Rabu, 23 Oktober 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Myanmar makes biggest heroin bust this year

Posted:

YANGON: Myanmar police said Thursday they had arrested a man with 133 kilos (293 pounds) of heroin worth $2 million at local prices - the country's biggest seizure of the drug this year.

The drugs were found on Sunday in Tachileik near the border with Thailand - a major destination for smuggled narcotics.

"One man was arrested and three others are still at large," a police official in the drugs control department told AFP.

"It's the biggest seizure of heroin this year," he said on condition of anonymity.

State media said the heroin was discovered in bags transported by motorcycle following a tip-off.

Myanmar, the world's second-largest opium producer, in May pushed back by five years its goal of eliminating drug production, to 2019.

That followed a rebound in poppy cultivation in the impoverished country, which is emerging from decades of military rule.

Experts say production of amphetamine-type stimulants is also surging in Myanmar.

Earlier this month seven tonnes of caffeine - which is sometimes mixed with methamphetamine in pills - were seized near Tachileik, the police official said.

The drugs trade is closely linked to Myanmar's long-running insurgencies in remote border areas, with ethnic minority rebels widely thought to use the profits to fund their operations. -AFP

China school wall collapse kills two children

Posted:

BEIJING: Two Chinese children were killed and another four injured after a wall at their primary school collapsed, reports said.

The victims, a girl named Wang Yuzhen and a boy named An Zhengguo, both 12, died as they were being taken to hospital in Linkou in Yunnan, according to yunnan.cn.

The news portal, which is run by the southwestern province's government, added the other four victims, all fifth-graders at the school, were in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

It quoted a local resident saying the collapse on Wednesday could have been caused by pressure from large stacks of coal that had been piled up against the wall.

Infrastructure problems have become a source of increasing concern in China, where the booming economy has spurred a wave of new construction but where corruption is common and strict enforcement of building codes is often lacking.

School infrastructure has come under particular scrutiny following the deaths of thousands of students in buildings that collapsed during the massive 2008 earthquake that hit Yunnan's neighbouring province of Sichuan.

Many parents at the time blamed poor construction, but their demands for an investigation were ultimately unsuccessful and no one has been prosecuted over the deaths. -AFP

Search to save smallest survivors of Australia fires

Posted:

SPRINGWOOD, Australia: As the Blue Mountains bushfire threat eases and hundreds of residents return to their homes a relief and rescue operation is just beginning for its smallest victims - Australia's unique wildlife.

Veterinarians across the region west of Sydney are on standby as volunteer crews from animal rescue group WIRES hike out into scorched bush areas in search of native creatures that have survived the flames.

Residents whose own homes have been destroyed are putting aside their trauma to do everything they can for their animal neighbours, with WIRES describing the public response as 'mindblowing'.

Zoologist and WIRES volunteer Anna Felton is coordinating operations from the rapid-response WIRES ambulance, a 50-animal capacity van stocked with painkillers, burns cream, pouches for orphaned baby animals and cotton sheets - the only safe way to pick up a burned animal without damaging its skin.

Native birds such as cockatoos fled the mountains early, sensing imminent danger, but Felton said other animals, particularly ground and tree-dwelling marsupials such as wombats, wallabies and koalas, are "not as clued into that sort of thing and are more haphazard in their fleeing".

"So they're the ones that are kind of hanging around here with really, really nasty injuries," Felton told AFP.

There are typically few survivors from events like these - just 10 percent of native animals were estimated to have survived the 2009 Black Saturday wildfires which killed 173 Australians in neighbouring Victoria state, with more than one million wildlife deaths.

"If history is anything to go on the number that survive is very, very low," Felton said. 

Rescues have been steadily increasing since an inferno swept through the lower mountains last Thursday, razing more than 200 homes and vast tracts of bushland, with "possums and birds, a few sugar gliders and quite a few wallabies," among the most recent reported casualties.

"Most of them have pretty substantial burns at this point in time, and whilst we've been able to get a fair amount of them to vets and then out to our carers the overall outlook on what's come in so far is not great to be honest," she said.

"The ones we've seen have pretty substantial injuries."

As well as responding to injury reports from its Sydney call centre - currently running at around 300 per day, including non-fire related incidents - Felton and other volunteers will trek into blackened wilderness areas searching for survivors.

Apart from burns, typically to the paws and face, many animals are also dehydrated and suffering internal smoke inhalation injuries.

Once rescued, injured animals are taken to a local vet for triage and emergency care before being released into the custody of a trained WIRES volunteer carer, of which there are 2,000 across New South Wales state, for a period of six to 12 months.

Each volunteer is trained in the care of a specific type of animal and rescued creatures of the same species will be housed together where possible to maintain their wild traits and self-sufficiency.

Orphans are "buddied" with another animal of the same species to teach them appropriate wild behaviours and with whom, when the time comes, they will be released back into the bush.

It requires patience and dedication, with many rescued charges keeping nocturnal hours meaning carers coming home from their day jobs will wake every few hours to feed the animals and dress their wounds.

Felton said the community response to the wildfires had been overwhelming, with huge donations of medical supplies and cash.

Blue Mountains locals whose own homes came under threat from the fires were as concerned about putting bowls of water and seed out for their native neighbours as protecting their property, and Felton said they were "broken" to return and find familiar creatures missing.

One woman whose parents lost their home drove 80 kilometres (49 miles) and spent an "exorbitant" sum stocking up on essentials for the WIRES van to "assist in her way with her grieving and emotions".

Even those who lost everything would dash from the ruins of their homes when they saw the WIRES van go by.

"Their houses were gone and yet they'd come running to the van to say 'Oh I saw a wallaby, it went that way'... and you sit there thinking oh my goodness. It's mindblowing," said Felton. -AFP

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


Asian horror pros in Hollywood

Posted:

From James Wan to Park Chan-wook to Hideo Nakata, Asian directors shine in Hollywood.

