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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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A most Delicious Christmas Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:25 PM PST St Mary Place is the home of Delicious' newest outlet. — Pictures by Choo Choy May KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — With Christmas just around the corner, good eating in the form of sweet treats is what the holiday season is all about.  And so last Saturday afternoon saw a group of us eating desserts for lunch! The Buche de Noel, a Yule log cake from France, was lovely with creamy chestnut layered with aromatic coffee cream rolled up in vanilla sponge and covered in chocolate ganache.  I liked the contrast of the different creams with coffee and chocolate; lightly sweet and amazing. Desserts for Christmas (from the top): Yule log, Bibingka, Panettone and Christmas pudding. This Yule log stood out among the many desserts offered by Delicious this Christmas. We were at their newest outlet in St Mary Place which opened just two weeks ago. On a weekend, this is a good place to be, away from the crowd at the shopping centres where Delicious restaurants are usually located. St Mary's, the school, which used to occupy this spot, is not forgotten, with black and white pictures of it hanging on the wall. The Christmas pudding and the panettone make an appearance at this time of the year too. Steve Allen, E&O's Group Creative Chef, has his unique take on both. The pudding, for a Malaysian audience, is made without alcohol, but the sweet, tangy and fruity flavours remain. It's sticky and gooey. I told him I liked the pudding slightly firmer but the English chef, who used to work with Gordon Ramsay at Claridges in London, grinned and said that's how he likes it. I'm sure a couple of days in the fridge would fix that. Steve's pudding has dried fruits, apple, apple juice, lemon, almonds and Earl Grey tea in it. It's steamed twice. After the first steaming, it's left to settle in the mould for a few days at room temperature for all the lovely flavours to develop. Then it's steamed again. "I make 500 puddings a day here," he said. "I used to make 1,000 a day at Claridges." Panettone is a sweet, fruity bread in a dome shape that's originally from Milan, made with live sourdough yeast. It's a Christmas treat.   Steve's version is the Cranberry and White Chocolate Panettone. He has made it more puddingy, with white chocolate, cranberries and mixed peel in it. It's soft, moist and delightful. It actually had no need of the mascarpone cheese with orange zest that was served with it. I also had the chance to taste Bibingka, a Christmas dessert from the Philippines. I loved the crusty top that spoke of salted egg and coconut, and which was in turns heaped with grated coconut.  Made with rice flour, coconut milk, salted egg, cheese and Hawaiian coconut, the rich, spongy "cake" reminded me of Ma Lai Koh. There was a fine balance of sweet and salty in this coconuty and eggy cake. Steve's favourite drinks from his childhood are also on the Delicious Christmas menu, and to some of these he has added chilli, a spice he has grown to love since coming here a year ago. Gingerbread Latte has vanilla, ginger and cinnamon. The Mulled Cranberry and Apple has this hot lift from chilli, with a citrusy assault from orange and lemon, and spiced with cinnamon, cloves and ginger. I was floored by the Hot and Spicy Grape Juice — the chilli in it left a tingly sensation in my mouth. It was aromatic with ginger. For those who like it sweet and mild, there is the Minted White Chocolate. I loved the vanilla, ginger and cinnamon in the Gingerbread Latte, and the Ice Blended Clove Coffee. The Delicious Festive Iced Tea is a sweet and tart blend of tamarind, sour plum, lime and lemon, with a dash of Grenadine. There's also the Pear and Cinnamon Ice-Cream Smoothie to indulge in. All these Christmas goodies are already available at all the Delicious cafes, till December 31. The desserts are all priced at RM14.90++ each and are available for takeway, except for the Bibingka. All the beverages are RM12.90++. Delicious outlets are located in 1 Utama, Sunway Pyramid (both in Petaling Jaya), Bangsar Village II, Mid Valley (both in Kuala Lumpur), Dua Annexe, Setia City Mall (Klang) and at Straits Quay, Penang.

