Khamis, 12 Disember 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

KCNA: North Korea leader's 'traitor' uncle executed
Measures to ensure order and safety in the works
Man weds minor but still goes to jail

KCNA: North Korea leader's 'traitor' uncle executed

Posted:

SEOUL (South Korea) (AFP) - North Korea has executed the uncle of its leader Kim Jong-un after a shock purge, state news agency KCNA announced early Friday, branding the once-powerful Jang Song-thaek a "traitor for all ages".

Jang was executed on Thursday shortly after a special military trial, KCNA reported, after committing such a "hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state".

"The accused is a traitor to the nation for all ages who perpetrated anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts in a bid to overthrow the leadership of our party and state and the socialist system."

In a viciously-worded attack, the regime accused Jang of betraying the trust of both Kim Jong-un and his father Kim Jong-il, saying he had received "deeper trust" from the younger leader in particular.

Branding Jang "despicable human scum... worse than a dog", the regime accused him of attempting to stand in the way of Kim Jong-un's succession, according to KCNA.

Jang let in "undesirable and alien elements" to a department of the party's crucial Central Committee in a bid to "rally a group of reactionaries to be used by him for toppling the leadership of the party and state", it said.

Analysts said a widespread purge was likely to be carried out against those associated with Jang, especially those at the Central Committee's administrative department he had headed.

During the court hearing, Jang said he attempted to stage a coup d'etat by mobilising his associates in the military, according to KCNA.

"I attempted to stir up complaints among the people and the military that even as the country's economic situation and people's livelihood are in dire situation, the current regime fails to deal with it," Jang was quoted as saying at the military court.

"He revealed his true picture as a traitor of all ages, saying that the coup was aimed at the supreme leader" Kim Jong-un, KCNA said.

The court found him guilty of attempting to overthrow the state in breach of the Criminal Law and handed out a death sentence to punish him sternly "in the name of revolution and the people".

"The death sentence was executed immediately," KCNA said.

Jang, who was married to the sister of the late Kim Jong-il, played a key role in cementing the leadership of the inexperienced Kim.

But analysts say the 67-year-old's power and influence had become increasingly resented by his nephew, who is aged around 30.

Jang - seen as Kim's political regent and the country's unofficial number two - had earlier been stripped of all posts and titles, with the regime accusing him of corruption and building a rival power base.

State TV this week showed photos of him being dragged out of his seat at a meeting by two officers, in an extremely rare public humiliation of a figure who was then demonised as a drug-taking womaniser.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday accused Kim Jong-un of resorting to extreme violence to cement his leadership.

"North Korea is now engaged in a reign of terror while carrying out a massive purge to consolidate the power of Kim Jong-un," she told a cabinet meeting, according to her office.

The Kim family has ruled the North for six decades with an iron fist, regularly purging those showing the slightest sign of dissent. Most are executed or sent to prison camps.

Analysts warn Jang's ouster - the biggest political upheaval since Jong-un took power - may cause significant instability even in the world's most tightly controlled nation.

Measures to ensure order and safety in the works

Posted:

THE government will look into measures to ensure order and safety in Little India after last Sunday's riot, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview in Seoul, where he is on an official visit.

This will include looking at how the transport flow can be made safer, he said.

"Serangoon Road is crowded every weekend and we want to make sure that everything is orderly and safe next weekend and thereafter.

"We've decided this weekend, no alcohol, and thereafter we'll work out some interim arrangements ... until such time as we can come to firmer conclusions and make some more permanent arrangements," he said.

Lee also said the investigations into the incident, which involved some 400 foreign workers throwing objects at police and attacking vehicles, are carrying on well.

The government has to deal with the matter firmly and make clear rioting is unacceptable, but "we have to be fair to the persons who are not involved, even the persons who are involved, there has to be a due process of law", he added.

Though understandably shocked, Singaporeans have reacted calmly to the riot, and yesterday, Lee called for continued restraint.

"Whether online or anywhere else we have to exercise some restraint.

"The anxiety and the alarm is quite understandable but if we express ourselves in unrestrained, unreserved terms and sometimes xenophobic terms even, on the internet you've seen quite a lot of those, I don't think that is helpful," he said.

Lee said the government hopes to announce "within a day or two" more details on the Committee of Inquiry set up to look into the incident, including the names of the committee members and the terms of reference.

