KUCHING: The two-month long celebration of the Kuching Festival 2011 will kick off this weekend with the Datuk Bandar Football Youth Cup and end on Malaysia Day (Sept 16) with the Grand Finale. The host of the Kuching Festival 2011 is Kuching City North Commission (DBKU) and supported by Kuching City South Council (MBKS). DBKU mayor Mohd Abang Atei Abang Medaan yesterday told a press conference that as the festival falls in the Ramadan month, they have adjusted some activities to be held before or after August, the month where the celebration is usually held. Kuching gained city status on Aug 1, 1988. The grand celebration for the 23rd Kuching City’s Day would be held at the DBKU Arena on Aug 1. “One of the major prelude activities organised by DBKU is the International Orchid Show from July 26 to 31 at Taman Orkid. The participating countries are Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Japan, Brunei, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea,”Abang Atei said. tiffany earrings
The Orchid Garden will be open to members of the public from 9am to 5pm on July 29 to 31, he added. He pointed out that at least five competitions would be held in conjunction with the show, namely orchid landscape competition, individual orchid competition, flora arrangement, orchid colouring competition and fancy dress competition. Other preludes to the festival are Pesta Bergendang, patriotic song competition, fruits festival, mini Regatta, he said, adding that house decoration competition as well as Siol mountain bike competition would be held after August. “In conjunction with the Ramadan month, DBKU will have the Bazaar Ramadan in three areas in Satok, Sukma Ria and Semarak,” he said. In Kuching City South, MBKS has lined up various activities from the much-awaited Festival Fair to Music and Arts as well as Sports Festivals, said organising chairman councillor Mohamad Taufik Abdul Ghani. “The theme that we are trying to project this year is our youths and their role in the development of the city. tiffany cufflinks
Therefore, we have arranged a lot of activities that are centred around youths such as street dance competition, skateboard competition and cyber games,” he said. He pointed out that Datuk Bandar Football Youth Cup, the prelude to MBKS’ programmes, is a good example in involving youths in healthy activity. He pointed out that the Food Fair this year would have a ‘halal’ corner especially for Muslims to break fast during the Ramadan month. “This is something new. MBKS is always trying to bring new things and new experiences to the people,” he said. Other activities the public could expect include garden show, folk dance display, ‘Yuanji’ dance, oriental music, and martial art display as well as pony rides.
tiffany charms Also present were MBKS mayor James Chan and DBKU director Onn Abdullah. KUCHING: Food stalls operating in coffee shops, markets and hawker centres within the jurisdiction of Kuching South City Council (MBKS) are now being graded like coffee shops. The council’s initiative, which is the first of its kind in the state, is meant to encourage the stall operators to be conscious of food hygiene and cleanliness. Its head of licensing and public health, Zuriada Idris, told The Borneo Post yesterday that they embarked on the grading in April this year. “Previously, we only graded coffee shops but this time we also zoom in on the food stalls. I must say the response has been good,” she said. On the grading system, she explained that personal hygiene made up 29 per cent, habits (15 per cent), cooking equipment and facilities (12 per cent), stall/table (12 per cent), housekeeping (10 per cent), refuse bin (eight per cent), washing (six per cent), storage of food (six per cent) and pest control (two per cent). Those stalls which scored between 85 and 100 per cent will get a Grade A (Blue sticker), 70 to 84 per cent will get a Grade B (Orange), 60 to 69 get a Grade C (Red) while those with 59 per cent and below get a Grade D (Black). tiffany pendants
Zuraida was quick to point out that the grading process was not meant to find fault with the food stall owners. In fact, its primary aim is to help them improve their business. “Since Kuching is a healthy city we want the public and the tourists to be comfortable at all eating outlets, where the food served is clean and hygienic.” As part of an effort to keep the city clean and healthy, she said MBKS started grading toilets in eateries last year. The best toilet gets five stars while the lowest grade is three stars. There are 720 coffee shops, five markets, and 10 hawker centres under the MBKS jurisdiction at present. Meanwhile, Number 6 Kopitiam cafe owner Felix Yeo, when interviewed yesterday, told The Borneo Post that he was very happy that his shop, which is located along Jalan Song, had an A-grade and its toilets five stars. tiffany accessories
“It is important that eateries are clean and I must say the council has done a good job of always improving the food industry so that eateries will always be pleasant and comfortable. “I always make it a point to ensure that my food stall owners wear uniforms, preferably in white, so that everybody looks neat and clean.” One of his food stall owners, Bong Teck Hin, who runs a seafood business, was very pleased that his stall got a Grade B. “I will put in the necessary effort to bring it up to Grade A. The council has been very helpful and I will definitely want to improve my operation,” Bong said. He added that he had been in the food business for the last 16 years but he is always open to constructive ideas. “All of us here learn every day on how to improve our business and how to make sure our customers are happy and comfortable.” cheap tiffany and co
