PAS' official organ Harakah has apologised for publishing an article that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has embraced Islam.

Harakah says sorry over 'Canadian PM a Muslim' article

image: http://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2017/04/29/15/02/clipboard01.ashx/?w=620&h=413&crop=1&hash=B63434FC3EEA875A08D84E3ABE50617688C5CFF9

 

PETALING JAYA: PAS' official organ Harakah has apologised for publishing an article that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has embraced Islam.

It posted the apology on its harakahdaily.net on April 29, stating that its editors acknowledged that an error was made and would retract the article which appeared in the April 28-30 edition of Harakah.

It said the editor acknowledged that the mistake occured due to "careless translation" from the source article.

"We apologised for the mistake and will make a correction in our next edition," it said.

The article, penned by Ustaz Zainudin Hashim, said that Trudeau embraced Islam because he discovered that the religion and its followers "are the best" in terms of, among others, their culture and social interactions.

It said Trudeau was not forced to accept Islam, but rather he understood the beauty of the religion after seeing how it was practised by Muslims in Catholic-majority Canada as reported in the press there.

The article also posted a photo showing Trudeau apparently praying with a group of worshippers inside a mosque.

However, the photo could have been taken from a site, Vatican Enquirer, which "warned" that it is "a satire/alternative facts website."

It said "all articles (posts) are made-up stories and should not be taken seriously. All content is for entertainment and fun, without any compromise with reality. We are willing to invent any story as long as you laugh."

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/29/pas-harakah-says-sorry-for-justin-trudeau-a-muslim-article/#7Zbk8a1PBwQH0SOF.99

Sepang boss Razlan Razali has urged Formula One’s new owners to “put their ego aside” and learn from the “two wheels” of Moto GP

Sepang chief urges F1 bosses to ‘put ego aside’

image: http://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2017/04/29/05/18/razlan-razali.ashx/?w=620&h=413&crop=1&hash=D0B12BB3B09764DA32823B7D090022900A16D1AA

Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali. -AFP filepic

 

LONDON: Sepang boss Razlan Razali has urged Formula One’s new owners to “put their ego aside” and learn from the “two wheels” of Moto GP if they are to revive their sport.

This year will witness the last Malaysian Grand Prix before the race disappears from the calendar after a combination of low attendances and high fees, with the government spending some $67.6 million annually to stage the event, something the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and their political bosses were no longer prepared to tolerate.

Earlier this month former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, ousted from his position after a takeover by the US-based Liberty Media in the off-season, gave an interview in which he admitted over-charging tracks to stage races.

Sepang chief executive Razlan, speaking to AFP in London on Friday, slammed Ecclestone for “making us look like idiots”.

But while acknowledging Liberty were “easier to talk to”, he said chief executive Chase Carey and managing director Sean Bratches, needed to make greater personal contact with promoters.

“I always feel for a new company to take over a championship like Formula One, they need to move faster than the Formula One cars themselves,” Razlan told AFP.

“They are too slow to react...For circuit owners who pay them a lot of money every year, the least they could do is introduce themselves, rather than us going to them and saying‘Are you Chase?, are you Sean?’“

‘Who is Lance Stroll?’

Razlan added: “They are trying their hardest to make it work, but they are too focused on the paddock club, which, let’s face it, are less than a thousand people, rather than the masses.

“What triggers the masses is to buy tickets to watch Formula One, what they experience at the Formula One is secondary.

“They want to buy tickets because Formula One is damn interesting or because they are supporting a particular driver or a team.”

Sepang may be giving up its Formula One Grand Prix, but it will remain on the Moto GP calendar and Razlan said: “Moto GP, they have everything, they have great support races with Moto Three and Moto Two.

“There are three world championship races and they create fans from the beginning.

“When a new rider comes into Moto Three, younger fans follow this particular rider.

“Maverick Vinales, for example, he started in Moto Three, he moved all the way up to Moto GP and the fans did the same.”

But the pathway on four wheels is not so clear and Razlan said: “You look at Formula One, who’s Lance Stroll (a new Williams driver this season), you tell me?

“There’s no harm in looking at what the two wheels are doing, put ego aside, put whatever aside, and look at what they are doing.”

Meanwhile Razlan, while pleased the F1 calendar now had back-to back races in the same region, said a gap of two weeks, as will happen when October’s Malaysia Grand Prix follows September’s Singapore Grand Prix later this year, was too long to persuade international fans to stay in the region for both races.

“Last year we were two weeks back-to-back with Singapore, that’s still a long wait -- it should be one week, directly back-to-back,” he insisted.

“It’s unique for Asia, having one week to watch a night street race and then one week you go to a proper circuit like Sepang. I think it’s fantastic for the global fans.

“It’s something we talked about with Bernie in the past and sort of mentioned to Liberty Media, but they seem to have other plans.” -AFP

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Police swooped on a man armed with knives metres away from the Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday,

London police arrest man 'preparing act of terror'

Firearms officers detain a man on Whitehall near the Houses of Parliament in central London on April 27, 2017 before being taken away by police. - AFP

 

LONDON: Police swooped on a man armed with knives metres away from the Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday, arresting him on suspicion of preparing “acts of terrorism”.

