FOOD WASTE !!

Consumers could be doing far more to help combat global food wastage with relatively little effort according to a new study showing that every year, a third of all food produced ends up being binned.

As consumers we have a habit of buying too much food, often more than we can consume within specified use-by dates. This leads to mountains of food being ditched in the bin, adding to waste and impacting on resources such as energy, water, not to mention the impact on global warming.

Around 795 million people go hungry on any given day around the world, yet if we all did more to alleviate food waste we could get closer to dealing with world hunger. In one year a third of all food produced globally is binned, that is 1.3 billion tons in weight, worth more than 1 trillion.

A new study conducted by Save On Energy in America has revealed that the average American wastes enough food in a year. For two weeks yet according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) global hunger could be decrease just 25 percent of food wasted each year.

The majority of food waste in the U.S. comes from homes. Consumers generate a whopping 144 billion worth of discarded food, so taking steps to reduce waste can start at home. However, a common method of recycling organic material, can convert food waste into humus.

This way can be used to nourish growth in gardens. Consumers can also plan meals in advance to only buy necessary groceries and rearrange the fridge so the most perishable items are in front and less than a week.

Recycling all materials is important for the environment and the economy but food waste is often overlooked. Food loss along the production line is also a key contributor to waste but most food wastage tends to occur at the consumer level. Consumers stock up their refrigerators with more food than they can eat because mostly food will be expired and at last they will throw the food. 

As a result, a large portion of uneaten food is thrown out and replaced by more food which may later go uneaten.

At workplace they need to give awareness to people how to reduce food and packaging waste but more could be done to bring in a recognised framework to reduce food waste from homes and businesses.

The main waste food for ending up in the garbage pile are dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, these foods can all be composted so easily, putting nutrients back into the soil. It could also be turned into biogas as a fuel, or used as animal feed. Just small changes can make a huge impact to the level of food waste created.

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Chinese Tourist were killed in North Korea

Thirty-two Chinese tourists were killed in a serious traffic accident in North Korea, authorities said.

A tweet by the Chinese state broadcaster - which was later deleted - said more than 30 people had been killed when a tour bus fell from a bridge. 

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said 32 Chinese tourists and four North Koreans died in the accident.

An earlier statement that the crash occurred Sunday night in North Hwanghae province, south of the capital Pyongyang.

The foreign ministry offered few further details, but  said that embassy personnel in Pyongyang had rushed to the scene and had "launched an emergency mechanism to deal with the case".

State television's main Chinese-language news channel later showed images of a crashed blue bus with its wheels in the air, in footage taken in pouring rain in the dark.

Chinese visitors account for about 80 percent of all foreign tourists to North Korea,says South Korean think-tank, the Korea Maritime Institute.

Many enter North Korea via train through the Chinese border city of Dandong, and there are also flights between the two countries.

North Korean roads are largely poor and potholed, and in many areas they are dirt rather than tarmac.

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Defamation is not a cause of the collapse of the BN

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) have to accept the fact that they fall to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 14th General Election (GE-14) not due to defamation.

UMNO veteran, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, said that the BN's defeat factor in GE-14 was due to the aspirations of the people to make a change, underestimating the influence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the denial of syndrome and failed to counter the perception of the perception.

The 20-year-old former Kota Tinggi UMNO division head said that BN was also seen as "happy" during the campaign and like trying to deny the wave of change the people wanted and the rise of PH's influence under Dr Mahathir's leadership.

"What I mean is that BN can not blame anyone, this is the time to wonder why it's losing. It's not an economic factor or defamation that results in this decision.

"They (the people) want to change. I have written about this wave of change and it is felt but I do not understand when BN is happy and unknowingly change," he told NSTP today.

Yesterday, former UMNO president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that the defeat of the BN in GE-14 was due to the opposition party's defamation.

The Pekan MP claimed that the PH campaign which at that time was an overly personal attack and slanderous and hatred caused the BN to fall after 61 years into government.

