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Cardinals beat Brewers to reach World Series Posted: 17 Oct 2011 05:51 AM PDT MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Oct 17 — The St Louis Cardinals advanced to the World Series yesterday after a 12-6 victory over Milwaukee in Game Six sealed the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals will play American League champions Texas Rangers, who travel to St Louis for Wednesday's opener of the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship. St Louis scored four runs in the first inning, one in the second and another four in the third to seize a 9-4 lead and were never headed as they clinched the series 4-2 and booked their first return to the Fall Classic since winning it in 2006. St Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (right) joins relief pitcher Jason Motte (centre) and catcher Yadier Molina (on ground) as they celebrate advancing to the World Series. — Reuters pic Cardinals starting pitcher Edwin Jackson went only two innings, but as they did all series long, their relievers shut the Brewers down to secure the win. Third baseman David Freese, who belted a three-run blast in the first inning, was named NLCS Most Valuable Player after notching three home runs, nine RBIs and hitting .545. Freese's homer followed an RBI single by Lance Berkman to put the Cardinals ahead 4-0. The outburst continued a St Louis trend as the Cardinals scored first in every game, putting runs on the board four times in the first inning during the series and scoring in the second inning of the other two games. "They were unbelievable in the first inning," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "We couldn't get away with anything. We just never had a chance to get into our comfort zone, get into our rhythm. They just didn't let up on us." Early action The early action felt like a home run derby as six were hit in the first three innings and nine of the first 10 runs came from round-trippers. Corey Hart homered in the first for Milwaukee, Rafael Furcal matched his solo homer in the second, while in the Brewers' half of the second, Rickie Weeks and Jonathan Lucroy cleared the fences to bring the home team within one at 5-4. Albert Pujols's blast leading off the third made it 6-4 and the Cardinals added three more runs on a sacrifice fly by Nick Punto and a two-run single by pinch-hitter Allen Craig. After a sloppy showing in Friday's Game Five in St Louis, in which Milwaukee committed four errors in a 7-1 loss, the Brewers were once again loose in the field with three miscues. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa used five relievers to secure the victory. In all, St Louis relievers pitched a remarkable 282/3 innings against just 241/3 innings by the team's starters. "They pitched with a lot of heart," La Russa said. "You don't get in the postseason unless you have great starting pitching. But it was a unique and weird situation; the starters couldn't make a mistake and get away with it." Freese, who went 3-for-4 to pace the Cards' 14-hit attack, saluted the team's relief corps. "I wish we could do eight or nine of these and give them to the bullpen," he said while clutching the MVP trophy. "What they did, they really deserve this award." Left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski registered the win, while Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum, who was tagged for four runs in his lone inning of work, took the loss. Jason Motte closed it out in the ninth, setting off a group hug and chant of "Happy Flight, Happy Flight", in the middle of the diamond, repeating a theme that brought the Cardinals wins in their last 17 games on travel days. The Cardinals now travel home for the World Series opener after winning their 18th National League pennant. St Louis, who trailed Atlanta for the wild card by 101/2 games with one month to play, clinched the playoff berth on the last day of the regular season. "They never quit," said La Russa. "Once they got going, the guys played every game as if it were the last game of their lives." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

NBA lockout puts star focus on Euroleague Posted: 17 Oct 2011 03:47 AM PDT BELGRADE, Oct 17 — The cancellation of the first two weeks of games in the US National Basketball League (NBA) has left Europe's Euroleague, albeit temporarily, as the world's top club competition promising an exciting season. League owners and players in the NBA have been unable to resolve a labour dispute, meaning that the season will not start before November 14 and more games are under threat with a collective bargaining agreement still looking distant. Star quality of Europe: Panathinaikos players celebrate after defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Euroleague final in Barcelona, May 8, 2011. — Reuters pic Europe's premier club competition, which starts today with a curtain-raiser between six-times winners CSKA Moscow and Lithuanian team Zhalgiris Kaunas, has benefited as a result, with some top contenders bolstering their ranks. But Jordi Bertomeu, the Euroleague's chief executive officer, warned the exodus of NBA players to Europe was only temporary as most of them had pledged to return when the lockout across the Atlatnic ended. "Teams that have decided to sign players knowing they are likely to leave understand the risks, both good and bad," Bertomeu said on the Euroleague's official website. "The good one is that such a player will help win games while he's here, the bad one is that team chemistry will be difficult to maintain when a player leaves. "But fans new and old can expect to see great basketball, first and foremost. "The way our competition is structured, with almost no games that do not impact the standings in some way, the teams are playing for survival from the opening night." The top four teams from each of the four preliminary pools of six will advance to the second stage, featuring four groups of four, where the top two teams from each group will qualify for the business end of the competition. The knockout stage begins with best-of-five quarter-final series from which the winners advance to the Final Four, with this season's showpiece tournament set for Istanbul in May. Clear vision Anadolu Efes Istanbul, who were already boasting a stack of top European performers, have welcomed former Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, who joined the Turkish contenders from the New Jersey Nets. The Slovenian, part of the Lakers roster that won the NBA titles in 2009 and 2010, was delighted to have arrived at one of the favourites to reach this season's Euroleague Final Four in their own Sinan Erdem Arena. "I am very excited to be with a team with a great history, with a clear vision where they want to be in the Euroleague and what they want to accomplish," Vujacic said. "It's going to take a lot of hard work to adjust to the European game and adapt to it, but seven years in the NBA, 61/2 of them with the Lakers, helped me mature as a player and a person. "Like the NBA, it's a long season in the Euroleague; it's a marathon and not a sprint so what matters is not how you start but how you finish," said Vujacic, who signed a one-year deal with Efes with an option to extend. Efes start their campaign with tricky tie on Thursday at Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade, whose Pinoir Arena resembles a cauldron and is one of the most intimidating away courts for any opponents. Defending champions Panathinaikos Athens, whose squad has remained virtually intact, are at home to Spaniards Unicaja Malaga while last season's finalists Maccabi Tel Aviv are away to Emporio Armani Milan. Real Madrid, who have signed Dallas Mavericks forward Rudy Fernandez until the NBA lockout ends, visit Belgian champions Belgacom Spirou while bitter Spanish rivals Barcelona travel to Slovenians Olimpija Ljubljana. