Rabu, 23 April 2014

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Prequel alert: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in New Zealand

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:35 PM PDT

Reports say that Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh will be reprising her role in the new film, tentatively titled The Green Destiny.

A prequel to the Oscar-winning Chinese martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be shot in New Zealand this year, Film Auckland said.

The original movie, released in 2000, broke new ground in introducing Western audiences to Chinese cinema and Film Auckland's deputy chairman Alex Lee said securing the follow-up was a major coup for New Zealand.

"Over the last 18 months it's been very quiet and it's nice we're finally getting traction," he told Radio New Zealand. "It's a production that will require a vast number of resources, facilities, technicians and crew."

New Zealand is no stranger to big-budget movie shoots, providing stunning backdrops for both the The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

But Lee said subsidy changes allowing major productions to claim back up to 25% of their budget as rebates were a decisive factor in Auckland winning the Crouching Tiger prequel.

"It's quite clear that until the decision to increase the incentives for international films to come to New Zealand we were just not competitive," he said.

Crouching Tiger made US$213.5mil (RM683.2mil) globally, according to industry website Box Office Mojo, including US$128mil (RM409.6mil) in the United States – unprecedented at the time for a foreign language movie.

It also won four Oscars in 2001, including best foreign film, and launched the Hollywood career of director Ang Lee, who went on to win two best director Academy Awards for Brokeback Mountain and Life Of Pi.

Film industry bible Variety reported that Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh will reprise her role as a warrior in the prequel, to be titled The Green Destiny. It said Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company is co-producing the film with New Zealand's Iron Knight Productions.

Yuen Woo-ping, who co-ordinated the eye-popping action scenes in the original, will reportedly direct, using a script which has been approved by officials in Beijing. The green light from Beijing is important because it ensures access to the rapidly growing Chinese market, where box office takings soared 36% to an estimated US$1.8bil (RM5.76bil) over the first six months of 2013. The Chinese market is expected to overtake the US market by 2020, prompting keen interest from Hollywood. — AFP Relaxnews

Josh Hartnett regrets dating his co-stars, including Scarlett Johansson

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:15 PM PDT

The actor is well-known for going out with a string of Hollywood actresses.

Josh Hartnett has hinted he regrets dating Scarlett Johansson. The 35-year-old actor – who is currently in a relationship with British actress Tamsin Egerton – claims that romancing some of his former co-stars has had a negative impact on his career and made him "a lot of enemies" in Hollywood.

Asked about finding love on set, the Penny Dreadful star told Elle magazine: "I don't recommend it to young actors. You can make a lot of enemies in the business that way. But when you work with somebody every day, it's like trial dating. You develop a fantasy about them. It doesn't always work out, does it?"

Hartnett dated Johansson for almost two years until 2007 after meeting her on the set of Black Dahlia, and also dated Julia Stiles in 1999 after meeting her on the set of O. He split from Les Miserables actress Amanda Seyfried, 27, in June 2012 after six months of dating, and also briefly romanced Kirsten Dunst, Sienna Miller, Rihanna and Penelope Cruz.

The actor also suggested jealousy has been a problem for some of his famous ex-girlfriends. Discussing the secret to a happy relationship in Hollywood, he said: "Let them be on set whenever they want, with whichever co-star you're working with. Never say the scene is too sensitive. They get very suspicious."

But the actor – who began dating Tamsin "long after" he met her on the set of Singularity in 2012 – admitted that none of his friends are willing to listen to him complain about dating some of the world's most beautiful women.

He said: "They want to hear all about what you're doing, but they don't want to hear any complaints. Back when I dated a few very beautiful, very famous girls, I said something once – it wasn't really a complaint – and my buddy said, 'Oh my God, my diamond shoes are too tight.' He coined the phrase." — Bang Showbiz

America's most wanted: Jim Henson's Muppets are at it again

Posted: 19 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT

The gang is back in another cinematic feature and this time they've recruited the help of British comedian Ricky Gervais.

Cinema has plenty of classic couples – Hepburn and Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, Brad and Angie – but few are as ageless or as lovable as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

The charming amphibian and his porcine paramour are reunited on the big screen for the eighth time in Muppets Most Wanted. In this Disney caper, the Muppets fall into the clutches of the world's No. 1 criminal, Constantine, who, with the exception of a facial mole and a vaguely Eastern European accent, bears a striking resemblance to Kermit.

After a case of mistaken identity leads to Kermit's imprisonment in a Siberian gulag run by Tina Fey's warden Nadya, Constantine – disguised as the Muppets frontman – travels with the gang to major European capitals to pull a series of heists with the help of his second in command, Dominic Badguy (it's pronounced "Bad-gee"), played by Ricky Gervais, posing as an international tour manager.

Most Wanted arrives as a follow-up to 2011's The Muppets, which returned Jim Henson's foam-and-felt superstars to theatres for the first time in more than a decade and introduced a new Muppet, Walter.

Written by Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel and directed by James Bobin, that film grossed US$88mil (RM285mil) at the box office and won an Oscar for Bret McKenzie, the Flight Of The Conchords comedian who penned songs for the musical.

It also helped bring the Muppets to the attention of a new generation of viewers. "I have a whole new army of fans now at my disposal. I just say the word and they'll come running," said Miss Piggy.

"Whatever that word is, don't say it right now because we're in a small room," Kermit the Frog responded.

The film was shot primarily in England last spring, and Kermit the Frog described the experience as a creatively satisfying one.

"It was different," he said. "The first one we did with James was wonderful, but he was just getting his feet wet."

"This movie is 100 times better," Miss Piggy said.

Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Sesame Street gang are back.

Fun ahead: Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Muppets are back.

Such candor is a rare thing in Hollywood, but Kermit and Piggy aren't conventional stars. Neither is Gervais, the confrontational comedian best known for boundary-pushing TV comedies such as The Office and Extras, who joined the famed Muppets duo for a quick chat about the new movie recently at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Ricky, many comedians cite the Muppets as an inspiration. Were they a creative influence for you?

Ricky Gervais: I didn't realise until doing this movie the obvious profound effect they'd had on me. I think they're the same as I tried to do on Extras. They would take celebrities and make them these divas or egomaniacs, twisted versions of themselves, being brought down a peg or two by a crowd of normal people who didn't care that they were celebrities. That's what I did in Extras, but clearly, they did it first, 30 years before.

