Fifty more police personnel attached to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security contingent were withdrawn yesterday. They include three Inspectors, five Sub Inspectors and three Women Police Constables (WPCs).
Sources said that police headquarters had named the personnel recalled from the former President’s security contingent.
Yesterday’s reduction of police security followed last week’s removal of 42 officers and men.
Former Minister Johnston Fernando, MP who had been with former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa in Kurunegala told The Island that the government was endangering the war winning President’s life.
There couldn’t be any excuse for pruning the former President’s security by 92 officers and men within days under any circumstances, he said.
Fernando asserted that the weakening of the former President’s security couldn’t be merely due to the successful Joint Opposition May Day rally.
Obviously, yahapalana rulers had planned to drastically trim the former President’s security before May Day, MP Fernando alleged.
Responding to a query, the JO member said there was a conspiracy perpetrated by interested parties hell bent on overcoming the Rajapaksas’ challenge.
MP Fernando emphasised that the threat faced by the former President Rajapaksa couldn’t be compared with that of former Presidents JRJ, CBK and D. B. Wijetunga.
The MP was responding to Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake recently justifying removal of 42 personnel on the basis of a fresh security assessment made by police headquarters.
Minister Ratnayake explained that gradual withdrawal of army and police units assigned to former Presidents had been based on periodic security assessments and the same policy was applied to former President Rajapaksa.
Fernando pointed out that the yahapalana government had conveniently forgotten that the Rajapaksa gave resolute political leadership to bring the LTTE to its knees in May 2009.
Another JO official told The Island that at the time the government withdrew 42 personnel, the former President had only 199 men and women security contingent.
However, Minister Ratnayake placed the number of personnel assigned to the former President at the time of the decision taken at 229.
Will followers of social media personalities buy anything that they recommend or wear? More and more apparel makers are betting they will as they forge tie-ups with these “influencers” – people with the power to sway the masses through Twitter, Instagram and other social media – to develop clothes and accessories.
Major apparel maker Onward Holdings Co. in Tokyo, for example, has established a women’s clothing brand called “Two Faces” jointly with C Channel, a Tokyo-based operator of a fashion video platform website. The new label started selling items online on March 15.
On C Channel, female models are among those posting videos of their outfits and hairstyles, along with fashion tips. The content draws over 600 million views a month. Seeing the popularity of the items introduced on C Channel, Onward became inspired to enlist their help to create a new brand.
Two popular female C Channel influencers in their 20s joined the product development team for the new brand, which centres on clothing that can be worn more than one way, such as blouses with removable sleeves or collars.
“A plain, simple dress that can be worn at the office reverses to become a lacy one to wear at a party that night,” said Manami Shimizu, who is one of the two posters. “Because you can wear it in two different ways, you get the feeling of getting a bargain.”
Two Faces’ blouses sell for between ¥4,000 (S$50) to ¥7,000 and dresses between ¥6,000 and ¥9,000, plus tax. They are cheaper than Onward’s other brands, with the aim of increasing its base of younger customers.
Stripe International Inc., an Okayama-based apparel maker, has also taken this route to launch its “CIRCUS” line under its “E hyphen world gallery” brand. The company has asked influencers popular among the teens-to-20s demographic to design clothes for the brand.
The company posts product images on the social media accounts of the influencers, and then decides the production volume of each item based on the number of responses such as “likes” received within 24 hours.
When the first batch of items went on sale on March 5, the entire stock reserved for online purchases sold out soon.
“Thanks to tie-ups with influencers who are full of individuality, we have been able to expand our customer base,” said Stripe International spokesperson Mami Kawaji.
Stripe International plans to have partnerships with eight influencers by this summer.
3Minute inc., a Tokyo-based operator of a fashion video magazine, established its own brand called “eimy istoire” in July last year. The company invited a woman who has about 180,000 Instagram followers to be a designer.
In February, the company opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Tokyo, with the location in the Shinjuku area decided based on the opinions of her followers.
“For followers, influencers are people who they feel both familiar with and inspired by,” a 3Minute official said. “It also makes it easier to lead them to actually make purchases.”
In a survey of women in the 10-to-40s range, carried out by market research company Trenders Inc. in April last year, about half of the 829 respondents said they had purchased a product after being influenced by a post on social media.