Meanwhile, four Indian nationals were charged in court yesterday for their involvement in the riot.

Three are accused of throwing pieces of hardened concrete at the police officers responding to the melee along Race Course Road.

The fourth man is accused of being a member of an unlawful assembly and attacking – with a dustbin, wooden stick, hardened concrete, bottles and a metal drain cover – the private bus, which was previously reported to have run over and killed an Indian national at the junction of Tekka Lane and Race Course Road.

The fourth man is also accused of overturning and later setting on fire a police vehicle during the chaos.

This now brings the total number of accused persons facing charges for Sunday's incident in Little India to 31.

This after the first group of 27 were hauled up to court over Tuesday and Wednesday. They have been remanded for further investigations and will return to court on Dec 19.

Police have also installed additonal closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of Race Course Road and Buffalo Road, where Sunday's riot occured. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Man weds minor but still goes to jail

Posted:

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind here, a Singaporean man was jailed for having sex with an underage girl who is now his wife.

District Judge Mathew Joseph said yesterday that the case was "unusual".

He said it was the first case of underage sex he has heard where the victim and accused are now a married couple.

While the judge said he was prepared to consider the case differently, he said the court did not condone the accused for having sex with the minor – who was then 15 – as the couple were not married at the time of the offence.

The accused, a 32-year-old computer technician, married the Singaporean girl in Indonesia a year ago when she was 16.

His wife, now 17, was in court together with his six-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

The judge added that he hoped the accused would put the past behind him for the sake of his wife – who is now seven months pregnant – and their unborn child.

The sex offences came to light when the accused was probed by the police for a forgery offence.

For having sex with the minor, the accused was sentenced to six months in jail.

Together with the sex offences, the accused pleaded guilty to 15 charges last month – mostly for cheating – and was sentenced to a total of 18 months behind bars.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Victor Lim told the court last month that the victim befriended the accused some time between 2008 and 2009 while playing an online game.

She was then around 12 or 13.

The two entered into a relationship in December 2011.

In the same month, the accused told the victim that he wanted to have sex with her. After she agreed, he drove her to a hotel in Geylang.

Their next sexual encounter took place early last year, when she was living with the accused at his Sembawang flat.

Soon after that, the victim discovered that she was pregnant. The accused, who was then divorced, made plans to marry her.

For one of the forgery offences, the court heard that the accused had faked a letter purportedly from the Institute of Mental Health in March, after his girlfriend told him that she wanted to quit her studies at a secondary school. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Malaysian director's work in Sundance Film Festival
Kate Bosworth steps out of her comfort zone
Hang on, Firestorm's coming!

Malaysian director's work in Sundance Film Festival

Posted:

Filmmaker Diffan Sina Norman's short film gets international exposure.

DIRECTOR Diffan Sina Norman's short film – Kekasih – is the latest Malaysian submission to be shortlisted in the Sundance Film Festival.

"I didn't expect it at all. I'm incredibly thrilled and delighted. I actually got the news about a month ago and I've been dying to share it with everyone," Diffan, 30, said following an announcement by the film festival last night.

(Amir Muhammad was the first Malaysian to have his work be part of Sundance when his film, The Big Durian, was included in the festival's "World Documentary" section back in 2004.)

Kekasih is among 66 short films which has been selected from this year's pool of 8,161 submissions in the short film category.

The nine-minute project, which boasts a cast of versatile actors including Nasir Bilal Khan and Fauziah Nawi, tells the tale of a botanical professor trying to come to terms with the death of his wife. The professor extracts the remains of his late wife and in doing so, encounters a divine presence.

Director Diffan Sina Norman dedicates Kekasih, a short film shortlisted in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, to his late father.

Director Diffan Sina Norman dedicates Kekasih, a film shortlisted in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, to his late father.

"The story is actually inspired by the relationship between the bird and the flower, a symbol that is prevalent in Iranian culture," explained Diffan who is half Iranian. "The bird needs to sing to the flower for it to blossom and the flower will only blossom to a singing bird. It is this symbiotic relationship that the short film is trying to explore."

The director added that Kekasih holds a special meaning to him. "After my father's passing in 2011, I went to clear out his office and found a copy of my script of Kekasih on his desk," he shared. "Before his death, I would always discuss the script with my dad and he would give his advice."

