Archive for August, 2008
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was hailed as a national hero Monday despite his bitterly disappointing finals loss to China’s Lin Dan, which deprived the nation of its first Olympic gold. The silver medal was Malaysia’s best result in 12 years at the Olympics and the best achievement by a singles player.
Malaysians followed Lee’s progress at the Beijing Olympics with enthusiasm, hoping he could break a drought for the country, which had not won an Olympic medal since 1996 and has never claimed gold. Since Malaysia started taking part in the Olympics in 1956 at Melbourne, it has won two silver medals, including Chong Wei’s, and two bronze — all from badminton.
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Popularity: 5% [?]
The Permatang Pauh by-election campaign kicked off in earnest with four candidates submitting their papers at the nomination centre here on Saturday morning, although one later pulled out.
At 11.45am, returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced there were three candidates contesting the seat: PKR adviser and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Seberang Jaya MP Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Hamad.
An independent candidate Dr Mansor Othman, former Penang PKR leader, had also submitted his nomination but later withdrew, losing his RM15,000 deposit in the process.
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Popularity: 5% [?]
Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan appeared in public today to swear on the Quran and denied he had consented to the alleged anal intercourse with Anwar Ibrahim. He has swore on the Quran at the Federal Territory Mosque in Jalan Duta here today that the sodomy had indeed taken place.
He performed the swearing before an imam at 6.15pm. The swearing process ended about 15 minutes later.
He was accompanied by his father and police personnel. The swearing ceremony was witnessed by some 30 people, including representatives of the media and members of his family.
Mohd Saiful, Anwar’s former aide, prior to today, had pledged that he would swear on the Quran about the alleged misdeed by Anwar.
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Popularity: 6% [?]
A Malaysian high court has ordered a prominent political blogger to reveal his sources used in articles that alleged sodomy accusations against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were fabricated, a lawyer said Thursday.
Online commentator Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had in three articles posted on his blog implied that lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was behind the sodomy accusations by Anwar’s 23-year-old aide.
Muhammad Shafee told The Associated Press he obtained the court order Wednesday against Raja Petra, ordering him to reveal the sources of the three articles published this month, and the identities of those who commented on them.
The court also ordered him to remove the articles and all comments within two days and refrain from publishing similar allegations, Muhammad Shafee said.
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Popularity: 4% [?]
You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people, about half have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.
The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.
The results also show that stereotypes about body size can be misleading, and that even “less voluptuous” people can have risk factors commonly associated with obesity, said study author MaryFran Sowers, a University of Michigan obesity researcher.
“We’re really talking about taking a look with a very different lens” at weight and health risks, Sowers said.
In the study, about 51 percent of overweight adults, or roughly 36 million people nationwide, had mostly normal levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood fats called triglycerides and blood sugar.
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Popularity: 3% [?]
The eyes may carry important early clues to heart disease, signaling damage to tiny blood vessels long before symptoms start to show elsewhere, researchers reported on Tuesday.
People with a type of eye damage known as retinopathy were more likely to die of heart disease over the next 12 years than those without it, according to the team at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne in Australia and the National University of Singapore.
They studied the retinal photographs of 3,000 people, most of whom had diabetes. Such snapshots are often taken to see if the diabetes has begun to damage the eyes. Then they checked records for deaths.
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Popularity: 3% [?]
