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KUALA LUMPUR – The North Korean embassy was sealed off so that that the authorities could physically identify all those inside the premises, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
The Malaysian Government has banned North Koreans from leaving the country.
This came after Pyongyang banned all Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea, potentially holding them hostage amid an increasingly heated diplomatic row over the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2) on Feb 13.
Nur Jazlan, who showed up outside the embassy here Tuesday, said the Government views the matter seriously.
“When North Korea stops our citizens from leaving their country, we view this as serious.
“We have responded to their actions but we have also done this for the safety of North Koreans in there (the embassy) because we don’t want anything to happen to another North Korean in Malaysia, which will put more blame on us,” he said.
Read Also: No co-operation from North Korea, says Malaysia police chief
He said the best move for now is to block them from going out of the embassy.
“We have done this temporarily, at least until we have done a physical identification of all those inside,” he said.
Authorities believe that Hyong Kwang-song, the 44-year-old second secretary at the North Korean embassy, and Kim Uk-il, 37, an Air Koryo staff member, are still in the country.
Read Also: Malaysia says North Koreans not allowed to leave: Deputy PM
A warrant of arrest was issued for Uk-il last week and a letter requesting Hyong’s co-operation was sent through Wisma Putra and delivered to the embassy.
It is believed that the move to cordon off the embassy was to ensure that the person wanted by police in connection with Jong-nam’s assassination, who is suspected to be hiding in the embassy, did not escape.
When asked what the authorities will do if they find the wanted man in the embassy, Nur Jazlan said: “That is their sovereign ground but out here is ours. We will wait for him to come out.”
This weekend, an episode of CBS political drama Madam Secretary will feature a lecherous Filipino president getting punched in the face.
The episode, scheduled to air on Saturday, was promoted with a trailer that’s getting people talking, because many are drawing parallels with the real president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, who’s been criticised for making overtly inappropriate and sexist remarks.
The episode’s plot will feature the fictional president Datu Andrada (played by Joel de la Fuente), making sexual advances toward the protagonist, US Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (played by Tea Leoni).
McCord ends up punching Andrada in the face, jeopardising relationships between the two countries.
The parallel did not sit well with the Philippines embassy in Washington, which published a statement protesting the negative depiction:
“While Madam Secretary is a work of fiction, it tracks and mirrors current events,” the embassy said.
“This highly negative portrayal… not only casts doubt on the respectability of the Office of the Philippine President but also denigrates [the] way our nation navigates foreign affairs.”
A spokesperson for Duterte said that the show should have used a fictional parallel to Trump instead.
Filipinos were also up in arms:
But others see the parallel as a really apt joke:
The controversial portrayal of the Philippines leader comes as Duterte appears to turn away from the longtime ally, instead warming to other nations such as China and Russia.
Prior to election last year, Duterte made international headlines for some of his public remarks, including a joke about the gang rape of an Australian missionary. He has also catcalled a female reporter and insulted a female senator who was critical of his war on drugs.
Read the full article here.
Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture, and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the world.
The Prime Minister has called for North Korea to release all Malaysian citizens immediately to avoid any further escalation of the diplomatic row between the two countries.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he condemned in the strongest terms possible, North Korea’s decision to prevent Malaysian citizens from leaving the country, and has summoned an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.
“This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms.
“As a peace-loving nation, Malaysia is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries.
Read also: Pyongyang bans Malaysians from leaving North Korea
“However, protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
“I have also instructed the Inspector-General of Police to prevent all North Korean citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea.
“Our hope is for a swift resolution. I call upon the North Korean leadership to immediately allow our citizens to leave to avoid any further escalation,” he said.
Read also: N Korean ambassador defiant to the end as he leaves Malaysia
They’re both bonafide Bollywood stars. They’re both pursuing Hollywood. They’ve both appeared on the same talk shows. They’ve both attended the Oscars.
But dear paparazzi, they are NOT the same!
For the second time, the American media has mistaken Deepika Padukone of xXx: Return of Xander Cage fame with Priyanka Chopra of Quantico fame.
First, when promoting xXx, which also starred Vin Diesel, and now, at Los Angeles International Airport where shutterbugs lined up to welcome Padukone with chants of “Hi, Priyanka” and “Priyanka, welcome back!”
Padukone, though, walked off unfazed with her security guard in tow. She didn’t bother posing for photographs either.
Padukone, a latter entrant in Hollywood, has followed in the footsteps of her Indian colleague Chopra. From doing the rounds of Hollywood parties and events to appearing in popular talk shows – Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, Ellen DeGeneres – they’ve both done pretty much the same things.
And naturally, comparisons galore. But Padukone has often hinted annoyance when pitted against PeeCee, as Chopra is popularly known, who was crowned Miss World when the former was in school.