New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the source and antiquity of the treasure unearthed from the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram. An apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik asked the ASI to suggest the steps that can be taken to protect the treasure and also where it can be housed. The court also directed the ASI to make video recording of the treasure and photograph them. Treasure estimated at over Rs.1 lakh crore has been found in five of the six chambers of the 16th century temple that have been opened so far on the instructions of the Supreme Court after a local lawyer alleged poor security and mismanagement by the trust that runs the temple. The court restrained all the members of the committee appointed by it from speaking to media on the treasure found in the temple.
tiffany mens necklace The court has asked the ASI to appoint a curator to assess the treasure and its antiquity and where it could be housed. There are contentions on the safe keeping of the treasure. One view is that it could be kept in the temple itself and other view is that a separate museum should be set up for keeping and preserving the treasure. The apex court directions came in the course of the hearing of a petition by Rama Verma challenging the Kerala High Court verdict directing the state government to take steps to take control of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, its assets and management and run the same. The high court had also directed the state government to exhibit the valuables of the temples to attract the tourists. According to the BRC, shop prices in June rose by 2.9 percent compared with a year ago, with food prices rising by 5.7 percent.
tiffany uk shopLast month's increase was the fastest in the overall index since October 2008, said the BRC. Month-on-month, prices rose by 0.5 percent in June with food prices ahead by 0.6 percent, the same as May, while non-food product inflation rose by 0.5 percent compared with a decline in May. The BRC said shop inflation is being driven by surging world commodity prices, the effect of the weak pound and higher VAT - all factors that are all outside retailers' control. It added the figures highlight the squeeze in progress on household incomes and retailers, who are struggling to pass on higher wholesale costs. tiffany necklace silver
A number of high profile chains have recently gone into administration including Jane Norman and TJ Hughes, a trend which the BRC said reflects the weakness in consumer spending and the growing use of discounts to generate sales at the expense of revenues. Some 39 percent of grocery spending is now on goods on promotion, which shows "there are lots of offers available" and "savvy shoppers are taking advantage to minimise the impact on real-life bills." A number of retailers, including Marks & Spencer, have started sales two weeks earlier than in 2010, with the result that some products, such as clothing and footwear, are now cheaper than a year ago. This comes as Cameron has been pressed to speed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan's Helmand province where Britain is currently deploying 9,500 soldiers. tiffany necklace white gold
The pressure on Cameron especially increased after US president Barrack Obama said two weeks ago that 33,000 American troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of next autumn. "Today I can announce that the UK will be able to reduce its force levels by a further 500 from 9,500 to 9,000 by the end of 2012," Cameron told the House of Commons. "This decision is not only right for Britain, it is right for Afghanistan too. It has given the Afghans a clear deadline against which to plan and has injected a sense of urgency into their efforts,” he added. Cameron claimed the decision has been taken due to the developments on the ground in Afghanistan that point to Taliban's and al-Qaeda's faltering strength despite warnings by Britain's National Security Council that the situation in Afghanistan is still fragile. tiffany cufflinks
Cameron added that Afghanistan “needs to know that there is an end point to the level of our current commitment and to our combat operation" though insisting that Britain will remain in Afghanistan “for 10 years starting from 2013” to train the Afghan army. Britain has already announced that it will pull out 426 auxiliary military personnel by February 2012 while Cameron has said he will stick to a deadline set by NATO to withdraw its last combat units from the Asian country by the end of 2014. Britain has so far lost 375 soldiers' lives to the conflicts in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country back in 2001. tiffany charms
Pandora Beads CharmsLAUREL, Mont. (AP) — Federal documents show it took Exxon Mobil nearly twice as long as it publicly disclosed to fully seal a pipeline that spilled roughly 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. Details about the company's response to the Montana pipeline burst emerged late Tuesday as the Department of Transportation ordered the company bury the duct deeper beneath the riverbed, where it is buried 5 to 8 feet underground to deliver 40,000 barrels of oil a day to a refinery in Billings. The federal agency's records indicate the pipeline was not fully shut down for 56 minutes after the break occurred Friday near Laurel.
