Sports Exclusive: Van Der Sar believes Man United have improved

Edwin Van Der Sar believes Manchester United have improved in two years because they kept Barcelona quiet for 20 minutes!

The Dutchman tried to bring some levity to an otherwise depressing day for everyone connected to the Red Devils as he looked back on their previous defeat to Barca in the 2009 final. Then they opened brightly too before losing 2-0.

Van der Sar said: "It took them 20 minutes to get into the game, so we doubled that from Rome!"
It was not the farewell match that the 40-year-old goalkeeper was hoping for as he now retires from football. A game he knows he will find tough to live without.

He said: "It will be very hard probably. It is not going to be easy. I never said that."
Van der Sar tried to be philosophical about the events at Wembley as United were taken apart going down 3-1.

He was wrong-footed for the first goal, should have done better with the second - which was hardly planted into a corner - but had no chance with the third. He said: "It would have been great to go out on a win but it didn't happen. We are disappointed, but hey that's life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

Van der Sar will now enjoy a much slower pace of life after being in football's fast lane for two decades. His career saw him win two Champions League medals with Ajax in 1995 and United in 2008 against Chelsea.

He said: "Yes 2008, will be a highlight for me - making a big save against Nicolas Anelka in the penalty shoot-out. "I was hoping to make another one in this final but it wasn't to be."

Van der Sar, capped 130 times for Holland, stood by his decision to retire despite manager Alex Ferguson and his team-mates trying to get him to change his mind. He revealed: "It is the right time for me.

Singer Sean Kingston crashes watercraft in Miami

Rapper Sean Kingston is hospitalised after crashing a personal watercraft into a Miami Beach bridge.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino says Kingston and a female passenger were injured when the watercraft hit the Palm Island Bridge around 6 p.m. Sunday.

Pino says both were hospitalised early Monday at Ryder Trauma Center, but he didn't know their conditions. Pino says authorities are investigating the crash, and "nothing at this point would indicate that alcohol played a role."

A representative for his label Epic Records confirmed early Monday that Kingston was in a crash and "was now stabilised." No further information was provided.

Kingston rose to fame with his 2007 hit "Beautiful Girls" and was also featured on songs by artists including Justin Bieber.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Electricity tariff to go up by about 7% from June 1

 
PUTRAJAYA: The electricity tariff will go up by about 7% from June 1, in a bid to rein in the ballooning subsidy bill.

However, the increase will not affect 75% of domestic users who mainly consume less than 300 kWh per month. The gas tariff for electricity and industrial sectors will rise by RM3/MMBtu every six months from June 1 to Dec 2015.

After that the price will be based on market rates.

The announcement on Monday was made at a joint press conference by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui. They said the 7.12% hike was due to the increase in natural gas price to the power sector.

“In spite of the increase, the Government and Petronas is still bearing gas subsidies estimated at RM25.64bil this year.

“The new price is still competitive compared to the market rate of alternative energy such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and Medium Fuel Oil, which has risen from from USD37.05 per barrel to USD93.98,” Nor Mohamed said, adding that the decision would not affect local industry competitiveness in the long term.

“On the contrary, this will enable the industrial sector to make adjustments and to increase their competence and productivity,” said Nor Mohamed, who is also the minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit.

Lady Gaga to cut Xmas album

The Haus of Gaga should start working out how to stitch turkey, stuffing, mistletoe, crackers and fairy lights to fabric. Crackpot LADY GAGA plans to release a "festive album" this December. Any excuse to get a new outfit?

The New Yorker will follow in the footsteps of BOB THE BUILDER and CLIFF RICHARD by having a crack at the Christmas No1.

And why not? Latest album Born This Way looks likely to shift 250,000 copies in the UK in its first week. Maybe the figures were helped by these promo shots.

The singer let her Christmas secret slip during a chinwag with an unlikely pal - STEPHEN FRY. She said: "I thought it would be really sweet to do a Christmas release of GaGa and the jazz standards. I really want to do it. I've spoken to my manager."

