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Hot chocolate tastes better in an orange cup? Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:14 PM PST The study found that the hues of serving containers could affect the perceived taste of their contents. — Picture by grafvision/shutterstock.com PARIS, Jan 6 — European scientists say they have found further evidence that how you serve food and drink matters hugely in the perception of taste. Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of Oxford recruited 57 volunteers and asked them to taste hot chocolate served in plastic cups with four different colours — white, cream, red and orange with white on the inside. The chocolate was the same in all the samples, but the volunteers found that the flavour was better when the drink was served in the orange or cream-coloured cups. "The colour of the container where food and drink are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma," Betina Piqueras-Fiszman of the Polytechnic University of Valencia said in a press release. The findings could be beneficial to chefs and food manufacturers, Piqueras-Fiszman added. Previous research has found that yellow containers boost the perception of flavour of lemons in soft drinks; beverages with cold colours, like blue, seem more thirst-quenching than warm colours like red; and if drinks are pink, they are perceived as being more sugary. The study appears in a specialist publication, the Journal of Sensory Studies. — AFP/Relaxnews

Top 10 chocolatiers around the world, according to National Geographic Posted: 05 Jan 2013 05:56 AM PST Teuscher's main store in Zurich. PARIS, Jan 5 — According to National Geographic, five of the top 10 chocolatiers hail from the US, while premium Swiss brand Teuscher owns bragging rights to being the world's master chocolatier. In its list of Top 10 Best Chocolatiers in the World released last week, National Geographic's Intelligent Travel revealed its picks for chocolate makers who produce things like "…a single-source dark chocolate bar, a cream or liqueur-filled bonbon, a praline, fruit dipped in chocolate, a truffle, fudge, or some other sinfully delicious treat." Topping the list is Swiss chocolate maker Teuscher with a tradition that spans more than 70 years, and which today has locations across the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The chocolate maker creates more than a hundred varieties and products contain no chemicals, additives or preservatives. Notably missing from the list, meanwhile, are chocolate houses such as Neuhaus from Belgium, which has been making chocolate since 1857, Parisian chocolate maker Michel Cluizel, and Italian chocolate maker Amedei, which uses a chocolate sourced from Venezuela that's been called the best in the world by Parisian pastry maker Pierre Hermé and Spanish chef Ferran Adrià. Here are the top 10 chocolatiers according to Intelligent Travel: 1. Teuscher - Zurich 2. Vosges Haut-Chocolat - Chicago 3. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker - Berkeley, California 4. Jacques Torres Chocolate - New York 5. Norman Love Confections - Ft. Myers, Florida 6. Valrhona - Tain-l'Hermitage, France 7. Godiva - Brussels 8. Richard Donnelly Fine Chocolates-Santa Cruz, California 9. Richart - Paris 10. Puccini Bomboni – Amsterdam — AFP/Relaxnews

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Arsenal’s Djourou loaned to Hannover 96 Posted: 05 Jan 2013 07:40 AM PST LONDON, Jan 5 — Arsenal have loaned Swiss international defender Johan Djourou to Hannover 96, the Premier League club said today. Djourou, who has made 144 appearances for Arsenal since 2004 without ever becoming an established first-teamer, will move to the Bundesliga side for the remainder of the season. He is the second Arsenal player to go out on loan since the opening of the transfer window following striker Marouane Chamakh's move across London to West Ham United. Djourou has not played in the Premier League for Arsenal this season, his two appearances coming in the Capital One (League) Cup. — Reuters

Brighton end Newcastle’s FA Cup hopes again Posted: 05 Jan 2013 06:35 AM PST LONDON, Jan 5 — Premier League Newcastle United's FA Cup hopes floundered on England's south coast for the second year in a row as Championship club Brighton and Hove Albion kicked off third round action with a 2-0 victory today. Andrea Orlandi gave Gus Poyet's side a halftime lead and Will Hoskins added a second for the Seagulls three minutes from time as Brighton followed up their 1-0 victory over Newcastle in last season's fourth round. Newcastle, who are stuck in a woeful run of league form during which they have plummeted towards the relegation zone, fielded a below-strength side and offered little threat. Their efforts to get back into the tie were undermined by Shola Ameobi's second-half dismissal for a second yellow card (picture). Manager Alan Pardew defended his team selection but said his side had lacked the required quality to cope with a side pushing for promotion to the top flight. "I thought we didn't have enough quality on the pitch today," Pardew, whose