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Sri Lanka succumb to England bowlers Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:59 AM PDT England's Steven Finn (L) reacts as Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaraweera looks behind during the second test cricket match at Lord's Cricket Ground in London June 6, 2011. – Reuters pic LONDON, June 6 – England wrapped up the Sri Lanka first innings today after rain had washed out the opening session to take a seven-run first innings lead on the fourth day of the second test at Lord's. Sri Lanka, comfortably placed at 372 for three overnight in reply to England's 486, lost their final seven wickets for 107 runs to finish on 479 with Steven Finn and Graeme Swann doing the damage. Finn, bowling with renewed vigour on a pitch freshened by the rain which swept in halfway through yesterday's second session, took four for 108. Swann, who had been frustrated by the quick-footed Sri Lankan batsmen yesterday, captured three of the last four wickets from 16 deliveries to finish with three for 101. The Sri Lankans made an immediate breakthrough before tea when Andrew Strauss was lbw without scoring to left-armer Chanaka Welegedara's second delivery. Welegedara dismissed the England captain for four, also lbw, in the first innings. At the interval England were 18 for one. After 50.4 overs had been lost yesterday, rain was still falling at the scheduled start time and the umpires decided to take lunch half an hour early. Play finally got underway at 1210 GMT. Finn and Chris Tremlett extracted some early lift from the pitch although the England pace attack generally once again had trouble with their line and direction and 25 of the 58 extras were byes. Finn fired one delivery wide of Matt Prior for four byes and Mahela Jayawardene, who had scored centuries in both his previous two tests at Lord's, took a boundary off a thick edge in the same over. Jaywardene, 40 not out overnight, moved to within one run of his fifty when he was squared up for Finn and edged a catch to Alastair Cook at third slip. Tremlett followed up by dismissing Thilan Samaraweera caught behind for nine and Stuart Broad, taking over from Finn at the Pavilion End trapped Farveez Maharoof lbw for two with a ball which kept low. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who scored a century in the first test in Cardiff, off-drove Broad crisply for four and swept Swann for a six. Rangana Herath also took a six off Swann in a lively seventh-wicket partnership of 57 before he was stumped for 26 trying to heave the off-spinner over mid-wicket. Prasanna Jaywardene had taken his total to 40 with five boundaries when he was caught by Swann at second slip off Finn. Dilhara Fernando (5) followed smartly caught one-handed by Strauss at slip off Swann. After Finn had struck Suranga Lakmal a nasty blow on the helmet the innings folded half an hour before tea when Welegedara (6) lofted Swann to deep mid-on. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Germany forward Klose to leave Bayern Munich: Club Posted: 06 Jun 2011 03:56 AM PDT BERLIN, June 6 – Striker Miroslav Klose will leave Bayern Munich after the two sides failed to agree on a contract extension, the club said today. "Negotiations led to no agreement and Klose's contract running out on June 30, 2011 will not be extended," Bayern said in a brief statement. The 32-year-old Germany international (picture), who has scored 24 goals in 98 league games for Bayern since joining in 2007, has been linked with a possible move to Spain. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Actor Wesley Snipes loses tax case appeal Posted: 06 Jun 2011 07:24 AM PDT WASHINGTON, June 6 – Actor Wesley Snipes, serving a three-year prison sentence for failing to file income tax returns, suffered a legal setback today when the US Supreme Court refused to review his case. Snipes, 48, (picture) the star of the "Blade" action movies, was convicted in 2008 in a Florida court for willful failure to file federal tax returns from 1999 through 2001. Snipes, who has served nearly one year of his three-year term, was accused of not filing personal income tax returns and not paying any taxes from 1999 through 2004 despite earning more than US$37 million as an actor and producer. Attorneys for Snipes said the case was improperly brought in Florida and should have been moved to New York, but the trial judge and a US appeals court rejected those arguments. Defence attorneys said that, during the earlier tax years in question, Snipes lived with his family in New York City and then moved to a home in the northern New Jersey suburbs. He also had a residence near Los Angeles. US Justice Department prosecutors said Florida was the proper venue for the case. They presented evidence at trial that Snipes was born in Florida, had a home in Windermere, Florida, since 1992, had a Florida driver's licence and listed Windermere as his residence in contracts for the "Blade" movies. In the Supreme Court appeal, attorneys for Snipes said the trial judge should have held a hearing on the evidence about venue before submitting the issue to the jury. The high court rejected the appeal without any comment, refusing to hear the case. The Supreme Court case is Wesley Snipes v. United States, No. 10-1075. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