Syed Hamid, who is also the former Chairman of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), said other factors contributing to the defeat of BN was the lack of trust between the people and the wider government after much of the government tried to hide.

At the same time, UMNO underestimates Dr Mahathir's ability at such age, it is still able to inspire young people to make a decisive victory in the elections.

"UMNO is seen as a personal issue and Dr Mahathir's curse, which is the former Prime Minister for 22 years, if he did nothing during that time, people did not accept it, many young people living in his time," he said.

Commenting further, Syed Hamid said UMNO and BN should now be positive and accept the GE-14 results and should be prepared to be constructive opposition.

"Now that BN has been destroyed, Najib has resigned, and BN will be an opposition and must know the role of the opposition," he said.

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STEM Initiative in Selangor

Shah Alam: one of the most significant developments of 21st century education is the emphasis on imparting unified, integrated and meaningful knowledge, or a set of isolated facts presented as a holistic knowledge.

New inter-disciplinary researches on life sciences, physical sciences and even engineering, have caused the world to progress rapidly. Such correlation will require great commitment not only in approaching any form of research, but also in exploring and imparting the knowledge so as to create a sustainable progress also science, in that sense, has the greatest significance.

This progress relates greatly to the ability of science, and namely STEM, to build skills, and enhance Selangor’s human capital workforce.

STEM education can be defined as the preparation of students in competencies and skills in the four disciplines which is science, technology, engineering, and math. A successful STEM education provides students with science, math, and engineering/technology in sequences that build upon each other and can be used with real-world applications.

In addition, they have so much to do to raise the interest and make sure that future generations are invested in STEM and these were locals with the greatest regard for knowledge on science and technology and they were able to invent and innovate products of such high quality.

Furthermore, that is also why we are pleased to have Unisel as a partner in this regard, as with the assistance of the university’s International Islamic Academy of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, we have developed the STEM Society and Promotion Project (SSPP) to promote awareness and understanding of STEM to student from pre-school level to university.

Approaching the 21st century, it is necessary that the people are equipped with skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers, leaders and this skills set includes information and communication, thinking and problem-solving, interpersonal and self-direction, global awareness, financial, economic and business literacy, and developing entrepreneurial skills to enhance workplace productivity and career options, and civic literacy.

According to Vision for STEM Selangor is to be a model for STEM education research innovation and entrepreneurship in Malaysia that is intertwined with all the aforementioned skills, creating a wholesome workforce. We believe we can accelerate education innovation and move STEM education in this region to rise to the new work demands of the 21st century.

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Samsung Electronic released The Star Wars Limited Edition POWERbotTM robot vacuum cleaner

Kuala Lumpur: Samsung Electronics released the Star Wars Limited Edition POWERbotTM robot vacuum cleaner, the earlier this month to the US market and in Malaysia on this November.

The limited edition of the powerful cleaning technology and features of the Original VR7000

          “We are very pleased to be part of the excitement leading up to the release of the Last Jedi and to be launching our limited edition POWERbot™ in partnership with Star Wars fans,” said Jimmy Tan, Head of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

He also said, from its industry-leading suction power, slim design, and smart features, to the wonderful character-themed voice feedback and sound effects, we are confident the Star Wars limited edition of the VR7000 will be a big hit.

          To create this sci-fi cleaning appliance, collaboration between Samsung and Star Wars fans from the product planning, design and production stages, to marketing and distribution to ensure authenticity.

          However, the new Star Wars Limited Edition shares the same innovative technology as Samsung’s original robot vacuum POWERbotTM VR7000 but it also packs of special features and unique designs is attended to fans in anticipation of the December release of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," the final film in the Disney and Lucas Films saga.

          The Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper edition available two models that was crafted from premium materials to closely resemble Sith Lord Darth Vader’s all-black mask and a Stormtrooper version is a near-perfect replica of the white helmets worn by the ground force of the Galactic Empire.