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Fans to benefit from Euro 2020 change — Platini Posted: 07 Dec 2012 07:52 AM PST UEFA President Michel Platini smiles during a draw ceremony for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Tel Aviv November 28, 2012. — Reuters pic NYON, Switzerland, Dec 7 — UEFA has put the fans first with its radical decision to stage Euro 2020 in cities across the continent rather than in one or two host countries, Michel Platini said today. Platini, president of European football's governing body, admitted that fans had struggled with the cost and logistical difficulties of travelling to Poland and Ukraine for 2012 and said UEFA wanted to make their lives easier. "Before, the fans had to go to the Euro, now the Euro is coming towards the fans," Platini told a round table of reporters from international news agencies. UEFA's executive committee voted yesterday to stage the tournament in an unspecified number of cities around Europe, with bidding from potential hosts due to start in March. Further details will be decided in the next few months. "There is a blank piece of paper," said the Frenchman, who admitted there was a hint of eccentricity in the decision. "I love zany ideas... It's an extraordinary challenge," he said. Any concerns that supporters might have to travel from Lisbon to Astana to follow their team were unfounded, Platini said. "The fans won't have to travel but we are taking the matches to fans and supporters in quite a number of countries," he said. "We have met with the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) recently and we reassured them we will do whatever is possible to make sure that fans get the necessary support when they travel. "We won't have a team playing in Sweden, Portugal and Kazakhstan with fans chasing all over the continent. "This is what we explained to the supporters' association, we told them we were going to help them and they had a much more positive attitude." Fans have had a tough time at major tournaments recently, facing huge costs and travelling difficulties at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Euro 2012. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is likely to prove even more expensive and challenging for supporters, with most teams playing their group-stage matches in three different venues around the mammoth country. "It won't be like Poland and Ukraine, with 50 French supporters here and 70 Spanish supporters there," Platini said of the 2020 plans. "It was difficult to go to Poland and Ukraine and I would like to congratulate the British supporters who went there but perhaps they now have the possibility to go to another country that's closer." Platini said he would like the final stage of the competition to be held in one city, although the decision would be taken by UEFA's executive committee. "I'm in favour of the final phase being in one city to give it more importance, that's my idea. The executive committee will decide whether it's a good or bad idea. "I think this would create a very special atmosphere among the supporters. It will be a week of national teams and it could be a great party." Platini said that FIFA president Sepp Blatter had told him of a similar plan by late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for the African Nations Cup. "I got congratulations from the president of FIFA; he said it is a marvellous idea. He said somebody wanted to do it a few years ago with the African Nations Cup and it was Gaddafi," Platini said. — Reuters

Unbeaten City cannot afford to lose derby, says Mancini Posted: 07 Dec 2012 07:35 AM PST Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini watches his players during a training session at the club's Carrington training complex in Manchester, northern England December 3, 2012. — Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 7 — Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says his team simply cannot afford to lose Sunday's derby against Manchester United and go six points behind their fierce rivals. "They can lose. They have three points more. We have three points less and we can't lose," the Italian told reporters today. Champions City, unbeaten in 15 Premier League matches this season, won both encounters with their neighbours last season en route to a first league title in 44 years, including a 6-1 defeat of United in the first clash. However, Mancini said United were always favourites because of their pedigree over the past two decades. "We can't change the history. We are here (for) only two years, playing together, and they are used to playing this game for the title race for 20 years. "This is normal when you play against a team that won everything in the last 15 years. You can't change this in two or three years and you need more time. For this reason, they have a small advantage. "In this moment United are favourites but the season is long." Mancini highlighted United's purchase of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie as a big momentum shift before the current season got underway. "They were a strong team and then they bought Van Persie and (Shinji) Kagawa. They put another player that scores 25 goals into the squad," he said. — Reuters

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Jason Clarke to face Oscar Isaac in upcoming thriller Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:17 AM PST Jason Clarke — AFP/Relaxnews LOS ANGELES, Dec 7 — William Monahan will direct Jason Clarke and Oscar Isaac in his upcoming film titled "Mojave", announced indie production house Atlas Independent. Clarke ("Zero Dark Thirty") will face Isaac ("Drive") in the thriller, the plot of which is a well-kept secret along with the production schedule. Mojave will be the second film directed by William Monahan, following "London Boulevard" (2010). Monahan's previous work as a scriptwriter earned him an Oscar for Martin Scorsese's "The Departed", based on a Hong Kong crime novel. — AFP/Relaxnews

Casey Affleck on the hunt in ‘Boston Strangler’ Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:10 AM PST LOS ANGELES, Dec 7 — Warner Bros is set to produce "Boston Strangler", a project helmed by actor and filmmaker Casey Affleck, reveals Deadline.com. Casey Affleck — AFP/Relaxnews Based on what Deadline.com describes as "the most haunting unsolved serial murder case in US history," "Boston Strangler" will focus on the hunt for the notorious serial killer who preyed on Bostonian women in the early 1960s. Affleck, the executive producer, also plans to portray one of the cops on the headline-grabbing case, which stoked fear among the population and unsettled the city's politicians. Chuck Maclean is tasked with penning the script of the film, which is said to be in the same vein as David Fincher's "Zodiac" and "Se7en". Although a suspect admitted to committing the crimes and subsequently died in jail in 1973 at the hands of other prisoners, the case was never really settled as he was considered to be "a pawn in a bigger conspiracy," explains the movie website. Other filmmakers have tackled the case in the