International box office: ‘Pirates’ overcomes ‘X-Men’ Posted: 06 Jun 2011 04:48 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, June 6 – For the third week in a row, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has captured the top spot at the international box office, having collected US$69.4 million (RM208.87 million) internationally in more than 100 markets over the weekend and closing in on US$800 million in earnings worldwide – so far, the biggest film of 2011. The top territories for this fourth installment of the fantasy adventure franchise, starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Geoffrey Rush, are Japan with US$61.5 million, Russia at US$57.1 million and China with US$53 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Already On Stranger Tides beats the total of the original 2003 film, which made US$352.9 million in international markets and is likely to exceed previous sequels. More than 75 per cent of the gross has come from outside the US, while Stateside Pirates has made a disappointing US$190.2 million, leading The Hollywood Reporter to speculate that Americans might be tired of 3D or the extra cost. Coming in at a close second, X-Men: First Class took in US$64 million across 74 markets and expected to reach the top spot in 30 countries, including the UK and France. The fifth installment and reboot of the comic franchise, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence, debuted better than X-Men: Wolverine in 14 countries, including France, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. In third, The Hangover Part II took US$62 million from 53 markets, including debuts in 13 countries, such as Germany with an impressive US$12.6 million and Russia with US$5 million. After nine days, the international gross of the comedy sequel, US$151 million, has reached 78 per cent of the take of the original's run. Starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Ken Jeong, the film opens in Spain on June 23 and Japan July 1. Kung Fu Panda 2 finished fourth in its second weekend with US$40 million in 28 markets and an international total of US$125 million – US$25 million more than the US. With 17 new territories, the animated sequel stayed in first in South Korea, grabbed US$13.9 million in China and was the biggest-ever debut in Vietnam with US$1 million. KFP 2 opens in 13 more markets, including the UK, Brazil and Mexico, next weekend. In fifth was Fast Five, making US$10 million in 63 territories. The fifth installment of the car action movie opened in Venezuela, collecting US$1 million. The 2011 international box office is up seven per cent from last year and May's gross of US$311.5 million marks an increase of 66 per cent from 2010, according to The Hollywood Reporter. – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Time is of the essence Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:20 PM PDT JUNE 6 — No one valued time as much as Benjamin Franklin. As a student, we learned that Franklin was a scientist. In our history book, he was known as the man responsible for the invention of the lightning rod. What most of us didn't know was that he was also a publisher, printer, writer and philosopher who then became one of America's greatest statesmen. One of his many profound accomplishments included the drafting of the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It is then fair to conclude that Franklin was a man completely and utterly obsessed with how he optimised time. How else would you explain his level of productivity (yes, I'm mindful of the fact there were no royal wedding broadcast, Facebook, Twitter or Angry Bird at that time)? My father is such a man. My father considers watching television as a sinful act of boondoggling, except for the prime-time news headlines. He doesn't read anything fictional nor "trashy". His reading materials are limited to two newspapers, the Reader's Digest and biographical works of successful businessmen and politicians. He loves quoting them and I grew up listening to wise proverbs and quotes from people I never knew existed. As teenager my father would tell me this, "Never leave til' tomorrow what you can do today." Little did I know that this was a quote from Franklin. Franklin was also known to have said the following: "Time is money", "You may delay but time will not", "Lost time is never found again" and "Don't you love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." Although my father understands the value of time, he has never in his entire life worn a watch. It is as if his profound appreciation of time has influenced his internal body system to stay in synch with the constant ticking of the clock. Everything he does is calculated with the precision of a Swiss watch. Fifteen minutes for breakfast, one hour to read the papers, 10 minutes for shower, 30 minutes gardening, etc. But I don't remember my father ever telling my brother and I that he has no time for us. What I find curious is this: what our ancestors considered precious, we, the younger generation, seem to treat as if it's limitless and therefore worthless. Is it because we now have longer life span? Or is it because we have better technology to help us accomplish much more in a shorter period of time and hence leaving us with more time to indulge in things of a frivolous nature? The irony is this: the gifts of longevity and technology have in fact rendered us more worthless to human civilisation while time, on the other hand, remains unequivocally precious. One of the things