Khamis, 11 Julai 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Fancy a glass of white wine – made from durians?

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WITH its buttery and savoury notes, it is a wine that could be served at any dinner party or restaurant. Yet guests might get a surprise when they find out its special ingredient –durian.

The white wine – created by two students from the National University of Singapore –contains no grapes. Instead, it is made entirely from the pungent "King of Fruits", in what its makers claim is a world first.

But the squeamish need not worry. The wine "tastes nothing like durian", said final-year PhD student Christine Lee.

The 29-year-old, who created the concoction along with undergraduate Fransisca Taniasuri, hopes it will appeal to curious wine drinkers – whether or not they love the spiky fruit.

It is not likely to hit the shelves any time soon, however. The duo, from the university's Food Science and Technology programme, are still seeking investors keen to take the plunge into the growing market for tropical fruit wines.

Lee and 22-year-old Taniasuri used the traditional wine-making process, starting with durian puree before fermenting it for four weeks.

Their final product has an alcohol content of just 6%, lower than that of standard wines.

In 2009, Japanese scientists found that combining durian and alcohol could prove fatal. This is because the fruit's high sulphur content inhibits the body's ability to process the drink.

But the students discovered that the fermentation process sharply reduces sulphur levels within the durian – meaning that drinking the wine will not kill you. 

Lee and Taniasuri, who are graduating this week, hope to eventually market their beve­rage in the region.
"Asians might be receptive to wines from tropical fruits," said Assistant Professor Liu Shao Quan.

"But it will always be a niche market. It will probably never replace traditional grape wine which has been around for many, many years." — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Steps to counter haze get thumbs up

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NEW satellite feeds that the go­­vernment will soon tap, combined with ground instruments, can help Singapore to better predict haze, said experts.

But this may take years and may require Indonesia's co-operation. In the short term, the authorities should consider installing more advanced sensors here and modify the air pollution index to better monitor and reflect the haze's health impact.

Scientists gave these assessments when they were asked how Singapore could better prepare for the haze.

Last month, raging fires in Indonesia led to the worst haze in Singapore's history.

On Monday, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore would tap new satellite feeds by 2015 to provide early haze alerts, but scientists said this could be easier said than done.

Satellites look at the ground in different ways, and cross different places at different times, said Assistant Professor Jason Cohen from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He specialises in climate change computer models and is researching the haze.

For example, the Modis satellite passes over the region several times a day and can "see" several thousand kilometres at once, but its cameras' observations can be blocked by clouds. It may also mistake thick smoke for a cloud.

The Calipso satellite shines a laser beam that can cut through most clouds to pick up images. The thicker the smoke, the more energy is removed from the beam returned to the satellite.

But the beam's thinness means its horizontal visual range is at most 1km, and the satellite passes over the region more slowly.

Both satellites are operated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). The National Environment Agency (NEA) uses data from several satellites, inclu­ding Modis ones and Nanyang Tech­­-no­logical University's X-Sat satellite.

"If you want to integrate information from different satellites to come up with a prediction, you must have a computer program that can cover different scales in space and time, and different physical and chemistry data collected by the satellites. It's very challenging," said Dr Cohen.

Dr Santo Salinas, a senior research scientist at the NUS Centre for Re­­mote Imaging, Sensing and Pro­cessing, said having data from more ground instruments in the region would help scientists track how pollutants spread. This will lead to better forecasting systems. — The Straits Times/ Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


U.S. lawmakers could ease 'coup' ban on aid to Egypt

Posted:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers will begin to vote as soon as next week on legislation that could continue aid to Egypt even if the Obama administration determines that the ouster of elected President Mohamed Mursi was a military coup, lawmakers and aides said on Thursday.

The United States sends $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid to Egypt each year, but the military coup label would cut off the flow under a U.S. law dating to the 1980s.

As a result, the White House and State Department have so far refused to characterize Mursi's ouster as a coup, with administration officials often resorting to verbal gymnastics to avoid using the word.

Republican U.S. Representative Kay Granger, chairwoman of the House of Representatives subcommittee in charge of the aid, said her panel could consider allowing more flexibility, such as language that would allow the aid to continue if doing so were deemed to be in the U.S. national security interest.

Granger said she is not considering changing the coup language but that it was possible for Congress to change it to make it more flexible.

"There is not a waiver (provision) in the coup legislation," Granger told Reuters in an interview. "That could be changed, however, if the Congress says we are going to allow a waiver."

The law as currently written bans the administration from waiving the restriction, even if the administration judges it to be important for national security.

PAKISTAN AID PRECEDENT?

Congress approved President George W. Bush's request to allow aid to Pakistan's government after the September 11, 2001, attacks, despite the ouster of its government in a coup.

Lawmakers said a similar bill was one possibility for Egypt. They said another possibility would be rewriting the law on foreign aid to allow waivers for national security reasons more routinely.

The House subcommittee is due to begin considering the fiscal 2014 aid to Egypt this month, possibly as soon as next week.

The Senate subcommittee also expects to vote on its version of the legislation this month, likely during the week of July 23, aides said.

After the state and foreign operations subcommittees of the House and Senate appropriations committees debate and vote on their versions of the bill, the measures will be voted on by the full committees before being sent for a vote by the full House and Senate.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate panel, has said he considers Mursi's ouster a coup, although the ultimate determination is up to the administration. A spokesman said the Senate panel is not now considering a provision in its legislation to waive the coup requirement.

However, Senator John Boozman, a Republican subcommittee member, said he was open to the possibility of a waiver, depending on the situation in Egypt.

"With the situation as it is now, I would certainly be open to having that discussion," he told Reuters. "And right now my tendency would be to vote for the waiver and, again, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

President Barack Obama asked Congress to appropriate $1.55 billion in aid for Egypt for fiscal 2014, including $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic assistance.

Committee members and aides from both panels said it was too soon to comment on whether they would approve that level of aid, because the situation in Egypt is changing so rapidly.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Mohammad Zargham)

Egyptian policeman killed in militant attack in Sinai

Posted:

CAIRO (Reuters) - One Egyptian policeman was killed and another was badly wounded on Friday by militants who fired rocket-propelled grenades at security checkpoints in the lawless Sinai peninsula, near the border with Israel, security sources said.