past, including Richard Fleischer in 1968 with "The Boston Strangler", starring Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Spain’s bad bank swerves critical questions Posted: 07 Dec 2012 08:13 AM PST Part of a neighbourhood of 189 unfinished chalets, financed by Spanish savings bank CAM, is pictured in Cala Romantica, on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, December 1, 2012. — Reuters pic MADRID, Dec 7 — Spain has left major questions unanswered in its rush to set up a "bad bank" to manage toxic loans built up by the country's lenders, creating a detail vacuum that is keeping potential investors at arm's length. It will open SAREB, which will ultimately house around 60 billion euros (RM238 billion) of rotten real estate loans, properties and deserted tracts of development land built up by Spain's ailing lenders, by the end of the year, but many of the details on how the assets will be managed and sold are still being hammered out. The good news for its architects is that it has raised the 2 billion euros in private capital it needed by the end of December, a source with knowledge of the process said. However, the hunt for external investors has been fraught, and the target was only met after Madrid leant on Spain's biggest financial institutions to make big contributions. Banks Sabadell and Santander and domestic insurers Mapfre and Mutua Madrilena have now said they will participate, while international groups with a presence in Spain, such as European insurer AXA, are also looking at investing. A person familiar with the matter said Britain's Barclays would also invest. But other top Spanish players such as BBVA are resisting, and some of the foreign investors Spain was hoping to attract, such as private equity firms or sovereign wealth funds, are unlikely to look at participating until February or March, bankers familiar with the talks said. Most want more clarity on the assets to be transferred into SAREB, their value and how sales of the loans will eventually be financed, the bankers said. Even as the first transfer of assets looms, many of these elements have yet to take shape. Under the scheme, which is based on Ireland's experience in restructuring its banks, solvent lenders move bad loans and repossessed property into the new entity at a discount to their face value and receive state-backed bonds in return. "There are huge logistics involved. You need lawyers, infrastructure, technological servicing. That is not set up," said a banker advising potential international investors in SAREB.  "Our feeling is it's complete chaos." Four nationalised lenders — Bankia, Catalunya Banc, NCG Banco and Banco de Valencia — will dump 45 billion euros of discounted assets into SAREB by year-end. The lenders will also receive 37 billion euros in European aid to plug the capital holes created when a property bubble burst almost five years ago. Spain needs to keep its share of the 3.9 billion euros in start-up equity for SAREB to below 50 per cent to reduce the burden on public finance. Eventually, SAREB will have 5 billion euros in equity, with at least 2.6 billion euros to come from private investors. Most of that will be in the form of subordinated debt, with investors also potentially able to put in assets rather than cash to make up the capital, but such debt carries a risk of being wiped out but no upside in the event of a rosier outcome. Valuation doubts The haste to set up SAREB, to meet the conditions of Spain's banking bailout set by Europe, is in part what has put investors off taking equity in the enterprise. In other instances of bad banks, such as Ireland's, loans were valued individually before transfer, but in Spain's case, it is assigning value to portfolios of loans because of the sheer volume and range of assets involved. "It's a proposition that makes little sense; you would be investing blindly," said Manuel Anguita from Aguila, which brokers deals between banks selling assets and investors. The rush also led to confusion over the valuations. Some top Spanish bankers and advisers involved in the bailout were caught off-guard by a gap between how Spain planned to value those assets and the valuations the European Commission said it would use last week, which imply steeper discounts, said two sources involved in the bad bank negotiations. "It was a bit of a surprise," said one. "Had we known sooner, we might have used different transfer prices." Financing hiccup? Once it is up and running, there are also questions over how soon SAREB will be able to start selling assets, with some bankers predicting that might take until the end of 2013. SAREB may initially have to rely on existing teams at Bankia and the other banks involved to keep managing their portion of toxic assets, two sources familiar with the process said, adding servicing agreements were being worked on. At a later stage, parcels of loans could be analysed in more depth as they are prepared for sale, a third person said. Even then, there are worries that undeveloped land, some of it now worthless, or incomplete developments that will have to be torn down, will be hard to sell. To buy foreclosed properties, investors often seek loans, plus guarantees that eventual buyers of the homes will get mortgages, which they can sometimes get from the selling bank. Negotiations over how Spain's healthier lenders might be able to finance these acquisitions are underway, one of the sources close to the process said, while another said there were plans to find a way for SAREB itself to be able to develop unfinished properties or land. Other issues related to information disclosure procedures and insufficient tax breaks have also put off international investors, the sources say. Next year, the company set up to house SAREB will formally become a fund, and tweaks to its structure could resolve some of these questions, while new tax rules will take effect. Even so, the field of potential equity investors is small. SAREB is targeting a 14 to 15 per cent annual return on equity over its 15-year lifespan, but with doubts about how soon it will be able to get close to that, funds needing to make short-term returns might give it a wide berth. "There has been a lot of interest from international investors. But it's hard to know how much of that is real," said one of the bankers. — Reuters