which I find frustrating living in the city is the amount of time wasted on the road and waiting for someone. It is as if we spend most of our lives just waiting for things to happen. I would like to share some examples. Meetings in true Malaysian fashion never seem to start on time because we're perpetually late. I have experienced many occasions when I am late for a meeting simply because my previous meeting started late. Sometimes, I rush to my next appointment as best as I can only to find the person I am supposed to meet arriving late. This upsets me because I end up wasting my time just waiting when I could have utilised it for something more meaningful. Those who devalue time encourage others to do the same. I often find myself thinking that if others do not respect my time, why should I respect theirs? If they have no remorse about making others wait, why do I kill myself to be punctual? In the end, it becomes a perpetual vicious cycle where tardiness turns into a shameful culture. Whenever I am tempted to be late, I am reminded by these words, "Making someone wait is disrespectful. It's even worse than stealing because the truth is, no amount of sorry and repentance will ever give that person's time back." The other common example is the amount of time we spend on whining, self-pity and of course the most popular of all, getting over a heartbreak. We all have gone through heartbreaks at some stage of our lives and we all know it is not a unique situation. Most of us tackle this situation with an even less unique method. We tend to spend our time dwelling or obsessing about it. I realise how much time I have spent thinking and rethinking why a relationship failed. We think that the whole world has stopped, or perhaps time has stopped but the scary thing is, it hasn't. Before we know it, six months, one year, two years and, for some, a lifetime has passed us by and yet we're still hanging on to something which isn't there anymore. Friends who have confided their failed relationships to me often receive this piece of advice: "Keep those memories with you but move on with your life. Don't waste it by dwelling on it because you're just letting precious time slip away from your hands. You'll look back one day and realise that you can't replace the time you have lost by mourning over someone who no longer means anything to your life." If I ever go through a heartbreak again, I hope these are the words my friends will tell me. Of course, you have some people who constantly tell you that they don't have time. H. Jackson Brown said: "Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein." Indeed, most of us will never be as productive as the names mentioned above because let's face it, a better standard of living also means we get to spend time doing things for ourselves and not just for others. The big question is, how do we want to spend it? I don't advocate for anyone, including myself, to follow the way my father lives his life. Not because it's pathetic as some of you may have judged too quickly but simply because not everyone can or wants to utilise time the same way my father does or Franklin did. The point is, do I want to lie on my deathbed begging for God to reverse time so that I can spend it better or being contented with the memories of what I have achieved in my lifetime? Time is always punctual and it waits for no one. So make yours count before it's too late.  * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Cerpen yang tercicir Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT 6 JUN — Pada hari ini, saya dijadual mewakili seorang penulis penting tanah air, Azman Hussin, untuk mengadakan perbincangan dengan Pengarah Penerbitan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) berhubung sebuah cerpennya yang "tercicir" daripada antologi khas bagi cerpen-cerpen yang memenangi Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia. Kisah ini bermula pada 24 Mei 2011 apabila Azman membeli antologi "Cinta Sekerdip Embun" (DBP: 2010) tetapi terkilan kerana cerpennya yang menang kategori cerpen dalam Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia (HSPM) 2002/03 tidak termuat dalam antologi itu. "Cerpen saya bertajuk 'Tahun Depan di Jerusalem' tersiar di akhbar Mingguan Malaysia pada tahun 2002, kemudian diumumkan menang Hadiah Sastera Utusan-Public Bank, HSPM serta Hadiah Sastera Kelantan pada tahun sama. "Saya pernah dihubungi pegawai DBP berhubung antologi itu dan saya sudah beri surat izin terbit pada tahun 2009. Saya marah dan terkilan. Macam hak saya telah dinafikan," kata penulis kelahiran Pasir Puteh, Kelantan itu ketika menghubungi saya pada keesokan hari. Kisah Azman bermula pada 24 Mei. Antologi "Cinta Sekerdip Embun" yang diusahakan oleh Bahagian Penerbitan Sastera DBP memuatkan 50 cerpen yang menang HSPM dari 1996/97 hingga 2004/05. Bagi karya yang menang HSPM 2002/03, hanya cerpen "Tahun Depan di Jerusalem" tercicir manakala 12 cerpen lain dimuatkan di dalamnya. "Saya tak mahu hak saya dinafikan. Dulu manuskrip kumpulan cerpen saya, "Dongeng Pascamerdeka" pernah ditolak DBP, kemudian dimenangkan pula untuk HSPM 1998/99 selepas saya menerbitkannya sendiri. Bagi saya, ini bukan soal tak ada rezeki atau mutu karya saya dipertikaikan. Kalau cerpen 'Tahun Depan di Jerusalem' tidak dimuatkan, maka antologi "Cinta Sekerdip Embun" tidak tepat dari segi fakta HSPM," katanya sebagai meluahkan perasaan kepada saya. Saya menghubungi Sasterawan