side have lost 11 of their last 14 matches in all competitions, told ITV Sport. "That team was a shadow of the team we could put out." Brighton, now thriving in a modern new stadium after years in the doldrums since they reached the FA Cup final in 1983, losing to Manchester United in a replay, thoroughly deserved a victory that turned into a stroll in the park. Spaniard Orlani broke the deadlock after 33 minutes when he swivelled on a cross from former Chelsea and Manchester City full back Wayne Bridge to produce a neat finish. Newcastle, lacking first-team players Fabricio Coloccini, Papiss Cisse, Yohan Cabaye and Steven Taylor, hardly troubled Brighton keeper Casper Ankergren, and their fate was sealed when David Lopez, criticised by Pardew for helping get Ameobi sent off, played in Hoskins to score in the 87th minute. There are 28 more third-round ties today with holders Chelsea beginning their defence away to Southampton and Premier League leaders Manchester United also facing top flight opponents in West Ham United. — Reuters

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French actor Depardieu in Russia to receive new passport Posted: 05 Jan 2013 07:36 AM PST Depardieu speaks with Vladimir Putin, then Russian Prime Minister, during a meeting in St.Petersburg in this December 11, 2010 file photo. — Reuters pic MOSCOW, Jan 5 — French film star Gerard Depardieu has arrived in Russia to receive a new Russian passport after a public spat in his homeland over his efforts to avoid a new 75 per cent income tax, local media said today. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to Depardieu, a popular figure in Russia who objected to the new tax on millionaires planned by France's socialist government. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin will hold a private meeting with Depardieu in the Black Sea resort of Sochi this evening. "It is not ruled out that during this meeting Depardieu will be granted a passport," RIA news agency quoted Peskov as saying. Radio Ekho Moskvy said both Putin, a former KGB spy, and his younger protege, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, were in Sochi for Russia's long New Year's holidays ending on January 9. In Russia, Depardieu has appeared in many advertising campaigns, including for ketchup, and worked there in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin. Depardieu, star of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Green Card" was also among the Western celebrities invited in 2012 to celebrate the birthday of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader. Russia has a flat-rate income tax of 13 per cent compared to 75 per cent on income over €1 million (RM4 million) that French President Francois Hollande wants to introduce. Depardieu has bought a house in Belgium to establish Belgian residency in protest at Hollande's tax plans. Hollande's original proposal was struck down by France's Constitutional Court in December, but the socialist president pledged to press ahead with a redrafted tax on the wealthy. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency "pathetic" and unpatriotic, prompting an angry reply from the actor. Since the Cold War, Moscow has often expressed support for Westerners at odds with their governments - a way to counter what Putin says is hypocritical Western criticism of the Kremlin's treatment of its own citizens. Putin, accused by the opposition at home of cracking down on his critics, has in the past spoken of good relations with France. But Moscow suffered a blow in November when it was forced to suspend its bid to build an Orthodox church with five domes in the heart of Paris, whose mayor called the plan "ostentatious". A spokesman for Depardieu in Paris could not immediately be reached for comment. — Reuters

Indian minister pens ‘lovey-dovey’ Bollywood song Posted: 05 Jan 2013 06:05 AM PST NEW DELHI, Jan 5 — India's communications minister, already a poet in his spare time, has found another outlet for his creative ambitions: penning a slushy love song for a new Bollywood film. Despite his challenging role as a minister and government troubleshooter, Kapil Sibal (picture) took up an offer by actor-director Aditya Om for the film "Bandook" (Gun) and wrote four songs, one of which made it into the movie. Sibal's romantic number "showcases the pangs of separation of two lovers", Om told AFP. "His exuberant knowledge of literature has enabled him to pen beautiful lovey-dovey lyrics," he added. The Hindi lines include: "romantic eyes, admire shyly, declare love silently". The film, releasing this month, looks at gun culture in northern India and the link between crime and politics. "I really appreciate (Sibal's) knowledge of the vast subject that is portrayed in my film, which attracted him more than anything," said Om, an upcoming director looking to break into the mainstream with the release. Sibal, 64, already has two collections of poetry under his belt and has linked poems to politics in the past. The lawyer-politician told The Economic Times newspaper that he normally wrote on his iPad during flights, and that he was very busy with work when he penned the lyrics. "The 'Bandook' song is already available in ringtones, though I haven't got it as yet," he added. In his ministerial post, Sibal has come under fire from free-speech activists after he championed an amendment to India's IT act in 2009, which makes it illegal to post "grossly offensive" comments online. Hackers attacked and defaced his website in November amid protests against the law. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Space travel can accelerate Alzheimer’s, says US study Posted: 05 Jan 2013 02:09 AM PST The Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew blasts off from its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome December 19, 2012. — Reuters pic MIAMI, Jan 5 — Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, could expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain and accelerate Alzheimer's disease, said US research Monday. The NASA-funded study involved bombarding mice with varied radiation doses, including levels comparable to what voyagers would experience during a mission to Mars, and seeing how the animals managed to recall objects or locations. Mice that were exposed to radiation were far more likely to fail those tasks — suggesting neurological impairment earlier than such symptoms typically appear. "Galactic cosmic radiation poses a significant threat to future astronauts," said Michael O'Banion, a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center and senior author of the study published in scientific journal Plos One. "This study shows for the first time that exposure to radiation levels equivalent to a mission to Mars could produce cognitive problems and speed up changes in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease." NASA is planning manned missions to a distant asteroid in 2021 and to Mars in 2035. A round trip to the Red Planet could take as long as three years. While space is filled with radiation, Earth's magnetic field generally protects the planet and people in a low earth orbit from such particles. But once astronauts leave orbit they are exposed to a shower of various radiation. Over the past 25 years, NASA has funded research to determine the potential health risks of space travel, aiming to develop countermeasures and determine whether or not the risks might imperil extended manned missions to deep space. Several previous studies have shown the potential cancer, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal impact of galactic cosmic radiation. But the University of Rochester study examined the potential impact of space radiation on neurodegeneration, and in particular the biological processes in the brain that contribute to the development of Alzheimer's. The brains of the mice also showed signs of vascular alterations and a greater than normal accumulation of beta amyloid, the protein "plaque" that accumulates in the brain and is one of the hallmarks of the disease. "These findings clearly suggest that exposure to radiation in space has the potential to accelerate the development of Alzheimer's disease," said O'Banion. "This is yet another factor that NASA, which is clearly concerned about the health risks to its astronauts, will need to take into account as it plans future missions." — AFP/Relaxnews

‘Green’ issues weigh increasingly on sport Posted: 05 Jan 2013 12:55 AM PST ProDakar McRae car belonging to South Africa's Johan Van Staden and Mike Lawrenson passes in front of spectators after the technical verification exercise of the Dakar Rally 2013 in Lima, January 3, 2013. — Reuters pic LIMA, Jan 5 — The Dakar rally gets under way in South America this weekend, amid concern about the potential damage that the 8,400-kilometre trek through Peru and Chile could cause to the local environment. Organisers the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) have already had to reject claims that the 459 cars, bikes, trucks and quad bikes taking part in this year's edition will cause irreparable harm to ancient archaeological sites. ASO, which also organises cycling's most prestigious and gruelling race, the Tour de France, is becoming used to dealing with such questions, as sport in general is increasingly scrutinised about its "green" credentials. The Dakar rally first revealed its carbon footprint in 2007, trumpeting the fact that the 43,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases it produced was nearly a quarter of that at the French Open tennis tournament (156,000 tonnes). Motorsport and in particular Formula One — long demonised because of its reliance on the fossil fuels thought to contribute to global warming — has led the way in publicising environmental attributes. "We've got this image of waste but we don't pollute any more than other events," said Bernard Niclot, technical director at the International Automobile Federation (FIA) governing body. "Motorsport has always contributed to the development of road cars. Even today, we still want it to help make cleaner, more fuel efficient cars and to respond to the challenges of diminishing oil supplies and protecting