Greek banks seek buyback approval as deadline nears Posted: 07 Dec 2012 08:04 AM PST International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks during the conference "Growth and integration in solidarity: what strategy for Europe?" with top financial officials at the Economy ministry in Paris November 30, 2012. — Reuters pic ATHENS, Dec 7 — Greece's biggest banks asked their boards to approve selling back as much as their entire holdings of national debt, banking sources said today, putting Athens on track to meet a target set by its international lenders. The buyback scheme, in which investors must declare their interest by today, is central to efforts by Greece's euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders to cut its debt to manageable levels by 2020. Athens has pressured its banks, which hold an estimated 17 billion euros (RM67 billion) of bonds out of the 63 billion eligible for the buyback, to sell and promised to shield them from any lawsuits by shareholders over losses from the scheme. The government has no plans to extend the deadline for bids beyond today, finance ministry officials said, dismissing a Greek newspaper report suggesting the deadline could be extended to early next week. The country's four biggest banks have each asked their boards to approve up to 100 per cent participation in the deal ahead of the 1700 GMT deadline, two banking sources said. "The proposals by banks to their boards were positive on the buyback offer, asking for approval to participate by up to 100 per cent," said one banker, who declined to be named. Board approval does not necessarily mean the banks will offer all of the Greek bonds they hold. "All proposals (to bank boards) were positive, saying the offer is beneficial," the second banker said. The buyback is part of a broader debt relief package worth 40 billion euros agreed by Greece's euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders last month. Under the scheme, Athens aims to spend 10 billion euros of borrowed money to buy back bonds far below their nominal value, in a bid to cut debt by a net 20 billion euros. Athens made the offer on Monday on more attractive terms than expected for investors, boosting expectations that enough bondholders will take part to ensure the deal is a success. "Patriotic duty" Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, who has told banks it was their "patriotic duty" to ensure the scheme is a success, told local radio Athens would include a provision that protects bank boards from lawsuits from shareholders in case of losses. "There will be the same provision that was included in the PSI (earlier debt restructuring)," he told Real news radio, referring to the March debt swap where Athens passed a law shielding bank boards from investor lawsuits. Greek banks — already battered by the country's debt crisis — have been hit further by fears that they would be forced to book losses from the buyback. But they are expected to participate because most of the more than 30 billion euros that Athens stands to receive in bailout funds once the buyback is completed would be used to recapitalise them. The price range set for the buyback by Athens varied from a minimum of 30.2 to 38.1 per cent and a maximum of 32.2 to 40.1 per cent of the principal amount, depending on the maturities of the 20 series of outstanding bonds. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has already said Greek pension funds holding more than 8 billion euros of the bonds would not take part, increasing the pressure on the remaining domestic bondholders to do so. The buyback is the latest in three years of euro zone efforts to resolve Greece's problems. The economy has shrunk by 20 per cent in the last five years and unemployment has surpassed Spain's to climb to a record 26.2 per cent. Two in three Greeks have a negative opinion of the pro-bailout government, a survey by Metron Analysis published in the Efimerida Syntakton newspaper showed today. If elections were held now, the main opposition party SYRIZA would win with 22 per cent of the vote over the co-ruling New Democracy party, which would only muster 19.8 per cent of the vote, the poll showed. — Reuters

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When drugs for depression fail, talking therapies help Posted: 07 Dec 2012 06:51 AM PST A study finds that when antidepressant drugs fail, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) might help patients with depression to cope better. — Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 7 — Patients with depression who fail to benefit from antidepressant drugs may do better if they are also treated with a type of "talking" psychotherapy called CBT, according to new research published today. In the first large-scale trial to test the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, alongside medication for depression, scientists said they found that the combination works where drug treatment alone fails. Nicola Wiles of Bristol University's school of social and community medicine, who led the study, said the findings underline the need to increase the availability of therapy for depressed patients. "While there have been initiatives to increase access to CBT in both the UK and Australia, worldwide initiatives are rare," she said in a statement. Wiles and colleagues recruited 469 adults from across Britain who had not responded to at least 6 weeks of treatment with an antidepressant. For the study, 235 patients continued with their usual antidepressant medication, while 234 patients got their usual care plus CBT and were followed up for 12 months. The results, published in The Lancet medical journal, showed that after 6 months, 46 per cent of those who got CBT as well as their usual care had improved — reporting at least a 50 per cent reduction in their depressive symptoms. This compared to 22 per cent of those who did not get CBT. Patients treated with CBT, which involves talking through behaviours and ways of thinking with a trained psychotherapist or psychologist, were also more likely to go into remission and have fewer symptoms of anxiety, the researchers said. Similar effects were reported at 12 months. Major depression affects around 20 per cent of people at some point in their lives. The World Health Organisation (WHO)predicts that by 2020, depression will rival heart disease as the health disorder with the highest global disease burden. While there are many antidepressants on the market, including top sellers such as Prozac and Seroxat, it is widely accepted that many antidepressants work in only half of patients half of the time, and drug makers are struggling to come up with a new generation of drugs in this field. Willem Kuyken, a clinical psychology professor at Exeter University who also worked on the study, said its results showed that doctors and patients should be looking beyond drugs. "This trial provides further evidence that psychological treatments like cognitive therapy can provide substantive and lasting help to people who suffer depression," he said. Wiles added, however, that even in wealthy countries such as Britain, where there has been a recent push to invest more into psychological therapies, many people who have not responded to antidepressants still don't get the chance of trying intensive CBT that take between 12 and 18 sessions. In the United States, only about a quarter of people with depression have received any form of psychological therapy in the last 12 months, she said. — Reuters

