mohd Khalid Atan said nothing should stop women from having a good career. "They should climb the ladder and utilise the skills they have learned in university." Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the challenge was to translate women's access to education into greater opportunities in the labour market, especially in decision-making positions. She said the government was taking actions to increase the participation of women in the labour force. Shahrizat viewed the trend of a higher number of female undergraduates as a "remarkable progress of Malaysian women in education". She said this was a global trend as quoted by futurist and strategist David Houle, who said the percentage of female students in higher education was at an all-time high. In the United States and Canada, about 60 per cent of undergraduates are women. This trend has also emerged in most countries in the Asia-Pacific, according to the Unesco Report on Gender Issues on Higher Education 2010. |
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NST Online: Exclusive
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| I can take on Aziz anytime: Dr Zul Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:25 PM PDT I can take on Aziz anytime: Dr Zul2010/10/29 GUA MUSANG: Pas' candidate Dr Zulkefli Mohamed remained a good sport over jokes that his stocky frame might tire him fast during the campaign trail. He said he was used to work long hours when he was a doctor at government hospitals in the past. "There were times when I had to work over 36 hours on a stretch, then. I think I can keep up with the hectic campaign schedule now," he said.
Some segments of political watchers have been heard making comparisons between the two candidates of their physiques. Such light banter follows an absence of substantive issues to debate since campaigning started on Nov 26.
To keep fit, he said he took a lot of water and sufficient rest. When a reporter asked about his weight, Dr Zulkefli said: "I do not know. Let us keep it as a secret."
Visit us for more web exclusives everyday from NST Galas team. For full stories and in-depth news, get NST in print tomorrow. Air your comment on this issue: I can take on Aziz anytime: Dr ZulLog in with your Facebook account or use the form below to comment. New Straits Times reserves the right not to publish offensive or abusive comments and those of hate speech, harassment, commercial promos and invasion of privacy. Your IP will be logged and may be used to prevent further submission.The views expressed here are that of the members of the public and unless specifically stated are not those of NST. |
| Sabah Umno reaching the 500,000 mark Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:17 PM PDT Once upon a time, a real history took place and handed down the real lessons out of the events concluded that a small number can defeat a huge number of opponents by the will of Allah taala. Therefore, in the modern institutions and struggle like political institutions, this lessons of history is still relevant and worthy to ponder. In fact, there are many facts to ponder on why the listed numbers of political members do not reflex the true pictures. The Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Musa Aman's recent annoucement of Sabah UMNO success in the recruitment of membership drive does not mean much to me as it seems to suggest it is the result of his leadership. A leader should be humble and not self glorifying. One's work should be judged by the people and not himself. I still remember our DPM, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin remark in the opening of the PBS congress in Kota Kinabalu recently where he said "he has done little in the success of the Batu Sapi by election ". Frankly how many can do that ? This is the model of leader we must emulate - humble, unassuming and lead by example. Traits of great leader who make small people feel great. Afterall, recruitment of new members in any party is the duty and obligation of its leaders. It is not a competition as it is the quality and not quantity of the effort that count. We should not trumpet about it. High membership in any political party does not guarantee success if the party and its leaders do not command the support from its ranks and files as well as leaders from other coalition parties, particularly in the state of Sabah. Having such a mentality would breed complacency and place the party concerned and BN in a perilous situation. Sabah UMNO chief, Datuk Musa Aman's annoucement that their membership drive to date has reached 456,000 membership level, the highest among all other states is indeed quite credible. The first thing that comes to thought is 456,000 is 456,000 until the half million mark is reached which is another 44,000 more to go and this is not a small number. In the annoucement, last year alone, they only managed to recruit 40,000 new members and has no mention of what this year's result is ? Has the effort reached been saturated is another question that surfaces in my mind. My concern however is in any numerical assessment, we must give the picture in its correct perspective and not try to over dramatise or sensationalise it to justify certain motives, personal or otherwise. And when figures concerning and affecting the outcome of an election, the state and the image of UMNO and Barisan Nasional, we have to be careful and truthful. The annoucement also gives rise to many questions to be answered. First, how many of these registered members will actually and eventually vote and vote for BN comes election time?. Is the annoucement trying to suggest we are growing stronger, there is nothing to worry and we can repeat the big win in the state achieved in the last election ? The Batu Sapi by election is no doubt the combined efforts in greater and lesser extend of all state BN coalition members. However, with the bad blood that existed all along with the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Musa Aman and PBS president, Datuk Pairin, with SAPP president, Datuk Yong Teck Lee, the duel was in actual fact a life and dead battle among the subject combatants. Aided by a predominantly bumi constituency,the vast resources from BN and the ever tireless presence of our DPM, the vast win at Batu Sapi could be an isolated incident. Removing these factors, or in a diluted extent, the result could be different. As a rough estimate, Sabah with a population of 2.5 million and say,with a 60% eligible voters, it will work out to have about 1.5 million potential voters. From the above, the present UMNO membership only represents to about 30% of the total possible voters. Will that be adequate to determine another landslide victory in the coming election ? given the fact there 60 constituencies in the state ? Many in the last encounter encountered sort of narrow escape ? The growing number of unresolved problems faced by the people todate? The discontents of the present leadership among the files and ranks ? How much support the present state leadership since last reappointed, still enjoy is therefore any one's guess. To me the annoucement seems to be made in conjunction with the coming BN convention in Kuala Lumpur in an effort to influence its outcomes |
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