Category: Sosial

Dulu Pelarian, Kini Kapten Safia Ferozi Juruterbang Wanita Kedua Di Afghanistan

Meskipun membesar sebagai seorang pelarian, kini Kapten Safia Ferozi adalah juruterbang wanita yang kedua di Afghanistan.

Beliau juga bertanggungjawab memandu pesawat pengangkutan tentera udara. Pada masa yang sama, ia juga menunjukkan bahawa lebih banyak lagi usaha perlu dilakukan untuk menarik lebih ramai wanita menyertai angkatan tentera negara itu.

Cik Ferozi yang berusia 26 tahun mendirikan rumah tangga bersama seorang juruterbang yang turut bekerja dalam unit sokongan bagi angkatan tentera darat. Pasangan itu adalah sebahagian daripada angkatan tentera udara Afghanistan yang sedang membanteras kumpulan Taliban.

“Apabila saya memakai pakaian seragam tentera, saya berasa amat bangga sebagai seorang wanita,” kata Cik Ferozi sedang beliau bersiap sedia untuk melakukan penerbangan dari pangkalan udara Kabul. Beliau mengemudi pesawat turboprop, C-208 yang digunakan sebagai pesawat pengangkutan.

Hampir 16 tahun selepas tumbangnya rejim militan Taliban, kaum wanita di Afghanistan kini mengorak langkah untuk meningkatkan kehadiran mereka dalam masyarakat termasuk di parlimen, pemerintah dan tentera. Namun, secara purata kaum wanita di negara itu masih berdepan dengan cabaran dan rintangan dalam masyarakat yang rata-rata masih bersikap konservatif dan memegang kepercayaan bahawa kaum wanita harus duduk di rumah dan keganasan terhadap wanita merupakan satu masalah yang membelenggu negara itu.

Setelah hampir 30 tahun, Afghanistan mempunyai juruterbang wanita yang pertama di negara itu pada tahun 2013 iaitu Kapten Niloofar Rahmani.

Cik Ferozi berharap dapat menjadi inspirasi kepada wanita-wanita yang lain.

“Sebagai seorang wanita, anda perlu menghadapi pelbagai cabaran, dan anda harus mengharungi semua cabaran itu,” kata beliau.

Menurut jurucakap Kementerian Pertahanan Afghanistan, Jeneral Mohammad Radmanish, terdapat sekitar 1,800 wanita yang kini berkhidmat dalam angkatan tentera negara itu. Tentera Afghanistan yang menerima sokongan Amerika Syarikat dan NATO ingin menambah jumlah itu kepada 10 peratus dalam tempoh tujuh tahun akan datang.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 8, 2016
Remaja Singapura Menyamar Sebagai Cucu Sultan Johor, Mengaku Tidak Bersalah Di Mahkamah

Seorang remaja lelaki warga Singapura mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Majistret hari ini (7 Dis) atas tuduhan menyamar sebagai cucu Sultan Johor di sebuah kedai di Plaza Angsana, Ogos lalu.

Remaja berusia 15 tahun itu, didakwa melakukan kesalahan tersebut di sebuah kedai menjual pakaian di Plaza Angsana, Tampoi, pada 4.30 petang, 6 Ogos lalu.

Prosiding di hadapan Majistret Salina Omar itu dijalankan secara tertutup kerana tertuduh merupakan pesalah bawah umur.

Menurut Timbalan Pendakwa Raya Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali yang ditemui selepas prosiding itu, tertuduh berkenaan mengaku tidak bersalah selepas pertuduhan dibacakan oleh jurubahasa di hadapan majistret.

Katanya, mahkamah membenarkan tertuduh diikat jamin RM4,000 (S$1,300) dengan dua penjamin warga tempatan dan menetapkan sebutan kes itu pada 5 Januari 2017.

Sementara itu, peguam Muhammad Ashraff Mohd Diah yang mewakili tertuduh berkata anak guamnya merupakan anak ketiga daripada lima beradik dan merupakan pelajar di sebuah sekolah di Singapura.

Tertuduh disiasat mengikut Seksyen 419 Kanun Keseksaan yang jika sabit kesalahan boleh dipenjara sehingga tujuh tahun atau denda atau kedua-duanya sekali.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 8, 2016
Young Lions Get Serious For SEA Games

There is a major effort underway as Singapore targets glory at next year’s South-east Asia (SEA) Games football competition.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, national youth teams head coach Richard Tardy outlined his plans for the Young Lions.

For starters, the Garena Young Lions, to be coached by former Singapore international V Selvaraj, will kick off the upcoming S.League season with 30 players all born in the year 1995 or later as the SEA Games football competition next August will be an under-22 tournament.

The team’s senior players like Khairul Amri, Firdaus Kasman, Christopher van Huizen and Fareez Farhan will all be free to sign for other clubs.

“Last year we took Amri and Firdaus to help add some experience to the team, and we didn’t know at the start of last season whether the SEA Games will be an under-22 or under-23 competition,” said Tardy, who will be in charge of the team at the SEA Games.

“It would have been difficult to start with an entirely young team. Still, we had a team with an average age of 21.5 years, which is the youngest in the club’s history.

“It gave the opportunity for under-18 players like Rusyaidi Salime, Joshua Pereira and Hami Syahin to progress.

“But now that we are so near to the SEA Games, it makes no sense to take overaged players.

“Honestly, it will be very difficult to compete in the S.League, we know. Those with one-year experience can help us.

“We must think about the future of Singapore football and the future is coming from the youth.

