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Bradley storms to early lead in Shanghai Posted: 03 Nov 2011 08:36 AM PDT Keegan Bradley of the US tees off on the 10th hole during the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions golf tournament in Shanghai November 3, 2011. – Reuters pic SHANGHAI, Nov 3 – American Keegan Bradley shot a seven under par 65 to open up a two-shot first round lead at the WGC Champions tournament at the Sheshan International Club today. Sharing second place after they carded 67s were Swedish duo players Alex Noren and Freddie Jacobson and another American Bo Van Pelt. Bradley, 25, earned his first US Tour card a year ago by winning a second tier Nationwide Tour event in South Carolina and is already ranked 30th in the world on the back of his surprise triumph in the US PGA in August. "I feel like I have to pinch myself out here because of what's been going on" said Bradley, who outplayed world number two Lee Westwood by four shots in a round which included five birdies and an eagle at the par five 18th. "To go out in a strong group and play like that on this course is very rewarding and means a lot to me." Bradley got off to a fast start off the 10th tee, holing a three foot birdie putt and picking up another shot at the par five 14th. He then soared to the top of the leaderboard with an eagle at the 18th, taking on the water in front of the green with a three iron and holing out from 20 feet. Westwood had kept within touching distance until that point with an eagle at the 14th, where his second shot hit the flag and left him with a tap in. But he later slipped back with successive bogeys at the fifth and sixth. While the Englishman felt that the thick, humid atmosphere in Shanghai had affected his ball flight and made judging the distance to hit shots more difficult, Bradley had no such problems. Should the American go on to win the final World Golf Championship event of 2011 it will increase his chances of being voted The US Tour's Player of the Year at Luke Donald's expense after the world number one and this year's PGA leading moneywinner chose to stay at home in Chicago awaiting the birth of his second child. "Maybe I made Luke nervous today," he laughed. "I know there is a lot on the line and some awards to be won. But I just hope to keep playing well and let those fall where they fall." Donald could also see his €1.3 million (RM5.62 million) lead in the European money list halved on Sunday should Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy come through to triumph in Shanghai. However, the US Open champion was five shots off the first round pace after shooting a 70. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Manchesters united in Champions League improvement Posted: 03 Nov 2011 08:01 AM PDT (L to R) Manchester United's Michael Carrick, Danny Welbeck, Anderson, and Ryan Giggs react after FC Basel's Alexander Frei (unseen) scored during their Champions League Group C soccer match at Old Trafford in Manchester September 27, 2011. The two Manchester clubs have applied everything they learnt in October's stunning derby to getting themselves on track for the Champions League knockout stage. – Reuters pic MANCHESTER, Nov 3 – The two Manchester clubs have applied everything they learnt in last month's stunning derby to getting themselves on track for the Champions League knockout stage with City continuing to attack relentlessly and United tightening up at the back. The 6-1 mauling by City at Old Trafford showed up United's defensive frailties and Alex Ferguson's side have since strung together three successive wins with clean sheets, including yesterday's 2-0 European win over Otelul Galati. The victory lifted them to the top of Group C and within touching distance of the last 16, while City's 3-0 win at Villarreal in Group A put them one victory away from the next round as both clubs have recovered from indifferent starts. Scoring at least three goals a game has become run of the mill for City, who have managed that in six of their last seven matches. After a draw and defeat in their opening group games, they have brought their league form on to the European stage. "We had 65 per cent of ball possession, we scored three goals. I think this was important for our confidence," City manager Roberto Mancini told reporters. "I think we have improved, not just in the Champions League. It is important for us to go in the second stage, then everything can happen with us because we are a good team. We can improve a lot in the next month." His side travel to third-placed Napoli in their next game later this month and a win would put them through. They then play at home to leaders Bayern Munich in December. United can also wrap up qualification in their next game, when last season's runners-up host Benfica who are level on eight points. Ferguson's side made a lacklustre start to their campaign, despite being in a more straightforward group than City on paper, drawing their first two games before labouring to two 2-0 victories over Galati. PLUS SIGNS They have lacked City's sparkle but in true United fashion are getting the job done, with Ferguson taking their defensive improvements as a good sign. "I am pleased our work rate was very good, we didn't lose any goals and that is an important factor at the moment because there has been a lot of criticism of the team in terms of defending this season," he told reporters. "These are plus signs for us. That is three games in a row without conceding a goal so that is a step forward for us." United's vulnerability has stemmed from injuries that have meant Ferguson has been unable to field a regular back four, while also a tendency to take a rather cavalier approach to attacking when already trailing such as in the derby. There was no such problem yesterday where centre back Rio Ferdinand, stepping in for suspended captain Nemanja Vidic, kept control of his young defensive team mates and barely let the Romanians through. While United defender Phil Jones said "it wasn't the prettiest of games", there were other positives for his team apart from the