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Why Black Death was the mother of all plagues Posted: 17 Oct 2011 04:59 AM PDT Bubonic plague bacteria taken from a patient. Plague germs teased from mediaeval cadavers in a London cemetery have shed light on why the bacterium that unleashed the Black Death was so lethal and spawned later waves of epidemics. – AFP pic PARIS, Oct 17 – Plague germs teased from mediaeval cadavers in a London cemetery have shed light on why the bacterium that unleashed the Black Death was so lethal and spawned later waves of epidemics. The DNA of Yersinia pestis shows, in evolutionary terms, a highly successful germ to which the population of 14th-century Europe had no immune defences, according to a study published recently in the British journal Nature. It also lays bare a pathogen that has undergone no major genetic change over six centuries. "The Black Death was the first plague pandemic in human history," said Johannes Krause, lead researcher and a professor at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. "Humans were (immunologically) naive and not adapted to this disease," he said in an email exchange. No bug or virus has wiped out a greater proportion of humankind in a single epidemic than the Black Death. Brought to Europe from China, it scythed through the continent from 1347 to 1351, killing about 30 million people – about one in three of Europe's and nearly one in 12 of the world's population at the time. Remarkably, more recent variants of the bacterium hardly vary compared to the original microbe, says the paper. "Based on the reconstructed genome, we can say that the mediaeval plague is close to the root of all modern human pathogenic plague strains," said Krause. "The ancient plague strain does not carry a single position that cannot be found in the same state in modern strains." This deep similarity between ancient and modern plague calls into question the long-held assumption that virulence-enhancing mutations are what made Y. pestis so deadly to the Middle Ages. Like Native American Indians who were exposed to smallpox, Europeans had never been exposed to the bacterium, said Krause. "Plague was among the strongest sources of selection on the human population in the last few thousand years," he added. "People who were less susceptible due to mutations might have survived, and these (beneficial) mutations may have spread." Another likely factor that worsened the Black Death's toll was social conditions, which were far worse compared to the 18th or 19th centuries. Poverty and malnutrition were rampant, and even the concept of hygiene was non-existent. The onset of the so-called "Little Ice Age" could also have favoured the spread of the disease which, like many pathogens, travels more quickly in cold climes. The same goes for the rats that carried the blood-sucking insects – fleas or lice, perhaps both – that transmit the disease. Indeed, the species of rodent, Ratus ratus, that sowed terror across a continent in the 14th century is not the same as the one that transports plague today, Ratus norvegicus, Krause said. The 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic killed by some estimates 50 million people. In absolute terms, this was the deadliest pandemic in human history. But with a world population that was close to two billion, the toll in relative terms was far smaller than that of the Black Death, when the number of humans was in the hundreds of millions. The first outbreak of plague occurred in China more than 2,600 years ago before reaching Europe via Central Asia's "Silk Road" trade route, according to a molecular "family tree" – mapped out last year – of 17 Y. pestis strains. It then spread to Africa, probably by an expedition led by Chinese seafarer Zhang He in the 15th century. In the late 19th century, plague came to the United States from China, arriving in the ports of California via Hawaii, according to this evidence. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Green vegetables shown to help boost immune system Posted: 17 Oct 2011 12:02 AM PDT Eating green vegetables like broccoli has been shown to help regulate the immune system. — AFP pic CAMBRIDGE (England), Oct 17 — If you're constantly fightng off colds, tuck into a big bowl of greens. That's the conclusion of a new study from researchers at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, where scientists found that green vegetables turn out to be the source of a chemical signal that's important for a fully functioning immune system. The study, published online in the journal Cell October 13, found that these chemical signals ensure that immune cells in the gut and skin function properly. Known as intra-epithelial lymphocytes or IELs, the immune cells exist beneath another barrier of cells that cover inner and outer body surfaces and act as a first line of defence and help with wound repair. In lab experiments on mice, researchers found that a diet rich in green vegetables like broccoli or bok choy was found to help regulate this complex immune system, while the same was true of the reverse. After depriving mice of vegetables for three weeks, researchers said they found that 70 to 80 per cent of the protective cells disappeared. The weakened mice showed lower levels of antimicrobial proteins, heightened immune activation and were more vulnerable to injury. When researchers intentionally damaged the intestinal surface, for example, their bodies were slow to recover. The implications of their findings could help with conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, scientists say, which shares the same characteristics observed in the mice. Another study published last year in the British Medical Journal also found that eating more leafy green vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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NYC’s Occupy Wall Street: Democracy in action Posted: 16 Oct 2011 05:26 PM PDT OCT 17 — When hundreds of protestors were penned in with orange netting and arrested on Brooklyn Bridge earlier this month, I knew something big was brewing out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, now entering its fifth week. More than 700 people were arrested by the New York Police Department on October 1; the largest arrest of non-violent protestors in United States history. Their crime? Having the audacity to draw the world's attention to the inequities of corporate America. For