But the thing I love about the Muppets – and this is genuine – is that they're optimistic. As much as people think that I'm some sort of shock jock or a cynic, I'm really not. I love people who fail and get back up and brush themselves off and start again. I love that quality. I loved it from Laurel and Hardy. Everything I've done has had that – they failed, but they were trying their best.

That's these guys really – not (Miss Piggy) so much really, but this guy (points to Kermit the Frog), this man is the heart and soul of humanity.

Miss Piggy: I like to see people pick themselves back up. And I like to help them do that by cutting them down to start with.

Piggy, you've long been a role model for pigs and women. Is that something that you take very seriously?

MP: Absolutely, yes, of course. I have to always bring my A-game, so to speak, because people look up to moi. Everyone looks up to moi. All of Hollywood turns to me for inspiration. I'm sort of like every actor's Stanislavski in this day and age. They watch and learn from the master. It's a lot of pressure, but I am a professional. I just focus on the work.

RG: The strange thing is, she actually is a bit intimidating. I think it's because I do think of her as a woman as opposed to a pig.

Ricky, what was your reaction when you were approached to play Dominic?

RG: "Yes." I was worried that I couldn't do it because I was doing other things, but everyone said, "You're crazy. Of course you've got to do it." ... Then when I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago, a little chill went down my spine thinking I nearly didn't do it. I would never have forgiven myself.

I can't tell you how proud I am to be part of this. I've loved them for ages. I do watch The Muppet Christmas Carol at least twice a year. That's why I was jealous of Michael Caine, not all the other stuff he did. He was the lead human in a Muppet movie.

How do you prepare for the role? Did you go back and look at great Muppet villains of the past?

RG: I think I said, "I assume you want me to do the smarmy English git act?" And James went, "Exactly." That was it ... I loved turning up and saying the lines that I remembered and making the other ones up. Honestly, it was a breeze for me.

Kermit, you shared many scenes with Tina Fey. Did you enjoying working with her?

KTF: It was very nice. I was a prisoner, she was a guard, like two ships passing in the night, only in a cell. I was in a jail cell, but we did a lot of rehearsing together. We shot this film in England and every night we'd sort of go back to the hotel, just sit around and order in some coffee, rehearse our lines together.

MP: You and Tina?

Where was Piggy when that was happening?

KTF: Gee, I'm not sure.

MP: I was rehearsing with Constantine. That's what I was doing.

So ... looking ahead, I assume there are plans for another Muppets film? Any ideas what shape that might take?

MP: I'd like to do a disaster movie. A disaster movie that has a happy ending where we get married.

KTF: I'd like to do a movie that's not a disaster. That would be my goal.

The Muppets are beloved by so many people. Why do you suppose your work has such resonance?

KTF: I think it's because people see themselves in us. It's like Ricky said, we do get up again. We're kind of the underdogs.

RG: They're people. They may look like animals, but they're every aspect of humanity, the good bits, and they allow guest stars to come in and show the bad bits. That's what's great about it. I think with any sort of fiction, you create your own heroes and villains as role play for the soul. You want bad people to get their comeuppance and good people to win. That's what Muppets do. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Muppets Most Wanted opens in cinemas nationwide on April 24.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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'Sesame Street' partners with Exceptional Minds School For Autism initiative

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:30 PM PDT

The school, which is based in California, focuses on job creation for autistic individuals in the US.

Exceptional Minds, the first vocational school for young autistic professionals in digital fields, is partnering with the non-profit organisation behind Sesame Street for an initiative spreading autism awareness.

The school, located in California, will be working to develop, implement and disseminate resources for Sesame Workshop's "See Amazing In All Children" campaign. According to Exceptional Minds spokesperson Dee McVicker, the partnership will be open ended.

"The possibilities are far reaching," McVicker told TheWrap. "Exceptional Minds is a working studio, so we do post-production work, digital animation, storyboards, that sort of thing. So, yes, we could help out in any of those areas with the campaign or perhaps on the children's show itself.

"Matt Asner is the regional Los Angeles chair for Autism Speaks, and his father, actor Ed Asner, is on our advisory board at Exceptional Minds. We all saw a natural partnership forming between the three of us," she added.

The school, which will graduate its first nine students in June, focuses on job creation for autistic individuals.

"We are excited to be partnering with Exceptional Minds to utilise the creativity of these artistic young adults to help us create resources for this initiative. This is truly a demonstration highlighting the talents of all children," Dr Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop's senior vice president for Community and Family Engagement, said in a statement.

According to research and advocacy group Autism Speaks – which is also working with Sesame Workshop – 40% of autism sufferers have exceptional visual, musical, and academic skills. But the majority are disproportionately underemployed or unemployed.

"We can't think of a more worthy and trusting organisation than Sesame Workshop to be working with as our students navigate this new and expanded world for anyone with autism," Exceptional Minds founding board member Ron Burns said. — Reuters

Too much, too little

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT

Some TV shows are really good but get so little love, while others – ahem, American Idol – should be cancelled already.

UNDERRATED

Community

Dean Pelton (Jim Rash), Pierce Hawthorn (Chevy Chase), Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), Brita Perry (Gillian Jacobs), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), Annie Edison (Alison Brie) – don't know who they are? Then you're missing out on one of the funniest sitcoms on TV today. The current Season 5 isn't the best, we admit, but the journey getting here has been filled with bellyaching guffaws. Ouch, we feel a stitch coming.

Hannibal

Here's a show with a lot of twisted conversations and an equal amount of action. Set an extra place at the dinner table for us – and pass us the fava beans and Chianti.

Parenthood

We need a good, sappy family drama now and then. For us – OK, more Indra than Mumtaj – Parenthood fulfils most of the must-watch criteria: sweet love, heatwarming stories, sibling drama, very little teenage angst (yay!), family dinners, and some romance here and there. 

Veep

Who knew a Vice President could be so unforgettable? Julia Louis-Dreyfus as US VP Selina Meyer has managed to sustain our laughter throughout her two terms – and win two Emmys along the way. As for her White House team, as incompetent as they are, they're fantastic entertainment.

OVERRATED

American Idol

After 50,000 episodes – well, it sure feels like it! – this reality TV singing competition should know when to take a bow already.

