Jumaat, 17 Januari 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Indian minister's wife 'found dead' amid adultery row

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 04:49 PM PST

New Delhi (AFP) - The wife of prominent Indian minister Shashi Tharoor was found dead Friday in a five-star hotel room after she exposed his alleged adultery with a Pakistani journalist on Twitter, media reports said.

The Press Trust of India, quoting unnamed police sources, said the minister reported his wife's death to police. It was not immediately known how Sunanda Pushkar had died.

TV footage showed an ambulance with flashing blue lights outside the luxury hotel.

Pushkar's death came a day after Tharoor issued what he called a joint statement from the couple saying they were "happily married and intend to remain that way".

The statement added that "Sunanda has been ill and hospitalised this week and is seeking to rest" and asked for the media to respect the couple's privacy.

The alleged affair surfaced late on Wednesday when a curious series of messages appeared on the Twitter account of the suave thrice-married human resources minister, seen by his two million followers.

They showed private exchanges purportedly between the 57-year-old (@shashitharoor) and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar (@mehrtarar), in which she professed her love for him and he said his wife had discovered his affair.

Tharoor quickly responded by saying his Twitter account had been "hacked," but wife Sunanda spoke to two newspapers saying that she was the author of the messages.

"Our accounts have not been hacked and I have been sending out these tweets," Sunanda told the Economic Times, adding to the Indian Express that she "100 percent" stood by the messages.

The Pakistani journalist strongly denied having an affair with the former high-flying UN diplomat.

Tharoor had to resign from his first ministerial post after revelations that then-girlfriend Sunanda had been given a free stake in a new Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team.

Opposition parties said the stake, reportedly worth up to $15 million, was for Tharoor's behind-the-scenes services in putting together a consortium that bought a franchise in his home state of Kerala.

Both had denied any wrongdoing.

In the statement, Tharoor said the couple were "distressed" by the controversy created by "unauthorised tweets" and denounced "distorted accounts of comments allegedly made by Sunanda in the press."

Judge calls for steps to avoid trouble in appeals

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

An appeal judge has called for measures to be taken to avoid future situations in which an offender has served his jail term, or a good part of it, before his appeal is heard.

Justice Chao Hick Tin made the remarks in his written judgment, published yesterday, in the case of three national servicemen who went on a stealing spree at a police station.

Saiful Rizam Assim, Muhammad Erman Iman Tauhid and Muhammad Yunus Aziz were sentenced to between seven months and one-and-a-half years by a district court in April last year.

The prosecution team appealed, arguing for a sentence of reformative training instead.

Justice Chao, who said he had been "troubled" by the case, said he felt they should have been sent for reformative training. But he eventually decided against it as it would amount to "double punishment" for the trio. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

'Bond investments made sense to me'

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

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The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates


Thai protesters march on, defiant after grenade attack

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 09:30 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters marched defiantly through Thailand's capital on Saturday, with one group entering a police compound, undeterred by a grenade explosion the day before that wounded 35 demonstrators and killed one.

Friday's blast sent tension rippling through Bangkok after several days of relative calm that had suggested the movement to close down the government and force the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was running out of steam.

It was not clear who was behind the attack on the protesters. Their firebrand leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, blamed the government and said the incident would not dent the morale of thousands who this week stepped up a two-month agitation, blockading key arteries of the city and occupying ministries.

The incident, which comes just two weeks before a general election, heightens the risk of a move by the country's army to end an impasse that is starting to damage the economy.

Boonyakiat Karavekphan, a political scientist at Ramkamhaeng University in Bangkok, said the attack had raised the chances of "a significant clash between the protesters and groups they perceive to be their enemies, the police or forces loyal to the government, in order to provoke some sort of military reaction and speed up chances of a military intervention".

The army has staged or attempted 18 coups in 81 years of on-off democracy, but it has tried to remain neutral this time, and many believe it will stay in its barracks.

"Isolated incidents of violence could provoke retaliatory actions over the weekend, but these are less likely to prompt military intervention than street clashes that lead to a large number of fatalities," the Eurasia political risk group said.

Military chief Prayuth Chan-ocha was expected to make a speech later on Saturday to mark Army Day.

The turmoil is the latest episode in an eight-year conflict pitting Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against poorer, mainly rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, the self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The protesters accuse the pair of corruption, and want Yingluck to step down to make way for an unelected "people's council" to push through broad political reforms.

Strong support from rural voters has enabled Thaksin or his allies to win every election since 2001 and Yingluck's Puea Thai Party seems certain to win the vote set for February 2. But the protesters and opposition parties are boycotting the poll and want the prime minister to step down immediately.

"THE MOVEMENT IS DESPERATE"

The grenade hurled at demonstrators marching in the city centre on Friday injured 36. The Erawan Medical Center, which monitors Bangkok hospitals, said one of the injured, a 46-year-old man, died of bleeding during the night.

Suthep told protesters he planned to lead a march through the same area in remembrance of the man who died. Another group of protesters entered a police compound in the city on Saturday but met no resistance, Reuters reporters said.

The government rejected Suthep's charge that it was responsible for the attack on the protesters.

"The movement is desperate," Anusorn Iamsa-ard, deputy spokesman for Yingluck's Puea Thai Party, said on Friday.

"Its attempt to shut down this city has not been successful so it is trying different tactics, including staging attacks and blaming them on the government."

The agitation that began in November has been relatively peaceful until now, though sporadic flare-ups between protesters, police and government supporters have left eight people dead and scores injured.

The demonstrations are the biggest since pro-Thaksin protesters paralysed Bangkok in April and May 2010. That movement ended with a military crackdown and more than 90 people, mostly protesters, were killed during the events.