JAMES Wan has basically sealed his mark as the go-to director for horror flicks with the success of scary features such as Insidious, Insidious: Chapter 2 and The Conjuring.

Besides Malaysia-born Wan, there are several Asian directors known for films that explore horror, violence and other dark themes who are breaking into the Hollywood mainstream, with varying degrees of success.

Acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook is best known for brutal vengeance-themed films such as 2003's Oldboy, which is being remade this year by American director Spike Lee in a movie starring Josh Brolin. But he has also made a vampire horror, Thirst, which was released in 2009, and directed one short in the Asian horror anthology, Three... Extremes (2004).

Park Chan-Wook

Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook.

Park made his first English-language film this year, the suspenseful psychological drama Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman. It received generally positive reviews but several critics wondered if it might have been a better film if Hollywood had allowed Park the full creative control he is used to back home.

Kim Jee-woon, who has explored horror in Korean films such as The Quiet Family (1998) and A Tale Of Two Sisters (2004), made his Hollywood debut this year by directing The Last Stand, the comeback vehicle for ageing action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It made some Terminator fans happy, but managed only a sub-par showing at the box office.

A third acclaimed South Korean director, Bong Joon-ho, is known for the dark drama Mother (2009) and the science-fiction horror monster movie The Host (2006).

He is about to unveil his English-language science-fiction tale Snowpiercer, an adaptation of a French graphic novel that will feature big-name Hollywood actors (Chris Evans) and Korean ones (Song Kang-ho).

The movie earned more than US$20mil (RM63mil) when it opened in South Korea recently, one of the country's biggest box-office debuts.

Although many Asian horror directors are well regarded in Hollywood, the American film industry often remakes its own English-language versions with non-Asian directors.

Exceptions to this include Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu.

Nakata was hired to remake an English-language version of The Ring 2 (2005), a sequel to the 2002 Hollywood re-imagining of his cult hit Ringu. Shimizu is the creator of the Japanese Ju-on films that inspired the English-language The Grudge franchise, the first two films of which he directed in 2004 and 2006. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

Related story: 

A new chapter for Patrick Wilson

Charlie Hunnam breaks his silence

Posted:

The actor gives the reason why he left the Fifty Shades Of Grey project.

Charlie Hunnam has opened up about his departure from Universal's Fifty Shades Of Grey adaptation for the first time.

Well, sorta.

"I am doing good. I am just really concentrating on work. It's been a really busy time," Hunnam told E! News at the second annual "Hogs For Heart" benefit in Burbank, California.

"I have had some family stuff going on so just trying to stay focused and stay positive and keep trying to do a good job at work and be with my family and stay positive."

The actor's father passed away last May, which he suggested may have been a factor in his decision to skip out on playing Christian Grey.

With Sons Of Anarchy production recently wrapped, Hunnam plans on putting family first.

"I've got some family stuff I have to tend to. So when I wrap the show, I am going to go to Britain and see my people and then I have a film that I am doing with Guillermo (del Toro)," Hunnam added.

"So I am going to go and do that and concentrate on the final seasons of Sons."

When Hunnam was attached to star in the adaptation of E.L. James' bestselling erotic novel, he was scheduled to begin shooting three weeks after SOA wrapped. Instead, it sounds like he'll be taking some time off before beginning his next project: Legendary Pictures' haunted houst thriller Crimson Peak. — Reuters

Avatar villain will rise again

Posted:

And we all thought it was impossible for him to come back ...

Stephen Lang, who played the villainous Colonel Quaritch in James Cameron's Avatar, is set to reprise his role in three upcoming sequels despite (spoiler alert!) having been killed off in the original movie, multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap.

Lang's character died when Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) shot him twice through the chest with her father's bow.

Cameron and his team of screenwriters (Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Shane Salerno) will now have to come up with a creative way to explain Quaritch's return to the sci-fi franchise.

After Avatar, Lang went on to star in Fox's big-budget series Terra Nova as another ruthless military figure, Commander Taylor. Lately, he has had a recurring role on USA's In Plain Sight.

Lang, who got his start playing gossip hound Freddy Lounds in Michael Mann's seminal serial killer movie Manhunter, is represented by Innovative Artists. — Reuters

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio


Bae Yong-joon wins grand prize

Posted:

The actor was awarded the grand prize at the Korean Entertainment 10th Anniversary Awards in Japan on Saturday.

Bae Yong-joon , also known as "Yonsama" in Japan for his huge popularity among Korean TV drama fans, received the grand prize at the Korean Entertainment 10th Anniversary Awards in Japan on Saturday.

Bae also won the best actor award in the category of Korean drama.

At the ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the airing of Winter Sonata – the drama that fueled the "Bae Yong-joon syndrome" in Japan - Bae expressed gratitude.

"This is a meaningful event, being able to share it with my fellow entertainers," he said.

"They have so much talent that makes the future of hallyu (the Korean pop culture wave) so bright."

Bae made his acting debut in 1994 and rose to stardom with his gentle and intelligent image.

He became a pan-Asian star, especially in Japan, after appearing in Winter Sonata in 2002. Since then, he worked as a cultural ambassador promoting Korean culture in Japan.

Meanwhile, actress Yoon Eun-hye, leading actress of popular TV dramas such as Coffee Prince, I Miss You and others, took the best actress award.

The organisers of the event surveyed a total of 120,000 K-pop fans and announced TVXQ and KARA as Japan's favourite singers for male and female groups, respectively.

Singer Kim Hyun-joong, who has been under Bae's wing since moving to Bae's agency in 2010, won the best male solo artiste award while IU won the female solo artiste award.

"I will strive to become a better artiste in singing, dancing and acting in order to contribute to hallyu," Kim said as he presented his latest songs, Your Song and Unbreakable. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

New hosts, same attitude - 3R is back!

Posted:

The programme that aims at empowering young women on issues of gender discrimination, sexuality and technology returns to the small screen.

AFTER a three-year hiatus, 3R (Respect, Relax, Respond) – a half-hour programme aimed at empowering young women on issues of gender discrimination, sexuality and technology – is back on TV.