a developed nation the statistics (mostly sourced from the US government's own data) make a sobering read: more than 14 million unemployed; 43.6 million live in poverty (annual earnings less than US$22,000 (RM70,400) for a family of four); one in six lives without healthcare coverage; as many as 3.5 million will experience homeless this year and a national debt exceeding US$14 trillion. Robert Carlson, who works in New York City's financial district, took a week's holiday to join the movement. — Pictures by Helen Hickey Set against this deeply-depressed economy, a grassroots movement of humble beginnings began on September 17 around the corner from Wall Street and its bankers, the recipients of numerous taxpayer-funded bailouts. I don't think anyone could have predicted that that first hundred or so people, with their wads of cardboard and Sharpie pen-markers, would spark a mass anti-austerity movement of tens of thousands not just in New York, but across America including Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. I grabbed my camera and headed down to the financial district's Zuccotti Park, now renamed "Liberty Square", as thousands — including several major labour unions that had just announced their unanimous support to the Occupy Wall Street movement — prepared to march to New York City Hall a week last Wednesday.  I arrived just after noon to a sea of placards, a band playing, and thousands milling around the small private park filled with ad hoc food canteens, spare clothes stalls, tarps, sleeping bags and an increasing number of camera crew. The march was scheduled to start at 4.30pm, just after Wall Street's closing bell marking the end of the business day. The "I-could-lose-my-job-for-having-a-voice" placard held by a young man with an American flag shoved down his back grabbed my attention. Without removing the green one dollar bill taped across his mouth, 25-year-old financier Robert J. Carlson said he had taken a week's holiday to join the movement because: "I want to raise awareness to some very serious economic issues that are happening in the world today, and to get leaders to talk about solutions before it is too late." He told me he had met nurses, doctors, professors, teachers, Wall Street bankers and "even two off-duty police officers" in the crowds over the past few days. These people are all "potentially sacrificing their jobs to participate in this peaceful movement — it's amazing that it has come to this," he added. A healthy cross-section of society; this is what I saw too. Hardly the picture painted by Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, of a movement fuelled by the great unwashed, unemployed or marijuana-smoking hippie-types (OK, I admit there were some). More moderate news outlets like CNN cautiously hedge their bets. While coverage from the traditionally liberal leaning The New York Times has ranged from outrageously dismissive (check out Ginia Bellafante's column of September 23) to the positively respectful, following President Obama's concession in a recent press conference that the movement might have a point: "I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel."   Dressed in pink scrubs, Tammy Vick, a 49-year-old medical secretary from Connecticut, said: "I've been waiting since the '80s and the [right-wing] Reaganomic-years for this movement to take place." It's finally happened: "I just had to come down here to voice out about the inequalities that is going on in this country." Vick recently lost her job after she lodged a complaint over unfair working conditions. I eavesdropped on an interview with a Californian construction worker wearing a hardhat and sporting a tattoo on his left arm reading "Union Ironworker Built America". Carl Armstrong, a 48-year-old Ironworkers Union member since 1996, joined the movement on Day Three after his job in lower Manhattan was postponed. The movement attracted a healthy cross-section of society, including this group of musicians. "I am very proud of my job, and I love what I do for a living... but if only America would wake up to the fact that the rich keep getting richer and the poor, poorer, and an increasing number of the middle classes are on the brink of poverty." These people "can't even pay their bills and feed their children" let alone pay their taxes, he added. He wants tax reform and Washington DC lobbyists to back the movement. A fresh-faced student, who went by the name of "Sugts", held a placard reading "Wall Street is Stealing the American Dream". The senior, about to graduate in economics and politics from Seaton Hall University, timorously confided that he was joining Wednesday's march because the economy is in such a mess that his "job prospects don't look at all good". He wasn't alone; two other students from the same university stood at his side. A class-action suit has been filed over the mass arrests on Brooklyn Bridge. Occupy Wall Street lawyers argue police invited them to march on the roadway, as opposed to the pedestrian crossing.  Rightly or wrongly the NYPD were just doing their job, albeit one helped along by a US$4.6 million gift recently given to New York City Police Foundation by JPMorgan Chase — the largest private donation ever received by foundation. As with this year's Arab Spring uprisings, the more democracy in action is suppressed the bigger the explosion of support. The Occupy Wall Street protests have gone global this weekend. Thousands have marched in anti-austerity protests in Rome, Madrid, Sydney and London. But what will become of this movement? Are we watching history unfold? Who knows. The only certainty right now is that the protestors are not ready to be silenced. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Nandurin Karang Awak Posted: 16 Oct 2011 04:28 PM PDT 17 OKT — Hakikat yang diketahui umum adalah bahawa karya-karya yang terbit dalam bahasa-bahasa utama seluruh dunia akan segera diterjemah ke Bahasa Indonesia. Langkah ini secara langsung dan tidak langsung membuka ruang serta peluang kepada penduduk di seluruh negara berkenaan membaca kandungan karya dari seluruh dunia dalam bahasa rasmi negara tersebut. Tentu sahaja tidak adil dan tidak wajar untuk membandingkan keadaan ini dengan realiti di Malaysia; walaupun Oktober diiktiraf Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan. Berbalik pada situasi di Indonesia, suatu lagi hakikat yang menarik dan wajar diberi perhatian adalah bahawa karya-karya yang ditulis dalam Bahasa Indonesia turut diterjemah ke bahasa-bahasa lain, khususnya Bahasa Inggeris. Dalam hal ini, saya tidak hanya bercakap mengenai karya-karya Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Putu Wijaya dan beberapa penulis vateran yang terkenal pada peringkat antarabangsa. Antologi 'Cultivate the Land Within' dilancarkan di Ubud, Bali. Novel "Laskar Pelangi" karya Andrea Hirata sudah diterjemah ke Bahasa Inggeris dan beberapa bahasa lain. Novel "Negeri 5 Menara" karya A. Fuadi yang dilancarkan pada 6 Oktober 2011 sempena Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) juga sudah diterjemah ke Bahasa Inggeris. Sebuah lagi buku yang menarik minat saya adalah antologi "Nandurin Karang Awak — Cultivate