JAKARTA – Australia’s army chief has apologised for comments deemed insulting to Indonesia that were contained in teaching material found at an Australian military base, Indonesia’s armed forces chief said on Wednesday.
However, no decision has yet been made on fully restoring defence ties, General Gatot Nurmantyo said.
The material in question referred to Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua needing to be independent and “discredited the TNI, the nation of Indonesia and even the ideology of Indonesia,” Nurmantyo had said previously.
Papua province forms part of the island of New Guinea and borders the country of Papua New Guinea.
The affair prompted Indonesia to suspend some defence ties with its neighbour last month.
Nurmantyo met Australian Lieutenant General Angus Campbell in Jakarta to discuss Australia’s investigation into the teaching material.
“Lieutenant General Campbell conveyed regret and apologized for the incident,” the Indonesian military said in a statement.
Campbell said that the Australian military would impose sanctions on all the personnel involved, according to the Indonesian statement. Australian officials were not available for comment.
The two countries have extensive military cooperation, which ranges from counter-terrorism to border protection.
Indonesia suspended military ties in 2013 over revelations that Australian spies had tapped the mobile telephone of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Maybe this is another reason why mothers tell you you shouldn’t play with your food.
American model Gigi Hadid has come under fire over an online video that many deemed racist.
A now-deleted Snapchat clip posted by her sister Bella shows the 21-year-old at what looks like a dinner party, playing with a cookie in the image of a laughing Buddha.
this is y’all woke palestine queen? Gigi out here mocking Asian people. i would say she’s cancelled but she never started. rat @GiGiHadidpic.twitter.com/b6wj5k1sXE
In a moment of tomfoolery, she holds it up to to her face, mimicking its expression, smiling and squinting her eyes.
Photo: Twitter
But netizens were having none of it.
The reproach came swiftly in a barrage of tweets, as followers accused the Victoria’s Secret model, who is of Palestinian and Dutch descent, of being racist against Asians.
Even her boyfriend, former One Direction star Zayn Malik was not spared.
He was asked on Twitter how he felt as someone of Asian descent, about his girlfriend making fun of Asian people. The half-Pakistani singer cheekily replied: “Trust me… she likes Asians”.
Gigi’s mother, former model Yolanda Hadid, also weighed in on the issue, tweeting: “Only a toxic mind will perceive hugging a chocolate laughing Buddha as racist……”
This is not the first time the model has been criticised for being racist. According to Paper magazine, she wore an afro and darkened skin in 2015 for a Vogue Italia cover shoot and faced major backlash as well.
Just like ordinary folks, busy Chinese celebs took precious time to enjoy the festivities with their loved ones over the Chinese New Year holiday.
Some revealed how they celebrated on social media while others were spotted in public by sharp-eyed fans and paparazzi as reported in videos by TV Sohu.
But what did they do exactly? Here’s the rundown.
Cecilia Cheung with one of her sons at Disneyland.Photo: Social media
Cecilia Cheung and sons have whale of a time at Disneyland
The Hong Kong actress and her two sons were spotted at Hong Kong’s Disneyland on Feb 2. Photos uploaded on social media show an obliging Cheung posing for the cameras of other visitors who reportedly told her that her boys were looking more handsome by the day.
Although they were without their father actor Nicholas Tse, who had parted ways with Cecilia, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Jimmy Lin’s boys dressed up as adorable ‘lions’
Taiwanese singer-actor Jimmy Lin, who married model Kelly Chen, dressed up their two boys in lion costumes on CNY and also took them to a garden one day.
The photo of the cheerful-looking twins, born in 2015, had over 74,000 likes and 233 shares on his Facebook page.
Angelababy (top left) and Huang Xiaoming (bottom) celebrated CNY with his family and relatives. Photo: Social media
Angelababy and Huang Xiaoming had reunion feast with his relatives
An online photo shows the famous Chinese acting couple in a reunion dinner with Huang‘s mum, younger brother and relatives. Angelababy appears to have gone back to her svelte self after delivering their baby son last year.
The photo shows neither of them had their baby on their lap. A male relative is seen carrying an infant but we’re not sure it’s theirs.