Jinshan Fire Station in Shanghai, China recently released a video in which firefighters showed off their rope skipping skills, garnering more than 11 million views within one week.
In the video, two firefighters are seen rotating the rope while the other eight continuously skipping over it for three minutes.
The video was filmed on April 13 when the team was participating in Jinshan Fire Station’s annual spring sports, the station told Reuters.
The team won the second place with 568 jumps as the first team skipped 577 times, the station added.
The Danish minister for environment and food says the Nordic country will consider exporting oysters to China, after the species spread become a hot topic in China.
The Danish government is mapping how many invasive oysters there are, and how they affect the country’s environment and fishery stocks, said Esben Lunde Larsen on Friday.
He is on a delegation to China along with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.
When the mapping is completed, the country will be able to pursue the issue on a solid foundation, he said.
Larsen made the comments after a post on social networking site Weibo about the invasion of an exotic oyster, known as the Pacific oyster, generated a flurry of enthusiastic responses from Chinese people.
The Danish Embassy had posted the article on April 24 to raise awareness about the threat the species posed to the country’s environment and fisheries.
The embassy made a small joke in the story inviting Chinese people to eat oysters in Denmark, but was not expecting such a strong reaction from readers.
One person even proposed to “eat the species to extinction.”
However, oysters are not on the list of aquatic products being exported from Denmark to China at the moment.
Larsen added that the food ministry and industry of Denmark would work closely on the potential of exporting oysters to China, but the two countries had not yet signed any oyster agreement.
He also said Chinese tourists were “welcome to come to Denmark on oyster safaris”.
After making strongly worded remarks against radicals propagating intolerance in his province, West Kalimantan Governor Cornelis was less than welcome by a group of conservative Muslims in Aceh.
The group, calling itself Islam Defender Troop (LPI), visited the hotel where the visiting governor was staying in Banda Aceh on Saturday, demanding he leave the city over statements they deemed “intolerant” and “provocative.”
They claimed Cornelis’ statements had been the reason for two clerics being turned away from Pontianak a day earlier.
“Aceh land is haram for those who hate ulemas and Islam, including Cornelis,” said Tengku Achmad Shanjy, one of the protestors.
Cornelis had come to the city for the opening of a national meeting of farmers and fishermen, which was also attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on Saturday.
The protesters lingered in front of the hotel until the hotel management said the governor had already checked out from the hotel.
Over the past two weeks, West Kalimantan has been gripped by a filmed speech that went viral on social media, in which Cornelis threatened to oust radical and provocative individuals who had “the guts” to enter his province.
Many considered the footage provocative, claiming it stirred up sectarian sentiment.
Speaking in Pontianak on Thursday, Cornelis addressed the controversy over his speech, saying he would fight intolerance in his province.
“With regard to intolerance, I frankly challenge those who are radical and intolerant to leave West Kalimantan,” Cornelis said.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician added that history showed that 17 massive riots had occurred in the province so far, resulting in West Kalimantan being economically poor and left behind.
“I don’t want this to occur again,” he said during the handover ceremony of the West Kalimantan police chief post from Insp. Gen. Musyafak to Brig. Gen. Erwin Triwanto.
Erwin promptly held a meeting after his swearing in ceremony with representatives of different religious and ethnic groups in the province to talk about rising social tensions.
The meeting was held in response to a planned visit by Sobri Lubis and Hidayat Quaiandri Batangtaris, clerics from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), to Mempawah regency.
When the two arrived at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, police asked them to go back to Jakarta, citing security concerns.
“We have told the organising committee that [it is not recommended] to invite figures considered to be provocateurs,” Erwin said.
Earlier, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy secretary Tengku Zulkarnain, who travelled along with Dayak Culture Council (DAD) leaders from Pontianak, faced rejection from a group of people upon arriving at Susilo Airport in Sintang regency.
The cleric was turned away because he had allegedly insulted the Dayak.
A staff member who accompanied Cornelis to Aceh, Awie, said the visit had gone well despite the protests from conservative groups.
He said Cornelis and his wife had still spent Saturday night in Banda Aceh and the governor had taken the opportunity to meet local leaders.
“[Cornelis] was safe and Madam Governor could still shop for souvenirs. I was there with them,” he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday night.
He refused to confirm whether the governor’s entourage had to change hotels after the protests.