Stephen has interviewed the singer for the Financial Times this Saturday. After all, she knows how to make, and spend, a few quid.

GaGa's Christmas creation will take her in a different direction from the electro sound on her new album. But "jazz standards" sound a bit worrying.

At Radio 1's Big Weekend this month she gave a glimpse of her new direction by singing NAT KING COLE classic Orange Coloured Sky. The long trumpet solo raised a few eyebrows.

Before she hit the big time in 2008 GaGa released a cover of Deck The Halls called Christmas Tree - so she already has one festive song in the bag. As she hasn't yet announced details of her next tour, GaGa has time to hit the studio and get in the festive spirit.

I'm all for it. Not enough stars embrace Christmas. And if Mr Blobby can top the charts on December 25, why can't a woman wearing a hamster wheel on her head and with Toblerone shoulders?

MoU on domestic maids: Wages to be determined by market forces

BANDUNG: Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, ending a two-year freeze on Indonesian maids working in Malaysia and paving the way for the arrival of maids in two weeks.

Both countries agreed that the salary be determined by market forces but Indonesia requested that such wages not be lower than the minimum wage in Indonesia.

The wages for domestic maids in Indonesia range from about Rp600,000 to Rp1.2mil and more (RM212 to RM424).

It is also learnt that the officials of the two countries will discuss the possibility of lowering the cost of recruiting an Indonesian maid to RM4,511.

Indonesia stopped sending maids to Malaysia from June 2009 following reports of abuse by some employers, and a lack of benefits like a minimum monthly salary and a day off for maids.

The signing of the MoU will supercede the one signed in 2006 between the two countries. Under the revised MOU, the roles of the Indonesian maid, employer and agent would be clearly spelled out together with guidelines and responsibilities of those concerned.

Maid agencies in Indonesia would be required to send only trained maids and provide replacements if the ones they send do not meet employers' requirements.

The maids will be allowed to hold their passports, get a day off in a week while a Joint Task Force would be set up encompassing representatives from both countries to monitor the situation.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam signed on behalf of Malaysia while Indonesian Labour and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar inked on behalf of his country.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Poor families in Selangor exempted from paying water bills for a year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor water supply company Syabas is to exempt poor families from paying their water bills for a year, its executive chairman, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, said Sunday.

He said that Syabas staff would carry out a survey to find out who should be given the exemption, regardless of ethnic background.

"Lower income families with many children to support will be given priority in the provision of free water," he told reporters here.

He said that Syabas, which supplies water to Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, would review the situation next year.

"At times, we had to cut water supply to people whom we thought just did not want to pay their bills. “But cutting the supply to poor families, people who have a lot of children to support or who are jobless would mean causing them further hardship."

He said that Syabas would monitor the situation to make sure that only users who did not pay their bills when they could afford to do so had their water supply cut.

The Selangor Goverment urged families given the exemption not to waste water.

Barcelona street parties turn violent



Police officers walk past a burning flare in Barcelona during clashes with Barcelona supporters

Street parties in Barcelona celebrating the victory of the city's soccer team in the Champions League final turned violent early Sunday and at least 11 people were hospitalized, according to local media reports.

Police said more than 80 people were arrested after revelers attacked officers with bottles, flares and other objects, and destroyed park benches and bus stops. The scuffles broke out hours after Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in England on Saturday night. About 50,000 people flooded the streets of Barcelona to celebrate.

A police officer was among those hospitalized. AP photographs show plainclothes police officers, who were wearing Barcelona jerseys to blend in with the crowds, making arrests.

More celebrations were expected Saturday afternoon when the team arrives in Barcelona to tour the city with the Champions League trophy. The festivities will culminate when fans receive their team at the 98,000-seat Camp Nou Stadium. 