result. Striker Wayne Rooney took to a central midfield role as if he had played there his whole life as Ferguson, who marks 25 years in the Old Trafford hot seat this weekend, showed he can still keep thinking up new approaches. "I played there a lot (in midfield) when I was younger," said Rooney, who was hailed by Ferguson as the team's best player on the night. "You get a lot of the ball there and we had to defend as well at times tonight. If the manager asks me to do it, I'm happy to do it. I don't know if it's long term, that's down to the manager, so we'll see what he decides." – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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When is a bet not a bet? A day at the Iran races Posted: 02 Nov 2011 09:07 PM PDT Spectators cheer during the summer races at the Norouzabad Equestrian centre on the outskirts of Tehran. — Reuters pic NOWRUZABAD, Iran, Nov 3 — As Rio Collection galloped across the finishing line, Sardar hooted with joy and high-fived his friends. He had just won 200,000 rials (RM56). Not by "betting" on the horse, he insisted — betting is illegal under Iran's Islamic law — but by "predicting" Rio Collection would win. "I knew he would win. I predicted correctly," said the 18-year-old. Under Islamic syariah law, gambling is generally seen as illegal and Sardar's wager, made with a friend, was actually not permitted. But thanks to certain religious rulings, many race-goers are permitted to put money on the horses legally as long as they are "predicting" through official channels. The Quran describes gambling as "evil, unclean and Satanic" and people found guilty of illegal gambling in the Islamic Republic can be sentenced to flogging and jail. However, three forms of gambling were permitted under Islam, said a cleric consulted on the matter by Reuters. "All forms of gambling are haram (forbidden by Islam) except for horse racing, camel racing and archery," said Mohsen Mahmoudi, a cleric at a north Tehran mosque, adding that those manly, warrior sports were all encouraged by the Prophet Mohammad. But technically, he added, only the archery contestants and riders of the horses or camels in the races were permitted to bet. To make it possible for spectators to take part, the Equestrian Federation of Iran sought permission from senior clerics — known as "sources of emulation" — to whom Shi'ite Muslims turn for guidance on moral issues. "In negotiations with some sources of emulation, we finally managed to receive permission to bet on horses under certain conditions," said Ebrahim Mohammdzadeh, an official at Tehran's horse-racing committee. The way it works is that jockeys authorise the horse-racing committee to place bets for other people on their behalf. Mass appeal Privileged to "predict", jockeys go into the final stretch of a race at the Norouzabad Equestrian centre. — Reuters pic In pre-revolutionary Iran, horse riding was considered an elite sport. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi — the last shah who was overthrown in the 1979 uprising led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — was a keen horseman and aimed to expand racing. After the revolution the idea fell out of favour and today there are only four racetracks in the country. Camel racing — popular in some Arab countries across the Gulf — is not a significant sport in Iran and archery has no great popular following. The 2,000-capacity Nowruzabad track off a major highway to the west of Tehran is the only track easily accessible to the population of the capital. It holds races over a 10-week season each year. Despite its limited availability, people from many walks of life crowd the "predictions" office next to the track in Nowruzabad where legal betting takes place inside a building where an electronic screen advertises: "Make a prediction, win a prize". Inside, a dozen women, wearing obligatory headscarves, sit behind windows, taking predictions and paying out winnings. As well as a computer screen with race details, each has a basket into which they toss the takings. Prediction tickets can be bought for as little as 10,000 rials, with no official upper limit, although large bets are rare. Odds are not given before the race and returns are calculated afterwards. People can also place bets on horses through the federation's website, but that misses out on the spectacle. As the horses pass the finishing line, the spectators — including dozens of women — jump up from their seats near the track and rush to the predictions office to see how much they have won and place money on the next one. "I just paid 50,000 rials," said Erfan, 15. "I hope I can win something. "I always buy prediction tickets from this office but my dad bets directly with others," he said. "He once won 30 million rials." The big bets Betting among individuals is not legal but still goes on. Sardar, a carpenter, wearing loose black trousers and speaking with a strong local accent, said he chose not to buy prediction tickets as winnings were limited. "People are reluctant to place big bets with the prediction office," he said. "Big bets take place unofficially and the winnings are exchanged from hand to hand." The really big bets happen at bigger tracks, particularly at the 10,000-capacity Gonbad-e Kavoos hippodrome in northern Iran. "Last year someone won $75,000 (US$75,000 — RM232,600) there in a bet," a race official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Cleric Mahmoudi warned of the dangers of gambling. "The bettor makes gains easily, without working, and this causes others to lose money with consequent dissatisfaction and grief," he said, pointing out one reason Islam regards gambling as "haram". Most of the people buying prediction tickets legally from the racetrack office did not seem concerned, however. "I just lost 30,000 rials but I had a lot of fun," said fine arts student Tamanna, 30, showing her ticket printed with a line that says cash spent buying the ticket goes to support the horse races, rather than in the hope of winning. Of the total money coming into the official betting office, some 70 per cent is given out as winnings, with the remaining 30 per cent going to cover the costs of racing. "I had a great time," Tamanna said. "In a way we are donating this money to help develop the races." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Masak nasi lemak pun kontroversi Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:59 PM PDT 3 NOV — Pertama kali melihat poster filem "Nasi Lemak 2.0" di pawagam, aku tertanya-tanya, siapakah dia Namawee? Kawan Cina aku pulak cuma cakap "dia ni cuba nak buat filem 1 Malaysia tapi timbulkan banyak kontroversi". Aku sedari itu bila melihat adanya gambar Adibah Noor, Afdlin Shauki, David Arumugam dan Reshmonu dalam poster. Tapi bila diajak menonton filem itu, terus terang dia menolak menontonya di pawagam "alah, beli DVD aje nanti!". Tapi ternyata filem ini tak dapat diketepikan begitu saja, apalagi bila ada berita-berita yang kononnya ada pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan filem dan pengarahnya, Namawee. Pertubuhan Gagasan Rakyat Negeri Perak telah membantah penayangan filem itu, yang dikhuatiri memberi kesan negative kepada golongan muda. Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Menteri di Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN), mengumumkan jika ada pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan penayangan filem "Nasi Lemak 2.0" bolehlah mengemukan bantahan mereka kepada pihaknya untuk dinilai memandangkan kementerian itu bertanggungjawab dari segi penapisan filem melalui Bahagian Kawalan Filem KDN. Namawee, dikatakan pernah mencetuskan isu yang tidak boleh diterima rakyat Malaysia, menerbitkan video klip "Negarakuku" yang menghina lagu kebangsaan dan masyarakat Malaysia berbilang kaum. Kontroversi seterusnya melibatkan filem "Nasi Lemak 2.0″ yang bakal tidak menikmati insentif penolakan cukai sebanyak 20 peratus sebagaimana diterima oleh kebanyakan filem tempatan Malaysia yang lain kerana filem tersebut gagal mendapat status Skim Wajib Tayang. Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (Finas) telah menjelaskan yang filem "Nasi Lemak 2.0" tidak layak mendapat status Wajib Tayang kerana pandangan prejudis terhadap Namewee yang merupakan pengarah dan pelakon filem tersebut. Walaubagaimanapun, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz telah memberikan sokongan beliau dan berkata "Nasi Lemak 2.0 adalah sebuah filem 1 Malaysia". Filem bergenre komedi yang dibintangi oleh Karen Kong, Afdlin Shauki, Datuk David Arumugam, Reshmonu, Nadine Ann Thomas, Adibah Nor, Pete Teo, Patrick Teoh dan Ho Yuhang ini telah berjaya mendapat kutipan RM4.5 juta selepas dua minggu tayangan. Ianya dibuat dengan peruntukan kurang daripada RM1 juta. Sewaktu membeli DVD filem ini aku berkali-kali dipastikan "ini DVD original okay, bukan cetak rompak". Ketika itu juga aku teringatkan filem "Sepet" arahan Yasmin Ahmad yang menampilkan watak sipenjual VCD cetak rompak di pasar malam. Yang menariknya, filem ini bukan saja dilakonkan oleh kalangan pelakon-pelakon yang pernah bekerjasama dengan Allahyarham Yasmin Ahmad, seperti Pete Teoh, Ho Yuhang dan Adibah Noor, filem ini juga bijak mengundang penaja korporat seperti Canon, talipon HTC, minuman beer Tiger serta imej kapalterbang AirAsia. Pendekata, filem yang masih dikategorikan sebagai filem Indie Malaysia ini sudah bijak berkolaborasi dan mendapat pendanaan dari pihak produk konsumer. Sepanjang filem ini aku tercari-cari imej-imej yang menimbulkan kontroversi seperti yang diwar-warkan. Sebagai sebuah filem Malaysia yang banyaknya menggunakan bahasa Cina dalam pelbagai dialek, walaupun ada menyelitkan bahasa Tamil, Melayu dan pigeon English, pastinya filem ini telah diluliskan oleh Lembaga Penapisan Filem kerana mengikut garispanduan. Mungkin jika adapun imej yang mengganggu sesetengah pihak adalah adegan mabuk meminum tiga botol beer. Jika itulah yang dikontroversikan, kita sebenarnya telah lama dihidangkan dengan iklan-iklan minuman keras setiap kali menonton di pawagam. Maka garis panduan filem kita harus diperjelaskan. Filem ini sebenarnya adalah sebuah "homage" kepada pembikin-pembikin filem multicultural Malaysia seperti P. Ramlee, Othman Hafsham, Yasmin Ahmad, Mamat Khalid, Afdlin Shauki dan Ho Yuhang. Filem ini juga boleh dilihat sebagai sebuah tribut untuk pembikin-pembikin filem independen Malaysia yang didahulukan dengan filem digital "Lips to Lips" arahan Amir Muhammad. Selain filem-filem Yasmin Ahmad, filem ini seperti mempunyai hubungannya yang tersendiri dengan filem Stephan Chow dari Hong Kong, Jack Neo dari Singapura serta program masakan terkenal "Iron Chef". Filem ini juga begitu dekat dengan filem-filem yang bersangkutan dengan makanan seperti "Papadom" oleh Afdlin Shauki serta karya terbaru Othman Hafsham, "Karipap-karipap Cinta". Imej pahlawan Melayunya serta keperwiraan seorang pendekar juga dekat dengan imej Hang Tuah dan biskut bercokelat Kit Kat. Mungkin Namawee sendiri juga dekat dengan dunia pengiklanan seperti Yasmin Ahmad. Filem "Nasi Lemak 2.0" ini mempunyai sebuah resipi genre "road movie" yang mencari sebuah kejayaan setelah menghadapi kegagalan hidup di dalam sebuah kehidupan berkareerkan sebagai seorang tukang masak, sekaligus mencari jati diri, siapa dirinya yang sebenar (merujuk kepada kewujudan kaum Cina di Malaysia). Di sini "Nasi Lemak" bukan hanya menjadi ikon Malaysia, tetapi juga sebagai metafor jati diri bangsa Malaysia, bukan hanya sekadar makanan orang Melayu. Malah nasi lemak itu sendiri juga dilihat sebagai sebuah ikon yang sememangnya beridentitikan multi-kultural Malaysia yang menggabungkan budaya India, Cina dan Melayu. Apa yang menarik di dalam filem ini bukan hanya pencarian diri dalam Hero Huang sendiri, tetapi juga watak Anak Angkat yang dilakonkan dengan baik sekali oleh Karen Kong serta watak Gong Xi Ning, mak saudaranya. Yang paling jelas adalah pencarian pemenang peraduan masakan untuk menjadi tukang masak di Restoran Gong Xi. Pengarahnya, Namawee, begitu pandai menyelitkan komentar-komentar semasa ke dalam filem ini, seperti adegan wanita upahan untuk memabukkan ayah Karen Kong, Gong Xi Fa, seterusnya menimbulkan skandal seks yang dirakam di dalam video dan dimuatkan ke dalam YouTube dan kemudiannya dinafikan bulat-bulat, adegan Nyonya Baba yang dimasukkan ke dalam genre filem komedi seram, serta komentar tentang lelaki Melayu-Muslim yang tinggal serumah dengan keempat-empat isterinya. Pendekata, kita tidak jemu menonton dari satu adegan ke adegan yang lain, walaupun tidak mampu untuk ketawa. Jika benarlah filem ini adalah sebuah filem multi-kultur Malaysia atau diwar-warkan sebagai 1 Malaysia, siapakah yang sebenarnya yang menimbulkan kontroversi dan kenapakah hal-hal sedemikian masih terjadi di dalam industri filem. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Ugutan buat Aziz Bari belum berdosa Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:35 PM PDT 3 NOV — Prof Dr Aziz Bari yang gantung jawatannya di UIAM dengan tali reput, kini menerima pula surat ancaman ke atas jiwanya bersama sebutir peluru. Kes itu telah dilaporkannya ke balai polis. Semua bersetuju bahawa surat ancaman beracun itu adalah satu jenayah oleh pengirimnya baik seorang mahu pun secara berkumpul. Laporan itu perlu untuk rekod polis. Tetapi dari pandangan Islam, sebarang niat jahat seperti yang dibuat oleh si pengirim peluru dan surat ancaman kepada Aziz Bari itu belum dikira berdosa. Malaikat yang tahu akan niatnya dan tahu dia mengantar peluru itu kepada Aziz belum mencatitnya sebagai satu dosa. Walau pun ugutan itu sah satu ancaman dan jenayah. Tetapi ia berdosa baik kecil mahu pun besar apabila niat itu dilaksanakan. Berbeza dengan niat baik, seperti komen Aziz tentang penglibatan raja dalam isu yang menyebabkan dia menerima peluru dan surat ugutan, jika niatnya baik untuk membuat komen itu dia dapat satu pahala. Tetapi apabila komen itu dibuatnya, dia dapat satu lagi pahala. Bagaimana pun pengirim peluru yang sudah dikira satu jenayah, belum lagi berdosa, tetapi apabila peluangnya untuk melaksanakan niatnya, tiba-tiba dia tidak jadi melakukannya malah ia menyesal atas niatnya itu kerana takutkan Allah, maka dia dicatit sebagai orang yang beruntung. Orang yang beruntung sudah tentu ada pahala. Apa pun surat beracun untuk Aziz itu adalah mencerminkan bentuk orang dan masyarakat yang dibentuk oleh kemerdekaan negara yang sudah 54 tahun itu. Dengan amalan demokrasi yang sekian lama, kemajuan pendidikan pesat hingga wujud berpuluh universiti awam dan swasta, perkhidmatan polis yang bertambah canggit, pembangunan Islam menelan berbilion ringgit, sepatutnya tidak ada lagi orang berfikir seperti orang-orang istana sekeliling Melaka dulu yang memfitnahkan Hang Tuah. Dengan perkembangan terbuka sejak mereka, tiada lagi orang yang berfikiran sempit seperti itu. Ia mungkin dibuat oleh rasa cinta dan setia yang terlalu tinggi tentang raja. Tindakan seperti itu menjadikan dia lebih setia kepada raja dibandingkan dengan Aziz. Raja dan kerajaan tidak akan seronok dengan tindakan mengugut terhadap Aziz itu. Ia boleh menyebabkan orang terasa, inikah rupa rakyat yang dapat dilahirkan di bawah payung raja dan istana? Inikah bentuk rakyat yang diwujudkan oleh kerajaan? Ia sama saja dengan tindakan orang-orang yang mengusung kepala lembu dari masjid ke pejabat Menteri Besar Selangor satu masa dulu. Mungkin ada tujuan yang baik tetapi mengusung kepada lembu menyebabkan semua orang lain merasa malu. Ia amat jauh dari keinginan Perdana Menteri Najib untuk mengisi transformasi politik dan lain-lain berpaksi kepada kaedah maqasit syariah. Antara lima cabang maqasid syariah itu adalah menjaga nyawa manusia. Dengan seluruh manusia berhak hidup sehinggalah tiba ajalnya. Bukan mengancam keselamatan dan jiwa Aziz. Sudah begitu banyak kita bertemu dengan mati yang dibuang dan mayat ditemuai bergelimpangan di sana sini. Semuanya ini tidak mencerminkan negara menuju pelaksanaan maqasid syariyah. Penghantaran surat berpeluru kepada Aziz ada bukti tiada langsung bau ajaran maqasid syariah itu. Langkah menggantung jawatan Aziz oleh UIAM sudah dikira tindakan seperti tindakan raja dan pembesar Singapura membunuh Hang Nadim yang menyelamatkan rakyat dari serangan todak. Pentadbiran UIAM telah malu dan menyesal atas perbuatannya ala pembesar Singapura purba itu. Tetapi ia disambut pula oleh tukang bodek yang membabit kemuliaan istana sedang tindakannya tidak menyenangkan istana dan semua pihak bagi menjaga dan memelihara kedaulatan istana. Raja dan kerajaan tidak berbangga adanya orang seperti itu. Ia tidak membantu raja dan kerajaan menjadi pemerintah dan pentadbir yang berdaulat dan berwibawa. Tetapi ia akan menambahkan masalah sosial dan negara. Kalau berlaku sesuatu kepada Aziz, maka natijahnya sama seperti menghadapi isu Altantuya yang terus tidak selesai. Ketua Polis Negara tidak seronok, Peguam Negara tidak seronok dan semuanya tidak seronok. Cukuplah dengan satu ke Altlantuya. Jangan ada lagi kes seperti itu. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Seksualiti Merdeka: Nik Aziz minta kerajaan ambil tindakan tegas Posted: 03 Nov 2011 02:51 AM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content]KOTA BARU, 3 Nov – Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat berkata beliau sama sekali tidak menyokong malah mengecam langkah pembabitan bekas Presiden Majlis Peguam, Datuk S. Ambiga dalam penganjuran Seksualiti Merdeka 2011 yang bermula semalam sehingga 13 Nov ini. Menteri Besar Kelantan itu meminta pihak kerajaan dan berkuasa mengambil ...