Study finds men more likely to die of cancers Posted: 07 Dec 2012 06:46 AM PST Indian cancer patient Brijender Singh (R) is examined by Pankaj Chaturvedi (L) during a routine check-up at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. — AFP pic NEW YORK, Dec 7 — Not only are men more likely than women to be diagnosed with cancer, men who get it have a higher chance of dying from the disease, according to a US study. In an analysis of cases of all but sex-specific cancers such as prostate and ovarian cancer, for example, men were more likely than women to die in each of the past ten years, said researchers, whose findings appeared in The Journal of Urology. That translates to an extra 24,130 men dying of cancer in 2012 because of their gender. "This gap needs to be closed," said Shahrokh Shariat from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, who worked on the study. "It's not about showing that men are only doing worse and, 'poor men.' It's about closing gender differences and improving health care." Using US cancer registry data from 2003 through 2012, Shariat and his colleagues found the ratio of deaths to cancer diagnoses decreased 10 per cent over the past decade —but was consistently higher among men than women. Overall, men with any type of cancer were six per cent more likely to die of their disease than women with cancer. When men and women with the same type of cancer were compared, that rose to more than 12 per cent. In 2012, Shariat's team calculated that about 575,130 men and 457,240 women would be diagnosed with a non-sex specific cancer. Also this year, an estimated 243,620 men will die of cancer - one death for every 2.36 new diagnoses, compared to 182,670 women dying, or one for each 2.5 new diagnoses. "We found that from the 10 most common cancers in males and females... men present at a higher stage than females, and adjusted for the incidence, are more likely to die from the cancer," Shariat told Reuters Health. "If you take an average of the 10 most common cancers, men are more likely to die in seven out of the ten," he added. In contrast, women are more likely to die only from bladder cancer. The new study can't show what's behind the differences in cancer deaths, but possible theories include men's higher rates of smoking and drinking combined with less frequent doctor's visits — which cause men's cancers to be diagnosed in later, more advanced stages. Sex hormones may also contribute to differences in men's and women's immune systems, metabolism and general susceptibility to cancer, according to Yang Yang, a sociologist and cancer researcher from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who studies health disparities but wasn't part of the study. She said the new findings are consistent with work suggesting a higher risk of death for men from many causes, not just cancer. But a full understanding of the origins and mechanisms in sex differences in cancer, as well as overall mortality, has remained elusive," Yang told Reuters Health in an email. Shariat said men should be particularly proactive about their health care. "That means going to screening programs, seeing a general practitioner or primary care provider on a regular basis and as soon as symptoms arise that are new, mentioning that to their primary care physicians," he added. — Reuters

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Amazon: Best cookbooks of 2012 Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:30 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 7 — With the holidays fast approaching and cookbook season in full swing, Amazon has released its list of best cookbooks of 2012, giving top nods to the Barefoot Contessa for her 'foolproof recipes.' The online bookstore has made it a little easier for consumers looking for gift ideas for the foodie gourmands in their lives with its annual Best Books 2012list. Topping this year's round-up is Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust. Known to TV audiences as the doyenne and resident matriarch of the Hamptons — the posh, seaside resort area in New York State frequented by the well-heeled and jet set — the Barefoot Contessa is known for her classic, hearty recipes and flair for entertaining. Recipes in her latest cookery book include dishes such as lobster and potato salad; tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons; slow-roasted filet of beef with basil Parmesan mayonnaise; sticky toffee date cake with Bourbon glaze and salted caramel brownies. Meanwhile, a cookbook written by a food blogger with no formal training — she's never even been a waitress much less a chef — is Amazon's pick as the second best cookery book of 2012. Deb Perelman is the incarnation of the food blogger's dream come true, parlaying her site The Smitten Kitchen into a cookbook of the same name. The Smitten Kitchen's premise? Comfort foods prepared in her small Manhattan galley kitchen with little tolerance for "fussiness and pretentious ingredients" like truffle oil or Himalayan pink salt, she says. The cookbook, meanwhile, includes recipes such as asparagus pizza, ratatouille sandwiches, and cauliflower pesto, mushroom Bourguignon and chocolate hazelnut crepe cake. Here are Amazon's top cookbooks of 2012, ranked by sales: 1. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten 2. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman 3. Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold 4. Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller 5. Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi 6. Practical Paleo: A Customised Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyleby Diane Sanfilippo, Bill Staley and Robb Wolf 7. True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure by Andrew Weil, Sam Fox and Michael Stebner 8. The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Griffith Day and Cheryl Day 9. Burma: Rivers of Flavour by Naomi Duguid 10. Whole Larder Love: Grow Gather Hunt Cook by Rohan Anderson — AFP/Relaxnews

The Big Bad Wolf Sale starts today! Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:22 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — It's that time of the year again... when book lovers get ready for that mother of all book sales: the Big Bad Wolf Sale! Today is the start of a non-stop 63 hours of book shopping at the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. It begins at 6.30am on and continues right on to 9.30pm on December 9. Three million books at bargain prices await shoppers. You can hit the sale after clubbing on Saturday night, or go in your pyjamas if necessary and browse through stacks of books, load up your trolley (yes, you should bring one) and carry off your loot. It's the world's biggest book sale after all, and the weekend will also feature 24 hours of food and drinks, and special giveaways. The Big Bad Wolf Sale will then carry on till December 23. It's also the best-organised book sale in the world, with lots of helpers giving assistance, whether to cart the books to your car or up the shuttle to the car park, as they did last year. It's amazing but Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng, the husband and wife owners of Book Xcess in AmCorp Mall in Petaling Jaya, who organise this mammoth sale, expect to sell all three million books! Double the number of last year's sale. "Our prices are a minimum 75 to 95 per cent off the retail price for everything," said Andrew. So what are you waiting for? Go go go!

