Samsung gearing up for September smartphone and smartwatch launch

SNEAK PEEK: The leaked screenshot suggests that the smartwatch will display smartphone message notifications and act as a media library. — ©AFP/Relaxnews 2013

The latest wrist-worn computing device-based rumours centre around Samsung's GEAR smartwatch and the company's plans to launch it alongside its third generation phablet, the Galaxy Note III, this autumn.

Unlike other reports relating to other companies' supposed entry into the wearable, and in particular the wrist-worn technology sector, Samsung rumours have a higher than average degree of accuracy.

Partly because unlike many of its contemporaries, the company has made no secret of its intentions to actually launch a smartwatch within the next 12 months.

Earlier trademark applications show that the device is likely to be called the Samsung GEAR and the latest news, courtesy of Patently Apple, claims that the smartwatch will be ready for its big reveal Sept 6 at the same press conference that will see the South Korean technology firm launch the third iteration of its Galaxy Note phablet.

All of which suggests that the GEAR will be marketed as an accessory rather than as a standalone product. This line of thinking is supported by a set of leaked screenshots that were hosted on South Korean message board service RULIWEB that show the device displaying e-mail, calls and music notifications.

©AFP/Relaxnews 2013

Beregu emas bakal berdepan 'hukuman'

GUANGZHOU:  Padah menanti beregu utama negara, Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong apabila mereka terkandas pada suku akhir Kejohanan Badminton Dunia 2013 di Gimnasium Tianhe di sini, hari ini.

Pasangan nombor dua dunia dan pilihan kedua kejohanan itu terpaksa akur kepada kehebatan pilihan kelima dari Korea Selatan, Kim Ki Jung-Kim Sa Rang 15-21, 16-21 dan mereka perlu 'membayar harga yang tinggi' di atas kekalahan tersebut, selain mengakhiri cabaran Malaysia dalam acara beregu lelaki.

Sebelum ini, Persatuan Badminton Malaysia (BAM) meletakkan sasaran kepada  gandingan itu untuk layak ke final pada kejohanan itu atau akan dipisahkan berikutan prestasti mereka yang merudum sejak beberapa tahun lepas.

Pada pertemuan itu, segalanya tidak menjadi bagi beregu negara itu sebaliknya pasangan Korea Selatan itu lebih bertenaga dengan corak permainan pantas dan pertahanan yang kental untuk menempah tempat ke separuh akhir esok.

Ketika ditemui pemberita selepas perlawanan itu, Koo berkata mereka telah berusaha bersungguh-sungguh pada kejohanan itu dan terserah kepada kepimpinan BAM bagi menentukan nasib mereka.

"Memang saya masih mahu meneruskan gandingan ini tetapi terpulang kepada BAM di bawah presiden baharu (Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff) untuk membuat keputusan (berhubung kedudukan kami).

"Kami memang bersedia untuk kejohanan ini dan sudah melakukan apa yang terbaik tetapi...(tewas di suku akhir)," katanya.

Koo turut kesal dengan sikap peminat tempatan yang sering mengkritik mereka apabila gagal mencapai keputusan yang cemerlang pada sesuatu pertandingan terutama membabitkan kejohanan besar  sedangkan mereka telah berusaha sedaya upaya.

"Kalau boleh, saya rasa macam mahu bermain (menyertai kejohanan) di China sahaja...sama ada menang atau kalah mereka terus beri sokongan. Saya rasa kecewa, apabila kami meraih kejuaraan tidak ramai yang ucap tahniah tetapi bila kami kalah, ramai yang kritik," katanya.

Mengenai perlawanan itu, Koo mengakui bahawa pasangan Korea Selatan itu mempamerkan aksi mantap sehingga sering kali memerangkap mereka.  Tan turut melahirkan rasa kecewa kerana gagal meneruskan kemaraan kerana mereka turut meletakkan sasaran tinggi pada kejohanan edisi kali ini.

"Tiada apa yang boleh saya katakan. Biar BAM yang tentukan nasib kami," katanya yang turut mengharapkan agar gandingannya bersama Koo dikekalkan.

Sementara itu, ketua jurulatih beregu negara, Tan Kim Her berkata beliau akan menyiapkan laporan berhubung prestasi kesemua beregu negara, termasuk gandingan Koo-Tan pada kejohanan itu untuk diserahkan kepada BAM.