Three new hosts are on board as well: Dayah (Nur Hidayah Abu Bakar), 24; Amirah (Siti Nor Amirah Mohamad Azmi), 22; and Yvonne (Yvonne Lee), 25.

They were selected from 12 finalists who made it to the last round of Projek 3R which was introduced in May to select three potential new hosts for the show. A thousand hopefuls between the ages of 21 and 26 auditioned for six weeks in May and June.

Projek 3R, which aired on TV3 in August, showed the finalists going through intense competition that tested them mentally and physically. Since its inception 13 years ago, the talk show with its three bubbly hosts, Azah Yasmin Yusof, Rafidah Abdullah and Low Ngai Yuen (and later, Kartini Ariffin and Celina Khor) was both trendsetting and groundbreaking. It dared to be different by openly discussing love, sexuality and relationships which many still considered taboo areas for TV.

For its efforts, the show won Best Infotainment Programme at the Asian Television Awards 2002; picked up a Red Ribbon Award 2002; and Best Magazine Programme 2003 (Silver) at the Malaysian Video Awards.

Produced by Red Comunications, the new season of 3R aims to pick up where it left off; and if the first episode aired last Sunday is anything to go by, it promises to be a hit with the viewers, especially the young women out there.

The new hosts have good chemistry and generated a lively and informative discussion on the issue of the week, which was domestic violence against women.

Executive producer Lina Tan was happy to see the trio in action.

"We all can see that the three girls have great chemistry just like our previous hosts.

"The fact that they are genuine good friends since their stint in Projek 3R also helps. And I'm really confident that they will be able to host the show in an interesting and entertaining manner for the audience," Tan said. The hosts have already taped six episodes to date.

She also added that audiences should be able to learn a thing or two as the girls will be discussing a variety of topics in upcoming episodes such as friendship, financial planning, gender-biased careers and other work-related issues.

> 3R airs on TV3 at 7.30pm on Sundays.

Homeland gets a fourth season

Posted:

The multiple award-winning TV show has been renewed by Showtime.

Emmy-winning American counter-terrorism thriller Homeland has been renewed for a fourth, 12-episode season after its audience has grown by more than a quarter in its current third season, US premium television network Showtime said.

Homeland has averaged 6.5 million viewers through the first three episodes of its third season, while the second season drew an average of 5.1 million viewers over the same time frame, Showtime said.

While the series' audience has grown since its lauded first season, the second season faltered with critics for what was viewed as outlandish plot twists. Last month, Homeland failed to repeat its Emmy for best drama, losing to Breaking Bad.

Homeland" which stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, also sits at a crossroads as Lewis' popular Brody character has slid out of the spotlight, not appearing in the first two episodes of the current season. Lewis has hinted that the character could be killed off.

The series, which won the trifecta of top Emmy awards – best drama series, and best actor and actress in a drama – in its first season, also takes over as CBS Corp-owned Showtime's top drama after cult hit Dexter concluded in September.

Showtime added that it renewed drama Masters Of Sex, about the William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson research team that pioneered the field of human sexual response in the 1960s, for a second season. — Reuters

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The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Plane fighting Australia fires crashes as cooler weather eases threat

Posted:

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A plane dousing wildfires in bushland around the Australia's biggest city, Sydney, crashed into a national park on Thursday, sparking a new fire to add to 55 still burning across the state of New South Wales.

The accident happened as the immediate threat from the fires eased thanks to cooler weather, but the Rural Fire Service (RFS) warned of hot and dry weather ahead as summer hits its peak.

"It's hard to definitely say that (the worst is over) at this stage," said RFS spokeswoman Natalie Sanders. "We have got cooler temperatures today and the winds are slightly lower but with these fires still going, it's hard to say how long they'll go for and whether there will be any further damage."

More than 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since last Thursday, when fires tore through Sydney's outskirts, razing entire streets. One man died from a heart attack while trying to save his home.

The RFS said it held "grave concerns" for the pilot of a water bomber fixed-wing aircraft that crashed in the Budawang National Park, 270 km (170 miles) southwest of Sydney, a wilderness area of steep mountainsides and forests popular with hikers and campers.

Sanders said 20 of the 55 fires still burning on Thursday had yet to be contained by firefighters, who fear strong winds may see three major fires in the Blue Mountains commuter district west of Sydney join up in coming days, creating one massive wildfire.

The fires have so far burned through more than 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) and have a perimeter of some 1,600 km (990 miles).

Police have arrested several children suspected of starting fires. Other fires were sparked by power lines arcing in strong winds, according to the RFS.

(Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Jane Wardell and Nick Macfie)

France's Hollande seen losing 2017 presidential election - poll

Posted:

Oct 24 () - PARIS (Reuters) - Four fifths of French voters believe President Francois Hollande will not win the next presidential election in 2017, a poll showed on Thursday, a fresh blow to the leader of the euro zone's second-biggest economy.

Raging unemployment, anger with tax hikes and rows within his government and party have pushed the Socialist president's popularity to its lowest since he was elected in May last year.

In a further blow, 76 percent of those surveyed in the Harris Interactive poll for Le Figaro daily and LCP television said they did not see Hollande as someone who keeps his promises and 68 percent did not consider him competent.

In contrast, 54 percent of those surveyed on October 21-22 said they believed hardline Interior Minister Manuel Valls would beat a right-wing candidate in the 2017 presidential election. Only 16 percent said Hollande could achieve that.

In France, the outgoing president traditionally represents his party in the next election and in past decades most, with the exception of former conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy, won a second mandate.

Hollande saw his popularity sink lower after he was widely criticised on Sunday for offering to allow a deported immigrant teenager to return to France but without her family.

Valls has toughened his rhetoric against illegal migration and makeshift Roma camps as the far-right National Front party surged in popularity ahead of municipal and European elections next year.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Mexico ruling party ready to back higher junk food tax - lawmaker

Posted:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is ready to support an opposition proposal to increase a planned tax on junk food included in the government's fiscal reform, the PRI's leader in the Senate said on Wednesday.