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Seorang ‘Datuk’ antara dua didakwa menipu Maybank RM67 juta Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:03 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Dis — Dua bekas pengarah kumpulan Silver Bird iaitu Datuk Tan Han Kook dan rakannya Ching Siew Cheong didakwa secara serentak di Mahkamah Tinggi Jalan Duta hari ini kerana menipu pihak Malayan Banking (Maybank) Berhad sebanyak RM67,435,143. Sebanyak 134 pertuduhan dibacakan kepada tertuduh yang dilakukan sekitar 3 Oktober 2011 hingga 24 Februari 2012. Kedua-dua individu didakwa dibawah Seksyen 471 dan 467 Kanun Keseksaan kerana memalsukan dokumen dan menyebabkan pihak Maybank melakukan transaksi kepada tiga akaun. Tiga akaun tersebut adalah Asia Food Link Sdn Bhd (anak syarikat kepada Silverbird Sdn Bhd), Violet Bonanza Sdn Bhd dan Stanson Marketing Sdn Bhd (kedua-dua anak syarikat kepada Koperasi Permodalan Felda Quality(KPFQ)). Tan, 58 merupakan pengarah urusan Silver Bird manakala Ching, 50 adalah pengarah eksekutif KPFQ dituduh bersubahat memperdaya pegawai Maybank bagi permohonan tuntutan kemudahan 'Banker's Acceptance' (BA). Sejumlah RM42 juta wang dipindahkan ke akaun Stanson manakala RM25 juta lagi dipindahkan ke akaun KPFQ dimana kedua-dua tertuduh mempunyai kepentingan dalam syarikat tersebut. Dalam pertuduhan yang dibacakan oleh pendakwaraya Dzulkifli Ahmad, "Bahawa kamu pada 19 Oktober 2011 di Malayan Banking Berhad, Tingkat 8, Menara Hap Seng bagi mencapai niat bersama kamu telah menipu pegawai-pegawai Malayan Banking Berhad dengan memperdayakan mereka bagi permohonan tuntutan kemudahan'Banker's Acceptance'." Selepas pembacaan pertuduhan, ketiga-ketiga mengakui tidak bersalah dan minta dibicarakan dihadapan Hakim Rozilah Salleh. "Saya mengaku tidak bersalah dan minta dibicarakan," kata Tan selepas pertuduhan dibaca. Walaupun kes tersebut tidak boleh diikat jamin, pendakwaraya Dzulkifli memohon pertimbangan oleh Hakim bagi membuat keputusan untuk memberikan ikat jamin kepada kedua-dua tertuduh atau sebaliknya. Hakim Rozilah kemudiaan memutuskan memberi ikat jamin RM800 ribu bagi setiap tertuduh dengan seorang penjamin. Kedua-dua mereka sebelum ini pada 24 Februari awal tahun ini digantung daripada jawatan oleh Silver Bird selepas juruaudit luar mendapati akaun kewangan syarikat mempunyai kesamaran dan diragui. Malahan Silver Bird yang tersenarai dalam bursa Kuala Lumpur tersebut juga dikategorikan sebagai syarikat "Practice Note 17" (PN17) kerana pasaran saham syarikat yang semakin menjunam dengan teruk. Kes ini ditangguhkan dan akan disebut semula pada 7 Januari tahun depan. Jika disabit ke atas pertuduhan, kedua-dua mereka boleh dihukum penjara selama tempoh maksimum dua puluh tahun dan dikenakan denda, atau kedua-duanya sekali.