Pro-government "red shirt" protesters have stayed outside Bangkok this time, limiting the risk of factional clashes.

In northern and north-eastern cities - usually bastions of support for Thaksin - hundreds of farmers have staged protests and blocked roads to demand payment for rice sold to the government under a controversial subsidy scheme.

"We will march to join the major protest in Bangkok if we don't get our money. We will fight to the death," said one farmer who joined a protest in Phicit province on Saturday.

An anti-corruption agency said this week it would investigate the money-guzzling subsidy programme introduced by Yingluck's party, which promised poor farmers they would be able to sell their rice at above-market prices.

Critics say the scheme is riddled with corruption and - a particular gripe of the more well-heeled protesters - that it has cost taxpayers as much as 425 billion baht ($12.9 billion), although that figure would drop if the government managed to find buyers for the rice in state stockpiles.

Yingluck is nominally head of the National Rice Committee and could therefore eventually face charges.

"The greater risk to Yingluck's government remains judiciary intervention," Eurasia Group said, adding that the inquiry into the rice purchasing scheme had created a "pathway through which the courts could take action to remove her administration".

(Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Eighteen die in India stampede at home of Muslim spiritual leader

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:55 PM PST

MUMBAI (Reuters) - At least 18 people died in a stampede in India's financial capital of Mumbai early on Saturday after thousands gathered to mourn the death of the 102-year-old leader of a Muslim sect, a city official and television reports said.

The stampede took place outside the home of Syedna Mohamed Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, in a wealthy part of the city.

A large crowd of mourners was pressed against the gates of the house at the time, television channel CNN-IBN said, citing police. At least 50 people were injured.

The leader died on Friday and his body had been placed in his Malabar Hill home for people to pay their respects.

Several of the injured were released after treatment at nearby hospitals, said a city official who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Stampedes frequently happen at religious sites in India but they are not common in big cities such as Mumbai where there is a greater police presence to monitor the flow of people.

Last October, about 115 people were killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Clarence Fernandez)

Honduras approves shooting down suspected drug planes

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:35 PM PST

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran lawmakers on Friday approved legislation allowing the government to shoot down planes suspected of trafficking illegal drugs through the poor nation that has been hit by deepening gang violence.

The legislation authorizes progressive use of force to make unidentified aircraft land. Only the country's defence minister can order that a plane be shot down, the legislation said.

Most of the cocaine destined for the United States moves though Honduras, where Mexican drug gangs have moved in as they take increasing control over the drug trade from Colombian traffickers.

The Honduran military shot down two small planes in 2012 that were suspected of carrying drugs. The incident pushed the United States to suspend anti-drug radar support to Honduran authorities for about three months.

Conservative Juan Hernandez was elected president last November after promising a tough militarized response to drug gang violence that has driven Honduras' murder rate to the world's highest.

Honduras has said it will buy three radar systems from Israel that it can use to track planes suspected of carrying illegal drugs.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Editing by Ken Wills)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


Star Wars invades Singapore

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 11:45 PM PST

(From left) George Lucas, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, unveil a statue of Star Wars character Yoda to officiate the opening of Disney's Lucasfilm's new animation production facility, the Sandcrawler in Singapore. -- AFP/Stefanus Ian 

Rango won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, while Pacific Rim has grossed more than US$400mil (RM1.28bil) worldwide.

Kennedy, 60, joined Lucasfilm in 2012 after having worked as a producer on more than 60 films, including four of the highest-grossing films in history: Jurassic Park (1993), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) and The Sixth Sense (1999).

The eight-time Oscar nominee says she will carry on working as a producer. One of her projects is the highly-anticipated seventh Star Wars film, expected to be released next year (2015).

It has been reported that there will be a new Star Wars film every year, starting from next year (2015), with the seventh film being the first of a trilogy. Origin stories will dominate the slate.

These will sit alongside a series of standalone, spin-off movies, focused on individual characters. Names mentioned in previous reports for possible spin-offs include Yoda, Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Asked if she was concerned about the possibility of the spin-offs distorting the story threads laid down in the original saga, she says that the universe created by series creator George Lucas was large enough to contain "endless opportunities" for new content.

"George was so clear as to how that works. The canon that he created was the Star Wars saga. Right now episode seven falls within that canon. The spin-off movies, or we may come up with some other way to call those films, they exist within that vast universe that he created," she explains.

But there are rules to follow.

"There is no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes. Consequently, from the creative standpoint, it's a roadmap that George made pretty clear."

Lucasfilm Singapore is now fully housed in its new seven-storey building at the Fusionopolis high-tech park. All staff from the previous facility at Changi Business Park have moved into the new space, which features a 100-seat theatre and state-of-the-art digital production facilities and a public garden.

The building is named Sandcrawler, after the mining machines seen the Star Wars films.

There are now more than 400 employees at Lucasfilm Singapore, the majority of whom are artists. There are 130 Singaporeans employed there, with the rest coming other countries in the region.

Since its founding in 2005, Lucasfilm Singapore has contributed to projects such as the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while ILM Singapore was involved in several instalments of The Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, the Transformers trilogy, the Iron Man franchise, The Avengers (2012) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). — The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

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The Star Online: Business

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The Star Online: Business


Conglomerate DRB-Hicom has set a revenue target of RM17bil by 2015

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Whenever discussions on the automotive conglomerate arise, invariably attention turns to DRB-Hicom Bhd. Its sprawling automotive complex in Pekan, which assembles cars for Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, has grown from strength to strength, either organically or through acquisitions.

DRB-Hicom's revenue has more than tripled to RM12bil since the takeover in 2004, with its net profit at RM1.32bil in financial year ended March 2013. It was a surge in profits after recognising RM971mil negative goodwill from the acquisition of Proton, while operating profit improved 11% to RM534mil from a year ago.