the Land Within" yang mengumpulkan prosa dan puisi karya 17 pengarang Indonesia yang menyertai UWRF. Majlis pelancaran dan pembacaan teks daripada antologi berkenaan berlangsung pada 9 Oktober di Warung Pulau Kelapa, Jalan Raya Sanggingan, Ubud, Bali. Selesai acara, saya berpeluang berbual bersama-sama Toni Pollard, seorang wanita Australia yang merupakan bekas guru Bahasa Indonesia dan kini menjadi perunding serta penterjemah bebas. Katanya, ini tahun keempat beliau terlibat dalam membantu kerja-kerja menterjemah karya Bahasa Indonesia ke Bahasa Inggeris bagi antologi khas sempena UWRF. "Saya bangga dapat memberi sumbangan ke arah memperkenalkan hasil karya penulis Indonesia kepada khalayak lebih besar," katanya. Suatu perkara yang menarik perhatian saya adalah bahawa Toni tidak melakukan terjemahan secara langsung. Sebaliknya beliau menggunakan teknik tertentu yang saya percaya wajar juga dipelajari dan dipraktikkan di Malaysia. "Saya akan membaca seluruh cerpen dan kemudian menulis terjemahannya menggunakan tulisan tangan. Semasa menaipnya kemudian, saya kemaskan lenggok bahasa supaya sesuai dengan gaya penulisan karya Bahasa Inggeris. "Selepas membaca dan menyunting beberapa kali, saya akan serahkan manuskrip Bahasa Inggeris sahaja kepada orang lain untuk perhatikan sama ada mereka boleh membaca dan menghayati keindahan kandungan karya itu," wanita berkenaan menceritakan. Sering kali Toni selaku penterjemah berpengalaman perlu membuat beberapa keputusan penting, khususnya berhubung perkataan-perkataan dalam bahasa tempatan serta istilah tertentu yang menggambarkan budaya setempat. "Ada kalanya saya mengubah judul karya supaya sesuai dengan versi terjemahan dan khalayak pembaca karya Bahasa Inggeris. Ramai juga penterjemah yang selalu meletakkan nota kaki untuk menerangkan perkataan, istilah atau frasa dalam bahasa tempatan. "Saya ingin menasihatkan penterjemah supaya menggunakan terus istilah Bahasa Inggeris kerana nota kaki dan glosari mengganggu proses penghayataan sebuah karya sastera," Toni memberi panduan. Saya yakin pada panduan dan saranan yang diberikan oleh wanita berkenaan kerana beliau berpengalaman sebagai guru Bahasa Indonesia selama 44 tahun di beberapa sekolah menengah di Australia. Toni juga menjadi pensyarah selama 12 tahun di University of Western Sydney, sebelum bersara enam tahun lalu. Sejak itu, beliau menjadi penterjemah profesional. Satu lagi sikap terpuji Toni adalah bahawa beliau menjadi tenaga sukarelawan bagi menjayakan UWRF dan penterjemah karya bagi antologi "Cultivate the Land Within". Antara karya dalam antologi itu yang diterjemah oleh Toni adalah "Weddings of Defiance" iaitu petikan novel "Nika Baronta" karya Alan Malingi dan "Hongkong" iaitu petikan novel "Sebongkah Tanah Retak" karya Rida Fitria. Toni turut menterjemah "Surat Berdarah untuk Presiden" tulisan Jaladara sebagai "A Blood Stained Letter to the President" dan petikan novel "Rumah Debu" karya Sandi Firly iaitu "The Long Night". Cerpen "Lali Panggora" karya Saut Poltak Tambunan pula diterjemahkannya menjadi "The Hawk That Heralds Death" kerana bagi Toni, judul dalam versi Bahasa Inggeris perlu sesuai dan menepati kandungan cerita. UWRF kali ini disertai sekitar 130 penulis dari 27 negara dan hampir 170 acara berlangsung di 57 lokasi. Walaupun khalayak yang menghadiri majlis pelancaran dan pembacaan teks "Cultivate the Land Within" tidak ramai, penerbitan buku itu amat bermakna. Tambahan pula, pengasas UWRF, Janet De Neefe berkata, antologi dwibahasa berjudul "Reasons for Harmony" (2008), "Compassion and Solidarity" (2009), "Harmony in Diversity" (2010) dan "Cultivate the Land Within" (2011) terbitan Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati dengan kerjasama HiVOS dihantar ke pelbagai universiti, pusat penulisan dan perpustakaan di Indonesia dan seluruh dunia. "Saya amat suka melakukan kerja-kerja terjemahan kerana memang mencabar untuk 'mencipta' semula sebuah karya seni atau sastera seorang pengarang ke dalam bentuk lain atau bahasa lain untuk dihayati khalayak dengan latar budaya yang lain," kata Toni yang tinggal di Paddington, New South Wales. Toni Pollard berasal dari Australia. Tentu sahaja amat menarik untuk mendengar penjelasan Toni bahawa karya yang diterjemah ke Bahasa Inggeris (atau mana-mana bahasa lain) perlu mampu berdiri sendiri. Maknanya, pembaca perlu berupaya membaca, memahami dan menghayati karya berkenaan tanpa perlu membaca atau memahami karya dalam bahasa asal. Sebagai pembaca tegar karya-karya sastera yang diterjemah ke Bahasa Inggeris daripada bahasa-bahasa utama dunia, saya amat bersetuju dengan pandangan dan pendirian Toni dalam hal ini. Mungkin ada pihak yang mengatakan bahawa Toni (dan saya) "membunuh" keaslian karya asal kerana menyokong usaha terjemahan "konteks" cerita berbanding terjemahan "perkataan demi perkataan". Dalam hal ini, saya ingin melihat secara khusus pada pengarang yang karya mereka dimuatkan dalam antologi "Cultivate the Land Within". Saya berpeluang bertemu mereka serta mendengar mereka berkongsi pengalaman menerusi beberapa sesi diskusi. Rata-rata mereka bukan menutur dan pembaca karya Bahasa Inggeris. Mujurlah mereka memahami bahawa apabila karya yang mereka tulis dalam Bahasa Indonesia diterjemah ke Bahasa Inggeris, aspek "pemahaman" khalayak perlu diambil kira. Kita perlu faham bahawa khalayak yang membaca karya dalam versi terjemahan itu mungkin tidak tahu Bahasa Indonesia dan mungkin tidak tahu adat, budaya dan latar masyarakat di Indonesia. Maka, Toni bukan setakat "menterjemah" karya-karya itu supaya sesuai bagi khalayak pada peringkat antarabangsa. Sebaliknya, beliau "menyesuaikan" dan "mengadaptasikan" karya berkenaan supaya mampu dibaca, difahami dan dihayati masyarakat di seluruh pelosok dunia. "Saya tidak bermaksud hendak 'membunuh' karya itu. Sebaliknya saya berusaha membantu khalayak umum memahami kehebatan karya dan budaya Indonesia," katanya dengan penuh bersemangat. Betapa baik jika semangat yang sama dapat dikongsi pelbagai pihak (individu dan organisasi) di Malaysia dalam usaha menterjemah karya Bahasa Tamil dan Mandarin ke Bahasa Malaysia; serta karya ketiga-tiga bahasa itu ke Bahasa Inggeris. Saya yakin bahawa semangat "Nandurin Karang Awak" UWRF yang dipetik daripada sebuah gaguritan (puisi tradisional) karya sasterawan terkenal Bali, Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen, boleh turut memberi inspirasi kepada penduduk pelbagai kaum dan agama di Malaysia. Selamat menyambut Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan! Om shanti shanti shanti. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Penulis Indonesia gemar menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Bayi dengan kesan kelaran ditemui di asrama sekolah Posted: 17 Oct 2011 02:45 AM PDT BETONG, 17 Okt – Seorang bayi perempuan yang dipercayai dilahirkan semalam ditemui mati dengan kesan kelaran di bilik asrama perempuan sebuah sekolah menengah di sini hari ini. Susulan kejadian itu, polis menahan seorang pelajar perempuan berusia 16 tahun pada 9.15 pagi ini bagi membantu siasatan. "Selepas menerima laporan daripada pihak sekolah, pasukan Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Betong ke lokasi kejadian dan menemui seorang bayi perempuan yang sudah meninggal dengan beberapa kesan luka di bahagian leher, perut dan belakang badan," kata  Pemangku Ketua Polis Daerah Betong ASP Hendry Nyuhai dipetik Bernama Online. Beliau berkata mayat bayi itu ditemui terbaring bersebelahan katil pelajar perempuan berkenaan. Katanya polis turut merampas sebilah pisau yang ditemui disorokkan dalam selimut di tempat kejadian. Pelajar perempuan itu dihantar ke Hospital Umum Betong bagi mendapat rawatan, manakala kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 302 Kanun Keseksaan. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Malaysia bakal lewati had hutang, Anwar cabar Najib debat Posted: 17 Oct 2011 02:10 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Okt – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata kritikan Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang melabel Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2012 sebagai "belanjawan Republikan aliran kanan yang gagal memahami kehendak rakyat" adalah sesuatu yang dangkal. Malah Anwar (gambar) berkata, kenyataan itu membuktikan Najib mengelak dari isu asas yang menjangkiti pentadbiran beliau seumpama tadbir urus yang goyah, rasuah berleluasa dan dasar Barisan Nasional yang memperkaya keluarga dan kroni. Sehubungan itu Ketua Pembangkang berkata, beliau mempelawa Najib berdebat berkaitan kedudukan ekonomi negara dan persoalan berkaitan belanjawan. "Debat tersebut seharusnya disiarkan secara langsung dan ditayangkan melalui televisyen ke seluruh negara. Semenjak Pakatan Rakyat melancarkan Buku Jingga pada 2010, saya sudah pun mempelawa Datuk Seri Najib untuk berdebat," kata beliau dalam satu kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini. Anwar yang juga Ketua Umum PKR berkata wacana umum antara Pakatan Rakyat dan pentadbiran beliau pastinya memberi manfaat tidak terhingga kepada rakyat terutamanya ketika ekonomi negara memasuki wilayah yang tidak dikenali serta kegagalan pentadbiran beliau untuk melonjak ekonomi Malaysia. "Sewajarnya Datuk Seri Najib Razak perihatin terhadap kebimbangan meluas berkaitan kenaikan kadar hutang negara, bukannya mengejek kekhuatiran tersebut," kata beliau. Bekas timbalan perdana menteri dan bekas menteri kewangan ini berkata kadar hutang negara ditetapkan oleh pelbagai peruntukan undang-undang. Antara peruntukan tersebut adalah Akta Pinjaman (Tempatan) 1959 (Pindaan 2004) dan Akta Pelaburan Kerajaan 1983, yang menetapkan gabungan pinjaman tempatan tidak boleh melewati kadar 55 peratus dari KDNK Negara. "Manakala Akta Pinjaman Luar Negeri 1963 (Pindaan) mengehadkan pinjaman luar negeri pada RM35,000 juta pada sesuatu masa. "Selain dari kadar yang ditetapkan oleh peruntukan undang-undang, Perbendaharaan juga mengenakan peraturan ketat untuk diikuti demi mengukuhkan displin fiskal," kata beliau sambil berkata, "amalan ini, malah ditetapkan sebelum dari saya menjadi Menteri Kewangan lagi." Sebagai contoh perbelanjaan pengurusan untuk tahun terbabit tidak boleh melebihi unjuran pendapatan, katanya. Begitu juga pinjaman yang dibuat kerajaan hanya untuk dibelanjakan demi pembangunan, tambah beliau. "Oleh itu, wacana umum berkaitan kadar hutang negara kini menjadi persoalan undang-undang dan berkepentingan nasional, apatah lagi pentadbiran Datuk Seri Najib kini hampir melanggari kadar hutang negara yang dihadkan undang-undang serta cuba untuk menyembunyikannya dari pengetahuan umum," katanya. Menurut Anwar, laporan terkini Bank Negara menunjukkan hutang negara kini berada pada RM437,000 juta pada suatu tempoh yang berakhir pada 30 Jun 2011. Jumlah tersebut merupakan pecahan dari RM421,000 juta hutang tempatan dan RM16,000 juta hutang luar negara. Ini bermaksud negara kini sudah berada pada 51 peratus dari nisbah hutang tempatan kepada KDNK negara, sepertimana yang ditetapkan oleh undang-undang,  yang hanya membenarkan tambahan hutang sebanyak RM 33,000 juta. "Oleh itu berdasarkan fakta ini adalah jelas kerajaan tidak mempunyai dana secukupnya untuk membiayai perbelanjaan selebihnya bagi 2011 dan defisit RM46,000 juta untuk dibiayai oleh hutang lebihan sebagaimana yang diumumkan dalam Belanjawan 2012," kata Anwar lagi. Menurut beliau, rakyat sedar unjuran pertumbuhan sebanyak lima hingga enam peratus yang diumumkan Najib dalam belanjawannya tidak tepat dan berkemungkinan besar pentadbirannya terpaksa bergantung kepada hutang demi membiayai janji janji pilihan rayanya. "Oleh itu debat serta wacana awam berkaitan ekonomi merupakan sesuatu yang mendesak terutamanya ketika pentadbiran Datuk Seri Najib Razak mengumumkan data ekonomi yang tidak meyakinkan dan sagu hati pilihan raya yang pastinya tidak mampu melonjak ekonomi negara. "Akan tetapi sekiranya Datuk Seri Najib Razak merasakan agenda ekonomi beliau mampu memberi manfaat kepada rakyat, adalah mustahak agar beliau memperincikannya kepada umum termasuklah menyatakan alasan mengapa beliau gagal melaksanakan perubahan struktur ekonomi secara menyeluruh termasuklah melaksanakan gaji minimum sejagat kepada seluruh pekerja dan merungkai monopoli di sektor barangan serta perkhidmatan awam," katanya. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Van Persie double fires Arsenal to victory Posted: 16 Oct 2011 07:56 AM PDT Van Persie celebrates his second goal against Sunderland. — Reuters pic MANCHESTER, Oct 16 — Robin van Persie struck twice as Arsenal began to repair the damage from their poor start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 victory at home to Sunderland today. Arsenal went ahead with less than 30 seconds on the clock when Gervinho surged down the left and crossed for Van Persie, who shot into the bottom corner. The hosts then dominated with a confidence they have struggled to find this season before letting Sunderland into the game when Mikel Arteta conceded a free kick that Seb Larsson struck beautifully over the wall to equalise against his former club on 31 minutes. Arsenal had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to thank when his point-blank save denied an unmarked Lee Cattermole's header shortly before halftime and they had to wait until eight minutes from time for Van Persie to snatch the victory. The Dutchman more than matched the quality of Larsson's free kick with one of his own that curled over the wall and into the goal to lift Arsenal up to 10th in the league with only their third victory in eight games. Defeat leaves Sunderland just above the relegation zone in 17th and turns up the heat on already under-fire manager Steve Bruce. Earlier in the day, West Bromwich Albion claimed the Midlands bragging rights with a 2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The hosts took an early lead through Chris Brunt, whose first-time shot flew into the roof of the net in the eighth minute after he was set up by Billy Jones. Wolves had chances to level in an open game with Roger Johnson heading wide midway through the second half but West Brom secured the points when substitute Peter Odemwingie drove a low shot into the bottom corner on 75 minutes. Victory propelled Roy Hodgson's side out of the relegation zone to 12th in the table, while Wolves hover one point above the drop area in 16th. Newcastle United will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur later in the day. Manchester City overtook champions Manchester United at the top of the table yesterday with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa after United could only draw 1-1 at Liverpool. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Murray wins in Shanghai to overtake Federer in rankings Posted: 16 Oct 2011 05:19 AM PDT Shanghai Master Murray . . . No. 3 in the world. — Reuters pic SHANGHAI, Oct 16 — Andy Murray beat Spain's David Ferrer 7-5, 6-4 to claim the Shanghai Masters tennis title today and move ahead of Swiss Roger Federer in the rankings for the first time in his career. The victory completed a stunning Asian hat-trick for Murray, and allowed the seemingly unstoppable Scot to leapfrog 16-times grand slam champion Federer into third spot to secure his career-best end-of-year world ranking. Murray's 25th victory from 26 matches sends Federer out of the top three for the first time in eight years. Murray has now won three titles in as many weeks on the Asian swing of the ATP World Tour — his best winning streak — after his victories in Bangkok and Tokyo. The defending champion broke the third-seeded Ferrer in the first game but a catalogue of errors then undermined his hard work. Ferrer, hoping for revenge for his 6-2, 6-3 semi-final loss to Murray last weekend, double-faulted with the first set poised at 5-5. Murray leapt on the error and produced a pair of aces to secure the set. World No. 5 Ferrer was seeking his first Masters title but his hopes were dashed by an increasingly dominant Murray, who ran him ragged for much of the second set. The Briton lobbed to break Ferrer at 1-1, broke again to repel the Spaniard's last-ditch rally, and finished off the match with a sizzling forehand. — Reuter Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Former Bollywood heroines return to limelight Posted: 15 Oct 2011 11:25 PM PDT Dixit and her contemporaries believe the time is now right for older actresses to have more meaningful and mature roles. — AFP pic MUMBAI, Oct 16 — Bollywood heroines from decades gone by are making a return, defying the traditional career trajectory that consigned older, married Indian actresses to more minor roles or even retirement. Most prominent among the comeback queens is Madhuri Dixit, 44, once a top female lead in the popular Hindi-language movie industry, who moved to the United States after tying the knot. Also returning to the screen are Dixit's rival Sridevi, plus sirens Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor. The four women were among the biggest names in cinema through the 1980s and 1990s. Mainstream Bollywood heroines — objects of desire for millions of cinema-goers — have historically tended to be young and unmarried, with few, if any, bagging leading roles after settling down and having children. But Dixit and her contemporaries believe the time is now right for older actresses to have more meaningful and mature roles as the country's economy expands, changing attitudes and expectations. "Our society is changing and so are the attitudes of people," said Dixit, best known for her role as a dancer in the 1988 film "Tezaab" (Acid). "The subjects of our films have changed dramatically compared to 10 years ago. I feel there is a lot to do for actresses like me in the film industry. The audience tastes too have matured." Dixit, who has moved back to Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, from Denver, Colorado, is starting relatively small, signing up as a judge on an Indian reality television show and as the host of a programme on a food channel. But she is said to be considering offers once her family is settled. She was last seen in "Aaja Nachle" (Come, Dance) in 2007. The film was marketed as her Bollywood comeback but it failed at the box office. After leaving India for the United States in 1999, she appeared in only a handful of movies. Sridevi, now 48, last appeared in "Judaai" (Separation) in 1997. She has lost weight to stand a chance of leading roles in the image-conscious industry and has begun shooting a new film, "English Vinglish". She told the Sunday Mid-day newspaper in an interview that she had enjoyed raising her two children at home and felt "nervous and excited" about returning to the film industry, but that it felt like she had never been away. Sridevi is married to the film producer Boney Kapoor. Raveena Tandon, hardly over the hill at 36, made her comeback, after having children, in this year's "Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap" (Your Dad's Ancient), starring the evergreen male actor Amitabh Bachchan, who turned 69 this week. Karisma Kapoor, 37 and now a mother of two, is in line for her comeback in the 3D horror film "Dangerous Ishq" (Dangerous Love). She has also performed a song-and-dance sequence for the film "Housefull 2", due out next year. Karishma's sister Kareena — the long-term partner of top Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan — believes the old rules about actresses no longer apply. The 31-year-old said she wants to emulate her heroine, US actress Meryl Streep, who has stayed at the top of the business for decades. "I'd like to do some heavy-duty performance-oriented films," she told the Times of India newspaper in a recent interview. "I'm a Meryl Streep fan and I think age or marital status can never be a deterrent for an actor. The only thing that one needs is passion." — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

A Minute With: Shah Rukh Khan Posted: 15 Oct 2011 08:56 PM PDT MUMBAI, Oct 16 — It doesn't look like Shah Rukh Khan needs any super powers to promote his home production "Ra.One". Khan, 45, has been on a promotional spree, tying up with almost every major brand, releasing movie merchandise and games centred on the superhero film. The actor (picture) spoke to Reuters about "Ra.One" and the film's marketing strategy. Q: You've promoted this film on a lot of digital platforms. How important is the digital platform now? A: "I think it's important because as a producer, it becomes the most viable medium internationally. While the physical marketing also happens because we have press conferences, for me, it's a good mix. And also, each of our digital partners has a great 'onground' marketing strategy. So it becomes very symbiotic. We can create a new space for entertainment, business." Q: The marketing for "Ra.One" hasn't followed a set pattern. You created a buzz around the film almost a year ago. Could you talk us through the strategy? A: "I had a very clear of how we'll market it. The first clarity was that we won't have too many images of the film. I didn't want it to be cluttered. I didn't want it to be a hero and a heroine and their son. This is a superhero film and we had to introduce that. Whether people like it or not, my marketing thought is if you keep something in front of people for too long, they get used to it. So there was this big fear — when my costume comes out and me with blue eyes, will it be liked? Small considerations like this which you don't think about while making the film, but when it comes out, people say, 'you know what, your