Khamis, 6 Februari 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


Australian drug convict to learn Indonesia parole decision

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:07 PM PST

KEROBOKAN, Indonesia, Feb 07, 2014 (AFP) - Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby is expected to learn Friday whether Indonesian authorities have agreed to grant her parole from a Bali prison.

Corby, whose case attracted huge public sympathy in Australia, will find out whether she is to walk free after nine years behind bars when Indonesian Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin announces his decision in the afternoon.

She was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 after being caught trying to smuggle 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana into the resort island of Bali hidden in her surfing gear the previous year.

Syamsuddin has said in the past he does not oppose parole for the 36-year-old although he insisted this week she will not get "special treatment".

As anticipation built in recent days that her release was imminent, hordes of Australian media have flocked to Bali and set up camp outside the infamous Kerobokan jail where she is held.

A crowd of some 60 reporters, cameramen and photographers were outside the prison Friday, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Channel Seven has reportedly sent the biggest crew to Bali, with 17 staff dispatched from Australia and another seven locals on board.

Her sister Mercedes, with whom Corby will live on Bali if she is granted parole, arrived in the morning on a motorbike and had to fight her way through the scrum.

A media bidding war is reportedly in full swing in Australia that could see Corby earn millions of dollars for her tell-all story if she is released.

Syamsuddin has said he will strictly follow the law when deciding whether to grant Corby parole. He will base his decision on a recent assessment by a justice ministry parole board, whose views have not been made public.

"As long as she fulfils all the requirements and has the recommendation from the parole board... she will get her rights," he said.

If granted parole, Corby is expected to walk out of Kerobokan, in south Bali, within a short space of time, possibly by the weekend, after completing necessary paperwork.

But she will not be able to return to Australia until 2017. She needs to first complete her sentence and then remain in Indonesia for an additional year to fulfil the conditions of her parole.

The former beauty school student will instead live on Bali with Mercedes, who has a Balinese husband.

Corby, who has always steadfastly maintained her innocence, had her original sentence cut substantially. She received several remissions for good behaviour and a five-year reduction from the Indonesian president after an appeal for clemency.

Her parole bid was a complex, months-long process and speculation began mounting last year that she was on the verge of release, only for it to again run into problems. It sped up in the past week after the parole board finally heard her application.

The process has been complicated by the fact it is rare for Indonesia to release foreigners on parole. However Corby's bid received a boost last month when a French drug smuggler was given an early release.

While many in Australia support her early release, some in Indonesia have been against it, saying it amounts to special treatment.

Eight lawmakers on Thursday handed a letter of protest to Syamsuddin voicing opposition to Corby getting parole.

They said a decision to grant her early release would run counter to Jakarta's tough anti-drugs laws and would be inappropriate at a time when Australia-Indonesia ties were at a low after a row over spying. - AFP

Hong Kong police dismantle 'biggest' WWII bomb

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:54 PM PST

HONG KONG, Feb 07, 2014 (AFP) - Hong Kong police on Friday successfully dismantled the largest World War II bomb yet found in the city after its discovery on a construction site prompted the evacuation of 2,260 people.

The nearly one-tonne US Navy ANM66 bomb was discovered by building workers late Thursday in the Happy Valley district, near the city's famous downtown racing track.

"It was the biggest bomb ever found in Hong Kong," a police spokeswoman told AFP.

Bomb disposal experts took 15 hours to remove the live explosives from the bomb, which was unearthed close to a Sikh temple, hotels and residential housing.

"It has taken a longer time because of... technical problems when drilling holes into the bomb and because of the large amount of explosives inside it," senior bomb disposal officer Yuen Hon-wing told reporters.

Nearby buildings would have collapsed if the bomb had gone off, police said.

"Because the explosive inside was very sensitive, we had to cut the shell in a low-temperature environment, so the process took longer than expected," Yeun said.

The bomb weighed 2,000 pounds - more than 900 kilograms - and was more than five feet (1.7 metres) long, with a diameter of two feet (600 centimetres), police said.

News footage showed two large holes drilled into the side of the bomb casing.

"What is left now is a metallic bomb shell," Yeun said.

Buildings around the site including two hotels were evacuated Thursday but resumed operations on Friday morning.

The bomb was believed to have been dropped by US forces in 1945. The former British colony was the scene of fierce fighting in December 1941 against the invading Japanese, who occupied Hong Kong until 1945.

Unexploded wartime ordnance is routinely found in the southern Chinese city. In November a British shell was detonated in a controlled explosion at the Peak, home to some of Hong Kong's most expensive real estate. - AFP

Pakistan holds landmark talks with Taliban

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:34 PM PST

Islamabad (AFP) - Negotiators for Pakistan's government and the Taliban called for a ceasefire after meeting Thursday in the first round of talks aimed at ending the militants' bloody seven-year insurgency.

The two sides gathered in Islamabad for a preliminary meeting that lasted more than three hours to chart a "roadmap" for future discussions, amid deep scepticism over whether dialogue can yield a lasting peace deal.

Reading from a joint statement following the talks, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, the Taliban's chief negotiator, said his side agreed with a government demand that "there should be no activity by either side which can potentially harm the peace efforts".

Irfan Siddiqui, his government counterpart, hailed the meeting -- the first ever formal dialogue between the two sides -- saying that the Taliban committee had "responded to us beyond our expectations".

The breakthrough came after an abortive start to the talks Tuesday, which were called off when the government cited doubts over the Taliban negotiating team.

"We are really happy that the Taliban committee has responded to us beyond our expectations and they have heard our reservations and told us their reservations with an open heart," Siddiqui told reporters on Thursday evening.

"We share the common goal of making this country peaceful in accordance with Islamic teaching. And I thank the Taliban committee for meeting us," Siddiqui added.

Haq said his team would hold discussions with the Taliban leadership and a second round of talks would be held after they had responded.

Fragile security

Underlining the fragile security situation, a suicide bomber on Tuesday killed eight people in a sectarian attack against minority Shiite Muslims in the northwestern city of Peshawar, just hours after the abortive start to the talks.

The main TTP spokesman denied they were behind the blast but a commander for the group in Peshawar told AFP his men were responsible, saying no ceasefire had been announced.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has killed thousands of people in gun and bomb attacks across the nuclear-armed state since it launched its campaign in 2007.

The start of the year has seen a surge in militant violence with more than 110 people killed, and an air force bombardment of TTP hideouts in North Waziristan fuelled speculation that a major military offensive was imminent.