As at the week's close of RM2.75, it trades at a price to earnings ratio of around 8 times, seemingly cheap for a company of such proportion with key strategic assets like Proton and Pos Malaysia Bhd.

With its underperforming share price, it's now at a substantial discount of 23% to its net tangible asset per share at RM3.60 which translates to RM7bil. While its total assets stand at RM40bil, and borrowings at RM6.2bil.

Five out of eight research houses tracked by Bloomberg have a "buy" call on the company, with a consensus target price of RM4.

Those numbers have not gone unnoticed, as foreign funds have been accumulating its shares, with its foreign shareholding for the floated shares standing at 19.65% as at Dec 2013, compared with just 11.62% recorded in Dec 2010.

It counts Norwegian fund like Skagen AS and Norwegian bank Norges Bank among its top five substantial shareholders, while BlackRock, the world's largest fund manager, also has a stake in the company.

However, similar to its recently acquired unit, national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd, it suffers from a perception problem with investors shunning the stock due to the "perceived" political risk, while Proton has a "subpar" value attached due to its legacy issues.

While group managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil skirted the question about perception at a media excursion to Sabah recently, he concurred that change is the only constant with more rationalisation and synergies reaped within the group, before markets recognised the value of the company.

It was also a vindication of sorts two weeks ago when a Proton Preve was involved in a high speed collision, that even flipped the car a few times on the East Coast Expressway, with the engine dislodged. Many ridiculed the quality of Proton when pictures of the accident went viral on social media, but the main point is that the lady driver escaped unscathed, partly due to sheer luck and the quality improvements on certain manufacturing processes and body structure.

DRB-Hicom group managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil (third from left) addressing the press recently. From left, corporate affairs group director Datuk Carol Chan,  services and properties chief operating officer Datuk Mohamed Razeek Md Hussain and CFO Ahmad Fuaad Kenali.

Mohd Khamil Jamil (third from left) addressing the press recently. With him are (from left) corporate affairs group director Datuk Carol Chan,  services and properties COO Datuk Mohamed Razeek Md Hussain and Ahmad Fuaad.

 

In technical terms, Proton project management and strategic initiatives chief operating officer Abdul Rashid Musa said certain chassis parts have seen their tensile strength upgraded to up to 1,500 megapascals (MPa), compared to 500 MPa previously.

In layman terms, it would take more than 150 tonnes of force per sq m to deform a part with 1,500 MPa in tensile strength.

"The engine and rear roll mount was designed to detach upon serious impact. The accident shows the quality of the car as the driver could still open the doors to leave the car, showing the integrity of the side structure, even after an impact.

"It could be worse if the engine is still in the crumple zone, which can end up being pushed into the cabin area," he said.

Proton is slated to introduce a new car, codenamed P2-30A or the Global Small Car, in April, the first complete new creation since the takeover by DRB-Hicom two years ago.

Air support

On a broader picture, Khamil in his presentation to the press in Sabah last weekend highlighted its two newly acquired jewels, Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM) and Konsortium Logistik Bhd (KLB) as the growth impetus for the company going forward.

CTRM has an outstanding orderbook of RM5.68bil which would keep it busy until 2020, with giant aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing being its main customers.

But DRB-Hicom is not looking at just the aviation industry but to synergise with its defence unit and even national carmaker Proton.

"Composites represent a huge opportunity, as certain parts could be manufactured to reduce weight while still maintaining the rigidity of the body panels. CTRM will give us another dimension to the automotive supply chain, even though Proton's unit Lotus have some light weight solutions," Khamil says.

DRB-Hicom bought CTRM in November last year for RM298mil in a deal with the Ministry of Finance. Currently, CTRM derives about 90% of its revenue from the manufacturing of aircraft composites at its plant in Batu Berendam, Melaka.

"CTRM's order book is enormous and it's growing, but I'm not just looking at the aerospace industry.

"As we move into lightweight bodyparts, composite materials would play a major role as the usage in the automotive sector for instance could reduce weight by 20%, hence producing a more energy-efficient vehicle, " he says.

Khamil says there are about 34,000 ordered aircraft to be manufactured worldwide, and as a super Tier-2 supplier to the aviation industry, major aircraft players would ultimately come to CTRM to manufacture parts for these aircraft.

"CTRM would give us the impetus and provide us the strength and infrastructure to improve our automotive and defence industry."

Its defence arm, Defence Technology Sdn Bhd (DefTech), would also start to recognise earnings contribution this year from its RM7.55bil 8x8 wheeled Armoured Vehicle (AV8) project.

Commissioned by the government for the Malaysian military, the project will involve the design, development and manufacture of 257 AV8s, with production peaking in 2016 and 2017. The first AV8 will be rolled out by the middle of this year.

When Khamil sees a fragmented business, he sees an opportunity. That was what happened when DRB-Hicom recently launched a RM392mil takeover for KLB. The takeover is expected to completed this quarter.

"Our goal is to make KLB the number one logistics provider as the logistics business in the country is very fragmented. Nobody does an integrated logistics business.

"Looking at DRB-Hicom, our strength is the diversity that we have, and our first mark would be KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd, and the last mark being Pos Malaysia Bhd. The in-between would be KLB," he says.

Currently, KLB is the primary logistics provider for Proton, and business from Proton alone amounts to RM100mil annually.

KLB recorded a loss of RM279,000 for its nine-month period ended Sept 30. It chalked up revenue of RM217mil.