Glee

They sing, they dance, they sometimes even act. So, what? They're William KcKinley High School teenagers – so many teens! – and they're annoying. The show is crippled by the fact that it revolves around Ohio teenagers, and Ohio teachers who behave like teens. We're sure real life Ohio kids aren't so bad. We hope.

Grey's Anatomy

Does the world revolve around Dr Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her colleagues at the Seattle Grace Hospital? Not so much.

Suits 

Season 1 was interesting. Gabriel Macht is ever so captivating and so sharply dressed, too – drool! But even he can't lift this series from mediocrity. The drama between Michael Ross (Patrick J Adams) and Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) is just killing the show, one longing look at a time. Ugh.

Meanwhile, here are five TV characters who are either overlooked or overhyped.

UNDERRATED

Dean Winchester

The angst this beautiful man goes through in Supernatural is so heart wrenching – why don't more people care? Dean's (Jensen Ackles) tears are so wrought with meaning – OK, maybe we're going a bit overboard here – but one look at his troubled character and you'll be hooked.

Diane Lockhart

Why are there so few scenes with Diane (Christine Baranski) in The Good Wife? And for that matter, no Emmy win either despite five nominations?? She's the Superwoman of the show – she has her own firm, she can handle anything and anyone thrown in her way, and she always got it together. No meltdowns, no screaming, no nonsense. All Diane has to do is perch on her office settee with her expensive clothes and accessories, and she's able to solve all her problems.

OVERRATED

Damon Salvatore & Elena Gilbert

They make for two gorgeous bloodsuckers but, boy, are these immortal creatures from The Vampire Diaries dull, dull, dull. To be fair, Damon wasn't boring until he hooked up with Elena. Now his one-liners are meh.

Scarlett O'Connor

Can one person really have so much drama? We know country music is filled with sad songs but Scarlett (Clare Bowen) of Nashville makes us want to gauge our eyes out. Actually, we want to gauge her eyes out.

> Mumtaj Begum has been promoted to an associate Spudnik while Ann Marie Chandy recuperates from binge-watching fatigue.
Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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Prequel alert: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in New Zealand

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:35 PM PDT

Reports say that Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh will be reprising her role in the new film, tentatively titled The Green Destiny.

A prequel to the Oscar-winning Chinese martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be shot in New Zealand this year, Film Auckland said.

The original movie, released in 2000, broke new ground in introducing Western audiences to Chinese cinema and Film Auckland's deputy chairman Alex Lee said securing the follow-up was a major coup for New Zealand.

"Over the last 18 months it's been very quiet and it's nice we're finally getting traction," he told Radio New Zealand. "It's a production that will require a vast number of resources, facilities, technicians and crew."

New Zealand is no stranger to big-budget movie shoots, providing stunning backdrops for both the The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

But Lee said subsidy changes allowing major productions to claim back up to 25% of their budget as rebates were a decisive factor in Auckland winning the Crouching Tiger prequel.

"It's quite clear that until the decision to increase the incentives for international films to come to New Zealand we were just not competitive," he said.

Crouching Tiger made US$213.5mil (RM683.2mil) globally, according to industry website Box Office Mojo, including US$128mil (RM409.6mil) in the United States – unprecedented at the time for a foreign language movie.

It also won four Oscars in 2001, including best foreign film, and launched the Hollywood career of director Ang Lee, who went on to win two best director Academy Awards for Brokeback Mountain and Life Of Pi.

Film industry bible Variety reported that Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh will reprise her role as a warrior in the prequel, to be titled The Green Destiny. It said Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company is co-producing the film with New Zealand's Iron Knight Productions.

Yuen Woo-ping, who co-ordinated the eye-popping action scenes in the original, will reportedly direct, using a script which has been approved by officials in Beijing. The green light from Beijing is important because it ensures access to the rapidly growing Chinese market, where box office takings soared 36% to an estimated US$1.8bil (RM5.76bil) over the first six months of 2013. The Chinese market is expected to overtake the US market by 2020, prompting keen interest from Hollywood. — AFP Relaxnews

Josh Hartnett regrets dating his co-stars, including Scarlett Johansson

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 09:15 PM PDT

The actor is well-known for going out with a string of Hollywood actresses.

Josh Hartnett has hinted he regrets dating Scarlett Johansson. The 35-year-old actor – who is currently in a relationship with British actress Tamsin Egerton – claims that romancing some of his former co-stars has had a negative impact on his career and made him "a lot of enemies" in Hollywood.

Asked about finding love on set, the Penny Dreadful star told Elle magazine: "I don't recommend it to young actors. You can make a lot of enemies in the business that way. But when you work with somebody every day, it's like trial dating. You develop a fantasy about them. It doesn't always work out, does it?"

Hartnett dated Johansson for almost two years until 2007 after meeting her on the set of Black Dahlia, and also dated Julia Stiles in 1999 after meeting her on the set of O. He split from Les Miserables actress Amanda Seyfried, 27, in June 2012 after six months of dating, and also briefly romanced Kirsten Dunst, Sienna Miller, Rihanna and Penelope Cruz.

The actor also suggested jealousy has been a problem for some of his famous ex-girlfriends. Discussing the secret to a happy relationship in Hollywood, he said: "Let them be on set whenever they want, with whichever co-star you're working with. Never say the scene is too sensitive. They get very suspicious."

But the actor – who began dating Tamsin "long after" he met her on the set of Singularity in 2012 – admitted that none of his friends are willing to listen to him complain about dating some of the world's most beautiful women.

He said: "They want to hear all about what you're doing, but they don't want to hear any complaints. Back when I dated a few very beautiful, very famous girls, I said something once – it wasn't really a complaint – and my buddy said, 'Oh my God, my diamond shoes are too tight.' He coined the phrase." — Bang Showbiz

America's most wanted: Jim Henson's Muppets are at it again

Posted: 19 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT

The gang is back in another cinematic feature and this time they've recruited the help of British comedian Ricky Gervais.

Cinema has plenty of classic couples – Hepburn and Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, Brad and Angie – but few are as ageless or as lovable as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

The charming amphibian and his porcine paramour are reunited on the big screen for the eighth time in Muppets Most Wanted. In this Disney caper, the Muppets fall into the clutches of the world's No. 1 criminal, Constantine, who, with the exception of a facial mole and a vaguely Eastern European accent, bears a striking resemblance to Kermit.