There is talk of splits within the TTP, a fractious coalition of militant groups, with some rumoured to oppose the whole idea of negotiations.

Saifullah Khan Mehsud, director of the FATA Research Centre, said this made it difficult to achieve even a ceasefire as a first step.

"I don't know if the Taliban are on the same page and which groups that these negotiators are representing, so I don't know if they can guarantee a ceasefire at all," he told AFP.

'Hybrid theocracy'

Stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan is seen as important to neighbouring Afghanistan, where US-led NATO troops are pulling out after more than a decade of war.

Washington has said it is watching the talks closely. It has long been pushing Pakistan to take action against militants using Pakistan's tribal areas as a base to attack NATO forces across the border.

Observers have held out scant hope for the talks, saying there appears to be little common ground and warning of what the government might be forced to concede.

One of the TTP's negotiating team, Maulana Abdul Aziz, told AFP on Wednesday there was no chance of peace unless the government agreed to the imposition of Islamic sharia law throughout Pakistan.

The Taliban also want US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.

The government has insisted that Pakistan's constitution must remain paramount, but security analyst Ayesha Siddiqa warned they may find themselves forced to give ground.

"I look at history and see that every time the non-religious leadership has tried to do some appeasement Pakistan has slipped deeper into theocracy and this is one such moment," she told AFP.

"We are already a hybrid theocracy and we are heading towards more theocracy."

Local peace deals with the militants in the past have quickly fallen apart.

A famous 2008 peace deal in the Swat Valley resulted in the Taliban taking control of the region.

Government efforts to start peace talks last year came to an abrupt halt in November with the killing of TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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'Michael J. Fox Show' yanked by NBC

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 06:50 PM PST

Show not doing well in ratings.

MICHAEL J. Fox's return to the small screen is over. At least for now.

NBC has pulled The Michael J. Fox Show from its Thursday night schedule. Hollywood Game Night will air in place of the series, which also starred Breaking Bad alum Betsy Brandt, in the network's Thursday-night slate.

Production on all 22 episodes of the season has wrapped, with 15 episodes already airing. The remaining episodes will air at some point in the future.

The series, which starred Family Ties alum Fox as New York news anchor Mike Henry, got off to a rough ratings start with its September premiere, earning a 2.1 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic – making it the lowest-rated Thursday fall comedy series premiere in the network's history. The premiere earned 7.3 million total viewers.

For its most recent airing Jan. 23, the series had slid to a 0.7/2 with 2.2 million viewers. – Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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Japan's Abe backs Putin with visit, in contrast to China, Korea ties

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 09:05 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed to Russia on Friday in a show of support for President Vladimir Putin at the Sochi Olympics, just hours after headlining a rally demanding that Moscow return islands seized from Japan.

Abe's trip to attend the Games and hold his fifth summit with Putin since taking office 13 months ago, despite the seven-decade territorial dispute, stands in marked contrast to Japan's sharply deteriorating ties with China and South Korea, involving spats over tiny uninhabited islands.

For Putin, the appearance of G7 leader Abe at Friday's opening ceremony provides a high-profile seal of approval. The Russian leader faces global criticism over the country's human rights record and a recent law against gay "propaganda," which opponents say curtails the rights of homosexuals.

U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German President Joachim Gauck are not attending the Games. The U.S. delegation includes three openly gay representatives.

Russia's domestic policies have not provoked controversy in Japan, but the territorial dispute forms the backdrop to Abe's trip. He left after addressing an annual "Northern Territories Day" gathering, meant to pressure Russia to return the islands, which Russia says comprise the southern end of its Kurile chain.

"While developing Japan-Russia ties as a whole, we have to finally solve the biggest so-far unresolved issue, that is the Northern Territories issue, and to sign the peace treaty with Russia," said Abe addressing the gathering in Tokyo.

"This is why I will engage in tenacious negotiations with Russia," Abe added, speaking from a stage with the slogan "Return the Four Northern Islands" and the Japanese flag at his back.

Also attending were ministers, lawmakers and representatives of political parties, as well as former island residents. One woman who used to live on the islands broke down in tears as she recounted how she had been made to leave.

Moscow took the islands east of Hokkaido days before Japan surrendered in World War Two, forcing 17,000 Japanese to leave. The often acrimonious dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty.

Abe and Putin - said to be on a first-name basis - have not let the dispute block progress in diplomacy centering on natural gas and other resources.

By contrast, the leaders of China and Korea have rebuffed Abe's repeated calls to meet. Besides the isle spats, Abe angered Beijing and Seoul with a December pilgrimage to a shrine they see as a symbol of Tokyo's past militarism.

Russia, too, criticised the shrine visit, but did not let it derail ties with Japan.

Abe's Sochi trip is "a manifestation that country-to-country relations are moving in a good direction," said former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, who has longstanding ties with Russia and has done much of the legwork for Abe's bilateral diplomacy. Mori told reporters the two sides are trying to arrange for Putin to visit Japan in the autumn.

Abe has made ties with Russia a priority, starting with a first-in-a-decade Moscow summit. Talks are to continue this year, although neither side expects a swift end to the dispute.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed the opening of the talks in Moscow last month but stressed that recognition of the outcome of the war would be vital.

Moscow wants to bolster its position in East Asia as it warily watches the growth of China's influence in the region.

"Putin, for his part, just like Obama, is shifting towards East Asia," said Nobuo Shimotomai, professor at Hosei University in Tokyo. "He aims to do that by playing Russia's soft-power trump card, that is by selling energy to the region's countries," he said.

A dramatic transformation is underway in Russia's energy sector, with oil flows being redirected to Asia via the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline. Russia plans to at least double oil and gas flows to Asia over the next 20 years, as it pivots away from export routes to Europe.

That spells opportunity for Japan, which has been forced to import huge volumes of fossil fuel to replace its entire nuclear power industry, shut down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima plant.

Japan now consumes a third of global liquefied natural gas shipments, a key reason for its record 18 months of trade deficits.

Russian gas lies on Japan's doorstep and already makes up about a tenth of its LNG imports. That could rise as Tokyo is desperate to diversify and slash costs of energy imports.

(Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)

Thai protesters seek to win over disgruntled rice farmers

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:55 PM PST

By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters in Thailand plan to collect money for farmers as they march in Bangkok on Friday, seeking to capitalise on discontent in rural areas at the state's failure to pay for rice bought under a controversial subsidy scheme.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was helped to power by a promise to buy rice from millions of farmers at a price that was way above the market. The government has been unable to sell the rice to fund the scheme and some farmers have been waiting months to get paid.