Negara Datuk Dr Anwar Ridhwan yang menulis pengenalan bagi antologi itu untuk mendapatkan pandangan beliau. Dekan Fakulti Penulisan, Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara) itu menjelaskan bahawa beliau bukan penyelenggara; sebaliknya hanya menerima manuskrip antologi itu untuk menulis pengenalan. "Jadi, dalam kedudukan itu, saya memang tidak tahu jika ada cerpen yang tertinggal dalam antologi berkenaan. Apa pun, saya sudah mengirim e-mel kepada pegawai berkenaan di DBP dan minta mereka menyemak dengan segera," katanya yang turut bersedih atas apa yang berlaku. Pada petang 25 Mei, saya mengirim e-mel mengenai perkara ini kepada Ketua Pengarah DBP, Datuk Termuzi Abdul Aziz dan dua pegawai yang pernah terlibat dalam projek antologi berkenaan. Kemudian, pada 1 Jun, saya dimaklumkan bahawa DBP akan mengadakan perbincangan dengan Azman untuk menjelaskan kedudukan sebenar cerpen "Tahun Depan di Jerusalem". Ketua Bahagian Penerbitan Buku Sastera DBP, Puan Norimah Bajuri dalam e-mel balasannya kepada saya berkata, "Perbincangan akan dipengerusikan oleh Pengarah Penerbitan DBP pada 6 Jun, pukul 10:00 pagi, di bilik Pengarah Penerbitan, Tingkat 10, Menara DBP." Terdahulu, pada 29 Mei, Anwar memanjangkan kandungan e-mel yang beliau terima daripada Puan Norimah di mana antara kandungan e-mel itu adalah seperti berikut: "Cerpen Azman Hussin yang berjudul 'Tahun Depan di Jerusalem' yang memenangi HSPM 2002/03 tidak dimasukkan dalam buku tersebut. Hal ini demikian kerana sepanjang kami menguruskan penerbitan buku tersebut, kami gagal menghubungi beliau untuk mendapatkan izin terbit. Pelbagai usaha telah kami lakukan untuk menjejaki alamat terkini beliau, terutama melalui teman-teman penulis tetapi gagal. Oleh itu, kami mengambil keputusan mengeluarkan cerpen tersebut semasa manuskrip sudah di peringkat pruf akhir (pracetak)." Azman pula menjelaskan bahawa beliau ada menerima surat meminta izin terbit dan juga panggilan telefon daripada pihak DBP pada 2009. "Saya telah memberi persetujuan untuk karya itu diterbitkan. Macam mana pula dikatakan saya tidak dapat dihubungi? Rasanya salinan fotokopi surat meminta izin terbit itu masih ada dalam simpanan saya. Tidak betul jika dikatakan saya tidak dapat dihubungi," katanya. Mengulas lanjut isu sama, Azman berkata: "Jika diberi alasan tidak dapat dihubungi, itu tipu. Logikkah sebelum ini saya pernah dihubungi untuk diskusi buku 'Dongeng Pascamerdeka' pada tahun 2000, kemudian dihubungi lagi pada tahun sama untuk makluman HSPM, kemudian pada 2004 untuk HSPM 2002/03. Semuanya melalui surat ke alamat yang sama. Saya masih boleh dihubungi di alamat surat-menyurat yang sama sehingga hari ini. Cuba periksa rekod DBP, alamat saya ada dalam simpanan mereka. Kalau tidak, DBP takkan dapat hubungi saya untuk minta izin terbit cerpen tersebut pada tahun 2009." Anwar pula berpendapat bahawa sebaik-baiknya Azman berhubung terus dengan pihak DBP untuk menjernihkan perkara ini berbanding meminta pihak ketiga menguruskannya. Azman menghubungi saya dari Kelantan pada 31 Mei dan menceritakan beberapa perkara yang membuatkan saya lebih memahami mengapa beliau "keberatan" untuk berurusan sendiri bersama pihak DBP berkenaan isu ini. Ringkasnya, Azman menaruh kepercayaan kepada saya selaku pemilik tunggal "Perunding Media, Motivasi dan Penerbitan Uthaya" untuk mewakili beliau dalam pertemuan dan perbincangan bersama pihak DBP bagi mencari penyelesaian terbaik berhubung isu cerpennya yang "tercicir" daripada antologi "Cinta Sekerdip Embun". Azman juga sudah menyediakan surat rasmi pada 2 Jun untuk menyatakan bahawa beliau melantik saya sebagai wakil. Maka, secara rasmi, saya akan mewakili Azman dalam pertemuan dan perbicangan bersama pihak DBP pada pagi ini. Saya sudah pun memaklumkan perkara ini kepada Puan Norimah menerusi e-mel pada 2 Jun. Saya pergi dengan niat murni sambil memikul tanggungjawab yang diamanahkan oleh salah seorang pengarang penting tanah air. Saya pergi kerana kami berdua tidak mahu nasib sama menimpa penulis lain pada masa hadapan. * Uthaya Sankar SB percaya bahawa tidak akan tercapai kebaikan sekiranya tidak ada sesiapa yang berani mengetengahkan kebenaran, seperti kata Mahatma Gandhi. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Hishammuddin nafi bantu firma Australia, adiknya digunakan Posted: 06 Jun 2011 02:52 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Jun – Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein menafikan laporan media asing bahawa adik bongsunya telah dibayar untuk mendapatkan kontrak-kontrak bagi sebuah firma pengeluar mata wang Australia. "Saya menafikan perkara itu, ia tidak benar," kata Menteri Dalam Negeri itu (gambar) pada sidang media di sini hari ini. Akhbar Australia, The Age melaporkan bahawa Securency International, yang separuhnya dimiliki oleh bank pusat negara itu telah menandatangani Liberal Technology sebagai ejennya pada 2009 atas harapan bahawa pemegang besarnya Datuk Haris Onn Hussein, akan "membolehkan akses, dan pengaruh ke atas ahli-ahli politik utama Malaysia." Haris, yang juga pengerusi Liberal Technology, merupakan sepupu Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan adik kepada Hishammuddin, yang akan berada di Canberra untuk menandatangani perjanjian yang membolehkan Australia menghantar 800 pencari suaka ke Malaysia dan menerima 4,000 pelarian. "Adik saya? Pertama, saya memberitahu anda perkara yang benar, saya tidak tahu apa yang adik saya lakukan. Kedua, saya