dadhee (beard) isn't working at all'. "It happened to me in 'Chak De'. The first time I came on TV in the promo, I got a message saying 'aap behuda aur ugly lagte hain. Ye film flop hai' (You look ugly. This film is a flop) … But if you live with it long enough, you accept it. I mean you've lived with me long enough and people have accepted me, so I'm OK with that. So I said the costume should come out first — people will say it's blue, it's tight, x, y, z but they'll get used to it." "So we started in December and the first image was in all the papers and it was head mast. It should be in your face and it was so big that if you had to like it, you saw all the details and if you had to dislike it, you saw all the details. So we lived with it for a month, we kept quiet after that, we didn't talk much about he film — there wasn't much to talk. We kept quiet in February, because we were working on what to do and where to place this film, because this is a family film. When we started this film, the idea was can we make an Aziz Mirza-ish film, about a husband, wife and child and then suddenly blow everyone's mind when they start fighting. But the film should be a very simple Basu Chatterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind of a film. So there were two films in one — the people who like the action, they'll like it and those who like a family film, will like it too. And I've always made family films." "By March, we decided to get into a partnership with ESPN Star, which is a very long partnership, till December. Fortunately for us, the India-Pakistan semi-finals happened, so the publicity broke at the right time and we got a lucky break. But I wanted it to be on channels which youngsters watch plus sports, like soccer and cricket. We began there, because talking about it in between 'Balika Vadhu' may not have struck the right chord. Of course, now we are in the 'Balika Vadhu' stage. Now we are all over the place (laughs). Wherever the women are, we are there — that is the last phase. "And the third part was the song. With the second image — of the girl — make it a little more mass-y, to let you know about the language of the film and that it is about a family. Final thing is do what the digital world likes … Gaming came in, we spoke to Sony. We decided to do merchandising." "I really didn't want to do any interviews for this film. You know why, because I don't want to tell you that this movie has a hero or a heroine. I want to tell you that this movie has merchandise or that it's on a McDonald's Happy Meal. If you like McDonalds, you'll see 'Ra. One' there or if you open a Coke, you'll see 'Ra.One' there. "That's the kind of association I want. Instead of me going to four press conferences and say there's a boy, there's a girl, there's a son. There's a bad guy who comes out of the TV and there's a good guy who comes to beat him. The good guy wins. And there is 'Chammak Challo'. The movie is over. I've done enough films to know that that is all you will want to know about this film. So I don't want to do any interviews. I've told Kareena to do them. I told her you do all the regular Page 3s, and talk about your role and give your pictures and say how nice 'Chammak Challo' is and how pretty you look and all that." "And my last strategy was that I don't want any one to know what the bad guy looks like. You see it in the film. The film is called 'Ra.One' but no one knows what Ra One looks like. Last week before the film releases, we'll let everyone know what he looks like. It's not going to shake the earth, but all the facets are being revealed as a picture puzzle being peeled off." Q: Was there any apprehension there would be an overkill of the movie and the brand? A: "I don't know if that happens. I don't think you dislike something because it's in your face. The reason we didn't do regular publicity is so that it doesn't become the same kind. The last rung of publicity will be city tours — where I want to go to every interior, small city which we normally don't go to and talk to the press there. I want to explain this film that it is a new idea, a new concept — and it can fall flat. I want to tell them that at the heart of it, it's a very simple film." Q: You've obviously worked very hard on this film. How much is at stake here? A: "I don't really have much to prove. I can easily go in a comfort zone, make two films a year, hype them because I've signed them as a star, make them cheap and they will be big hits. I've done that for 20 years and I'd like to do that now. I'd like to do a small film that will be a superhit on the day it releases. In all this, many days I sit down, especially when I was injured, and I think — when I came from Delhi, what was it that made me a star? When I think back on it, of course I got lucky and got great directors and good breaks but all that was the physical part. But what made me a star was that I could take a chance and not have anything to worry about in terms of losing." "I used to have fear. 'Is it going to be a hit? Is it a good set-up?' — and it bothers me to be so fearful. That when I had nothing I wasn't scared of anything and when I have everything, I am what my son says a 'scary-poo'. So I don't want that. I want to be in a space where I take a chance. It's not about the money or the technology or the newness. It's all of this and more. Yes, I am overworked, I am impatient, but I am not scared. I want to know if I can take chance when I don't need to. That's the beauty of this film. "I want to be in a space where I can answer in 2012, when someone asks me 'when was the last time you did something for the first time?' I can say 'just now, three months ago'. It's been too long since I did something for the first time, so I want to do that and go back to romancing girls." Q: You've said you want to know what the youth think of this film. A lot of studios are now making youth-oriented films, targeting the college-going crowd. What do you think of this? A: "I think it's all, forgive me, nonsense. Maybe I am outdated and wrong — I'll find out. I keep hearing my own directors saying 'youth film banate hai' (let's make a youth film). You can't keep making 'American Pie'. What do we take youth to be? Stupid? Unintelligent? They are the guys who came out for Anna Hazare and with some kind of sensibility. They may not understand the whole anti-corruption drive but they understand what's good for the nation. We are stupid to think that all they like is lemon popsicle. Let's make a film where everyone is wearing tight jeans and in a nightclub. I think that's completely silly. They'll work if they are good films, but the reason won't be because they are 'youthful, zany' films." "I've been young and I didn't think I should go out and watch stupid films. Youngsters are the most discerning audience. They want entertainment, they want issues. That's why '3 Idiots' was a huge hit. It didn't have young actors with due respect. It's not that everybody wants to be an engineer. It didn't have youngsters jumping around, but it worked. Youngsters want to take back something more than just a bag of popcorn." "'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' was