The protest movement in Bangkok trying to oust Yingluck has found much of its support from middle-class taxpayers appalled at what they see as corruption and waste in the rice scheme, but it is now trying to make common cause with the farmers.

"On Friday we will march through the business district of Silom to get donations to give to the farmers ... This is the way to get money from the rich to help the poor," Akanat Promphan, a spokesman for the movement, told reporters.

Hundreds of farmers rallied at the Commerce Ministry but Prasit Boonchoey, head of the Thai Rice Farmers Association, denied they were backing protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban.

"This is a farmers' problem and we won't be joining Suthep's protest. We are just calling for what is ours, which is the money the government should pay us," he told Reuters.

The Northern Farmers Network, a group claiming 50,000 members, has besieged the provincial hall in Phichit province in the lower north and blocked highways around the region.

"There's no way this caretaker government can find the money for us," its chairman, Kittisak Rattanawaraha, told Reuters. "That's why we're pressing the government to get out."

Kittisak also said his network was not aligned with Suthep and had no plans to march on Bangkok, although he acknowledged that some farmers supported the protest movement.

YEARS OF TURMOIL

Rice farmers have until now been natural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who raised living standards in the countryside with populist policies such as cheap healthcare when he was prime minister from 2001.

However, he ran up against opposition from the royalist establishment and the army, which toppled him in 2006, setting off eight years of political turmoil.

He fled into exile in 2008 to avoid being jailed for abuse of power but is widely seen as the power behind Yingluck. The latest unrest was sparked by her government's attempt in November to ram a political amnesty bill through parliament that would have let him come back home a free man.

Yingluck called a snap election to try to defuse the protests but the February 2 vote was disrupted in Bangkok and the south, strongholds of the opposition Democrat Party.

Election officials met for a second day on Friday to work out how to complete the voting.

Yingluck's Puea Thai Party is certain to have won the vote but it is unclear when there will be enough lawmakers elected to form a quorum in parliament to re-elect her as prime minister. Thailand may be stuck with a caretaker government, with only limited spending powers, for many weeks yet.

The protesters' numbers have dwindled. National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattantabutr estimated that only about 3,000 people were camped out now at the various protest sites.

A state of emergency was declared by the government ahead of the election and Paradorn said 19 arrest warrants had now been issued against protest leaders for violating the decree. Another 39 would be sought on Monday.

"When the right moment comes, we will arrest these leaders. At this point, we have teams of police following the movements of those who have arrest warrants out for them but we guarantee we won't break up the protests," he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Alisa Tang in BANGKOK and Andrew R.C. Marshall in PICHIT; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Paul Tait)

Singapore angry at Indonesia move to name navy ship for convicted bombers

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:30 PM PST

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Anger is mounting in Singapore over neighbouring Indonesia's decision to name a new naval ship after two marines executed for a 1960s bombing in the city state's main shopping district that left three people dead.

Three Singapore ministers have asked their Indonesian counterparts to reconsider the move to name a new frigate after Osman Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun Said, who were convicted for the March 1965 bombing of MacDonald House on Orchard Road.

The issue is likely to be another pressure point in the delicate relationship between the two Southeast Asian neighbours whose ties were tested last year when the annual burning of Indonesian forests blanketed Singapore in a thick smog.

"The two Indonesian marines were found guilty of the bombing, which killed three people and injured 33 others," said a spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Singapore had considered this difficult chapter in the bilateral relationship closed in May 1973 when then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew visited and scattered flowers on the graves of the two marines," he added.

Singapore's Foreign Minister K Shanmugam, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean have all contacted their Indonesian counterparts about the matter.

The bombing happened during Indonesia's "confrontation" movement with the newly formed Malaysia, which then Indonesian president Sukarno opposed, as he viewed it as a puppet of the British government.

Singapore was part of Malaysia at the time and the attack on MacDonald House was the harshest of several launched by members of Indonesia's special Operations Corps Command who had infiltrated the island.

The two men were charged in Singapore, which gained independence in August 1965, and hanged for the bombing in 1968. In Indonesia they received the status of national heroes and a ceremonial funeral.

Indonesia has defended the naming decision, saying it is in line with its practice of naming vessels after the country's 'heroes'.

"There should be no intervention from any other country," said Agus Barnas, spokesman for the ministry for political, legal and security affairs.

Djoko Suyanto, the minister responsible for coordinating the three portfolios, said Indonesia had the authority to set its own criteria for naming heroes and to name warships after them, the spokesman added.

Indonesia is Singapore's third largest trading partner, with trade between the two totalling S$79.4 billion ($62.65 billion) in 2012, according to IE Singapore.

Macdonald House, a brick-faced historic structure built in 1949, was home to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, as well as the Australian High Commission and the Japanese consulate, at the time of the attack.

Today it houses a branch of American bank Citibank. ($1=1.2675 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong; Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor in Jakarta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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Govt to reveal winner of energy-efficient vehicles manufacturing licence by April

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will announce the decision to award manufacturing licences for the production of energy-efficient vehicles (EEVs) to a foreign company in the next two months, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

"There has been some interest from some very major automotive players, and within two months, I will be making an announcement on what manufacturing licences we are approving to one international company to manufacture EEV cars in Malaysia, in particular (for) the export market," Mustapa said at a speech yesterday.

"This is the impact the National Automotive Policy (NAP 2014) has created on the industry," he added at the launch of the NAP 2014 Roadmaps media announcement.

Announced in January, the NAP 2014 aims to turn Malaysia into an EEV hub in Asean, where the local production of hybrids and electric vehicles would be promoted within the country.

Meanwhile, the Government, via the Malaysia Automotive Institute along with Arca Corporation Sdn Bhd, AutoCRC Ltd and Swinburne University of Technology, signed and exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development and manufacturing of electric buses, lithium ion batteries and the Public Transportation Information System for fleet management.

According to Arca's executive chairman Datuk Che Azizuddin Che Ismail, the project would involve an initial capital of RM200mil for the technology acquisition and the setting up of a manufacturing plant towards this end.

The MoU is an extension of the existing cooperation between Malaysia and Australia under the Malaysian-Australian Free Trade Agreement, which will see cooperation in the areas of research and development and eventual commercialisation, with the aim of adopting such busses first in Putrajaya and Langkawi before expanding to other parts of the country and the region.