“It feels weird on being compared to her because our worlds are totally distinct. What she wants to achieve and what she is working towards is different from what I am doing. Her demands and requirements are completely different from mine. These comparisons are so bizarre,” Padukone has reportedly said.
Padukone’s tryst with mistaken identities ain’t new though.
Last year, UK’s Daily Mail called her tennis star Novak Djokovic’s “female companion” after both were snapped leaving an LA club together. The British tabloid was mocked by Indians on social media for failing to recognise a prominent celebrity like Padukone.
According to Indian media reports, she’s an old friend of both Djokovic and his wife, and has made appearances at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments in the past.
Sadly, the Western media’s ignorance is not a thing of the past. Yet.
Read the full article here.
Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture, and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the world.
Barbie Hsu gave her husband Wang Xiaofei a big fright when she suddenly lost consciousness at home last month.
At a promotional event held in Taipei last Sunday (March 5), the 40-year-old Taiwanese actress said: “My husband saved my life. Fortunately, he was there (when I fainted).”
After she blacked out, the Chinese businessman took her to a hospital.
According to Apple Daily Taiwan, Hsu had overexerted herself which caused a relapse of her heart condition – mitral valve prolapse.
Some symptoms of the disorder include irregular heartbeat, dizziness, difficulty breathing, fatigue, and chest pain.
Photo Gallery
Hsu recounted how her worried husband held on to her hands with tears in his eyes when she regained consciousness in hospital.
He also insisted that she undergo a full medical checkup before they returned home, Chung Tien Television reported.
The loving couple has two children – a two-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.
Photo Gallery
Also read: Barbie Hsu’s husband builds Taipei hotel named after her
minlee@sph.com.sg
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MANILA – Manila on Tuesday “strongly protested” an American television drama for showing a fictional Philippine president making a sexual advance on the US secretary of state.
In the trailer for the latest edition of “Madam Secretary”, the lead character punches “the Philippines’ unconventional new president” in the face and gives him a bloody nose in reaction to his unwanted pass.
“I clobbered a world leader instead of saving a major regional agreement,” the secretary of state says.
The Philippine embassy in Washington released a statement saying it had written to the producers of the show, CBS network, to urgently request it “take the necessary corrective actions”.
“This highly negative portrayal of our Head of State not only casts doubt on the respectability of the Office of the Philippine President but also denigrates (the) way our nation navigates foreign affairs,” the statement said.
While the description for the trailer used a fictional name for the Philippine president, the embassy said the show mirrored current events.
The real Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has previously caused controversy with comments perceived to have been sexist and offensive.
During last year’s presidential campaign the Australian and American ambassadors in Manila criticised Duterte for saying he wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who had been murdered in a prison riot.
Duterte, 71, reacted angrily to the criticism, saying the remarks had been misinterpreted.
Duterte also boasted on the campaign trail about having two mistresses but said the women would not cost taxpayers much because he kept them at cheap boarding houses and took them to by-the-hour hotels for sex.
Read Also: Most infamous quotes of Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte
The president has also been criticised for wolf whistling a woman journalist at a press conference and joking about looking at his female vice president’s legs.
But Duterte has won praise for a range of policies promoting women’s rights, including reproductive health.
Philippine authorities have a history of protesting negative portrayals in Hollywood of Filipinos.
In 2009, the Philippine government demanded an apology from actor Alec Baldwin for joking about wanting to get a Filipina mail-order bride.
The producers of the top-rated “Desperate Housewives” show also apologised in 2007 after a lead character put down Filipino doctors.
MANILA – Philippine police killed four suspected drug dealers in three separate incidents on Tuesday, a provincial police commander said, just hours after a relaunch of anti-drugs operations that the national police chief said he hoped would be “less bloody”.
The incidents were the first reported deaths of drug suspects since Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa announced the restart of operations he hoped would be less bloody “or even bloodless”.
About 8,000 people had been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte declared war on drugs upon taking office on June 30, more than 2,555 in what the PNP says were shootouts during raids and sting operations.
The PNP insists it had no involvement in the rest of the killings and deny activists’ allegations that many of the deaths, most unsolved and in mysterious circumstances, were assassinations of drug suspects with police complicity.
Three suspected drug peddlers were shot dead in the early hours of Tuesday when they resisted arrest after selling packets of “shabu” methamphetamine to undercover officers in two towns in Bulacan, north of Manila, according to Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat.
A fourth man was killed when he confronted police manning a checkpoint, he said, adding three handguns and drugs were recovered.
The PNP’s reinstatement came just over a month after a furious Duterte pulled police back from his crackdown in the wake of the killing by rogue drugs squad police of a South Korean businessman.
Dela Rosa said “clean, dedicated and patriotic” officers would form the new drug enforcement unit under his command.
