Zii Jia vows to crack world top five but he’s forced to bide his time
KUALA LUMPUR: Reigning All-England champion Lee Zii Jia is ready to raise the bar higher – to crack into the world’s top-five ranking. If he wins the SEA Games gold again, Zii Jia will become the first Malaysian men’s singles shuttler to achieve the feat. It’s one of my targets for this year, ” admitted Zii Jia. Zii Jia and Pearly-Thinaah were also presented with incentives of RM30,000 and RM15,000 respectively, which are given on top of the prize money they had earned for winning the titles. For Zii Jia, he has now collected a cool RM277,000, which included the US$59,500 (RM247,000) champion’s purse he received.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 20:10 UTC
Myanmar ‘traitors’ hounded in online anti-coup campaign
Bryan Paing Myo Oo, based in Brisbane, Australia, suffered blowback on social media over his father Pwint San’s role as commerce minister. “People who deploy social punishment on me think they are doing the right thing. I want to add that I am participating in social punishment against my father,” he told the BBC’s Burmese-language programme. Twitter said it was acting on abusive tweets, but experts say social media companies do not have enough Burmese-language moderators to keep up with the challenge. There have been isolated reports of the social punishment campaign spilling over into the physical world, with some people in Myanmar having their eyebrows and hair shaved off by anti-coup protesters, according to multiple social media posts.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 11:20 UTC
Myanmar beauty queen creates waves as anti-coup plea goes viral
“I share the same indescribable sadness and sorrow as each and every one of us in Myanmar, ” said Han Lay, praising the bravery of protesters – especially the women – who were being gunned down. Breaking the unwritten rule of beauty pageants – “no politics” – Han Lay stepped up to the microphone once more to make a tearful plea to the world. Pointing out she could not return home as Myanmar airports were closed, he contacted the Immigration Bureau seeking permission for Han Lay to stay in Thailand. Nawat added that it was his humanitarian duty to help Han Lay. And I am only the one who can contact the international [world] right now because I am in another country.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 10:07 UTC
Tennis-Thiem delays return to court, skips Monte Carlo Masters
(Reuters) - World number four Dominic Thiem said he is not yet fully fit and is skipping this month's ATP Masters 1000 event in Monaco. The U.S. Open champion opted out of the ongoing Miami Masters and has not played since making an early exit at the ATP 500 event in Dubai last month. The 27-year-old had targeted the European claycourt season to return after struggling with a foot problem recently. I'm so sorry, I would have loved to play in Monte Carlo, but it won't work out." Thiem said he will be practising on clay at home in Austria during the Monte Carlo event.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 09:17 UTC
Twyla Tharp, nearing 80, isn’t slowing down. Next question?
The new PBS documentary on dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is called Twyla Moves. “I eventually had to stop boxing because I got hit and broke my nose, ” she recalled in a recent interview. On a recent afternoon, Tharp began a conversation by explaining why she’d had to postpone a few hours: Since 4am that day she’d been choreographing a new work with ballet dancers in Dusseldorf, Germany. In one old clip, TV host Dick Cavett asks Tharp what she does to relax after a long period of work. Tharp didn’t want the film, directed by Steven Cantor and part of the American Masters series, to feel like a biography.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 06:32 UTC
Popular bookstores super holiday promotion till April 11
THE Popular Super Holiday Promotion is happening from now till April 11 at all Popular/Harris bookstores and also on Popular Online. Rebate up to 30%Get your favourite books and products with rebate up to 25% during this promotion at Popular bookstores and Popular Online. As low as RM8 for selected Chinese children books and special low price for well-known comics. Read the Popclub e-mag for the latest content and promotions available at Popular/Harris bookstores and Popular Online. For more exciting deals and promotions, follow Popular Malaysia’s Facebook page, or download the Popular MY app.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 05:47 UTC
You can't build confidence and resilience by yourself
It is the feeling that you have when your team is 3-0 up in a football game and you can’t possibly lose. Confidence and resilience are two distinct qualities required for any individual to learn a new skill, understand a certain topic, win a race, lead a government and everything in between. Positive reinforcementThat being said, confidence is not something that comes naturally when we are talking about learning or doing something new. This positive feedback boosts his confidence and he he will be motivated to try and make another paper plane. And a confident employee will further strive to work harder for the company, whereas an employee who is constantly ridiculed and criticised will most certainly lose his confidence, and thus, perform more poorly.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 05:00 UTC
'Xinjiang cotton is my love': Patriots on show at China Fashion Week
BEIJING (April 1): Designer Zhou Li took to the stage amid applause following her runway show at China Fashion Week with a prop that has political overtones: a bouquet of cotton plants. Zhou, chief designer and founder of Chinese fashion brand Sun-Bird, is a patriotic supporter of a boycott targeting several major western apparel brands in China that have expressed concern over alleged rights abuses in Xinjiang province. She said her garments on show on Tuesday, which featured slick minimalist designs with ruffles and ancient Chinese characters, used Xinjiang cotton exclusively. H&M, Burberry, Adidas and Nike are among those hit by consumer boycotts in China after their comments on alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang resurfaced on Chinese social media last week. The European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada last week imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, accusing them of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Source:The Edge Markets