"Mereka (Koo-Tan) sudah cuba sedaya upaya. Saya akan siapkan laporan dan terpulang kepada Jawatankuasa Kejurulatihan dan Latihan (BAM) untuk membuat keputusan muktamad," katanya yang mengakui bahawa kedua-dua pemain berkenaan telah berusaha bersungguh-sungguh pada kejohanan itu tetapi nasib tidak menyebelahi mereka.

Dua lagi beregu negara - Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari serta Hoon Thien How/Tan Wee Kiong pula terkandas di pusingan ketiga semalam manakala Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah tersingkir di pusingan kedua.- BERNAMA 

30,000 kunjungi rumah terbuka TPM di Pagoh

PAGOH:  Kira-kira 30,000 pengunjung menghadiri Rumah Terbuka Aidilfitri Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin di Kompleks Seri Pekembar di sini, hari ini.

Rumah terbuka yang diadakan pada raya kedua setiap tahun itu, bermula 9 pagi hingga 4 petang.
Majlis turut diserikan dengan persembahan nyanyian dari Kumpulan Muzik Kombo Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.

Pelbagai hidangan disajikan antaranya, nasi beriani, mi bandung Muar, laksa Johor dan sate. Orang ramai khususnya penduduk sekitar Parlimen Pagoh mengambil kesempatan bersalaman dengan Muhyiddin yang juga anggota Parliman kawasan itu serta isteri Puan Seri Noorainee Abdul Rahman.

Turut hadir Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin dan Presiden MCA Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek.

Muhyiddin kemudiannya menyertai penduduk setempat menunaikan solat Jumaat di Masjid Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN), Pagoh.- BERNAMA 

Samy Vellu: Tiada siapa boleh kata bila saya patut bersara

KUALA LUMPUR:  Bekas presiden MIC Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu berkata tiada siapa yang mempunyai hak untuk memberitahu bila beliau sepatutnya bersara sebagai pemimpin parti kaum India itu.

Beliau menafikan dakwaan bahawa bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi telah meminta beliau bersara setahun sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum 2008.

"Beliau (Abdullah) tidak pernah minta saya bersara...tiada siapa yang boleh beritahunya bila saya perlu bersara. Ini adalah hak asasi saya," katanya ketika ditemui pada majlis rumah terbuka Aidilfitri Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan Jemaah Menteri di Seri Perdana di sini semalam.

Media hari ini melaporkan petikan Abdullah dalam bukunya bertajuk 'Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia' bahawa Samy Vellu telah diminta bersara sebagai presiden MIC, kira-kira setahun sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum 2008 tetapi beliau (Samy Vellu) menolaknya dengan tegas.

Diminta mengulas masa depan politik anaknya Vell Paari dalam MIC, Samy Vellu, yang juga Wakil Khas Bagi Infrastrukur ke India dan Asia Selatan, berkata: "Anak saya tidak berbincang dengan saya mengenai soal politik...corak pemikiran kami adalah berbeza."

Mengenai pemilihan MIC akan datang, katanya sebagai bekas presiden, beliau tidak seharusnya bercakap apa-apa berkaitan perkara itu kerana parti itu kini dipimpin oleh orang lain (Datuk Seri G. Palanivel).

"Biar dia (Palanivel) membawa perubahan atau apa sahaja yang dia mahu. Sejak tiga tahun lepas, saya tidak pernah membuka mulut mengenai MIC tetapi saya masih terus berkhidmat untuk rakyat. Saya buat kerja dan turun padang untuk menemui rakyat dan ke pejabat.

"Setiap hari, lebih 100 orang datang berjumpa saya kerana mereka tahu saya boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah mereka," katanya.

Mengenai kenyataan timbalan pengarah strategik MIC, Datuk R. Ramanan bahawa beliau tidak harus campur tangan dalam pemilihan parti, Samy Vellu, yang tersinggung dengan soalan itu, berkata beliau tidak mahu mengulas. - BERNAMA 

Vina ditahan semula

KUALA LUMPUR:  Susulan penarikan balik pengampunan terhadap  perogol kanak kanak warga Sepanyol, Daniel Galvan Vina.

Polis Sepanyol menahan semula vina seminggu selepas keputusan kontroversi dibuat Raja Maghribi.