the environment." FIA president Jean Todt, who formerly led the Ferrari F1 team, has been at the forefront of attempts to use renewable energy sources and staging quieter, more fuel-efficient races. Next year will see the launch of Formula E, with single-seater electric cars racing at speeds of up to 180 kilometres an hour on city circuits such as Rome. Fuel limits will also be introduced in 2014 in endurance racing, following on from existing restrictions on wind tunnel tests, plus the number of engines and gearboxes available for drivers. The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) aims to reduce its overall carbon footprint by 15 per cent in the coming years. The use of artificial snow, tree felling and soil erosion in ski resorts or heavy water consumption on golf courses have long been targets for environmental campaigners. But even apparently "green" sports cannot afford to rest on their laurels. In 2009, there was outrage after images were shown of some 20 tonnes of rubbish left on Mont Ventoux after the advertising caravan on the Tour de France came through, distributing free gifts to the tens of thousands of fans parked by the road. Some 50 tonnes of rubbish was produced during the 2011 New York Marathon while about 20,000 of the 47,000 participants came from abroad, most of them by high polluting air travel. According to campaigners, serious thought has to be given to big sporting events, no matter how much organisers claim to be meeting environmental targets on use of sustainable materials or recycling. "Tens of thousands of spectators pollute more at an autosports competitions than the racing cars," said Edouard Donnelly, a sustainable development expert at Paris-based sports consultancy firm Keneo. "There's no difference between the Tour de France and a motorsport race." In France, an estimated 50 per cent of 260,000 sports venues are said to be poorly insulated, over-using water and electricity or not readily accessible by public transport. Yachtswoman Isabelle Autissier, who is also head of the French branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF,) said environmental damage was the paradox of the modern day sports industry. "We're building more and more big structures. We're getting people to come from farther afield," she said. "By attracting more people we obviously generate more waste and damage because transporting sportsmen and women and spectators has more of an impact." French Green Party lawmaker Jean-Luc Bennahmias said any steps taken were currently no more than a smokescreen, highlighting world football governing body FIFA's decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup. The Gulf state is building 12 new air-conditioned stadia. Foreign fans will all travel by plane while the venues will become white elephants after the competition, he said. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Saudi says its air force has not struck al Qaeda in Yemen Posted: 05 Jan 2013 07:53 AM PST A woman shows her palms, painted with the colours of the Yemeni flag, during a demonstration by pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa, January 3, 2013. — Reuters pic RIYADH, Jan 5 — Saudi Arabian fighter jets have not attacked al Qaeda targets in Yemen, Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said today, denying a newspaper report that some strikes attributed to US drones were made instead by the kingdom's air force. Britain's Times newspaper yesterday cited an unnamed US intelligence source as saying "some of the so-called drone missions are actually Saudi Air Force missions". Asked to comment by reporters in Riyadh on Saturday, Prince Saud said, "This is not true." He did not elaborate. Any evidence of Saudi involvement in air strikes in Yemen risks damaging Riyadh's efforts to target militants there by complicating its relationship with the government in Sanaa and with Yemeni tribal leaders, who control large parts of the country, including areas where al Qaeda members are present. Washington and Riyadh fear turbulence in impoverished Yemen could allow al Qaeda a launchpad to attack Saudi energy targets and crude tankers in the Red Sea, a major oil-shipping route. US drones are used to target suspected militants in Yemen and other countries without risking ground troops or air crews. US officials acknowledge the use of drones against al Qaeda internationally but do not discuss operational details. Some of the leaders of regional wing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are Saudi nationals and they have sworn to bring down the kingdom's ruling al-Saud family. Western intelligence agencies have credited Riyadh with foiling attacks planned by AQAP on international targets, including airlines. In November two Saudi border guards were shot dead in a fight with suspected militants attempting to cross the long, porous desert border. Security experts in the No. 1 oil exporter say Saudi Arabia views militants in Yemen as its most immediate security threat. The last time Saudi Arabia's air force was actively deployed was during a late-2009 conflict with Houthi rebels in north Yemen who had carried out cross-border raids into the kingdom. — Reuters