tidak melihat Australia akan berbuat demikian. Ketiga, tiada kaitan sama sekali dengan apa yang saya lakukan dengan Australia, sangat mudah," kata beliau yang juga Naib Presiden Umno. MENYUSUL LAGI Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Nazri: Dengan jadikan PAS kuat, impian Hadi maju jadi PM Posted: 06 Jun 2011 02:28 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Jun – Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz memberi PKR dan DAP peringatan mengenai imej liberal yang hendak dibawa PAS sambil menegaskan, presiden parti Islam itu, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang bercita-cita mahu menggantikan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai perdana menteri menanti dari Pakatan Rakyat. Berkongsi analisis beliau berhubung pemilihan PAS yang diadakan akhir minggu lalu, ahli Majlis Tertinggi itu berkata, trend baru muncul di parti Islam konservatif itu – nafsu baru untuk berkuasa. Kata Nazri (gambar), permainan politik baru kepimpinan PAS bertujuan mahu mengubahsuai imej Islamnya agar ia kelihatan dapat diterima oleh bukan Islam dan seterusnya menjadi parti yang kuat dalam Pakatan Rakyat, mengatasi kedudukan PKR dan DAP. Sehubungan itu, menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri ini berkata, kebangkitan PAS akan membawa kepada pergolakan kuasa dalam Pakatan Rakyat semasa pilihan raya umum akan datang kerana mereka akan cuba untuk mengatasi satu sama lain untuk mendapatkan perwakilan besar dalam Parlimen. "Sudah pasti, mereka akan bertelagah. Saya fikir Hadi sedar bahawa ada peluang bagi beliau untuk menjadi pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat," katanya lagi. "JIka beliau berfikir bahawa beliau boleh menawan Putrajaya, maka beliau mahu menjadi perdana menteri. Itu sebabnya beliau memaksa parti itu mengubah imej sebab beliau tahu bahawa Anwar berada dalam masalah dan PAS mahu menjadi parti yang kukuh dalam Pakatan Rakyat," kata Nazri pada sidang media di sini hari ini. MENYUSUL LAGI Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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French Open final resumes after rain with Nadal ahead Posted: 05 Jun 2011 08:22 AM PDT The umbrellas go up at the Philippe Chatrier central court as rain stops play. — Reuters pic PARIS, June 5 — The French Open men's singles final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer resumed after a 10-minute stoppage for rain with the Spanish top seed leading 7-5, 5-4 today. Play had lasted one hour 55 minutes when rain began to fall for the first time in the two-week tournament to send the players back to the locker room, but they were soon back on court when the umbrellas were put away. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

China anoints champion Li as a legend Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:35 AM PDT Li Na the centre of media attention in Paris, June 4, 2011. — Reuters pic BEIJING, June 5 — Chinese state media proclaimed Li Na's victory in the French Open yesterday as the stuff of legends and miracles, elevating Asia's first grand slam singles winner to near mythic status in a country where national glory and athletic feats are closely entwined. A rare front-page sports story in the Sunday edition of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, said the "China-red" clay court at Roland Garros symbolised a miraculous victory for the country. "The girl from Hubei, Li Na, at the birthplace of the sport, has opened a new era in tennis for China and all of Asia," it said, headlines effusive in describing Li as "bravely seizing" the French title, and "writing an Asian legend". The official English-language newspaper the China Daily said Li displayed an "all-conquering maturity" in her straight-sets victory over holder Italy's Francesca Schiavone. It was a national and personal redemption for the widely adored 29-year-old after she fell in the Australian Open final to Belgian Kim Clijsters in January. By today, nearly 2.1 million people were fans of Li's twitter-like microblogging site on Sina's Weibo, and millions more were talking about her win. Xinhua news agency said 95 million viewers tuned in to watch the match on state television. "It is quite a great honour, for her and the country," said Liu Xiaolong, 34, a computer programmer from Beijing. "It will do a lot to help China break into the tennis world, which has for so long been dominated by Europe." For many young people in China, Li is a role model, partly because of her broad smile and off-court wit, but also due to her air of independence in a country where elite athletes' careers are nurtured — and largely supervised — by the state. Driving force The outspoken Li was permitted in 2009, along with four other top women players, to manage her own career and keep a greater share of her winnings after run-ins with Chinese tennis officialdom over training arrangements and pay. Li, who was identified as a potential badminton talent as a child, was steered into tennis before her teenage years, but had to be coaxed back into the game in 2004 after walking away to study media at university. As the country's sometimes reluctant standard-bearer for tennis, her success is expected to fuel the sport's rapid growth in China. China Tennis Association chief Sun Jinfang said yesterday that Li would help drive the sport forward in the country, still considered an elite game that lags behind basketball, football and table