Jumaat, 14 Disember 2012

The Star Online: World Updates

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Twenty schoolchildren, eight others dead in Connecticut massacre

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 07:07 PM PST

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, ultimately killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The 20-year-old gunman, identified by law enforcement sources as Adam Lanza, fired what witnesses described as dozens of shots at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which serves children from ages 5 to 10.

Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital. Another adult was found dead at a related crime scene in Newtown, bringing the toll to 28, state police Lieutenant Paul Vance said.

As reports of the shooting spread, panicked parents rushed to the school searching for their children as students covered in blood were being carried out of the building.

President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and pausing to collect his emotions in an address to the nation, mourned the "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old" who were killed.

"Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost," Obama said, his voice cracking.

Hundreds of Newtown residents gathered to mourn on Friday night at St. Rose of Lima, the Catholic church just a couple of miles (km) from the school.

"(The) important thing is that we're here for the families, and it won't be just tonight. It will be as long as is necessary for them to grieve, for them to come out of their grievance and come back to normal, although I don't see how you can actually come back to normal after something like this," said Kenneth Adams, 81, as he entered the service with his wife, Amelia.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Senator Richard Blumenthal spoke at the service, although the crowd appeared most moved by Monsignor Robert Weiss, who had spent the day at a firehouse consoling victims' families.

"Life has changed forever in Newtown," Weiss said. "We have 20 new saints today. We have 20 beautiful angels."

People lingered well after the service well ended. A middle-aged man sat with his face in his hands, elbows on a pew. A woman behind him prayed with her hands together, fingertips to her lips. Nearby, a man in work boots hugged a friend.

The holiday season tragedy was the second shooting rampage in the United States this week and the latest in a series of mass killings this year, and was certain to revive a debate about U.S. gun laws.

'ALWAYS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT HER SON'

Early media reports suggested that Lanza's mother, Nancy, was a teacher at the school and that he shot her and her students. But by evening, many media accounts indicated that Lanza's mother was the fatality at the second crime scene. Her connection to the school was unclear.

Nancy Lanza was "very nice, very pleasant and always very appreciative of our work," said Dan Holmes, owner of Holmes Fine Gardens, a landscaping firm in Newtown.

Holmes, who last week decorated her yard with Christmas garlands and lights, said Nancy Lanza was an avid gun collector who once showed him a "really nice, high-end rifle" she had purchased.

"She said she would often go target shooting with her kids," said Holmes. "She was always very concerned about her son."

State police refused to confirm any details about the Lanzas, saying they hoped to have more information on Saturday.

The New York Times reported Adam Lanza used a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns, and said police also found at the scene a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, a rifle, that they believe belonged to him.

His brother, Ryan Lanza, was "either in custody or being questioned," a law enforcement source said.

DOZENS OF SHOTS

The chaos struck as children gathered in their classrooms for morning sessions at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a wealthy, wooded suburb of 27,000 in Fairfield County, about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of New York City.

A state police spokesman said the shootings took place in two rooms. Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots; some said as many as 100 rounds.

Melissa Murphy, who lives near the school, monitored events on a police scanner.

"I kept hearing them call for the mass casualty kit and scream, ‘Send everybody! Send everybody!'" she said. "It doesn't seem like it can be really happening. I feel like I'm in shock."

A girl described to NBC Connecticut hearing seven loud "booms" while she was in gym class. Other children began crying and teachers moved the students to an office, she said.

"A police officer came in and told us to run outside and so we did," the unidentified girl said on camera.

Images from the scene showed children being led away in single file, each child's hands clutching the shoulders of the one in front. Police wearing body armour and carrying rifles swarmed the scene and locked down the school.

Nearly 12 hours later, the bodies of the dead children, adults and gunman remained in the school awaiting identification.

'MEANINGFUL ACTION'

Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff at U.S. public buildings.

"As a country, we have been through this too many times," Obama said, ticking off a list of recent shootings.

"We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics," Obama said in apparent reference to the influence of the National Rifle Association over members of Congress.

Obama remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it was "almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen.

"We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress," he said. "That must end today."

Outside the White House gates, about 200 people rallied on a cold evening in favour of gun restrictions.

The toll in Newtown exceeded that of one of the most notorious U.S. school shootings, the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before killing themselves.

The United States has seen a number of shooting rampages this year, most recently in Oregon, where a gunman killed two people and then himself at a shopping mall on Tuesday. The deadliest came in July at a midnight screening of a Batman film in Colorado that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

In 2007, 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech university in the deadliest act of criminal gun violence in U.S. history.

French President Francois Hollande, in an open letter to Obama, said he was "horrified" by the shootings. British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences and called the targeting of children "heinous and unthinkable."

(Additional reporting by Rob Cox, Dan Burns, Chris Kaufman, Edith Honan, Chris Francescani, Peter Rudegeair, Ellen Wulfhorst and Erin Geiger Smith; Writing by Daniel Trotta, Jim Loney and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)


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Factbox - Major shooting incidents in the United States

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

Connecticut gun rampage: 28 dead, including 20 schoolchildren

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:49 PM PST

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The 20-year-old gunman, who law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, fired what witnesses described as dozens of shots at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which serves children from ages 5 to 10.

Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital. Another adult was found dead at a related crime scene in Newtown, bringing the toll to 28, state police Lieutenant Paul Vance said.

As reports of the shooting spread, panicked parents rushed to the school searching for their children as students covered in blood were being carried out of the building.

President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and pausing to collect his emotions in an address to the nation, mourned the "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old" who were killed.

"Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost," Obama said, his voice cracking.

"Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain," said Obama, who has two young daughters.

"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told reporters.

The New York Times reported that the gunman walked into a classroom where his mother was a teacher, shot his mother and then 20 students, most in the same classroom, before shooting five other adults and killing himself. One other person was shot at the school and survived, the Times said.

Other media reports said the gunman's mother was found dead at a house nearby.

Adam Lanza's brother, Ryan Lanza, was "either in custody or being questioned," a law enforcement source said.