          Both models comes with WiFi connectivity and its own remote control that is can controlling the devices is easier than before, use from a mobile device anywhere with connectivity.

Besides that, with just a touch, you can start or stop your device, check the cleaning history or schedule cleaning times to ensure that your house is clean.

It same like resemble their character in film because of this robot also have sound effects from Star Wars movies.

The Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper model features has sound effect, and quotes like “You are powerful” including commands such as “Let’s go!” and “Stop that!” And for those who need a little extra motivation to get out of bed in the morning, you can set your robot vacuum cleaner to wake you up.

          Furthermore, these models have The Automatic Charge function automatically moves a unit that is low on power back to its station and while returning to base to charge batteries.

          Additionally, with the FullView SensorTM 2.0, your POWERbotTM VR7000 can accurately scan and avoid the smallest of obstacles corners are no longer an issue.

          The vacuums have a suction power capacity of 10 watts, using Visionary MappingTM Plus to memorise the room Layout and find the fastest cleaning routes around the user’s home.

          This POWERbotTM also built into the clever robot vacuum is the Edge Clean Master, which provides a more efficient way to clean along walls meaning would not give difficult to users.

Moreover, an Auto Shutter automatically activates and drops down to create a barrier that allows for greater dust suction near edges and when the POWERbotTM transitions from hard floors onto carpets, the robot unit's Intelligent Power Control automatically increases it is suction power on your carpet.

Official purchase starts from 16 November 2017 onwards at Harvey Norman stores only, retailing at the price of RM2999 inclusive of GST while stocks last. 

Pre-order will commence 6^th to 8^th November 2017 at Malaysia online shopping sites (www.lazada.com.my) and upon successful pre-order collection, customers will receive a complimentary Star Wars R2-D2 collectible worth RM479.90.

In addition, customers who purchase through the MySamsung app will receive an exclusive gift during the pre-order period. To know about the pre-order and official purchase, please contact Samsung’s 24 hour Careline at 1-800-88-9999.

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Cruz is willing to sacrifice for Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR: Imports from Spain, Alfonso de la Cruz have no problem sacrificing his position to play in central defense in a bid to streamline the Selangor fortress to face PKNP FC in the Super League action at Batu Kawan Stadium on Wednesday.   

He who was initially in midfield when joining the Red Giants squad this season was entrusted by coach Nazliazmi Mohamad Nasir to partner with Willian Pachecho in defense in recent games.

According to Cruz, despite being forced to change the position, he admitted there was no problem adapting to the troops.   

"The coach wants me to play in midfield defense, for me it's not a problem because I have to do whatever is best for the team.

"It is difficult to meet PKNP who has a good striker, especially Pachecho can not play because of the suspension, but I still believe in the ability of this team to win," he said.

Nazliazmi's decision to change the position of Cruz is also said to be a move to boost the player's contribution in the team after being seen less impressive in the center.

He became a victim of criticism of his own supporters who wanted the management to look for substitute players during the second transfer window this month.

"So far I have no problems with the management, they still trust me, this team of Selangor, is definitely a high expectation, so criticism in the football is normal for me to work harder," said Cruz.

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New media has been used for socialising and identify the application of the new medium

New media technology has been used in various aspects of our life as individual users, especially for communication and collaboration purposes. We use the new media for entertainment and leisure too. Besides that, this media has also been used in other industries and the education field. All media was new media at some point such as newspaper, magazines, radio, television and internet. However, we have a lot of choices when it comes to media tools, which is blogs, SMS, video, widget and photo sharing.

 New media also catch all term for all forms of electronic communication that have appeared or will appear since the original mainly text and static picture forms of online communication. In this context these new web based services were originally used by corporations to interact with existing customers, improve internal communications and reach out to new markets and audiences. However, participatory culture, enabled by recent technological innovations, shifts the communication flows away from a central business to consumer model. The trend is towards flows communication as consumers start to produce content on their own accord using new media applications and services.