After a case of mistaken identity leads to Kermit's imprisonment in a Siberian gulag run by Tina Fey's warden Nadya, Constantine – disguised as the Muppets frontman – travels with the gang to major European capitals to pull a series of heists with the help of his second in command, Dominic Badguy (it's pronounced "Bad-gee"), played by Ricky Gervais, posing as an international tour manager.

Most Wanted arrives as a follow-up to 2011's The Muppets, which returned Jim Henson's foam-and-felt superstars to theatres for the first time in more than a decade and introduced a new Muppet, Walter.

Written by Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel and directed by James Bobin, that film grossed US$88mil (RM285mil) at the box office and won an Oscar for Bret McKenzie, the Flight Of The Conchords comedian who penned songs for the musical.

It also helped bring the Muppets to the attention of a new generation of viewers. "I have a whole new army of fans now at my disposal. I just say the word and they'll come running," said Miss Piggy.

"Whatever that word is, don't say it right now because we're in a small room," Kermit the Frog responded.

The film was shot primarily in England last spring, and Kermit the Frog described the experience as a creatively satisfying one.

"It was different," he said. "The first one we did with James was wonderful, but he was just getting his feet wet."

"This movie is 100 times better," Miss Piggy said.

Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Sesame Street gang are back.

Fun ahead: Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Muppets are back.

Such candor is a rare thing in Hollywood, but Kermit and Piggy aren't conventional stars. Neither is Gervais, the confrontational comedian best known for boundary-pushing TV comedies such as The Office and Extras, who joined the famed Muppets duo for a quick chat about the new movie recently at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Ricky, many comedians cite the Muppets as an inspiration. Were they a creative influence for you?

Ricky Gervais: I didn't realise until doing this movie the obvious profound effect they'd had on me. I think they're the same as I tried to do on Extras. They would take celebrities and make them these divas or egomaniacs, twisted versions of themselves, being brought down a peg or two by a crowd of normal people who didn't care that they were celebrities. That's what I did in Extras, but clearly, they did it first, 30 years before.

But the thing I love about the Muppets – and this is genuine – is that they're optimistic. As much as people think that I'm some sort of shock jock or a cynic, I'm really not. I love people who fail and get back up and brush themselves off and start again. I love that quality. I loved it from Laurel and Hardy. Everything I've done has had that – they failed, but they were trying their best.

That's these guys really – not (Miss Piggy) so much really, but this guy (points to Kermit the Frog), this man is the heart and soul of humanity.

Miss Piggy: I like to see people pick themselves back up. And I like to help them do that by cutting them down to start with.

Piggy, you've long been a role model for pigs and women. Is that something that you take very seriously?

MP: Absolutely, yes, of course. I have to always bring my A-game, so to speak, because people look up to moi. Everyone looks up to moi. All of Hollywood turns to me for inspiration. I'm sort of like every actor's Stanislavski in this day and age. They watch and learn from the master. It's a lot of pressure, but I am a professional. I just focus on the work.

RG: The strange thing is, she actually is a bit intimidating. I think it's because I do think of her as a woman as opposed to a pig.

Ricky, what was your reaction when you were approached to play Dominic?

RG: "Yes." I was worried that I couldn't do it because I was doing other things, but everyone said, "You're crazy. Of course you've got to do it." ... Then when I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago, a little chill went down my spine thinking I nearly didn't do it. I would never have forgiven myself.

I can't tell you how proud I am to be part of this. I've loved them for ages. I do watch The Muppet Christmas Carol at least twice a year. That's why I was jealous of Michael Caine, not all the other stuff he did. He was the lead human in a Muppet movie.

How do you prepare for the role? Did you go back and look at great Muppet villains of the past?

RG: I think I said, "I assume you want me to do the smarmy English git act?" And James went, "Exactly." That was it ... I loved turning up and saying the lines that I remembered and making the other ones up. Honestly, it was a breeze for me.

Kermit, you shared many scenes with Tina Fey. Did you enjoying working with her?

KTF: It was very nice. I was a prisoner, she was a guard, like two ships passing in the night, only in a cell. I was in a jail cell, but we did a lot of rehearsing together. We shot this film in England and every night we'd sort of go back to the hotel, just sit around and order in some coffee, rehearse our lines together.

MP: You and Tina?

Where was Piggy when that was happening?

KTF: Gee, I'm not sure.

MP: I was rehearsing with Constantine. That's what I was doing.

So ... looking ahead, I assume there are plans for another Muppets film? Any ideas what shape that might take?

MP: I'd like to do a disaster movie. A disaster movie that has a happy ending where we get married.

KTF: I'd like to do a movie that's not a disaster. That would be my goal.

The Muppets are beloved by so many people. Why do you suppose your work has such resonance?

KTF: I think it's because people see themselves in us. It's like Ricky said, we do get up again. We're kind of the underdogs.

RG: They're people. They may look like animals, but they're every aspect of humanity, the good bits, and they allow guest stars to come in and show the bad bits. That's what's great about it. I think with any sort of fiction, you create your own heroes and villains as role play for the soul. You want bad people to get their comeuppance and good people to win. That's what Muppets do. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Muppets Most Wanted opens in cinemas nationwide on April 24.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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U.N. Security Council members mulling South Sudan sanctions

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 08:40 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members are considering sanctions on South Sudan's warring parties, envoys said on Wednesday, after U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous demanded "serious consequences" be imposed to force an end to the violence.

Ladsous and U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for human rights Ivan Simonovic briefed the 15-member council on a recent escalation in attacks on civilians, including an ethnic massacre in the oil town of Bentiu and the killing of dozens of people who had sought refuge inside a U.N. peacekeeping base in Bor.

"Unless there are serious consequences for the parties to cease the violence and engage in meaningful talks ... the toll on innocent civilians will continue to rise," Ladsous told reporters after the closed-door council meeting.

"The United Nations is doing everything it can to protect the civilians that are fleeing the violence, the war, but let us never forget that the primary responsibility for protection of civilians is with the government," he said.

Nigerian U.N. Ambassador Joy Ogwu, president of the council for April, said there was a lot of support among council members for pursuing sanctions on South Sudan.

"I think we are ready to go down the road of sanctions," French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, posted on Twitter after the briefing: "For the sake of the people of South Sudan, international community must sanction political spoilers and those who target civilians."

The United States and the European Union have already threatened South Sudan with sanctions. President Barack Obama earlier this month authorized possible targeted sanctions against those committing human rights abuses in South Sudan or undermining democracy and obstructing the peace process.