The gunman was dead inside the school, Vance said. The Times reported he used a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns, and said police also found at the scene a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, a rifle, that they believe belonged to him.

The holiday season tragedy was the second shooting rampage in the United States this week and the latest in a series of mass killings this year, and was certain to revive a debate about U.S. gun laws.

POLICE, PARENTS SWARM SCHOOL

Chaos struck as children gathered in their classrooms for morning meetings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a wealthy, wooded suburb of 27,000 in Fairfield County, about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of New York City.

Images from the scene showed children being led away in single file, each child's hands clutching the shoulders of the one in front. Police wearing body armour and carrying rifles swarmed the scene and locked down the school.

Distraught parents converged, frantically searching for their daughters and sons. Neighbours and friends wandered in shock, looking for information.

"We can't believe this," said Kinga Walsh, 47, a mother of four who was Christmas shopping when she heard there had been a shooting at the school. "Newtown is a quiet, nice place. It's a small, tight-knit community."

Nearly 12 hours later, the bodies of the dead children, adults and gunman remained in the school awaiting identification.

Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff at U.S. public buildings.

"As a country, we have been through this too many times," Obama said, ticking off a list of recent shootings.

"We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics," Obama said in apparent reference to the influence of the National Rifle Association over members of Congress.

Obama remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The Connecticut shootings appear certain to trigger renewed debate over U.S. gun laws. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it was "almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen.

"We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress," he said. "That must end today."

Outside the White House gates, about 200 people rallied on a cold evening in favour of gun restrictions.

French President Francois Hollande, in an open letter to Obama, said he was "horrified" by the shootings. British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences and called the targeting of children "heinous and unthinkable."

BLOODIED CHILDREN LEAVE SCHOOL

Vance said the shootings took place in two rooms of Sandy Hook Elementary. Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots; some said as many as 100 rounds.

"It was horrendous," said parent Brenda Lebinski, who rushed to the school where her daughter is in the third grade. "Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students. There were kids coming out of the school bloodied."

Lebinski said a mother who was at the school during the shooting told her a "masked man" entered the principal's office and may have shot the principal.

Melissa Murphy, who lives near the school, monitored events on a police scanner.

"I kept hearing them call for the mass casualty kit and scream, ‘Send everybody! Send everybody!'" she said. "It doesn't seem like it can be really happening. I feel like I'm in shock."

The toll exceeded that of one of the most notorious U.S. school shootings, the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before killing themselves.

A girl described to NBC Connecticut hearing seven loud "booms" while she was in gym class. Other children began crying and teachers moved the students to an office, she said.

"A police officer came in and told us to run outside and so we did," the unidentified girl said on camera.

The United States has seen a number of shooting rampages this year, most recently in Oregon, where a gunman killed two people and then himself at a shopping mall on Tuesday.

The deadliest came in July at a midnight screening of a Batman film in Colorado that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

In 2007, 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech university in the deadliest act of criminal gun violence in U.S. history.

(Additional reporting by Hilary Russ, Edith Honan, Chris Francescani, Peter Rudegeair, Ellen Wulfhorst, David Gregorio and Erin Geiger Smith; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Jim Loney; Editing by Peter Cooney)


Related Stories:
Another school massacre pressures Obama on U.S. gun control

Tearful Obama calls for "meaningful action" after school shooting
Europe horrified by U.S. school shooting
How to talk to your children about a school shooting
Quiet Connecticut town rocked by mass school shooting
Factbox - Major shooting incidents in the United States

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

Connecticut gun rampage - 28 dead, including 20 schoolchildren

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:44 PM PST

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Connecticut December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The 20-year-old gunman, who law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, opened fire on a classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which serves children from ages 5 to 10.

Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being take to a hospital. Another adult was found dead at a related crime scene in Newtown, bringing the toll to 28, state police Lieutenant Paul Vance said.

As reports of the shooting spread, panicked parents rushed to the school searching for their children as students covered in blood were being carried out of the building.

President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and pausing to collect his emotions in an address to the nation, mourned the "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old" who were killed.

"Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost," Obama said, his voice cracking.

"Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain," said Obama, who has two young daughters.

"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told reporters.

Adam Lanza's brother, Ryan Lanza, was "either in custody or being questioned," a law enforcement source said.

The New York Times reported that the gunman walked into a classroom where his mother was a teacher, shot his mother and then 20 students, most in the same classroom, before shooting five other adults and killing himself. One other person was shot at the school and survived, the Times said.

Other media reports said the gunman's mother was found dead at a house nearby.

The gunman - who according to a media report carried four weapons and wore a bulletproof vest - was dead inside the school, Vance said.

The holiday season tragedy was the second shooting rampage in the United States this week and the latest in a series of mass killings this year, and was certain to revive a debate about U.S. gun laws.

POLICE, PARENTS SWARM SCHOOL

Chaos struck as children gathered in their classrooms for morning meetings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a city of 27,000 in Fairfield County, about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of New York City.

Police swarmed the scene and locked down the school, rushing children to safety. Distraught parents converged, frantically searching for their daughters and sons. Neighbours and friends wandered in shock, looking for information.

"It's hard to believe that anything like this could happen in this town," said resident Peter Alpi, 70, as he fought back tears. "It's a very quiet town. Maybe it's too quiet."

Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff at U.S. public buildings.

"As a country, we have been through this too many times," Obama said, ticking off a list of recent shootings.

"We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics," Obama said in apparent reference to the influence of the National Rifle Association over members of Congress.

Obama remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The Connecticut shootings appear certain to trigger renewed debate over U.S. gun laws. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it was "almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen.

"We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress," he said. "That must end today."

French President Francois Hollande, in an open letter to Obama, said he was "horrified" by the shootings. Prime Minister David Cameron said, "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."

BLOODIED CHILDREN LEAVE SCHOOL

Vance said the shootings took place in two rooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which teaches children from kindergarten through fourth grade, roughly aged 5 to 10.

Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots; some said as many as 100 rounds.

"It was horrendous," said parent Brenda Lebinski, who rushed to the school where her daughter is in the third grade. "Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students. There were kids coming out of the school bloodied. I don't know if they were shot, but they were bloodied."

Lebinski said a mother who was at the school during the shooting told her a "masked man" entered the principal's office and may have shot the principal.

Lebinski's daughter's teacher "immediately locked the door to the classroom and put all the kids in the corner of the room."

Melissa Murphy, who lives near the school, monitored events on a police scanner.

"I kept hearing them call for the mass casualty kit and scream, ‘Send everybody! Send everybody!'" she said. "It doesn't seem like it can be really happening. I feel like I'm in shock."

The toll exceed that of one of the most notorious U.S. school shootings, the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before killing themselves.

A girl described to NBC Connecticut hearing seven loud "booms" while she was in gym class. Other children began crying and teachers moved the students to an office, she said.

"A police officer came in and told us to run outside and so we did," the unidentified girl said on camera.

The United States has experienced a number of shooting rampages this year, most recently in Oregon, where a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall on Tuesday, killing two people and then himself.

The deadliest came in July at a midnight screening of a Batman film in Colorado that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

In 2007, 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech university in the deadliest act of criminal gun violence in U.S. history.

(Additional reporting by Hilary Russ, Edith Honan, Chris Francescani, Peter Rudegeair, Ellen Wulfhorst, David Gregorio and Erin Geiger Smith; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Jim Loney; Editing by Peter Cooney)


Related Stories:
Another school massacre pressures Obama on U.S. gun control

Tearful Obama calls for "meaningful action" after school shooting
Europe horrified by U.S. school shooting
How to talk to your children about a school shooting
Quiet Connecticut town rocked by mass shooting at elementary school
Factbox - Major shooting incidents in the United States

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio


Li TV spreads its network

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:09 PM PST

Li TV (short for Life Inspired), Asia's first comprehensive lifestyle television channel, is set to capture a larger audience amid growing affluence in the region. Li TV has managed to secure about 12 million viewers in the region within the relatively short period since its debut in 2009.

Li TV Holdings Ltd general manager Anne Chan says it is targeting to raise viewership to between 48 million and 50 million over the next five years through various partnerships with cable TV operators.

It currently has about four million viewers in Malaysia.

She says people are now more conscious of lifestyle with the rising affluence in the market, adding that the pay-TV segment has entered into a new stage where lifestyle takes prominence over general entertainment.

"People are more health conscious and programmes on food alone is just not enough to meet their growing demand for a holistic lifestyle. Although we are still small unlike our competitors, we are very targeted and this has given us a niche in the market," she tells StarBizWeek in an interview.

Li TV is the only channel in Asia that has a dedicated health programme and the first one to bring body and home programmes in the region.

"We have the right products for the right customers. We build and develop programmes that fit the needs of our audience who are savvy and affluent," she says.

Since Asians are getting more affluent, advertisers will need to be more targeted to market their products and services in an effective platform and this is where they can capitalise on a comprehensive lifestyle channel like Li TV as their marketing tool, she adds.

In terms of competitive edge over other players, Chan says its programmes centre around five aspects of an ideal lifestyle – food, home, wellness, travel and style.

On its expansion plans, she says Li TV is looking at collaborating with cable TV operators in Thailand, China and South Korea. Plans are afoot to venture into Australia and Japan in the near future.

Li TV, which is owned by Li TV Holdings and operated by its subsidiary Li TV Asia Sdn Bhd, is headquartered in Malaysia and has regional operating offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. It has dedicated lifestyle programmes in five markets, namely Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Star Publications (M) Bhd currently owns 51% in Li TV Holdings.

Meanwhile, the latest second quarter 2012 regional Pan Asia-Pacific Cross Media Survey (PAX) study shows that Li TV in Malaysia is consistently ranked in the top spot by having the highest percentage of viewers enjoying all aspects of lifestyle. This was in comparison to all lifestyle TV channels in the region when it comes to spending and making premium lifestyle choices.

The findings provide a comprehensive overview of media consumption and product usage of affluent consumers which account for the top 20% of the population by income.

Chan adds: "For instance, a Li TV viewer in Malaysia that belongs in the top management who spends over RM3,000 via his credit card every month places high importance on his health, possesses the most modern appliances, HDTVs, laptops, smartphones, cars and luxury watches, live in private properties as well as enjoy taking leisure holidays.

"This is a tipping point of an exciting era where audiences are increasingly savvy. Li TV is a very targeted destination for any lifestyle brands which are willing to engage the right demographic in the right environment at the right time."

Li TV can be viewed on channel 728 on Astro Byond HD.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Sports

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The Star Online: Sports


Rallying: Dakar rapped over 20 million year fossil damage

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:59 PM PST

SANTIAGO: Palaeontologists have warned that the Dakar Rally, which will thunder through Peru and Chile next month, poses a serious risk to whale and dolphin fossils dating back more than 20 million years.

Scientists issued their warning to highlight claims that the 2012 edition of the gruelling 8,400 kilometre endurance event had caused irreparable damage to ancient Miocene era sites in the Ica region of southern Peru.

"The damage is evident in the area of Ica, where you can see the deterioration of many fossils because the vehicles drove over them," Vildoso Carlos, director of the Peruvian Institute of Palaeontology, told AFP.

"We have many skeletons of large mammals, especially whales and dolphins, and the fossilized remains of invertebrates that have suffered damage due to passing vehicles. The course passed virtually over the animals."

The director of Lima's Meyer Honninger palaeontology museum, Klaus Honninger, said he had informed the Dakar organisers of the damage, but claimed his complaints had been met with little interest.

He also said that some drivers steer away from the official track in order to take a simpler route.

The problem is compounded by hundreds of spectators who show little respect for the area's history.

"They leave the desert in a terrible state," added Honninger.