The 27-year-old man was pinned to the ground in the middle of the road close to the Treasury and entrances to Westminster station on the London Underground train network.

The area has been on a state of heightened alert since a deadly attack on March 22 perpetrated by Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old convert to Islam.

Masood drove into pedestrians, killing four, and stabbed a police officer to death at the gates of parliament before being shot dead by an armed officer.

London’s Scotland Yard police headquarters said nobody was injured in Thursday’s incident.

They said the man was arrested at 2:22pm (1322 GMT) following a “stop and search” procedure as part of an ongoing operation.

The man “was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism”, Scotland Yard said.

”Knives have been recovered from him.

”He is being detained under the Terrorism Act and is in custody in a south London police station.

”Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command are continuing their investigation, and as a result of this arrest there is no immediate known threat.”

An AFP photographer saw firearms officers surrounding the man, who was dressed in dark clothing, and pinning him to the ground at a pedestrian island.

The bearded man, with close-cropped hair, was seen being detained closed to a telephone booth used by countless tourists posing for photographs with the Houses of Parliament in the background.

David Wisniowski, who was working on a building site right next to the incident, told AFP he could see “three knives on the floor, one big one and two small”.

Gabrielle Hennessy, 20, a US tourist, described seeing police rush at a man.

”We were walking along Parliament Square and we saw police rush at him. And then he was on the ground surrounded by police. They stood him up and that’s when I saw the knife on the ground,” she told AFP.

Police taped off the area in question.

An officer in forensic overalls could be seen photographing and picking up the knives, and looking inside a bag on the ground.

The incident happened close to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Downing Street office.

May was outside London on a general election campaign visit at the time, a spokeswoman said.

”This is an ongoing police operation and we are monitoring it,” she said.

”The prime minister has been informed by officials and she will be updated, as usual for incidents like this.” - AFP

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2017/04/27/british-police-arrest-man-with-knives-at-pm-residence/#0oWDpdkOAssyyLTe.99

Iconic Indian actor and politician Vinod Khanna died Thursday in Mumbai. He was 70.

Indian actor and politician Vinod Khanna dies at 70

 

NEW DELHI: Iconic Indian actor and politician Vinod Khanna (pic) died Thursday in Mumbai. He was 70.

The Mumbai premiere of much-awaited blockbuster "Baahubali: The Conclusion" was cancelled as a mark of respect for Khanna, who died of advanced bladder carcinoma.

Khanna began his career in 1968 playing an antagonist in "Man Ka Meet." He was a popular screen villain, notably in "Mera Gaon Mera Desh," until he became a leading man with "Hum Tum Aur Who."

He soon became one of India's most bankable stars, with such films as "Achanak," "Imtihan" and "Haath Ki Safai."

He was considered to be in the same league as such Hindi film superstars as Amitabh Bachchan, with whom he acted together in "Zameer" and "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" (1978).

In 1982, when he was at the height of his fame, Khanna left the film industry for five years to follow the spiritual leader Osho.

He made a comeback in 1987 with hits "Insaaf" and "Satyameva Jayate." In 1997, Khanna became a member of parliament on the ticket of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. That same year, he produced "Himalay Putra" to launch the acting career of his son Akshay Khanna.

In 2002, he had stints as minister for culture and tourism and external affairs.

Khanna continued acting. His last release was "Dilwale," a 2015 Bollywood hit headlining Shah Rukh Khan.

Indian media personality, Karan Johar tweeted: "His screen presence is unparalleled even today...his super star swag is what we grew up on....RIP -VinodKhanna...thoughts and prayers...."

Khanna is survived by wife Kavita, sons Akshay, Rahul and Sakshi, and daughter Shraddha. - Reuters

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2017/04/27/indian-actor-and-politician-vinod-khanna-dies-at-70/#FZ35iOQS1dWQJVBT.99

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested nine members of a syndicate which illegally obtained work permit renewals for foreign worker

MACC cripples syndicate illegally obtaining foreign worker permits

NST

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested nine members of a syndicate which illegally obtained work permit renewals for foreign workers, and acted as their agents.

The racket was detected and foiled by the MACC and MyEG Services Berhad (MyEG) after anomalies were observed in their online workers’ permit renewal activities.

The arrests were made in simultaneous operations at 11am today in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Johor. Three suspects were detained in Selangor, two in Penang, three in Johor and one in Perak.

An MACC source said the syndicate’s modus operandi was to offer bribes to Immigration officers to collect renewed work permits – which had been applied for and approved online – without the presence of the workers’ employers. Under the law, only employers are allowed to collect renewed work permits.

"The syndicate’s agents are believed to have offered bribes of between RM50 and RM700 for every application, to facilitate the process without having to comply with the stipulated procedures.

"The suspects, aged between 33 and 50, are being investigated under Section 16 (b) (A) of MACC Act 2009," the source said.

MACC Investigation Director Datuk Simi Abdul Ghani confirmed the arrest and said the suspects will be remanded to facilitate investigations.

"The MACC views this matter seriously, as such acts can cause untoward incidents which may affect national security," he said.