"With KLB's enormous warehousing capacity of 1.4 million sq ft, and Pos Malaysia's 700 touch points in the country, I'm sure we would be the number one logistics provider in the country. Most of the products within Malaysia are moving to Singapore, and I believe that about 50% of the country's goods are currently centred towards Singapore" he says.

Top logistics player

With that, KLB's strongest territory is in the southern part of the country, and its competitive advantage stems from its position as a top integrated logistics player.

KLB is also expected to ride on the growth of the local logistics business. According to Frost and Sullivan, the national logistics revenue is projected to grow to RM196bil from RM146.5bil.

Meanwhile, the company is still hiving off more non-core assets, with its recent RM518mil divestment of its entire stake in Uni.Asia Life Assurance Bhd to Pramerica BSN Holdings Sdn Bhd.

It is also expected to pare down its 70% stake in Bank Muamalat to 40%. Its gearing ratio stood at 0.8 times as at September 2013, and the company still has room to take on more as it has a self-imposed gearing ratio of 1.25 times.

However, prudence is the mantra as chief financial officer Ahmad Fuaad Kenali mentioned that the company would only look at investments that offer a minimum 12% to 15% internal rate of return.

Khamil has set a target for the group to reach a revenue of RM17bil by 2015.

Southeast Asia stocks: Thai shares fall; Vietnam outperforms

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 03:16 PM PST

BANGKOK: Thai stocks retreated on Friday as investors cut some risk exposure after a blast at an anti-government protest rally, with most others in Southeast Asia rangebound amid Asian stock market weakness and downbeat results on Wall Street. 
    Thai SET index finished down 0.5 percent on the day,
trimming its gain on the week to 3.2 percent. It was among the
region's outperformers on the week, helped by bargain hunting in
a reporting season, including banking shares.
    An explosive device wounded 28 anti-government protesters in
the Thai capital on Friday and other violence was reported after
several days of relative calm when the movement appeared to be
running out of steam. 
    Vietnam was the region's bright spot. The benchmark VN Index
 climbed 1.88 percent, extending its winning streak to 11
sessions. It was up 4.8 percent on the week, Southeast Asia's
best, ahead of Indonesia's 3.7 percent weekly gain.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
 Change on day
 Market             Current     Prev Close    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   385.52        385.54       -0.01
 Singapore          3147.33       3140.44       +0.22
 Bangkok            1295.41       1301.48       -0.47
 Jakarta            4412.23       4412.49       -0.01
 Manila             5987.09       5982.24       +0.08
 Ho Chi Minh         543.59        533.54       +1.88
 
 Change on year
 Market             Current       End 2013    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   385.42        388.37       -0.76
 Singapore          3147.33       3167.43       -0.63
 Kuala Lumpur          --         1866.96       -2.89
 Bangkok            1295.41       1298.71       -0.25
 Jakarta            4412.23       4274.18       +3.23
 Manila             5987.09       5889.83       +1.65
 Ho Chi Minh         543.59        504.63       +7.72
 
* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index               is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
    
 Stock Market Volume (shares)
 Market          Current Volume    Average Volume 30 days
 Singapore         204,128,200          179,536,867      
 Bangkok             6,878,829            4,923,300      
 Jakarta         2,918,989,200        2,932,950,307    
 Manila                 98,758               65,713    
 Ho Chi Minh           118,065               85,733- Reuters

Shell warns of 'significant' profit miss

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 03:13 PM PST

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell issued a "significant" profit warning on Friday, detailing across-the-board problems and the extent of the challenges facing the oil major's new boss Ben van Beurden, who took over two weeks ago.

The warning comes nearly 10 years to the day after Shell, the western world's No. 3 oil company, revealed the so-called reserves accounting scandal, when the group dramatically downgraded its reserves estimates.

It also follows a similar warning from Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, last week and reflects how the industry is having to grapple with replacing reserves, lower oil prices and the need to control costs.

"Our 2013 performance was not what I expect," van Beurden said, announcing a cut in forecasts to fourth-quarter earnings excluding identified items on a current cost of supplies (CCS) to $2.9 billion (1.76 billion pounds), from market expectations of about $4 billion.

The last time the Anglo-Dutch firm reported an adjusted earnings figure as low as $2.9 billion was in the fourth quarter of 2009. Since then the main operating metric has averaged $5.6 billion per quarter.

Analysts said Shell appeared to have suffered a perfect storm in the last three months, due to weak refining profit margins, higher production costs, output stoppages in Nigeria and a weakening of the Australian dollar.

However they noted that the detailed warning would also enable the new CEO, who has been at Shell since 1983, to use the results day on January 30 and a Management Day in March to set out his new strategy.

"This should bring to an end what has proved to be something of an "annus horribilis" for Shell which has seen a key production target missed and weaker than anticipated profitability in North America," Barclays said in a note.

Shell, which dates its history back to 1833, also missed forecasts for its third-quarter trading in October.

One British-based shareholder who asked not to be named said no one was that surprised, even though the number was bad. He said it would increase pressure on the new chief executive to keep a tighter control on costs.

"There's quite a bit of expectation building for when they have their full-year results and their management day ... to chart a course which leads to more free cash being generated and ultimately better growth in dividends for shareholders.

"This warning is a reminder that there are some big structural problems."

SHELL SHOCK

Shares in the group fell more than 4 percent at the open but at 1115 GMT were down only 2 percent. Shares in rival BP, No. 5 among investor-controlled oil and gas groups worldwide, were down 0.4 percent.

Shell's stock, up 1 percent over the last twelve months, has lagged Britain's blue chip index, which is up 12 percent over the period, and also its nearest rival BP, up 7 percent.

"Shell's profit warning is a confirmation of the impact of the downward trend in oil prices we've seen," said Carsten Fritsch at Commerzbank. "In particular, the refined product markets in Europe have been very weak."