Pandora Charms Sale That's longer than the 30 minutes that company officials claimed Tuesday in a briefing with federal officials and Gov. Brian Schweitzer. An Exxon Mobil spokesman said the longer time span was based on information provided to the agency by the company and the discrepancy might have come about because Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. President Gary Pruessing was speaking without any notes in front of him when he addressed Schweitzer. "Clearly our communication with the regulator (DOT) is the one that we've got precision on," spokesman Alan Jeffers said. It was not the first time the company offered clarification of its response and assessment of the spill. Cheap Pandora Charms
A day earlier, the company acknowledged under political pressure that the leak's impact could extend far beyond a 10-mile stretch of the river it initially said was the most affected area. The company had earlier downplayed government officials' assertions that damage was spread over dozens of miles. The governor toured the area Tuesday as the waterway rose above flood stage and stoked fears that surging currents could push crude into undamaged areas and back channels vital to the river's prized fishery. Conditions have hampered efforts to find the cause of the break. The river has been flowing too swiftly for crews to reach some oiled areas, and forecasters said mountain snowmelt was adding to high water levels. Officials speculated that the surge may push oil into areas that haven't yet been damaged. Most observations have been made through aerial flights. A few miles downriver from the broken pipe, homeowner Robert Castleberry said he had been out of his house since Saturday because of dangerous fumes from oil that the river pushed across his yard and into the crawlspace beneath his house. Pandora Charms Online
Castleberry's wife suffers from heart disease and the fumes gave her difficulty breathing, he said. While he appreciated the company promising to cover the couple's immediate expenses, the retired fuel truck driver was doubtful workers would be able to clean up the black, gooey film that laced through the underbrush along the river. "Exxon's been nothing but 100 percent with us," he said. "But when you get into brush that thick, that's going to be virtually impossible to clean." Company and federal officials said they have only seen oil about 25 miles downstream from the site of the break near Laurel. Pandora Charms for bracelets
But Schweitzer said he believes some has traveled hundreds of miles to North Dakota. "At seven miles per hour, some oil is already in North Dakota. That's a given," Schweitzer said. "I'm asking everyone to get out there and report what you see on the river." Representatives of Exxon Mobil and the Environmental Protection Agency said they had no reports of oil beyond the town of Huntley. Transportation officials said Tuesday that oil was observed as far downstream as 240 miles in Terry, Mont. The agency said that information was provided by Exxon Mobil, but company spokesman Alan Jeffers said he was not aware of any such sighting. Exxon planned to test the river's conditions with a jet boat, with eight more on standby if the launch is successful, Glass said.
Pandora EarringsFederal regulators have ordered Exxon to make safety improvements to the 20-year-old pipeline. Among them was an order to re-bury the line to protect against external damage and assess risk where it crosses a waterway, which the company intended to comply with, Jeffers said. "We will follow their requirements," he said. The company also will have to submit a restart plan to the Department of Transportation before crude can again flow through the line. Schweitzer also ordered a review of pipelines that cross major and minor rivers in the state. Officials will look at the pipes' age, location of shut-off valves and whether they are similar to the ruptured pipe. He said the state has 88 such crossings.