"I have seen people smash fossilised whale vertebrae and throw tons of garbage around. I have even found old tyres left behind by the competitors."

Neither the race organisers nor the minister of culture, who are responsible for Peru's heritage, are "accepting reponsibility" for this destruction, he added.

"Our position is that the organisers should find another route to avoid further deterioration of this fossil graveyard," said Honninger.

The Ocucaje desert has yielded fossils of giant sharks and whales measuring up to 20 metres long and it was in the same area that Peruvian geologists discovered last February the remains of a whale believed to be 3.6 million years old.

Peru's culture minister, Luis Peirano, who attended the official presentation of the 2013 Dakar Rally on Tuesday, said that the race will not compromise the country's heritage.

"Peru has a rich heritage that must be protected," he said, adding that officials in every region will work with organisers to avoid any further damage.

In neighbouring Chile, where the January 5-20 event will end, the authorities have worked with organisers to mark tracks, especially in the north where vehicles could damage ancient cities such as San Pedro de Atacama.

"In collaboration with the organisation of the rally we have developed a route that avoids the areas identified as being at risk from the point of view of the environment and archeology," deputy secretary for sports, Gabriel Ruiz Tagle, told AFP.

The 2013 Dakar Rally will feature 459 vehicles - cars, bikes, trucks and quads - and will cover 8,400km of Peru and Chile, with a stay in Argentina. - AFP

Athletics: Olympic king Bolt seals legend status

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:55 PM PST

PARIS: Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt cemented his status as a true legend of track and field by claiming a second Olympic treble gold medal haul at the London Games.

Bolt followed up his podium-topping showing in Beijing in 2008 by becoming the first sprinter to defend both the 100m and 200m.

He then led home the 4x100m relay team in a world record-breaking 36.84sec to cap a pulsating nine days of track and field at the Olympic Stadium in east London.

"It's what I came here to do. I'm now a legend, I'm the greatest athlete to live," said Bolt.

"For 2013, the objective is to go as fast as possible and win the 100m title at the world championships in Moscow," which run between August 10-18.

Rarely can there have been a week's athletics as enthralling and entertaining as that at the London Olympics.

Every session at the 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium was a sell-out, and the knowledgeable public helped make for an electric atmosphere, notably on the first Saturday when Britain won three gold medals in the space of 45 frenetic minutes.

While Bolt stole the headlines for his sprinting prowess, David Rudisha also produced an outstanding performance on the track, although his Kenyan team endured a relatively disappointing Games.

The Masai tribesman obliterated his own world record in the 800m, running 1:40.91 in the highest quality two-lap race ever seen.

Last-placed Andrew Osagie's time would have won him gold in the Beijing Games by 0.88sec.

Britain's gold medal rush was kicked off by poster-girl Jessica Ennis, who dominated the heptathlon.

She was superseded by Mo Farah, a devout Muslim born in Somalia but a London resident since the age of eight, who galvanised a nation in the most multi-cultural of world cities when he became the seventh runner to win the 5000m-10,000m double.

The sheer spectacle on the final night's action when Farah kicked for home with just over a lap of the 5000m remaining was a spine-tingling experience those in the stadium will never forget.

The track and field also broke new ground when South African Oscar Pistorius became the first double amputee to race in an Olympics.

He failed to qualify for the individual 400m final, but anchored his team in the 4x400m relay final, in which they finished last.

The United States finished atop the athletics medals table with a total of 29 medals, comprising nine gold, 13 silver and seven bronze, for their best haul since the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

Russia came in second with 18 (8-4-6) and the Bolt-inspired Jamaica in third on 12 (4-4-4).

There was also a world record for American Aries Merritt in the men's 110m hurdles, the American clocking 12.80sec at the Diamond League meet in Brussels to smash the previous record of 12.87 set by Cuban Dayron Robles in June 2008.

Bolt and American sprinter Allyson Felix were named the International Amateur Athletics Federation's athletes of the year.

It was the fourth time in the last five years that Bolt has won the award, but the first time for Felix, who also won three golds in London, in the 200m and in both the women's relay races.

The highest-profile casualty in the war on doping was Belarus shot putter Nadezhda Ostapchuk, who was stripped of her Olympic gold after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid.

New Zealand's Valerie Adams was handed gold, but Ostapchuk only received a one-year ban because her coach had doctored her food without her knowledge.

Four medallists from the 2004 Olympic Games were officially stripped of their medals by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC took the decision after new analysis of their dope tests taken at the Athens Games revealed traces of steroids.

Ukraine's Yuri Belonog was stripped of his shot put gold, Belarus' Ivan Tikhon of his silver in the hammer, and Irina Yatchenko of Belarus and Russian Svetlana Krivelyova lost their bronze medals in the women's discus and shot put respectively.

It is the second Olympic medal Tikhon has been stripped of, having had his bronze from the 2008 Games taken away also for a doping offence.

Ironically, the disgraced Ostapchuk was promoted to the podium in place of Krivelyova and will receive a bronze. - AFP

Rugby: All Blacks cement world champion status

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:51 PM PST

PARIS: New Zealand moved smoothly from winning the World Cup on home soil to dominate 2012 despite a blip in their final match against England that will give the rest of the rugby world a glimmer of hope.

Led magnificently by indefatigable captain Richie McCaw, who is now to take a sabbatical to recharge his batteries, the All Blacks won the newly-launched Rugby Championship that included Australia, South African and newcomers Argentina.

The side went undefeated, with their final match against Australia an 18-18 draw.

The performances of fly-half Dan Carter ensured he was named the International Rugby Board player of the year for a second time (after 2005).

The Championship's inclusion of Argentina was a particular success, and the Pumas' exposure to that level of rugby can only bode well for the sport in South America as a whole.

The All Blacks moved on from their three-Test summer series victory over Ireland and their successful Championship to claim three straightforward wins over Scotland, Italy and Wales in their autumn Tests.

But they finally came acropper in their final match of the calendar year, England ending the world champions' 20-Test winning sequence with a famous 38-21 victory at Twickenham - it was also the Kiwis' first loss on their end-of-year northern tour in a decade.

