Syrian Electronic Army hackers claim to capture Facebook.com

Syrian Electronic Army hackers claim to capture Facebook.com
Apple risks hefty fee in Germany patent trial
Eggs stand upright on ‘lap chun’ day
Campaign period for Kajang by-election sufficient — Party leaders
‘Price of goods on display boards no longer accepted’
Supermarket gutted in Sandakan fire

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:09 PM PST

Hacker group Syrian Electronic Army on Wednesday claimed to have seized the Facebook.com online address in what it joked was a belated birthday greeting.

"Happy Birthday Mark," SEA said in a message fired off from its Twitter account. "Facebook owned by #SEA."

Facebook said that no traffic to the website was hijacked, and that no users of the social network were affected.

The company's famed co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, embraces the creative side of hacker culture when it comes to software innovation.

Facebook's campus in the California city of Menlo Park even has a vanity address of One Hacker Way.

While SEA claimed to have taken control of Facebook's online domain it was unclear whether it was just in the records of registrar MarkMonitor or if some control of pages had been obtained.

"We changed the name servers, but it is taking too much time," SEA said in a follow-up tweet.

Facebook marked its 10th anniversary on Tuesday, and Zuckerberg referred to the company's evolution as an "amazing journey" in a post on his profile page at the leading social network.-AFP

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Apple risks hefty fee in Germany patent trial

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 05:32 PM PST

Apple is caught up in a new patent battle in Germany, risking a 1.5-billion-euro fine at a trial over the iPhone's emergency phone-dialling feature, the regional court of Mannheim said on Wednesday.

German patent-holding company IPCom is demanding 1.57 billion euros ($2.0 billion) in damages from the California-based giant in a trial set to start February 11 that involves two patents.

The European Patent Office recently approved the validity of one of the patents, which was contested by several firms, including Apple, according to reports.

The IDG news service, which covers technology, said that IPCom has a portfolio of around 1,200 patents in the mobile communications sector.

The IPCom patent at the heart of the case, bought from engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH in 2007, allows priority access to certain mobile phone calls even when a network is saturated.

The case is just one of many patent battles that technology companies have waged worldwide, but especially in Germany, where patent protection laws are particularly strict.-AFP

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Eggs stand upright on ‘lap chun’ day

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 05:05 PM PST

by Amy Dangin. Posted on February 6, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: According to the rules of geomancy, the Year of the Horse officially started at 6.18am on February 4, 2014 (Tuesday), on a day known to the Chinese as 'lap chun'.

'Lap chun' is considered the day many attritube to the way eggs can stand upright on end, as it is believed that on 'lap chun' day, the 'qi' or energy from the earth is at its strongest and many believers would try to balance uncooked eggs on flat surfaces to herald this day.

Environmentalist Dr CY Vun was one of those who put this belief to the test and was amazed when the eggs he and his friend had placed vertically on a flat surface at his friend's residence in Kota Kinabalu between 8.30am to 9.30am, on February 4 managed to stand upright on end without support.

Other than on 'lap chun' day, the other day in a year that eggs are able to be placed vertically is on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, or the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu festival.

The Chinese also believe that those who pray or start farming on 'lap chun' day will be blessed, and in modern days, many choose double 'lap chun' years, such as the Year of the Horse, to get married or start a family due to this belief.

Egg balancing has been connected with 'Lichun', one of the 24 solar terms in a year according to the traditional East Asian calendars, marking the beginning of Chinese spring on February 4 or 5 when the sun is at the celestial longitude of 315 degrees.

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Campaign period for Kajang by-election sufficient — Party leaders

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 04:42 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties and the opposition were happy with the campaign period for the Kajang by-election, which they feel will allow all parties to implement their strategies.

Selangor Umno Liaison chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar said Selangor BN are ready and waiting for directives from BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, and the nomination of the candidate.

"Selangor BN are happy with the EC's (Election Commission) announcement on the campaign period and I hope opposition parties don't say they're not happy after this," he said when contacted by Bernama here yesterday.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof announced the Kajang by-election will be held on March 23 and nomination on March 11.

The seat fell vacant after its incumbent, PKR's Lee Chin Cheh, resigned on Jan 27.

Umno Information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said all parties have begun various methods of campaigning and the period given will give an advantage to independent or party candidates.

"We hope the EC will be able to carry out the by-election well," he said.

He hoped that Kajang voters and the public realise that the by-election, expected to cost RM1.6 million, should not take place because of the personal interest of an opposition leader.

Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said they have formed a committee to prepare campaign programmes for the by-election.

While expressing his confidence in BN to retake the Kajang state seat, he said Gerakan will also go down to the field and go door to door to spread information and the government's aspirations to the voters.