CMSB extends slide on speculation of Taib Mahmud's resignation

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 06:56 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMSB) extended the decline on Friday on speculation about Tan Sri Taib Mahmud resigning as the Chief Minister.

At 10.43am, CMSB was down 37 sen to RM6.65. Turnover was 326,500 shares done.

It has fallen from a high of RM7.42 on Feb 2.

The FBM KLCI rose 7.06 points to 1,804.96. Turnover was 627.92 million shares  valued at RM464.69mil. There were 362 gainers, 153 losers and 283 counters unchanged.

UMW-OG up after awarding job to Keppel

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 06:17 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Oil & Gas (UMW-OG) shares rose as investors were positive about its plan for a rig vessel as it seeks to expand its drilling operations.

At 10.11am on Friday, UMW-OG jumped 13 sen to RM4.29 with 1.72 million shares done between RM4.17 and RM4.29.

The FBM KLCI was up 6.31 points to 1,804.21. Turnover was 503.82 million shares valued at RM342.98mil. There were 316 gainers, 131 decliners and 262 counters unchanged.

UMW-OG awarded a US$218mil contract to Keppel Corporation Ltd's subsidiary Keppel FELS Ltd for the design, engineering and construction of the rig vessel KFELS B Class jack-up rig.

Maybank KE Research believes the fleet expension exercise is positive and timely.

"The price tag of US$218mil is relatively higher than the US$205mil-US$210mil price range for the standard KFELS B Class rigs orders in 2013," it said.

Financially, Maybank KE said its balance sheet allows UMW-OG capacity to grow.

The research house has maintained a Buy call with a target price of RM4.80 for the group.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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'The Killing Fields': It changed all our lives

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

Thirty years on, those involved in making The Killing Fields look back at its legacy.

THE Killing Fields premiered 30 years ago as more than the first major film to explore the atrocities of Pol Pot's reign of terror in Cambodia in the 1970s.

The film "changed my life", said actor Sam Waterston, who earned an Oscar nomination playing New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg, one of the few American journalists left in Phnom Penh when the city fell to Khmer Rouge guerillas in 1975. Added Waterston: "I think it changed the lives of every single person involved in making it."

That would include Haing S Ngor, who won the Academy Award for supporting actor portraying Dith Pran, Schanberg's translator and journalistic partner, as well as director Roland Joffe, who remains involved with Cambodian charities.

Warner Home Video offers reminders of the film's storied creation and lasting legacy with the recently released 30th anniversary Blu-ray edition of The Killing Fields, which earned seven Oscar nominations, including wins for Ngor, Jim Clark for editing, and Chris Menges for his documentary-style cinematography.

British producer David Puttnam, who had won the Best Picture Oscar for 1981's Chariots Of Fire, explained that The Killing Fields was the movie "I had been waiting to do."

As a teenager, he had been gobsmacked by Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 semi-documentary-style war film The Battle Of Algiers. The film, Puttnam said, "changed my attitude towards cinema. It was the first film I saw that allowed me to believe that cinema could be something more. You didn't know you if you were watching a movie or not."

He felt the story of Schanberg and Dith would have the same effect on audiences. Though Schanberg and other journalists were allowed to leave Phnom Penh, Dith was among the hundreds of thousands of Cambodians forced to leave the cities and work in the labour camps of the communist Khmer Rouge.

Puttnam first read about them in a small piece in Time magazine. "It was the photograph of the two men hugging in the refugee camp, and it said an American journalist is reunited with his interpreter," the producer recalled.

The article and Pulitzer Prize-winner Schanberg's subsequent New York Times Magazine piece, The Death And Life Of Dith Pran, piqued the interest of several filmmakers.

"I went with the British group," said Schanberg, now 80, who still works as a freelance journalist. "These people who were making it were really good people. They weren't doing it to make a buck. They didn't make a lot of bucks. I never found a way to thank them for what they did."

Bruce Robinson's script for The Killing Fields attracted attention from top-line directors, but Puttnam eventually chose Joffe, who until then had directed mostly theatre and TV movies. Puttnam gave Robinson's dense script to Joffe.

"Three days later, I got this long, three-page letter detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the script," Puttnam said. "It was absolutely brilliant."

Joffe, who earned an Oscar nomination for his work, realised The Killing Fields wasn't just a war drama but a love story between Schanberg and Dith.

"If you make it a story about friendship and how that exists among men, you will make something indelible," Joffe recalled in a recent interview.

Though they felt pressure to cast a Hollywood star as Schanberg, Puttnam and Joffe went with Waterston, who they felt not only resembled Schanberg but also captured the spirit and passion of the journalist.

Waterston, who remained friendly with Dith until his death in 2008, remembered that Dith had hoped – before the cast was decided – that Schanberg might be played by an actor like Kirk Douglas.

"When I first met him, he said something about the fact that Sydney had a very big heart, and then he hit me really hard in the chest," Waterston said. "It was literally like he was trying to put Sydney's heart into me."

But the real casting gamble turned out to be Ngor, a doctor in Cambodia who suffered the same horrors as Dith under the Khmer Rouge, eventually escaping to Thailand and arriving in the United States in 1980.

Ngor had never acted before. Casting director Pat Golden spotted him at a Cambodian wedding in Long Beach.

"I talked to Pat Golden and said I think we should do an improvisation with Haing," Joffe said. "He didn't want to do it at first, but I kind of lulled him into doing something – mainly getting him to describe a few things, and he basically began to act them out. I realised this man was a born actor."

But Ngor didn't want to be in the movie.

"I had to do a lot of arm twisting to get him to be in it," Joffe said. "I said, 'You have to play this part. You have to do it for your country. It will be difficult, but I'll be there.' "

Emotions ran high for the Cambodian refugees who worked on the film. Ngor broke into tears during the scene in which a young girl playing a soldier for the Khmer Rouge pulls out a tomato plant Dith had been growing.

"He suddenly stopped in the middle of the scene," Joffe said. Ngor couldn't do it anymore. The cold expression on the young girl's face hit too close to home. In the moment, Ngor thought she really was a Khmer Rouge soldier. But Joffe eased his fears and eventually he completed the scene.

Rounding out the cast were John Malkovich as photojournalist Al Rockoff and Julian Sands as British journalist Jon Swain. Sands said the director sent the actors to Thailand a month before shooting started to get immersed in the place and the truth of the story.

"I remember the profound impact of visiting the Khmer refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border and talking to survivors about their experiences with Haing Ngor as translator," said Sands from Puerto Rico, where he is filming the NBC pirate series Crossbones with Malkovich.