The PNP has defended its role in the drugs war, amid growing criticism from human rights groups that they have operated with impunity and systematically abused their power.
The crackdown is an issue of concern among Western governments and the United Nations.
The PNP points to some 40,000 people it has arrested in drug operations and more than a million drug users and peddlers that have surrendered and volunteered to undergo drug rehabilitation.
Duterte recalled the police for the campaign because the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) lacked manpower to stem what the PNP says are signs of drugs returning to the streets.
Read also:
Ex-policeman says behind 200 killings in Philippine death squad under Duterte
Philippines’ Duterte ordered murders, ex-police aide claims
Philippines takes big step back towards death penalty
Top Philippine drug war critic arrested at Senate
Top Philippine drug war critic arrested, but defiant
Philippine army to create task force to chase big drug syndicates
After a barren campaign at the last Olympics, the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA)’s target of a return to the podium on the world stage could receive a boost.
It wants to secure citizenship for Zeng Jian, a China-born paddler who at world No. 25 is now the highest-ranked woman in the national body’s set-up.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with The Straits Times yesterday, STTA president Ellen Lee said the association has been working to set the application into motion, and that Zeng’s addition to the national team will help “lift the game even higher” for Singapore.
“She’s (Zeng) put in a lot of effort, worked very hard. We want her to be part of the national team and be one of us as well,” she said at the STTA’s headquarters in Toa Payoh.
It is understood that an application to place Zeng on the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme – to earn her citizenship and the ability to don national colours at events like major Games – was submitted late last year, and the STTA has been working on enhancing her eligibility based on feedback from the Singapore Sports Institute.
Should the request go through, the 20-year-old would become the latest foreign-born paddler to join the national women’s team. Prior to her application, the last ones to join were Zhou Yihan (No. 36) and Lin Ye (No. 73) in 2013.
Zeng, a Hunan native, arrived in late 2014 as a sparring partner and began competing on the international circuit under the STTA’s auspices in February 2015.
She picked up three Under-21 singles titles (China, Japan, Qatar) last year, quickly reaching a career-high of No. 18 in October.
Her meteoric rise previously led the China media to tout her as the one to take over the mantle of leading the Singapore charge from world No. 3 Feng Tianwei.
The latter is no longer part of the STTA but continues to play for Singapore.
Read also: The Newsmaker: Feng Tianwei says she will only focus on the future
Lee, however, maintained that bringing in Zeng does not diminish the STTA’s support for the local-born athletes.
The STTA has in recent years put its weight behind local-born players and declared its ambition to field them at the Olympics in the future.
“We’ve never gone out to say we want only foreign-born paddlers,” she said, noting the likes of Isabelle Li, Pang Xue Jie and Clarence Chew as examples of local-born players who have made the national team.
“The message has always been (that) we want to groom talent and as much as possible, we give opportunities to the local-born (players) because they form the (majority).”
“While we’re grooming and investing in (Zeng), we’re also grooming and investing in local-born players. Zeng Jian is also a positive influence, she’s good motivation and a good partner for everybody.”
The aim, said Lee, is for all players within the STTA to achieve progress. She also emphasised moving away from a “local-born versus foreign-born” mentality because “it’s never healthy”.
Lee, president of the STTA since September 2014, will balance that long-term objective with goals that are more pressing now.
This includes the search for a replacement for women’s team head coach Chen Zhibin after the German-Chinese’s contract expires at the end of this month.
Lee said there has been no deadline set to appoint someone so as not to put “unnecessary stress on ourselves”, but said the STTA will consider anyone who proves to be suitable – including former head coach Jing Junhong.
Jing was at the helm from 2012 but redeployed as chief coach (youth development) in November 2015 following an internal coaching conflict with the women’s team.
But the former national paddler has a vote of confidence from Lee, who said: “She (Jing) has proven herself exceptionally well. We have great faith in her.”
Change is also afoot on the sponsorship front. The STTA has been one of the most successful national sports governing bodies in securing sponsorship dollars, pulling in seven-figure sums a year at one point.
But it is now seeking a fresh injection of funds after its partnership with several sponsors ended as the terms changed or ran out.
For instance, its competition jersey no longer bears the 100Plus logo on the front although Lee maintained that the brand continues to sponsor in kind.
The isotonic drink, produced by Fraser & Neave, had been one of the STTA’s biggest backers, first inking a $750,000, three-year deal in 2011, then extending it to the end of last year with another $800,000 partnership.
Said Lee: “Sponsors also have their changes as well – in management, in thinking, in philosophy, and we have to respect that.
“It’s not our right to demand sponsorship. It’s a question of us approaching more sponsors who feel they are ready to sponsor.”
maychen@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on Mar 07, 2017.
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