Pandora Earrings SilverModern pipelines can be buried as much as 25 feet beneath bodies of water; Exxon Mobil's Silvertip line was 5 to 8 feet below the bottom of the Yellowstone. The line was temporarily shut down in May after Laurel officials raised concerns that it could be at risk as the Yellowstone started to rise. The company restarted the line after a day, following a review of its safety record. Schweitzer said he noticed that oil was pooling in areas near banks with slower-moving water, close to islands and cottonwood stands that support the microbes and insects that bring life to the river. "Those riparian areas are a biological treasure trove. That's the health and wealth of the river," he said. Pandora Necklace
Pandora BeadsAL-QALAA, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan rebel fighters launched offensives on two fronts to the south and east of Tripoli on Wednesday in the biggest push in weeks toward Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital. In the Western Mountains southwest of Tripoli, hundreds of fighters advanced toward the government-held village of Al-Qawalish, while on the Mediterranean coast east of the capital, rebels pushed westwards from the city of Misrata. The advances came as reports proliferated that Gaddafi -- under pressure from a five-month uprising against his rule, sanctions and a NATO bombing campaign -- was seeking a deal under which he would step down. His government has denied that any such negotiations are under way, but a senior Libyan official told Reuters on Wednesday there were signs that a solution to the conflict could be found by the start of August. Pandora Charms Bracelets
Western Mountains rebels traveling in Toyota pick-up trucks arrived at first light to launch their attack on Al-Qawalish. Many had anti-aircraft guns welded onto the truck beds. Several tanks were also brought to the front on lorries. The rebels began firing rockets and mortars at dawn, cries of "Allahu Akbar!" or "God is greatest!" echoing through groves of olive, almond and fig trees with each outgoing blast. Gaddafi's forces responded with intermittent volleys of Grad tactical surface-to-surface rockets. Clouds of black smoke came from the hillsides where the incoming rounds exploded. The rebels' aim was to push the 10 km (6 miles) from the town of Al-Qalaa to Al-Qawalish. The fighters were pushing south-east, away from the capital, but taking Al-Qawalish is strategically important because beyond it, further to the east, is the larger town of Garyan which controls the main highway north to the capital. Pandora Bracelets Sale
After several hours, the rebels had advanced a couple of kilometers toward Al-Qawalish and NATO warplanes could be heard in the sky. Ambulance workers said they had treated about six people with injuries. MISRATA PUSH Fighting across Libya has been largely static for weeks. In the eastern third of the country, rebels are unable to break through to the oil town of Brega. Misrata's rebels made a push toward Tripoli in May, soon after forcing Gaddafi's forces out of the center of the city, but since then they have made only incremental advances. The last rebel advance in the Western Mountains was last month when they pushed 30 km north to the outskirts of the town of Bir al-Ghanam. In the past, rebel advances have frequently become bogged down or quickly turned into a retreat. Near Misrata, rebel commanders told Reuters they had pushed 20 km west overnight, taking them to within about 130 km of Tripoli. Reuters journalists were unable to confirm the advance independently because it was not possible to reach the front line. The new rebel positions were coming under intense bombardment from Gaddafi's forces who were using mortars, artillery and Grad rockets.