Hardline Islamist groups based in North Sinai have intensified their attacks on police checkpoints over the past two years, exploiting the security and political vacuum following the 2011 uprising that ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.

The violence has spiked since last week's overthrow of elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi by the army and the militants have attacked security checkpoints almost every day.

Friday's deadly attack took place in the peninsula's northern city of Al-Arish, the sources said.

Earlier on Friday, a police station and two army checkpoints in the city also came under attack by militants firing rocket-propelled grenades, according to the security sources. No one was wounded in those attacks.

On July 10, two Egyptians were killed and six were wounded in a militant attack on security checkpoints in the remote village of Sadr El-Heytan, in the centre of Sinai.

(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Ireland votes to allow limited abortion rights for first time

Posted:

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's parliament voted on Friday to allow abortion under certain conditions for the first time, following months of polarising debate in the Catholic country including letters to the premier written in blood.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny has provoked protest from both sides of the debate by pushing through a compromise that will allow abortion, but only when a woman's life is in danger. His governing party has faced down more rebels over the issue than it did over its harsh austerity measures.

After a marathon debate that ran past midnight for the second night in row, lawmakers passed the bill by 127-31. The vote was greeted with applause.

"It is the very, very bare minimum of a bill, but at the same time it feels like the end of an era," said Eleanor White, 21, one of a handful of pro-abortion rights activists gathered outside parliament, who were outnumbered by opponents of the bill.

"We are getting to the end of the role the Catholic Church has had in Ireland," she said.

Anti-abortion activists nearby prayed and cheered deputies who opposed the bill as they left the parliament building.

"This is a terrible crime on the heart and soul of this nation," said Rita Daly, a 56-year-old civil servant, holding a picture of an aborted foetus. "This is the intentional killing of our children, our flesh and blood."

Abortion rights opponents were particularly upset by the bill's inclusion of the risk of suicide as a possible threat to the mother's life.

The two-decade debate over how Ireland should deal with a Supreme Court ruling that abortion be permitted when a woman's life is in danger was reopened last year after the death of a woman who was denied an abortion of her dying foetus.

The Supreme Court ruling in 1992 resulted from a challenge by a 14-year-old rape victim to a constitutional amendment nine years earlier that aimed to ban abortion in all instances.

DIVISIONS IN RULING PARTY

In a sign of how contentious the abortion issue is, five of 76 members of parliament from Kenny's conservative Fine Gael party voted against the bill. The five have been expelled from its parliamentary grouping.

Midway through his five-year term, Kenny has lost more Fine Gael deputies to the abortion debate than to economic austerity measures, even as his coalition made deep cuts under an 85 billion euro ($109 billion) EU/IMF bailout. He lost one party deputy over austerity.

The refusal to vote for the bill by longtime Kenny ally Lucinda Creighton, once tipped as a possible leader of the party, ends her role as Europe minister.

"When it comes to something that is essentially a matter of life and death, I think it is not really possible to compromise," Creighton said in televised comments.

In the weeks before the vote, Kenny said he had been sent plastic foetuses and letters written in blood, and his private residence was picketed by protesters wearing skeleton masks.

He has also faced a concerted campaign by Ireland's once- powerful Roman Catholic Church, which urged parishioners to pressure their local members of parliament to vote against the bill. Some church leaders said that lawmakers' support of abortion could be grounds for excommunication.

Rocked by a series of child abuse scandals, the Church has seen its public influence wane since the 1980s, and a younger, secular generation wants to end the practice of Irish women travelling to nearby Britain to terminate their pregnancies.

Supporters of more liberal abortion laws in Ireland had mixed feelings about the bill's passage.

"Under the current law, I face life in prison. Under the new law, I face 14 years," said Suzanne Lee, a 23-year-old student who said she took an abortion pill last year.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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A director for 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'

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The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"


Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.


The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.


She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.


Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43.

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.


But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Somebody save me (and us)

Posted:

Is an endless, insanely expensive parade of semi-fascist bores (read: superheroes) strangling the film industry? Do we need saving from the heroes?

TWENTY years ago, after appearing in two phenomenally successful, visually opulent and generally brilliant Batman movies, Michael Keaton decided he didn't want to make any more Caped Crusader films. So he walked away. It was a disastrous move that effectively ended Keaton's career as a leading man, the actor learning the hard way that the only unforgivable crime in Hollywood is to walk away from a phenomenally successful franchise.

The next two Batman films starred Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Batman Forever was not very good and Batman & Robin was terrible. And for the next few years, Batman dropped out of the global conversation.

This was good because it gave society a breather. The Dark Knight thing was played out: the excitement moviegoers felt when Tim Burton made the first Batman film had evaporated under the tutelage of Joel Schumacher. In retrospect, Keaton's catastrophic decision to walk away now seems heroic, because he was the last actor to go through a script, take a cold, hard look at the superhero genre and say: "Enough. These films are starting to suck."

Today's superhero films have not yet reached the point where they flat-out suck. But they are getting there. Iron Man 2 was a huge disappointment, The Avengers an aimless hodgepodge and The Dark Knight Rises a pretentious, incoherent mess. And now, we have yet another Superman movie, Man Of Steel.

Those of us who would like to see an end – or at least an extended pause – to the hegemony of superhero films would be very pleased if Robert Downey Jr, Christian Bale and their costumed brethren would make a similarly audacious artistic decision and walk away.

As Steven Soderbergh recently complained, these films are draining the life out of motion pictures, diverting virtually all of the industry's resources into insanely expensive "tentpole" films that supposedly prop up other projects. It is unlikely that any of these actors will make such a courageous decision as Keaton, though: they saw what happened to him, they saw how Sean Connery's career stalled when he quit 007. But it's still okay to dream, isn't it?

This thing is starting to get old. There are too many superhero films; their storylines are all beginning to run together. It is a genre dominated by the thoroughly unoriginal notion that you cannot trust the government. Even when you can trust the government, you cannot trust all of it. And even the branches you can trust aren't much help, because they are incompetent.