- Astro Awani 

Nagasaki marks 68th anniversary of US atomic bombing

TOKYO: Nagasaki on Friday marked the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing by the United States during World War II that turned the Japanese city into an inferno.

Tens of thousands gathered to remember the more than 70,000 people who died instantly in the blast, or of the after-effects in the months and years after the bombing, which hit Nagasaki at 11:02 am local time (0202 GMT).

Bells tolled as ageing survivors, relatives, government officials and foreign delegates observed a moment of silence at the time of detonation.

The bombing of Nagasaki came three days after the first-ever atomic blast at Hiroshima, which claimed about 140,000 lives in all. Hiroshima held its own remembrance ceremonies earlier this week.

An envoy from India, a nuclear power which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, was attending the ceremony for the first time, a Nagasaki official earlier told AFP.

The ceremony is held near the spot where the US military dropped its plutonium bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man", on August 9, 1945, in the final chapter of the war.

Historians have long been at odds over whether the twin attacks brought a speedier end to the war by forcing Japan's surrender and preventing many more casualties in a land invasion planned for later in the year.

Many atomic bomb survivors, known as "hibakusha" in Japanese, oppose both military and civilian use of nuclear power, pointing to the tens of thousands who were killed instantly in the blasts and the many more who later died from radiation sickness and cancer.

Anti-nuclear sentiment has run high in Japan following the 2011 atomic disaster at Fukushima, with most of the country's reactors switched off. - AFP

Pemandu teksi cedera dikatakan akibat tertembak diri sendiri

KUALA LUMPUR: Seorang pemandu teksi cedera di tapak tangan kirinya dengan mendakwa ia akibat tertembak dirinya sendiri di hadapan sebuah restoran di Desa Sri Hartamas di sini semalam.

Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur Datuk Ku Chin Wah berkata dalam kejadian kira-kira 7.30 pagi itu, mangsa berusia 27 tahun yang juga pengutip bil sambilan itu dikatakan menemui sebuah beg sandang hitam di tempat duduk belakang teksinya.

"Selepas selesai mengutip bil di sebuah restoran, mangsa mendakwa pergi ke tempat duduk penumpang di bahagian belakang teksi untuk mengambil sebotol air dan ternampak sebuah beg sandang sebelum menemui sepucuk pistol di dalamnya," katanya kepada Bernama.

Beliau berkata mangsa dikatakan cuba mengeluarkan pistol itu dari beg berkenaan namun satu das tembakan terlepas secara tiba-tiba dan terkena tapak tangan kirinya.

Polis akan menjalankan siasatan lanjut untuk mengetahui sama ada apa yang dilaporkan berlaku oleh lelaki itu benar atau sebaliknya.

Pemandu teksi itu menjalani pembedahan pada tengah hari di Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya. - BERNAMA 

Bouncer shot outside entertainment outlet in Penang

GEORGE TOWN: A man wearing a crash helmet fired several shots at a bouncer outside an entertainment outlet here early today, hitting him once in the left thigh, police said.

The gunman opened fire as the bouncer, Chong Peng Meng, 43, was alighting from his BMW car at the parking lot of the outlet in Jalan Datuk Keramat after arriving there at 12.50 am with a friend, said North East District Police chief ACP Gan Kong Meng.

The injured Chong was sent to the Penang Hospital and his condition was reported to be stable, he said, adding that Chong's friend was unhurt.

Gan said police found seven 9mm bullet casings at the scene and found that a bullet had hit a Myvi car parked nearby.

An eye-witness who wished to be known only as Tan, 43, said the gunman, who was fair-skinned, fired at Chong and then fled on a motorcycle.

Gan said police were trying to identify the gunman from CCTV camera footage and the eye-witness report.

He said police had not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of secret societies and appealed to eye-witnesses to contact any police station to assist in the investigation. - BERNAMA 

'Smart Homes' open doors to hackers

Smart homes that let residents control alarms, locks and more over the internet are opening doors for crooks with hacker skills, according to computer security specialists.


How smart is a Smart Home? Image credit: News Discovery


"The smart home trend is growing, and it evolves quickly into a story of security," Trustwave managing consultant Daniel Crowley told AFP.