The short film, which took around six months to produce, is Diffan's first submission to the film festival. However, he has also made some waves with his other short film, Wanita Cosmos, way back in 2004. He left for the United States shortly after that and took up a job at a commercial production company specialising in animation and production, putting his directorial dreams in the backseat.

Diffan returned to Malaysia in 2011 and continued directing again, with works including a music video for singer MizzNina. The video, entitled With You, took home the best music video award at last year's Shout! Awards.

Diffan is currently based in both Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles as a freelance director and designer.

"It was something (my father) has always encouraged me to do – to get back into filmmaking and tell stories. I think he would have been very proud," he said, dedicating the short film to his father.

For more on Kekasih, visit kekasihthefilm.com.

Kate Bosworth steps out of her comfort zone

Posted:

DIRECTOR Gary Fleder had serious doubts when it was suggested Kate Bosworth should play Cassie in Homefront. He just couldn't see how the petite actress, best known for playing sweet roles like Sandra Dee in Beyond The Sea, could portray a meth-head mother whose drug use turned her into a vile and bitter woman.

The director ended up casting her and was happily surprised with the power Bosworth brought to the role. He calls her work "fearless."

Bosworth laughs when she hears how people are surprised that she's able to play a role that is 180° from who she really is. It shouldn't be a shock because as an actor, her job is to play all kinds of roles – even viciously angry drug users. She knew as soon as she saw the script that she wanted the role because it would be such a challenge.

"When I am sent scripts, I am always looking for the ones with characters that jump out at me. I have to know what the draw is to playing the role," Bosworth says. "In this character, it was her balance of destruction and darkness and vulnerability and humanistic side. If you take the character at face value, she can be very unsympathetic.

"But, you also have to understand that she is a girl living in world of pain. Being able to connect those dots was the draw for me. I could use all of that to make her real."

The character she creates is the match that lights a powder keg in a small Louisiana city. What starts out as a schoolyard incident is fanned into a war when Cassie turns to her brother, Gator (James Franco), the local drug czar, to help restore some of the family pride she feels has been hurt by the mysterious new guy (Jason Statham) in town.

It wasn't hard for Bosworth to build a back story for the character. The actress spent her teen years living in the small town of Cohasset, Massachusetts.

"I know what it's like to be alone, in your room, at 15 and trying to figure out a way to have your dreams fulfilled. All I have to do is look around and think what might have happened if I didn't get the life I have," Bosworth says.

It's been a good acting life so far. Since being cast in the 1998 film, The Horse Whisperer, she's gone on to earn high praise for her work in Blue Crush, Wonderland and Superman Returns.

Bosworth used a wardrobe trick she learned from costume designer Ann Roth while filming The Girl In The Park to build her Homefront character.

"Cassie is someone who has been abusing herself for a long time. I decided she would have only one or two changes of clothes. She would wear the same jeans she's probably been wearing for weeks and a shirt she picked up off the floor," Bosworth says. "Ann Roth taught me how informative wardrobe can be. My character wore a leather coat and we turned it inside out and wrote telephone numbers and names all over it. She was always on the move and this was a way of painting her life with the wardrobe."

The rest of Bosworth's transformation to play Cassie included wearing no makeup and letting her hair get dirty. The look helped her show the honesty of the character. The main truth Bosworth saw about the role was this is a woman who has far bigger concerns than her looks.

Her transformation not only won over the director, but her fellow actors.

"I was blown away with what Kate did. I mean she is a mile away from this Cassie character she portrays," Statham says.

"She really embodied this part, she did her homework and she put together a stunning performance. We were all like, 'WOW, is that Kate?' You know, she blew everyone away." – The Fresno Bee/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Homefront is playing in cinemas nationwide now

Hang on, Firestorm's coming!

Posted:

Firestorm is as explosive as it gets when it comes to crazy stunts.

ACTORS doing their own stunts in movies is nothing new, but in Firestorm both of its main stars, Andy Lau and Gordon Lam, seemed to be flirting with danger.

The two crashed into each other in several vehicle collisions. They leapt off an exploding building. They hung on to speeding cars. They tumbled down several flights of stairs in a fist fight. They wrestled atop a wire panel suspended between two buildings.

It looked like the most dangerous movie they had ever made, yet the pair brushed aside concerns for their safety.

"That was really easy; it was all wire-work," said Lau, before adding, "Stunt work is no longer as dangerous as it used to be when I first started making movies. Now, we have three or four sets of wires attached to us. In any case, we run the risk of meeting with all sorts of accidents in our daily lives. But, on the set, we film all these stunts and action sequences under tightly-controlled situations."