To save humanity, one must rely on a bootstrap operation headed by a dedicated go-getter and self-starter. At heart, all superheroes are Republicans.

In superhero movies, women are almost always accessories. This is true even if they themselves are superheroines. The men do the heavy lifting; the women serve an ornamental function. This is why we are all the way up to Iron Man 3 and Batman 7, but have not seen a Supergirl film since 1984, or a Wonder Woman film ever.

The 12-year-old boys for whom superhero movies are chiefly made are not interested in women. They may not even be interested in girls. They are certainly not interested in girls with superpowers.

Breeding neurosis

Superhero films increasingly rely on a structure where the hero thinks he is fighting one villain when he is actually fighting another. In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman thinks he is up against the crypto-fascist Bane, when he is actually locked in a deadly struggle with a mysterious fellow philanthropist played by Marion Cotillard. In Iron Man 3, the hero believes he is going toe-to-toe with a terrorist called the Mandarin, when the villain is actually a mad scientist who bears a striking resemblance to the dead but not forgotten US rock star Warren Zevon.

In Thor, the bodacious nordic deity spends most of the movie worrying about a race of tall, antisocial creatures called The Frost Giants of Jotunheim, and does quite a bit of jousting with the testy emissaries of the US Government, when the person he should really be worrying about is his brother, Loki.

In days gone by, a superhero only had to worry about the Joker or the Silver Surfer or Lex Luthor. Now, he has to worry about mysterious philanthropists. No wonder he's so neurotic.

In fact, the rise of superhero movies signals the triumph of the neurotic over the maverick. In the classic Hollywood movie, whether the hero is cop, cowboy, private eye, rebel or drifter, there comes a moment when this solitary, self-sufficient loner faces the bad guys all by himself. The bad guys are usually trying to destroy a ranch, a town, a portion of the high chaparral, or in some extreme cases, a flourishing ethnic group. They are rarely seeking to destroy an entire planet.

These villains have limited aspirations, and the man in the white hat has a limited arsenal of era-appropriate weaponry: a gun, a bow and arrow, a few grenades, maybe even a tank. He does not have any weapons of mass destruction to fall back on, nor any supernatural powers. He has to rely on brains, brawn and guts, nothing else. Sometimes, this is not enough: more often than we would like to think, he ends up like Spartacus or Braveheart.

In the classic superhero movie, the situation is quite different. Here, the bad guys are trying to destroy entire societies, cities or planets, and the good guy is rarely self-sufficient. Instead, somehow or other, he has come into possession of a preternaturally phantasmagoric suit of armour, complete with zany high-tech accoutrements; or a hammer that can call down lightning from the heavens; or extendable fingernails; or laser eyesight; or implausible (and non-steroid-related) abs; or the ability to change shape.

And these superpowers aren't just good news for all the societies, cities and planets that need saving: most superheroes are nerds or geeks or losers or screw-ups or pixies or marooned orphans from deep space who can't get their personal lives functioning properly – until they come into possession of some mystical power or magical weapon.

Nothing in their pitiful lives works out until they are bitten by a spider, or start sporting a remarkable piece of jewellery, or are handed a large, seemingly radioactive hammer by their father.

Waking up awesome

"Being a superhero is a way of working out your personal problems," my 26-year-old son told me when I asked him about the popularity of the genre among his age group and younger. "You're an ordinary person with no special skills – and suddenly, you wake up one day and you're awesome. So, if you're asking me if the superhero genre is going to fade away soon, the answer is no."

You wake up awesome. Not because you did something special like beat Hitler or cure polio. All you did was wake up. And suddenly, you were awesome. It is the dream of the fame-hungry TV talent contest generation.

If movies are a reflection of society's most cherished hopes and deepest fears, then superhero movies perfectly capture the planet's current mood of uncertainty and dread. Today's global economy is a disaster, unemployment is ravaging the economies of both the developed and the developing world, and the threat of terrorism stretches from Kabul to Moscow, from London to Boston.

Superman arrived during a particularly dark time in the world's history, the 1930s, so it is not surprising that the franchise is being rebooted now, with Man Of Steel directed by the prolific action hack Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen). There is no clearer indication that this is a dark time in the world's history than the fact that the director who made the slovenly, inept Watchmen is now getting to reboot Superman. Is nothing sacred? No.

Superhero movies are made for a society that has basically given up. The police can't protect us, the government can't protect us, there are no more charismatic loners to protect us and the euro is near-defunct. Clint Eastwood has left the building. So, let's turn things over to the vigilantes. Superheroes need not obey laws or social conventions; they go where they please and do what they want. They pose simple – usually violent – solutions to complex problems. Superheroes operate in a netherworld just this side of fascism.

Still, it would be a mistake to say that all superhero movies are the same. Christopher Nolan's Batman movies are dark. The Iron Man movies are funny. The Hulk movies are goofy. The X-Men movies are complicated. Captain America was camp, Thor a bit silly, The Avengers sillier still. The Spider-Man movies are closest to conventional movies, placing ordinary people in difficult situations. They also feature a romance that seems quite believable, unlike Iron Man.

Rebooting and rehashing

Although superheroes are archetypal, each succeeding generation of filmgoers demands a more up-to-date hero. And so, each generation gets its own reboot of the Batman/Spider-Man/Superman franchise. One day, there may even be a Daredevil reboot, though hopefully not soon.

The films reflect the values of the decade in which they appear. The Batman movies of the 1990s were camp and jokey; the Dark Knight movies, appearing a decade later, were not. The Superman movies of the 1970s were over the top, like the comic books they were based on – it was, after all, the era of Nixon, Ford and Carter, clowns to a man.

Iron Man, a more recent creation, is recognisable as a sneering, insincere slacker: nothing heartfelt ever passes through his lips; the very thought of saying something honest and authentic would mortify him. You cannot imagine Iron Man talking like Batman, Wolverine or even Thor. He is the superhero as wise guy. He is Ironyman.

