Eiffel Tower briefly evacuated after telephone threat

(AFP) - The Eiffel Tower, France's top tourist draw, was briefly evacuated on Sunday and the area ringed by security forces.

Police said the action followed a threat delivered by telephone but did not elaborate.

The famous monument was evacuated shortly before 4:00 pm (1800 GMT) and reopened about an hour and a half later.

Evacuations have been staged regularly at the Paris landmark, usually after bomb threats. There have been two such incidents this year, on March 30 and August 9.

On June 18 the monument was closed for two hours after a man threatened to commit suicide.

The Eiffel Tower is the world's most visited monument, attracting up to 32,000 tourists daily.

India temple stampede death toll rises to 109

The death toll from a stampede on a bridge in India rose to 109 Monday after the bodies of more Hindu pilgrims were recovered from the river below, police said.

"The latest information we have from the ground is that 109 people killed and 133 were injured," Anand Mishra, an officer in the local police control room, told AFP in an updated bulletin on Sunday's tragedy.

While scores of victims were crushed to death on the bridge in the town of Ratangarh, others died as the leapt into the river Sindh below in a bid to escape the chaos.

"We recovered the bodies from the river and from where they were crushed to the death," said Mishra, speaking by phone from the nearby city of Datia in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The tragedy occurred at the same site of another stampede in 2006 in which more than 50 pilgrims were also killed.

- AFP

Man suffers kidney failure after consuming sex stimulants

“The cursed medicine ruined my life!” said a 52-year-old trader who claimed to be a victim of a fake sex stimulant pill.

Wishing to be only known as Mokhsin, the 52-year-old said he purchased the pills online for RM480 for 30 pills to remain ‘strong’ upon marrying his 26-year-old second wife.

“At first, I only consumed the traditional ‘jamu’ and kampong chicken eggs with honey when my young wife told me I lacked energy in bed.

“But months after, my energy level still didn’t improve, so I sought the advice of a doctor and some friends,” he told Malay daily Harian Metro yesterday.

Mokhsin said he has four children with his first wife, who died two years ago, and was seeking to have another offspring with his young wife.

“I was very stressed out about not being able to fulfill my young wife’s needs. I finally took my friends’ advice and bought some sex stimulant pills off the Internet, which they claimed were very safe to use.”

He said his libido improved after several weeks of consuming the pills and he was happy that he could finally satisfy his wife.

However, by the third month of usage, Mokhsin began to feel agitated and suffered chest pains constantly until he suffered a heart attack in March last year and had to be warded.

Doctors diagnosed him with high blood pressure and kidney failure due to poison, but at the time no one could determine what had caused them. It was only during follow-up treatments that doctors confirmed the sex pills to be the cause.

Since then, Mokhsin has been undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week. His young wife has since filed for divorce for his failure to provide her conjugal rights.

Meanwhile, Selangor Health director Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar said, illegal sex stimulants were known to be detrimental to health as there’s usually prohibited chemicals and poison in them.

“Our advice to the public: don’t simply consume medication or supplements which are not Health Ministry-approved and always seek the advice of accredited professionals,” he told the daily when contacted.

- ASTRO Awani 

Raja Azmi selamat dinikahkan

KUALA LUMPUR:  Penerbit filem terkenal, Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, 54, selamat dinikahkan dengan pasangannya, Mohd Eddie Ghazali, 45, tepat jam 9.18 malam tadi di Laman Santai, Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Pasangan tersebut telah mengikat tali pertunangan pada 13 Julai lalu dengan diuruskan sepenuhnya oleh anak-anak pasangan itu di kediaman Raja Azmi sekeluarga di Bukit Antarabangsa, Kuala Lumpur.

Dengan hanya sekali lafaz, Mohd Eddie yang juga bekas pemain bass kumpulan rock CRK sah menjadi suami kepada Raja Azmi. Pasangan tersebut dinikahkan jurunikah Major (B) Ismail Wan Ahmad dengan berwali abang pengantin perempuan Raja Azman Raja Sulaiman.

Raja Azmi menerima mas kahwin RM300 berserta satu dulang hantaran dan berbalas tiga. Majlis pernikahan kemudiannya diteruskan dengan majlis persandingan.

Raja Azmi menyatakan rasa syukurnya kerana majlis pernikahan itu berjalan lancar seperti apa dirancangnya mereka dan turut menyatakan rasa bimbang kerana akan memikul tanggungjawab besar sebagai seorang isteri disamping menjadi ibu yang baik kepada anak-anak mereka.

Penerbit filem ‘... Dalam Botol’ itu sebelum ini pernah berkahwin dengan jaguh beregu badminton negara, Jalani Sidek manakala Mohd Eddie pula telah lima tahun menduda ekoran kematian isteri.

- ASTRO Awani 

The Herald tidak dibenar guna kalimah Allah

PUTRAJAYA:  Mahkamah Rayuan hari ini memutuskan penerbitan Katolik, The Herald tidak dibenar menggunakan kalimah ‘Allah’ di dalam edisi bahasa Melayunya.