While dangerous stunts did not faze Lam, there was another major challenge for him while shooting Firestorm – chilly weather. "Having to adapt to filming in the cold was quite tough. Even more so than doing the stunts, which was not a problem because we were properly prepared and had all the safety measures put in place," he noted.

Lau and Lam were in Kuala Lumpur last week to promote their movie Firestorm, which has all the elements of a 1980s HK action flick.

Playing a hardboiled senior police officer who is forced to examine his moral stand, Lau, 52, spoke about the yin and yang of the main characters.

"Our movie revolves around the premise that a good man may be pushed to flout the law due to certain circumstances. Similarly, a bad guy, may be compelled to do good."

Commenting on his role as an ex-con desperate for redemption, Lam, 46, shared that the plotwill give the viewers something to think about. "It's not just action and special effects; the audience can look forward to some issues to reflect upon.

"When I first read the script, it was the conflict within my character which held the initial attraction. Following that, how he deals with this conflict and how the decision he makes in a moment of desperation affects the eventual outcome. That was what I liked about the script."

Written and directed by Alan Yuen, Firestorm was made on a US$20mil (RM64.5mil) budget.

Speaking as a producer, Lau praised Yuen's screenplay. "With such a solid storyline, we hoped to best complement the plot with corresponding visuals. So, my focus was more on the technical aspects. Since the director was an experienced writer, the script was already in good hands. Our only concern was to bring out the best in our roles," said Lau. Firestorm is the 146th movie in Lau's illustrous career!

When asked for his memorable scenes, Lam said it he enjoyed filming with mainland Chinese actress Yao Chen.

The 34-year-old actress is best known as the queen of Weibo (Chinese equivalent of Twitter) with 58 million followers.

Citing the scene where Yao shaves his hair with an electric clipper, Lam said: "I think it is very romantic when a woman cuts your hair. That is because she hopes to help you get a fresh start. Though I may not have experienced this myself, I feelthis is a significant indication of how deep her love is. So, I really like that scene a lot."

The movie also stars Philip Keung, Kenny Wong, Oscar Leung, Michael Tong, Vincent Sze, Terence Yin, Sammy Hung, with special appearances by heavyweights Hu Jun and Ray Lui, as well as cameos by Michael Wong, Wong Cho Lam, Alex Tsui, Eddie Cheung, and Hayama Hiro.

Aside from being the opening film at Screen Singapore last week, Firestorm is also set to open the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival to be held on Dec 13 in Macau.

* Firestorm explodes into cinemas nationwide tomorrow.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Al Jazeera denies report its Cairo office was raided
Argentina says EU asks for delay in trade proposals with Mercosur
South Africa admits mistake over 'schizophrenic' Mandela signer

Al Jazeera denies report its Cairo office was raided

Posted:

CAIRO/DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's Al Jazeera television channel on Thursday denied a report that Egyptian security forces had raided one of its offices in Cairo.

Egypt's Al-Ahram website said an office of Al Jazeera in the Egyptian capital had been raided and security forces arrested 11 Qatari citizens, of whom four were police officers.

In an email to Reuters, Al Jazeera said the report was not true.

"At the moment, neither Al Jazeera nor Al Jazeera Mubasher nor Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr have any staffed office in the area of Dokki in Cairo, so no security police raid would be possible," said the email. "We deny everything mentioned in the article by Al-Ahram."

A source in Qatar's interior ministry said there had been no reports of Qatari citizens being arrested in Egypt.

Al Jazeera's offices in Cairo have been closed since July 3, when they were raided by security forces hours after the army toppled elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. The satellite channel, broadcast from Qatar, can still be seen in Egypt.

Al-Ahram quoted security officials as saying they had searched the office after receiving reports that firearms were inside, but that none were found. Cameras, audio equipment and unlicensed transmitters were seized in the raid, it said.

Egyptian-Qatari ties deteriorated after the army unseated Mursi, whose Muslim Brotherhood was supported by Doha.

The Gulf emirate gave Egypt financial support during Mursi's rule and was dismayed by the president's removal and the subsequent repression of the Brotherhood by the security forces.