One thing that is puzzling about modern-day superhero movies is that the skill set of the individual hero is often poorly defined. I am not sure what it would take to put Iron Man out of commission. I have not been able to figure out whether the Dark Knight can actually fly: he certainly seems light on his feet. And I have no idea what powers Thor possesses. I know that his hammer has miraculous potencies, but I am still not sure precisely how miraculous they are. I have no idea what it would take to kill Thor; nor for that matter does Loki. In films featuring Dracula, Tony Montana, Orcs or even Achilles, the parameters are more clearly drawn.

The most interesting thing about the popularity of superhero movies is that they are insanely expensive to make, yet they spring from a plebian, populist artform. Comic books, at least until recently, were cheap. They were beautifully drawn and exciting, but they were still basically cheap. That was the point.

Movies are not cheap, especially not in 3D. Comic book heroes, like football players, have lost all contact with their proletarian roots.

Some people will read all this and say: "You're over-intellectualising. You're reading too much into it."

This may be true. But these charges are always made by people who never over-intellectualise anything, who never read too much into things. They are made by people who want you to take the X-Men seriously, as legitimate fiction. And then, when you do, they say that you are over-intellectualising.

After all, they say, it's only a movie. That's exactly right. It's only a movie. But it's the same movie – over and over and over again. – Guardian News & Media

Days of being Doyle

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Acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle has had a crazy life so far.

It's thunderous weather at Straits Quay in Penang, and Christopher Doyle decides to have his next interview indoors. I tell him that we only have about 20 to 30 minutes.

"What the hell can we talk about?" I say.

"I'll talk really fast," Doyle replies. And sure enough, the famed cinematographer keeps to his promise, delivering answers and opinions in rapid-fire succession, sometimes not even finishing his sentences, but always on point.

And of course, there is the ever-present glass of beer in front of him. Some years ago, renowned journalist Dennis Lim wrote an article on Doyle in The Village Voice with the headline "The legend of the Drunken Master." Well, it's not quite accurate, because Doyle remains very much sober throughout all his interviews, even though the beer never stops coming. It seems more like he has OD-ed on coffee, as one notices that his thoughts sometimes overtake his speech as he frantically searches for the right words.

He arrived in Penang at midnight, and held a masterclass in the morning at the Penang Performing Arts Centre under the Tropfest Roughcut banner, part of the ongoing George Town Festival. And after 18 hours, he will be hopping on a flight back to Hong Kong.

Famed for his work with Wong Kar-wai on films such as Chungking Express, Days Of Being Wild and In The Mood For Love, Doyle set up his unique voice in those early films, before going on to various projects from Zhang Yimou's epic Hero to Philip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence and M. Night Shyamalan's Lady In The Water. He got his first break in film in 1983 with the late Edward Yang's That Day, On The Beach.

But before that, he was a sailor, and had even dug for oil in India and worked in an Israeli kibbutz. One (in)famous story has it that he was a quack medicine man in Thailand.

"Yeah, it's true," Doyle confirms it, straight-faced. "We used to travel around in a station wagon, and I would dress up as a doctor, and I would say (in Thai) 'It's good for your back.' A guy would introduce me as a Western doctor, and I would sell all this bull***t.

"And then I thought, f*** this. I didn't speak a second language. So I went to Hong Kong to learn Chinese. At that time, it was impossible to go into China. I went to a very good school, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and my teacher gave me the name Du Ke Feng."

And with that he went on to commit to celluloid some of the most endearing, powerful, memorable and unique images in cinema history.

From the kinetic, time-bending style of Chungking Express and Ashes Of Time, to the searing images of Argentina in the gay romance Happy Together and the nostalgic memories of Days Of Being Wild. And then there's the masterpiece, In The Mood For Love, in which shadows and light inform a world of languid longing.

He won his first award for his first work on That Day, On The Beach ... and lost the trophy after leaving it in a taxi.

"Which was good," says Doyle. "It was a good sign. That was my first film and I didn't know what I was doing. I remember for my next films, I was really nervous, because I was trying too hard. It was actually counter-productive, because I was not seeing the bigger picture. I was just seeing my own concerns. Once you get to a level of experience, and you feel you know what you're doing, then you can see the bigger picture."

But the Christopher Doyle/Du Ke Feng duality is endlessly fascinating. Here's a guy born in Sydney, Australia who ended up as one of Asian cinema's most iconic figures.

"It's me," he says of Du Ke Feng (which means "Like the wind"). "The name is so Chinese ... It has a very poetic sort of ... you know, it's not like my Japanese name, Kuristofa Doyo. You know it's not a Japanese person, right? But with my Chinese name, you wouldn't imagine that the person is not Chinese."

He feels the name has a lot of obligations with it, as well as resonance and aspirations. "I think it's made me a better filmmaker," says Doyle. "Because I want to be Du Ke Feng. But I'm not there yet. Because I was born like ... this (points to himself and laughs). I'm stuck with this."

He thinks he was born in a wonderful country and had a wonderful childhood and family. That means he has the best of both worlds.

"I have an optimistic attitude towards life, which comes from being born in Australia," he says. "And I have Du Ke Feng, who aspires to more."

But having spent more than 30 years in Asia now, is he still an outsider looking in? Does it still give him a unique perpective on all things Asian?

"As any artist does, you choose to be removed," says Doyle. "Even Jean Cocteau or Hunter S. Thompson. I think we all do in our different ways. You protect that distance, because that is where the perception comes from. That is where you cut through the bull***t. I think I guard that distance quite ferociously, mainly because it helps one not to take oneself too seriously. That's very important. If I really believed what everyone says about me, I'd be a w**ker.

"If I believed all that, I certainly wouldn't tell my mother!" he breaks into raucous laughter.

Doyle says he loves working with young people. He finds great satisfaction in seeing them grow as artists.

"I'm glad people still regard me as a Hong Kong filmmaker, and young people in their 20s come to me to help them make Hong Kong films. And I'm very proud of that. They want to have their own voice. And since they're kids, they're going to have a different voice than Wong Kar-wai or Jackie Chan.

"I'm proud that because it's me, it helps with the money. They use my name ... please, go ahead, what am I going to do with it? (Laughs, turns to the other tables in the restaurant.) Hallooo, do you know who I am? Would you like to buy me a beer? Who gives a f***? (Breaks into more raucous laughter.)"