Arsenal’s Djourou loaned to Hannover 96 Posted: 05 Jan 2013 07:40 AM PST LONDON, Jan 5 — Arsenal have loaned Swiss international defender Johan Djourou to Hannover 96, the Premier League club said today. Djourou, who has made 144 appearances for Arsenal since 2004 without ever becoming an established first-teamer, will move to the Bundesliga side for the remainder of the season. He is the second Arsenal player to go out on loan since the opening of the transfer window following striker Marouane Chamakh's move across London to West Ham United. Djourou has not played in the Premier League for Arsenal this season, his two appearances coming in the Capital One (League) Cup. — Reuters

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Warren Ellis novel ‘Gun Machine’ introduced by Wil Wheaton trailer Posted: 05 Jan 2013 06:24 AM PST NEW YORK, Jan 5 — The trailer for Warren Ellis's latest work, "Gun Machine," comes courtesy of actor (here, narrator) Wil Wheaton, illustrator Ben Templesmith, and director Jim Batt. "Gun Machine," published January 1, 2013, follows Detective John Tallow as he uncovers the decades-old safehouse of a prolific New York serial killer, and does so quite by accident. Wil Wheaton, who has appeared in comedy TV series "The Big Bang Theory" and sci-fi staple "Star Trek: The Next Generation," provides voiceover for the trailer's excerpted passage, while comic book artist Ben Templesmith ("30 Days of Night" and Ellis collaboration "Fell") is responsible for its brushstrokes, all under the watchful eye of Jim Batt (director of music videos for Jess McAvoy, Kim Boekbinder, and the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer). Palmer's husband is the British-born Neil Gaiman of "The Sandman," "American Gods" and "Coraline" fame and, like him, Ellis became well-known for his work as a comics writer. His comic series "Red" become a US$199 million (RM600 million) grossing movie starring Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker, while his 2007 debut novel, "Crooked Little Vein," was also a crime thriller. — AFP/Relaxnews

Men’s Health editor publishes eight-hour diet book Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:29 PM PST NEW YORK, Jan 5 — A new diet book claims to have the answer to your weight-loss woes: eat only from 9am to 5pm, or some other eight-hour time bracket. Bonus: you can eat anything you want. Authors David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men's Health and author of 2007's "Eat This, Not That!," and Peter Moore may have a point — limiting your eating window could conceivably reduce mindless TV snacking and trips to the late-night drive-through. Their new weight-loss book, "The 8-Hour Diet: Watch the Pounds Disappear Without Watching What you Eat!," associates the rise in obesity with the invention of the lightbulb, which means you can sneak in more Ben and Jerry's as you're burning the midnight oil. "Think about how you regularly sidle up to a bowl of ice cream while watching Leno, or stop at Wendy's for a late-night drive-thru snack," the authors write. "Modern technology has created an artificial daytime for us, and we're filling it up with meal four, meal five and meal six."  They add: "That extended eating interval throws our digestive system off-kilter and messes with the many hormones and enzymes that manage it. Our bodies can't process the food we eat, and those calories end up where they shouldn't — around our bellies and butts." While cramming in a healthy breakfast and dinner into an eight-hour day, especially for office workers and busy families, seems like an unnecessary challenge, research does support the concept.  A Salk Institute study published in the journal Cell Metabolism shows that if you condense the total time you eat each day to only eight hours, you can prevent weight gain and reduce diabetes risk, without changing your total calorie consumption. — AFP-Relaxnews

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NGO tidak beretika jika mengadu kepada PKR, kata Wan Ahmad Posted: 05 Jan 2013 03:13 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Jan — Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) hari ini berkata, pihak NGO yang mengadu kepada PKR adalah tidak beretika kerana mereka dilantik untuk memantau pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13) dengan tidak memihak kepada mana-mana parti politik. Timbalan Pengerusi SPR, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar turut menolak dakwaan dari Setiausaha Agung PKR, Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail bahawa SPR menyekat pemerhati NGO ini dari memantau pilihan raya. "Saya dah kata dalam banyak kenyataan sebelum ini, kenapa NGO-NGO ini perlu nak mengadu kepada PKR yang merupakan sebuah parti politik? "Kalau NGO ini benar-benar mahu menjadi pemerhati (pilihan raya), ia harus bebas dari mana-mana parti politik," kata Wan Ahmad (gambar) apabila dihubungi The Malaysian Insider. Menurut Wan Ahmad lagi, pihak SPR menemui kesemua NGO yang mahu menjadi pemerhati dalam pilihan