"All the boys will take a wee while to get over it but they will come back next year and this (defeat) will remind them what it's all about," said skipper McCaw.

"If there's a positive out of it, that's probably not a bad thing to have next year."

Another team to deliver on their World Cup promise, at least until March, were Wales, who produced a third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years.

The Welsh team saw off France 16-9 in their final match of a generally poor championship to add to victories over Ireland (23-21), Scotland (27-13), England (19-12) and Italy (24-3).

But that success did not last long after a losing three-Test series in Australia in the summer followed by losses in the autumn to Argentina, Samoa, New Zealand and again the Wallabies.

The string of seven successive defeats meant Wales fell out of the top eight in the IRB rankings and were drawn alongside England and Australia for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

This means one of the sport's traditional powers will be knocked out before the quarter-finals, with only the top two teams from each of the four pools going through to the knockout stages.

In the southern hemisphere's elite franchise competition, the Waikato Chiefs downed South Africa's Coastal Sharks 37-6 to win the Super 15, the schedule of which has been altered for the 2013 season to accommodate the nine-game schedule of the British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia in June.

Australian teams will take a break from Super Rugby when the Wallabies play the Lions in three Tests on June 22, June 29 and July 6.

Similarly, there will be staggered rest periods for teams from South Africa and New Zealand.

European club competition saw Irish province Leinster claim a second successive European Cup title.

Leinster, with full-back Rob Kearney named as European player of the year, outscored Irish rivals Ulster 42-14 in a five tries to one thrashing.

Veteran France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili kicked all of his side's points as Biarritz beat French rivals Toulon 21-18 to win the second tier European Challenge Cup.

In South Africa, fly-half Demetri Catrakilis kicked nine unanswered final-quarter points to guide Western Province to a shock 25-18 victory over the Sharks to win the Currie Cup final.

Domestically, league table toppers Harlequins won the English Premiership with a 30-23 victory over Leicester for a first ever title.

Welsh rugby great Shane Williams scored a try two minutes from time to end his stellar competitive club career with a 31-30 win over Leinster to claim the Celtic League title.

Toulouse were crowned French champions for the 19th time after battling to a hard-fought, tryless 18-12 victory over Toulon in the Top 14 final at the Stade de France, ex-All Black Luke McAlister getting all the winning points.

The IRB's World Sevens Series was claimed by New Zealand for the 10th time in 13 seasons, the season's top scorer and All Black playmaker Tomasi Cama taking the player-of-the-year award. - AFP

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Book review

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:09 PM PST

Once Upon A Car: The fall and resurrection of America's Big Three Automakers - GM, Ford and Chrysler

Author: Bill Vlasic

Publisher: William Morrow

Award-winning journalist Vlasic goes inside the boardroom and factories in a story about Detroit's fight for survival. It chronicles how the auto-makers teetered on collapse and pulled themselves out under the leadership of Ford and the US government's assistance to GM and Chrysler. It's a tale of success, failure and redemption, a tale that is an important chapter in an astonishing story that is still unfolding.

Extreme Productivity

Author: Robert C. Pozen

Publisher: Harper Business

Pozen reveals the secrets to workplace productivity and high performance. His book is for anyone feeling overwhelmed by an existing workload facing a myriad of competing demands and multiple time-sensitive projects, offering antidotes to a calendar full of boring meetings and a backlog of e-mails. Extreme Productivity explains how to determine your highest priorities and match them with how you actually spend your time.

Islamic Finance for Dummies

Author: Faleel Jamaldeen

Publisher: Wiley

Here, you will find clear and easy-to-understand information on how the Islamic finance industry works. You will quickly and easily become acquainted with the theory, practice and limitations of Islamic banking, understand how Islamic financial firms develop products, grasp the objectives and sources of Islamic law and the basic guidelines for business contracts, learn about Islamic fund management, sukuk and insurance; and more.

Li TV spreads its network

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:09 PM PST

Li TV (short for Life Inspired), Asia's first comprehensive lifestyle television channel, is set to capture a larger audience amid growing affluence in the region. Li TV has managed to secure about 12 million viewers in the region within the relatively short period since its debut in 2009.

Li TV Holdings Ltd general manager Anne Chan says it is targeting to raise viewership to between 48 million and 50 million over the next five years through various partnerships with cable TV operators.

It currently has about four million viewers in Malaysia.

She says people are now more conscious of lifestyle with the rising affluence in the market, adding that the pay-TV segment has entered into a new stage where lifestyle takes prominence over general entertainment.

"People are more health conscious and programmes on food alone is just not enough to meet their growing demand for a holistic lifestyle. Although we are still small unlike our competitors, we are very targeted and this has given us a niche in the market," she tells StarBizWeek in an interview.

Li TV is the only channel in Asia that has a dedicated health programme and the first one to bring body and home programmes in the region.

"We have the right products for the right customers. We build and develop programmes that fit the needs of our audience who are savvy and affluent," she says.

Since Asians are getting more affluent, advertisers will need to be more targeted to market their products and services in an effective platform and this is where they can capitalise on a comprehensive lifestyle channel like Li TV as their marketing tool, she adds.

In terms of competitive edge over other players, Chan says its programmes centre around five aspects of an ideal lifestyle food, home, wellness, travel and style.

On its expansion plans, she says Li TV is looking at collaborating with cable TV operators in Thailand, China and South Korea. Plans are afoot to venture into Australia and Japan in the near future.

Li TV, which is owned by Li TV Holdings and operated by its subsidiary Li TV Asia Sdn Bhd, is headquartered in Malaysia and has regional operating offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. It has dedicated lifestyle programmes in five markets, namely Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Star Publications (M) Bhd currently owns 51% in Li TV Holdings.

Meanwhile, the latest second quarter 2012 regional Pan Asia-Pacific Cross Media Survey (PAX) study shows that Li TV in Malaysia is consistently ranked in the top spot by having the highest percentage of viewers enjoying all aspects of lifestyle. This was in comparison to all lifestyle TV channels in the region when it comes to spending and making premium lifestyle choices.