The following is a selection of application areas affected by the new media technologies, which is digital media. This is new medium networks persons in real time, irrespective of time and space. The Internet also is faster and more topical than the classic media. Communications platforms such as Facebook enable permanent contacts between persons worldwide. The world has medially become a global village.

The interaction that digital technology offers the individual guarantees a high level of e-Participation. Besides that, the digital media are clearly mainstream, but through their precise controllability they also function as target group advertising media.

In addition, for journalism is blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other materials such as graphics or video and publish information in a diary or journal style. Bloggers control the information that they publish, and moderate comments that viewers add to the blog. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject.

Moreover, the ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and spinning news stories. Blogs have a huge influence in politics, including in Malaysia. Journalists treat blogs very seriously, and they have a great impact on politics. The new media become the alternative source of news and compete with mainstream media.

However, the use of television is consumers start to watch full-length television episodes online. They also spend their leisure hours by surfing the Internet, downloading or listening music, and playing games. What is even more interesting is the trend towards audience-provided entertainment where audience is created. They create videos, blogs, web sites, music, and other kinds of entertainment for others. Entertainment is not solely provided by the media.

Socialising is one of the uses of the new media is to socialise. The user can meet friends or find new friends via social networking. These sites are extremely important for teenagers. According to a recent survey of online teenagers conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 55% of all online young Americans between the ages of 12-17 make use of a social networking site. Also, older female teenagers are more likely to use these sites. They are used to „reinforce pre-existing friendships‰. Young boys use these sites for flirting purposes as well as to make new friends (Lenhart 2007). There are approximately 1,000 Internet dating sites in the United States and the major ones are Match.com, eHarmony, and Yahoo! personals.

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Teenager was imprisoned for 9 years

KUALA LUMPUR: A teenager was sentenced to nine years' jail by the High Court here for a series of charges involving Daesh terrorist acts relating to the attack on The Better Festival 2017 in the capital, October last year.

Judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak sentenced Mohamad Hafizi Mat Jusoh, 20, after the accused pleaded guilty as soon as the charges were read to him.

Before passing sentence, Mohd Sofian advised the accused to study hard and create something proud of the nation in view of his young age.

"You have a good idea but it can bring harm to the community. If you are not arrested, you will probably use this material in public places," he said, taking into account the social report of the accused by the Social Welfare Department.

According to the first charge, Mohammed Hafizi was charged with providing training through WhatsApp's "The Rise of Jundullah" group in making explosives to people who are ready to engage in terrorist acts in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, between 9.07 pm and 10.28 pm on September 23 2017.

For the offense, the accused is charged under subsection 130F (a) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 30 years and a fine.

The accused was charged with attending a training camp in a remote area near the nursery site of Gong Kulim, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan in preparation for a terrorist act between 3.30pm and 4pm on 10 October 2017 and charged under paragraph 130FB (1 ) (a) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years or a fine.

Under the third charge, the youngest of nine siblings were alleged to have 57 items linked to the terrorist group Daesh and two items related to Al-Qaeda terrorist group in a cellphone.

The offense was committed at the K & K Restaurant, Lot 2689, Jalan Tok Janggut, Kampung Kelubi, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan at 4.30pm on October 10, 2017 and charged under paragraph 130JB (1) (a) of the Penal Code which imposes maximum imprisonment of seven years or fine and may be forfeited any such item.

Meanwhile, for the fourth charge, the accused was charged with displaying 13 videos and five pictures related to the terrorist group Daesh, Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid in his Instagram account on behalf of "al_akh_fillah" in a mobile phone.

He was alleged to have committed the offense at the same restaurant at the same time and date and was charged under paragraph 130JB (1) (b) of the Penal Code which provides for maximum imprisonment of seven years or a fine and may be forfeited by any of the items.

The court ordered Mohammed Hafizi to be sentenced to nine years' jail for the first charge, five years for the second charge and three years respectively for the third and fourth charges. However, the sentences were ordered simultaneously from the date of arrest on October 10, 2017.

