Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona

Andres Iniesta's spectacular strike deep into stoppage time wrecked Chelsea's dreams of a second successive Champions League final against Manchester United amid chaotic scenes at Stamford Bridge.

PRIZED CATCH

Dahalan Ahmad's house is an added attraction in Langkawi. With a two-headed salamander as a pet, curious on-lookers have been making a beeline to his house in Kampung Perana in Mukim Melaka since Thursday to see the lizard which the Tenaga Nasional employee intends to keep.

Court grants teen breast removal

An Australian teenage girl has been given permission by a court to have both breasts surgically removed to more closely resemble a boy.

The 17-year-old, known as Alex in court and referred to as a boy, has a psychological condition that makes him unhappy with his gender.

The Family Court in Melbourne said the removal of both breasts would help Alex to build a new life as a boy.

The decision has angered Catholic groups, who view it as irresponsible.

Alex has "gender identity dysphoria", a psychological condition where a person believes they are the opposite sex, the Age newspaper reported.

Alex has been on hormone treatment since he was 13 to prevent menstruation, it said.

Social development

He applied to the court for a double mastectomy before he turned 18 - the age at which he would not need the court's consent and which he would no longer receive social support services as a minor.

Family Court chief justice Diana Bryant said Alex, who lives life as a male, was socially constrained by the breasts, avoided being hugged and wore binding at the beach.

"So it was quite an impediment to his social development, which everyone thought was very important," Judge Bryant was quoted as saying by the Age.

"Overwhelmingly, the evidence was that it was in his interests. And I made that order.

"I wanted to make it quickly so that he could have the operation straight away.''

Critics say that such radical surgery on a 17-year-old is irresponsible and premature.

Campaigners have said that a man from Melbourne who had a sex-change operation in his early 20s was now suing his doctors because he regretted the decision.

Superb Barca destroy rivals Real

Barcelona romped to a 6-2 victory at fierce rivals Real Madrid to move seven points clear at the top of La Liga.

Barcelona have now scored 100 goals in the league this season and stand on the verge of their first La Liga title since 2006

Flu death toll 'less than feared'

Mexico has revised down the suspected death toll from swine flu from 176 to 101, indicating that the outbreak may not be as bad as was initially feared.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the BBC that, based on samples tested, the mortality rate was comparable with that of seasonal flu.

The news came as Mexico continues a five-day shutdown in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.

Italy reported its first case, bringing the number of countries affected to 17.

Five countries outside Mexico have confirmed person-to-person transmission.

China is trying to stop the spread of the virus, after getting its first case on Friday.

It says it will quarantine all those who travelled on a flight from Mexico with a man suffering from swine flu.

Flights from Mexico have been suspended, and fellow guests and staff at the Hong Kong hotel where he was staying have been quarantined.

South Korea has also now confirmed a case of the virus.

CONFIRMED CASES

Mexico: 101 suspected deaths - 16 confirmed

US: One death, at least 141 confirmed cases

New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases

Canada: 35 confirmed cases

UK: 13 confirmed cases

Spain: 13 confirmed cases

Germany: 4 confirmed cases

France: 2 confirmed cases

Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases

Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy: 1 confirmed case

---

Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission

Mexico

US

Canada

Spain

Germany

UK

MayDay

German riot police officers stamp out small fires during a Mayday demonstration in Berlin's Friedrichshain district late yesterday, as police fought May Day demonstrators who hurled bottles and stones overnight till today, making 49 arrests while about 30 police were injured.

Last respect

Taib pours scented water over his wife’s grave. Also seen are Dato Sri Mahmud Abu Bekir (third left), Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Salahuddin (fifth left), Sultan of Brunei
Hassanal Bolkiah (centre) and Dato Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman (second right).

Signs that show Malaysia on human trafficking route

The drowning incident off Pengerang in Johor and the arrest of 33 foreigners off Port Klang have confirmed suspicions that Malaysia is a transit point for human trafficking syndicates.

On Tuesday, nine bodies, eight of them Pakistanis, were found floating in the South China Sea off Pengerang.

On Sunday, marine authorities nabbed 33 foreigners from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq on a boat off Kuala Langat, some 30km from here.

In both incidents, the foreigners had luggage with them and most were carrying huge amounts of money.

Police recovered US$8,800 (RM31,620) from the body of a Pakistani woman who had drowned off Pengerang.

Malaysian authorities are probing if both incidents are linked as intelligence reports indicated that the foreigners were on their way to Indonesia before continuing their journey to Australia where they hoped seek asylum.

Last week, Australia's national security adviser led a delegation to Kuala Lumpur seeking the help of their counterparts to intercept these boats before they reached the continent.

Batang Rajang :River Of Death

The Sungai Rajang, which flows through Sarikei Division here, has been nicknamed the "river of death" by locals after 18 bodies were fished out in the past 16 months.

The victims were mostly fishermen from Thailand and Myanmar who were murdered after drunken fights and whose bodies were thrown into the river. On several occasions, bodies of foreign fishermen were also fished out from the South China Sea.

Police are now hoping to shed this "cowboy town" image of Sarikei with the setting up of a task force to handle the problem of unruly foreigners.

The unacceptable social behaviour of the fishermen had also given Sarikei and surrounding areas the image of a place of utter lawlessness.

State police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh said the task force was a result of a recent discussion held between the police, the state internal security and other relevant departments.
"These foreign fishermen usually get involved in drunken brawls and when one of them is killed, the body is simply dumped into the river or at sea," Mohmad told Bernama before chairing a three-day meeting with 27 district police chiefs from throughout the state.