The findings provide a comprehensive overview of media consumption and product usage of affluent consumers which account for the top 20% of the population by income.

Chan adds: "For instance, a Li TV viewer in Malaysia that belongs in the top management who spends over RM3,000 via his credit card every month places high importance on his health, possesses the most modern appliances, HDTVs, laptops, smartphones, cars and luxury watches, live in private properties as well as enjoy taking leisure holidays.

"This is a tipping point of an exciting era where audiences are increasingly savvy. Li TV is a very targeted destination for any lifestyle brands which are willing to engage the right demographic in the right environment at the right time."

Li TV can be viewed on channel 728 on Astro Byond HD.

SDB sees Singapore private residential market as encouraging

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:08 PM PST

SELANGOR Dredging Bhd (SDB) sees Singapore's private residential property market as still encouraging despite a cut in the republic's growth forecast.

Its communications and corporate affairs manager, Yeoh Guan Jin, says private residential properties are still being sought after in the city state by Singaporeans and foreign buyers.

He says although the republic might be experiencing a slowdown due to the economic uncertainties in the eurozone and the United States, Singapore will be able to weather the situation.

"Mind you, there are still many wealthy Singaporeans and foreigners with Singapore permanent residents status looking for private residential properties here," says Yeoh at a sales gallery showcasing SDB's latest freehold residential project in Singapore, Village At Pasir Panjang.

Yeoh says the company is optimistic that the new project will receive positive response, similar to its completed and on-going project in the republic.

He says as Singapore continues to welcome and attract affluent people and expatriates from all over the world, demand for private residential properties here will remain good.

Yeoh adds Singapore's close proximity with Malaysia is an added advantage for the company to attract Malaysians looking to invest in properties overseas.

"Our proven track record in the Klang Valley area and Singapore's high transparency level will attract affluent Malaysians as well as foreigners to our project," he says.

Yeoh says the company is attracted to launch a project in the western district of Singapore due to the availability of the land for redevelopment purposes.

He says SDB will continue to look for new sites from time to time for future development in other parts of Singapore as there are many land parcels available for redevelopment in the republic.

Village At Pasir Panjang, located at Pasir Panjang Road on 0.99ha, comprises nine five-storey blocks with attic and a basement car park.

The U-shaped development consists of 148 units of two, three and four-bedroom apartments with built-up area of 818 sq ft-2,303 sq ft and the price starts from S$1.4mil or S$1,650-S$1,660 per sq ft.

Works on the project with gross development value (GDV) of S$260mil will start next year with expected completion in the fourth quarter of 2016.

"We want to bring back the kampung atmosphere in our latest project; hence the name Village and also to reflect Pasir Panjang's past which was once a kampung area," says Yeoh.

He explains the architectural façade of the residences and the clubhouse draw references from the abstracted and interpreted "black and white" houses of the 1950s.

Yeoh says that apart from catering for owners-occupiers looking for properties in the western district of Singapore, those buying as an investment could expect to fetch good rental.

He says a two-bedroom apartment in the Pasir Panjang area fetches between S$3,000 and S$4,500 per month, while the monthly rental for a three-bedroom ranges from S$5,500 to S$6,500.

"The rental for a four-bedroom unit starts from S$7,000 and above, and I personally feel it is good investment for Malaysians," says Yeoh.

SDB's project in Singapore, the 22 units of low-rise condominiums called Jia at Wilkie Road with GDV of S$55mil was completed in December 2010.

It is currently developing the high-rise condominium project – Gilstead Two at Gilstead Road – consisting of 110 units with GDV of S$200mil.

The project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2014.

Other projects are Residences at Balestier Road in district 12 – the 18-storey apartment block consists of 104 apartment units and 10 retail shops and offices with GDV of S$102mil and is slotted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Hijauan On Cavenagh, located on Cavenagh Road in Singapore's prestigious District 9, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015.

Hijauan is within walking distance from Orchard Road and a tree-lined passageway behind the Istana and adjacent to 25,000 sq ft of lush state land.

The Istana is the official residence and working office for both the president and prime minister.

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The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Movies coming soon - CZ12 and Jack Reacher

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:01 AM PST

CZ12 – Asian Hawk, an adventurer and treasure hunter, is searching the world for the 12 bronze heads of the animals from the Chinese zodiac. It is said they were looted from the Old Summer Palace by British and French armies during the Second Opium War. Starring Jackie Chan, Kwon Sang-woo and Laura Weissbecker.

Jack Reacher – A case of a shooting that leaves five dead turns complicated when the accused requests that former army military police officer Jack Reacher, now a nomadic drifter, be put on the case.

Starring Tom Cruise as the titular character, along with Joseph Sikora and Werner Herzog.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:00 AM PST

Star Trek Into Darkness

IS THAT the Enterprise rising from the sea? And later, the Enterprise plunging into the sea? And all this while the panicked citizens of Earth run about, terrified and screaming as some Sherlock-sounding fella proclaims he has come back for vengeance.

We see Captain Kirk grinning at a pretty blonde who could be the new Trek universe's version of anyone from Yeoman Janice Rand to scientist Carol Marcus. We get assorted bits of action and tantalising glimpses of 23rd-century mayhem to send fans, starved for new Star Trek stuff since 2009, into geek ecstasy.

The long-awaited announcement teaser for Star Trek Into Darkness was released last week in numerous subtitled versions, mostly the same except for one.

The Japanese-subtitled version sent fans into an even greater speculative frenzy as it ended with a scene of two hands pressed on either side of a glass partition – one of them raised in the Vulcan greeting so familiar to Star Trek fans.

Gasp. Could this be ... a remake of that classic scene from The Wrath Of Khan where a certain half-human, half-Vulcan crew member gave his life to save the ship?

