#4

Local 

   A 17-year-old student of SMK Seri Kota in Ayer Leleh jumped to her death from the third floor of the building at school in front of horrified teachers and schoolmates was a shock to many.

   Sally Lee Qian Chun, a Form five students, who was attending Chemistry at that time had rush out of class and went to the third floor of the building. Witnesses of the incident that happened around 9.15 am were shocked to find her sitting on the ledge facing the classroom and then falling backwards.

   She died from fatal head injuries.

   Earlier she had posted several comments in her profile page in the social networking website Facebook that she planned to take her own life and that this would be her last Chinese New Year. The posts which were made using her profile name “Sally Lee Chun” had resulted in taunts and dare from her friends telling her to go on with her plans.

  Teachers and friends paid their last respects to her on Wednesday, at the Melaka Memorial Park, Jelutong, before her remains were cremated. The scene where her sobbing parents were comforted by relatives and many of her friends crying was heart wrenching.

  Taking her own life just because of rejection? I get how she feels but taking her own life is just really stupid. She might be smart but she's not very bright.

International

   It is assumed that Murabak were to step down when the army met with the head of armed forced not present. For what it's worth, Egypt's information minister says it's all just a rumour and Mubarak will not step down.

   Having failed to meet the demand of the protesters to step down from his position immediately, Hosni Murabak, current president of Egypt have announced on Thursday that he will transfer his powers to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, a former intelligence chief trusted by Washington.

   Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square were enraged by the fact that Murabak have not stepped down. They hurled shoes during the address while shouting “Down, Down, Hosni Murabak”.

   "My heart went out and I felt the pain as you did. I tell you, that my response to your voice and message and your demands is a commitment that cannot be waived," he said. Murabak had stated on his speech on Thursday that he will not step down until the September polls, saying this could lead to chaos in Egypt.

   I think he should just step down so that everyone else can have a peace of mind. The protest is already at this state and he is still so desperately trying to hold on to what he is bound to lose. If he really is "for the people" then do what that is right.

#3

Local

   Chinese New Year is just around the corner and things seem to be in the waters as the flood that had badly affected five states. Incessant rain caused rivers to overflow and flood surrounding areas, mainly in Johor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca. The flood waters have cut off roads and rail links to owns in the southern part of the country.

   Thousands were evacuated, being displaced from their homes and recently claiming another life, increasing the death toll to five. The four previously reported deaths, three were from Johor and the other from Malacca. 

   Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris, Johor’s Sultan consort, will work closely with the district offices and the Welfare Department to help the Chinese in Johor affected by the floods. She hoped to bring some cheers to the victims who are celebrating Chinese New Year as some of them are forced to be away from their home due to the flood.

   “Our work does not end here such as giving contributions to the flood victims. We must continue to help them to deal with the aftermath of the flood,” Raja Zarith Sofiah said.

   Raja Zarith Sofiah also said that there is much more that needs to be done as victims not only need material and financial support but also moral support for them to move forward and continue on with their lives.

   I really pity those who have to go through a new year like that. Chinese New Year should be a joyous and filled with happiness but to be so far away from you own home is just really UNhappy. But this is the consequences that we have to bear. We are responsible for what that is happening to earth, global warming.

International

   Having no more freedom than the Tunisians, the Egyptians have been inspired by the recent fall of the Tunisian government to rise up against their president, Hosni Mubarak, who has been ruling the Egyptian regime since the early 1980s. More than ten thousands of protesters have gathered to protest against their autocratic governments, high level of corruption, and grinding property.

   They want more freedom, more jobs and for prices of consumer products to go down. Egypt is ranked 138th of 167 countries on The Economist's Democracy index, a widely accepted measure of political freedom. That ranking puts Egypt just seven spots ahead of Tunisia. And Egyptians are significantly poorer than their cousins to the west.

   The internet has been shut down to prevent the protesters to communicate widely to gain more support and  gather up more people to go against the government. Even mobile communications are not working and all international news channel on the television have been closed down so that the locals do not know what that is happening. With most of the communications down, people are more likely to stay home.

   Many of the protestors in Cairo’s Liberation Square were bowing in prayer, chanting and waving the Egyptian flag on Friday, hoping for the removal of Murabak. The US have been working behind the scenes  to have him hand over the power. Murabak said he is willing to retire but he has warned of the chaos if he goes now.

#2

Local

   The video of a poodle being abuse by a man uploaded on the social networking site Facebook have caught the attention of many. People who has viewed the video have been enraged by it and urged the police force to track down and arrest the two people implicated in the video.

   In the video, the poodle was seen being force to stand on its two hind legs and was being hit violently when it it got tired or could not stand properly. The poodle was also punched causing it flung a distance.

   The 15-minute video had been uploaded by a Facebook user who discovered the video in a thumbdrive she had found in a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.

The picture of Ms Doreen Loo and the poodle uploaded on Facebook.

   It is believed that a Facebook user, by the name of 'Doreen Loo', had direct links to the pet abuser. The dog in the abuse video looked seemingly similar to a poodle on Ms Doreen Loo's photo album. Many harsh comments had been thrown at the picture of Ms Doreen Loo posing with the poodle.

   “God has taken his first step to punish you! That why you lost the pendrive! God shall soon take his next step to punish you for what you have done! Everybody will be watching and can’t wait to see how you got punish!”  one Facebook user commented.

International

   At least 35 people have been killed and left another 130 wounded by a suicide bomber whom set off an explosion in Russia’s largest airport. The number of those injured is expected to rise. The terminal at Domodedovo airport was smoke-filled and splattered with blood and flesh while corpses were stretched after the blast.