Keputusan dibuat oleh tiga panel yang terdiri daripada Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan, Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali; Hakim-Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim dan Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

Pertikaian mengenai kalimah Allah ini bermula apabila KDN mengenakan larangan penggunaan kalimah Allah sebagai syarat untuk memperbaharui permit penerbitan itu pada 2007 dengan alasan antara lain, ia akan mengelirukan umat Islam.

Dalam penghakimannya, Mohamed Appandi berkata Mahkamah mendapati penggunaan kalimah ‘Allah’ bukanlah merupakan sebahagian daripada kepercayaan atau amalan agama Kristian.

“Justeru itu, mahkamah tidak melihat alasan kenapa responden (The Herald) begitu berkeras untuk menggunakan kalimah ‘Allah’ dalam penerbitan mingguan mereka.

“Penggunaan tersebut, sekiranya dibenarkan, akan mewujudkan kekeliruan di kalangan masyarakat,” katanya ketika membacakan ringkasan keputusan.

Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur pada 31 Disember 2009 memutuskan The Herald boleh menggunakan kalimah Allah dalam penerbitannya kerana kedudukan Islam sebagai agama rasmi persekutuan tidak memberi kuasa kepada kerajaan untuk menyekat penggunaan kalimah tersebut.

Ia juga berpendapat kalimah Allah bukan milik eksklusif umat Islam dan penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh orang Kristian dilindungi oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan selagi ia tidak digunakan untuk berdakwah kepada umat Islam.

- ASTRO Awani 

Google's new plan to highlight Android Tablet Apps starts on November 21

Android plays host to some impressive tablet apps — I’m partial to IMDb and Flipboard to name just a few — but I’ve all too often downloaded an app only to discover that it’s a regular phone app scaled to fit a larger display. 

Needless to say, the experience was less than ideal. Now Google is pushing to shine more light on Android apps that are optimized for tablets with a pair of modifications that will go live starting on November 21.

The first change may be the more visually shocking of the two — Android apps that don’t fit Google’s tablet criteria will be marked as “Designed for phones” so users know exactly what they’re getting into before they download.

Meanwhile, the second deals with a feature Google rolled out earlier this year, a “Designed for Tablets” view that highlights (what else?) apps that have been crafted with specific tablet experiences in mind. Users will who scour the Play Store on their tablets will soon discover that those top app lists — think Top Paid, Top Free, Top Grossing, etc. — will show off those tablet-tailored apps by default (though users can reconfigure it to show all apps just like before).

Those Play Store modifications won’t go live for a few weeks yet, but the timing has me wondering whether or not Google is planning to push a new tablet at around the same time. I know, I know, past performance isn’t a guarantee of future results, but the Nexus 10 was originally revealed back in October 2012 and started hitting the Play Store’s digital shelves in November. 

And now that we’re hearing Google is preparing to officially out the Nexus 5 and Android KitKat and a revamped Nexus 10 sometime next week, it’s starting to seem like we’ll see a similar timeline unfold shortly.

And really, what better way to welcome a new raft of Android tablet owners than by showing them apps that really allow those devices to strut their stuff? It’s a win-win too — while those users get easier access to the best Android tablet apps, developers who spend the extra time to make sure their tablet experiences are more than just stretched-out phone interfaces can score some much-needed exposure.

Source: TechCrunch

91 maut dalam insiden rempuhan

KUALA LUMPUR:  Sekurang-kurangnya 91 maut dalam insiden rempuhan membabitkan penganut Hindu di Tengah India.

Kejadian berlaku ketika ribuan penganut agama itu melalui jambatan merentasi Sungai Sindh untuk ke sebuah kuil.

Antara yang terbunuh termasuk 17 kanak kanak dan 31 wanita. Lebih seratus lagi cedera dan dikejarkan ke hospital untuk rawatan.

Ketika pihak berkuasa cuba meleraikan orang ramai yang panik, salah seorang anggotanya parah selepas terkena lontaran batu.

Pemimpin parti kongres, Sonia Gandhi terkejut dan melahirkan rasa sedih sebaik menerima berita kejadian.

Lebih 500,000 penganut hindu berkumpul di kuil berkenaan yang terletak di Kampung Ratangarh, Wilayah Madhya Pradesh di Datia sempena hari terakhir Festival Navaratri.

- ASTRO Awani 

Pedrosa menang di Malaysia, Marquez kekal pendahulu kejohanan

SEPANG:  Pelumba Sepanyol Dani Pedrosa dari Pasukan Repsol Honda menjulang kejuaraan kedua dalam perlumbaan Grand Prix Motosikal Malaysia di Litar Sepang hari ini.

Meskipun berdepan kecederaan yang dialami dalam perlumbaan di Aragon, Pedrosa mencatat masa 40 minit 45.191 saat, lebih 2.757 saat untuk mendahului rakan senegara yang juga rakan sepasukan merangkap pendahulu kejohanan, Marc  Marquez.

Pelumba pasukan Yamaha Factory Racing Jorge Lorenzo, yang merupakan juara bertahan, di tempat ketiga selepas mencatat masa 40:51.860s.