"Nomination and polling is next month. The campaign period is also sufficient for all parties. I hope the by-election will run smoothly and all quarters need to be responsible in avoiding controversy," said Mah.

He said although Gerakan would not be fielding a candidate, it will support any candidate running for BN.

MCA deputy president Datuk Wee Ka Siong said the party has held several meetings to discuss the campaign approaches and strategy for the by-election.

"There's no problem with the duration of the campaign period," he said, adding that MCA will work hard to ensure BN's win.

DAP election strategy planner Dr Ong Kian Ming said the opposition, DAP in particular, will use the 12-day campaign period wisely to help their candidate win.

He said he expects the majority not to be as big as the last, based on several factors including difficulty of Chinese voters to go home and vote because they just recently celebrated Chinese New Year. PAS election director for the Kajang by-election, Dr Hatta Ramli said, he was not comfortable with the EC's decision for nomination day on a Tuesday, which is a working day.

The Kuala Krai MP said the date will interfere with the mobility of party supporters, especially those who live far from the area.

"I prefer the weekend … Saturday or Sunday, so that we can give more focus," he said. — Bernama

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

‘Price of goods on display boards no longer accepted’

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 04:42 PM PST

PUTRAJAYA: The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry will ensure price tags for all goods, including those under price control, are clearly and accurately displayed on each item, and not through a display board as is the current practice.

Its enforcement director, Mohd Roslan Mahayuddin said firm action would be fully enforced in the near future, after Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin requested a relaunch of the campaign for labelling and price tags of goods.

He said the new regulations would be enforced on all types of premises, including restaurants, shops, outlets, markets, supermarkets and wholesalers, including those selling high-end products.

"We welcome the suggestion by the deputy prime minister and will relaunch the programme for the benefit of consumers. The price of all goods must be clearly displayed and visible.

"All this while, we have accepted the price labels on the display board. But we found that it has been abused and the prices were not accurate. So now, the price tags must be placed on each item," he said at a press conference here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mohd Roslan said from 2000 to 2013, the ministry's enforcement division had taken action against 54,503 traders who failed to display price tags, with the value of seized goods at RM69 million.

"This shows we are very serious about enforcing price tags to make it easier for consumers to compare prices before buying," he said.

He said, under Ops Harga 2014 (for failure to attach pink price tags) from Jan 1 till Tuesday, as many as 137,504 premises were checked, and items valued at RM200,390 seized, besides the issuance of compounds amounting to RM87,100.

"On Feb 4 alone, we checked 5,541 premises and seized goods valued at RM3,235 and issued compounds worth RM2,300 for failure to attach pink price tags," he added. — Bernama

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

Supermarket gutted in Sandakan fire

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 04:39 PM PST

by Winnie Kasmir. Posted on February 6, 2014, Thursday

SANDAKAN: A double-storey Servay Supermarket in Kim Fung Town off Mile 4 was gutted in a midnight fire on Tuesday.

The 12.08 am blaze, however was put out before it could spread to the nearby shop lots and housing area, located next to shop building.

The supermarket's security guard, Alin Bungan, who witnessed the incident has heard the sound of the supermarket's alarm and went to checked the building before seen a smoke coming out from the back area.

He then prompted the incident to the nearest police bit before the police called Fire and Rescue Department.

According to Chief of Sandakan Fire and Rescue Department, Jemishin Ujin, upon received a distress call, 45 members with four fire engines and six utility vehicles were rushed to scene and arrived within minutes.

"We managed to put off the fire around 3.38am from spread to several next shop lots that sharing the same building with Servay Supermarket and to nearby houses which attached on the building's right side," he said adding that they also faced problem with the grills surrounding the supermarket during the operation.

Meanwhile, Chief Police, ACP Rowell Marung who visited the scene said the police will do an investigation based on the forensic's findings of Fire and Rescue Department.

"Police will do investigation based from the forensic's finding of Fire and Rescue Department whether the incident happened due to foul play or sabotage," he said.

Fire and Rescue Department has estimated that 150feet length x 50 feet width from the overall supermarket was affected by the fire. The loss and cause of the fire are being determined.

Servay Supermarket in Kim Fung which was opened in 1999 has been operated daily from 10am to 10pm with some 300 staff.

This was the second fire involving Servay hypermarkets.

On August 2008, a huge fire engulfed the Servay hypermarket in Penampang at 7.30pm.

The hypermarket was fully rebuilt and reopened for business on June 29, 2010.

Servay hypermarkets are also located in Kota Kinabalu, Likas, Putatan, Keningau, Tawau and Lahad Datu.

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.