And despite his now-infamous rant about Life Of Pi's Oscar for Best Cinematography, he is actually optimistic about digital filmmaking. During his masterclass, he explained that he thought Life Of Pi should have been given a technical award for the entire special effects team, and not for the cinematographer.

"I think film will come back, but it will come back in a different way," says Doyle. "For example, like in photography, people are still using cameras from 100 years ago because they want a certain quality. It will become a very specialised thing ... The thing about digital filmmaking is, you see what you get. And then you can change it later. That's a dangreous precedent, because it means that what really matters is often determined by a machine as opposed to the choices of the artist."

He believes that this means the "money people" have more control and it could render someone like him useless. "Filmmaking by committee," as he calls it.

"But I'm not afraid of that," he says. "Because the other way to go is to simplify things and work from within to subvert all this ... to simplify things to a point where we regain control. And because the young kids have so much digital experience, they're going to see the world in a different way than people who come from a more traditional film background. That's what's going to happen.

"The Impressionists saw the world differently than the Pre-Raphaelites. And then the Cubists responded to that. Everything's a response to what came before it. I'm actually quite positive about digital (filmmaking). There are textures that we don't know about yet. And the kids are going to teach us. In other words, it's a different visual experience. So was Impressionism. So was pop. So was conceptual art.

"There is a space of give-and-take where we can enchance each other's work."

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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A director for 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'

Posted:

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"


Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.


The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.


She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.


Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43.

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.


But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

The first word many people uttered when they heard Sam Taylor-Johnson's name earlier this week in connection with Fifty Shades Of Grey was: "Who?"

The next sentence was: "This will be interesting."

Taylor-Johnson has been chosen as the director of the erotic drama, which author E.L. James is heavily involved with, working alongside the producers of the Social Network, Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti, and executives at Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

The Hollywood types all have pretty deep reputations. Taylor-Johnson? She isn't widely known in filmmaking circles. She made a coming-of-age John Lennon movie called Nowhere Boy that played the festivals a few years back. If you know more than a few people who've seen it, you have more film-nerd friends than you realise.

She is, however, known for being an acclaimed visual artist – she's won Britain's acclaimed Turner Prize – which plays into the belief that Focus and, in particular, James, want this to be a tonier version of a sub-and-dom story (see under: Oscar-nominated Social Network producers), not the Cinemax edition. Still, it remains to be seen which actors will be willing to take the plunge with a relatively untested director.

Taylor-Johnson also attracted plenty of tabloid attention for marrying Aaron Johnson, her much-younger (by about two decades) star of Nowhere Boy, with the two having a child when he was 20 and she was 43. 

Already the speculation has begun about a potential place for Johnson in the movie, as either Christian Grey (at 23, he's just four years younger than the domineering hero) or another character. I've never met Taylor-Johnson, but it's hard to imagine any director wanting to bring that kind of drama to the set. With all the fan interest, a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie is already enough of a hot house.

But even if the young actor stays far away, there will be intrigue. This is, after all, a movie about a taboo relationship directed by a woman who, at least to some minds, was involved in same. That might come up in an interview. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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May industrial production growth exceeds expectations

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's industrial production index (IP) rose 3.4% in May from a year ago, exceeding economist expectations of a 2% growth.

Citigroup Inc economist Kit Wei Zheng, who has maintained gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.2% year-on-year, said in a report that the April-to-May data continued to point to a pick-up in second-quarter GDP.

"Manufacturing appears on track to provide a sequential boost – April-to-May seasonally-adjusted manufacturing industrial production levels were 3.4% above their first-quarter average – while mining is now above water at 0.3% above the first quarter," he pointed out.

Kit said that April-to-May electricity industrial production levels were 0.9% above the first quarter, hinting at still resilient domestic demand, with consumption goods imports surging in April-to-May, while capital goods imports remained elevated.

"With election uncertainties behind us, the implementation of approved projects could keep investment growth robust in the second half. Together with rising intermediate goods imports, this could place some near-term pressure on the current account, and net exports would likely remain a drag until exports picked up, likely also in the second half," he said,

Meanwhile, Alliance Research chief economist Manokaran Mottain cautioned that if recovery in overseas demand failed to materialise in the short term, recent gains in manufacturing output might likely end up as stocks, thus dragging down the overall GDP growth.

"Going by the recent data on production and export activities, we are now projecting a GDP growth of 4.7% in the second quarter, rebounding from +4.1% in the first quarter. With an anticipated recovery in the second half, we maintain our full-year GDP forecast at 4.8% in 2013," he said.

The Statistics Department said yesterday the increase was contributed by a 3.1% growth in the manufacturing index, mining (4.1%) and electricity (4.8%).

The department said the IPI in April 2013 had been revised to a positive growth of 4.6% year-on-year, instead of 4.7%.

"In seasonally-adjusted terms, the IPI in May 2013 decreased by 0.2% month-on-month. The decrease was particularly due to the decrease of the manufacturing index and electricity index by 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively. The mining index recorded an increase of 2.9%," it said.

The department said the manufacturing output for May rose 3.1% year-on-year. Output for April increased by a revised 5.9%.

The major sub-sectors which recorded increases were petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (4.2%); non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (4.8%); transport equipment and other manufactures (17.3%).

It said on a seasonally-adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output fell 1.1% in May 2013.

The mining sector recorded a 4.1% increase in May 2013 year-on-year due to a higher crude oil index (0.7%) and natural gas index (11.3%).

When compared with the previous month of April, the seasonally-adjusted output for the mining sector increased by 2.9%.

As for electricity, its output increased 4.8% in May 2013 year-on-year. In seasonally-adjusted terms, electricity output dropped 1% from April.

MTEM criticises Govt for lack of transparency on US-led trade talks

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) has called for a "meaningful consultation" with the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

"We have met Miti at least three times in the past but no progress has been made," MTEM chief executive officer Mohd Nizam Mahshar said at a briefing yesterday.

He said he would thus be having a debate with Miti minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed today on the TPPA.