Polis arah penganjur batal Seksualiti Merdeka serta-merta Posted: 03 Nov 2011 02:41 AM PDT Program Seksualiti Merdeka dianjurkan di The Annexe Gallery sehingga 13 November. KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Nov – Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara, Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar mengarahkan program Seksualiti Merdeka dihentikan serta-merta sebelum tindakan undang-undang diambil terhadap penganjur dan peserta yang terlibat. Katanya, program tersebut jelas melanggar undang-undang negara dan bertentangan dengan ajaran pelbagai agama di negara ini. Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media di pangkalan udara PDRM di sini hari ini. MENYUSUL LAGI Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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McIlroy seeks full benefit of Donald’s Shanghai absence Posted: 02 Nov 2011 06:55 AM PDT Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds a cheque for US$2 million dollars after winning the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters golf tournament in Shanghai on October 30, 2011. ― Reuters pic SHANGHAI, Nov 2 ― Rory McIlroy is hoping to use his appearance at the WGC HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai this week as a stepping stone towards winning the European Tour's 2011 Race to Dubai. The 22-year-old Northern Irishman is currently €1,302,823 (RM5,615,167) behind money list leader Luke Donald, who is on course to become the first player to win both the US and European money lists in the same year. However, the world number one has opted against playing in Shanghai, instead staying home in Chicago, where his American wife Diane is expecting to give birth to their second child in the next two weeks. McIlroy sees the US PGA order of merit champion's absence along with the €842,217 winner's prize on offer as an opportunity to end a year which has already seen him claim a first major at the US Open on an even higher note. "I am €1.3 million behind Luke," McIlroy told reporters today, fresh from a US$2 million (RM6.24 million) win at last week's non-sanctioned Shanghai Master that did not count towards any money list. "But I have got three big events coming up. I have got this week, the Hong Kong Open and the Dubai World Championship. So three more chances to really try to cut into his lead. "With him not being here this week because his wife is giving birth to their second child, I feel like I have got a chance. "It would be fantastic to get another win, the second in two weeks and cut into that lead. It would be fantastic if I could get a little closer to him." Accompanying McIlroy around the Sheshan International course will be Danish girlfriend and world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who will be watching him play a tournament for the first time. During his news conference, McIlroy cleverly dodged a question about whether the couple had started making any marriage plans. On a day of heavy rain he joked: "It's great to have Caroline here. This is the first time she's at a golf tournament but if the weather keeps going like this, it might be the last one she is at as well." McIlroy was, however, more forthcoming about his plans to displace Donald at the top of the money list. "I obviously have not had as good a season as Luke because he has been the most consistent golfer in the world for probably the best part of 18 months," McIlroy added. "But if I can give it my all and really give it a good go for the next few weeks and even just run him close, I think that would be a good achievement in itself." McIlroy also accepted that with the season's three other major winners ― Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke and Keegan Bradley ― in the 78-strong field, he might not make as much of a dent in Donald's advantage on Sunday than he would like. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

The sky’s the limit for goal-machine Messi Posted: 02 Nov 2011 06:27 AM PDT Barcelona's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring against Viktoria Plzen during their Champions League Group H soccer match in Prague on November 1, 2011. ― Reuters pic MADRID, Nov 2 ― Lionel Messi is 34 goals short of becoming Barcelona's all-time top scorer after netting a hat-trick in the Champions League yesterday, and the only real question left is when he will achieve that accolade and not if. The World Player of the Year took his Barca tally to 202 goals from 286 appearances in the 4-0 victory away to Viktoria Plzen, putting the holders into the last 16 of the competition with two games to spare. "Messi will pass Cesar (Rodriguez) to become the top scorer in the history of the club, I consider it a done deal, and I don't rule out that it will happen this year," Barca coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. "And he's only 24. This says it all." Spain striker Cesar scored 235 official goals for Barcelona between 1942-55 and his total is within reach during this campaign for the Argentine on current form. Messi, top scorer in the Champions League over the last three seasons, bagged 53 goals in all competitions last season and this year has already hit 22, including strikes in Barca's Spanish and European Super Cup wins. So accustomed to seeing him score regularly, when Messi went three games without finding the back of the net last week local media speculated that he was out of form and needed a rest. His response has been to score consecutive hat-tricks against Real Mallorca in La Liga Saturday and again in the Czech Republic yesterday, when he was also shortlisted as a candidate for World Player of the Year again. Messi has won the award the last two years. "There aren't enough adjectives to define him," Barca president Sandro Rosell said. "He's the best in the world. I don't know where his limits are." ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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International box office: ‘Tintin’ races to the top spot Posted: 02 Nov 2011 05:26 AM PDT Steven Spielberg's 'Tintin' movie was top of the box office in France. – All Rights Reserved LOS ANGELES, Nov 2 – The global release of Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, two months before it opens in North America, proved a winner with the film reaching the No. 1 spot with US$55.8 million (RM174.79 million) in only 19 markets. The 3D motion-capture animated film, co-produced by Peter Jackson, hit the top of the box office in France with an impressive US$21.5 million, the UK with US$10.7 million, Spain, Germany and 14 other locations, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Based on the comic created by Belgian artist Hergé (nee Georges Remi) about an intrepid young reporter and his dog Snowy, the film collected an average of US$12,500 per cinema in its home country. Timed to open