International oil prices have averaged about $110 a barrel for the past three years. Booming shale oil production in the United States has helped lower prices there, however, and delivered a competitive advantage to many U.S. refineries.

The United States has also become a major exporter of gasoline and diesel, further hitting profit margins at refiners in Europe and Asia. While Shell has a number of refineries in North America, about two-thirds of its refining operations are in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

The group's weak performance was also due in part to outages in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

"With nearly a fifth of its LNG portfolio down for maintenance, the final quarter of 2013 was never likely to be a good quarter for Royal Dutch Shell," said Barclay's, but it added that the company remained its 'top pick for 2014' as it still had a strong free cash flow position.

Shell is the world's largest LNG shipping operator, managing and operating 50 carriers, and owning production and import assets or projects in AustraliaBruneiMalaysiaNigeriaOmanQatarRussia, and Mexico.

It became a leader in liquefied natural gas under van Beurden's predecessor Peter Voser, who rebuilt the oil company following the reserves accounting scandal.

TIGHTER CONTROL

Voser, who became finance director during the 2004 reserves crisis and CEO in 2009, believed fervently that an oil major needed to continue to invest throughout an economic cycle, rejecting calls from investors and analysts to cut back.

Since van Beurden started working with Voser in Q4 however the firm has cancelled plans to build a gas-to-liquids plant in the United States, raising investor hopes of tighter spending.

Van Beurden appeared to confirm that approach on Friday.

"Our focus will be on improving Shell's financial results, achieving better capital efficiency and on continuing to strengthen our operational performance and project delivery," he said.

Van Beurden took the top job with little board-level experience but broad company exposure and first-hand knowledge of the gas technology on which it has bet its future. He was the head of refining when promoted to the top job.- Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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Star Wars invades Singapore

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 11:45 PM PST

(From left) George Lucas, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, unveil a statue of Star Wars character Yoda to officiate the opening of Disney's Lucasfilm's new animation production facility, the Sandcrawler in Singapore. -- AFP/Stefanus Ian 

Rango won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, while Pacific Rim has grossed more than US$400mil (RM1.28bil) worldwide.

Kennedy, 60, joined Lucasfilm in 2012 after having worked as a producer on more than 60 films, including four of the highest-grossing films in history: Jurassic Park (1993), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) and The Sixth Sense (1999).

The eight-time Oscar nominee says she will carry on working as a producer. One of her projects is the highly-anticipated seventh Star Wars film, expected to be released next year (2015).

It has been reported that there will be a new Star Wars film every year, starting from next year (2015), with the seventh film being the first of a trilogy. Origin stories will dominate the slate.

These will sit alongside a series of standalone, spin-off movies, focused on individual characters. Names mentioned in previous reports for possible spin-offs include Yoda, Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Asked if she was concerned about the possibility of the spin-offs distorting the story threads laid down in the original saga, she says that the universe created by series creator George Lucas was large enough to contain "endless opportunities" for new content.

"George was so clear as to how that works. The canon that he created was the Star Wars saga. Right now episode seven falls within that canon. The spin-off movies, or we may come up with some other way to call those films, they exist within that vast universe that he created," she explains.

But there are rules to follow.

"There is no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes. Consequently, from the creative standpoint, it's a roadmap that George made pretty clear."

Lucasfilm Singapore is now fully housed in its new seven-storey building at the Fusionopolis high-tech park. All staff from the previous facility at Changi Business Park have moved into the new space, which features a 100-seat theatre and state-of-the-art digital production facilities and a public garden.

The building is named Sandcrawler, after the mining machines seen the Star Wars films.

There are now more than 400 employees at Lucasfilm Singapore, the majority of whom are artists. There are 130 Singaporeans employed there, with the rest coming other countries in the region.

Since its founding in 2005, Lucasfilm Singapore has contributed to projects such as the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while ILM Singapore was involved in several instalments of The Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, the Transformers trilogy, the Iron Man franchise, The Avengers (2012) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). — The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

Love lost

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Pierre Andre's latest film focuses on the idea of forsaken romance.

DIRECTOR Pierre Andre had The Notebook in mind when he came up with the script for Muka Surat Cinta. As a fan of love stories, the idea of forsaken love has always intrigued the actor-turned-director.

Muka Surat Cinta tells the story of married couple Putra (played by Mikael Andre) and Luna (Nina Iskandar). Despite Luna's best efforts to make their marriage work, Putra feels that things are going nowhere. Luna also faces another challenge in Nurul (Atikah Suhaime), a girl who has a crush on Putra and will stop at nothing to win his heart.

"In Muka Surat Cinta, I want to focus on the message that we're always searching for love. It's something I want to explore with the audience, that perhaps the person you're looking for is just right in front of you," said Pierre, 28, during a phone interview.

Later, Putra comes across a secondhand book and becomes obsessed with it. In the book, there is a love quote written by its previous owner.

"Putra finds a quote that really moves him in a novel terpakai. The journey begins when he goes on a search to find the person who wrote the quote."

Pierre had initially written the script for Muka Surat Cinta as an independent short film. And instead of Muka Surat Cinta, the original title was Perempuan Muka Surat Tujuh.

"When I pitched the script to (production company) Metrowealth, they asked me to expand the story to make it more suitable for a mainstream audience. I didn't make a lot of changes to the original script. I think the only major change was the film title."

The film also sees Pierre collaborating with his younger brother Mikael. Previously, the two worked together on the horror film Highland Tower.

"Sometimes, it's quite hard because he's young and there is a lot for him to learn. Still, I'm really glad that he got to embody the part really well."

