HONG Kong superstar Andy Lau is expected to take a break from his entertainment career to take care of his Malaysian wife Carol Chu, who is four months' pregnant.

China Press reported that Chu would be giving birth in May or June next year.

The daily said Lau had spent more than RM10mil to buy a bungalow for his wife of three years in Kuala Lumpur.

“This will allow Chu, 45, to stay in Malaysia and spend time with her family,” said a source.

Sin Chew Daily reported that many of the couple's close friends from the entertainment industry were elated over the good news, which the 50-year-old announced to his fans on his official website on Monday.

Jacky Cheung urged Lau to enjoy the happiness of being a father.

“It is better late than never. Once you have a child, your life will be different,” he said.

Singer Eason Chen said it was double happiness for Lau, who was named the Best Actor at the recent Golden Horse Award ceremony in Taiwan.

“I can share with him some parenting tips if he (Lau) doesn't mind but my wife is more experienced,” he said.

> The daily also reported that the export of pineapples was expected to rise with increased demand for tropical fruits worldwide.

In its editorial, the daily said as the third largest producer of the fruit, the government must intensify efforts to improve the quality of different varieties of pineapple.

“The government must also persuade farmers to grow more pineapple to increase Malaysia's exports,” it said.

Pineapples have been ranked the third most commercially viable tropical fruit in the world.

In 1990s, the daily said many pineapple farmers switched to oil palm and rubber which led to a decrease in the export of the fruit.

“We only exported RM54mil worth of pineapples last year and there is still room for improvement.

“The government needs to improve the use of technology in pineapple farming and identify suitable land for mass production,” it said.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this > sign, it denotes a separate news item.

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