Chinese-based Huawei’s strong growth cemented its number three position in the world smartphone market after Samsung and Apple

Samsung, Apple keep top spots in smartphone market

Samsung led the market in the first quarter with a 22.8% share to 14.9% for Apple. The AFP photo shows South Korean students playing mobile games on Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphones.

 

WASHINGTON: Samsung and Apple maintained their leadership in the smartphone market in early 2017 while Chinese-based Huawei’s strong growth cemented its number three position, a market tracker said Thursday.

Research firm IDC said overall smartphone shipments grew 4.3% in the first quarter, slightly better than its prior forecast, to 347 million units.

”The first quarter smartphone results further prove that the smartphone industry is not dead and that growth still exists,” said IDC analyst Ryan Reith.

”There is no question that 2016 was a pivotal year for the industry as growth dipped to low single digits for the first time. However, we believe the industry will show some rebound in 2017, and the strong first quarter results certainly support this argument.”

Reith said the 2017 market will feel the impact of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship handset, and a widely expected announcement from Apple for its new iPhone later this year.

According to the survey, Samsung led the market in the first quarter with a 22.8% share to 14.9% for Apple, with little growth for the top two vendors.

But Huawei’s sales jumped 21.7% to give it a 9.8% share, and fellow Chinese makers Oppo and Vivo, the number four and five vendors, respectively, also boosted their sales.

IDC said the bulk of smartphone growth is likely to come from low-cost handset makers.

”Although we have seen an abundance of premium redesigned flagships that just entered the market, moving forward, we still expect most of the growth to come from more affordable models in a variety of markets,” said IDC’s Anthony Scarsella.

”Despite all the popularity and media hype around premium devices, we continue to witness a shift in many companies’ portfolios geared towards affordable devices with premium-type styling compared to flagship models.”

He added that makers “have started to implement a single premium design language that ultimately blurs the lines between the high-end and the low-end, allowing the average consumer to jump on the brand without a hefty upfront investment.”

The report is based on preliminary quarterly estimates, with Apple due to report sales figures next week. - AFP

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United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum,

United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane

BY TIMOTHY MCLAUGHLIN

CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage.

Viral videos of Dr. David Dao being dragged down the aisle of a United jet and Chief Executive Oscar Munoz's handling of the incident touched off a public outcry, prompted calls from congressmen for new industry regulation, and led United's board of directors to reverse an agreement to make Munoz company chairman in 2018.

United said earlier on Thursday that it would offer passengers who give up their seats up to $10,000, reduce overbooking of flights and no longer call on law enforcement officers to deny ticketed passengers their seats.

Southwest Airlines also said on Thursday that it would end overbooking of flights.

Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, was injured when Chicago aviation police removed him from his seat and then dragged him from the plane to make space for four crew members on the flight from O'Hare International Airport to Louisville, Kentucky.

United has taken "full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago," Thomas Demetrio, an attorney for Dao, said in a statement.

Demetrio said there was no need to proceed with separate litigation against the city. Republic Airways, United's regional partner which operated the flight that Dao was on, has also been released from responsibility as part of the settlement, Demetrio's office said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office declined to comment on the settlement.

The three Chicago Department of Aviation officers who pulled Dao off the plane and a supervisor involved in the incident remain on paid leave, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokesman Karen Pride, who declined to comment on the settlement.

United said in a separate statement that it was pleased to reach "an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411."

"We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the centre of everything we do," the airline said.

Munoz stressed that point in a letter sent on Thursday to customers, saying the airline would increase its focus on their satisfaction.

"We can never say we are sorry enough for what occurred, but we also know meaningful actions will speak louder than words," he said.

Separately, officials at 10 of the busiest U.S. airports said their rules prevent security officers from physically removing passengers from airplanes unless a crime is committed.

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)


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Najib Visits Bakery in Manila Opened by 4 young entrepreneurs who recovered their RM1 million investment in 4 months

Najib visits Malaysian-owned bakery in Manila

BY MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR

image: http://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2017/04/28/04/23/najibbakery.ashx/?w=620&h=413&crop=1&hash=0944D4F2EA83028DE4BEE464EFE7C8085E44FDD7

Najib (third from left) and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan (third from right) at the Naah!im bakery in Manila.

 

MANILA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took time off from his busy schedule here for the Asean Summit to visit a bakery set up by four young Malaysians.

"Supporting 4 young entrepreneurial Malaysians who have opened a very successful bakery in Metro Manila," he tweeted.

The bakery, Naah!im, opened only four months ago but its owners have already recovered their investment of RM1mil.

The four partners, Ungku Raad Azeraai, Ahmad Ferman Tjandra Ahmad, Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar and Mohd Farez Mohd Yusof decided to venture into the Philippines because of its large local population.

"We also wanted to take advantage of the Muslim population here, which makes up 5% of the Philippines' 100 million people," Ungku Raad said.

The owners, who are all below 40, are now looking to expand their business by opening more kiosks and potentially supplying pastries to local airlines.

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/28/najib-visits-malaysian-owned-bakery-in-manila/#OxqRXzc2FbwiD7Ac.99