Pierre described his forlorn hero Putra as "the strong, silent type". "There are some things that Putra struggles to say. Eventually, he learns that sometimes, you can convey more by not even saying anything at all." n Muka Surat Cinta opens nationwide on Jan 16.

Muscling his way back in

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

With two Hercules movies out this year, we look back at the legendary hero's screen appearances over the years.

HERCULES battles Hercules this year, with Kellan Lutz playing the demigod in Renny Harlin's now-in-theatres The Legend Of Hercules and Dwayne Johnson taking on the Greek hero in Brett Ratner's Hercules: The Thracian Wars, based on the Radical Comics miniseries, on July 25.

Of course, Hercules – the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles – has been immortalised on film for more than 50 years, with similar characters hitting the screen since silent-movie days.

In one guise or another, he's fought ancient-world despots and sorcerers, mythological beasts and the attractions of femmes fatale. He's ridden chariots into battle, horses through treacherous passes and ships to high adventure – often on budgets that wouldn't pay for a minute of Clash Of The Titans.

Yet, whether accomplishing the 12 Labours or leading villagers into rebellion, whether fighting anachronistically in the gladiatorial arena or voyaging with the Argonauts, Hercules on-screen is a hero for the ages. Or at least for the past several decades.

Steve Reeves

"If you want something visual/that's not too abysmal/We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie." So sang the pansexual Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, alluding to the campy appeal of Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1959), starring bodybuilder Reeves. The 1947 Mr America and 1950 Mr Universe became a gay icon playing the bare-chested hero in these two Italian-made epics, each released in the United States a year after their European debuts.

The Incredible Herc - Lou Ferrigno traded his torn purple pants for a belt and loincloth to play Hercules in two low-budget sword-and-sandal flicks.

Lou Ferrigno have played Hercules in the past.

In the former, Hercules joins the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and wins the love of Princess Iole (Sylva Koscina). In the latter, he is mystically mesmerised by Omphale, Queen of Lydia (Sylvia Lopez), but eventually regains his memory and saves his captive wife.

Reeves would go on to do a slew of such mythological mishmashes, playing Goliath in Goliath And The Barbarians (1959), Phillipides in The Giant Of Marathon (1959), Aeneas in The Trojan Horse (1961) and Romulus in Duel Of The Titans (1961), among others. But it was his Herculean labours that launched a fantasy-epic subgenre colloquially called ...

Hercules, the Disney version (voiced by Tate Donovan).

Hercules, the Disney version (voiced by Tate Donovan).

Sword-and-sandal films

After the Hercules movies became hits, Italian studios and American distributors released more follow-up films than Hercules had Labours.

Called "sword-and-sandal" or "peplum" films – after the short tunics/overskirts men wore in them – dozens of such films battled it out at the US box office into the mid-1960s. At least 19 starred Hercules, played variously by bodybuilders including Mickey Hargitay, Reg Park, Mission: Impossible's Peter Lupus (credited as Rock Stevens) and Kirk Morris (nee Adriano Bellini).

Like Godzilla in that era's giant-monster movies, Hercules sometimes teamed with others of his ilk, such as Samson, Goliath, Ursus and Italy's homegrown Hercules, Maciste. In fact, a few Hercules movies actually starred one of those interchangeable others – and were retitled and dubbed here to star Herc.

Hercules And The Black Pirate (1963) was the Samson movie Sansone contro il corsaro nero, for instance, while Hercules And The Masked Rider (1964) was the Goliath picture Golia e il cavaliere mascherato.

Animated Hercules

In Walt Disney's Hercules (1997), its title character voiced by Tate Donovan, the young demigod must become "a true hero" in order to join his brethren on Mount Olympus.

Trained by the satyr Phil (Danny DeVito), vexed by the evil Hades (James Woods, who steals the show) and beloved by the conflicted Megara (Susan Egan), he battles the Titans, a hydra and other menaces – and even has time to belt out a few songs.

Facepalm moments

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962). So you don't believe Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe time-travelled to ancient Ithaca to help Hercules (Canadian bodybuilder Samuel "Samson" Burke) depose an evil king? Why, I oughtta ...!

Hercules Against The Moon Men (1964). This Mystery Science Theater 3000 staple actually stars the Italian hero Maciste (Sergio Ciani, aka Alan Steel), dubbed and retitled here to star Herc. Whatever his name, he battles alien invaders in ancient Greece. Talk about Chariots Of The Gods.

Hercules In New York (1969). Billed as Arnold Strong, a 22-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first film teams up with a pretzel vendor, rides a chariot through Times Square, buys lunch at the Automat and gets his voice dubbed by another actor.

The Incredible Herc

In between The Incredible Hulk TV series and TV movies, the two-time Mr Universe Lou Ferrigno starred in the 1983 Italian picture Hercules and its 1985 sequel, The Adventures Of Hercules.

Sorbo the Lean

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (syndicated TV, 1995-1999) was a Hercules for the millennial generation. The hero as portrayed by Kevin Sorbo was lean and green, not a bacchanalian bodybuilder, and as concerned about social equality and the preservation of Mother Earth as he was about protecting villagers from monsters and capricious gods.

With his most frequent sidekick, Iolaus (Michael Hurst), he often encountered the warrior princes Xena (Lucy Lawless), who would spin off into her own syndicated hit. Leading up to Sorbo's series were five 1994 TV movies – all co-starring Anthony Quinn, by Zeus! — Newsday/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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Thaipusam: A journey of faith

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 04:41 PM PST

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Embark on a journey of faith with The Star journalists on Storify as they discover the essence of Thaipusam.

Senior citizens said to have had swinging time with transvestites

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

A GROUP of senior citizens in Kangar apparently had a swinging time dancing the joget on Tuesday morning, Harian Metro reported.