in Europe during school holidays, Tintin rolls out next weekend in Russia, Eastern Europe and Middle East countries. It will debut in North America on December 21, an unprecedented delay for Hollywood. In second place, the animated film Puss In Boots in 3D, featuring the voice of Antonio Banderas, grabbed US$17.05 million in only three markets. The Shrek spin-off about a swashbuckling cat set records in Russia with a hefty US$15 million debut. In the US, Boots ranked first with US$34 million. At No. 3, Paranormal Activity 3 collected US$17 million from 48 territories in its second week. The threequel in the horror franchise came in second place in the UK with US$3.1 million. In the fourth spot, In Time, the sci-fi/thriller costarring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, drew US$14.5 million in 35 countries, leading with Russia's US$5 million. No. 1 debuts were recorded in Australia (US$2.5 million from 280 locations), Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. It heads to the UK, Brazil, Mexico and India next weekend. No. 5 was The Three Musketeers, starring Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich, taking US$12.8 million, edging out Real Steel with US$12.2 million. The newest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel debuted in 10 territories including Japan where it climbed to No. 2. Also noteworthy, the Bollywood superhero film RA One, featuring superstar Shah Rukh Khan set records in India with US$28.3 million and a international total of US$33.4 million. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Scarlett Johansson says ‘nothing wrong’ with nude photos Posted: 01 Nov 2011 09:07 PM PDT Johansson said yesterday the pictures from her recent nude photo scandal were meant for her then husband, Ryan Reynolds. — Reuters file pic NOV 2 — Actress Scarlett Johansson addressed her recent nude photo scandal in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine yesterday, saying there was nothing wrong with her taking the pictures because they were for her then husband, Ryan Reynolds. "I know my best angles," said Johansson. "They were sent to my husband," referring to Reynolds. "There's nothing wrong with that. It's not like I was shooting a porno. Although there's nothing wrong with that either," added "The Avengers" actress. Johansson fell victim to the leaked nude photos in September after a hacker infiltrated her private e-mail account. The photos show the 26-year-old actress in a towel with an exposed backside, while another shows her topless. They were posted on several celebrity gossip websites. The hacker, Christopher Chaney from Florida, was arrested in October and charged with 26 counts of cyber-related crime, including leaking private photos from Johansson and other actresses including Mila Kunis and Vanessa Hudgens. Johansson, who usually is reluctant to speak about her private life, also touched on her divorce from Reynolds, 35, earlier this year after two years of marriage. "I didn't really know what to do with myself. It was such a strange time. There was nothing that was interesting to me. I had a very public separation. It was difficult. I felt very uncomfortable," said the actress. The "Lost in Translation" star will next be seen alongside Matt Damon in the Christmas-themed movie "We Bought A Zoo." The full interview will be in the December issue of Vanity Fair, available on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on November 3, and nationwide on November 9. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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Chinese cities fret as land sales fall Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:18 AM PDT Residential buildings are seen in the Pudong district of Shanghai in this October 26, 2011 file photo. China's 'land market is cooling down so quickly, it's as if all the property developers vanished overnight,' said an official recently. – Reuters pic CHANGSHA, Nov 2 – Just last year, the government's land auction centre in this sprawling city buzzed with activity, with investors fighting to buy plots in the town centre and pushing prices to record highs. Now, the centre is eerily quiet, as moves by the national government to rein in the country's once-roaring property market have taken hold. "The land market is cooling down so quickly – it's as if all the property developers vanished overnight," said an official at the department that handles government land sales for Changsha, a central Chinese city of 7 million. "Now we have to go out and find buyers by ourselves. It is really a hard time," added the woman, who declined to give her name. The city government in Changsha, once known for machine-making and now becoming a hub for China's TV and creative industry, has good reason to be nervous about declining land sales. Without hefty income from such sales, Changsha faces problems paying its bills, which include heavy debt-servicing. Many other cities are in the same, potentially precarious position. Yesterday, two days after Beijing pledged to "unswervingly" maintain property curbs, a major auction for 12 plots in the southern city of Guangzhou was abruptly cancelled, without explanation, just three hours before opening. Changsha could find itself unable to borrow more money and to pay for the kind of investment projects that have kept local economies – and the national economy – humming at near-double digit rates. WHERE'S THE MONEY? "Without income from land sales, where can we get enough money to build roads, schools, hospitals and other projects that Beijing ordered us to do?" asked a man surnamed Wang who works at Changsha's land auction centre. Lacking other steady sources of revenue, city and provincial governments across the country have come to depend on land sales, often turning farmland – still ultimately owned by the state – over to developers via auctions. The model worked well enough while China's land values rose, as they have most of the past decade. But across the country, sales are slowing and prices are sagging. "Most cities in China could see their revenue base drying up with land sales shrinking noticeably," said Qiao Yongyuan, an analyst at CEBM, a private investment advisory firm in Shanghai. "It would take them a relatively long time to find a new source of sustainable revenue," he added. As many cities, including Changsha, have funded massive expansion efforts with borrowed money, economists warn that a continued fall in land prices could eventually trigger a wave of debt defaults and produce a new crop of bad loans in the banking system. That could destabilise the world's second-largest economy, which expanded in the third quarter at its weakest pace since early 2009. PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY Real estate is a pillar of China's economy, with property investment accounting for 12 per cent of GDP and 25 per cent of total fixed asset investment in 2010. Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong, says the full impact of declining land sales will only become clear gradually – and it could prove big. "Over time, the cooling land market could affect the Chinese economy in a much broader way, although most of the pressure would be felt by some local governments." When Beijing moved to curb rising property prices in late 2009, the average home price in 70 major cities was rising 7.8 per cent a year . The central government has adopted steps from raising mortgage rates and down-payments to making buyers pay property tax for the first time. In late 2009, Beijing began moves to curb soaring property prices. The surge peaked in April 2010, when home-prices in 70 major cities rose 12.8 per cent on average from a year earlier. Later, the government introduced more moves, and this year the measures seem finally to have taken hold. All signs point to a downturn – or at least an end to price rises – for land. In the first nine months this year, 17 of the top 30 cities had lower land-sale revenue than a year earlier, and in three places the fall topped 35 per cent, according to industry data. And for most cities, average prices are dropping. Most Chinese cities are driven to sell land to pay their debts, a partial legacy of an investment binge under Beijing's 4 trillion yuan (RM1.97 billion) stimulus package to cope with the 2008 global financial crisis. At the end of 2010, China's local governments had 10.7 trillion yuan worth of debt, according to the National Audit Office. Cities "will surely face stress trying to meet their repayments," said Hui Jianqiang, the head of research at E-house China, a real estate information provider. VICIOUS CYCLE OF STRAIN Credit Suisse said in a recent report that loan losses at Chinese banks may be equivalent to 60 per cent of their equity capital if real-estate companies and local governments fail to repay debts. The possibility that cities could default may make it more difficult for their local financing vehicles to raise capital through bond issues or bank loans. That could drop local governments into a vicious circle of cash strains. That would force some localities to halt unfinished projects or scrap new investments. Suspensions of projects, along with the slowdown in property investment, may eventually weigh on China's fixed-asset investment, the most important driver of Chinese economy. Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province, is counting on land sales to pay back 82 per cent of its debt, which was 83.7 billion yuan at the end of 2010. But it is unlikely to reach its target of 55 billion yuan from land sales this year, which might result in a default on the debt. In northeast Liaoning province, nearly 85 per cent of local government-related financing vehicles missed debt service payments in 2010, according to its audit report published on the local government's website. Some local governments are starting to backpedal on some property tightening measures Beijing has imposed. "Actually, we are not following Beijing's order as strictly as required," said the woman at the centre who bemoaned the vanishing of buyers. She said it isn't hard for residents to find loopholes and skirt rules barring the purchase of a third home in the city. WOOING INVESTORS Changsha is not alone. The southern city of Foshan last week announced that it would relax restrictions on home purchases, although it later suspended that move to study the possible impact. In Changsha, officials are trying to find ways to lure developers back. For example, instead of openly auctioning a plot, officials are now privately approaching some developers, promising to sell land at a relatively lower price. That could be a "more realistic way" to win sales when the dimming market has made bidders cautious, said Shu Tingfei, a property analyst at Shanghai Securities Co. The Changsha centre also allowed more land to be developed for residential use, as developers are shunning commercial projects, which usually cost more to complete. In the first nine months of 2011, the southwestern city of Kunming put up for sale 21 million square meters, or more than four times as much land as a year earlier, according to the China Real Estate Index System. In Changsha, officials fret about the financial impact of the market going from hot to cold. "You can say that our city was somehow kidnapped by the land market and it is not something sustainable," said the woman in Changsha's land auction centre. "But for now, we haven't found a way out." – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