Pandora Bracelets Online A Reuters reporter at a field hospital in Dafniya, on the western outskirts of Misrata, said he could hear the sound of ordnance landing every few seconds. He saw three wounded fighters brought into the field hospital. The stretchers on which they were brought in were quickly washed down and sent back to the front line to transport more wounded. Fighting in the same area on Tuesday killed 11 rebels and injured dozens more, medical workers said. Gaddafi, who has ruled oil producer Libya for 41 years, has said the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants. He has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya's oil. DEAL TALK A Russian newspaper this week quoted what it described as a high-level source as saying that Gaddafi is sounding out the possibility of stepping down on condition that there is a political role for one of his sons. Cheap Pandora Charms
A Libyan government spokesman denied that report, saying Muammar Gaddafi's future was not up for negotiation. Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said in an interview with Reuters in Tripoli on Wednesday, said a solution to the conflict could be found before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins early in August. He did not give any details about what that solution might involve, however. "There are signals that the crisis will find a solution in the coming weeks. We will do whatever possible so that our people will spend Ramadan in peace. So we hope that a solution will be possible before the month of Ramadan," he said. Pandora Charms Sale
"Currently the key hurdle to a solution is the NATO military campaign, and we hope that our friends in the African Union organization will do whatever possible to convince it to stop its aggression against our people." Responding to reports of a possible deal, several NATO states have said the Gaddafi family must relinquish all power. "We believe that there will need to be a political process at some stage within Libya but it needs to be completely understood that Gaddafi and his family have no part to play in the government of the new Libya," David Lidington, Britain's minister for Europe, told reporters on a visit to Moscow. Pandora Beads Charms
Pandora Bracelets SaleOutspoken Aboriginal education representative Alca Simpson has called on the community to embrace the new version of Dubbo College. Mr Simpson, a member of the Dubbo Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and a parent at Dubbo College Senior Campus, yesterday described the model announced by education minister Adrian Piccoli as workable. “Having two junior 7-10 campus linked to a Year 11-12 senior campus is much better than the previous idea of former education minister Verity Firth.
Pandora Beads Sale“She wanted to segregate public secondary education in Dubbo with a Year 7-12 school in South Dubbo set apart from a Year 7-9 school in West Dubbo and a Year 10-12 senior campus in Yarrandale Road.” At the time of minister Firth’s announcement Mr Simpson accused the NSW government of pushing Indigenous policies in Dubbo back 50 years. “This latest announcement will allow public education in Dubbo to continue to cater for everyone,” Mr Simpson said. The Teachers’ Federation is not happy with the retention of the split campus college model and has not ruled out industrial action. Mr Simpson said teachers are entitled to express their opinion.
Pandora Jewelry “But for the sake of student outcomes the entire Dubbo community needs to accept that a decision has been made,” he said. “A new model for public secondary education is being put in place and it is now up to us all to work together for the sake of student outcomes.” Mr Simpson applauded minister Piccoli for taking the time to visit Dubbo to listen to parents, students and the Indigenous community. “From where I sit, I would have preferred to stay with two junior Year 7-9 campus and one Year 10-12 senior campus,” he said. “Dubbo College didn’t need to change but there were concerns about how it was being managed. Pandora Charms On Sale
“Minister Piccoli has addressed that issue by appointing a school education director to oversee the college in a temporary capacity until a permanent person is appointed.” Three motorists were lucky to escape without injury yesterday after their vehicles collided on the Mitchell Highway near Dubbo. Dubbo Police, the NSW Ambulance Service and the Rural Fire Service attended the accident, 12 kilometres out on the Narromine road, but no one was taken to hospital. A spokesman for the Ambulance Service said one patient was treated at the scene, however they did not require further medical attention.
Pandora BanglesThe other two motorists were reportedly fine. Yesterday’s accident was one of several to occur on the Mitchell Highway, west of Dubbo, in the past month. A 55-year-old man died on the stretch of road near Trangie on June 16 after his vehicle collided with a tree, about 85km from Dubbo. A 21-year-old male died after a motor vehicle accident on the Mitchell Highway between Narromine and Trangie on May 27. Police investigations into yesterday’s accident are continuing. Pandora Charms Online
tiffany rings The last time Kevin Spacey and director Sam Mendes teamed up, Spacey won an Oscar for his performance in “American Beauty.” The two are back in business in a propulsive modern dress revival of “Richard III” at the Old Vic that treats Shakespeare's play as though it were a documentary on the birth of a dictator, enlivened by the bloody, backstabbing machinations of a crew that would make the villains of “The Usual Suspects” (for which Spacey won the first of his Academy Awards) look like Avon ladies. Much of it works, at least for the first half, in which a deformed Richard (Spacey sporting a leg brace, a humpback and an ironic canary-eating grin) plots his murderous way to the throne. The second half is like a sledgehammer pounding away at what has already been crushed. This is partly the fault of Shakespeare's relentless melodrama and partly the fault of a theatrical approach that increasingly trades manic intensity for originality and color.