Vicki Zhao in baggy clothes taking food for her daughter in Dubai. Photo: Social media
Vicki Zhao and family seen in Dubai
Actress-singer Vicki Zhao was spotted in Dubai over the CNY holiday with husband Huang Youlong and their six-year-old daughter named “Little April”.
As she was seen in loose in clothing, the media speculated that she might be expecting again. But her agency denied this on Feb 2, saying she looked “relaxed’ while on holiday.
Li Bingbing and Xu Wennan wrote ‘Fu’ a number of times before choosing the best for CNY decoration. Photo: Social media
Li Bingbing and boyfriend reveal calligraphy skills
Instagram photos show Chinese actress Li Bingbing, 43, and her newly found beau, Xu Wennan, welcoming the new year by practising Chinese brush strokes as they tried to come up with the best version of the word ‘Fu’, which means fortune in Chinese.
Netizens couldn’t help but noticed the investment manager is tall, good-looking and reportedly 15 years younger than her.
Edison Chen and Qin Shupei were spotted in Beijing during CNY.Photo: Social media
Edison Chen with pregnant Qin Shupei in Beijing
Hong Kong actor Edison Chen was reportedly seen with wife-to-be model Qin Shupei in Beijing over the holiday.
Sources told the media wedding bells will ring soon for the couple, who are expecting a boy.
The foot of Ruby Lin’s baby resting on her hand.Photo: Ruby Lin
Ruby Lin reveals a leg with modesty
On the eve of Chinese New Year, Taiwanese actress-singer Ruby Lin, who’s married to Wallace Huo, shared on social media the new shoes that she and her recently born baby daughter would be wearing.
Lin also revealed a little leg – not hers but that of her daughter, with a message saying her birth was the best birthday present she got – her 41st birthday was on Jan 27, the eve of CNY.
Yang Mi (wearing a cap) was seen with her little daughter (left) and Hawick Lau (not seen in this photo) at a toy store.Photo: Social media
Yang Mi and Hawick Lau shop for toys for daughter
Wearing baseball caps, Chinese actress-singer Yang Mi and Hong kong actor husband Hawick Lau were still spotted by fans in a toy store with their young daughter in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year weekend.
Yang Mi was later seen at the airport, apparently returning to China for filming, reported TV Sohu.
Zhang Ziyi with Wang Feng and their children in a festive photo.Photo: Social media
Zhang Ziyi with daughters and hubby in family photo
Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is seen in a new year photo with daughter Xingxing, step-daughter “Little Apple” and rocker-husband Wang Feng.
Although their daughters are from their respective marriages previously, they seem like an affectionate family.
Diving and snorkeling contribute to coral reef damage according to research by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB).
The study, conducted at Panggang Island in the Thousand Islands regency between April and June 2013, found that diving and snorkeling in the area had destroyed 7.57 per cent and 8.2 per cent of coral reefs per year, respectively due to divers or snorkelers who kicked, stepped on, touched or took the coral.
WWF Indonesia marine and fisheries campaign coordinator Dwi Aryo Tjiptohandono said that the main cause of damage to the reefs was the amateur divers’ inability to float and irresponsible divers who took coral for souvenirs.
According to a recent report by kompas.com, vandalized coral reefs were also found in Raja Ampat in West Papua.
An Australian who lives in the area, Doug Meikle, uploaded three photographs on Stay Raja Ampat’s Facebook account, which showed three areas of damage.
Meikle said that this vandalism was not the only thing that was destroying Raja Ampat’s coral reefs.
Live-aboard anchors were said to be responsible as well.
“[The live-aboard anchors] are even worse than the vandalism,” he said.
The head of the underwater tourism acceleration programme, Cipto Aji Gunawan, said that the Tourism Ministry would revoke the license of dive operators who were involved in damaging the reefs.
After months of hiding his little bundle of joy from the prying eyes of media, Shahid Kapoor finally posted the most adorable picture of his daughter Misha Kapoor on Instagram.
In the picture, Misha is seen playing with her mother Mira Kapoor while casting a glance at daddy Shahid Kapoor, who’s busy capturing the beautiful mother-daughter moment.