U.N. 'SOUL-SEARCHING'

More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in the world's youngest country in December between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar.

The fighting has exacerbated ethnic tensions between Kiir's Dinka people and Machar's Nuer. Negotiations between the Kiir government and rebels loyal to Machar have failed to advance since the January 23 signing of a ceasefire which never took hold.

The United Nations accused the rebels of hunting down men, women and children last week in a hospital, church and mosque in the capital of the oil-producing Unity state and then killing them based on ethnicity and nationality.

After the rebels seized Bentiu, Dinka residents of Bor town in Jonglei state attacked a U.N. base on Thursday where about 5,000 people, mostly Nuer, were sheltering.

They pretended to be peaceful protesters delivering a petition to the United Nations before opening fire on the base, killing some 58 people and wounding 98, including two Indian peacekeepers, the United Nations said.

Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands have sought refuge at U.N. bases around South Sudan after the violence spread across the country.

The Security Council is due to renew the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, in July. In December, the council approved a plan to almost double the number of peacekeepers to 12,500 troops as the violence worsened but so far only half those 5,500 reinforcements have arrived.

"We are refining the mandate of UNMISS so we have also to face the fact that maybe we can't cooperate with this government anymore because atrocities are committed by both sides," Araud said. "I do think that we have to have some soul searching about what should the U.N. do in South Sudan."

(Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait)

Body of Korean boy who raised ferry alarm believed found

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 08:40 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean boy whose shaking voice first raised the alarm that an overloaded ferry with hundreds of children on board was sinking has been found drowned in the underwater wreckage of the ship, his parents believe, the coastguard said on Thursday.

The parents had seen his body and clothes and concluded he was their son, but he has not been formally identified with a DNA test.

More than 300 people, most of them students and teachers from the Danwon High School, are dead or missing presumed dead in the April 16 disaster.

The Sewol, weighing almost 7,000 tons, sank on a routine trip from the port of Incheon, near Seoul, to the southern holiday island of Jeju. Investigations are focused on human error and mechanical failure.

Of the 476 passengers and crew on board, 339 were children and teachers from the school in Ansan, a gritty suburb on the outskirts of Seoul, who were on an outing to Jeju.

As the ferry began sinking, the crew told the children to stay in their cabins.

Most of those who obeyed died. Many of those who flouted or did not hear the instructions and went out on deck were rescued.

But only 174 people were saved and the remainder are presumed to have drowned.

Classes at the school resumed on Thursday with banks of floral tributes surrounding photos of each of the victims, dressed in their school uniforms. Almost 250 teenagers and teachers at the school have died or are presumed dead.

Fellow students filed past, offering white chrysanthemums in sombre tributes.

In the classrooms of the missing, friends posted messages on desks, blackboards and windows, in the days after disaster struck, asking for the safe return of their friends.

"If I see you again, I'll tell you I love you, because I haven't said it to you enough," read one.

The school provided therapy sessions for the children as they returned.

The first distress call from the sinking vessel was made by a boy with a shaking voice, three minutes after the vessel made its fateful last turn, a fire service officer told Reuters.

"SAVE US"

The boy called the emergency 119 number which put him through to the fire service, which in turn forwarded him to the coastguard two minutes later. That was followed by about 20 other calls from children on board the ship to the emergency number.

"Save us! We're on a ship and I think it's sinking," Yonhap news agency quoted the boy as saying.

The fire service official asked him to switch the phone to the captain, media said, and the boy replied: "Do you mean teacher?"

The pronunciation of the words for "captain" and "teacher" is similar in Korean.

The ship, 146 metres (479 feet) long and 22 metres wide, was over three times overloaded, according to official recommendations, with cargo poorly stowed and inadequate ballast.

Moon Ki-han, an executive at Uryeon (Union Transport Co.), the firm that supervised cargo loading, told Reuters there were 105 containers onboard, some of which toppled into the sea as the ship listed.

Forty-five were loaded on to the front deck and 60 into the lower decks. In total, the ship was carrying 3,600 metric tons of cargo including containers, vehicles and other goods.

A member of parliament this week said the Korean Register of Shipping recommended a load of 987 tons for the Sewol.

Captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, and other crew members who abandoned ship have been arrested on negligence charges. Lee was also charged with undertaking an "excessive change of course without slowing down".

The confirmed death toll from the ship on Thursday was 159, with many of those found at the back of the ship on the fourth deck.

Recovery work on Thursday was concentrated on the third and fourth decks at the front of the ship with about 700 divers, working in shifts, and an extra 36 fishing boats involved, an official told a briefing.

Helping divers were drones and a crab-like robot, called a "crabster", which can feel for bodies along the seabed.

The volunteer element of the operation has been limited, the official said, adding an apology.

"When the volunteers came, we stopped the on-going operation and gave them the chance to dive," the official said. "The majority were in the water for less than 10 minutes due to limited visibility. There was also someone who didn't even dive and only took pictures."

Divers have been swimming through the dark, cold waters in the ferry, feeling for bodies with their hands.

"We are trained for hostile environments, but it's hard to be brave when we meet bodies in dark water," said diver Hwang Dae-sik.

(Additional reporting by Meeyoung Cho, Miyoung Kim, Sohee Kim an Ju-min Park; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Obama uses Japan visit to reassure wary Asian allies

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 08:30 PM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama used a state visit to Japan on Thursday to try to reassure Asian allies of his commitment to ramping up U.S. engagement in the region, despite Chinese complaints that his real aim is to contain Beijing's rise.

Obama is being treated to a display of pomp and ceremony meant to show that the U.S.-Japan alliance, the main pillar of America's security strategy in Asia, remains solid at a time of rising tensions over growing Chinese assertiveness and North Korean nuclear threats.

"As you said, my visit here, I think, once again represents my deep belief that a strong U.S.-Japan relationship is not only good for our countries, but good for the world," Obama told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the start of their summit.

"Our shared democratic values mean that we have to work together in multilateral settings to deal with regional hot spots Around the globe, but also to try make sure we are creating a strong set of rules that govern the international order."

Behind the scenes, U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators for the two countries were working around the clock in Tokyo on a two-way trade pact seen as crucial to a broader trans-Pacific agreement.

"We're continuing to work," a U.S. official said on Thursday, before the leaders met on the first state visit to Japan by a U.S. president in 18 years.