“I’m sure that in two or three years, we will find some senior national players from this team.”

The 66-year-old Frenchman urged support from all stakeholders as he revealed the comprehensive training schedule in store for the Young Lions, who will sit out of local cup competitions.

He said: “Our season this year ended on Oct 15 but we trained until Nov 30 because I didn’t want them to go a long time without training.

“They now have a three-week break before they come back in the last week of December to get ready for the new season.

“Next month, we will have a training camp in Phuket with good facilities and a good field to get back to a good level physically before the season starts.

“In March, we will play in a Dubai tournament against strong teams from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, China and Thailand.

“I don’t want easy games even though I know they are good for the spirit.

“Our best preparation will come in July when we play a minimum of three games in the AFC Under-23 Championship qualifiers against one or two strong teams as we are in the third pot.

“Only by doing well against strong opponents can we say we have improved.”

Ever since the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) appointed him in July 2015, Tardy has been candid in his assessment of youth footballers, pointing out their technical and physical weakness.

In September, he told TNP that if the SEA Games were held then, the Young Lions would not even qualify for the semi-finals.

However, Tardy has seen progress, even though he admits the boys are still behind the likes of Thailand and Vietnam in terms of technique.

He said: “The distance between dreams and reality is action. We can dream of doing well but as a coach, I must be a realist and say we have to work very hard to do well at the SEA Games.

“We drew with Vietnam in the Nations Cup and lost 1-0 to China and Iran. This means we are not far off.

“Technically, I don’t think our level is enough, and we have problems heading, shooting and crossing, which we will work on specifically for 60 to 80 minutes every week.

“But the base is physical and we have no big problems there in terms of injuries and cramps like we had before. Tactically, we must improve more such that individuals can adapt to whatever system we have to play during a game.

“It is not my job to set a medal target but even as we train to develop national players for the future, we will also start to focus more on results next year.

“I want the players to show me the fight in them, that they feel responsible for the SEA Games when they wear the national team jersey and their will to fight even the idea of losing.”

Oct 15, 2016 – Last S.League match, a 3-1 defeat by Tampines Rovers

Nov 30, 2016 – Garena Young Lions continue to train until the end of last month

December 2016 – Players take a three-week break from football and resume training from last week of the year

January 2017 – Two-week training camp in Phuket, Thailand. Double sessions in the morning and afternoon and two friendly matches to get into shape before S.League starts

March 2017 – Friendly tournament in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, against the hosts, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, China and Thailand

May 2017 – Two friendly matches

June 2017 – Two friendly matches in Qatar

July 2017 – AFC Under-23 Championship qualifiers; minimum three games

August 2017 – SEA Games

Source: The New Paper

December 8, 2016
KFC Creates Limited-Edition Candle That Gives Off Fried Chicken Scent

Fried chicken specialist KFC has come up with a way to get your whole house smelling of its signature product – minus the cooking involved.

Enter the KFC-scented candle, which was launched as part of a social media contest by KFC New Zealand last week.

Unfortunately, only one such candle is available, with customers asked to suggest a new piece of merchandise that the company should come up with in order to win it.

“What better way to light up your nights than with a limited-edition KFC Scented Candle!” KFC New Zealand revealed on Facebook last Friday (Dec 2).

The winning entry – announced on Monday – was from user Shiz Irani, who said KFC should release stamps “because the Colonel always delivers”.

This is not the first time KFC has come up with a fried chicken-scented product.

In August, it gave away 3,000 tubes of KFC-scented sunscreen in the US as part of a promotion for its extra-crispy recipe.

They were snapped up within two hours, USA TODAY reported.

Source: The Straits Times

December 8, 2016
Agency Closure Hits Japan Tour Group

The 68-year-old cleaner had saved up for months and was ready to leave for her week-long Hokkaido tour on Monday night.

The plan was to go to the airport to meet the travel agent who had the air tickets for her group. But hours before the flight, Madam Teo Ino Meo allegedly received a text message from Sky Travel & Tours that it had shuttered and would stop all services immediately.

A visit by The Straits Times at 3.30pm to the company’s office in the basement of People’s Park Centre found the glass doors locked and the lights off.

A note on the door said business would resume on Thursday. It gave an emergency contact number, but calls went unanswered.

To Madam Teo’s knowledge, there were 28 people in her tour group who had made travel arrangements with Sky Travel & Tours. She said she has not been able to get any explanation from the company so far.

Said Madam Teo in Mandarin: “I was so angry. My bags were all packed and I was ready to leave that night.”

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it had received seven complaints against Sky Travel & Tours since Monday.

Madam Teo, a widow, had booked the tour with a friend in August during a travel fair and had paid $500 as a deposit. About two weeks ago, they went to the agency to pay the balance of $1,900, and were given their itineraries.

“They said that everything had been confirmed,” she added.

Her friend, Madam Beh Choon Ann, 80, said besides the money paid to the company, she had spent close to $300 on winter wear.

“It would have been our first time seeing snow,” she said.

The two women have filed claims with the Small Claims Tribunals and have made police reports. They claimed they met others who had done the same.

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon advised affected customers to try to contact the agency regarding the status of their tour packages, and those who had bought travel insurance, to contact their providers.

Speaking in general, he also said travel agents should protect customers’ interests by purchasing insurance for prepayments.

“We advise consumers to engage CaseTrust-Natas accredited travel agencies as they are committed to fair trading and transparency towards consumers,” he said.

Source: The Straits Times

December 7, 2016