Eleven years after winning his Oscar, Ngor was shot to death outside his apartment near Dodger Stadium. Waterston recalled that beyond his co-star's "tremendous spine", one could also see an "unbelievable gentleness of spirit".

After completing the film, Waterston and Joffe became involved with Cambodian charities. Joffe still visits the country often and with friends started the Cambodian Trust, which makes artificial limbs and operates a school for prosthetics. Waterston, who followed his long stint on NBC's Law & Order with HBO's The Newsroom, has lent his support to an American advocacy organisation Refugees International. Puttnam frequently visits Cambodia as the prime ministerial trade envoy to that country as well as Vietnam and Laos.

Before The Killing Fields, Schanberg said, Cambodians "never knew during their time under the Khmer Rouge whether anybody in the outside world knew about what was happening to them. The truth was, that was pretty true. The movie changed that." – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Bullets Over Petaling Street: A scary and exciting shoot

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

Chen Han Wei's take on his character in the movie.

THE whole cast of Bullets Over Petaling Street gets to go crazy with their characters. "Everyone except me," groused Chen Han Wei.

"Mine is the most normal character you will find in the movie. I play a very ordinary, goody two-shoes sort of guy next door," Chen, 44, offered about his role as mild-mannered restaurateur Xie Da Xiang, who operates Foo Tai Restaurant in the film.

"He is also a very romantic fellow, who still carries a torch for his childhood sweetheart (played by Debbie Goh)," added Chen, for whom the most memorable scene was the one he dubbed "locks of love" which was filmed on a flight of stairs with Goh.

Collaborating with Goh for the first time, Chen was impressed by her command of the script and her grasp of the character.

"Debbie is very clear about what she wants out of each scene and knows exactly what is required of her, and delivers her best at every shoot, so working with her was a breeze.

"Other cast members like William San and KK Wong were also fun to work with. I especially like that they are all straight-talking folks," said the multiple-award-winning actor (Singapore's Star Awards, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2010).

"Making movies in Malaysia is such an enjoyable experience. Most notable were the exceptional teamwork and strong camaraderie between cast and crew," said Chen, who looks forward to more projects here and hopes that some weird and quirky roles will come his way.

Bullets also marked many firsts for Chen. Apart from being his Malaysian film debut, the action comedy also features Chen speaking in a mix of Mandarin, Cantonese and even Bahasa Malaysia for the first time.

Born and raised in Johor Baru, Chen has been plying his trade since age 18 in Singapore, where all Chinese productions are in Mandarin, with an occasional smattering of Hokkien in movies.

Fortunately, the personable chap has his Malaysian upbringing to thank for his easy familiarity with several Chinese dialects.

"Unlike Singaporean productions which are only in Mandarin, Malaysians like to use various dialects and languages. Luckily my mother is Cantonese, so I learnt how to speak the dialect," he mused, alternating effortlessly between Mandarin and Cantonese in a recent phone interview from Singapore.

Chen also spoke of how filming on location in Petaling Street was a special experience for him. "Running around trying to film our scenes in Petaling Street was no easy matter as there were always lots of people everywhere.

"Plus it was scary and exciting at the same time, as there was always the possibility of us bumping into real-life triad bosses!"

The lanky thespian recalled how he had to complete his scenes in 10 days, then rush back to Singapore to film Yes We Can!, a Lunar New Year TV series which is currently airing on Singapore's MediaCorp Channel 8 and Malaysia's Astro Shuang Xing (Ch 324).

Chen, who made his film debut last year in the Gilbert Chan-helmed Singaporean horror flick Ghost Child, already has some 80 television drama credits to his name. Upcoming projects include two more TV series, a year-end blockbuster, and some coaching clinics for newbies. 

Related story:

Debbie Goh: Lethal in heels

Matthew McConaughey to enter Gus Van Sant's dark forest

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:05 PM PST

The American star has won the lead role in Sea of Trees, a story of survival within Japanese surroundings.

A HOT contender in the Oscar race for 2014's Best Actor award with Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey is to star opposite Ken Watanabe in Gus Van Sant's feature, which is set in Japan.

Sea of Trees will focus on the mystery surrounding Aokigahara, a dense woodland area that is famous for its unusually quiet nature, for its rocky caves, and as a traditional destination for those wishing to take their own lives.

The story, written by Chris Sparling of Buried and ATM, chronicles the journey of an American who sets off into Aokigahara, located at the base of Mount Fuji, with the intention of making it his last expedition.

But he meets another traveller on the way and together they resolve to escape the forest's dangerous, labyrinthine envinroment.

Gus Van Sant is to begin filming Sea of Trees in the next few weeks. – AFP Relaxnews

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Sarawak strongman seems poised for Yang di-Pertua Negeri post

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUCHING: After continual speculation on his future over the past few years, Sarawak strongman Tan Sri Taib Mahmud looks set to finally step down as Chief Minister and seems poised to take over as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

Many in the political and media circles became certain of his intention to quit as Chief Minister after the announcement that the term for the Head of State Tun Muhammad Salahuddin would be extended from Dec 5, 2013 to only Feb 28 this year.

Fuelling their expectation of the exit of the man who has ruled the state since 1981 was his sudden calls for meetings of the PBB supreme council and with Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs and assemblymen this weekend. They believe that Taib – whose 33 years in office make him the longest serving government leader in the country – wants to inform senior members of his party and Barisan's elected representatives of his decision.

News that Taib is expected to bow out as Chief Minister soon has badly hit Sarawak-linked counters on Bursa Malaysia. Cahya Mata Sarawak, which is some 43% owned by Taib's family, was among the biggest losers, finishing yesterday's trade 2.6% down to RM7.24.

While some politicians are sure that Taib will bow out as the head of government to become the Tuan Yang Terutama, others say "it will not happen so soon".

PBB senior supreme council member Datuk Idris Buang said reports of Taib quitting by the end of this month were just speculation.

"Taib is still needed for the development of SCORE (the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy) and the Sarawak agenda," he added.

Assistant Housing Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who is also a senior PBB member, said: "He had indicated before the last state election that this could be his last term. Along the way there have been signals that he would step down midway through this term which will end in 2016. It could be tomorrow, it could be next month, it could be next year. It could be any time but it is definitely within this term.

"As much as we would like him to carry on as Chief Minister, age is catching up. Preparations need to be made for someone to take over the post. We will leave it to him to decide. He knows best when to retire and who to pass the baton to."