Operasi Lynas akan diberhentikan serta-merta jika langgar peraturan Posted: 07 Dec 2012 01:01 AM PST Para aktivis menunjukkan untuk membantah loji nadir bumi milik syarikat Australia Lynas Corp ketika Himpunan Hijau di Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, 26 November, 2012. — Gambar Reuters KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Dis — Lesen Peringkat Pengendalian Sementara (TOL) dan operasi Syarikat Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd boleh digantung dan diberhentikan serta-merta daripada beroperasi sekiranya syarikat pemproses nadir bumi Australia itu melanggar syarat pengendalian dan peraturan beroperasi  ditetapkan oleh Lembaga Perlesenan Tenaga Atom (LPTA). "Di bawah Seksyen 22 Akta 304, sekiranya pihak syarikat melanggar mana-mana syarat lesen atau melakukan sesuatu kesalahan di bawah Akta, LPTA boleh membatalkan atau menggantung TOL yang telah dikeluarkan kepada syarikat sebelum ini. "Dalam hal ini, sekiranya berlaku perlanggaran kepada syarat-syarat lesen yang telah ditetapkan, operasi syarikat akan diberhentikan secara serta merta sebelum tindakan selanjutnya diambil di bawah peruntukan akta yang sama," jelas Setiausaha Eksekutif, Lembaga Perlesenan Tenaga Atom, Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi (MOSTI) Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, dalam satu kenyataan hari ini. Justeru, bagi mengawal selia kilang pemprosesan tersebut, pihak LPTA jelas Abdul Aziz menempatkan pegawainya di premis kilang secara sepenuh masa. "Pegawai dari LPTA telah ditempatkan di premis kilang secara sepenuh masa bagi mengawal selia secara berterusan setiap peringkat proses ujian bahan untuk memastikan segala keperluan undang-undang kebangsaan dan standard keselamatan serta amalan terpuji antarabangsa dipatuhi sepenuhnya. "Kawalseliaan secara berterusan juga dilaksanakan ke atas aktiviti pengimportan bahan mula pekatan lantanid ke Malaysia," katanya lagi. Menurut Abdul Aziz, Lynas juga kini sudah memulakan ujian pemprosesan bahan mula pekatan lantanid secara terhad dan berperingkat selaras dengan syarat TOL. Permit membenarkan kemasukan bahan mula pekatan lantanid juga dikeluarkan bagi tujuan menguji keselamatan peralatan dan proses pengeluaran. Keputusan memberikan TOL juga jelasnya dibuat setelah Lembaga berpuashati bahawa Lynas telah "mematuhi kesemua aspek teknikal, keperluan Akta Perlesenan Tenaga Atom 1994 (Akta 304) dan perundangan subsidiari di bawahnya serta syarat tambahan dan syarat khas yang telah dikenakan ke atasnya." Operasi syarikat Lynas di Gebeng, Kuantan menerima kritikan banyak pihak termasuk parti pembangkang dari Pakatan Rakyat (PR) yang mendakwa operasi pemprosesan nadir bumi berkenaan akan membawa kesan radiasi kepada persekitaran, dan mencemarkan alam sekitar. Malah, sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) digelar Himpunan Hijau turut dibentuk untuk menghalang Lynas daripada beroperasi. Pada 25 November lalu, The Malaysian Insider melaporkan Himpunan Hijau mengadakan demonstrasi di Dataran Merdeka membantah operasi Lynas dijalankan. Perhimpunan dengan penyertaan sekitar empat ke lima ribu peserta Himpunan Hijau itu berarak dari Gombak ke Dataran Merdeka bagi menyatakan bantahan ke atas Loji Nadir Bumi di Lynas, Pahang.

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Lessons from the Jasmine Revolution Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:53 PM PST DEC 7 — My last stop in my Arab Spring documentary tour was Tunisia. It also happens to be the first country in the Arab region to start revolting and became the inspiration for the rest of the countries like Egypt, Syria and Yemen. The story, if you're not familiar, has become the stuff of legend. A young fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, in the small Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire in protest. He was tired of how he was being treated by government officials who were always confiscating his goods and asking for bribes. He died of his injuries. This caused an uproar amongst the citizens in the small town. The authorities turned violent when attempting to quash the uprising. The news spread and soon the whole country demonstrated. The urban citizens in the capital Tunis who had always been more economically privileged soon realised how their government had been treating the rest of the country. Once the whole country was united in solidarity, the revolution became strong and the dictator President Ben Ali was forced to flee the country and now resides in exile in Saudi Arabia. What is interesting for me is that two years have passed since their revolution, and out of all the Arab Spring countries, they are the ones with the most successful new democratically-elected government. Of course, they have some small problems here and there. The most obvious is economic in nature. The unemployment rate has risen to 18 per cent and corruption still exists. Although there have been small protests around the country, overall, the Tunisian people that I spoke to seem optimistic that everything will turn out okay. I spoke to a wide variety of people, from business owners to market vendors and even students. And even the most pessimistic were, well, optimistic. Although they all felt that the country is in an economic crisis post-revolution, they also felt that it was only natural. Many understood that a revolution didn't mean that things would be absolutely perfect overnight and that the new government definitely needs time to work and to improve things. They also knew that with freedom of expression and religion now being allowed, things were definitely