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Serena battles past Pironkova in comeback match Posted: 14 Jun 2011 07:54 AM PDT Serena Williams of the US returns the ball during her International Women's Open tennis tournament match against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria in Eastbourne, southern England June 14, 2011. – Reuters pic LONDON, June 14 – Serena Williams made a winning return to action after nearly a year out with victory over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova at Eastbourne today. The 29-year-old American, out of action due to injury and health problems since winning last year's Wimbledon title, looked nervy and sluggish initially before settling down to win 1-6 6-3 6-4 and move into the second round. It was far from pretty, but after claiming yesterday she had been on her "death bed" earlier this year, the 13-times grand slam champion would have been encouraged to beat an opponent who reached last year's Wimbledon semi-finals. "She is an unbelievable player she beat Venus at Wimbledon last year and when I saw the draw I thought Oh my God," wildcard Williams, who suffered life-threatening blood clots in her lungs in February while recovering from gashing her foot last July, said in a courtside interview. "I'm a little rusty but I enjoy being back on the grass. I will go inside now and see how I feel." Dressed in pink and with purple streaks in her hair, Williams strode out on to a sunny centre court with little ceremony, took an age to unwrap her racket from its plastic cover before gingerly taking the first steps on the latest and most challenging comeback of her career. With barely 20 minutes on the clock, however, she was 5-0 down as the American, playing at Eastbourne for the first time since 1998, slapped amateurish forehands into the net and looked leaden-footed. Her annoyance was clear for all to see as she cursed herself and cracked a racket frame. There was even a slow hand clap as she took ages to replace the racket, hardly the welcome back she would have envisaged. Gradually there were signs that she was beginning to rediscover her feel as she held serve at the start of the second set and forged a break ahead on her way to levelling the match. Williams let out a loud "c'mon!" and clenched her fist as she broke again at the start of the decider with some forceful tennis and confident forays to the net. Watched by sister Venus who made a successful return from a five-month injury break yesterday, Williams was yelling in frustration as she handed the break back with a netted backhand. Another piercing screech from Williams accompanied the end of the next game as Pironkova looped a hurried forehand out. Serving for the match at 5-4, Williams cracked down her seventh ace of the match but was sent sprawling to the turf after a superb baseline exchange to slip 15-30 behind. She was then warned for slow play, received another slow-hand clap from the crowd, but wrapped up victory with an unreturnable backhand before raising her fist in salute. Former world number one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia reached the second round with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Germany's Julia Goerges to set up a tussle with Venus Williams on Wednesday. Fourth seed Francesca Schiavone beat Kaia Kanepi 7-6 6-1. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Sri Lanka captain Dilshan ruled out of third test Posted: 14 Jun 2011 07:33 AM PDT LONDON, June 14 – Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan has been ruled out of this week's third test against England with a thumb injury. Dilshan (picture) was struck by a ball from England fast bowler Chris Tremlett during his innings of 193 in the second test at Lord's. "He definitely won't be playing," Sri Lanka manager Anura Tennekoon told Sky Sports News. "As a precautionary measure we have kept him out." Kumar Sangakkara will captain Sri Lanka in the third test at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire which starts on Thursday. England lead the three-match series 1-0. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Lady Gaga tops Forbes list of ‘young & rich’ Posted: 14 Jun 2011 06:06 AM PDT Lady Gaga has moved to the top of Forbes list of 'young & rich'. – AFP pic LOS ANGELES, June 14 – Lady Gaga, 25 years old, recently dethroned Oprah off the top of Forbes magazine's Most Powerful Celebrities list and now the pop star, with US$90 million (RM273 million), has booted Beyoncé off the top spot on the annual Best-Paid Celebrities-Under-30 list, released June 13. In second, teen heartthrob singer Justin Bieber debuted on the strike-it-rich-quick list: the 17-year-old raked in US$53 million. Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James, 26, came in third with US$48 million, though his team lost the NBA Finals on June 12 to the Dallas Mavericks. Tennis star Roger Federer hit the fourth spot on the list with US$47 million, just making it at 29 years old. In fifth place, 21-year-old country-pop singer Taylor Swift collected US$45 million. Sixth is 26-year-old pop star Katy Perry, having earned US$44 million. Madrid's soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, at 26, landed in seventh place, taking US$38 million. Slipping in for her last year on the list, at 29, Beyoncé bounced down from first to eighth with a drop in income from US$87 to US$35 million. Ninth was Barcelona's major soccer player Lionel Messi, 23, who brought in US$32 million. Following close behind, tennis luminary Rafael Nadal took the tenth slot at 25 years old, making US$31 million. Social, web, television/radio and press were taken into consideration along with income, adding up to the total overall ranking of the celebrities. Also on the list are 23-year-old Rihanna with US$29 million, Robert Pattinson, 25, and Kristen Stewart, 21, who tied with US$20 million, and Lil Wayne, at 28, making US$15 million. – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Panda takes British box office by storm Posted: 14 Jun 2011 05:02 AM PDT Voice actors Angelina Jolie and Jack Black wave to the crowd during a photocall for the animated film "Kung Fu Panda 2" during the Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011. — Reuters pic LONDON, June 14 — "Kung Fu Panda 2" shot to the top of the UK box office charts over the weekend with one of the biggest opening takes of the year, according to Screen International today. Voiced by Jack Black, Po the Dragon Warrior panda took £6.18 million pounds (RM30.34 million) to knock the X-Men off top spot. Boozy comedy "The Hangover Part II," stayed in second place with "X-Men: First Class," down at three. Johnny Depp blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" slipped a place to fourth, just above teen dance movie "Honey 2" which came in at five. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" was down two at six while Formula One biopic "Senna" slipped one spot to seven. Indian comedy "Ready" was also down one, at eight, with horror movie "Mother's Day" making its debut at nine and the animated macaws of "Rio" down two at 10. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Japan develops technology to stop standby waste Posted: 14 Jun 2011 08:02 AM PDT A new technology that stops electronic devices from consuming power when in standby mode could significantly reduce electricity consumption. — AFP pic TOKYO, June 14 — Japanese researchers said yesterday they had developed the technology to stop power being consumed by personal computers, televisions and other electronic devices when they are in standby mode. NEC Corp. and Tohoku University said they aim to bring the new semiconductor technology into practical use within five years, potentially reducing the estimated two percent of household electricty wasted through the standby mode. Currently, electronic devices that are plugged into power outlets receive a constant flow of electricity to hold data — even when switched off. The new technology is based on "spintronics" which exploits the intrinsic spin of electrons and its associated magnetic moment. Electrons act as magnets that can read and write data. The data is retained even if the flow of electricity is completely cut off. NEC said it hoped that the new technology would help cut power consumption by "around 25 per cent at large data centres" equipped with many computers. — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Nail polish and hair straighteners found to contain carcinogens Posted: 14 Jun 2011 03:19 AM PDT Government agencies report that hair straightening treatments such as the Brazilian Blowout can come at a high price to your health. — AFP pic NEW YORK, June 14 — On June 10, the US government issued a report declaring formaldehyde, used in a variety of consumer products including nail polish and hair-straightening solutions, to be a carcinogen. Another chemical cited as a potential cancer trigger is styrene, commonly found in plastic and rubber products. Consumers are advised to do what they can to avoid the harmful chemicals, but The New York Times reports that the risks are far greater for those who work with the chemicals on an industrial scale. Formaldehyde is found in products ranging from plywood, paper product coatings, and plastics, as well as nail polish and nail polish removers and hair straighteners. Experts advise using formaldehyde-free beauty nail polishes and removers. To find out suggested brands, visit the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website to search a database of beauty products, review ingredient listings, and see safety rankings. The Brazilian Blowout, the costly, frizz-free hair treatment favored by celebs including Jennifer Aniston, has recently been under scrutiny by government officials for containing up to 12 per cent formaldehyde. After receiving complaints from customers and stylists about burning eyes, nose, and throat, breathing difficulties, and one report of hair loss associated with use of the product, the government agency Health Canada conducted tests on the solution and issued a news release