The joget fest, which started at around 1am, also saw 10 to 15 transvestites taking part in the dance, said a villager who only wanted to be known as Amir.

"The transvestites wore sexy clothes. They were specially brought in from Kedah. They were also accompanied by five or six traditional musicians," he claimed.

Amir said the transvestites behaved like guests relation officers to some 20 men who were in their 60s, alleging that they were holding hands as they danced.

He said some women, known to be grandmothers, also danced the night away.

Perlis Islamic Religious Department director Mohamad Sokri Hussin said an investigation would be carried out on the joget fest.

"We will examine video footage and photographs taken by the villagers before considering further action on those concerned including the transvestites," he said.


> Harian Metro also reported that a family of five discovered a beached baby whale at Kampung Kuala Tatau, Bintulu on Thursday morning.

Masuhut Ayub, 55, said they tried to push the whale back into the sea but their attempt was futile as it was low tide at that time.

Furthermore, there was no one else on the beach to help.

Afraid that the mammal would die before high tide, they splashed sea water on it every now and then.

"Our four-hour wait ended when high tide came and the baby whale managed to swim away," he said.

He believed that the baby whale might have been separated from its mother during a storm.

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

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What's that lump in my breast?

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

The many causes, benign and otherwise, of breast lumps.

THE other day, I attended a public forum where they taught us how to do a breast self-examination. I did it on myself, and to my alarm, I think I felt a lump on my left breast. I'm very scared. Do I have breast cancer?

First of all, let me assure you that there are plenty of breast lumps that are not caused by breast cancer. Most breast lumps are actually harmless and benign.

However, any breast lump should be carefully checked out by a doctor, of course, and preferably a breast surgeon, who can do tests and biopsies on the lump.

What does my breast consist of? I have always thought it was just fat.

Your breast contains primarily lobules or alveoli, which are milk-producing glands. You see, your breast's primary function is to produce milk for your baby. Granted, these days, that function is not as utilised since many women tend not to have as many children as they did in the old days.

The milk glands are connected by a series of milk ducts that carry milk to the nipple. These milk glands and ducts look like bunches of grapes inside the tissue of your breasts, and there are about 15 to 20 of them.

Sometimes, these milk glands and ducts are organised into clusters, and before your period, you can feel them as little lumps. You need not be afraid of these little lumps. They are normal.

The space between these lobules are filled with fat and connective tissue. But it's not true that fat forms the largest part of your breast. Your breasts are mostly filled with gland tissue, and that is why they feel firm.

Of course, the younger you are, the more gland tissue you have. When you get old, they contain more fat, and that is why your breasts feel softer.

Your breast also contains ligaments to support them. Unfortunately, when you get older, these ligaments stretch over time and your breasts begin to sag.

Your breast does not contain any muscle other than tiny ones in your nipples, so you can't exercise them into becoming bigger!

The dark part surrounding your nipple is called the areola, which grows and gets darker during pregnancy. The areola contains little bumps called Montgomery glands, which produce oil to lubricate it.

Your nipple has tiny openings in it to allow milk to flow.

What are the causes of breast lumps?

There are many. They include infections, injuries (trauma), benign growths and cancerous growths.

An infection or inflammation of the breast is called mastitis. This happens especially when you are breastfeeding. If your baby nips at your nipple too sharply, or if you get cracks in your nipple for any reason, bacteria can enter this wound and cause infections.

The infection can be an abscess (which is a pocket of accumulated pus) or a wider area of skin spread known as cellulitis.

These days, another increasingly common cause of breast infection is nipple piercing.

What about injuries? Are these common?

Not so common, unless you are a very active person and your breasts have been through some rough handling!

If your breast is injured in any way, the blood vessels within them can break, causing an area of localised bleeding.

This is called a haematoma. Your fat cells can also be damaged, leading to cell death. This is called fat necrosis.

Both of these can cause lumps.

What are the benign lumps of the breast?

The most common is called fibroadenoma. These very common growths. I have had one myself for the past 25 years. They usually manifest in women in their 20s and early 30s, but they can also occur when you are younger.

Fibroadenomas are painless, most of the time. They are firm, smooth, and can be rubbery or hard. They are well-defined, meaning you can feel their borders and contours. They are usually the size of a marble.

They usually enlarge during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The surgeon may advise you to remove them, but the chances of these going on to become cancerous is virtually none.

Then you have breast cysts, which are fluid-filled sacs. These are very common too, especially if you are over the age of 35. The cysts vary in size during your menstrual cycle and may be tender.

Another cause of breast lumps is fibrocystic changes. Here, the breasts feel lumpy, and almost grainy. These occur when your breasts are extra-sensitive to fluctuating hormone levels that occur during a menstrual cycle.

These lumps and changes can be quite painful.

How can I differentiate these benign lumps from breast cancer?

It can be very difficult, so don't try. Head immediately to a breast surgeon for an ultrasound and a biopsy.

A breast cancer lump is usually painless. Sometimes, there can be nipple discharge or inflammation of the breast skin, depending on the type of breast cancer.

So don't hesitate. Go to the doctor right away.

> Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

New 'female Viagra': Sex drive up, appetite down

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 11:20 PM PST

A new 'female Viagra' may boost sex drive while reducing appetite, researchers say.

DEVELOPERS of a new Viagra-type pill for women say that the pill may not only boost female sex drive but reduce appetite.

Developers from British company ORLIBID say that the pill should be available at the end of 2015, The Telegraph reports.

The drug, which is still undergoing clinical trials, is essentially a synthetic version of melatonin and acts on the brain to boost sexual desire, the report says. Women take it 15 minutes before sexual activity, and the pill can keep the engine revving for more than two hours.