going to get better, if not for them, then for their children. One clothes store owner even mentioned that he will not enjoy the benefits of the revolution in his lifetime even though he took part in it by going to the streets. But he was fast to state that his children and their children, and so on and so forth, will be the benefactors, and that is the main point of the entire revolution. A butcher I spoke to in a market told me that he hated the new government that had been voted in as he believed that they were not doing a good job. But he wasn't bitter. He calmly said that when the next elections came about, he would just vote for whoever he felt would be able to a better job. And that, to him, is the point of the revolution. I also asked some Tunisians about the protests that have been going on in the country and if this reflected the sentiments of the whole country. That also seemed to be another point of the revolution for them. It meant that people had the right to express themselves and it didn't mean that they wanted another revolution, but just to be heard. I left the country feeling very positive and even inspired by what I had seen there, even though I spent less than a week with the people. Now that I am back in Malaysia and am amongst my fellow Malaysians, I feel that although the context and situation of Tunisia and Malaysia are different, there is a lot we can learn from them. I am not calling for a revolution here, since I have previously mentioned that the context and situation is totally different, far from it. But I am calling for Malaysians to keep what is important in their sights and not to forget that we do not depend on the country, but the country depends on us. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Akhirnya Hamas diakui Umno Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:38 PM PST 7 DIS — Begitu tinggi syukur saya melihat Hamas, gerakan Islam yang memerintah Gaza menjadi tetamu dalam Perhimpunan Agung Umno tahun ke 66nya. Apa untungnya buat Hamas saya tidak pasti dan apa pula yang Umno cuba dapat dari tetamunya juga tidak dipastikan. Tetapi setelah lama cuba untuk mendekati Umno, maka baru tahun baru hijrah 1434, baru Hamas diterima oleh Umno. Adakah sesudah Umno ada transformasinya baru terbuka hatinya untuk menerima Hamas sebagai tetamu sedang Hamas sudah acap kali menjadi tetamu Muktamar PAS sejak ia ditubuhkan kira-kira dua dasawarsa lalu. Saya masih ingat sebaik Hamas ditubuhkan hadir di Muktamar PAS wakilnya Azam Tamimi sebagai tetamu PAS untuk memperkenalkan pertubuhannya. Kemunculannya sebagai sebuah gerakan politik Islam Palestin adalah setelah kegagalan PLO — Pertubuhan Pembebasan Palestin — pimpinan Yasser Arafat dari Gerakan Fatah tidak dapat membela masa depan Islam dan umat Palestin. Kemunculannya itu samalah dengan kekecewaan umat Islam Mindanau terhadap MNLF — Barisan Pembebasan Nasional Bansa Moro — pimpinan Nur Misuari lalu membentuk MILF iaitu Barisan Pembebasan Islam Bansa Moro pimpinan Salamat Hashim dan samalah seperti kekeciwaan orang Islam Tanah Melayu terhadap perjuangan Umno mengenai Islam lalu mereka menubuhkan PAS. MILF inilah akhirnya berjalan berjaya memperjuangkan nasib Islam Fillipina Selatan yang perjanjian damainya dengan kerajaan Filipina dicapai baru-baru dengan Malaysia menjadi orang tengahnya. Kehadiran Azam Tamimi masa itu berusaha untuk dengan kerajaan Malaysia dan Umno supaya Hamas diakui dan dibantu sebagaimana ia memberi bantuan kepada PLO dan Mujahidin Afghanistan ketika diduduki Soviet Union. PAS dapat membantu Hamas sekadar yang terdayanya tetapi untuk mendapatkan sokongan kerajaan, Hamas mesti menjalin hubungan dengan Biro Antarabangsa Pemuda Umno yang pengurusinya masa itu ialah Nazri Aziz. Azam pernah membawa penggantinya, Amar sebagai orang yang menghubungkan Hamas dengan Malaysia. Amar adalah adik Khalid Mashal, pemimpin Hamas sekarang. Azam kemudian datang lagi dengan wakil Hamas di Pakistan, Dr Osman juga gagal untuk menemui Umno. Dr Osman beberapa kali datang ke Kuala Lumpur tetap gagal untuk menghubungi Umno. Ketika Pakistan yang menerima perwakilan PLO juga boleh memberi layanan kepada Hamas, mengapa pula Umno tidak boleh memberi layanan yang serupa kepada Hamas? Itulah persoalan dan layanan yang Hamas terima dari kerajaan dan Umno. Hamas muncul kerana mereka melihat PLO yang Fatah sebagai organisasi terbesarnya mulai mengikut rentak yang dikehendaki oleh Amerika dan barat. Pendekatan berdamai dengan Israel yang PLO ambil, pada pandangan Hamas, tidak mungkin mengubah sikap Israil terhadap Palastin. Kerana itu Hamas dirasa penting buat Palestin dan akhirnya bakal menjadi gerakan paling berpengaruh di kalangan umat Palestin. Khalid sendiri pernah datang ke Malaysia. Dia menjadi tetamu PAS. Saya sendiri mengiringnya mengadakan kunjungan ke Terengganu dan Kelantan. Khalid juga tidak dapat menembusi tembok Umno. Betapa jaraknya Umno dengan Hamas dapat dibuktikan oleh sikap kerajaan BN yang menjadi tuan rumah satu sidang  antarabangsa di Kuala Lumpur telah menapikan kerusi Menteri Luar Palestin semasa Hamas menjadi kerajaan di Tebing Barat dan Ghaza. Kerusi perwakilan Palestin itu diberi kepada jurucakap luar Fatah yang kalah dalam pilihan raya dan tidak memerintah. Sedang Menteri Luar yang sah dari Hamas sudah ada di Kuala Lumpur. Menteri luar dari Hamas itu penat saja datang ke Kuala Lumpur. Maka sekarang barulah Umno menjadikannya tetamu Perhimpunan Agungnya. Dua puluh tahun Umno mengambil masa untuk mengakui Hamas, satu transformasi yang perlahan. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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