"We have from January last year to April 28 this year fished out 18 bodies from Sungai Rajang and the South China Sea.

"While some of these cases had been classified as sudden death, most were classified as murder based on post- mortem findings. We had to consider them as unsolved murders as the victims carried no identification papers."

He said it was unfair for the public to single out police as not having done their job in policing the fast growing industrial and deep sea fishing town adequately every time crimes occurred there.

"What is most important is for all the relevant departments like the Immigration, Customs, Fisheries and the Health Departments to work closely together to tackle any problem with each concentrating on their specific responsibility.

"The police will provide the manpower should there be a need for a joint operation," Mohmad added.

FAREWELL

Puan Sri Laila Taib, wife of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, passed away at 3.45pm today from lung cancer at their residence in Demak Jaya, Kuching. She was 68.

Baanhor Chungat Maach: Pansuh In Assam

Ingredients:

# Boneless fish: 6 pieces
# Crushed garlic: ½ tbsp
# Slit green chillies: 2
# Mustard oil: 1 tbsp
# Sliced onions: 2 small sized
# Grated ginger: 1 level tsp
# Salt: to taste
# Tender bamboo hollow: 1 (this one is important, you must required this)
# Banana leaf: 1
# To garnish: coriander leaves, mustard oil – 1 ½ tbsps


Method:

# Clean, wash and drain the fish.
# Clean the banana leaf. Dry it and pass over low fire to make the leaf pliable.
# In a small bowl mix together crushed garlic, slit green chillies, mustard oil and salt.
# Add the mixture to the fish and mix well.
# Fill the bamboo hollow with the fish and seal with soften banana leaf.
# Place the hollows over charcoal fire.
# Rotate the bamboo hollows from time to time till it is evenly burnt.
# Leave it to cool. Slit open the bamboo hollows.
# Add sliced onions, grated ginger and mustard oil to the fish and mix well.
# Serve Baanhor Chungat Mach as a side dish.

Note: Assamese people prefer green chillies to the dry red chillies.

As i was surfing some blogs from the sub-continent, this post caught my eyes. I realised that, the "Baanhor Chungat Maach" or "fish in bamboo hollow" sounds just like our "pansuh". Only that the ingredients differs........local taste i guess.

MALAYSIA HAS VACCINE FOR SWINE FEVER

Malaysia has the vaccine for swine flu which can be used to stop the spread of the disease to this country, says Veterinary Services Director-General Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin.

The H1N1 vaccine should be injected into pigs as a preventive measure following reports of more than 100 people having died from swine flu in Mexico.

Dr Abdul Aziz told Bernama here Monday that the department was only waiting for the directive from the Health Ministry to carry out vaccination of livestock.

He believed that the H1N1 vaccine was also used by pig farms in other countries as a preventive measure against swine flu.

He also disclosed that Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai had issued a directive to all state Veterinary Services directors to monitor pig farms in their respective states as a precaution and to report on any sign of swine flu infection.

"Stern action will be taken against them if they fail to do this. They must also ensure that all the pig breeders follow instructions like their workers must wear masks," he said.

Dr Abd Aziz said state livestock breeders' associations were required to co-operate with the Veterinary Services Department by reporting on any symptom of swine flu.

"If their workers have similar symptoms for influenza, high fever, sore throat and body aches, they must be given leave and undergo medical examination immediately."

Dr Abdul Aziz said so far the department had not received any report of swine flu symptoms in the country. The disease also had the potential of being spread to birds but the possibility was remote.

"While avian flu can spread through food like by eating chicken, swine flu cannot be spread by eating pork but through human contact," he said.

Malaysia free from swine flu: Health DG

Malaysians need not worry about the deadly swine influenza as the country was free of the epidemic, said Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican. He said there were no cases based on observation for signs or ''influenza-like illness''.

Dr Mohd Ismail said to ensure that the situation remained as such the ministry had activated the disease control division yesterday to monitor the situation as well as check for signs of the virus at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and all other entry points.

"The ministry will also have a joint meeting with relevant agencies tomorrow to discuss steps that can be taken to prevent and control any epidemic.

"In that regard, the ministry will make press statements from time to time to inform people about developments and steps taken," he said in a statement here today.

Dr Mohd Ismail said a World Health Organisation (WHO) report dated yesterday said there were 40 cases related to the Swine Influenza A (H1N1) confirmed through laboratory tests in the United States and in Mexico 26 cases with seven deaths.
He said there were 1,840 suspected H1N1 cases in Mexico involving 104 deaths.

Six cases were detected in Canada, two in Scotland and one in Spain while there were 25 cases reported in New Zealand, he said.

Dr Mohd Ismail said based on the situation, WHO had raised the influenza pandemic warning from Phase 3 to Phase 4 and this showed a possibility of a pandemic.

"Phase 4 means the virus going from humans to humans and causing an epidemic among communities but WHO has not placed any restrictions in health, travel and trade that needed to be made.

"The increase in phase does not mean the pandemic could not be stopped but the phase could go down or go up based on the information and situation," he said.

He said given that WHO had raised the level to Phase 4, the Health Ministry advised people not to travel overseas especially to countries affected.

Dr Mohd Ismail also advised individuals who fall sick while travelling to get immediate treatment.

REMASTERED LAT

Malaysia's beloved cartoonist, Lat, puts his signature on the mock cover of his latest compilation, a 206-page hardcover entitled ‘Lat: The Early Series’, which contains drawings chronicling his early 1970s works published in the New Straits Times. The compilation was launched at Balai Berita