"Autos and agriculture continue to be the focus, and our goal remains to achieve meaningful market access for American businesses, farmers and ranchers," the official said. "We've made some progress and worked around the clock.

Even if Obama and Abe cannot complete a bilateral trade deal before the U.S. president leaves Tokyo on Friday, they are likely to try to project a sense of progress on key issues.

BALANCING ACT

The diplomatic challenge for Obama during his week-long, four-nation regional tour will be to convince Asian partners that Washington is serious about its promised strategic "pivot" towards the region, while at the same time not harming U.S. ties with China, the world's second-biggest economy.

The difficulty of Obama's balancing act was underscored hours before he arrived on Wednesday night when Chinese state media criticized U.S. policy in the region as "a carefully calculated scheme to cage the rapidly developing Asian giant".

The official Xinhua news agency followed that on Thursday with a commentary that said: "...the pomp and circumstance Obama receives ... cannot conceal the fact that Tokyo has become a growing liability to Washington's pursuit of long-term interests."

Obama told Japan's Yomiuri newspaper that while Washington welcomed China's peaceful rise, "our engagement with China does not and will not come at the expense of Japan or any other ally".

An Obama-Abe joint statement is likely to specify that tiny Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea, claimed by Beijing, fall under the U.S.-Japan treaty that obliges Washington to defend Tokyo, Japanese media said on Thursday.

This is standard U.S. policy, but putting Obama's name to such a statement would reassure Japan on an issue that is a source of tension between Asia's biggest powers.

Obama's trip will also include stops in South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. Leaders who will meet Obama are also keeping a wary eye on the crisis in Ukraine through the prism of their own territorial disputes with Beijing.

Some of China's neighbours worry that Obama's apparent inability to rein in Russia, which annexed Crimea last month, could send a message of weakness to China.

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY

The Japanese government lobbied hard to get the White House to agree to an official state visit, the first by a sitting U.S. president since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Topping Obama's schedule on Thursday was an audience with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace and a summit with Abe followed by a joint news conference. He will also visit the Meiji Shrine, which honours the Japanese emperor who oversaw the country's rapid modernisation in the late 1800s.

At an official welcoming ceremony by Emperor Akihito, Obama walked smiling past Japanese schoolchildren waving small U.S. and Japanese flags, solemnly inspected a rifle-bearing military honour guard, and shook hands with Japanese dignitaries in front of the sprawling palace before heading inside with his hosts.

Abe will be trying to soothe U.S. concerns that his conservative push to recast Japan's war record with a less apologetic tone is overshadowing his pragmatic policies on the economy and security.

"Japan has been walking on the path of peace for seven decades after the war," Abe told Obama at the start of their talks. "An alliance between Japan and the United States, which share such values as freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as strategic interest, is indispensable as a cornerstone for peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region."

Obama and Abe are expected to send a message of solidarity after strains following Abe's December visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

In his remarks to the Yomiuri, Obama has already assured Japan that the bilateral defence treaty covers the disputed islets, called the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China.

The Obama-Abe joint statement will say the two allies will not tolerate any attempt to change the status quo there by force, a phrase that implicitly targets China.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Antoni Slodkowski and Chris Meyers; Editing by Mike Collett-White, William Mallard and Alex Richardson)

(This story has been refiled to add the missing word "a" in the first paragraph)

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Alam Maritim falls after placement below market price

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 06:48 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR:  Offshore support vessel (OSV) operator Alam Maritim fell in early Thursday trade when it resumed trading after announcing the placement of 123 million new shares at RM1.35 each.

At 9.39am, Alam Maritim fell six sen to RM1.59. There were 9.98 million shares done.

The FBM KLCI was down 2.95 points to 1,864.40.  Turnover was 376.71 million shares valued  at RM182.03mil. There were 181 gainers, 227 losers and 270 counters unchanged.

Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan and his associate, Paul Poh, are buying the shares, accounting for a 15.53% stake at RM1.35 per share.

Affin Research has maintained its Buy call on Alam Maritim with a target price of RM1.83 and likes the group for its undemanding valuation and strong earnings growth.

The research house is mildly positive on the exercise, adding Quek and Poh are astute investors.

"Their entrance reinforce our positive view on Alam's business prospect and the placement provides the much needed capital to fund Alam's expansion plan," it said.

Banks lead KLCI lower in early trade

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 06:27 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Mild selling of bank stocks including AmBank and RHB Capital, plantations and Malaysia Airports pushed the FBM KLCI into the red early Thursday with analysts expecting profit taking to continue.

At 9.11am, the KLCI was down 1.55 points to 1,865.80. Turnover was 183.88 million shares valued at RM73.04mil. There were 143 gainers, 124 losers and 196 counters unchanged.

BIMB Securities Research said the KLCI was supported by foreign buying on Wednesday where there was a net inflow of RM74mil.

"With regional markets retreating yesterday, we reckon the gravity pull on the KLCI to become stronger today and expect some profit taking with the 1,860/65 as the immediate support level," it said.

Petronas Dagangan fell  24 sen to RM30.40 with 100 shares done.

Among the banks, AmBank fell seven sen to RM7.16 and RHB Cap five sen lower  at  RM8.46 in razor thin trade.

As for plantations, Keck Seng lost 25 sen to RM7.17and PPB Group six  sen to RM16.14.

Infrastructure-property  based Gamuda lost six sen to RM4.54.

Alam Maritim fell three sen to RM1.62. A unit of Hong Leong Group and another firm agreed to subscribe to 123 million new shares for RM166mil or RM1.35 a share.

TAS Offshore rose eight sen to RM1.44 with 6.55 million shares done. TAS Offshore's third quarter net profit doubled year-on-year on the back of higher revenue to the completion and delivery of several vessels.

Pharmaniaga  jumped 26 sen to RM4.61. CIMB Equities Research has started coverage of Pharmaniaga with an Add rating and target price of RM6.50, which is 51.2% above the last traded price of RM4.30.

NZ central bank raises rates, signals more tightening

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 05:32 PM PDT

WELLINGTON: New Zealand's central bank raised interest rates on Thursday and signalled that it would keep tightening monetary policy in the coming months as the central bank tames inflation pressures which have been brewing as the country's economy strengthens.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted its official rate by 25 basis points to 3.0 percent in a widely expected move, continuing its tightening path mapped out last month, when the central bank took the lead among developed nations in raising rates in the current cycle.

