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French football clubs plan “historic” strike over 75% tax plan Posted: 24 Oct 2013 08:57 AM PDT October 24, 2013 French football clubs will go out on strike for the first time in more than 40 years next month in protest at government plans to tax top earners 75%, the clubs announced on Thursday. The first lockdown in the professional French game since 1972 is scheduled for the last weekend of November after a unanimous vote against Socialist President Francois Hollande's controversial supertax initiative. The president of the French professional clubs union (UCPF), Jean-Pierre Louvel, said: "We are involved in a historic protest and have a real determination to save football by having a weekend without games at the end of November." Clubs in France's first and second division - Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 - were "confirming their firm opposition to the 75% tax proposal" on annual incomes over one million euros by staging a walk-out between November 29 and December 2, he added. Under the proposals, companies rather than players would be liable to pay the high tax rate on the part of their employees' salaries that exceed one million euros. Louvel said clubs, concerned that their ability to attract high-earning top players from abroad to play in France will be hit, would open their doors to fans to explain to supporters why they needed to take such drastic measures. But whether they will win the backing of fans is debatable, with public perception of footballers currently near rock bottom. A recent poll suggested that 82% of those questioned had a poor image of the national team, three years after Les Bleus' calamitous World Cup campaign in South Africa, which was marred by a players' strike against the manager and an early exit from the competition. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's office said in a statement that football clubs "were businesses like any other", while the French Communist Party immediately labelled the club's strike plans as "outrageous lobbying". Talks between the clubs and Hollande are scheduled to take place next week. Thursday's announcement follows last Friday's parliamentary vote to include the 75 percent tax rate in next year's budget. The bill was a major plank of Holland's 2012 presidential election manifesto and previously made headlines when actor Gerard Depardieu decided to take up residency in Belgium in protest. The proposal will now go before the upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, before returning to the lower chamber National Assembly for a final reading. According to Ligue 1 teams, the new bill, if implemented next year, would leave them with an 44 million euro tax bill. That forecast is based on the highest salaries of around 120 players from 14 clubs in the French top flight, according to statistics seen by AFP. Jean-Michel Aulas, president of multiple former French champions Lyon, described the new tax as "unfair". "It's an anti-labour tax. This proposal is retroactive, we're being taken hostage," said Aulas, whose club's fixture with Paris Saint-Germain will be one of the games lost on the strike weekend. Louvel criticised Ayrault's claim that football clubs would be treated like other businesses. "Look at the drama which football is experiencing, we are the only country which taxes companies that are losing money," he said. "I want our protest to change politics concerning this situation." According to official French football figures, the combined loss of France's first and second divisions in 2011-2012 amounted to 108 million euros. Louvel, who is also president of division two side Le Havre, warned that unless next week's top level discussions bore fruit, the strike would go ahead. "If there is no agreement, by agreement I want to hear words that translate into actions - with the President of the Republic we will continue the actions in whatever way." - AFP, October 24, 2013.

India’s Supreme Court to hear demand to cancel F1 race this weekend Posted: 24 Oct 2013 07:55 AM PDT October 24, 2013 A worker putting up the national flag at the Buddh International circuit in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi today. - AFP pic, October 24, 2013.India's Supreme Court agreed today to hear a petition seeking the cancellation of this weekend's Indian Grand Prix because organisers have allegedly not paid entertainment taxes for the 2012 event. "We will hear the petition tomorrow," Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said in court, announcing a new legal snag for Formula One in India which has been dogged by problems since the inaugural 2011 event. The Supreme Court, which has executive powers, ordered organisers two years ago to freeze 25 percent of ticket revenues until they had settled a tax dispute with the state where the racetrack is located. That ruling came in response to Public Interest Litigation filed by campaigner Amit Kumar, who is also behind Thursday's petition seeking cancellation of the race on Sunday. Kumar successfully argued in 2011 that Formula One was entertainment and not sport, and should not benefit from tax exemptions granted by the state of Uttar Pradesh which borders the capital New Delhi. Entertainment tax, applicable for large-scale shows and sponsored festivals, has been levied on tickets this year for the first time. Vicky Chandhok, head of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, said he did not foresee the race being cancelled. "I don't think the court case will affect the event at all," he told AFP. "I am certain it will go ahead as scheduled. Such cases are not uncommon in India." A spokesman for circuit owner Jaypee Sports International Limited acknowledged previous tax problems in 2011 and said they were ready to comply with any order. "We will wait for the court's directive this time around as well. Whatever the court says, we are ready to follow," Askari Zaidi told AFP. Asked about the claim that taxes had not been paid last year, he replied: "Why should we comment on somebody's allegation?" Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had already removed India from the 2014 schedule, leaving the future of the event at the $450 million Buddh International Circuit in doubt. After initially citing "logistical" problems, the billionaire was quoted in July as saying that "political" reasons caused India to miss out next year -- believed to mean the lack of government support for his private empire. Chandhok's son Karun, a former F1 driver, expressed frustration at bureaucratic problems overshadowing the contest and said it cast India in a negative light. "I think brand India is getting affected. People should not underestimate the power of F1 and power of sport," Karun Chandhok told the Press Trust of India news agency. "For the teams and drivers it is a big headache to reach here... you need to have an extra lawyer for the Indian GP," he added. "The bureaucratic process is so big and it should not be." Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel was expected to seal the world title in Sunday's race, with local motorsports enthusiasts hoping that a successful contest could improve the chances of an Indian GP in 2015. "With venues in other countries also fighting for slots, we can't afford to miss out in 2015," Vicky Chandhok said earlier in the day. "But I am optimistic that the promoters will work out an agreement with Formula One to have two more races. We have a great facility here," he added. Jaypee Sports International Limited, which stands to lose the most if the race does not return, insists that it will be back in 2015. The lavish F1 roadshow rolled into Greater Noida, a burgeoning satellite of New Delhi, in 2011 and its slick organisation helped erase some of the memories of the chaotic Commonwealth Games of the previous year. But while the inaugural race drew 95,000 spectators to the 100,000-capacity circuit, numbers fell to around 65,000 last year. Sluggish ticket sales this year could see figures drop further. - AFP, October 24, 2013.

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Chance of a new life trumps risks for Afghan refugees Posted: 23 Oct 2013 08:25 PM PDT October 24, 2013 An elderly Afghan man with a bearded, tired face gazes from the television screen and says sadly: "My son wouldn't listen to me. He borrowed money just to pay for his death." The hard-hitting advert is part of a new campaign run by Afghanistan's refugee ministry to dissuade young men from using people smugglers to flee the war-torn country in search of a better life. Using real families' stories, the publicity drive aims to highlight how traffickers and treacherous journeys pose a deadly threat to migrants who often face deportation even if they reach their intended destination. The television clip shows the father, from the marginalised Hazara ethnic group, sitting in his shoe-repair stall remembering his son who tried to reach Australia. "I told him repeatedly not to go, not to trust the smugglers," he says as the camera closes in on his distraught eyes. "But he went and now he is dead, drowned at sea." Many Afghans are looking for an escape as more than a decade of international intervention winds down and fears grow that hardline Islamists or violent warlords will return to power. Ambitious young men are needed to help the country to develop, but the exodus has picked up pace as uncertainty deepens, Nato-led troops pull out in 2014 and aid money dries up. Afghans made 36,600 asylum claims in industrialised countries last year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), up from 36,200 in 2011. Even 12 years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains the world's leading country of origin for refugees. Afghans often choose to head to Australia, Sweden, Germany or Norway, but they face a tough battle even if they complete epic overland journeys and sea passages in rickety smugglers' boats. In Australia, the new government came to power in September vowing to use its navy to tow the boats to back their place of origin — typically Indonesia — and its embassy in Kabul issues dire warning that migrants are not welcome. Those who do reach Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, are now processed and settled in under-developed Papua New Guinea. "Given the past experience of civil war and the Taliban rule, many Afghans feel pressured to flee the country at any cost," refugee ministry spokesman Islamudin Jurat told AFP. "Our campaign is intended at reversing the belief that leaving through illegal channels and putting your fate in the hands of traffickers carries little risk. "There is a real risk of death, and a little chance of reaching your destination safely and being accepted. "We have seen too many Afghan lives lost while trying to reach the shores of Europe and Australia, but traffickers see a golden opportunity to lure stressed Afghans into paying thousands of dollars". The six-month campaign, which is backed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), is holding meetings in villages as well as airing TV and radio broadcasts, and distributing posters and leaflets. But it may struggle to convince people like Saber Rezayee, 20, an unemployed man from the northern city of Mazar-i-Sahrif who has already made two failed attempts to reach Europe. "I prefer to go and die on the way than to stay here and be slaughtered by the Taliban, or blown up by bombs," he told AFP, recalling how he was deported