raya yang akan berlangsung pada tahun ini. "Asas pelantikan NGO-NGO ini ialah berkecuali, itu syarat utamanya. "Tapi saya sangat sedihlah, kalau NGO-NGO ini pergi mengadu dengan PKR, ini tidak beretika. "(Datuk) Saifuddin Nasution (Ismail) ini pandai-pandai bercakap, tak patut macam ini," kata Wan Ahmad lagi. Pada Rabu lalu, Saifuddin dalam sidang medianya SPR mendakwa masih lagi menyekat enam badan pemerhati tersebut daripada memantau keseluruhan proses pilihan raya secara bebas. Antara badan pemerhati yang SPR bercadang untuk memberi akreditasi terdiri daripada enam badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) termasuk Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), Merdeka Center, Institut Demokrasi dan Hal Ehwal Ekonomi (IDEAS), Pusat Kajian Polisi Awam (CPPS), Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM), dan Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia (Proham). Wan Ahmad pada esoknya berkata, pemerhati tidak dibenar bercakap dengan mana-mana agen parti dan petugas SPR di pusat mengundi supaya tugas mereka tidak terganggu di samping tidak dibenar bercakap kepada media bagi mengelak berlaku pelbagai kenyataan dimanipulasi oleh pihak tidak bertanggungjawab. "Mereka yang dilantik adalah mengikut undang-undang dan tertakluk kepada akujanji pelantikan yang tidak membenarkan mereka berkomunikasi dengan pihak ketiga sebelum laporan hasil pemantauan diserah kepada SPR," katanya. "Adalah tidak logik pemerhati dibenar untuk menemuduga petugas SPR yang dilantik, jangan cakap kalau tiada fakta yang betul, saya cabar Saifuddin untuk dapatkan kepastian penjelasan daripada SPR sendiri." Hari ini, Wan Ahmad dilaporkan berkata pihak pemerhati haruslah menyampaikan apa yang mereka tidak puas hati kepada SPR. "NGO ini boleh dilihat sebagai penyampai maklumat kepada parti-parti politik. Ini jelas melanggar kerahsiaan yang pihak NGO perlu tahu. SPR telah memberitahu beberapa kali bahawa perbincangan ini adalah rahsia. "Mereka ini tidak beretika. Kita juga mahu tahu yang mana antara mereka yang membuka mulut," kata Wan Ahmad menurut laporan dari The Star. Beliau juga menolak dakwaan Saifuddin pemantau bebas tidak dibenarkan memantau proses pengiraan undi, dengan berkata mereka juga dibenarkan untuk melihat pengiraan tersebut. "Pengiraan undi adalah penting dalam proses pilihan raya, bagaimana kita boleh tidak benarkan mereka memantau? Tetapi kita tak boleh nak beri kepada semua sebab kita tidak cukup ruang. "Agen kepada calon akan hadir untuk memantau sendiri (proses pengiraan undi). "Saya tak tahu sama ada NGO tersebut tidak faham apa yang kami katakan, atau parti politik tersebut memutarbelitkan isu," katanya lagi. Penguatkuasaan tugas mereka selaku pemerhati hanya akan bermula apabila Parlimen dibubar.

Mayat wanita hampir reput ditemui di Pelabuhan Klang Posted: 05 Jan 2013 01:39 AM PST PELABUHAN KLANG, 5 Jan — Mayat seorang wanita yang lengkap berpakaian dan hampir reput ditemui di tingkat tiga sebuah rumah flat di sini malam tadi.  Mayat wanita itu ditemui kira-kira pukul 7.30 malam dalam sebuah unit tidak berpenghuni di kediaman berkenaan selepas orang ramai terhidu bau busuk di sekitar tempat kejadian. Ketua Polis Daerah Klang Selatan ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop berkata siasatan awal pasukan forensik polis mendapati wanita itu telah mati lebih 10 hari. "Pemeriksaan fizikal tidak dapat dilakukan ke atas mayat kerana keadaannya yang hampir reput. Tiada kesan tikaman atau sebarang senjata dan objek dijumpai di kawasan itu," katanya ketika dihubungi di sini hari ini. Mohamad berkata polis masih belum boleh mengesahkan identiti wanita itu.  Beliau berkata buat masa ini kes berkenaan diklasifikasi sebagai mati mengejut dan pihaknya akan membuka kertas siasatan jika wujud unsur jenayah. — Bernama

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Malaysian cinema in 2012 Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:19 PM PST JAN 5 — I'm a positive guy. So when it was announced last year that more than 70 Malaysian films will be shown in local cinemas through the Skim Wajib Tayang, I took the glass half-full position that the increase is quantity might bring about an increase in quality in local films. How wrong I was. 2012 was quite simply an awful year for Malaysian film. I missed only nine out of the 40-plus Malaysian films screened in 2011 but my diligence in trying to watch as many local films as possible has been sorely tested by the appalling quality of most of the films on offer in 2012. I must have missed at least 20 of the local films screened last year. If before this I only gave up on films made by Assoc Prof Abd Razak Mohaideen, then this year has seen me add a few other names to that list — Ahmad Idham, MIG Films (I now pick and choose only the ones that might not be so bad just to preserve my sanity), Outloud Studios (clearly a pretender to the MIG Films throne) and Afdlin Shauki (on "sudden death probation" thanks to his double whammy of awful films for Ismail Holdings, Berani Punya Budak and Pontianak vs Orang Minyak). But let's talk about the Good first. Despite all the