Kejayaan di Malaysia merupakan yang ketiga buat Pedrosa pada musim ini selepas menang berturut-turut pada Grand Prix Sepanyol di Jerez (5 Mei) dan Grand Prix Perancis di Le Mans (19 Mei).

Pedrosa masih berpeluang merangkul kejuaraan pada Kejohanan MotoGP 2013 dan ketinggalan 54 mata di belakang Marquez dengan baki tiga perlumbaan.

Selepas Grand Prix Motosikal Malaysia 2013, Marquez kekal mendahului dengan 298 mata diikuti Lorenzo yang mengumpul 255 mata manakala Pedrosa di tempat ketiga dengan 244 mata.

Bermula di petak keempat, Lorenzo mendahului perlumbaan pada peringkat awal sebelum Pedrosa mengambil alih kedudukan di posisi depan.

Selepas Malaysia, perlumbaan MotoGP akan berlangsung di Litar Phillip Islands di Victoria, Australia dari 18 hingga 20 Okt.

Berikut ialah kedudukan penunggang selepas MotoGP Malaysia 2013 di Sepang hari ini.
MOTOGP
------
1. Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda Team - 298 mata

2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing - 255

3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team - 244

4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing - 198

5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 166

6. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) GO&FUN Honda Gresini - 136

7. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda MotoGP - 135

8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Ducati Team - 120

9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team - 102

10. Bradley Smith (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 89

11. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Power Electronics Aspar - 83

12. Michele Pirro (ITA) Pramac Racing Team - 50

13. Andrea Iannone (ITA) Energy T.I. Pramac Racing - 47

14. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing - 32

15. Hector Barbera (SPA) Avintia Blusens - 29

16. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar - 27

17. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came IodaRacing Project - 23

18. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Ignite Pramac Racing - 17

19. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Avintia Blusens - 13

20. Claudio Corti (ITA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing - 11

21. Ben Spies (USA) Pramac Racing Team - 9

22. Alex de Angelis (RSM) NGM Mobile Foward Racing - 5

23. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing - 5

24. Michael Laverty (GBR) Paul Bird Motorsport - 3

25. Bryan Staring (AUS) GO&FUN Honda Gresini - 2

26. Javier Del Amor (SPA) Avintia Blusens - 1

- BERNAMA, Oktober 13

Orang ramai dinasihat tak timbul kekacauan sempena keputusan isu kalimah Allah hari ini

KUALA LUMPUR:  Polis menasihatkan orang ramai tidak mengganggu ketenteraman awam sempena keputusan isu kalimah Allah yang akan diputuskan oleh Mahkamah Rayuan di Istana Kehakiman, Putrajaya hari ini, 14 Oktober.

Ketua Polis Daerah Putrajaya, ACP Abdul Razak Abdul Majid berkata polis sememangnya menyedari perkembangan tersebut dan telah bersedia dalam menempatkan anggota polis dalam mengawal orang ramai yang berada di Istana Kehakiman.

“Kita menyedari perkara ini dan dijangka esok akan ramai orang membanjiri mahkamah untuk mendengar keputusan tersebut dan kita telah pun bersedia dalam mengawal keadaan yang dijangka akan menempatkan beberapa anggota polis di setiap lokasi berhampiran mahkamah,” katanya ketika dihubungi oleh Astro AWANI.

Beliau bagaimanapun tidak dapat menyatakan berapa ramai keanggotaan yang dikerah dalam menjaga keselamatan dan ketenteraman awam di mahkamah esok namun menegaskan bahawa anggotanya akan dikerahkan di beberapa kawasan dalam menjaga sebarang kemungkinan yang akan berlaku.

“Anggota polis akan berada di situ (mahkamah) sebelum mahkamah memulakan sidangnya pada jam 8.30 pagi dan kita mengharapkan tiada sebarang insiden buruk yang akan berlaku selepas keputusan diumumkan mahkamah,” katanya lagi.

Pada 10 September lalu, panel tiga hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, yang terdiri daripada Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali serta Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim dan Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, telah menangguhkan keputusan rayuan ke 14 Oktober selepas mendengar hujah rayuan Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan kerajaan berhubung keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi membenarkan The Herald menggunakan kalimah 'Allah'.

Isu kalimah Allah telah dibawa ke Mahkamah Rayuan oleh kerajaan selepas Mahkamah Tinggi mengisytiharkan keputusan Kementerian Dalam Negeri melarang penerbitan mingguan Katolik, The Herald menggunakan kalimah itu adalah salah di sisi undang-undang, tidak sah dan batal pada 31 December 2009.

Pada 16 Februari, 2010, gereja itu memfailkan permohonan semakan kehakiman dengan menamakan Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan kerajaan sebagai responden.

Mereka menuntut perisytiharan keputusan kementerian melarang penggunaan kalimah 'Allah' dalam penerbitan The Herald adalah tidak sah.

Penerbitan mingguan itu diterbitkan dalam empat bahasa, telah menggunakan kalimah 'Allah' untuk merujuk kepada "Tuhan" dalam edisi bahasa Malaysia, khusus untuk penduduk di Sabah dan Sarawak.

- ASTRO Awani