tiffany & co outlet Mendes' staging in the early running has a thrilling momentum and vivid simplicity. Scenes are signposted with the names of characters who tend to be at the receiving end of Richard's baleful attention. The action is presented with a swiftness that reminds us that these Elizabethan history plays were prototypes for modern day action movies. The production design, distinguished by Paul Pyant's lighting and Jon Driscoll's projections, conjures a landscape of hallucinatory menace. But the broad outlines of the tale are so emphatically pronounced that a child could tell at a glance the good guys from the bad. This offering of the Bridge Project, the transatlantic partnership of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Old Vic and Neal Street Productions that unites American and British theater artists in the cause of such greats as Shakespeare and Chekhov, is clearly pitched for an international tour, in which audiences in Beijing and Singapore will be able to decipher what's going on even when language grows metaphorically fuzzy.
tiffany bracelet The production will be seen at BAM in January. There are no plans yet for a Los Angeles stop, though it would be right at home in Hollywood, where Shakespeare's thrillers have given rise to generations of blood-soaked action movies. “Richard III” is a play that has two characters vying for the role of narrator — Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who draws us into his confidence as he soliloquizes his evil intentions; and the furious widowed Queen Margaret (a stupendously scary Gemma Jones), who puts a curse on Richard and his royal henchmen and watches with vengeful glee as her words are slowly but surely realized. Sworn enemies, they not only serve up competing scripts but they attempt to upstage each other with the extremity of their chilling stage presences.
tiffany earrings Mendes has cast his actresses magnificently well. Jones' Margaret is a woman maddened by grief who stretches her last miserable years on earth only to see the traitors who destroyed her family choke on their own gore. As Queen Elizabeth, Haydn Gwynne (“Billy Elliot: The Musical”) reveals a horrified awareness that she is turning into a bereaved figure as bitterly deranged as Margaret. And Annabel Scholey, who plays Lady Anne, delicately makes plausible the infamous seduction in which Richard, the man who decimated her world, alchemizes her hate to confounded desire. Chuk Iwuji's suave, media savvy Duke of Buckingham, Richard's Machiavellian aide de camp, and Chandler Williams' justifiably high-strung Duke of Clarence, Richard's penitent, sympathetic brother, offer contemporary spins that have moments of novelty.
tiffany necklace But the most daring, fearlessly anachronistic characterization is produced by Spacey, who delivers the “Now is the winter of our discontent” opener decked in a paper crown and tooting a party favor. On balance, there's more wicked drollery than psychological acuity in this showy, slyly winking performance. Spacey's Richard has a malevolent cockiness that makes his admission “since I cannot prove a lover … I am determined to prove a villain” seem like empty rhetoric. The character's physical impairments are never lost sight of but they pose no impediment to his quest for unchecked public and private power. This Richard conquers all obstacles, even if he has to sometimes play the part of a lousy actor to obtain it. tiffany necklace silver
I'm referring to the scene in which Richard feigns a lack of interest in the throne, despite the clamoring of the crowd for his ascension. Mendes stages this as a multimedia circus, with Spacey's Richard impersonating on screen a holy man devoted to meditation rather than mutilation as the Duke of Buckingham, in high evangelical mode, preaches the necessity of Richard taking custody of this wounded land. Becoming king turns out to be much more riveting than maintaining kingship. As the drums of war blare louder and louder, the production blurs into a generic nightmare. tiffany men's necklace
Spacey rants and rails without much specificity. He huffs and puffs and nearly blows his vocal cords out. The performance seems more of a physical feat than a mental one. The final stretch is too grueling to be impressive. But exhaustion, to say nothing of overkill, is unavoidable with “Richard III.” Fortunately, the kinetic energy of Mendes' production fortifies against boredom. Spacey's dastardly panache will no doubt deepen over time. With any luck, Southern California will be added to the global tour and Los Angeles audiences will get the chance to see the ripened fruits of his theatrical malignity. tiffany necklace white gold