Last week, the lower house of Congress approved President Enrique Pena Nieto's fiscal reform, at the last minute adding a measure to impose a 5 percent tax on junk food. The Senate must approve the reform by the end of the month.

This week Armando Rios Piter, a Senate finance expert from the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), proposed increasing the tax rate on junk food to 8 percent.

Asked whether the PRI could back the higher tax proposed by Rios Piter, which also aims to reduce high levels of obesity in Mexico, the party's Senate leader Emilio Gamboa told Reuters: "The PRI will undoubtedly support it."

Gamboa noted the finance committee of the Senate was still discussing the fiscal reform, and its decision on possible changes to the bill is not expected until later this week.

The tax bill is a key plank of a government reform agenda spanning energy to telecommunications that Pena Nieto hopes will boost growth in Latin America's No.2 economy.

Any changes to the bill would mean returning it to the lower house of Congress to be signed off, and would expose it to fresh attacks from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which has waged a vigorous campaign against much of the tax reform.

If the bill is approved as revised by the lower house, government tax revenues will rise by a little less than 2.7 percent of GDP by 2018, Miguel Messmacher, Mexico's deputy finance minister for revenue, told Milenio television.

That is slightly less than the nearly 2.8 percent of GDP forecast previously by Finance Minister Luis Videgaray.

More fighting over the tax bill risks complicating Pena Nieto's efforts to open up the oil industry to private capital, for which the PRI is likely to rely on support from the PAN.

The PRI lacks a majority in Congress and needs a two-thirds majority for the constitutional changes Pena Nieto wants to make to foment outside investment in the state-run oil industry.

DEFINING JUNK FOOD

Separately, another PRI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Senate was also considering expanding the basket of foods included under the junk food definition so as to reap more tax without necessarily raising the rate.

The junk food tax, which compliments a planned charge on sugary drinks, is to be levied on high-calorie foods including chocolates, sweets, puddings, potato chips and ice cream. The definition does not, however, include hamburgers and tacos.

The Senate is also discussing the option of rolling back a proposal to make investment outlays deductible from a planned 7.5 percent charge on mining firms' profits, lawmakers said.

Also on Wednesday, the PRD's Senate leader Miguel Barbosa said his party was exploring the possibility of adding a measure to the tax reform to ensure the biggest companies operating in Mexico pay no less than 5 percent in tax on their income, putting deductions and tax breaks under the microscope.

That, along with changes to the mining duty and the junk food tax could help improve tax revenues for Mexico, which has long suffered from one of the weakest tax takes in the Americas.

However, Jose Trejo, a PAN lawmaker who heads the finance committee in the lower house, said the government was against making changes to the tax reform because time was running out.

"If they send any reform back to the lower house, the time to discuss it is really short," he told Reuters. "It would be a problem for the government. The window closes on October 31."

LOBBYISTS

The PRD's Rios Piter estimates that an 8 percent junk food tax would bring in 5.6 billion pesos (266.7 million pounds) in revenue, versus around 3.5 billion pesos under a 5 percent rate.

Rios Piter told Reuters he was confident his junk food amendment would pass, possibly even with some PAN support.

Meanwhile, another part of the bill - that of increasing an 11 percent value-added tax rate for border states to match the national rate of 16 percent - is under attack.

The PAN is already against raising the 11 percent border VAT rate and Barbosa, the PRD's Senate leader, has urged his party to vote against the measure. Others in the PRD, which mostly backed it in the lower house, lean towards supporting it.

Lobbyists in Congress have also been pushing hard to roll back plans to apply sales tax to pet food, a Senate aide said.

Parts of Pena Nieto's original bill have already been cut.

Lawmakers have scrapped plans to apply sales tax to rents, mortgages, property sales and school fees in Mexico. But they agreed last week to raise the top income tax rate on a sliding scale to 35 percent from 30 percent.

The tax bill is tied to the 2014 budget, which must be signed off on by mid-November.

(Editing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Jackie Frank and David Brunnstrom)

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Asian horror pros in Hollywood

Posted:

From James Wan to Park Chan-wook to Hideo Nakata, Asian directors shine in Hollywood.

JAMES Wan has basically sealed his mark as the go-to director for horror flicks with the success of scary features such as Insidious, Insidious: Chapter 2 and The Conjuring.

Besides Malaysia-born Wan, there are several Asian directors known for films that explore horror, violence and other dark themes who are breaking into the Hollywood mainstream, with varying degrees of success.

Acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook is best known for brutal vengeance-themed films such as 2003's Oldboy, which is being remade this year by American director Spike Lee in a movie starring Josh Brolin. But he has also made a vampire horror, Thirst, which was released in 2009, and directed one short in the Asian horror anthology, Three... Extremes (2004).

Park Chan-Wook

Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook.

Park made his first English-language film this year, the suspenseful psychological drama Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman. It received generally positive reviews but several critics wondered if it might have been a better film if Hollywood had allowed Park the full creative control he is used to back home.

Kim Jee-woon, who has explored horror in Korean films such as The Quiet Family (1998) and A Tale Of Two Sisters (2004), made his Hollywood debut this year by directing The Last Stand, the comeback vehicle for ageing action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It made some Terminator fans happy, but managed only a sub-par showing at the box office.

A third acclaimed South Korean director, Bong Joon-ho, is known for the dark drama Mother (2009) and the science-fiction horror monster movie The Host (2006).

He is about to unveil his English-language science-fiction tale Snowpiercer, an adaptation of a French graphic novel that will feature big-name Hollywood actors (Chris Evans) and Korean ones (Song Kang-ho).

The movie earned more than US$20mil (RM63mil) when it opened in South Korea recently, one of the country's biggest box-office debuts.

Although many Asian horror directors are well regarded in Hollywood, the American film industry often remakes its own English-language versions with non-Asian directors.