French Open: Fognini beats Montanes in 5 sets

PARIS (AP): Fabio Fognini of Italy overcame a cramping left leg and five match points to outlast Albert Montanes of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 Sunday at the French Open, reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

The match lasted 4 hours, 22 minutes, and by the end, the 49th-ranked Fognini barely could move. His left thigh was massaged and wrapped during a series of visits from a trainer in the final set, including when play was halted in the middle of the 14th game.

The 38th-ranked Montanes was broken while serving for the match at 5-3 in the fifth, and he later failed to convert match points on Fognini's serve at 8-7 and at 9-8. Fognini broke Montanes to lead 10-9, then served out the victory, closing it with a backhand winner.

Earlier, while trailing 7-6 and serving at 15-30 - with Montanes two points from victory - Fognini winced in pain at the baseline after hitting a serve and clutched at his left leg. He called for the trainer and sat down in his changeover chair.

When action resumed, Fognini won three points in a row to hold serve for 7-all. During several points the rest of the way, Fognini essentially stood in place on court, immobile, yet somehow would win exchanges with a winner or when Montanes would make an unforced error.

The 24-year-old Fognini is Italy's first man in the French Open quarterfinals since 1995, and first to make it this far at any major tournament since 1998.

Montanes was trying to reach the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career at age 30, and he'd won his last six matches that went five sets. All five of his career titles have come on clay, the surface used at Roland Garros.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Affordable housing programme extended to whole country

GEORGE TOWN: The affordable quality housing programme launched under a public-private partnership initiative for urban centres, particularly the Klang Valley, is to be extended to the whole country, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Sunday.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had agreed to extend the programme, aimed at enabling the younger generation to own a house, provided there were suitable sites.

The programme, under the My First Home Scheme, would involve provision of sites by the government and construction of the houses priced at RM220,000 and below by the private sector based on the industrial building system.

Muhyiddin said the government was identifying suitable sites for this social development programme of the federal government.

"For example, in Penang, it is seen that the state government does not have any project to ease the housing problem of the people.

“The federal government is prepared to build the affordable quality houses if there are suitable sites," he told reporters after opening the Bayan Baru Umno divisional delegates meeting, here.

Under the My First Home Scheme launched by the prime minister on March 8, those aged 35 and below with a monthly salary of less than RM3,000, are eligible to buy a house, priced at RM220,000 and below, with 100 percent financing

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Syariah proceedings to go into the night to clear cases

KOTA BARU: Syariah Court proceedings will carry on at night and on public holidays in a bid to clear the backlog of cases, said Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim.

"Although no date had been set it will be one of the moves to help reduce the backlog of cases and," Dr Mashita told reporters after attending a Halal Carnival organised by the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) here on Sunday.

"We have enough Syariah court judges but more time is needed to dispose more cases". “At present we have many female Syariah court judges who are doing a splendid job in reducing the backlog of cases,” she added.

Dr Mashita also revealed that almost all the cases registered for divorce occurred after the fifth year of marriage.

"Jakim is always finding ways to give counselling to estranged couples to reduce the number of divorce cases," she added.

In March Dr Mashita said 2009 statistics from the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) showed that one divorce occurred every 15 minutes among Muslims.

She said the number increased each year due to lack of religious practice among couples, which included neglecting prayers.

Dr Mashita also said that the high divorce rate among Muslims could be seen as a positive development as Muslims become more aware of their rights and that divorce was the right platform to use in the eyes of Islam to solve problematic marriages.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: PM lists initiatives for youth to help achieve nation’s high-income goal



The youths gathering at a stage to hear Prime Minister Najib speak

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak listed six initiatives for youths that would help them help the nation achieve it's goal of becoming a high-income nation.

The initiatives for the youths range from engagement with the authorities to entrepreneurship.

The initiatives also include a 12ha extreme sports park in Bukit Jalil, one-stop online portal, parliament for youths, identifying youth icon, humanitarian corps and a mentor-mentee programme.

He said the initiatives were to prepare the youths to face the increasing global challenges and competition.