"Connecting things to a network opens up a whole range of vectors of attack, and when you are talking door locks, garage doors, and alarm controls it gets scary."

Crowley and Trustwave colleague David Bryan found security "pretty poor" on the home networking devices they studied. "If someone can access your home network, but doesn't have a key to your home, they can still unlock your door and get in," Crowley said of what he found in gear on the market.

Trustwave researchers will share their findings Thursday with peers at a premier Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas and at the infamous Def Con hacker gathering taking place in that city through the weekend.

A vulnerability of particular concern to the researchers was that once hackers joined local home networks, perhaps through poorly protected wireless routers or using malware slipped onto computers, they could control devices with no password or other authentication required.

"The fact that you need to be on someone's local network to exploit these things is not as big a hurdle as you'd imagine," Crowley said.
- AFP

Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin in running for Batman role

The next Superman adventure, directed by Zack Snyder, will see the superhero face Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. Six names have already been mentioned as possible casting choices for the Caped Crusader, including Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Joe Manganiello.

While Zack Snyder hasn't yet finished the script, a list published by The Hollywood Reporter already unveils the names of six potential actors Warner Bros. is considering for the role of Bruce Wayne in "Superman vs. Batman".

Among them is Josh Brolin, whom we will soon see in Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For." The tougher looks of the 46-year-old could fit the profile set by the production, which would be an actor in his 40s in the same vein as Christian Bale.

Ryan Gosling, Nicolas Winding Refn's protégé and former accomplice of Josh Brolin in "Gangster Squad," is on the list as well, even though he seems a bit young for the part. Other stars being considered to play opposite Clark Kent/Henry Cavill are "True Blood" star Joe Manganiello, Richard Armitage (Thorin in "The Hobbit"), Matthew Goode, who already worked with Snyder in 2009's "Watchmen," and Max Martini, currently in "Pacific Rim" by Guillermo del Toro.

For the very first time, the two superheroes will end up face to face on the same screen. The shooting of the film could start next spring, for a release in theaters expected in the summer 2015.

- AFP RELAXNEWS 

International flights to Nairobi Airport resume after fire

NAIROBI:  International flights landed at Nairobi airport Thursday, the first since a huge fire gutted the arrivals terminal, causing widespread chaos and delays.

Wednesday's blaze forced the cancellation or diversion of scores of flights at east Africa's biggest transport hub.

Using the domestic terminal for passengers instead of the fire-damaged international hall, flights from London and Bangkok safely landed early Thursday, said Eric Kiraithe, head of security at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Officials were waiting for an accident investigations report into the blaze and the extent of the damage caused to get "a clearer indication" of when normal operations might resume, government spokesman Muthui Kariuki said.

However, Kenya's media were united in criticising the response to the fire as painfully slow, and warned the airport would need major building work until it could be returned back to normal.

Cargo and domestic flights out of the Kenyan capital had resumed on Wednesday evening.

However, it was not clear when airlines other than the national carrier Kenya Airways would also land at Nairobi.

"We will have things up and running within days," said Kariuki.

Kiraithe told AFP the airport had received two flights from London and Bangkok, and was currently checking in passengers flying to other destinations including Zanzibar, Johannesburg and Paris.

Some of those passengers will fly first to Kenya's second city Mombasa before taking connecting international flights, but others are expected to leave directly for their destination from Nairobi, he added.

"We are confident we will process other flights in the course of the day, although we are not fully operational," Kiraithe said.

The Standard newspaper accused the emergency services of being caught unprepared and calling the delay in tackling the blaze "inexcusable".

The Star warned the fire may cause a "lack of trust and confidence" in the future among passengers.

"From preliminary assessments, it will take a complete rebuilding of critical areas of the airport," the Daily Nation added, warning it would take "a pretty long time".

The fierce fire, which started before dawn on Wednesday, took around four hours to bring under control, with firefighters hampered by a lack of both water and equipment.

The interior ministry was forced to issue public appeals for Nairobi's notoriously congested traffic to give way to trucks ferrying water to the airport after firefighters tackling the blaze ran "dangerously low on water".

- AFP, updated Aug 8,2013

Thousands throng Aidilfitri open house at Istana Negara

More than 20,000 people attended the Aidilfitri open house hosted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Hajah Haminah, at the Istana Negara today.