Macau’s ‘sweet language’ on verge of disappearing Posted: 01 Nov 2011 08:09 PM PDT MACAU, Nov 2 — Dona Aida de Jesus is 96 years old and still runs the family restaurant in Macau. She is also something even more remarkable: one of the last custodians of a dying language. "My friends all died, nobody speaks Patua with me any more," says de Jesus, as she helps serve Brazilian black beans, Portuguese stewed fish and Chinese choi sum to customers in her restaurant, Riquexo. De Jesus' mother tongue is Patua, once also known as "Christian speech" or the "sweet language of Macau" — a creole that blends Portuguese with Cantonese and Malay, plus traces of Hindi, Japanese and the languages of other stops on the travels of the Portuguese over the past few centuries. Dona Aida de Jesus speaks Patua — a creole that blends Portuguese with Cantonese and Malay, plus traces of Hindi, Japanese and the languages of other stops on the travels of the Portuguese over the past few centuries. — AFP/Relaxnews pic It was once the language of Macau's Eurasians, called the Macanese: people who served as interpreters and cadres for the Portuguese colonisers in the Chinese territory, and who still hold onto a distinct social identity. In 2009 Patua was classified by Unesco as "critically endangered". Local enthusiasts say that only a handful of original, fluent speakers like de Jesus remain in Macau, and perhaps a few hundred overseas among the Macanese diaspora. Since Macau was handed back to the Chinese in 1999, and then swelled into the world's largest gambling city, bigger forces that had already got the better of Patua seemed to sound its death knell. "It has lost its social utility," admits Miguel Senna Fernandes, a lawyer who has headed the effort to hold onto Patua as a medium of Macanese culture. "Reviving Patua is giving life to a lost memory." But Fernandes' energetic arrival on the Patua scene, plus a growing awareness of heritage in general, have helped to place Patua, as local journalist Harald Bruning says, "on life support". Fernandes writes and directs a satirical community Patua play every year, which revives a tradition dating back at least a century. He adapts the language to mock contemporary Macau. His most recent production, "Que Pandalhada!", took pandas as its theme, after two giant pandas arrived in Macau from the central government to much fanfare to mark the tenth anniversary of the handover to China. Through a host of characters, including one in a panda suit, the play poked fun at the government and striking workers, to much hilarity from the audience. Yet to learn Patua at all, Fernandes had to persuade his reluctant grandmother to explain the words. One of the key reasons for Patua's downfall was a policy in Portuguese-language schools of discouraging and even punishing the use of what was seen as a debased language. Fernandes characterises this attitude, which pervaded through the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, as "Boy, you speak proper Portuguese! Don't speak this rubbish!" Dating back to the 16th century, when the first Portuguese travellers arrived in Macau from Malacca — where a related creole, Papia Kristang, is still spoken by a small community — the language later began to bloom when colonists intermarried with locals. They brought along some words used by their African slaves for good measure. But as education spread in the 19th century, Patua declined, and by the start of the 20th century it had become a women's language. It was spoken in homes, with children and sometimes on the street, not in schools or workplaces. This meant its functions were limited, but poets like the 20th-century writer Jose dos Santos Ferreira — known as Adé and still revered by the community — treasured it for its rawness, as well as its reflection of a lively hybrid culture. "It was the voice of the common Macanese," said Fernandes. Fernandes says one of his favourite words in the language is "saiang", a Malay-derived word for "longing" similar to the Portuguese "saudade". In 2009 Patua was classified by Unesco as "critically endangered". — Reuters file pic Manuel Noronha of the University of Macao, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on Patua, says the language mingled international influences even within a single word. "Babachai", a word for "baby", seems to combine the Hindi word "baba" (father) with "chai", a Cantonese suffix for a little person. Another word reflects the arrival of the British in neighbouring Hong Kong: a "beefy" is a vaguely pejorative word for an English or English-speaking person. Although Patua's foundations are in Portuguese, its grammar is more like Cantonese: it does not conjugate verbs, and words are repeated for emphasis. In many ways Patua, already based on archaic Portuguese, is now frozen in time. Noronha, who also heard Patua spoken by ageing relatives when he was a child, said he would not know how to describe an iPhone or cappuccino in the language. Instead it has words like "caxa hap-loh", a Portuguese-Cantonese fusion word describing a traditional box given to the groom's family by the bride's relatives at weddings, and "barung", a Southeast Asian word used in Macau for an all-purpose kitchen cleaver. Noronha said that the identity of the Macanese themselves, of whom about 8,000 still live in Macau, is increasingly diluted. Large numbers left before the handover to the Chinese, for economic reasons or fearing discrimination. Now, many young people with Macanese heritage would simply describe themselves as Chinese, while there is just one Portuguese-language school left in Macau. But Macanese culture still survives in other ways: those same young people may well cook and eat "ta-chu", a Portuguese hotpot adapted to contain Chinese sausage and pork skin, and served with a pungent Malay shrimp sauce called balichao. Since Fernandes began his campaign in the early 1990s, young people with no previous knowledge of Patua have joined his theatre group, which receives government funding. However, in a territory where 95 per cent of people are ethnically Chinese, Fernandes says the government can appear lukewarm: "They want to preserve, but they don't know exactly what they are preserving." Bruning, of the Macau Daily Post, has become a passionate Patua campaigner despite coming from Germany. He is urging that audio recordings be made of fluent speakers like de Jesus while the opportunity is still there. Still, Bruning is sanguine about the chances of Patua surviving in some form. "It's on its deathbed and the doctors are rushing in, but more has been done in this decade than in many before," he said. "Nowadays there is a chance of keeping the memory alive." — AFP/Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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