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New Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Mini Chess Festival prepares young prodigy for global competition
KUALA LUMPUR: Nine-year-old Nik Aimee Camilla Nik Ahmad Farouqi is proving that age is no barrier when it comes to making bold moves on the chessboard. The youngest of four siblings, Nik Aimee recently took part in the Mini Chess Festival (MCF), a tournament organised by the Malaysian Chess Federation in collaboration with the New Straits Times Press (NSTP), held during the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair. The event served as an important warm-up for Nik Aimee, who is preparing to represent Malaysia in two upcoming international tournaments — the Ashgabat 2025 International Chess Tournament in Turkmenistan from June 15 to 19 and the Eastern Asian Youth Chess Championship in China from July 20 to 30. Speaking to NSTP, Nik Aimee said 6, upon observing her father and older brothers playing at home. "My interest began when I watched my father play. I practised a lot with him and my older brothers. "My passion grew even more after I became the Under-8 champion at the National Youth Chess Championship," she said when met at the World Trade Centre during the MCF. Offering a total prize of RM20,00, there are four categories — children, adults, open and team tournament. It was officiated earlier by Media Prima Bhd On-Air Presentation News and Current Affairs Division general manager Kamaruddin Mape. Also present were Harian Metro Group Editor Husain Jahit, Malaysian Chess Federation president Akramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi and World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur managing director Datuk Seri Irmohizam Ibrahim. Meanwhile, asked whether she was nervous, Nik Aimee said she felt calm ahead of the two major tournaments, adding that it would not be her first time playing abroad. "I have played in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and also Italy before," she said. Her father, Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abdul Aziz, 43, who is also a chess coach, said he recognised his daughter's potential early on, when she took second place in an under-7 tournament. "We did not force her. I would just play chess in front of her. From there, we saw her interest and gave her exposure. "Since then we have focused on helping her improve her performance. "She represented Malaysia at the World Youth Cadet in Egypt two years ago, and again in Italy last year," he said. Nik Ahmad Farouqi said the MCF was part of their preparations for the Turkmenistan and China tournaments. "It helps her to maintain her performance and focus. I also ask her to track her own progress. These tournaments help us assess her current level and identify areas for improvement." He added that the offer to compete in Turkmenistan came just a day ago, after MCF confirmed her selection as a national athlete based on her past achievements. "It is not easy to get opportunities like this. Now the challenge is to prepare her mentally and physically. "We want to push her to perform, but not to the point where she burns out. She knows she is carrying the national flag, and she takes that seriously," he said. The upcoming tournament in China will see participation from 15 players aged nine and below, from countries including China, Japan, and Malaysia. Nik Aimee is expected to represent Malaysia as one of its youngest competitors. Meanwhile, her mother, Nik Aleena Nik Abdul Rahman, also 43, said the family was focused on supporting Nik Aimee in every aspect, including emotional well-being and school commitments. "She is still a child, so there are days when she does not feel like training. We have to monitor her emotional state, energy levels and even her diet.
The Star
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Can the badminton eco-system be transformed under Zafrul?