Earlier, lawyer Ariff Azami Hussein, representing the accused applied for a court to give her client a light sentence, taking into account the age of the young accused and having a good background and bright future if given the opportunity.

"The accused also did not neglect the lesson following her taking the STPM examination in Pengkalan Chepa Prison when she was remanded.

"In addition, the accused is also not an esoteric and dangerous but only a young man who is eager to engage in jihad in upholding religion," he said.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor, however, pleaded for a court to give a fine in respect of the seriousness of the accused's actions which had made careful planning to carry out a terrorist act.

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The Marriage of Mah Meri Tribe

Pulau Carey, Selangor: Most Indigenous people married at a young age, for men the age of 18 is the most suitable age for marriage and women are also at the age of 16 years and shall not be more than the age of the men and marriage is done by parent brides, ranging from ceremonial merisik until someone has a spouse legally.

There are also among the Indigenous people has been engaged since childhood, and usually the bride and groom having a brother like a cousin or second cousin or have the same tribe, also do not be a mistake if the groom is married to a woman from another tribe.

The ceremony charity Mah Meri also merisik, engagement and wedding such as the Malay community, not much difference between the wedding ceremony with indigenous tribes Mah Meri Malay community as it begins with a custom spy, sent a sign, proposed marriage and ending with the wedding.

The difference only maintain their customs and traditions dispel evil spirits in its own way, but held seances to tell fathers that their grandchildren will hold their wedding ceremony and the event was considered important to ensure that the wedding ceremony was safe, blessed and peaceful happiness to children and grandchildren.

“A day before the ceremony, the male party would come and transit in the neighbour’s house located near the brides’ house. This is the time when various ceremonies have to be carried out, namely the custom of menepung tawar (spring the rose water on the couples’ palms) to ward off evil spirits, teeth sharpening, surrendering tools to cast away bad luck, hanging the mosquito nett and henna ceremony,” said Alin one of the student Universiti Selangor.

She said, Tok batin will bring the groom to a council a proposal such as gold rings, makeup, waist bowl and utilities such as mortar and other stone. Groom and bride undergo dental hone culture, also sharpening the teeth is considered an important custom made. They also use a black cloth as a marker placed on the teeth spaced teeth that need to be sharpened and the ring will be used to hone uneven teeth and then smoked. It aims to make the bride will always shine and prevent tetanus during the wedding ceremony.

Among the unique wedding indigenous people have once the agreement and consensus in the council a proposal obtained, ritual eating betel and areca nut by Tok batin and second deputy two sides done as a sign of an end to the event, for Hantaran charged is RM44.40 for brides and grooms who are still virgins and for the widow is RM25.20.

“When the wedding took place, some customs held in conjunction with the function of lifting the bride, that is martial arts bout, around the mound, washing the feet, in rice or betel gomba designer and flower bath, however at the ceremony, the wedding ceremony began with the traditional Tok batin bring the groom turned circulating a group of girls with a mosquito net-covered bride and smoked with incense and the ceremony was to banish the demons and prevent bad things,” said Alin.

In addition, round seven times and on the last lap, the groom must get the bride and exchanging flowers and the selection was based on intuition without any pressure because the Mah Meri believe there is no compulsion in marriage.

Furthermore, the wedding ceremony ceremonial toss was as symbolic of the freedom bride determining the direction of life in the marriage and also eat civilized, observers will ensure the bride and groom to eat and ended up at the same time so that they live a happy and lasting forever because If one of the spouses eat advance between them, believed that would invite disasters in the future.

Hence, any other kind of ethnic wedding, they are also making preparations to provide the dais and they will decorate dais with woven palm leaves put a variety of patterns and bright coloured flowers in every corner of the stage, while a touch of palm leaves used by the indigenous people tribe Mah Meri is between uniqueness and difference are displayed with other indigenous tribes in the country.

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