SINGAPORE: Have you ever wondered what happened to nerdy Malcolm Png and his fellow army recruits after their National Service (NS) misadventures in Army Daze?
Audiences will be able to catch up on what the gang has been up to, in a brand new sequel to the 1987 comedy play.
Written by original playwright Michael Chiang, Army Daze 2 will be staged from Aug 4 to 20 at Drama Centre.
The play is set 30 years after the original. Directed by Beatrice Chia-Richmond and produced by Annie Pek, with music by Don Richmond, the story sees the characters reuniting for a new mission of sorts, which that revolve around the historic news of Singapore’s first female army chief and the social media storm that surrounds it.
ARMY DAZE TURNS 30, NS TURNS 50
Based on Chiang’s 1985 bestselling eponymous book, the original Army Daze is considered a classic in Singaporean theatre.
It has been staged six times, including a musical version in 2013. In 1996, it was also adapted into a movie, which was directed by Cultural Medallion recipient Ong Keng Sen and featured Sheikh Haikel and Deanna Yusoff.
To date, close to 300,000 people have seen the play and the movie (not to mention those who’ve caught the latter on its regular TV runs).
Playwright Michael Chiang (centre) during the second staging of Army Daze in 1990 by TheatreWorks, which featured W!ld Rice’s Ivan Heng (far left) as Malcolm Png.
But despite being constantly asked to do a sequel, Chiang told Channel NewsAsia he always resisted the idea – until this year.
“2017 is not only the play’s 30th anniversary but also the 50th anniversary of National Service. I thought, if I ever did a sequel, this was probably the year to do it,” said the playwright, whose resume also includes that other Singaporean classic Beauty World.
The new piece took six weeks to write, beginning in December last year. To reconnect with this old characters, he first went to Bangkok to write for five to six days, before continuing in Singapore.
“I spent Christmas alone in a hotel room. Very sad and tragic,” quipped Chiang, who had previously gone on a playwriting hiatus for 14 years before returning with the tai-tai comedy High Class in 2013.
He added: “Once I decided to do it, it was a lot of fun. I wanted to remind people what they were like, but there’s also a glimpse of their mid-life crisis as they’re 48 pushing 50. But I still have to keep it funny and light.”
FROM BOYS TO MEN
In Army Daze 2, the boys have all grown up (and even have kids who are also going to NS).
Lead character Malcolm has become top military dog – a colonel and the army’s director of public affairs. Meanwhile, his NS buddies have also moved on: Krishna’s an architect, Kenny’s an interior designer, Ah Beng’s an entrepreneur, and Johari runs a restaurant business.
As the army’s media point person, Malcolm finds himself at the centre of a crisis after a woman is appointed to head the army. “This triggers off a social media frenzy and he has to front and defend it. But at the same time, he feels frustrated that he’s been passed over,” said Chiang.
Reprising their now-grown-up characters are actors who have performed in the various Army Daze stagings through the years.
The original Army Daze was staged many times, including these three versions from 1995, 2006, and 2012.
They include Hossan Leong, Joshua Lim, Ebi Shankara, Shane Mardjuki, Saiful Amri. Chua Enlai will also be playing the platoon’s kooky drill instructor Corporal Ong.
Meanwhile, female actor Oon Shu An will play Brigadier General Wong “who pops out of nowhere and is suddenly chief of army”.
Said Chiang: “I think the onset of public opinion-slash-social media has changed the way a lot of things work and you see it played out in quite dramatic form here, because of the appointment of this woman. To me, it’s like, ‘why not?’ but the play will talk about the issues surrounding it.”
LIVES OF ARMY OFFICERS
In the wake of Army Daze’s success, there have been other plays and movies done about National Service and army life, such as the W!ld Rice’s Own Time Own Target and Jack Neo’s Ah Boys To Men film franchise.
But when the Army Daze book and play first came out in quick succession, there was nothing quite like them.
“There had never been anything written or staged on National Service at all – and it wasn’t something you made fun of, so in a way I kind of pushed the boundaries a bit on two occasions,” recalled Chiang, who added that he’s aware the sequel will play to both new and old audiences.
One of Singapore’s most successful cross-platform works, Michael Chiang’s Army Daze began as a book in 1985 and went on to also become a 1996 movie (that was regularly shown on TV), and even a comic book. (Photo of Chiang by Steve Zhu)
“I think there will be the people who know the old version and are curious about the boys, and there are a brand new bunch who’ve never seen it or maybe have seen the movie on TV. It was one of those things that has crossed so many platforms – book, stage, film – and worked on all.”