Nizam said the Government has been negotiating the TPPA, without any public consultation despite the negotiations having started two years ago. So far 17 rounds of discussions have been conducted. The 18th round of TPPA discussion would be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah beginning next week.

The TPPA is a multilateral free trade agreement currently being negotiated by 12 countries, led by the United States.

The agreement covers a broad spectrum of areas and has 29 chapters. The signatory countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US, Vietnam and Japan. The TPPA is expected to be concluded and signed in October 2013.

Mohd Nizam said some leaked documents of the TPPA have shown that within the agreement there were clauses that would allow overseas companies to sue the Govern-ment, adding that Malaysians would also have to pay higher prices for medicines when TPPA comes into force.

In addition, he said specific provisions in the TPPA on intellectual property protection would enable US companies to penetrate local markets, making it harder for local companies to compete.

"We have been requesting Miti to conduct a study on the impact of TTPA on our economy, society and its benefits for Malaysia," Mohd Nizam said, adding that a study by United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) was not disclosed to the public.

Mohd Nizam said MTEM had written to Miti to ask for assurance for 16 items but the ministry had given "empty assurance" in a 14-page reply. He added that MTEM was also concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the TPPA negotiations.

"The Government has not done any proper consultation with the industry."

Asked if MTEM would resort to having any protest, Mohd Nizam said: "As an organisation, we are not planning for any protest in the form of street demonstration but we will not stop any of our members to do so."

Expect pressure on palm oil prices

Posted:

PLANTATION SECTOR

Neutral

By PublicInvest Research

PALM oil inventories contracted further to the 1.6 million-tonne level in June.

The healthy fundamentals, however, have not brought positive growth to crude palm oil (CPO) prices lately as the market has started anticipating the high production period kicking in soon, which will not bode well for the inventory prospects.

Meanwhile, June's average CPO price stood firm at RM2,389/tonne versus June 2012's average of RM2,964/tonne.

We are maintaining our calendar year 2013 and 2014 average CPO prices of RM2,450/tonne and RM2,550/tonne respectively.

Inventories continued inching downwards, slipping 9.3% month-on-month.

Meanwhile, stock/usage ratio remained at below 10% for the third month, standing at 8.5%, mainly attributed to continuous demand from overseas and local consumers despite higher production compared with last month.

Palm oil exports increased marginally by 0.3% month-on-month but declined 3.1% year-on-year.

Lower month-on-month demand from India (-37.9%), Pakistan (-9.2%) and the United States (-14.4%) were cushioned by better demand from China (+16.2%), EU (+33.5%) and other nations (+4.8%).

We think the weak rupee has dented the demand for more palm oil imports as the Indian currency against US dollar had hit a historic low in June.

In addition, orders have also been locked in before the start of the Ramadan period, hence, there is no surprising surge in demand from Middle East countries.

Peninsular Malaysia production gained 6.8% to 797,680 tonnes while east Malaysia declined 3% attributed to lower production from Sabah, dropping about 8.2%.

Overall, FFB yield improved from 1.36 tonnes/ha to 1.39 tonnes/ha in June.

As oil palm trees will be entering the high-production period soon, we could eventually see a surge in FFB production.

According to independent market surveyor Intertek, the first 10 days of July's exports had declined nearly 16% compared with the same period in June.

We maintain our RM2,450/tonne average CPO price forecast for 2013 and RM2,550/tonne for 2014.

RANHILL ENERGY & RESOURCES BHD

By Kenanga Research

Not rated

Target price: RM1.90

RANHILL Energy and Resources Bhd, which is en-route for a listing on July 31, offers two different distinct earning streams: water and power concession businesses with stable earning streams; and oil and gas segment where earnings growth could be explosive.

The water division, which accounts for more than 50% of the group's earnings, is one of the beneficiaries of the high profile Iskandar Malaysia development and the RM60bil RAPID project.

While oil and gas earnings are likely to be challenging in the near term as the key project – the Malacca regasification terminal (RGT) – is coming to an end, its power segment, which owns the largest independent power producer (IPP) in Sabah, will provide good earnings visibility for the next 20 years.

In all, financial year ending Dec 31, 2013 (FY13) earnings are expected to decline given the recurring RM54mil sukuk expenses and RM18mil corporate expenses but FY14 earnings are expected to rebound by 17% mainly underpinned by the water segment.

We use a breakup valuation methodology to derive a fair value of RM1.90/share, implying calendar year 2014 price-earnings ratio (PER) of 10.4 times.

At RM1.85/share, we believe the initial public offering (IPO) is fair as it valued at 2104 10.1 times PER which is in line with FBMKLCI small cap valuation.

Nonetheless, for dividend seeking investors, Ranhill could be a suitable candidate given its sustainable 4%-5% yield.

Given its exclusive licence from the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water to provide "source-to-tap" water supply services to end-customers in the entire state of Johor, and its 30-year concession to lease water infrastructure from Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB), Ranhill should benefit from the rapid development in Iskandar Malaysia and the Petronas RM60bil RAPID project in Pengerang.

On the other hand, Ranhill is currently carrying out investment evaluation and feasibility studies on several water and waste-water treatment projects in China which target to increase water treatment capacity from 270 million litres per day (MLD) to up to 1,000 MLD over next three years from 2012.

Through its long-term relationship with WorleyParson, RanhillWorley (RWorley) has access to over 40,000 global personnel, as well as engineering/project management delivery tools, making RWorley a competent and cost competitive player.

Moreover, Ranhill has also entered into a three-year memorandum of agreement with Samsung in April 2013 to co-develop and pursue mutually beneficial business dealings for the tender of EPCI projects worldwide.

By leveraging on this relationship with WorleyParson and Samsung, RWorley is well positioned to secure Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and engineering, procurement, commissioning and installation (EPCI) contracts both locally and globally.

Its power business is operated through 60%-owned subsidiary Ranhill Powertron I (RPI) and 80%-owned subsidiary Ranhill Powertron II (RPII) with PPAs with the Sabah Electricity to provide an aggregate capacity of 380MW for 21 years under a long-term concession agreement.