doom and gloom, the brightest ray of light for the local film industry this year was without a doubt Bunohan. Having secured home video distribution with Universal Pictures in several territories in Europe and Australasia, the film secured an even bigger coup by being picked up for US distribution by Oscilloscope Films, the company founded by the late Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, and distributor of last year's Oscar contender We Need To Talk About Kevin and other high-profile indie/arthouse titles like The Messenger, Meek's Cutoff, Exit Through The Gift Shop and more. Other admirable local films his year include the indie Relationship Status, a Sundance-type movie ripe for a US remake. Then there's the gritty grime of Chow Kit, the surprisingly sweet and honest 3 Temujanji from MIG Films, KRU Studio's best film yet in 29 Februari, which is sort of a mash-up between Forrest Gump and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, but told as a sad and operatic musical, and two romantic dramas that came out at the tail end of the year — the rom-com Istanbul Aku Datang from Red Films and Lagenda Budak Setan 2: Katerina, a melodrama that works much better than the first instalment. The Bad comes in the form of the countless gangster movies, usually in the form straight up action movies or action comedies, all produced in the wake of the success of KL Gangster (when will we ever learn that repeating a successful formula is NOT a guarantee for success?) with titles that range from Bini-Biniku Gangster to Jiwa Taiko (more Jiwang Taiko if you ask me) to Hantu Gangster. Talking with people in the film industry, I was informed that we should brace ourselves for even more of these gangster movies in 2013, all already produced and waiting for screening slots under the Skim Wajib Tayang. The remnants of the horror comedy trend, all produced in the wake of the success of Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah (and to some extent Ngangkung and Jangan Pandang Belakang Congkak), were still there, thanks to films like Hantu Dalam Botol Kicap, Satu Malam Kubur Berasap, Jangan Pandang-Pandang and Pontianak vs Orang Minyak (I felt like walking out of the cinema when I saw these, no mean feat considering I've never done that before in my life). And there seems to be no end to "comedies" being made starring Angah and Along from Raja Lawak, none of which I've found even remotely funny so far. Still, I should just thank my lucky stars that "comedies" or "romantic comedies" starring the similarly unfunny Zalif Sidek have showed signs of slowing down or drying up. Now comes the Ugly, an honour that last year belonged to films like Datin Ghairah and especially Abuya, a film so bad that it becomes great fun just to talk and think about it. Regretfully, it will only live in the minds of the few who managed to catch it during its run in local cinemas as a DVD release is still nowhere to be seen. If there's a DVD distributor reading this, please do us all a favour and pick Abuya up for a home video release for this could be Malaysia's very own so-bad-it's-good cult favourite a la The Room. This year that honour belongs to Leftwings, a film so amateurishly bad in almost every aspect that it becomes sort of fun thinking and talking about it afterwards. But a bigger stinker comes in the form of Adik Manja Returns, a movie that can only be described with one word — embarrassing. I can't seem to think of any precedent, but just imagine that one hot male lecturer or teacher in college that all the girls seem to be in love with suddenly back from retirement to teach at the same college (hockey hair intact!) and still thinking that the young girls still fancy him. See it for yourself and cringe. Never one to end things on a negative note, I'd like to point out two outstanding short films that I saw this year. One is called Eskep, a minimalist and mostly dialogue-free short film by Fasyali Fadzly that kind of reminds me of the pleasures that can be found in "slow cinema". But the undoubted highlight is a short film called Kasturi by Ridhwan Saidi, a prolific novelist in the Malay indie book publishing scene with titles like Amerika, Mautopia and Stereo Genmai (and whose short story I adapted for my debut short film), which displays astonishing confidence in his willingness to do a phantasmagoric film (a bit like The Red Shoes by Powell & Pressburger or the films of Emir Kusturica) and quite some talent to be able to pull it off very well indeed. Undoubtedly a name to look out for. Just remember, you heard it here first! * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