Housing and Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg chose to keep mum over the question of Taib resigning. "I cannot comment on speculation," he said.

PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Masing, asked whether the 78-year-old Taib would resign, said: "I believe he will. The day, month and year he retires will be up to him to decide. Just give him the time and space to do so. As for his successor, PRS will follow whomever PBB and top Barisan leaders decide on."

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak senior lecturer on politics and history Dr Jeniri Amir said Taib might announce his retirement this weekend.

"His time is up. He has promised many a time he would give up his post and the time has come for him to fulfil that," he said.

Asked on who would be the most likely successor, Dr Jeniri said Abang Johari has a proven track record as minister and is PBB deputy president. He has a better chance of succeeding Taib than Second Minister of Resource Management and Envi­ron­ment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan whom people still perceive as a "junior" for the position, according to Dr Jeniri.

He said PBB information chief Tan Sri Adenan Satem should not be ruled out as he had been a trusted ally of Taib's.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu has been ruled out as a candidate for the post, probably because he is from the Pesaka wing.

Taibs son worth between RM976mil and RM139bil

Hot and dry weather expected throughout M'sia until Monday

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: It is going to be hot and dry in most parts of Malaysia, with scorching afternoons to be followed by cold nights.

"It's going to be dry for most of the regions. Some showers here and there, but mostly dry and hot weather," said National Weather Forecast Centre director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah,

Muhammad said the dry spell was caused by regional wind patterns that were not conducive for rainy weather.

These, he said, were attributed to an inactive monsoon trough; a lack of a monsoon surge from China and the non-influence of easterly winds from the Western Pacific Ocean.

He added that rain clouds appearing north of Australia might have also been responsible for drawing moisture from our region, further drying the weather here.

Muhammad said lack of clouds in the region meant that cold nights and hot afternoons were going to be common.

As an example, he said rural areas such as Kuala Krai and Chuping may experience temperatures below 20°C.

This, he said, might also hold true for northern sides of Peninsula Malaysia and the eastern and western parts of Sabah.

"There will be some fluctuations in wind pattern, but we don't expect much different weather for the next few days," he said, adding that widespread rain was not expected.

According to a list by the Meteorological Department, it has not rained in more than 50 areas in all states in the peninsula for five or more consecutive days as of Feb 4.

They include Padang Besar, Langkawi, Seberang Prai Utara, Petaling, Klang, Kepong, Jasin, Cameron Highlands, Muar, Besut and Kota Baru.

According to the Meteorological Department's website, Kuala Lumpur was expected to see a constant maximum temperature of 33°C from now until Feb 10, with no rain on the horizon.

Speaker: Fake resignation letter tarnished name of assembly

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

IPOH: Perak assembly speaker Datuk S.K. Devamany said the issue of a letter sent to him that implicated Hutan Melintang assemblyman S. Kesavan has tainted the reputation of the august House.

"I don't know the intention of the person who did it but it has tarnished the good name of the state assembly," he told reporters here yesterday.

Earlier, Kesavan and several state party leaders had met Devamany to get a clarification on the letter that was received at the speaker's office on Jan 2.

In the letter, Kesavan allegedly declared he was resigning as an assemblyman and quitting the PKR due to a loss of confidence and dissatisfaction with the leadership.

Devamany said he was not in the office when the letter was handed to his clerk at about 2.30pm on that day.

When the clerk read the content of the letter to Devamany later, he called Kesavan to verify the document.

"Kesavan clarified he had not resigned and he did not send anyone to submit the letter," said Devamany, advising the public not to speculate on the matter.

Meanwhile, Kesavan has lodged a report at the district police station here.

Speaking to journalists, he said the letter was timed to create an image of disunity and confusion among party members when the PKR was gearing for the Kajang by-election in Selangor.

"I was shocked when I saw the letter with my name and identity card number on it and circulated on social media," he said, adding the signature was "not even remotely close" to his.

In a related development, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said he has asked the Speaker's office to lodge a police report on the matter.

"We will let the police carry out the necessary investigations," he told reporters after the state executive council meeting at his office here.

"I am sure once a report is lodged. the police will view the CCTV recording to see who handed over the letter," he said, adding that he sympathised with Kesavan who would be getting married next week.

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Mystery giant jellyfish washes up in Australia

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:43 PM PST

SYDNEY: Scientists were Thursday working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish that washed up on an Australian beach, describing it as a "whopper" that took their breath away.

The 1.5-metre (4 foot 11 inch) specimen was found by a family in the southern state of Tasmania, who contacted a local marine biologist. 

Lisa Gershwin, a scientist with the government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), said the type of jellyfish had been seen in the past, but never one so big and not one that became beached.

"We know about this specimen but it hasn't been classified yet, it hasn't been named," she told AFP, adding that there had been a massive jellyfish bloom in Tasmanian waters over the past month.

She said the new species was related to the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest known species of the marine animal in the world.

"It is so big it took our breath away," added Gershwin, who has been working with jellyfish for 20 years.

"It's a whopper of an animal but it's not life-threatening, although it does sting."

CSIRO scientists now have enough pictures and samples to begin a proper analysis to classify and name the creature. Despite this, much remains unknown, including how it eats and breeds, and its habitat.

"It's so big but we know nothing about it," said Gershwin. "It highlights again how much we still have to learn about the ocean."

The jellyfish was found by the Lim family on a beach south of the Tasmanian capital Hobart with mother Josie saying "it blew our minds away".

"It's not really jellyfish territory here and all we could do was stand back and admire it," she told AFP. -AFP

The agony and ecstasy of Hong Kong's extreme runners

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:27 PM PST

HONG KONG:  Hong Kong is known for its long working hours and rat-race lifestyle, but on the rugged trails of the surrounding hills extreme runners are driven by a different ambition - the ultimate 'ultra' experience.

Defined as any distance beyond the 42.2-kilometre (26.2 mile) marathon, ultra races are becoming increasingly popular around the world - and with its 300-kilometre network of trails criss-crossing rocky terrain, exposed peaks, bays and reservoirs all close to the city, Hong Kong is increasingly being seen as the ideal venue.

With three new 100-kilometre races launched in the territory in the past three years and also a 100-mile race, trail runners are pushing themselves to go further than ever.

That's in spite of the common risk of serious falls, sprained ankles, repeated stress injuries, cuts, grazes, blisters and lost toenails.

"People are seeking something else to set them apart," said Jeanette Wang, health editor of the South China Morning Post and a competitive trail runner.