   It was believed that the bomb was filled with nuts and bolts as shrapnel, screws and ball bearings flew everywhere after the explosion.

  Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the assumption is that it is the work of Islamist fundamentalists, related to Russia’s troubled north Caucasus. Chechen militants have claimed responsibility for the previous terror attacks in Moscow, involving two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on the Moscow metro, killing 40 people. The state Ria Novosti agency said up to 10 people from the volatile Caucasus region are being viewed as possible suspects.

   The identity of the suicide bomber remained a mystery as some reports says that it was a female but a picture of a severed male head that was published in the Lifenews.ru website, was suspected to be the bomber.

   Questions have been raised regarding the security concerns as Russia is due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the World Cup in 2018. However, President Dmitry Medvedev promised that security would be boosted.

    Sources: The Star, Today Online, Asia News, The Econominst.

#1

Local

 Although Thaipusam was on Thursday, over 100,000 devotees made use of the weekends to visit the Sri Subramaniam temple complex ahead of Thaipusam at Batu Caves. Many went to fulfill their vows early to avoid the crush on the day itself.

However, due to the lack of facilities for the elderly and the disabled, many were not able to fulfill their vows as they are unable to climb the 272 steps at Batu Caves. They will be able to do so soon as a cable car project to ferry devotees and tourists up to the temple was now underway. It is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The silver chariot started its 12-hour journey to Batu Caves bearing the Lord Subramaniam from the Sri Mariamman temple on Tuesday night.  The silver chariot made its way from Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and other roads before reaching Batu Caves at 2.30pm on Wednesday. The silver chariot made its return to the Sri Maha Mariamman temple at 5pm today.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein gave a lend in hand handing out free food  and drinks around the area on Wednesday night. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak paid a visit to Batu Caves on Thursday. He gave a speech on the diversity of our country and later on witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Damodar Ropeways and Construction Company Pty Ltd from Calcutta and India, and the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple management to build the RM10mil cable car service at Batu Caves.

While DAP vice-chairman M.Kulasegaran urged the government to declare Thaipusam a public holiday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Barisan would make Thaipusam an official public holiday in Kedah if it wrested the state back from pakatan as the Pakatan government has not fulfilled its promise to declare Thaipusam a state holiday.

International

 

Australia’s once-in-a-century flood has yet to cease and the worst is yet to come. The drenching rain that started before Christmas has flooded two-third equaling to an area the size of France and Germany combined in north eastern Queensland state has now shifted to the far south of Australia.

The flood waters had recently hit another Aussie town, Kerang, in the southeast state of Victoria as Horsham, another town in Victoria has been split into two by the flood water overflowing from the Wimmera River just before. Around seventy-two towns in Victoria have already been affected by the rising waters, 1,770 properties have been flooded and more than 3,500 people have evacuated their homes.

Flooding also swept through the island states of Tasmania, washing away bridges and forcing and forcing hundreds of evacuations.

Recent victims are of the eight-year-old boy in the southern Australian town of Horsham and, a woman and his 13-year-old son in northeastern Queensland. The death toll now had climb to more than 30 and hundreds still missing. Queensland Premier said that this could be the nation’s most expensive natural disaster ever and exceeds that of the Hurricane Katrina that struck New Orleans, United States, several years ago.

Source: The Star, The Star Online, BBC News, The Malaysian Insider.

Consumer of Information and News

As a consumer of information and news, how did the world shaped me? Everyone grows up having freedom and restrictions and having to abide certain rules and regulations whether is it from family, religion, society and what not.

Most kids I know grew up watching children shows like Barney the purple dinosaur, Teletubbies, Sesame Street and what not. I on the other just watched cartoon shows like Kim Possible and Totally Spies and other shows and anime on Disney Channel and Animax. I didn’t even know what Barney is until I was the age of 16 and it is no joke. I was actually allowed to watch anything I want because my parents is seldom home to monitor what I watch on the television and worse they don’t even know what I did during the day when they aren’t home.

At the age of 9 I already have my very own desktop PC and a mobile phone. Back then, having a mobile phone at that age is quite pointless. All I ever do with it was call up my parents to pick me up after tuition classes and extra curriculum activities in school. None of my friends had the pleasure of owning a mobile phone for me to send them text messages. The games in the mobile phone was not even interesting enough for me to play after trying it the first time.

I’m not so sure that I got my own desktop PC when I was 9. Maybe it was before that but my point is that I’ve been exposed to the net since I was young. It is because that my parents hardly ever allow me to go out whether is it to hang out with my friends or just going to the playground. Other than going to school and tuition, all I ever do is stay home to do whatever I want.

My father is a white-collar worker, therefore he only knows how to use software such as Microsoft Office and other similar software for work purposes and Internet Explorer to check his mail and to search for information online. My mother on the other hand, is totally computer illiterate. They hardly even know what is an anti virus for them to set up a parental filter to filter my siblings and I from the net and therefore having no control whatsoever on the sites that we have access to and the games we play on the computer , online or offline. Not that I had the intention to visit sites that was inappropriate for kids my age but sometimes we have no control over things such as the pop-up sites and the links that redirects to some other sites.

In a way, up till the middle of secondary school, I had been somewhat of an anti-social kid until my parents finally gave me a little more freedom to hang out with my friends. However, the advantage from it is that I’m a little more computer literate compared to a lot of people and one can really learn a bunch from online games.