"It is important that inflation expectations remain contained. To achieve this it is necessary to raise interest rates towards a level at which they are no longer adding to demand," RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said in a statement.

"The speed and extent to which the OCR will be raised will depend on economic data and our continuing assessment of emerging inflationary pressures, including the extent to which the high exchange rate leads to lower inflationary pressures."

Thursday's move takes rates to a three-year high, and the RBNZ stuck to its guidance that more rate hikes lay ahead, while adding that it would assess the extent to which a historically strong New Zealand dollar lowers inflationary pressures.

The RBNZ has said it expects to raise rates by roughly 200 basis points through late 2015 as post-earthquake reconstruction in the Canterbury region, a booming housing market, high terms of trade, and increasing migration to drive the economy.

The RBNZ said it estimated that the economy grew by 3.5 percent in the year to March. It has forecast growth of 3.0 percent for 2014, up from 2.3 percent in 2013.

The New Zealand dollar gained around a third of a cent to a high of $0.8621 after the announcement, but interest rate futures <0#NBB:> were barely moved.

Analysts said there were no surprises from the RBNZ, which looks to have its focus on getting the jump on future inflation.

"We are forecasting further hikes of 25 basis points each in June, July, and December this year - although we admit that the July hike is a very close call," said Westpac economists in a note.

Markets are pricing 109 basis points of hikes in the next 12 months, but a sedate reading of consumer inflation and a stubbornly strong currency have raised speculation that the RBNZ may take a steady approach to rate rises.

Data last week showed annual inflation at 1.5 percent in the first quarter, softer than expected and below the RBNZ's target mid-point around 2 percent, bolstering the view that further rises will be gradual.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar has rallied since the RBNZ began raising rates last month, lifting the currency to a life-time high against a currency basket and around 2.0 percent higher than the central bank's forecast.

Lower imported price pressures resulting from a continuously strong "kiwi" dollar may curb the need to take rates to 3.75 percent by year-end, the median rate in the Reuters poll taken ahead of Thursday's policy decision.

New Zealand is also facing an ongoing fall in global prices for dairy products, the country's largest export product, which could lower the country's terms of trade from a 40-year high hit late last year and also take some heat off the RBNZ to tighten down the line. - Reuters

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America&#39;s most wanted: Jim Henson&#39;s Muppets are at it again

Posted: 19 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT

The gang is back in another cinematic feature and this time they've recruited the help of British comedian Ricky Gervais.

Cinema has plenty of classic couples – Hepburn and Tracy, Bogart and Bacall, Brad and Angie – but few are as ageless or as lovable as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

The charming amphibian and his porcine paramour are reunited on the big screen for the eighth time in Muppets Most Wanted. In this Disney caper, the Muppets fall into the clutches of the world's No. 1 criminal, Constantine, who, with the exception of a facial mole and a vaguely Eastern European accent, bears a striking resemblance to Kermit.

After a case of mistaken identity leads to Kermit's imprisonment in a Siberian gulag run by Tina Fey's warden Nadya, Constantine – disguised as the Muppets frontman – travels with the gang to major European capitals to pull a series of heists with the help of his second in command, Dominic Badguy (it's pronounced "Bad-gee"), played by Ricky Gervais, posing as an international tour manager.

Most Wanted arrives as a follow-up to 2011's The Muppets, which returned Jim Henson's foam-and-felt superstars to theatres for the first time in more than a decade and introduced a new Muppet, Walter.

Written by Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel and directed by James Bobin, that film grossed US$88mil (RM285mil) at the box office and won an Oscar for Bret McKenzie, the Flight Of The Conchords comedian who penned songs for the musical.

It also helped bring the Muppets to the attention of a new generation of viewers. "I have a whole new army of fans now at my disposal. I just say the word and they'll come running," said Miss Piggy.

"Whatever that word is, don't say it right now because we're in a small room," Kermit the Frog responded.

The film was shot primarily in England last spring, and Kermit the Frog described the experience as a creatively satisfying one.

"It was different," he said. "The first one we did with James was wonderful, but he was just getting his feet wet."

"This movie is 100 times better," Miss Piggy said.

Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Sesame Street gang are back.

Fun ahead: Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the Muppets are back.

Such candor is a rare thing in Hollywood, but Kermit and Piggy aren't conventional stars. Neither is Gervais, the confrontational comedian best known for boundary-pushing TV comedies such as The Office and Extras, who joined the famed Muppets duo for a quick chat about the new movie recently at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Ricky, many comedians cite the Muppets as an inspiration. Were they a creative influence for you?

Ricky Gervais: I didn't realise until doing this movie the obvious profound effect they'd had on me. I think they're the same as I tried to do on Extras. They would take celebrities and make them these divas or egomaniacs, twisted versions of themselves, being brought down a peg or two by a crowd of normal people who didn't care that they were celebrities. That's what I did in Extras, but clearly, they did it first, 30 years before.

But the thing I love about the Muppets – and this is genuine – is that they're optimistic. As much as people think that I'm some sort of shock jock or a cynic, I'm really not. I love people who fail and get back up and brush themselves off and start again. I love that quality. I loved it from Laurel and Hardy. Everything I've done has had that – they failed, but they were trying their best.

That's these guys really – not (Miss Piggy) so much really, but this guy (points to Kermit the Frog), this man is the heart and soul of humanity.

Miss Piggy: I like to see people pick themselves back up. And I like to help them do that by cutting them down to start with.

Piggy, you've long been a role model for pigs and women. Is that something that you take very seriously?

MP: Absolutely, yes, of course. I have to always bring my A-game, so to speak, because people look up to moi. Everyone looks up to moi. All of Hollywood turns to me for inspiration. I'm sort of like every actor's Stanislavski in this day and age. They watch and learn from the master. It's a lot of pressure, but I am a professional. I just focus on the work.

RG: The strange thing is, she actually is a bit intimidating. I think it's because I do think of her as a woman as opposed to a pig.

Ricky, what was your reaction when you were approached to play Dominic?

RG: "Yes." I was worried that I couldn't do it because I was doing other things, but everyone said, "You're crazy. Of course you've got to do it." ... Then when I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago, a little chill went down my spine thinking I nearly didn't do it. I would never have forgiven myself.