on the dangers of the product last year. In the US, the Oregon Health and Science University's Center for Research on Occupational and Environment Toxicology (Oregon OSHA) also warned salon workers to use caution when using the product, with some salons following suit by wearing masks and informing clients of the risks. Read tips on ingredients to avoid in your beauty treatments and cosmetics: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/beyond-parabens.php Access Skin Deep's database: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/browse.php?category=nail%20polish Access the US government's just-released report of known or suspected carcinogens: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/roc12. — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Umno turning into the old PAS Posted: 13 Jun 2011 05:07 PM PDT JUNE 14 — If one had opined that PAS was more of a centrist than Umno 10 years ago, nobody would have believed it. It would have been an outrageous opinion. Yet today, it is no longer so foreign a prospect. The recently concluded PAS internal election is the latest evidence of the party's march to the centre. That election saw both the promotion of the so-called professional group to the leadership of the party and the adoption of a more realistic stance with regards to the Islamic state agenda. The participation of PAS within Pakatan Rakyat has a lot to do with the reconfiguration of the party towards the political centre. While the criticism of ideological difference against the coalition as a whole remains valid, the alliance itself is the great engine that is pulling all of its members to a middle ground. That middle ground is proving to be the Malaysian centre. This is should be contrasted with trends within Barisan Nasional, or really, just Umno. Regardless of the sincerity of the accusation, Umno and its allies insist that PAS is committing a political betrayal. They claim PAS is abandoning the Islamic state ideal and ejecting the ulama from party leadership. Rather than acknowledging the developments as simply a move to the centre, they are more comfortable accusing PAS of kowtowing to DAP. Betrayal or not, as with any move to the centre, those on the fringes will have less hold on the party. That will fuel some discontent. Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia wants Umno to appease the fringes. Assistant chief editor of Utusan Malaysia Zaini Hassan has gone as far as suggesting that Umno should have its own ulama wing, perhaps thinking that particular manoeuvre could outflank PAS. He forgets that times are changed. In the past, the Islamisation race between Umno and PAS always ended up with PAS being the loser. PAS did not budge even as Umno encroached on the traditional domain of the former. That allowed Umno to win centrist votes and gain some voters who could have voted for PAS. That little trick might not work again after the latest PAS election. With PAS slowly nudging towards the centre and Umno to the opposite direction, the Islamisation game has only one participant, and that is Umno. With enough momentum powering both sides, Umno might find itself taking the relatively more extreme position compared to PAS. This means Umno is at risk of becoming the loser this time around. If both parties stay on their course, Umno will turn into the conservative party that PAS was. Meanwhile, PAS the centrist should be very happy with that. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Financial fair play: Hot air or real deal? Posted: 13 Jun 2011 04:23 PM PDT JUNE 14 — Money, money, money. Despite the ongoing global financial crisis, football is full of the stuff – as demonstrated by last week's announcement of record revenues for Premier League clubs. In fact, the top end of the game has never been richer, thanks to steady increases to the broadcast contracts commanded by the leading leagues and competitions. However, due to a lack of regulation that would startle even the most laissez-faire of free-market economists, the vast majority of that money goes in one direction: straight into the pockets of players and their agents. And so we have the paradoxical present situation whereby the biggest clubs are able to attract revenues of many millions of dollars every year ... but are simultaneously still burdened by huge levels of debt. For all sorts of reasons, this can't be a sustainable situation in the long-term. The vast inequalities between the biggest clubs and their nearest challengers, both within individual nations and across the major European leagues, will ultimately create (has already created, some would argue) a sterile, unhealthy environment in which the rich clubs are the only ones with any chance of winning trophies and everybody else is struggling to merely stay in existence. In an attempt to establish greater equality, Uefa, Europe's governing body, have seized the initiative and introduced new regulations for "Financial Fair Play." These rules, which are scheduled to come into force from the beginning of the 2013/4 season, will