For Army Daze 2 director Chia-Richmond, who has worked on three different productions of the original play, doing the sequel was a no-brainer.
“It’s my reservist,” she joked. “I’ve always referred to it as sort of meeting an old friend, and now we get to see the characters 30 years later.”
She added that both Chiang’s and her experiences working on a couple of National Day Parades have also served them in good stead for a play that explores life after National Service.
Before there was Jack Neo’s Ah Boys To Men movie franchise (picture), there was Army Daze, which looked at National Service in a way that had never been done before in the 1980s. (Photo: Ah Boys To Men 2)
Working on big national events meant being exposed to the lives of men in uniform.
“We’ll always have those who go do two, two-and-a-half years, and come out with war stories, seeing ghosts lah, and all that. But now the encounters we have are with people who live and love their lives as army officers.”
But despite Army Daze 2 taking place during NS50, she added that it won’t be mere propaganda for the army.
“Our approach is definitely more personal. It’s the layman’s approach to how National Service has been part of our lives,” she said.
Fans of Nicki Minaj piled on with internet praise this weekend after the artist offered to pay college-related expenses for students with straight A’s.
Minaj responded to dozens of requests on Twitter from fans seeking hundreds or thousands of dollars to pay down student loans or cover the costs of books or online courses.
People tweeted photos of their stellar report cards and explained their financial circumstances.
Show me straight A’s that I can verify w/ur school and I’ll pay it. Who wants to join THAT contest?!?!🤷🏽♀️ Dead serious. Shld I set it up? https://t.co/czH715u64a
The generous giveaway grew out of a separate contest on Minaj’s Twitter feed.
The rap superstar had asked fans to send videos of themselves singing along to her song “Regret in Your Tears” via the instant music video app Musical.ly.
The winners will be flown out and have a chance to hang with Minaj.
When Minaj clarified that fans from any country in the world could participate, one user responded, “Well you wanna pay for my tuition?”
Minaj’s spontaneous Twitter “scholarship fund” comes only weeks after Chance the Rapper helped launch a fund for arts and literature education within the Chicago Public Schools system.
In late March, Chance announced that NBA basketball team Chicago Bulls had donated $1 million (S$1.5 million) to the fund as part of the rapper’s effort to raise $215 million for students across the Windy City.
Minaj ultimately promised financial support to more than two dozen fans, though she vowed to start another campaign “if I have any money left” by the end of the first one.
Netflix has renewed 13 Reasons Why for Season 2, just over a month after the buzzy teen drama premiered online.
Mashable has confirmed that the show will return for 13 more episodes in 2018, and Brian Yorkey will continue to serve as showrunner.
Season 2 “picks up in the aftermath of Hannah Baker’s death and the start of the characters’ complicated journeys toward healing and recovery,” per Netflix’s logline.
Fans suspected that the drama was heading for a Season 2 pickup after it emerged that 13 Reasons star Ross Butler would be unavailable to film Season 2 of Riverdale (in which he’d appeared as a recurring character during Season 1) because of a prior commitment to another project that Butler couldn’t discuss at the time.
Mashable came up with several excellent reasons why 13 Reasons shouldn’t get a second season, but both the cast and author Jay Asher, who penned the novel that the series is based on, were rooting for a continuation.
13 Reasons Why has drawn criticism for its graphic depiction of suicide, prompting Netflix to add additional content warnings to the show in the wake of the controversy.
Despite this, the series clearly struck a chord with viewers, breaking records to become the most-tweeted-about show in Netflix history.
The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news of the renewal.
A premiere date for Season 2 has yet to be announced.
It was a Netflix party at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Sunday night, as the youthful cast of 13 Reasons Why presented the award for Show of the Year to the even more youthful cast of Stranger Things.
Stranger Things beat out heavy-hitters like Game of Thrones, Atlanta, Insecure, Pretty Little Liars and This Is Us for the prize – and we’re betting the pint-sized stars will be on the stage again next year to hand the popcorn right back to the cast of 13 Reasons Why (which was just renewed for a second season earlier in the day).
Squad goals. Photo: Mashable
The love between the two Netflix casts was obvious – they were spotted snapping selfies in the crowd during the telecast.