Exceptions to this include Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu.

Nakata was hired to remake an English-language version of The Ring 2 (2005), a sequel to the 2002 Hollywood re-imagining of his cult hit Ringu. Shimizu is the creator of the Japanese Ju-on films that inspired the English-language The Grudge franchise, the first two films of which he directed in 2004 and 2006. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

Related story: 

A new chapter for Patrick Wilson

Charlie Hunnam breaks his silence

Posted:

The actor gives the reason why he left the Fifty Shades Of Grey project.

Charlie Hunnam has opened up about his departure from Universal's Fifty Shades Of Grey adaptation for the first time.

Well, sorta.

"I am doing good. I am just really concentrating on work. It's been a really busy time," Hunnam told E! News at the second annual "Hogs For Heart" benefit in Burbank, California.

"I have had some family stuff going on so just trying to stay focused and stay positive and keep trying to do a good job at work and be with my family and stay positive."

The actor's father passed away last May, which he suggested may have been a factor in his decision to skip out on playing Christian Grey.

With Sons Of Anarchy production recently wrapped, Hunnam plans on putting family first.

"I've got some family stuff I have to tend to. So when I wrap the show, I am going to go to Britain and see my people and then I have a film that I am doing with Guillermo (del Toro)," Hunnam added.

"So I am going to go and do that and concentrate on the final seasons of Sons."

When Hunnam was attached to star in the adaptation of E.L. James' bestselling erotic novel, he was scheduled to begin shooting three weeks after SOA wrapped. Instead, it sounds like he'll be taking some time off before beginning his next project: Legendary Pictures' haunted houst thriller Crimson Peak. — Reuters

Avatar villain will rise again

Posted:

And we all thought it was impossible for him to come back ...

Stephen Lang, who played the villainous Colonel Quaritch in James Cameron's Avatar, is set to reprise his role in three upcoming sequels despite (spoiler alert!) having been killed off in the original movie, multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap.

Lang's character died when Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) shot him twice through the chest with her father's bow.

Cameron and his team of screenwriters (Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Shane Salerno) will now have to come up with a creative way to explain Quaritch's return to the sci-fi franchise.

After Avatar, Lang went on to star in Fox's big-budget series Terra Nova as another ruthless military figure, Commander Taylor. Lately, he has had a recurring role on USA's In Plain Sight.

Lang, who got his start playing gossip hound Freddy Lounds in Michael Mann's seminal serial killer movie Manhunter, is represented by Innovative Artists. — Reuters

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The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business


Vietnam seeks investments in Malaysia's halal sector

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JOHOR BARU: Vietnam wants Malaysians to invest in the halal industry there to tap the growing demand for halal products globally.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia Professor Nguyen Hong Thao said that Malaysia could use the country as the base for halal food processing and export the products to other parts of the world.

He said Malaysian investors could form joint ventures with their Vietnamese counterparts to set up a dedicated halal park there for food processing.

"We are keen to develop the halal industry in Vietnam, and Malaysia is the best partner due to its experience and expertise in the halal sector,'' Nguyen told a press conference after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Johor-based CHE Group of Companies and Vietnam's Hau Giang Power Plant Joint Stock Co in johor Baru yesterday.

The CHE Group has been awarded a US$620mil (RM1.96bil) contract for the designing, engineering, commissioning and supplying of power generation of 20 biomass rice husk plants in south-western Vietnam for five years.

At the signing, CHE Group was represented by managing director Chang Khong Keong and Hau Giang Power Plant by managing director Pham Minh Ngoc.

"Space is not a problem in Vietnam. We can provide up to 1,000ha for the halal park and we have a ready pool of workers,' Nguyen said.

He said that with a population of 90 million, which is expected to reach 100 million by 2020, the Vietnamese market was also huge for halal food.

Nguyen said Malaysia was one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam with 441 projects worth US$10bil while the others are from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the European Union and the United States.

"The other sectors that Malaysian companies should consider investing are in construction, infrastructure, property and renewable energy,'' Nguyen said.

Tenaga Nasional continues to shine, to benefit from Budget 2014

Posted:

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of power giant Tenaga Nasional rose to a high of RM9.40 in active trade early Thursday, underpinned by expectations it would benefit from the Budget 2014 proposals, especially if the fuel cost pass-through (FCPT) formula is approved.

At 9.18am, Tenaga was up 14 sen to RM9.50. Turnover was 1.97 million shares done.

The gains in Tenaga help push the FBM KLCI higher, with the 30-stock index up 4.16 points to 1,818.27. Turnover was 159.38 million shares valued at RM87.63mil. There were 157 gainers, 108 losers and 164 counters unchanged.

RHB Research, in a recent a report said that in view of the government's affirmative stance on rationalising subsidies, "we maintain our BUY call and RM10.13 fair value".

It said Tenaga would benefit from the Budget, especially if the FCPT formula was approved.

The Government has set target of reducing the budget deficit to 4% for 2013, 3.5% (2014) and 3% (2015) (from 2012's 4.5%).

"We understand that the country's subsidies amount to RM50bil to RM60bil currently. Of the total, some RM25bil was spent on petrol and diesel consumption, followed by RM10bil to RM12bil for the power sector," it said. 

KLCI extends winning streak, plantations, Petronas stocks lift

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KUALA LUMPUR: The positive mood on the Malaysian equities continued early Thursday, with the FBM KLCI adding nearly five points, underpinned by gains in plantations and Petronas-related counters.

At 9am, the KLCI was up 4.57 points to 1,818.68. Turnover was 40.06 million shares valued at RM14.25mil. There were 90 gainers, 45 losers and 107 counters unchanged.

On Wednesday, the KLCI jumped 10.53 points to close at an all-time high of 1,814.11.

However, JF Apex Research cautioned Asian markets were set for a weak start after the S&P 500 broke its streak of record highs overnight and as concerns over tight liquidity in China weighed on sentiment.