Earlier, Shahid sent the world into a tizzy when he posted a rather blurred selfie with his daughter. When asked repeatedly by the media to reveal the picture of Misha, Shahid said, “I will share a picture soon, hopefully on my birthday!”
But days before his birthday he fulfilled the wish of his fans and posted an adorable picture of his wife and his daughter.
Shahid Kapoor and his wife were blessed with daughter Misha Kapoor on August 26, 2016.
Raees, the recently released Bollywood movie starring Indian megastar Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actor Mahira Khan, that was due to air in Pakistan on Feb. 2 has been banned in the country instead.
Although no official reason as to why it has been prohibited has been released, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did mention to BBC Urdu that it was because the movie “depicts Muslims as criminals and terrorists” that made it “offensive to a particular sect”.
Muslims-particularly, Shia Muslims-took umbrage at the trailer as it consisted of portrayals pertaining to their religious processions.
The crime-film tells the story of a Muslim mafioso named Raees Alam who runs a bootlegging business in Gujarat, where alcohol is strictly vetoed.
Jami Mehmood, a Pakistani movie director, believes that the country should be more open-minded and accepting toward different productions.
He said, “People ought to be tolerant of other people’s views. We should watch Indian movies with the viewpoint of the Indians in mind, like Iranian films are watched in the United States.”
The turbulent history of relations between India and Pakistan plays a part in the banning of the movie.
According to The Hindu, Pakistan only allowed the screening again of Indian movies after the minister of state information recommended it to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Pakistan Film Exhibitors’ Association (PFEA) lifted the ban last week after it was imposed in October 2016.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf celebrates 200,000 fans on Facebook with a special 1-for-1 promotion. Head to your nearest store today to enjoy a 1-for-1 offer on the Passion Fruit Sparkling Tea.
Lady Gaga fired back at her haters who had criticised her body during her Super Bowl performance.
The pop star penned a powerful Instagram post on Wednesday, clenching her fists at body shamers who scrutinized her plump tummy and “sensual” costumes for her gig.
“I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too,” she wrote on the photo-sharing app.
She added: “No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions.”
A photo posted by xoxo, Joanne (@ladygaga) on Feb 7, 2017 at 8:38pm PST
Prior to her vivacious Super Bowl stint, Lady Gaga, 30, told Michael Strahan of ABC News that she had to endure strenuous cardio exercises to harness her high vocals. Together with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, the “Born This Way” hitmaker made sure that her “Little Monsters” would not leave the football stadium disappointed.
“Well, I work out a lot and I do VersaClimbing while I sing,” she said while describing her VersaClimber machine. “I’m singing the show while I’m doing it because the show is full-on cardio… it’s cardio while singing.”
Lady Gaga’s fitness voyage and Super Bowl rehearsals were chronicled on social media.
A photo posted by xoxo, Joanne (@ladygaga) on Jan 16, 2017 at 12:42pm PST
After wowing the audience at Houston’s NRG Stadium and hundreds of millions of TV viewers, Lady Gaga announced a world tour for her newest album “Joanne.” Gianna Francesca Catolico
BLANTYRE, Malawi – US pop superstar Madonna felt “compelled” to adopt four-year-old twin girls from an orphanage in Malawi after hearing of their plight through her charity work, court papers revealed Wednesday.
The High Court in the Malawian capital Lilongwe on Tuesday granted the singer permission to adopt the twins, adding to two other children she has already adopted from the country.
Madonna confirmed the adoption on Instagram, posting a picture of herself holding hands with the two girls, twins Esther and Stella, who wore identical blue dresses decorated with white hearts as they walked past a grassy field.
“I can officially confirm I have completed the process of adopting twin sisters from Malawi and am overjoyed that they are now part of our family. I am deeply grateful to all those in Malawi who helped make this possible,” she wrote.
“Thank you also to my friends, family and my very large team for all your support and love!”
A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Feb 8, 2017 at 10:24am PST
Court documents detailed how the twins were taken in by the orphanage because their mother died soon after childbirth, their father left to marry another woman, and their grandmother struggled to look after several children.
Some Malawian activists have criticised Madonna for allegedly bending the rules and for exploiting one of the world’s poorest countries.