April 01, 2021 04:52 UTC
Luis Enrique missed start of Spain game after being stuck in lift
SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Spain coach Luis Enrique had recently admitted he was very worried about his team's form and he had more reason to be concerned on Wednesday when he found himself trapped in a lift before their World Cup qualifier against Kosovo. Luis Enrique and several of his assistants were stuck in a lift in the team's hotel for an hour before being rescued. It wouldn't have made a big difference if I hadn't made it," said Luis Enrique. Ramos had recently returned to action after undergoing knee surgery in January and missed Real Madrid's last game before the international break yet. Ramos is fine, but he has just returned from a serious injury and I decided that other players should play instead," Luis Enrique said.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 04:33 UTC
Surfing: Mask-free! Florence resumes Olympic preparations Down Under
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Some of the world's best surfers, including twice world champion John John Florence, are enjoying the relative freedom of life in Australia as they resume their preparations for surfing's Olympic debut at a World Surf League event this week. Australia has been more successful than most countries in containing the new coronavirus and Florence was very much enjoying the lack of restrictions in the port city northeast of Sydney. As well as competing for a third world crown this year, Florence will have the chance in Tokyo to become the first Olympic champion in a sport which originated in his home state of Hawaii. "Pretty much all my Olympic preparations are just being here and competing on the tour, ... "You're competing against the best surfers in the world and some of the most challenging conditions too.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 01:49 UTC
Malaysia's household debt-to-GDP ratio surges to new peak of 93.3%
"For the vast majority of household borrowers, financial buffers remain broadly intact. However, banks remain resilient against risks from the household sector even under scenarios of assumed higher unemployment and underemployment affecting more household borrowers," it said. Other household financial stability indicators do not suggest higher risks so far given stable household financial asset-to-debt ratios and high excess savings," she told The Edge. This will in turn reduce consumption and curtail economic growth later," he said. And if such high household debt levels persist, they may result in an unhealthy financial system that is fragile to future economic disruptions.
Source:The Edge Markets
April 01, 2021 01:07 UTC
Soon Huat hopes to be in tip-top condition to qualify for Tokyo
PETALING JAYA: Injury-prone Goh Soon Huat is keeping his fingers crossed that he can complete the final stretch of Olympics qualification period until June. The door is not entirely shut yet for Soon Huat-Shevon although they failed to make up any ground in Europe last month. Soon Huat-Shevon had missed two glorious chances to pile the pressure on Hafiz-Gloria last month. At the Swiss Open, the Indonesians were eliminated in the first round but Soon Huat-Shevon only reached the last eight. “It’s certainly an untimely setback for us to miss the Orleans Masters, ” lamented Soon Huat.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 00:10 UTC
Justin shows maturity to topple seniors on first day of challenge
Justin also scored a convincing 21-16, 21-14 victory over 20-year-old Wyman Goh, the 2019 World Junior Championships’ quarter-finalist, in the morning session. “I’m pleased with the good start, especially the hard-fought win against Ken Yon,” said Justin, who finished third in the last challenge held in November. But Justin needs no reminder about the danger of getting carried away. In the previous showdowns against seniors last November, Justin won his first two matches but ended up finishing third. Men’s singles: Justin Hoh bt Wyman Goh 21-16, 21-14; Lee Shun Yang bt V. Poopathi 21-15, 21-14; Fazriq Razif bt Ong Ken Yon 21-19, 21-14; Justin Hoh bt Ong Ken Yon 16-21, 21-19, 23-21; Wyman Goh bt V. Poopathi 18-21, 24-22, 21-14; Lee Shun Yang bt Fazriq Razif 21-10, 21-15.
Source:The Star
April 01, 2021 00:02 UTC
Photographer in the line of fire
PETALING JAYA: It was on a lonely road along Jalan Raja Alang in Kuala Lumpur that former The Star photographer Abdullah Subir was assigned to cover a shooting spree on Oct 19,1987. Separated from his colleague, Abdullah walked alone on the deserted road as he contemplated how to get photos for his assignment. Iconic shot: Abdullah’s picture of Adam on the front page of The Star on Oct 20, 1987. “As someone in the press line, my first thought was that I wanted to get the scoop, ” he said. In George Town, Arzat Jaafar, 40, a brother of Adam, urged the public not to tarnish his late brother and their family’s name.
Source:The Star
March 31, 2021 23:37 UTC
Market oversold, technical rebound expected
PETALING JAYA: The local benchmark index has plunged to below 1,600 points, dragged down by glove stocks, in what observers called an oversold market. Observers reckoned that the local stock market could be “oversold” and it is due for a “rebound” especially with economic recovery expected to pick up in the second half. “The market has been oversold and a technical rebound is expected, ” he told StarBiz. He pointed out that the decline in the local stock market is in line with the soft regional markets yesterday. Despite the weakness in the market, stocks of the Berjaya group of companies gained more than 20% and were on the top actively-traded stocks.
Source:The Star
March 31, 2021 23:26 UTC