Another new drug on the horizon offering the same promise is Lybridos, created by Dutch and US firm Emotional Brain. The pill, which could be on sale within three years, contains testosterone and targets areas of the brain related to sexual desire, the company says.

Of course, libido is a complex issue, and a lack of desire could be linked to anything from boredom to a drop in hormones, such as related to menopause, experts say, and a pill to fix the problem (for women at least) has sparked a host of gender politicking in the media.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's Viagra for men is a global sensation, with the company even selling it online for US$25 (about RM80) to counter the fierce online trade in counterfeit pills. – AFP Relaxnews

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Homegrown artwork in hot demand

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

SINGAPORE'S premier fair for international contemporary art kicked off with unusually buoyant sales for homegrown artists. More than 7,000 people from all over the world were invited to the preview for Art Stage Singapore last evening.

The ticketed fair at the Marina Bay Sands Exhibition and Convention Centre opens to the public today and runs till Sunday. More than 158 galleries from here and overseas are represented in this fourth edition of the annual fair.

Within hours of the opening yesterday, one of Singapore's hottest young painters, Ruben Pang, 24, sold all nine of his works. Priced between S$3,000 (RM7,762) and S$9,000 (RM23,273), they were sold by Singapore's Chan Hampe Galleries.

Another emerging artist Sarah Choo, 23, represented by gallerist Vera Wijaya of Galerie Sogan & Art, also sold all her photography works within hours of the fair's opening.

She sold five photography works, priced at S$6,500 (RM16,808) each.

Both artists drew mainly Singapore-based buyers, the galleries said.

Jumbo art: Korean artist Choi Jeonghwa's huge inflatable pink elephant, affectionately titled 'Love Me', is one of the many works on display at the art fair. -The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Veteran artist Milenko Prvacki's large 300 x 400cm acrylic on linen piece, Crossroad, was the top-selling artwork yesterday by a local artist, at S$120,000 (RM310,310).

Other homegrown artists whose works sold quickly were the late painter Chua Ek Kay and sculptor Han Sai Por.

Two of their works, priced at S$5,200 (RM13,446) and S$20,000 (RM51,718) respectively, were among the first pieces to be sold by the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, which had a booth selling Singaporean and international works.

Visitors have given the fair the thumbs-up for its range and depth. Singapore art collector Terence Lim called the fair "impressive and welcoming".

The medical doctor, in his 30s, said there were a lot of works to see.

"Not just decorative artwork, but really challenging pieces," he said.

Prominent collectors from around the world, such as American Dorothy Vogel, French couple Dominique and Sylvain Levy, Chinese-Indonesian Budi Tek and Swiss Uli Sigg, a well-known collector of Chinese contemporary art, were spotted browsing at Art Stage yesterday.

The fair, which has not disclosed its budget, is backed by the Government in its bid to make Singapore a top arts city. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Australia apologises to Indonesia for border violations

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 03:45 PM PST

SYDNEY: The Australian government said Friday it had apologised unreservedly to Jakarta after its navy "inadvertently" violated Indonesian waters.

"We deeply regret these events," Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told a press conference.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop spoke to her Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa on Thursday night and "offered an unqualified apology on behalf of the Australian government for inadvertently entering Indonesia's territorial waters," Morrison said.

She also gave "an assurance that such a breach of Indonesian territorial waters would not re-occur".

Morrison said Australia's embassy in Jakarta would make a formal apology Friday.

He said the government received information on Wednesday that Australian authorities had "inadvertently" entered Indonesian waters on several occasions, in breach of Australian government policy.

"I should stress this occurred unintentionally and without knowledge or sanction by the Australian government," he said

Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, who heads the military-led Operation Sovereign Borders to stop asylum seekers arriving in Australia by sea, refused to detail the border violations for "operational reasons".

Under Australia's new government, asylum-seekers arriving by boat are sent to Pacific islands camps for processing with no chance of settlement in Australia, while boats intercepted at sea can be turned back to Indonesia.

The policy has angered Indonesia which has suggested it could infringe its sovereignty.

Campbell said the breaches involved "the passage of a vessel or vessels on several occasions".

"Positional errors have been made in the movement of our vessels," he said.

"The personnel on these vessels believe they were at all times operating outside Indonesian waters.

"I believe our people were acting in good faith."

The chief of staff and the head of the border protection agency would review the violations, Morrison said. -AFP

Turbulence forces China-bound US jet back to Newark

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 03:47 PM PST

NEW YORK: Severe turbulence forced a Beijing-bound United Airlines Boeing 777 with 189 passengers on board back to Newark on Thursday after five cabin crew sustained injuries, officials said.

Flight 89 departed from the New Jersey airport at 12:40 pm (1740 GMT), according to the airline's website, and had been scheduled to arrive at Beijing Capital International airport at 3pm Friday.

But Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico told AFP that UA89 ran into turbulence 45 minutes into the scheduled 14-hour flight.

"There are five flight attendants with minor injuries - bumps and bruises - although one did complain of severe back pain," he told AFP.

The plane returned to Newark and the afflicted flight attendants taken to local hospitals, he said.

The airline confirmed that the jet landed safely in Newark with 189 passengers and 16 crew members on board.

"United flight 89 from Newark to Beijing returned to Newark today after encountering turbulence while in flight," company spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm told AFP in an email.

Passengers would be accommodated on a flight Friday morning and have been offered hotels in Newark for the evening, she said.

United officials were "reviewing" the event, Dohm added.

According to United's website flight 89 departed at 12:40 pm (1740 GMT) and arrived back at Newark at 3:52 pm. -AFP

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