tennis in its draw on youth, Xinhua news agency reported. "Li Na's achievement today, is not only an honour for China and Asia, but will also advance China's global influence on the sport," Sun said in a statement issued after the final yesterday. "It will inevitably be a strong driving force behind the development of tennis in China, increase society's focus on and support of the sport, and attract more young people to play," Sun said, adding that the sport had already grown by leaps and bounds as a result of China's economic and social reforms. Li also recognised the impact her victory in Paris might have on the next generation of China's tennis players. "I hope that lots of kids see my performance and in their hearts they feel that one day they can be like me and do even better than me," Li said, according to Xinhua. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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Exam-obsessed Hong Kong makes celebrity tutors rich Posted: 04 Jun 2011 06:50 PM PDT Richard Eng, a co-founder of tutorial school Beacon College, teaching an English class to secondary students in Hong Kong. — AFP pic HONG KONG, June 5 — Cut-throat competition for exam success in Hong Kong's high-pressure education system has spawned a new breed of teacher — celebrity tutors with near cult-like status and millionaire lifestyles.  With their glamorous photographs showing megawatt grins and flashy attire splashed across billboards and buses, the star teachers claim to transform failing students into A-grade pupils — and earn up to $1.5 (RM652,000) million a year.  The former British colony's tutoring industry is reportedly worth at least HK$400 million (RM173 million), with official figures showing as many as half of secondary school seniors seek private tutoring after school.  Hong Kong parents, often desperate to help their children succeed in the city's intense public-exam system, are more than willing to shell out handsome sums for extracurricular help.  "Hong Kong has a very examination-oriented school culture and tutoring is regarded as a kind of educational investment," said Kelly Mok, an English tutor who teaches at King's Glory, one of the largest tutorial schools in Hong Kong.  That focus on academic success at almost any cost has turned celebrity tutor Richard Eng into a rich man who wheels around the teeming city in a Lamborghini, wears expensive watches and lives in a multi-million dollar mansion in the city's Yuen Long district.  "Enrolment in tutorial schools is astoundingly high — we are talking about 100,000 students every year," Eng told AFP. Eng and other top tutors have successfully tapped that demand, using flashy, commercial marketing tactics to make themselves household names or academic superstars, otherwise known as "tutor kings" in Cantonese. His empire, Beacon College, employs over 100 tutors and Eng plans to take the firm public.  "There are only 20,000 degree places in Hong Kong every year, but there are 100,000 aspiring college students" Eng said.  "When you think about this keen competition, you will understand why there is this obsession with doing well in public examinations — especially college-admission ones."  Dozens of students turned up to Eng's lecture on a recent spring day to learn how to ace the city's English public exam for 16 year-olds. Glass walls separate the teenagers into groups of 45 students — the maximum class size allowed by the government.  Clad in skin-tight jeans, a shimmery grey shirt and a big-buckled Gucci belt, the 47-year-old lectured animatedly in a mix of Cantonese and English, gesturing frequently to his powerpoint slides and enthralling students with his quick-fire delivery over a headset microphone.  Mok, who has the looks of a model, concedes that her lessons are also almost as much entertainment as academics.  "I suppose it is a bit like a show," she said before a class, clutching a Louis Vuitton handbag and sporting a mini-skirt and a pair of high heels.  "But bear in mind these students are bored and tired after school," she added. "It's our job to make these extra-curricular lesson a bit more exciting for them."  Some tutors, like economics teacher Alex Lam, star in their own online soap operas. Lam has self-financed the production of about 10 hours of his own show over the years, using it as a way to draw in students. Schools also pay to have instructors' faces plastered throughout the city on giant billboards and the backs of its ubiquitous double-decker buses.  King's Glory, one of Hong Kong's leading tutorial schools, went the extra mile in its bid to attract students, awarding points to pupils that they can redeem for gifts like stationery and toy robots.  But some tutors try to boost class enrolments through unethical means, such as claiming to have access to exam questions, Lam said.  "A few bad apples in the industry tell students they have access to exam questions — it is just a way to bump up student enrolment. But so far as I know, none of it is true — no one really has had that kind of access," he told AFP.  Despite his own success, Lam warns that some parents and students may be taking educational achievement to the extreme.  "The tutoring culture is getting a little crazy," he said. "Some students are taking tutorial lessons for five to six different subjects. The truth is, students might not necessarily benefit from taking so many lessons. They're better off concentrating on one or two subjects that they're weak at."  