"As such, we expect investors to take profit and the KLCI to retreat with support at 1,800," said the research house.

Genting Plantations rose 23 sen to RM10.14, United Plantations 22 sen to RM27.20 and KL Kepong 16 sen to RM23.24 while PPB Group added 10 sen RM14.70.

Petronas Dagangan advanced 22 sen to RM30.52 and Petronas Gas gained 18 sen to RM23.68.

Protasco added eight sen to RM1.41 after it secured a RM578.5mil contract from Putrajaya Corporation to build 1,680 apartments in Putrajaya.

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Amber encourages victims to tell all

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PETALING JAYA: Before there was Amber Chia, Malaysian supermodel, there was Chia Lee Peng, an odd-looking girl who grew up being bullied in a village in Tawau, Sa­­bah.

She remembered the taunts and the cruel jokes hurled at her during her childhood as well as her early days as a model.

"When I first started going for casting calls, I would be laughed at for my bad make-up and the way I dressed.

People could tell that I was from the kampung," said Chia, who also recalled being frequently yelled at by people in the industry.

In recounting memories of being bullied, Chia has pledged her support to the recently-launched R.AGE Against Bullying campaign.

When she was seven, Chia was given away to foster parents as her birth parents could not afford to raise her, and she struggled to adapt to her new life.

"I missed my parents, and there was no one I could talk to. I would sit alone in school, and because I was the quiet kid, others started picking on me.

"They would tear up my books and draw on them, and because I was too afraid to point the bullies out, the teacher would end up punishing me for ruining my own books," she said.

It was only when she was 17 that Chia moved to Kuala Lumpur with just RM300 in her pocket to pursue a modelling career.

Her big break came in 2004 when she was selected as a finalist for an international model search for Guess Watches.

Even now, Chia said she still experienced bullying on social media, where students of her modelling academy were also frequently targeted.

"But sometimes we upload photos of our students on our Facebook page, and people would post comments like 'they are too ugly and fat to be models'. It really hurts them." Chia hopes the campaigns will help encourage victims of bullying to speak up.

It is important that people know staying silent is not a solution, and this campaign will help them speak up," she said.

For more information about the R.AGE Against Bullying campaign, go to RAGEAgainstBullying.com.

> To read the full interview on Amber Chia's experiences with bullying, check out next Tuesday's copy of R.AGE.

279 conferred bravery titles

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KUALA LUMPUR: Federal crime prevention department director Datuk Ayub Yaakob was among 279 recipients of the police warrior and bravery awards bestowed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah presented the awards at the Balairung Seri throne room in Istana Negara at 9am yesterday.

Also present was the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah.

Ayub and three foreign police officers were conferred the Panglima Gagah Pasukan Polis (PGPP).

They were Indonesian police chief Gen Drs Timur Prodopo; Thailand's Commisioner of Provincial Police Region Nine Police Lieut-Gen Pisit Pisuthsak and former Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Datuk Paduka Hasrin Paduka Sabtu.

After Negaraku was played, the four recipients, decked in their respective police uniforms were bestowed the award comprising a sash, star, miniature star and service bar by the King.

Among the dignitaries present were Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin.

Among the police top brass present were Federal commercial CID director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan; Federal narcotics CID director Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim; Federal director of management Datuk Mortadza Nazarene; Federal CID director Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah and Federal deputy director of management (administration) Datuk Abdul Ghafar Rajab.

Thirty police officers received the Pingat Setia Pasukan Polis (PSPP), 52 officers received the Pingat Pasukan Polis; 13 the Pingat Kesatria Pasukan Polis (KPP); 174 the Pingat Bentara Pasukan Polis (BPP) and six the Pingat Keberanian Pasukan Polis (PKP). — Bernama

Science stream for successful PMR students

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THE Education Ministry will automatically absorb 40% of students, who pass the PMR, into the science stream identified by the National Examination Board.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching said the process was adopted on the recommendations of a committee, which was established on Feb 9 last year, to identify ways to encourage more students to join the science field and to achieve the 60:40 ratio targeted in the technical science and art policy.

"The science and technology students will also be given priority to enter institutions of higher learning," she said in a reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid (BN-Kota Tinggi).

Noor Ehsanuddin had asked the ministry to state the steps taken to nurture more students for the science and technology stream and to develop the culture of design and innovation among students.

Mary cited the Tale Spin 2013 competition organised by The Star, Pizza Hut and The Star's Newspaper in Education (NiE) programme, where students demonstrated fluency in English through drama presentations.

"The claim that Malaysian students have a poor command of the language is untrue," she added.

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Leo to produce a movie

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The award-winning actor is set to produce an adaptation of a novel ... that is not even released yet.

Leonardo DiCaprio plans to produce and possibly star in an adaptation of a forthcoming novel by Jo Nesbo, the bestselling Norwegian crime author behind the The Snowman.

Currently in the process of acquiring the film rights to Blood On Snow, Warner Bros will enlist the help of DiCaprio and his production company Appian Way to adapt the novel to the screen.

The two-part Jo Nesbo novel, slated to arrive in bookstores in 2014 and 2015, focuses on a hit man hired to murder his boss's wife. DiCaprio is considering playing the protagonist, who ends up falling in love with the woman he has been instructed to assassinate.

Blood On Snow is the latest in a long list of projects in the pipeline for Appian Way. Among several dozen others, the production company is working on a Woodrow Wilson biopic, an adaptation of the anime comic Akira and a feature on Henry Howard Holmes, one of the first documented serial killers in the United States.

DiCaprio will be eligible for an Oscar nomination in 2014 for his role in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street. Currently in post-production, this film on Wall Street traders' glory days will be released in the US before the end of 2013. — AFP Relaxnews

Get some <i>Tom Yum Goong 2</i> action

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Lots of mind-boggling action in the Thai flick.

Touted as Thailand's first 3D action movie, Tom Yum Goong 2 took two whole years to make and has since become the biggest budget Thai movie ever made – twice as much as the original actioner Tom Yum Goong (2005).