But judge Fiona Mwale said the singer would provide a loving family life for the children in “a luxurious, spacious and comfortable abode in an affluent neighbourhood” of the United States.
The ruling also said that Madonna, 58, was “above the age normally considered within the ranges of parenting” and had submitted a medical report to prove her good health.
“Her charity work brings her into contact with orphanages… and it was as a result of this contact that she felt compelled to fill a gap in their lives and open up her home to them,” Mwale said.
“The petitioner satisfied me that this adoption is motivated by her desire to offer a home, love, protection and guidance to the infants.
“She would like to share what she has with those who are less privileged.” .
The ruling said the twins’ father, identified by the initials A.M., gave his consent for the adoption and accepted it “permanently terminates” his parental rights – adding that he had not received any incentives.
Madonna’s earlier adoptions of David Banda in 2006 and Mercy James in 2009 from Malawi have been criticised by some biological family members over a lack of contact with the children.
Madonna, who was in court for the private ruling, set up a charity called Raising Malawi in 2006, and has been a regular visitor to the country, taking David and Mercy last year when she visited a children’s hospital surgical unit funded by the charity.
She has not always been welcomed with open arms.
In 2013, she was stripped of VIP status by former president Joyce Banda’s government, which accused her of being “uncouth” and wanting unending gratitude for her adoptions.
But in the 2014 election, Banda was ousted by Peter Mutharika who has moved to repair the relationship, saying “my government has always been grateful for the passion Madonna has for this country”.
The singer, who divorced film director Guy Ritchie in 2008, now has six children after the adoption of Esther and Stella.
Maxwell Matewere, director of the Eye of the Child charity, told AFP that the singer should “take a different approach from adoption by supporting poor families with vulnerable children”.
Ken Mhango, local head of the African network for protection and prevention of child abuse and neglect (ANPPCAN), criticised the secrecy and tight security around Madonna’s case.
“Madonna is portraying Malawi as having a pool of poor children on the market for adoption,” Mhango added.
The twins, who have five other siblings, were reportedly from the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji, 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of Lilongwe.
The Confucius Museum in Qufu, Shandong province – the birthplace of China’s most famous sage – will be opened in the second half of this year, a local official said on Wednesday, describing it as the country’s first comprehensive museum to focus on Confucius (551-479 BC) and his ideology.
“Work on the exhibition centre, the main building of the museum complex, has been completed, while detailed work on exhibition platforms and landscaping is underway,” said Zhang Lizheng of the Qufu Culture Industry Park where the museum is located.
The museum complex, with a total investment of 700 million yuan (S$144.3 million), consists of an exhibition centre and six subordinate halls, covering a total of 57,000 square meters.
The museum is a cultural project showcasing Confucian teachings and relics collected by generations of Confucius, as well as a place to learn about traditional culture, said Yang Jinquan, deputy head of the Qufu bureau of cultural relics.
Construction of the museum started in 2013, but was disrupted due to financial issues and discussions over how to present the essence of Confucian thoughts and teachings in the most accurate way.
Local government statistics show that by the end of last year, a total of 380 million yuan had been spent on the museum.
Yang Chaoming, head of the Confucius Research Institute in Qufu, said the museum is of great importance.
“Currently, people learn Confucian teachings mainly from textbooks and at the Confucius Temple. At the museum, visitors will be able to gain a more in-depth understanding about Confucius and his teachings via images, modern technologies and relics related to the sage,” said Yang Chaoming, who is also a member of the provincial political advisory body.
Yang Yitang, an expert on Confucian studies at the Jining bureau of cultural relics, said, “About 350,000 Confucius-related relics and archives that now rest in storerooms will be better protected and presented to the public, helping experts and tourists to learn about the sage.”
Teachings of Confucius, an educator and philosopher, deeply influenced later Chinese generations. He was the first Chinese to set up private schools and enroll students from all walks of life.
The government of Shandong is exhibiting the work of Confucius to promote traditional Chinese culture.
Guo Shuqing, governor of Shandong, said in his government work report at the ongoing sixth session of the 12th Shandong Provincial People’s Congress, the province’s top legislature, that Shandong will continue to promote the essence of traditional Chinese culture, completing construction of the Confucius Museum and opening it to the public this year.