essentially prevent clubs from spending more than they earn and punish transgressors by barring them from Uefa's competitions, such as the Champions' League and Europa League. Led by Uefa chief and former France midfield genius Michel Platini, the initiative is chiefly aimed at slowing down the growth in player wages and restricting the frightening levels of debt that have engulfed so many recklessly ambitious clubs in recent years; and that has to be a good thing. But what about instances such as Chelsea and Manchester City, where the money spent by the billionaire owners of clubs is an investment, rather than a debt? Chelsea, for example, have been "loaned" a fortune by Roman Abramovich since the Russian tycoon arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, and now the same process is rapidly unravelling at Manchester City, where Sheikh Mansour is happily pouring tens of millions of dollars into his new toy with no expectation of ever receiving the money back. The money spent by those two clubs clearly exceeds their revenues, but it will not show up on their balance sheets as "debt" ... so should they be exempt from Uefa's regulations? As things stand, even that kind of "gifted" investment, which leaves no real trace of debt, will be allowed. Whether the clubs affected will accept such limitations is altogether another matter. Of course, the only real test of the new regulations will come when they are transgressed by a major club spending more than they are supposed to. If Barcelona, to invent a hypothetical example, suffered long-term injuries to Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta and spent heavily on world-class replacements, thereby exceeding the spending limit, what would Uefa do? Would they wilt, find an excuse to let Barca off the hook and see the credibility of their regulations instantly collapse? Or would they have the backbone, and the necessary support from their member associations and commercial partners, to stand firm, insist upon enforcing the regulations and ban Barca from the Champions' League? Uefa will naturally be hoping that such a scenario doesn't arise; that their new regulations will serve as a deterrent to prevent clubs from spending the lavish sums they have been accustomed to forking out, and that they are never actually forced into a position of deciding whether or not to hand out bans. But the prospect of a club deliberately ignoring the regulations has to be a realistic one – just imagine, for instance, being the unfortunate official at Uefa responsible for telling Manchester City's Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, or Silvio Berlusconi, owner of AC Milan and Italy's most influential man, that they are not allowed to spend any more money. Not an easy conversation. When it comes to the crunch, would a rich club like City, Milan or Real Madrid, when given the motive and opportunity to sign a world class player for a huge transfer fee (as Chelsea did when they bought Fernando Torres in January), really be persuaded to reject the signing to ensure they stayed within Uefa's parameters? It has to be doubtful. Another difficult conversation would be in store for Uefa's commercial director, finding himself in the position of explaining to his carefully groomed television company friends, midway through a multi-million dollar broadcast contract, that one of the continent's biggest clubs had been thrown out of the Champions' League and would therefore not be appearing, as expected, on silver screens across the globe over the next 12 months. "I'm very sorry Mister Sky /ESPN/Astro, you won't be getting Barcelona and Lionel Messi this year. They've been spending too much money so it'll be Osasuna and Krisztian Vadocz instead ... I hope you don't mind." A serious rebellion could be on the cards, and one possible outcome is the disgruntled outlawed clubs and their equally miffed television partners setting up their own league with their own regulations. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan and selected invited guests head off to form their very own European Super League; no relegation, no promotion; all games live on the league's in-house global pay TV channel; players handed exclusive contracts which forbid them from playing international football ... Might sound crazy but, as Christopher Cross once nearly said, it might be true. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Status Tian Chua: BBCBN serah kepada Speaker, Nazri Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:18 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Jun — Barisan Nasional (BN) menyerahkan kepada Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia (gambar) dan Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz sama ada mahu membenarkan usul membahaskan status wakil rakyat Batu Chua Tian Chang yang telah disabitkan oleh mahkamah berhubung kesalahan menggigit anggota polis. Terdahulu, ahli-ahli Parlimen BN memutuskan untuk menggerakkan usul berkaitan status Chua di Parlimen dengan menegaskan wakil rakyat PKR itu sudah tidak layak menjadi wakil rakyat. Timbalan Pengerusi Kelab Penyokong-penyokong Kerajaan BN (BBCBN) Datuk Bung Moktar Radin memberitahu The Malaysian Insider, perkara itu diputuskan dalam mesyuarat bersama pemimpin BN semalam. Bagaimanapun Bung Moktar berkata Ahli Parlimen BN tidak akan terus "menekan" isu itu selepas bertemu dengan Pandikar. "Kami memutuskan bahawa Speaker Dewan Rakyat dan Nazri selaku menteri yang bertanggungjawab di Parlimen untuk membuat keputusan. "Jadi kami akan biarkan Nazri uruskan perkara ini, apa yang beliau katakan atau lakukan adalah pendirian kami," kata Ahli Parlimen Kinabatangan ini kepada The Malaysian Insider. Nazri sebelum itu menegaskan beliau membantah cadangan membahaskan usul status Chua di Parlimen sambil menambah akan berusaha untuk menggunakan apa sahaja cara menghentikan usaha itu. Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu berkata, tiada wakil rakyat yang layak untuk menentukan perkara itu dan menegaskan hanya Speaker boleh buat keputusan. Pertengahan Jun tahun lalu, Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi Hakim Datuk Ghazali Cha mengetepikan hukuman penjara enam bulan dan denda RM3,000 terhadap Chua, yang dikenakan oleh Mahkamah Majistret berhubung tuduhan mencederakan anggota polis pada 2007 dan mengantikannya denda RM2,000 atau dua bulan penjara. Mengikut Perkara 48(1)(e) Perlembagaan Persekutuan seseorang Ahli Parlimen hilang kelayakan jika beliau disabitkan oleh mahkamah dan dihukum penjara tidak kurang setahun atau denda tidak kurang daripada RM2,000 dan beliau tidak mendapat pengampunan. Nazri menambah keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi perlu mengambil kira dalam perkara itu. "Jika anda mengambil kira keputusan mahkamah, denda Tian Chua dikurangkan kerana tidak mahu beliau hilang kelayakan. "Juga selepas tiga tahun, sudah tidak ada lagi pilihan raya kecil. Jika kami gugurkan kelayakan beliau, anda akan menafikan hak penduduk Batu untuk diwakili... sebab itu saya membantah sebarang cadangan menafikan hak Tian Chua," katanya. MENYUSUL LAGI Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Daftar pemilih: PKR dakwa SPR bias, mahu sekat Pakatan kesan pengundi Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:08 AM PDT PETALING JAYA, 14 Jun — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) mendakwa Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) mengamalkan "double standard" kerana tidak memberikan maklumat lengkap mengenai pengundi dalam senarai daftar pemilih. Menurut timbalan presidennya Azmin Ali, dalam senarai daftar pemilih yang dibeli daripada SPR tidak dinyatakan alamat para pengundi. Jelas beliau, lebih 90 peratus daftar pemilih yang berharga RM48,000 itu tidak mempunyai alamat pengundi dan ia menyukarkan pihaknya untuk mengenal pasti identiti mereka. "Keadaan lebih buruk apabila SPR diperkudakan Umno-BN (Barisan Nasional) untuk terus laksanakan pilihan raya kotor dan tidak adil. "Dalam senarai daftar pemilih sehingga penghujung 2010, SPR telah bekalkan daftar pemilih tanpa alamat pengundi... ini double standard, kita tahu ia hanya untuk Pakatan Rakyat. "Ini amat mengejutkan, kita diminta dibayar untuk dapatkan daftar pemilih induk tapi ia tidak mempunyai alamat yang lengkap," kata Azmin pada sidang media di sini. Tegas beliau, ia satu cara Umno-BN untuk menyekat PKR mendekati pengundi kerana bimbang akan tewas pada pilihan raya umum ke-13. "Ada beberapa nama diberikan alamat tapi lebih 90 peratus tiada alamat (dalam daftar pemilih) yang dibekalkan SPR yang perlu dibeli parti-parti politik. "Kita dapat hidu ini usaha Umno-BN untuk bawa pengundi hantu, saya percaya daftar pemilih ini hanya untuk Pakatan Rakyat sebab seorang pegawai SPR memberitahu ia adalah arahan baru agar daftar pemilih tidak dibekalkan dengan alamat," katanya. Azmin, Ahli Parlimen Gombak juga kesal dengan sikap SPR yang menjalankan "perniagaan" dengan menjual daftar pemilih kepada parti-parti politik. "Kita sentiasa diminta untuk membayar dengan jumlah yang besar untuk dapatkan daftar pemilih, mengapa SPR jalankan perniagaan ini, sepatutnya ia adalah tanggungjawab dan ia sepatutnya diberikan secara percuma. "Kita beli daftar pemilih dengan harga yang tinggi, beli ikut negeri... apa yang kita dapat tidak lengkap dan saya tidak puas hati apabila SPR menjalankan perniagaan ini," katanya. Pada sidang media itu juga Azmin mengumumkan parti itu akan mengadakan satu konvensyen pilihan raya kebangsaan PKR 19 Jun ini di Pusat Konvensyen Shah Alam sebagai langkah persediaan untuk menghadapi pilihan raya umum ke-13, yang dijangka tahun depan. Selain itu, kata Azmin, tema "Demi Rakyat" akan menjadi kempen pilihan raya parti itu. "Kita jangkakan 2.000 perwakilan dari seluruh negara termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak akan menyertai konvensyen yang julung kali diadakan parti politik. "Kita juga telah melancarkan laman web untuk rakyat di www.demirakyat.org yang bermula hari ini," katanya. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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