In support of Reading Posted: 04 Jan 2013 03:51 PM PST JAN 5 — If you're looking for a "second team" to follow in the English Premier League, or wondering who you should support in the battle against relegation, may I point you in the direction of Reading. Firstly, I should admit personal bias. I spent 11 years working in the communications team at Reading, between 1998 and 2009, and enjoyed some wonderful times. So my arguments in favour of the Royals are naturally somewhat one-sided — but I believe they are also fair. There is a lot to admire in the way that Reading run their business. By spending their money prudently and focusing on long-term investments rather than short-term fixes, they attempt to manage the balance between ambition and realism in a manner that is increasingly rare in modern professional football. Their approach sets an example for responsible, sustainable financial management that few other clubs attempt to emulate — if every club acted like Reading, there would be no need for UEFA to introduce their convoluted Financial Fair Play regulations. The driving force behind Reading's stable financial approach is the club's long-serving chairman and former owner John Madejski, who has always been determined to balance the books without sacrificing the ambition of establishing his club amongst the Premier League elite. Madejski is exactly the kind of club owner that every fan should wish for. He is a local man who was born and grew up in Reading, made his fortune after starting a business in the town (the Auto Trader series of car sales magazines, later encompassing the Malaysian Motor Trader) and has lived in the area practically all his life. He took over ownership of Reading in 1990 — before the gravy train of the Premier League had even been invented — with the altruistic ambition of rescuing his local club from financial difficulties, building them a new state-of-the-art stadium and setting them up for a sustainable long-term future. That's all quite a contrast from the speculative, exploitative and often absent moneymen from overseas who have come to dominate Premier League ownership in the last few years — unlike the Glazers (Manchester United), Roman Abramovich (Chelsea), Sheikh Mansour (Manchester City) and John Henry (Liverpool), the only thing that's foreign about Madejski is his misleadingly Polish surname. Of course, this doesn't mean we should descend into narrow-minded parochialism and assume that local equals good and foreign equals bad. Just because Madejski is from Reading doesn't necessarily mean that he's an ideal owner for Reading Football Club; but it does mean that he's far more likely to feel a genuine attachment to his club and its community, and that much has been proven over his many years at the helm. Reading fans were given cause for concern last year when Madejski sold the club to Russian businessman Anton Zingarevich. Was everything that Madejski, and consequently the club, had stood for about to be thrown out of the window by a new owner? Fortunately not — not yet, at least. Madejski always insisted that he would only sell his club to the right person, and he seems to have found his man with Zingarevich, who does at least possess some affinity to his new acquisition having spent part of his childhood living in Reading. Although it's early days, Zingarevich has so far stayed true to the philosophy of long-term sustainability instilled by Madejski. That has been best illustrated by the faith shown by Zingarevich in the manager who led Reading to promotion last season, Brian McDermott. As the new man in charge with no personal link to existing club employees, it would have been easy for Zingarevich to panic at the first sign of trouble, fire McDermott and replace him with an appointment of his own. Admirably, he's not done that. Despite Reading's troubling start to the season which has seen them collect just two victories and 13 points from their opening 21 games, Zingarevich has so far stayed loyal to the hard-working, softly spoken McDermott, with barely any suggestion that a managerial change is under consideration. And that's quite right because Reading's problem is not their manager, but their lack of genuine quality throughout the squad. Sad to say it, but the current Reading squad is just not good enough to survive in the Premier League (even though their collective mental attitude and commitment to hard work cannot be faulted). Tackling that problem, of course, is no straightforward task. Although McDermott and his staff are fully aware of the need to improve the quality of the squad, doing so is a costly business that would leave the club badly exposed in financial terms if they ended up suffering relegation. Maintaining the cost of a Premier League squad in the Championship does not fit in with Reading's philosophy, and so they find themselves in a Catch-22 situation: spend a fortune on new players and risk being lumbered with an unsustainably expensive squad in the Championship, or stick with the existing squad which will almost certainly get relegated. And therein lies the inescapable problem of Reading's approach. Admirable though it may be to spend within your means, it's probably unrealistic to expect lasting success under those terms. Modern football does not work like that. However, we should will them to succeed because it would be nice if more clubs were like Reading. They deserve admiration and they deserve success. Sadly, I'm not sure they're going to get it. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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