about young people who had issues. Yes, they are travelling, they are saying funny things but they also mean business. You know, someone was saying to me the other day, why would a Hindi film hero run away from a cow? Because that's what they are doing in the film. But that's a 70s concept. But today's youth don't find that funny. In old films, you try telling a hero that he has to run away from a cow. No way." Q: As someone who puts a lot of thought into marketing his films, what is the one thing you live by when marketing films? A: "Two aspects. One, you need to tell people before they spend 300 rupees what the film is about. So my guilt is over. I told you my film had this. I am not hiding behind my stylish trailers. A lot of times my directors say, let's just attract people with trailers. No, I think you should tell the story. When you buy a saree, you have the choice to feel the fabric and try it. Why should a film be any different? If you don't like it later, I am sorry but I informed you before. "And the second part of marketing should be telling those people who don't plan to see the film to see the film. I find it really stupid that I should have to sell my film to you, when you are already going to watch it. You have a regular audience which comes to see the film. So the guys who like superheroes will come. I have to tell that grandmother that this movie has a 'Ra.One' and please come to watch it. The language is a little different, but I have explained it. So please come to watch it with your grandchildren. I don't want to sell the film to those who are already sold. "The traditional platforms will always be there, but the non-traditional ones are to attract the ones who don't want to watch it. If there are ten people in this country who hate Shah Rukh Khan, I want those ten people to come and see it — then I am increasing my base." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Bird’s nest boom has Malaysian producers drooling Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:45 PM PDT SITIAWAN, Oct 16 — Thousands of swiftlets erupt from their roosts, swirling into a brightening dawn in a riotous ritual that announces the start of each day in this coastal town in northern Malaysia. But the tiny birds emerge not from natural cave roosts, but from a purpose-built swiftlet "farm" resembling an industrial building that affords easy access to the valuable nests used in bird's nest soup. Such farms are at the centre of a Malaysian effort to capitalise on the growing world popularity of the soup, a delicacy believed in Chinese society to be an aphrodisiac and provide a range of health benefits. A man holds a bird at a swiftlet farm in Penang. — AFP/Relaxnews pic Strong demand for the so-called "Caviar of the East" from newly wealthy consumers in China and India and in the Middle East is fuelling unprecedented new growth in a world market estimated by Malaysia's government at more than US$6 billion (RM18.8 billion). "The Middle East is our new market. They are feeding bird's nest soup to racehorses to make them run faster," said Loke Yeu Loong, managing director of the swiflet farm in the rural coastal town of Sitiawan. "At the moment, demand outstrips supply." The cup-shaped collections of twigs are held together by dried swiftlet saliva, which is made into a gelatinous soup credited in China with everything from alleviating asthma to arresting the ageing process. In 2009, world production reached 3,750 tonnes, 75 per cent of which came from Indonesia. Thailand and Malaysia, where the birds also are found in huge numbers, produced most of the rest. But safety and environmental concerns have forced a move away from the caves and disused buildings where swiftlets roost, and Malaysian harvesters are today building thousands of surrogate homes for the birds. Loke opened his first dedicated swiftlet farm in 2009 — several block-long rows of neatly designed three-storey buildings with sealed doors and windows and hollow interiors — outside Sitiawan in Perak state. Enticed by swiftlet mating songs played from loudspeakers, the birds enter via small openings and build their nests. From just a few hundred individual bird houses in the late 1990s, there are now about 50,000 in Malaysia, according to the government. Malaysia produced about 275 tonnes of bird's nest in 2010, worth some RM1.5 billion, and the government projects output growing to 500 tonnes by 2020. Demand has pushed the average price of a kilogramme of Malaysia bird's nest to RM4,000 today, four times what it was 20 years ago. "Obviously at present we can't meet the huge growing consumer demand for edible bird's nest," Loke said. His firm, Swiftlet Eco Park, is now developing or planning 14 other sites nationwide and aims to become Malaysia's top producer. The Malaysian industry hatched in the 1980s but gained momentum after the 1997 Asian financial crisis left many property developments abandoned or unfinished. Resourceful entrepreneurs capitalised on this — and the lack of industry regulation — to use many such sites as swiftlet farms. But they ran into opposition amid complaints that the recorded bird song disturbed human residents and that droppings posed a potential health threat in the avian flu era. Calls for regulation have grown louder. As a result, government officials say authorities have stopped approving new farms in urban areas and that legislation expected soon would ban them except in rural zones. Environmentalists criticise the repeated snatching of the birds' diligently built nests, often before they can lay their eggs, as cruel to the swiftlets. "Our major concern is the distress caused to the birds," said Mohamad Idris, president of the Malaysian branch of Friends of the Earth. Mohamad Noorhisham, head of swiflet supervision for Malaysia's veterinary services agency, said legislation expected next year would ensure safe, sustainable and bird-friendly development of the industry. Among other things, it will outlaw harvesting of nests containing chicks. "We want the industry to be environmentally and people-friendly," he said. But with the birds plentiful -- the government does not have precise figures — and processed nests fetching high prices, the growth looks to continue. Five years ago, swiftlet farmer John Peor had a handful of the purpose-built structures. Today, his firm Yenzheka Technology has more than 60, producing about 200 kilogrammes of nests per month for export to Hong Kong and China. He hopes to raise monthly output to 500 kilogrammes. "Buyers book in advance. I sell processed bird's nest for anything between RM8,000 and RM15,000 per kilogramme, depending on the grade," he said. Producers and veterinary officials say that while concerns must be addressed, farming is more sustainable. "In cave harvesting, where they bid huge sums of money to secure the right to harvest the bird's nest, they need to harvest as many nests as possible," Loke said, adding that meant chicks or eggs were often destroyed. Loke says his firm does not destroy chicks or eggs, viewing them as the seeds of future growth. — AFP/Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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