"When you say you've done a marathon, you're not the life of the party any more. In Hong Kong in the last two years, things have got so crazy that even 100 kilometres isn't unique."

Two decades ago ultras were run by an intrepid few, with the United States and Europe the main centres. But the lure of spectacular routes and a special camaraderie - for many the challenge is simply to cross the line - has seen popularity go global.

According to the International Association of Ultrarunners there are now more than 1,000 races around the world.

The Vibram Hong Kong 100 became the first stop on the inaugural Ultra-Trail World Tour in January this year, linking "emblematic" races on every continent - with Hong Kong and Japan's Mount Fuji the two Asian events.

"The opportunity to run these trails so close to a huge population of people is very different from many trail runs in the world," said prominent New Zealand ultra runner Vajin Armstrong of the Hong Kong course.

"Asia is such a growth region for trail running at the moment...it's really important that athletes come here and get a sense of what it has to offer."

Smiling through the pain

Hong Kong's longest-standing ultra dates back almost 30 years to the days of British rule, when an annual 100km training exercise led by Gurkha soldiers opened up to the public.

That "Trailwalker" event, now sponsored by Oxfam, attracts more than 10,000 participants and Nepalese teams still often dominate, taking first and second in 2013.

The city's ultra races attract everyone from committed athletes, to competitive "weekend warriors" and novices who just want to finish.

While elite runners might cover 100 kilometres in 10 hours, those further down the pack will be toiling for much longer, often through the night.

"Ultra running is not pretty," said Hong Kong-based runner and writer Rachel Jacqueline, 30, who has completed two solo 100-kilometre races in the city and two team 100km events.

"Your face is like sandpaper from the salt. Any two body parts in close proximity will chafe. There's tiredness, inflammation, hunger, muscle pain."

She runs up to 20 hours a week in peak training and admits it is hard to socialise and hold down a job too - she took a year to prepare for her first solo 100km race.

"Experiencing pain and discomfort and knowing you are strong enough to overcome it and persevere is incredibly empowering," she said.

"If you can tackle all that and come out with a smile on your face, you can do anything in life."

Though ultras are physically and mentally tough, many runners find them the perfect antidote to modern life in a highly-strung city.

"I don't like road races - I like getting out into the mountains because it's beautiful," banker Wilson Leung, 45, said after finishing the popular 50-kilometre Green Power Hike.

"In the hills I can forget my problems."

He spent seven years working up to ultra distances after taking up running in his late 30s and says it suits his age group.

"People lose their speed but not necessarily their endurance, so they start running longer as they get older. Experience is important, knowing how to protect your body and building up slowly."

Clouds on the horizon?

But there are fears of a blot on the landscape for future trail races in Hong Kong as pollution worsens in the territory.

Murky smog frequently blankets the skyline and a new government index has recorded high or very high levels of pollution almost every day since it was implemented late last year.

"The air quality is better in remote places, but Hong Kong is too small to get away from it completely," says Keith Noyes, race director of The North Face 100 Hong Kong and organiser of the long-standing King of the Hills mountain marathon series.

"It's only going to take one incredibly polluted event with a big international crowd to get a bad reputation."

For now though, while runners might stay indoors on the smoggiest days, the lure of the hills remains.

"The demand for the more challenging trail races in Hong Kong is phenomenal," says Noyes.

The Vibram Hong Kong 100 saw 1,650 racers, compared to 250 in its first 2011 edition, with 500 enthusiastic volunteers en route.

"Runners are beginning to realise it's much more fun to be on the trails than the roads," says race director Steve Brammar, who founded the event with his wife Janet Ng.

"They are also realising that a marathon distance isn't the limit of human endurance - it's almost just the start." -AFP

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Giacometti exhibit in Rome explores power of human body

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 05:30 PM PST

Swiss sculptor's striking skeletal forms juxtaposed against Italian masterpieces.

FORTY Giacometti gems, including his famous spindly Walking Man in bronze, have been scattered around the permanent collection at the Villa Borghese Gallery in the Italian capital, dotted in among classics such as Bernini's David or Canova's Pauline Borghese.

The contrast is dramatic: the Swiss sculptor's works are emblems of fragility, the bones left after the artist has dug flesh and soul away, while the Italian creations draw wonder for their exquisite depiction of flesh ­– muscles rippling, fingers appearing to leave marks on soft skin.

His 1929 Reclining Woman Who Dreams and 1950 Man Falling steal away the gazes of viewers from weighty masterpieces such as Bernini's harrowing 1625 Apollo and Daphne.

"This is not a competition between the statues, but the chance to look how they differ and what they have in common, notably the representation of the human being, the body," Anna Coliva, the museum's director, told AFP.

The exhibition's curator, Christian Klemm, a world expert on the Swiss sculptor, said that Giacometti was "one of the rare modern sculptors to have a very thought-out relationship with the past", in particular with the ancient Egyptians and their "very stylised, frontal, almost-symmetrical form".

It was during a grand tour in Italy in 1920 and 1921, from Venice and Rome to Naples and Pompei, that Giacometti had his first encounter with neo-classical and baroque art – to which he added a trip to the Egyptian museum in Florence as well.

But, according to Coliva, he quickly understood "the painful impossibility" for modern art to represent humans in a monumental fashion.

Giacometti (1901-1966) created his first Man Walking piece in 1946, as a monument in Paris to the victims of the Nazis.

The series of differing Man Walking statues which would follow recall "Egyptians coming out of a tomb", according to Klemm, who said they evoke a sense of great strength despite their feeble forms.

But Giacometti did not slim his figures down just to represent war horrors. He was influenced by existentialism while working in Paris between the two World Wars, and it helped him capture the suffering condition of modern man.

Compared with the opulence and grandeur of the Renaissance, baroque and neoclassical works that surround them, Giacometti's creations blaze with an inner energy.

"Some of Giacometti's works on show here are over three metres tall, and yet they seem almost transparent compared to the classical statues that surround them," Coliva said. – AFP Relaxnews

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Mystery giant jellyfish washes up in Australia

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:43 PM PST

SYDNEY: Scientists were Thursday working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish that washed up on an Australian beach, describing it as a "whopper" that took their breath away.

The 1.5-metre (4 foot 11 inch) specimen was found by a family in the southern state of Tasmania, who contacted a local marine biologist. 

Lisa Gershwin, a scientist with the government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), said the type of jellyfish had been seen in the past, but never one so big and not one that became beached.

"We know about this specimen but it hasn't been classified yet, it hasn't been named," she told AFP, adding that there had been a massive jellyfish bloom in Tasmanian waters over the past month.