This concession agreement will ensure a stable secured power earning stream for Ranhill.

We project the group to post RM150.4mil and RM175.5mil net profits for FY13-FY14 from RM199.8m in FY12.

The sharp decline is mainly due to recurring RM54mil sukuk expenses and RM18mil corporate expenses after the listing which was previously borne by the previous listed vehicle – Ranhill Bhd.

Nonetheless, top line growth is seen at 1%-7% driven mainly by the Water segment with 6.8%-7% growth.

Risks to the stock are: downturn in oil & gas sector; slower-than-expected China water industry growth; and inability to secure new PPAs and water concessions upon expiry of current ones.

BENALEC HOLDINGS BHD

By Affin Investment Bank

Trading buy (maintain)

Target price: RM1.98

BENALEC Holdings Bhd announced that Heritage Land, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Benalec Sdn Bhd, had on July 10 entered into sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) to dispose of eight pieces of land in Malacca for RM54.3mil at RM30 per sq ft; SPA with Highbond Capital to dispose of all those four pieces of leasehold vacant land in Malacca for a sale consideration of RM27.2mil; SPA with Gigayear Revenue to dispose of all those four pieces of leasehold vacant land in Malacca for a sale consideration of RM27.2mil.

The total consideration for the eight pieces of land measuring in aggregate 16.8ha is RM54.3mil, which works out to RM30 per sq ft. The sale considerations to be paid by the purchasers are RM5.4mil upon signing of the SPAs and the balance within three months from the date of the SPAs.

All the four pieces of land under each of the agreements are adjacent to each other and the two blocks are separated by an access road. These parcels of reclaimed land were received from reclamation projects, which involved settlement "in kind".

The land disposal is expected to result in a net gain of RM7.1mil to be booked in the financial year ending June 30, 2014 (FY14) and raised net asset per share from 64 sen to 65 sen.

We have assumed land sale gain of RM70mil in FY14 and RM49mil in FY15 and the land disposal gain announced is within expectations. We continue to expect the massive land reclamation projects in Tanjung Piai and Pengerang to significantly drive its earnings and valuation.

The group has until Dec 11, 2013 to finalise the terms and conditions of the SPA with 1MY Strategic Oil Terminal Sdn Bhd and The State Secretary, Johor (Inc) to undertake the reclamation works and sale of approximately 1,000 acres of land off the coast of Tanjung Piai for the purpose of constructing and operating a crude oil and petroleum storage facility together with a private jetty.

We maintain our FY13 to FY15 forecasts, revised net asset value-based price target of RM1.98 and "trading buy" call for Benalec.

TENAGA NASIONAL BHD

By PublicInvest Research

Outperform (maintain)

Target price: RM8.85

THE media reported that Tenaga Nasiaonl Bhd (TNB) and its joint-venture (JV) partner Kharafi National of Kuwait had recently signed a contract sealing the RM1bil deal with the Kuwaiti government for the operation and maintenance of a co-generation plant in Kuwait.

To recap, the group announced that it won the contract in January this year. While we do not expect significant contributions with TNB owning a 50% stake in the JV, it is nonetheless a positive move for the group in line with their goal of expanding their non-regulated business and diversifying income streams beyond Malaysia.

TNB's wholly-owned subsidiary TNB REMACO, together with JV partner Kharafi National of Kuwait, were awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of a 780MW co-generation plant in Kuwait in January this year.

The plant is owned by Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity and Water and located approximately 40km from Kuwait City. The contract, valued at Kuwaiti dinar 88.9 million Kuwaiti dinar (circa RM1bil) is for a period of seven years.

We understand from the management that TNB holds a 50% stake in the JV. Hence, we estimate the contract should yield an average of RM70mil per annum. While the contribution is a drop in the bucket compared with TNB's annual revenue of over RM30bil, it is nonetheless a positive move for the group in line with their goal of expanding their non-regulated business.

TNB's non-regulated business recorded revenue of RM2.3bil in the financial year ended Aug 31, 2012 (FY12) (FY11: RM1.9bil), and the group plans to grow this to RM5bil by FY15.

We are keeping our earnings estimates unchanged. We continue to like TNB as the biggest beneficiary of structural reforms in the local power sector.

With the commissioning of the Malacca RGT, the group's fuel security is assured, together with increased certainty of tariff hikes next year.

Softer coal prices would also boost the group's earnings, which will be announced next week, while the potential win of additional power concessions would add to the group's capacity and future growth. We reiterate our "outperform" call with a discounted cash flow-derived target price of RM8.85.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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Sack officer of "flash your panties" remark, says women's activist Norhayati Kaprawi

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: He should be sacked, a women's rights advocate said of the parliamentary officer who made the "flash your panties" remark.


"Why do some men think that women have to exploit her sexuality in order to succeed.

"Do men think that women can't succeed based on their intelligence, strength and merits. 

"Women can! I find that to be a very sexist remark!" Norhayati Kaprawi, who is also a documentary filmmaker, told The Star Online.

Norhayati was referring to the statement Fuziah made during her debate in Parliament that the officer reportedly told a female MP that if she had shown her seluar dalam, she would have gotten the post of state executive councillor.

The officer's remark drew the ire of many women rights activists who called it sexist.

Norhayati also weighed in on the remark by PAS Muslimat chief Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff who urged the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry to introduce a dress code to help prevent sexual harassment.

Siti Zailah, who is PAS' Rantau Panjang MP, had told Parliament that short pants and short skirts contributed to sexual crimes.

Norhayati said if such was the attitude of PAS, then Malaysians, especially Malaysian women, should be worried.

"As in many countries that want to project their 'Islamic identities', one of the first things they impose is to regulate women's lives, on how they dress, and curb women's freedom of movement.

"I thought these last few years PAS has also been talking about human rights, freedom of  speech, freedom of expression and all? 

"Or is it just a political strategy, or do they mean that human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of speech are only for PAS people but not for others? 

Rather than blaming the women, PAS women should ask their party leaders to teach men to respect women, to teach them that no woman deserved to be harassed, molested or raped," said Norhayati.