The craze also has veterans warning that quality may be slipping. "The newcomers like to use gimmicks to attract students — telling jokes, being pretty faces," Lam said.  "They're not focusing on their teaching, which worries me as the teaching quality is dropping."  But while the big names are millionaires, the average rank-and file tutor earns much less.  "The younger tutors — they have unrealistic expectations," Lam said. "They think are they are superstars and expect to earn superstar salaries — but not all of them will."  Hong Kong's Education Bureau has shied away from endorsing the popular schools, saying in 2009 that "students receive essential education at formal schools".  But as long as parents fret about their children's scholastic success, the industry seems likely to thrive, the Lamborghini-driving Eng predicted.  "Education will always be a priority because every parent wants his or her child to be better than their own generation," he said. — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

India’s pilgrim trail: a godsend for hotel chains Posted: 04 Jun 2011 05:22 PM PDT Cities like Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple pictured here, are experiencing growth in the hotel sector. — AFP pic MUMBAI, June 5 — India's pilgrimage centres are fast becoming hot-spots for hotel chains, as both domestic and international groups look to plug a gap in the market for quality accommodation. Devotees flocking to so-called "temple towns" such as Shirdi in western Maharashtra state, the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in Punjab and far-flung Haridwar have for years had to make do with basic facilities.  But a rise in disposable incomes and more Indians experiencing foreign travel — both the result of India's buoyant economy — have led to demand for more than just a bunk-bed in a community centre or floor space at a guesthouse.  "There was a time when people who were visiting these temple towns didn't have the money for quality accommodation," the associate vice-president of Best Western India, Gaurav Sarin, told AFP.  "That's changed very drastically in the past few years. The people who are now visiting are people looking for an international hospitality experience and they have the disposable income to spend on the room and other facilities."  For Best Western, temple towns and "Tier-II" cities — India's fastest-growing cities outside Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore — have become a key market and religious tourists core clients, he added. It's not hard to see why: religious pilgrimages remain an essential part of life for millions in India, from the lowest-paid manual worker to the high-flying corporate executive, cricketer or Bollywood movie star.  The latest available government figures show there were just over 650 million domestic tourist visits in 2009 — up 15.5 percent on a year earlier.  The number of foreign visitors fell 3.3 percent to 5.1 million.  "The bulk of (domestic tourists) are religious tourists wanting to visit places like Shirdi near Mumbai, Vaishnodevi in the north, Haridwar and Rishikesh in the Himalayas," said Ankur Bhatia, executive director of the Bird Group, a travel and hospitality conglomerate.  "The sector is growing tremendously. We're looking at about 10 per cent growth every year. It's from the lowest to the highest economic groups in society."  Demand for rooms outstrips supply in places like Tirupati, a temple city in southern Andhra Pradesh state which reportedly receives a staggering 50,000 to 70,000 visitors every day.  Chains see high returns, even at lower room rates and without additional revenue from hotel bars and restaurants on the pilgrim trail, where being teetotal and not eating meat are prerequisites.  "The international travel market in India is quite seasonal and fickle," said Kaushik Vardharajan, managing director of hotel sector analysts HVS Hospitality Services.  "A couple of travel advisories can see numbers drop steeply. We saw it during the downturn and after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai (in November 2008).  "The demand for these temple cities and heritage sites are pretty recession-proof. They're not seasonal in nature and if it's bad times, people are going to go to the temple more."  Vardharajan said that there are currently plans to build 90,000 to 95,000 new rooms in such places in the next five years.  Best Western, which has hotels in Amritsar and Shirdi, is looking to build in Ajmer in the northern state of Rajasthan, Puri in eastern Orissa state and Kapra in Andhra Pradesh. Sarin said they are also looking at "three or four" other religious centres for development, without elaborating.  The Bird Group is developing its existing resort near Rishikesh to cater for the top end of the market, said Bhatia. Ginger Hotels, a budget chain part of the Indian Hotels Company Limited which operates high-end hotels like Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace, is also expanding to cater for the boom in domestic business and leisure travel.  The chain's chief executive and director, Prabhat Pani, said "eight to 10" of the 40 to 50 new hotels they plan to open in the next five years will be in Tier-II cities or temple towns.  "The big story is the Indian traveller. The Indian traveller is not only travelling for business and going abroad but with disposable income going up many are travelling within the country," he said.  "All this really means is that demand for rooms is increasing and the category that's growing the fastest will really be the budget and economy sector." — AFP-Relaxnews Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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‘Gunsmoke’ star James Arness dead at age 88 Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:47 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, June 5 — Actor James Arness, who personified the tall, rugged lawman of the American frontier as Marshal Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke", US television's longest-running prime-time drama, died on Friday at age 88. Arness died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, said his business manager, Ginny Fazer. The actor was in relatively good health but had "just been fading" in recent years, Fazer told Reuters. "No disease, nothing untoward, he just got tired, I guess," she said. James Arness in this undated photograph provided by the Arness family. — Reuters pic Arness was best known for his 20 years on TV playing Matt Dillon, the US marshal in the dusty wild-west town of Dodge City, Kansas, a role for which he was recommended by his showbiz mentor and friend, the film star John Wayne. When "Gunsmoke" left the CBS airwaves in 1975, Arness had set the record for the longest-running role played by a single actor in prime time. The feat that went unmatched until Kelsey Grammer tied the record after 20 years of playing psychiatrist Frasier Crane on two NBC comedies — "Cheers" and "Frasier". "James Arness will always be remembered as one of the biggest stars in the history of television, playing an iconic role on the medium's longest-running prime-time drama ever," CBS said in a statement. "Gunsmoke", which originated on CBS radio in 1952 with William Conrad as the voice of Matt Dillon, debuted on TV as one of the first in a wave of "adult westerns" that sought to portray gunslingers and cowboys in a way that appealed to grown-up viewers, rather than youngsters. Although not an immediate hit, "Gunsmoke" climbed up the ratings chart to No. 8 in its second season and went on to become the top-rated show on US television from 1957 to 1961. The show's success helped generate a lot of competition, with network television's prime-time lineup including more than 30 westerns at one point, but "Gunsmoke" outlasted them all. Memorable ensemble cast The cast comprised one of television's most memorable ensembles of supporting characters — the good-natured but gullible deputy with a limp, Chester Goode, played by Dennis Weaver; the red-haired, whiskey-voiced saloon keeper Miss Kitty Russell; crusty old "Doc" Adams, and Louie, the town drunk. Chester, who spoke with a pronounced twang — "Meester Deellon!" — left the series in 1964 and was replaced by scruffy deputy Festus Haggen. Miss Hannah took over the Long Branch Saloon after Kitty's exit. Arness, who stood 6-feet-7-inches tall, earned three Emmy nominations for the programme over the years. Born James Aurness in Minneapolis to a family of Norwegian heritage, Arness dropped the "u" at the outset of his film career. He attributed his acting success to luck. He was severely wounded in the leg in World War Two, which left him with a life-long limp. While recuperating, his younger brother Peter — who gained fame as the actor Peter Graves in TV's "Mission: Impossible" — encouraged him to take a radio course. Arness got an announcing job, but then headed to Hollywood in hopes of a movie career. He made his film debut in "The Farmer's Daughter" in 1947 as Loretta Young's brother, and appeared four years later in the title part as a space alien in "The Thing from Another World". An agent who represented John Wayne later introduced him to Arness, and Wayne took the actor under his wing, giving him roles in several of his movies. Wayne ultimately suggested Arness for the lead part in "Gunsmoke", and even introduced the first episode for CBS. Arness returned as Matt Dillon in five "Gunsmoke" reunion specials, the last of which aired in 1994 when he was 71. He also starred in the 1977 TV mini-series "How the West Was Won", the modern police drama "McClain's Law" in 1981, and reprised John Wayne's role in a TV remake of "Red River" in 1988. Arness is survived by his second wife, Janet, two sons and six grandchildren. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

August premiere set for season four of ‘Jersey Shore’ Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:31 AM PDT The cast of "Jersey Shore" at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, September 12, 2010. — Reuters pic LOS ANGELES, June 5 — MTV has set the season four premiere date for its biggest hit, "Jersey Shore", for August 4 at 10pm. The cable network, heading into a big weekend with the "MTV Movie Awards" and its "Teen Wolf" update, also announced that production on the fifth season of "Jersey Shore" would begin later this month in Seaside Heights, New Jersey — where it all began. The cast, led by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, is now filming the fourth season in Florence, Italy, introducing an international flavour to the franchise. An hour-long special will also air on July 28 at 10pm, chronicling the rise of "Jersey Shore" from its inception. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

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