She said the new species was related to the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest known species of the marine animal in the world.

"It is so big it took our breath away," added Gershwin, who has been working with jellyfish for 20 years.

"It's a whopper of an animal but it's not life-threatening, although it does sting."

CSIRO scientists now have enough pictures and samples to begin a proper analysis to classify and name the creature. Despite this, much remains unknown, including how it eats and breeds, and its habitat.

"It's so big but we know nothing about it," said Gershwin. "It highlights again how much we still have to learn about the ocean."

The jellyfish was found by the Lim family on a beach south of the Tasmanian capital Hobart with mother Josie saying "it blew our minds away".

"It's not really jellyfish territory here and all we could do was stand back and admire it," she told AFP. -AFP

The agony and ecstasy of Hong Kong's extreme runners

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:27 PM PST

HONG KONG:  Hong Kong is known for its long working hours and rat-race lifestyle, but on the rugged trails of the surrounding hills extreme runners are driven by a different ambition - the ultimate 'ultra' experience.

Defined as any distance beyond the 42.2-kilometre (26.2 mile) marathon, ultra races are becoming increasingly popular around the world - and with its 300-kilometre network of trails criss-crossing rocky terrain, exposed peaks, bays and reservoirs all close to the city, Hong Kong is increasingly being seen as the ideal venue.

With three new 100-kilometre races launched in the territory in the past three years and also a 100-mile race, trail runners are pushing themselves to go further than ever.

That's in spite of the common risk of serious falls, sprained ankles, repeated stress injuries, cuts, grazes, blisters and lost toenails.

"People are seeking something else to set them apart," said Jeanette Wang, health editor of the South China Morning Post and a competitive trail runner.

"When you say you've done a marathon, you're not the life of the party any more. In Hong Kong in the last two years, things have got so crazy that even 100 kilometres isn't unique."

Two decades ago ultras were run by an intrepid few, with the United States and Europe the main centres. But the lure of spectacular routes and a special camaraderie - for many the challenge is simply to cross the line - has seen popularity go global.

According to the International Association of Ultrarunners there are now more than 1,000 races around the world.

The Vibram Hong Kong 100 became the first stop on the inaugural Ultra-Trail World Tour in January this year, linking "emblematic" races on every continent - with Hong Kong and Japan's Mount Fuji the two Asian events.

"The opportunity to run these trails so close to a huge population of people is very different from many trail runs in the world," said prominent New Zealand ultra runner Vajin Armstrong of the Hong Kong course.

"Asia is such a growth region for trail running at the moment...it's really important that athletes come here and get a sense of what it has to offer."

Smiling through the pain

Hong Kong's longest-standing ultra dates back almost 30 years to the days of British rule, when an annual 100km training exercise led by Gurkha soldiers opened up to the public.

That "Trailwalker" event, now sponsored by Oxfam, attracts more than 10,000 participants and Nepalese teams still often dominate, taking first and second in 2013.

The city's ultra races attract everyone from committed athletes, to competitive "weekend warriors" and novices who just want to finish.

While elite runners might cover 100 kilometres in 10 hours, those further down the pack will be toiling for much longer, often through the night.

"Ultra running is not pretty," said Hong Kong-based runner and writer Rachel Jacqueline, 30, who has completed two solo 100-kilometre races in the city and two team 100km events.

"Your face is like sandpaper from the salt. Any two body parts in close proximity will chafe. There's tiredness, inflammation, hunger, muscle pain."

She runs up to 20 hours a week in peak training and admits it is hard to socialise and hold down a job too - she took a year to prepare for her first solo 100km race.

"Experiencing pain and discomfort and knowing you are strong enough to overcome it and persevere is incredibly empowering," she said.

"If you can tackle all that and come out with a smile on your face, you can do anything in life."

Though ultras are physically and mentally tough, many runners find them the perfect antidote to modern life in a highly-strung city.

"I don't like road races - I like getting out into the mountains because it's beautiful," banker Wilson Leung, 45, said after finishing the popular 50-kilometre Green Power Hike.

"In the hills I can forget my problems."

He spent seven years working up to ultra distances after taking up running in his late 30s and says it suits his age group.

"People lose their speed but not necessarily their endurance, so they start running longer as they get older. Experience is important, knowing how to protect your body and building up slowly."

Clouds on the horizon?

But there are fears of a blot on the landscape for future trail races in Hong Kong as pollution worsens in the territory.

Murky smog frequently blankets the skyline and a new government index has recorded high or very high levels of pollution almost every day since it was implemented late last year.

"The air quality is better in remote places, but Hong Kong is too small to get away from it completely," says Keith Noyes, race director of The North Face 100 Hong Kong and organiser of the long-standing King of the Hills mountain marathon series.

"It's only going to take one incredibly polluted event with a big international crowd to get a bad reputation."

For now though, while runners might stay indoors on the smoggiest days, the lure of the hills remains.

"The demand for the more challenging trail races in Hong Kong is phenomenal," says Noyes.

The Vibram Hong Kong 100 saw 1,650 racers, compared to 250 in its first 2011 edition, with 500 enthusiastic volunteers en route.

"Runners are beginning to realise it's much more fun to be on the trails than the roads," says race director Steve Brammar, who founded the event with his wife Janet Ng.

"They are also realising that a marathon distance isn't the limit of human endurance - it's almost just the start." -AFP

Insurance against bullying in South Korea

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:49 PM PST

SEOUL: One of South Korea's largest insurance companies is to begin offering a policy for victims of school bullies, as part of a government campaign to stamp out the problem.

The policy from Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will likely debut in March, a company spokesman said Thursday.

"The priority isn't really on making money with this product, but more on providing a public service that helps build up social security networks," he told AFP.

As well as bullying, other policies will be introduced offering protection to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and food adulteration - or what President Park Geun-Hye has collectively condemned as the "four social evils" afflicting the country.

According to the state regulatory Financial Services Commission (FSC), the bullying policy will help cover costs for physical injuries as well as counselling fees for those traumatised by school violence.

Monthly premiums would be a maximum of 20,000 won ($18), but the FSC said it would raise joint funds with municipalities to pay premiums for those unable to afford them.

According to a survey conducted by the Education Ministry last year, more than 77,000 school students of all ages said they had been bullied, with nearly 10 percent of those saying they had considered suicide.

Nearly 140 South Korean school students killed themselves in 2012, mostly as the result of family problems, exam stress and bullying. -AFP

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