(Reporting by Maggie Fick and Amena Bakr; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Argentina says EU asks for delay in trade proposals with Mercosur

Posted:

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The European Union has asked for a one-month delay in the exchange of proposals to kick off free-trade negotiations with South America's Mercosur bloc, the Argentine government said on Thursday.

Mercosur's four members, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, were due to present their proposals to Brussels next week. The proposals involve lists of imports that each side would be prepared to liberalize in talks that have taken almost two decades to get off the ground.

"Surprisingly, we received a request from the European Union to put off for another month the presentation of the proposals," Argentine Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich told reporters.

He gave no reasons for the delay sought by Brussels.

Brazil, Mercosur's largest player, is hoping a free-trade agreement with the EU can be signed next year, 15 years after talks were first launched.

Attempts to negotiate a deal have stumbled repeatedly over Mercosur access for European manufactured goods and EU access for Mercosur's agricultural products facing high European farm subsidies.

Mercosur's newest member, Venezuela, has been left out of talks with Europe as it is not ready to compete.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by James Dalgleish)

South Africa admits mistake over 'schizophrenic' Mandela signer

Posted:

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African sign language interpreter accused of miming nonsense as world leaders paid tribute to Nelson Mandela defended himself as a "champion" signer on Thursday, but said he suffered a schizophrenic episode during the event.

The interpreter, 34-year-old Thamsanqa Jantjie, told Johannesburg's Star newspaper he started hearing voices and hallucinating while on stage, resulting in gestures that made no sense to outraged deaf people around the world.

"There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous situation. I tried to control myself and not show the world what was going on. I am very sorry. It's the situation I found myself in," he told the paper.

The government admitted Jantjie was not a professional interpreter but played down security concerns at his sharing the podium with world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama at the memorial on Tuesday.

"He was procured. He did not just rock up," Deputy Disabilities Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu told a news conference. "Did a mistake happen? Yes. He became overwhelmed. He did not use the normal signs. We accept all that."

After the memorial, South Africa's leading deaf association denounced him as a fake, making up gestures to be put into the mouths of Obama and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma.

Jantjie said he did not know what triggered the attack and said he took medication for his schizophrenia.

Besides the security issues, the controversy has cast a shadow over South Africa's 10-day farewell to its first black president, who died a week ago aged 95.

It also heaps more pressure on Zuma, who is fighting a slew of corruption allegations against him and his administration and who was booed by the crowd on Tuesday.

Footage from two large African National Congress (ANC) events last year shows Jantjie signing on stage next to Zuma, although the ruling party said it had no idea who he was.

COMPANY "VANISHED"

In a radio interview, Jantjie said he was happy with his performance at the memorial.

"Absolutely, absolutely. I think that I've been a champion of sign language," he told Johannesburg's Talk Radio 702.

When contacted by Reuters, he said he could not understand why people were complaining now, rather than after other events. "I'm not a failure. I deliver," he said.

The publicity surrounding Jantjie's unconventional gestures - experts said he did not know even basic signs such as "thank you" or "Mandela" - sparked a frenetic hunt for him and his employers.

Jantjie said he worked for a company called SA Interpreters, hired by the ANC for Tuesday's ceremony at Johannesburg's 95,000-seat Soccer City stadium.

Attempts by Reuters to track down the company were unsuccessful. Bogopane-Zulu said its management had fled the glare of publicity, with the suggestion that it had been providing sub-standard interpreters for some time.

"We managed to get hold of them, and then we spoke to them wanting some answers and they vanished into thin air," she said. "It's a clear indication that over the years they have managed to get away with this."

The death of Nobel peace laureate Mandela has triggered an outpouring of grief and emotion, combined with celebration and thanksgiving, among his 53 million countrymen and millions more around the world.

Thousands of mourners continued to queue to say goodbye to Mandela in Pretoria, although that too has not been without its problems.

A lack of drinking water and toilets caused several people to pass out on Wednesday, and on Thursday social media reports emerged saying some mourners had taken photographs of Mandela's body, defying the wishes of his family and the government.

An official statement urged people to delete any pictures of Mandela's remains if they existed. It also said there were no plans to release an official photograph of Mandela lying in state.

His body will lie in state for a third day on Friday before being flown to the Eastern Cape, where it will be buried on Sunday at his ancestral home in Qunu, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg.

(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley and David Dolan; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Alison Williams)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Malaysian director's work in Sundance Film Festival
Kate Bosworth steps out of her comfort zone
Hang on, Firestorm's coming!