Some of us suspect a bit of naughtiness here on the part of director JJ Abrams; if this herring were any redder, it would be a tomato. Certainly not a rotten one but a ripe and juicy treat.

(Our bet is that the hands belong to Spock and the whoever-Benedict-Cumberbatch-is-playing guy.)

Oh, and in other news, trailers for sci-fi epics Oblivion (with Tom Cruise) and After Earth (with Will Smith) arrived online in the days after STID. Did you notice?

Man Of Steel

STOP PRESS! A full trailer for what is probably 2013's biggest summer movie, Man Of Steel, went online this Tuesday and immediately made waves.

Of course, much of the buzz surrounded our first real look at Henry Cavill in his external-underwear-free Superman duds, his flight around the Earth, and glimpses of some spectacular action sequences. Oh, and we get to see him hold hands with Lois Lane.

But a significant amount of controversy has arisen over one word uttered by Supes' adopted father Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner). A young Clark Kent has just saved a busload of children from drowning and one child saw him do it. Jonathan is not happy that his instruction to Clark to keep his powers hidden was not followed.

"What was I supposed to do – just let them die?" he asks Jonathan, who seemingly responds with a thoughtful "Maybe." That's cold, Lieutenant Dunbar.

Then again, trailers can be very deceptive and that icy "maybe" could have been edited in from an entirely different part of their conversation.

Still, if you had a special child like Clark, to what lengths would you go to keep him shielded from the cold, cruel world? And indeed, the trailer asks if the world is ready for a being like Superman, if it wouldn't just reject him.

Are we ready? Oh heck yeah, we're pretty stoked for this one, especially because there doesn't seem to be a Lex Luthor land scam anywhere in the plot.

Hugh Jackman gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 05:56 PM PST

LOS ANGELES: Australian actor Hugh Jackman got a Hollywood double whammy Thursday as he was nominated for a Golden Globe and got his star on Tinseltown's famous Walk of Fame on the same day.

Jackman, who is being tipped for possible Oscar glory for his role in upcoming musical adaptation "Les Miserables," said he couldn't believe the good fortune that his career has given him.

"This is quite a ride .. It's a surreal experience. I'm a kid from the suburb of Barunga, on the northern side of Sydney ... This is completely surreal," he said as he unveiled his sidewalk star.

"Apart from Lassie, I'm the only one to get to play the same character in 15 movies," he quipped, flanked by Les Mis co-star Anne Hathaway, director Tom Hooper, DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg and Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Leno, due to interview him later, told Jackman: "I don't believe wealth and fame change anybody, it exaggerates who you already are. And I think all your wealth and success and fame have just made you a better person."

"You have a wonderful family, you're a wonderful role model .. besides the obvious talent, is the fact that you are a regular person."

Jackman thanked his fans, about 200 of whom turned out to see him get his Walk of Fame star on the sidewalk outside Madame Tussaud's next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the tourist center of Tinseltown.

"I have the greatest fans in the world. I don't take it lightly and or take it for granted and thank you so much for all you do. (...) The Boy from Oz was a hit because of the fans.

His wife Deborra-Lee Furness and adopted children Oscar, 12, and Ava, 7, were also there.

"None of this would have been possible, and certainly none of this would have been rewarding to me, if not for my family," said Jackman, nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy at the Golden Globes earlier in the day.

"And kids, you maybe don't understand it now, but you're gonna save a fortune in therapy by just coming here and spitting on it, jumping on it ... you can come and take it out here," he said of his star.

"Sorry, city of Los Angeles," he added.- AFP

Related Stories:
'Lincoln' leads Globe nominations with seven nods
List of 2013 Golden Globe film nominees

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The Star Online: Nation

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Felda student who died in London buried in Johor

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 07:01 AM PST

KOTA TINGGI: Felda student at University Lim Kok Wing, Mohd Fazli Fadzilah, who collapsed and died after he went out jogging at his university campus in London, United Kingdom, on Dec 5, was buried at his hometown at Felda Papan Timur here Friday.

The body of the 24-year-old Creative Imaging and Digital Photography student arrived at the KL International Airport from London about 8am Friday and was brought back to his hometown for the burial at the Felda Papan Timur Muslim cemetery.

Mohd Fazli, who was at the university's campus in London to finish his final year, collapsed and died after jogging while attending a four-day Felda Youth Leadership programme in Chingford.

His mother, Ruziah Rashidi, 48, thanked Felda for bringing home her son's body and bearing all the cost involved. - Bernama

Businessman finds bullet, chicken carcass in jeep

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:30 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: A businessman has lodged a police report after finding a bullet and the carcass of a black chicken in his jeep parked near a petrol station in Batu 3 1/2, Jalan Klang Lama Friday.

Brickfields police chief ACP Muhammad Azlee Abdullah said the 40-year-old, who held a 'Datuk' status, made the discovery about 2am, upon returning from a meeting with a friend at a nearby shop.

He said the vehicle's left rear mirror was found broken. - Bernama

June 11 hearing for death row appeal in Altantuya murder

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:26 AM PST

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here on Friday set three days beginning June 11 next year to hear the appeal of two former Special Action Unit personnel on death row for the murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.

Deputy Registrar Darma Fikri Abu Adam set the date when the case was brought up for case management Friday.

Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 39, and Chief Insp Azilah Hadri, 34, were represented by counsel Kitson Foong and counsel J. Kuldeep Kumar respectively, while the prosecution, by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup.

Kitson told reporters that the appellants had applied for extended time to peruse relevant documents, and that Sirul would raise more than 20 issues during the proceedings.

The duo were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009 for killing Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Bukit Raja in Klang near here between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, who was jointly charged with them, was acquitted by the High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. - Bernama

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

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Love, horror and survival

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 02:41 AM PST

Breed
Author: Chase Novak
Publisher: Mulholland Books,
320 pages

THIS modern gothic tale begins with a picture of happy couple Alex and Leslie Twisden living charmed lives – missing only children. When every conventional fertility treatment fails, they are driven to travel to Slovenia where they submit themselves to an unfathomable, terrifying procedure that finally gives them what they so fervently desire. But there are consequences. Fast forward 10 years and their twins, Adam and Alice, discover that their parents are harbouring a secret that's too frightening to even envision.