The storyline for this hard-hitting sequel centres on its protagonist Kham, the last in the long line of guards for the King of Thailand's war elephants, who returns to his village to live in peace after a harrowing quest to retrieve the elephants. But for a martial arts expert like Kham, played by 37-year-old Thai action maestro Tony Jaa, peace is wishful thinking.

Making the sequel into a 3D movie was also a personal preference for Prachya Pinkaew (who also directed Tom Yun Goong) who professed a liking for 3D action. "The movie is an action film, so this is a good opportunity to do it. Action films and 3D go well together, I think," he said in an e-mail interview.

Tom Yum Goong 2 is also much hyped as it is the first time two top action stars from Thailand – Jeeja Yanin and Jaa – work in a film together.

"I believe a lot of people are looking forward to the fight scenes between Tony Jaa and Jeeja. In this movie, Jeeja plays Ping-Ping, the daughter of a powerful Chinese businessman involved in the elephant industry. She has studied in China and has a twin sister named Sue-Sue. Ping-Ping is an acupuncturist, whose expertise is bare-handed boxing mixed with acupuncture needles," said Prachya.

In a separate e-mail interview, the 29-year-old Jeeja shared that Tom Yum Goong 2 features more than just Muay Thai.

"The martial arts in this movie will have more universal elements, more variety. And Ping-Ping's weapon will be needles, which is totally different than in any other movie. The needles are used for acupuncture treatment for her little sister's epilepsy, as well as flying poison needles, like a secret weapon. Her little sister also has her own weapons, such as a whip and a poison needle ring," said Jeeja.

One of the challenges for Jeeja was synchronising with her co-star in the fight sequences. "There are many varieties of action scenes in this movie, from two-on-two fighting to group fights. Like in the twins' action scenes, we needed to find our rhythm. We had to run, jump, and move together."

As for the plot for the sequel, Prachya revealed that the story picks up where the first movie left off. "Ekkasit Thairat, the screenwriter of 13: Game Of Death, wrote the screenplay for this movie. We have established that the main character Kham is the successor of the King's guard. The sequel begins after he saved the elephant."

In Tom Yum Goong, there was a breathtaking four-minute-long take of a fight scene with stuntmen atop a four-storey building. To create a new sensation for the sequel, Prachya filmed another non-stop action sequence. "The fighting scene is between Tony Jaa and the motorcycle gang, which lasts for 14.50 minutes. It took us eight months to film this scene.

"Unlike the previous movie, we didn't shoot any scenes abroad. We used Bangkok as the backdrop as we wanted to present a side of Bangkok that a lot of people have never seen before.

"Sometimes it's very difficult, like shooting from a helicopter. Helicopter shoots may be normal for other countries, but it's very difficult in Thailand. Not only that, we filmed the action scene with 300 moving motorbikes."

>>Tom Yum Goong 2 will be kicking its way into cinemas nationwide on Thursday. Grab a copy of The Star today to find out how you can win tickets to watch the movie. 

Danny Trejo is grateful to be alive

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The Machete Kills actor shares stories from his colourful past.

If Danny Trejo's aim had been just a little bit better, he would be dead and not starring in Machete Kills, the latest B-grade action movie from director Robert Rodriguez.

In 1968, during one of his incarcerations during the early years of his life, Trejo found himself in the middle of a prison riot at San Quentin Prison, California. He threw a rock that struck one of the prison guards. Had the stone killed the guard, Trejo would have been given the death penalty.

"In Lt Givens' report, he wrote one of the prisoners threw the rock. He didn't name me. So, by the grace of God, I didn't die. That's when I dedicated my life to helping other people," Trejo says. "Since then, every good that's happened to me has come as a direct result of helping someone else."

After leaving prison, Trejo began to counsel others and has continued to share his message that how you start in life isn't how you have to end your life. One of the perks of becoming such a recognisable actor is that he can go to a juvenile hall or school campus and grab the attention of those who recognise him from films like Con Air and Spy Kids.

"When I go to youth authorities, you already see 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids with no hope. They already know they are going to spend the rest of their life going in and out of prison," Trejo says. "So when I show up, and I've been where they are sitting, you immediately see the light of hope go on in their eyes.

"I tell them that education is the key to anything you want to do and any problem you have is going to get worse with drugs and alcohol."

Trejo's life took a major swing when he was 40 years old. The Los Angeles native was offered a job as an extra and boxing instructor (a skill he picked up in prison) on the feature film Runaway Train. He's been a working actor ever since.

For a decade, Trejo appeared in a variety of TV shows and films, often playing one of the bad guys or an anti-hero. It was the 1995 movie Desperado that started his transformation from a tough-looking supporting player into an action film star. Desperado director Robert Rodriguez knew then he wanted to make a movie with Trejo as the star, but the right vehicle took years to find.

Trejo played Uncle Machete in the Spy Kids movies from Rodriguez and then created the knife-wielding character for a fake movie trailer in the 2007 release Grindhouse. Rodriguez and Trejo were told after Grindhouse that they should make a full feature on Machete, which resulted in the 2010 film and now the sequel.

He's 69 years old, but Trejo shows no signs of slowing down. Along with Machete Kills, Trejo has 17 movies ready to be released, two more filming and four others getting ready to start. Because Rodriguez shoots at such a quick pace – Machete Kills was filmed in 29 days – there was little time to rest. That's the way Trejo likes to work.

"I don't want to go back to my trailer to sit and wait. To me, a trailer is like a cell," Trejo says. "If you are a prima donna, you don't want to be in a Robert Rodriguez movie because he'll eat you up. His attitude is 'Let's get this done'. Robert loves what he's doing and his love just filters down."

Whether he's the star or a supporting player, it's easy to spot Trejo's distinctive face in films. Although he's a man of great faith, deeply committed to his family and possesses a great sense of humour, his etched features and long hair can give come people the wrong impression.