Wanita MCA Chairman Datuk Yu Chok Tow didn't mince her words in weighing in on the issue. "I find it hard to believe that a woman elected representative is blaming indecent attire for sexual assault and rape instead of condemning the perpetrators."

"The suggestion that the government should enforce laws on dress etiquette for women in public places is not the proper solution. This suggestion is not only absurd, but it also displays PAS' conservative mentality towards women."

"Wanita MCA urges all women MPs, including those from the opposition, to condemn this suggestion by PAS. Since DAP has been constantly defending PAS by telling the public that they have become more moderate, it is thus necessary for them to be seen speaking out against this regressive suggestion."

"As a fellow woman, Siti Zailah has a greater obligation to speak up for women's rights instead of making excuses for sexual perpetrators by putting the blame on women."   

"By blaming a woman's attire as the reason for sexual harassment or rape, it shows that her mentality is remarkably similar to that of a male chauvinist," said Yu.

Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) executive director Ivy Josiah said WAO was aware of the myth about rape.

"Unfortunately, the first response would be - How to change the behaviour of the women?" she said, pointing out that politicians should have a better understanding of sexual crimes.

"These crimes are committed when the man has complete control over the women and they are unable to do anything to control that," she said, adding that rape occurs irrespective of the women's attire.

"Let's not turn our attention to women. If man can't control himself when he sees a woman dressing indecently, then it's an insult to man," she added.

No dressing down rape issue, say netizens

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: Stop slut shaming and victim blaming, it is outrageous to suggest that a woman's dressing is to blame for the actions of perverts, said netizens.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff suggested a female dress code to prevent indecent dressing in public.

According to the PAS Muslimat (women's wing) chief, such a move would also curb rising levels of sex crimes and prevent sexual harassment.

But most netizens were quick to disagree, with @cyfu dubbing the idea as "1920s thinking in 2013".

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, weighed in: "The idea to use dress code to solve rape not only insults women, but insults men as well. #NoExcuseForRape"

@sehseh blamed ignorance for the statement, as it "validates slut shaming and victim blaming".

Child welfare activist Dr Hartini Zainuddin (@tiniz) voiced disbelief: "Dress code to prevent rape? What planet are we on?"

@tiffanyoon pointed out that "some people get turned on by Kiki Lala (a children's clothing label)".

Lawyer Michelle Yesudas (@chelle_yesudas) tweeted: "Sexual crimes/harassment comes from the way we perceive power relationships between sexes. if only a dress code can change it :)".

@syazwanzainal tweeted that it is not about telling women how to dress, and that sex offenders should instead be told "not to rape".

@mymiszelle pointed out a loophole: "Creating a #DressCode for women in Malaysia won't prevent sexual crimes & harassment. And will it be a crime if women don't adhere? Perpetrators can say: 'Oh, she wasn't in the #DressCode specified. Not my fault. Her's.' #loophole Back to blaming women."

This was echoed by @cheantat, who added: "If #dresscode really formed, we should ban men from going out after sunset & full moon period. Equally stupid in my POV #NoExcuseForRape".

@Guru_Nathan decried the suggestion as "nonsense" and tweeted: "Dressing is not the cause of rape. Stupidity and low moral is".

Its logic was also questioned by @itsJa5on who tweeted: "The way a woman dresses is no justification for sexual crimes. You don't blame a wealthy person for getting robbed now do you?".

@LumosNY rubbished the idea, and joked: "She needs to suggest allowance for us girls then so we can shop for the right clothes according to #dresscode".

Like many others, @rebcvince was indignant: "Seriously? The problem is not what women wear, but it's men own mentality. There are psycho guys out there. Do something about that!"

But some, like @nlsamr, supported the move: "Goes both ways. Dress code idea is excellent though".

To @athirah136, a dress code is "crucial to help prevent rape cases", though the #NoExcuseForRape hashtag was also included in her tweet.

Security at Sukma Sports Village present, but not round-the-clock vigilance

Posted:

PETALING JAYA: Directors from various state sports council have acknowledged the presence of security personnel at the Sukma Sports Village in Universiti Putra Malaysia, but they did not expect round-the-clock vigilance.

"You can't be expecting them to be on-guard for 24 hours. They are human beings too," said Selangor Sports Council director Shamsul Shahril.

He claimed that security was tight at the Sports Village but security personnel have to flexible at times.

Perak Sports Council deputy director Mazlan Mohamad agreed, saying we should not "expect a sports village to be a boarding school".

Both said their respective state contingents have been trouble-free as they followed protocols set by the management.

Selangor Sports Council director Shamsul Shahril.

Selangor Sports Council director Shamsul Shahril.

"We set the ground rules for our athletes and they have been well-behaved," said Shamsul.

Mazlan added that state sports officials met everyday during the games.

"Our contingent meets every day to ensure the safety of athletes and also to do a post-mortem of our athletes' performances on that day.

"Our officials know where they stay and when they go out," he said.

Both were disappointed with the recent rape allegation as it had tarnished the country's sporting reputation.

"I believe they took alcohol to release stress. They (the Federal Territory handball team) were knocked out at the group stage and this would have led them to consume alcohol," said Shamsul.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had earlier accused Federal Territory handball team officials of joining players in their drinking session and both Mazlan and Shamsul condemned the behaviour, if true.

"Officials are the mental trainers of the team, and they play a key role in maintaining the composure and attitude of athletes," said Shamsul.

"It's a shame to see a coach partying around with his athletes at the sports village," added Mazlan.

The Federal Territories sports council did not give any comment when contacted.

Kolej Kedua at the UPM campus, where the alleged rape took place.

Kolej Kedua at the UPM campus, where the alleged rape took place.

The alleged rape took place during the recently-concluded games at the Sukma Sports Village at UPM.

A 20-year-old female chaperone from the Federal Territory handball team was said to have been raped by three teenage athletes after having drinks with them in the dormitory at the village.

The three athletes, Adib Adha Ismail, 18, Megat Farzeril Faiz Megat Razali and Mohammad Shaizzad Md Shafie, both 19, were arrested and have claimed trial to the charge of raping the female chaperone on Thursday.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my
 

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