The guests, who included foreign nationals, tourists of various races and ages and disabled people, began making a beeline for the palace from 9 am, although the function began only at 11.30 am.

They were treated to an assortment of food. Many took the opportunity to greet the royal couple who presented 'duit raya' and packets of cakes to the children who attended the open house.

A tourist from Lancaster, United Kingdom, Rotimi Keshinro, 20, who had never attended an Aidilfitri open house, told Bernama: "This is my first time here and the first time to meet the king too. I'm here with my mum on vacation. I'm absolutely happy to be here."

A Japanese national, Morimoto Shinichi, who teaches Japanese at Universiti Malaya, said the experience of meeting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong was an unforgettable one.

Roslina Akib, 40, from Banting, Selangor, said she was thrilled to attend the open house and greet the king and queen at the Istana Negara for the first time. She said that as her husband, M. Ahamad Noti, 46, was a handicapped person, they were ushered into the function hall by another entrance without having to queue up with the other guests.

Kindergarten teacher S. Vasantha Kumari, 46, from Petaling Jaya, took her two children aged 10 and 12 for the open house so that they could see and feel for themselves the spirit of goodwill that prevails among Malaysians, especially during the festive season.

Brothers Mohd Fadli Azwan, 20, and Nur Fadlina, 18, rushed to Istana Negara after performing Aidilfitri prayers in Shah Alam, Selangor, to continue the "tradition of celebrating with the dignitaries".

"Last year also, we attended the open house at Istana Negara. After this, we will be attending Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's open house at Putrajaya," said the brothers, who will return to their village in Negeri Sembilan tomorrow.

Guest Foo Thim Soong, 60, said she joined the queue at 10 am and was happy she was able to greet the king about an hour later.

Earlier, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Hajah Haminah, hosted an Aidilfitri open house at the Istana Negara here today.

The open house for dignitaries began at 10 am and was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman, deputy ministers, members of the diplomatic corps as well as members of the royalty and friends of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar were also among the guests at the open house.

Tuanku Abdul Halim exchanged greetings with the guests who were treated to an assortment of food such as laksa, satay, ketupat, rendang, lemang and cakes.

Chilean Ambassador to Malaysia Christian Rehren said he enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere at the palace.

"I always wait for raya to come and the best food I enjoyed today was the satay," he told Bernama.

Argentine Ambassador to Malaysia Maria Isabel Rendon said she had a good time at the palace and liked how everybody was celebrating Aidilfitri regardless of race and religion.

"My favourite raya dish is beef rendang, I like it for its spiciness," she said.

The open house for the public began at 11.30 am.

 - BERNAMA 

President Obama extends Aidilfitri greetings to Muslims

US: United States President Barack Obama and wife Michelle today extended Aidilfitri greetings to Muslims around the world.

In a press statement issued by the Office of the Press Secretary of the White House, Obama said that during the past month, Muslims had honoured their faith though prayer and service, fasting and time spent with loved ones.

"Michelle and I send our warmest greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid-al-Fitr (Aidilfitri) in the United States and around the world.

"For millions of Americans, Eid is part of a great tapestry of America's many traditions, and I wish all Muslims a blessed and joyful celebration. Eid Mubarak," said Obama.

He said that at this year's White House Iftar (breaking-of-fast), he was proud to spend time with some of the many American Muslims whose contributions had enriched America's democracy and strengthened its economy.

"Many of us have had the opportunity to break fast with our Muslim friends and colleagues - a tradition that reminds us to be grateful for our blessings and to show compassion to the less fortunate among us, including millions of Syrians who spent Ramadan displaced from their homes, their families, and their loved ones," he said.

Obama said that to help the many Syrians in need this Aidilfitri, America was providing an additional US$195 million (RM643.6 million) in food aid and other humanitarian aid, bringing the United States contribution to the Syrian people to over US$1 billion (RM3.25 billion) since the crisis began.

- BERNAMA 

Raya seorang ibu tanpa tiga anak

Ketika umat Islam menyambut Aidilfitri dengan penuh keriangan bersama keluarga, seorang ibu Norasyikin  Abdul Rahman menyambut lebaran dengan hati penuh hiba.

Tragedi hitam yang meragut nyawa tiga anaknya akibat lemas masih segar dalam ingatannya.
Ikuti laporan video yang disediakan.