I can't tell you how proud I am to be part of this. I've loved them for ages. I do watch The Muppet Christmas Carol at least twice a year. That's why I was jealous of Michael Caine, not all the other stuff he did. He was the lead human in a Muppet movie.

How do you prepare for the role? Did you go back and look at great Muppet villains of the past?

RG: I think I said, "I assume you want me to do the smarmy English git act?" And James went, "Exactly." That was it ... I loved turning up and saying the lines that I remembered and making the other ones up. Honestly, it was a breeze for me.

Kermit, you shared many scenes with Tina Fey. Did you enjoying working with her?

KTF: It was very nice. I was a prisoner, she was a guard, like two ships passing in the night, only in a cell. I was in a jail cell, but we did a lot of rehearsing together. We shot this film in England and every night we'd sort of go back to the hotel, just sit around and order in some coffee, rehearse our lines together.

MP: You and Tina?

Where was Piggy when that was happening?

KTF: Gee, I'm not sure.

MP: I was rehearsing with Constantine. That's what I was doing.

So ... looking ahead, I assume there are plans for another Muppets film? Any ideas what shape that might take?

MP: I'd like to do a disaster movie. A disaster movie that has a happy ending where we get married.

KTF: I'd like to do a movie that's not a disaster. That would be my goal.

The Muppets are beloved by so many people. Why do you suppose your work has such resonance?

KTF: I think it's because people see themselves in us. It's like Ricky said, we do get up again. We're kind of the underdogs.

RG: They're people. They may look like animals, but they're every aspect of humanity, the good bits, and they allow guest stars to come in and show the bad bits. That's what's great about it. I think with any sort of fiction, you create your own heroes and villains as role play for the soul. You want bad people to get their comeuppance and good people to win. That's what Muppets do. – Los Angeles Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Muppets Most Wanted opens in cinemas nationwide on April 24.

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Liow: MCA to decide on Bukit Gelugor contest soon

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 06:25 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA will come up with a decision on whether to contest the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat soon, says party president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the party will discuss the seat with Barisan Nasional component parties in its meetings.

"The decision will be made soon. We constantly have meetings and can bring it up anytime," he said, adding that the meeting would have to come up with a consensus on the seat.

Liow said this after having a dialogue with 53 representatives from Chinese guilds and associations at Wisma MCA here on Wednesday.

The Bukit Gelugor seat fell vacant after Member of Parliament and DAP stalwart Karpal Singh died in a car accident near Gua Tempurung along the North South Expressway on April 17.

Barisan Nasional secretary general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor had reportedly said the seat would be contested by the MCA as the constituency consisted of 74% Chinese voters.

On the dialogue with the Chinese guilds and associations, Liow said the MCA and the organisations unanimously resolved to reject the implementation of the hudud law in Kelantan, as proposed by PAS via a Private Member's Bill to be tabled in Parliament.

He said the MCA respected Karpal's spirit against the implementation of the hudud law and urged the DAP to "learn from him."

"The DAP should stop playing politics over this matter as it affects the public. The people are wise and can judge for themselves over how this matter is handled, " he said.

On former president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's criticism of the current party leadership in handling the hudud issue, Liow said the party's stand was very clear.

"We unanimously object the Bill as it will disrupt harmony and the unity of our multi racial society," he said.

When further pressed to respond to Dr Chua accusing the current leadership of being "weak and helpless", Liow said: "He is my past leader. He can say anything he likes. That is history."

It was reported that PAS planned to table the Bill in the next Dewan Rakyat meeting in June to pave way for the hudud law to be imposed in Kelantan.

MCA had urged the DAP to leave Pakatan Rakyat if it failed to stop PAS from pushing its hudud agenda.

MH370 search: New international investigative team to be formed, says Hisham

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 05:13 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has approved the formation of an international investigative team to look into the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane, said Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein.

The Acting Transport Minister said the formation of the team was an opportunity for those involved to look at the incident and determine how it related to the aviation landscape in the future, he said.

"We had no problems getting people to agree to come on board because everybody wants to be part of this unprecedented incident," he said at a press conference.

Members of the team, which will be formed in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, will be announced next week, said Hishamuddin.

He said the team would comprise three groups – airworthiness, operational as well as medical and human factors.

He added that the main purpose of the team was to evaluate, investigate and determine the actual cause of the incident so that similar incidents could be avoided.

He also said this was an ideal opportunity to tap the knowledge of international experts, such as those from the United States' National Transportation Safety Board, Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and France's BEA, among others.

He said the investigative team would not look into criminal aspects under the purview of the Royal Malaysian Police.

The Malaysian Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau, that was established in Dec 2011 under the Transport Ministry, would be the secretariat for the team.

"It is important for the Government to form an independent team of investigators that are not only competent and transparent, but also highly credible," he said.

To a question, Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said they had sent a preliminary report of the incident to the ICAO.

Hishammuddin said they would make the report public because of global public interest, although he did not specify the date.

"There is no way to avoid from making it public. But that information has to come from a credible, transparent and independent source," he said.

The Beijing-bound plane carrying 239 passengers vanished mysteriously in the early hours of March 8.

Its flight was concluded to have ended in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The search for the plane there, currently headed by Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre, is now into its 47th day.

Whale shark dies after getting caught in fishing net

Posted: 23 Apr 2014 04:42 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: A whale shark died after getting trapped in fishing nets in waters off Kota Belud, as villagers and nearby resort workers frantically called in vain for help from authorities.

The seven-metre whale shark died close to the shore of Kg Tituru Laut about 90km from the state capital here.

Fisherman attempting to disentangle the whale shark from the fishing net.

Fishermen from the fishing village towed the whale shark to shore with the help of four boats, before using a tractor to take it to a burial site about a kilometre away.

Manana Borneo Resort operator Sofian Abdul Aziz said that the whale shark was discovered around 8.30am on Sunday and could have died soon after.

"We tried to get help from the Fisheries Department, but they did not come," he said, adding that he had to call State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun for help instead.

The Wildlife Rescue Unit under the Ministry arrived on Tuesday, but the carcass had already been buried by villagers as it was beginning to decay.

According to Sofian, whale sharks are a common sight in the area between Feb and May.

He did not discount the possibility that the whale shark might have been dying and was heading towards the shore.

"Fishermen told us that it was still alive in the nets but it appeared lifeless after a while," he added.

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