TODAY is the first day of 2014. For most of us, waking up this morning is probably just like getting up any other morning. For many, the revelry of last night’s countdown still lingers. And for others, being out in the streets to protest against the rising cost of living will mark yet another milestone in their lives.

WHEN it comes to price increases, the consumer is always at the losing end because what goes up hardly ever comes down.

TODAY is Christmas, and for Christians in Malaysia and all over the world, it is a day that is filled with joy and celebration.

SO much has been said and written about Nelson Mandela over the last 48 hours. One word frequently used amid this outpouring of grief and tributes is reconciliation.

SO much for old is gold. When the old stands in the way of profits and convenience, guess which is likely to yield?

THE Prime Minister has sent out a timely reminder that the country’s nation-building process will only reach its pinnacle when Malaysians can stop looking at one another through the lens of race and religion.

MOTHER Nature is growing more and more unpredictable by the day.

EPIDEMIC is a scary word. In our minds, we picture people falling sick in increasingly large numbers, often resulting in deaths, as a contagious disease races indiscriminately through the population.

IN two days’ time, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, in his capacity as Finance Minister, will table Budget 2014.

THE police are set to move into the next stage of their sustained fight against crime. As part of Ops Cantas Khas, the police will be moving in to forfeit the ill-gotten gains of secret society kingpins once amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act are gazetted.

THE Auditor-General’s Report 2012 tabled in Parliament yesterday has once again thrown up the usual slew of cases involving mismanagement of funds to downright corruption.

OUR men in blue – especially the D7 cops who have to deal with the real scum of society – deserve a round of applause for coming down hard on these criminals, and gaining the upper hand in the ongoing battle against crime.