“What we are doing today is to ensure the youths can continue with our aspiration to become a developed nation by 2020". “We are working hard everyday to lay a stronger platform for the youths,” he said when launching the One Million Youth gathering here on Saturday.

Team Lotus claims victory after court ruling

LONDON (AP): Britain's High Court cleared Team Lotus on Friday to continue racing in Formula One under its current name, following a dispute with a rival team. The right to the Lotus name in F1 went to trial in March.

Team Lotus used it last season, claiming it legally acquired the rights from the remnants of the old team. Group Lotus, the company's road-car division, also claimed rights and is a major backer of the F1 Renault team.

The court ruled that Team Lotus is the rightful owner of the name and can continue to use the iconic badge.

"We are all pleased that it has been clarified that we are the rightful owners of Team Lotus," team owner Tony Fernandes said in a statement. "We have always been confident that the factual evidence we presented would lead to this decision and today's judgment confirms that belief."

Group Lotus can use the Lotus name on its F1 car and use the black and gold livery, but can only display the badge on its road cars. Although Group Lotus can continue to sponsor Renault in F1, it still plans to appeal the court's decision.

"There are issues which still require clarification and we remain committed to obtaining this much needed clarity for the many fans," Group Lotus head of legal Sarah Price said. "The decision to appeal has not been taken lightly."

Team Lotus announced last month that it had acquired British sports car manufacturer Caterham Cars, which specializes in making small lightweight road cars.

"We can turn our attention to ensuring success for Caterham Cars on the road and Team Lotus on track," Fernandes said. "These are two very exciting brands."

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Enforcement officers offered bribes as high as RM1mil

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 442 people have been arrested since April last year until March this year for bribing enforcement officers, with the highest bribe offered at RM1mil.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Community Education division director, Datuk Samsiah Abu Bakar, said 422 of those arrested were men and 282 were locals.

"The arrest shows that the MACC is firm and we hope the public are also firm in rejecting bribes, no matter how small the amount involved," she added.

She said this during a forum," Towards Zero Corruption: Role of NGO in Fighting Corruption", here Saturday.

Meanwhile, MACC deputy chief commissioner, Datuk Sutinah Sutan, said associations and non-governmental organisations (NGO) should be active in helping MACC to fight corruption.

This, she said, was because the NGOs interacted a lot with the public and they could help explain on the dangers of corruption.

"The NGOs can be the eyes and ears or watchdog to report any malpractices, misappropriation, corruption and power abuse," she told reporters after the forum. She said eradication of corruption was the responsibility of everybody and not that of the enforcement authorities or MACC alone.

Lindsay Lohan settles suit over 2007 highway chase



Lindsay Lohan

BEVERLY HILLS, California: Lindsay Lohan has settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who was chased by the actress in a pre-dawn pursuit that has haunted the actress in civil and criminal courts for nearly three years.

The starlet on Wednesday settled the lawsuit filed by Tracie Rice, who claimed she was traumatized and lost a well-paying job because of the incident, court records show.

Rice was a passenger in a car driven by the mother of Lohan's former assistant, who the actress pursued down the scenic Pacific Coast Highway in July 2007. The chase ended with Lohan's arrest in the parking lot of a police department; Rice has said she thought the actress was trying to carjack her.

No details of the settlement, which was first reported Friday by celebrity website TMZ, were released.

"Lindsay is very pleased to put this unfortunate event behind her," her attorney, Ed McPherson, wrote in a statement.

Lohan was arrested twice for driving under the influence in 2007, and remains on probation for offenses. She has struggled to comply with the terms of her release, with three separate judges sending her to jail since July 2010.

The "Mean Girls" star was sentenced to four months in jail last month for violating her probation by taking a necklace without permission, and on Thursday surrendered to authorities and began serving her term on house arrest. She is expected to spend roughly 35 days on home confinement.