"I was shopping in Albertson's one day and I saw these two little old ladies looking at me like I was on America's Most Wanted. When I left the store, the police were waiting for me. The women had called them. The cops just laughed when they saw it was me," Trejo says.

"The little old ladies were scared to death of me. It was so cute." — The Fresno Bee/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Related stories: 

Machete Kills: Full swing ahead

Machete Kills review

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Nations debate giant Antarctic ocean sanctuaries

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Sydney (AFP) - Multi-nation talks began in Australia Wednesday over plans to protect Antarctica's pristine waters by creating two vast ocean sanctuaries, with hopes Russia's previous objections to the proposed no-fishing zones can be overcome.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting in Hobart brings together 24 nations and the EU to try to agree plans for conserving marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean.

At stake, say environmentalists, is an ocean wilderness that is home to 16,000 known species, including whales, seals, albatrosses, penguins and unique species of fish.

This is the latest attempt to agree on marine reserves after Russia stymied the plans at a special meeting in Germany in July, saying the no-fishing areas were too extensive and questioning the legal right of CCAMLR to set up such sanctuaries.

Since then there have been mixed signals from the Russians on how they will vote but they are believed to have dropped their argument about CCAMLR's legality, boosting optimism the sanctuaries will receive support in Hobart.


CCAMLR executive secretary Andrew Wright said Wednesday he was hopeful "that we will get an outcome at this meeting" on the two proposals.

"I'm not sure that they will all get up (succeed) in the current form but I am ... quietly confident that some revisions will take place to both proposals and one, or hopefully both, will get up," he told AFP.

Australia, along with France and the European Union, has called for a 1.6 million square kilometre (640,000 sq mile) protected zone off East Antarctica, on the frozen continent's Indian Ocean side. Fishing would only be approved by consensus.

The United States and New Zealand are pushing for a 1.25 million square kilometre zone of the Ross Sea, the deep bay on Antarctica's Pacific side, which would be a no-fishing zone.

Because all 25 members of the commission have to agree for a decision to be made, regardless of extent of the interest they have as a nation in Antarctica, no agreement yet been reached on either proposal.

Wright said it was not only the size of the zones which could be negotiated, but also the duration for which they would be kept as sanctuaries, along with elements such as research and monitoring programmes.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully has refused to rule out scaling back the New Zealand/US proposal which has already been substantially reduced from the 1.6 million square kilometres initially proposed.

"Some modifications were made to the proposal, and there may be more yet," he said on Tuesday.

McCully said he was optimistic, but not confident, of reaching agreement in Hobart, particularly given the concerns of Russia.

"We've got signs of good engagement leading up to the meeting but getting 25 countries to agree on something complex is going to be difficult," he admitted.

"All of the negotiations are quite challenging but we're satisfied that there's engagement and good faith at the moment."

If accepted, the combined area of the two sanctuaries is 2.85 million square kilometres, a fraction smaller than India, more than five times larger than France and 12 times the size of Britain.

Each prposal has the potential to create the world's largest marine protection zone.- AFP

New fires break out as Australia crews battle torrid conditions

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Mount Victoria (Australia) (AFP) - Firefighters in Australia battled hot, dry winds and soaring temperatures Wednesday as new blazes began breaking out in a week-long bushfire disaster that shows no signs of easing.

As the crisis entered its seventh day, at least 65 fires were raging across the state of New South Wales with 18 of them uncontained and warnings again issued for people to leave their homes or be extra vigilant.

"On days like today, minutes really matter," NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said, with the focus again on the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney, a popular tourist area home to 75,000 people where three huge infernos have been burning for days.

One of them, in Springwood where more than 100 homes were lost last week, was upgraded to the highest "emergency" level.

But fires were also breaking out elsewhere around the vast state with a blaze at Minmi near Newcastle, north of Sydney, which was deemed an "emergency" as it closed the main freeway that links the two cities and sparked traffic chaos.

"If you are Minmi, follow your survival plan. If your plan is to leave, leave now," the RFS said.

Another blaze at Colo, to the northwest of Sydney, was burning aggressively with water-bombing aircraft attempting to bring it under control, although the high winds were hampering the effort.

"It's a very fluid situation. It's a very dynamic situation," said the fire chief.

So far more than 120,000 hectares (296,500 acres) of land has been burnt across the state and more than 200 homes destroyed. But only one person has died as residents heed advice to either flee or head to evacuation centres.

Temperatures were at the mid-30 degrees Celsius range Wednesday and coupled with low humidity and forecast wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour, the fire chief called the conditions "as bad as it gets".

Drizzle overnight "settled down firegrounds" but it also hampered the mostly volunteer crews fighting the blazes.  

"Whilst that is some welcome relief in terms of moderating the current fire behaviour, it has compromised considerably the ability to continue with the backburning operations that were planned throughout the evening," Fitzsimmons said.

Backburning is a tactic aimed at creating firebreaks to control the path of blazes.

This has been a key focus of operations ahead of Wednesday, but the light rain meant many firefighters had to be withdrawn from forest trails due to fears that their trucks could get bogged down.

Much of the dampness has dried out and Fitzsimmons said: "We're seeing the winds strengthen and that's resulting in fire activity starting to be generated. As we speak we're identifying a number of new fires."

He added: "What can't be denied is there is something like 1,600 kilometres (992 miles) of fire perimeter that we're dealing with. Now, that's all active to one degree or another.

"No one knows where that fire activity will stir up under today's weather."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell drove home the message, saying regardless of what happens on Wednesday "we're not out of the woods yet".

He also said reports were filtering in of people trying to cash in other people's misery, with one landlord hiking up the rent for his property in the Blue Mountains because of demand with so many homes already lost.

"It is just as gut-wrenching to hear this story as it is to hear of reports that 11-year-old children have lit fires or that there has been alleged reports of looting," he told Fairfax Media.

"The last week has been characterised by communities and volunteers coming together to fight fires and support people and then you are pulled up by these acts of what I describe as bastardry."

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