AS I stepped into the hotel hosting the prestigious National Sports Awards for the year 2024 in Subang last Tuesday, I bumped into Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidullah Sanusi, president of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF). I did not introduce myself as a journalist. Instead, I dropped my sister-in-law's name, Yusniza.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes: Fatih Akin's ‘Amrum' Sells Wide Ahead of Festival Bow
Beta Cinema has closed multiple international deals for Fatih Akin's Amrum ahead of its world premiere in Cannes on Thursday, selling the German period drama to France (Dulac Distribution), Spain (A Contracorriente), Japan (Bitters End), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Cinemart), Former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (MCF) and Brasil (Imovision). Diane Kruger co-stars in the feature, which Akin co-wrote with German director and screenwriter Hark Bohm, based on Bohm's own childhood memories of growing up in the final weeks of World War 2 on the secluded North Sea island of Amrum. Life is hard on the island, but for 12-year-old Nanning (newcomer Jasper Billerbeck) it feels like paradise on earth. When the war ends, however, darker secrets about his family come to the surface. Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister, Kian Köppke, and Matthias Schweighöfer co-star. More from The Hollywood Reporter Cannes: Jackie Chan's 'The Shadow's Edge' Sells Wide Sony Pictures Entertainment Full-Year Profit Slips 4 Percent to $774 Million Cannes Rising Star: Meet Harris Dickinson's French 'Urchin' Gem, Megan Northam Warner Bros. Pictures Germany will release Amrum in Germany-speaking territories on Oct. 9. Akin's last time in Cannes was with In the Fade in 2017. The thriller, also inspired by real events, starred Kruger as a women who seeks revenge after her husband and son are killed by neo-Nazis. The role won Kruger Cannes' best actress honor. Akin had its international breakthrough in 2004 with Head-On, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival. His 2007 feature The Edge of Heaven won Cannes' best screenplay award and 2009 comedy Soul Kitchen took a special jury prize in Venice. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10th Annual Medical Captive Forum (MCF) Breaks Attendance Records in Cleveland, Leads the Charge in Self-Funding Innovation
CLEVELAND, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Roundstone's Medical Captive Forum (MCF) 2025 made history as the largest group captive healthcare benefits event ever held in Cleveland. Employers, advisors, and industry leaders came together to explore bold new directions in self-funding—marking a shift in how benefits are delivered. MCF 2025 began with an energizing morning networking session, followed by a dynamic Roundtable highlighting the power of the Per Employee Per Year (PEPY) metric—the emerging need-to-know benchmark for health plan performance. Breakout sessions addressed every stage of the self-funding journey, with beginner, intermediate, and advisor-focused tracks. The event offered practical, forward-thinking solutions to the top-searched challenges facing employers and brokers today, including: Understanding the Captive Model: A Self-Funding Introduction What Impacts My Renewal The Critical Role of a Good TPA The Power of Preferred Bundles in Cost Control Keynote Highlight: Innovation expert Josh Linkner inspired the audience to Find a Way™ forward, followed by employer case studies that demonstrated real savings and success in self-funded captives. Like some of the lowest PEPY numbers and a streamlined customer experience led by Bywater, Roundstone's in-house third-party administrator. Breaking attendance records, MCF 2025 confirmed that employers are actively seeking alternatives to traditional insurance. "Employers are ready to take back control of healthcare spend," said Roundstone President Mike Schroeder. Next stop: Dallas. MCF 2026 promises even more insights and innovations for the future of employee healthcare. For more details about MCF 2025 or to access session highlights, visit About Roundstone Insurance Roundstone Insurance helps small to midsize companies deliver quality, cost-effective health benefits that enable their businesses to thrive via the highest reattained savings and greatest cost containment opportunities on the market. Media Contact:Roundstone InsuranceAbbey Hughes440-617-0333 x 541395309@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Roundstone Insurance Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Time of India
08-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Zero-waste zones in Gurgaon: Set 5k-home target for complete segregation, corporations told
Gurgaon: The Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department has directed MCG and MCF to enforce source segregation plans and implement them in at least five residential colonies, which will be tagged as zero-waste zones . ULB secretary and commissioner Vikas Gupta told the corporations that they should implement a zone-wise and pilot-based initial targets to achieve 100% segregation were set at 5,000 households for the corporations, 2,000 households for municipal councils and 500 households for municipal committees. These households are expected to deliver 100% segregated waste to the concessionaire."It was discussed in the meeting that MCG and MCF specifically should make at least five zero waste colonies each. Zero waste implies complete segregation at source points, ensuring that dry waste reaches recyclers while wet waste goes for composting. Joint commissioners received specific targets, aiming at achieve complete segregation across a minimum of 5,000 households initially," said an MCG official, and raised concern that the officers, who had the prime responsibility to implement the plan, were transferred recently."We have been writing to MCG for the last eight years ever since the Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules, 2016. If MCG can do it now since there are directions from the ULB department, it would be a welcome move. The civic body now needs to be serious about segregation and implementing the zero-waste plan," said Vaishali Rana, an environmental to the SWM rules, 2016, every waste generator shall segregate garbage and dump it in three separate streams — biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous—in suitable bins and hand over it to authorised waste mixed waste is currently getting collected and reaches Bandhwari landfill. TOI reported on May 7 that MCG carried out a characterisation survey of waste generated in the city. Plastic materials constitute 20-25% of the total waste in the city. Food and green waste accounts for 20-24%, while soil and sand content ranges between 20 and 24%. In the absence of decentralised waste processing and segregation, all of this ends up at the landfill.