This is the first time the Show of the Year award has been handed out at the ceremony, which previously only recognised movie nominees.
Show of the Year had top billing during the telecast as the final gong of the evening, and was described as the “biggest award of the night,” further cementing the dominance of TV over film – at least for the MTV crowd. (The clue is probably in the network’s name.)
Earlier in the night, Millie Bobby Brown scooped the Best Actor in a Show award, beating the likes of Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Gina Rodriguez, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Mandy Moore.
LOS ANGELES – Spirited speeches were front and centre at the MTV Movie and TV awards on Sunday, where the night’s top winners at the usually irreverent awards show took to the stage to champion diversity and inclusion.
A rare spell of wet weather in Los Angeles shut down the red carpet before the awards show, but inside, drinks were flowing as host Adam Devine literally set the stage on fire as he kicked off MTV’s first awards celebrating both television and films.
Streaming platform Netflix enjoyed the night’s biggest spotlight when its 1980s sci-fi series “Stranger Things” won the inaugural Show of the Year award.
“Thank you to Netflix, where would we be without Netflix? Like literally, when you’re having a bad day, what do you do when you go home?,” “Stranger Things” star Caleb McLaughlin said on stage, as the audience shouted back “Watch Netflix.”
Disney’s live-action fairytale “Beauty and the Beast” won Best Movie and director Bill Condon thanked the female audience, saying “women have proven that they are huge and powerful audience and it’s going to change the movie business.”
MTV did away with gender-specific acting categories this year for its fan-voted awards, where “Beauty and the Beast” star Emma Watson won best actor in a movie and “Stranger Things”newcomer Millie Bobby Brown, 13, won best actor in a show.
“Acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and that doesn’t need to be separated into two different categories,” Watson said on stage.
MTV’s annual fan-voted, youth-orientated awards show is known for its irreverent moments, explicit jokes and unconventional award categories, which Devine played up in off-kilter quips about his genitals and smoking marijuana.
But this year’s show saw presenters and winners get passionate about issues on stage.
The Best Kiss award went to a tender moment between two teenage boys played by Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome in the Oscar-winning film “Moonlight,” and Sanders dedicated the win to”those who feel like the others, the misfits.”
US Representative Maxine Waters presented the award for Best Fight Against the System and said each of the nominees”pushes back against the bullies and uses their platform to inspire us all.”
The award went to “Hidden Figures,” the story of three black female NASA mathematicians.
“Logan” stars Hugh Jackman and newcomer Dafne Keen won Best Duo, “Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya won the Next Generation award, while NBC family drama “This is Us” won Best Tearjerker.
The MTV Generation Award went to the “Fast and Furious”action franchise and star Vin Diesel thanked “a generation that was willing to accept this multicultural franchise where it didn’t matter what colour your skin was or what country you’re from – when you’re family, you’re family.”
Full list of winners for the 2017 MTV Movie & TV awards include:
MOVIE OF THE YEAR (Presented by Toyota C-HR)
Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE
Emma Watson – Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
SHOW OF THE YEAR
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
BEST ACTOR IN A SHOW
Millie Bobby Brown – “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
BEST FIGHT AGAINST THE SYSTEM
Hidden Figures (20th Century Fox)
TEARJERKER
“This Is Us” – Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Randall (Lonnie Chavis) at karate (NBC)
NEXT GENERATION
Daniel Kaluuya
BEST DUO
Hugh Jackman & Dafne Keen – Logan (20th Century Fox)
BEST KISS
Ashton Sanders & Jharrel Jerome – Moonlight (A24)
BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Lil Rel Howery – Get Out (Universal Pictures)
BEST HOST
Trevor Noah – “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
BEST HERO
Taraji P. Henson – Hidden Figures (20th Century Fox)
BEST AMERICAN STORY
“Blackish” (ABC)
BEST VILLAIN
Jeffrey Dean Morgan – “The Walking Dead” (AMC)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
13TH (Netflix)
BEST REALITY COMPETITION
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
TRENDING (Presented by Time Inc.’s INSTANT)
“Run The World (Girls)” Channing Tatum and Beyonce – “Lip Sync Battle” (SPIKE)
BEST MUSICAL MOMENT (musical.ly)
“You’re the One That I Want” – Ensemble – Grease: Live (FOX)