Rice's case against Lohan has been repeatedly delayed in the past year because of Lohan's stints in jail and rehab. Rice's attorney, Paul L. Hoffman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Lohan is also being sued by three men who were in the sport utility vehicle the actress used to pursue Rice. McPherson wrote the actress expects to be vindicated in that case.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: DAP says no concurrent polls in Pakatan states if snap election this year

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP has agreed not to hold concurrent elections in Pakatan Rakyat-led states if the Prime Minister announces snap polls this year, party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Tuesday.

He said during a meeting of the party's central executive committee, they agreed that the party preferred if the four Pakatan state governments - Kedah, Kelantan, Selangor and Penang - completed the full five-year term.

"However, if snap polls are called next year, then it is likely that we will hold concurrent elections," he told a press conference at the party's headquarters here.

The Penang Chief Minister added that general discussions have been held with other component parties about the elections but the final decision would be made following the Prime Minister's announcement.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: Federal bailout of S'gor water companies means no chance of state deal

PETALING JAYA: The federal government's proposed RM6.5bil bailout of Selangor's privatised water companies has killed off any remaining possibility of the state government striking a deal with these companies to restructure and take over the water industry in Selangor.
The debts of these water companies were at risk of default after they were unable to meet their installment earlier this year.

"The failure of these companies to service their debts, had no bailout been offered, would have necessitated these companies to come to the table and negotiate the terms of restructuring with the Selangor state government or other parties which has made offers to acquire the businesses and assets," said Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua in a statement Tuesday.

He said the state government has made a third offer amounting to RM6.3bil into acquire these water companies, and taking over their debts obligations.

In addition, the state government was able to ensure that there would be no water tariff hikes post restructuring.

"However as a result of the Federal Government bailing out the massive debts, they have relieved these companies of their cash flow problems. This will mean that there is now no urgency for these companies to agree to any form of restructuring as desired under the Water Services Industry Act (2006) as they now have the upper hand at the negotiating table at the expense of the rakyat," he added.

"The result is clearly a loss for the people of Selangor, for they have lost an opportunity for the privatised water industry to be truly restructured to ensure quality water prices are to be provided at the lowest possible prices," he said.

Pua also urged Energy, Water and Green Technologies Ministry to immediately provide clarification for the move to bail out the debts of the water concessionaires before a restructuring deal was finalised, and to fully disclose the means and terms of repayment to the Government by these concessionaires with the Government taking over these debts.

MALAYSIAN NEWS: SPM 2011 Timetable revealed

Student's Special:
The Examination Board of the Education Ministry of Malaysia has finally confirmed and released their timetable for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) of the year 2011. The SPM examination will be proceeded from 14 November 2011 until 14 December 2011. Malaysian student's who are sitting for the examination this year would receive the timetable and procedure's of the examination from their school management around the month of June or July this year. For instance, the timetable can be seen at the Malaysian Education Ministry’s official website at http://www.moe.gov.my/lp/files/spm/2011/JADUAL%20WAKTU%20SPM%202011%20FINAL.pdf

Twitter web app for Smartphones and Tablets

TWITTER has created a speedy new web app for smartphone and Tablet users.

The web app has been designed to replicate features you might find in a Twitter client like TweetDeck, HootSuite, Tweetie, Twhirl, or even Twitter's own "Twitter" mobile app, without the need to download and install anything on your device.

Twitter's web app takes advantage of new web technologies like HTML5 to enhance user experience on high-end touchscreen devices.

"This web app allows us to provide a high-quality and consistent Twitter experience on high-end touchscreen devices - whether or not an official Twitter application is available," announced Twitter in a blog post.

"It's simple - it's easy-to-use and has the features you'd expect from a Twitter application, including your timeline, @mentions, messages that you can read in conversation view, search, trending topics, lists, and more."

The new version of Twitter's mobile and Tablet site will soon be accessible to smartphone and tablet users when they visit twitter.com on their device.

A small percentage of users will see the new web app when visiting twitter.com on their iPhone, iPod touch and Android smartphones now. Others will start to see the app in the coming weeks as it is rolled out.

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