Extreme Survivors: 60 of the World's Most Extreme Survival Stories
Publisher: Collins,
264 pages

THIS collection offers details of amazing stories of survival, including how 16 people managed to escape death when New York's Twin Towers collapsed after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001; the narrative of Dith Pran, the Cambodian journalist who escaped the genocide of Pol Pot; the tale of 18-year-old William Shotton and how he navigated his ship after most of the crew perished from a mystery disease in 1893; and Naheeda Bi's 10 years in captivity after her notorious tribal kidnapping in Pakistan.

These stories and more follow a Foreword by television personality Bear Grylls, the master adventurer himself.

The No Excuse Guide To Success
Author: Jim Smith Jr
Publisher: Advantage Quest,
254 pages

MOST of us have been guilty of playing the blame game at some time or another in our lives. It's terribly satisfying and seemingly serves to fashion a way out of our problems. This book, however, claims to be able to show readers how to stop this counter-productive routine. It says that making excuses is a destructive pattern in life that needs to be changed in order for someone to transform whines into wins.

A Very Accidental Love Story
Author: Claudia Carroll
Publisher: Avon,
405 pages

ELOISE Elliot is one of the youngest newspaper editors of her time. Success, however, seems unfulfilling and upon the eve of her 30th birthday, Eloise realises that her life is empty. She then decides to have a child of her own as a single mother to try to fill that particularly hollow feeling. Fast-forward several years later, the daunting task of searching for the sperm donor, her daughter's father, becomes imminently needful and throws her into a wild quest for the truth.

WTF Are Men Thinking?
Authors: Christopher Brya & Miguel Almaraz
Publisher: Advantage Quest Publications
439 pages

THIS book's subtitle, 250,000 Men Reveal What Women Really Want To Know, says it all, really. The authors, who are market researchers, polled 1,000 women about what questions they would ask of men; from there, the writers developed more than 100 questions that they then asked of – according to the book's title – 250,000 men.

The book is structured so that you don't actually have to read it from cover to cover; the questions have been divided into six broad sections to allow readers to flip to sections they are particularly interested in: communication, dating, romance, sex, marriage, and work. Some of the questions are: Is he listening? Is it romantic if I make the first move? Do men ever not want sex?

A boy in Hell

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 02:40 AM PST

Hellboy In Hell #1
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer/artist: Mike Mignola

HELLBOY is dead. And he is going to Hell.

If you've been following the Hellboy series up to the latest issues (collected in The Storm And The Fury trade paperback), you'll know that Hellboy buys it in the end, getting his heart ripped out by the evil witch Nimue who swore to drag him into Hell with her.

But wait. Just because he is dead, it doesn't mean our big red friend's story has ended. Well sure, he's as dead as a doorknob in the "real" world (in which his former pals in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development, or BPRD for short, have gone international), but his story continues with the brand new Hellboy In Hell series, where we will finally see what Hell has in store for the World's Greatest (Dead) Paranormal Detective.

The best part is that Mignola himself is writing and drawing the book and character for the first time in almost half a decade.

Holding court during a panel at the recent San Diego Comic Con, Mignola spoke at length about his return to the character he created. "Hellboy In Hell will be a regular book – the first four issues are monthly, then we'll do one-shots," he said, adding that there will also be several stories featuring a much younger Hellboy working with the BPRD in the past.

Hellboy In Hell #1 really is everything you want a Hellboy book to be, with lots of action featuring the Big Red slugging it out with an old hammer-wielding foe and some large tentacle-y creatures while cracking his trademark one-liners; flying naked guys (don't ask), and even a puppet show of A Christmas Carol thrown in for good measure. It's an engaging, sometimes trippy read that highlights just how much Hellboy (and Mignola's art) has been missed all this time.

If the recently released first issue is any indication, then throwing Hellboy into Hell is probably one of the best things to have happened to the character. Unconstrained by the trappings of the "real world", it gives Mignola the opportunity to go wild with his imagination.

This new freedom also means he can do practically anything he wants without worrying about realism; including more fables or myths from other cultures, like he did with The Penanggalan short story, which was based on Malaysia's own penanggalan ghost.

In an interview with Comic Book Resources (comicbookresources.com), Mignola said that the main characteristic for his "Hell" is that it's made up of everything he wants to draw.

"(With Hellboy), when Hellboy went to Japan, Japan kind of had to look like Japan," he said in the interview. "Everything (in Hellboy In Hell) is a distorted version. I don't trip over things like, 'How ... do you draw a Buddist temple?' I can just make up my version of that. It's very liberating to me as an artist."

With the launch of Hellboy In Hell, BPRD surpassing 100 issues recently and a new title called BPRD: 1948 (focusing on the early days of the bureau), as well more Lobster Johnson and Edward Grey: Witch Hunter books coming up, it truly is an exciting time to be a Mignola-verse fan. Michael Cheang

Win signed copies

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 02:40 AM PST

THREE lucky readers stand a chance to win autographed copies of Defiance by C.J. Redwine, thanks to MPH Distributors.

To be in the running, answer the following question and complete the slogan:

1. Which city does the protagonist of Defiance, Rachel Adams, live in?

2. Defiance means ... (in not more than 15 words).

E-mail your answers to:

mphdist@gmail.com

OR

Post to:

MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd

Ground Floor Warehouse

Bangunan TH

No. 5, Jalan Bersatu

Section 13/4

46200 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

All entries MUST come with:

Your full name, IC number and phone number

E-mail subject headers or envelopes MUST have this information:

Defiance Contest with MPH Distributors/The Star

MPH Distributors will contact winners by phone or e-mail. The judges' decision is final. For enquiries, call MPH Distributors' marketing department at 03-7958 1688 or e-mail mphdist@gmail.com

This contest closes:

At midnight, Dec 28, 2012.

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