from both Iran and Turkey as he tried to get to Sweden where he has relatives. "I am young, but I clearly remember the Taliban killing some relatives when they were in power. "Someone I know has opened a shop in Sweden. I am sure I would be happy and prosperous there." Migrants pay as much as $20,000 to smugglers who run routes out of Afghanistan using road transport or enable people to board flights with illegally obtained visas. Many heading to Australia fly first to Malaysia, then take one sea trip to Indonesia and another on overcrowded fishing boats to Christmas Island. The Australian government recorded two migrants who went overland to Pakistan, and then flew to Indonesia via Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, before making the final leg of the journey by boat. More than 600 people, including refugees from other countries such as Sri Lanka, are thought to have died making the sea journey to Christmas Island since 2006, though exact figures are not available. "They know the dangers and that they may be deported back but it is a good business," one smuggler who declined to give his name told AFP during an interview in Kabul. "We simply facilitate their escape. We take them mostly to Turkey, where some others will then take them to Europe and Australia." The IOM says many Afghan migrants have little idea of what they face when they pay smugglers and set off into the unknown. "Nobody can stop people wanting to move, but we want them to make a decision based on well-informed knowledge and correct information," Sato Mio, liaison officer for the IOM, said. Fahim, a 36-year-old former government employee who declined to give his full name, said he was not put off by one failed effort to get to Germany via Tajikistan and Russia. "I can't imagine living in Afghanistan after 2014. I have already received threats from people who think me and my wife are too liberal to be good Muslims," he said. "I will sell my house soon and leave this country at any cost." - AFP, October 24, 2013.

Astronomers discover most distant galaxy yet Posted: 23 Oct 2013 06:45 PM PDT October 24, 2013 An artist's rendering of the galaxy, known by its catalogue name z8_GND_5296, in seen this handout provided by NASA yesterday. – Reuters pic, October 24, 2013. Astronomers have found the most distant galaxy yet, a discovery that pushes back scientists' view of the universe to about 700 million years after it is thought to have come into existence. Light from the galaxy, designated by scientists as z8_GND_5296, took about 13.1 billion years to reach the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both of which detected the galaxy in infrared light. "We are learning so much about a region so far back in time it's hard to comprehend. This galaxy we're seeing is almost 13.1 billion years ago and so this was something like 8 billion years before our sun was even born and of course much longer after that until life came around," said lead researcher Steven Finkelstein, an assistant professor with the University of Texas at Austin. Surprisingly, out of a pool of 43 candidate distant galaxies, z8_GND_5296 was the only one that revealed the key chemical evidence needed to confirm its distance. That left Finkelstein and colleagues wondering if they had uncovered a clue to a bigger mystery: How soon did light from the universe's first stars and galaxies pierce an obscuring veil of hydrogen gas that existed early in its history? Scientists believe that at some point, high-energy ultraviolet radiation from exploded stars split the intergalactic hydrogen atoms into electrons and protons. Once ionized, the hydrogen would be electrically conductive and no longer scatter light. That may have happened about the time of z8_GND_5296's existence. The galaxy, which is about a billion times as massive as the sun, has two unusual characteristics, which may be a factor in why it is visible, while potential sister galaxies are not. First, z8_GND_5296 is forming stars at a very fast pace, pumping out about 100 times more stars than the Milky Way galaxy, so it may be brighter than the other candidate galaxies. Second, it contains a surprisingly high percentage of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Those elements are forged by nuclear fusion inside stars, so either the galaxy contains the exploded remains of lots of massive stars or it formed in a region of space that had been previously seeded with the remnants of a prior generation of stars, scientists said. "It could be that this one galaxy lives in an over-dense region of (ionized hydrogen) so we can see it... but that's a little bit of conjecture. For all we know these other galaxies have just a lot more hydrogen gas within the galaxies themselves and that's why we can't see them," Finkelstein said. He and colleagues hope to conduct a wider survey for ancient galaxies with Hubble, but more details about z8_GND_5296 will likely have to wait until NASA launches its successor observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, targeted for launch in 2018. - Reuters, October 24, 2013.

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Ask Lord Bobo: Atheism and time travel in Malaysia Posted: 23 Oct 2013 04:30 PM PDT October 24, 2013 Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered. Free Your Mind! Lord Bobo, does being an atheist violate the Rukunegara standard of patriotism? (@joonsunn, via Twitter) The Malaysian government only sees things in black and white. Where gender is concerned, you are either a man or a woman. Penis = man. Vagina = woman. No in-betweens. There are no lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transgenders. They have no human rights because they don't exist. If they think they exist, then they need to be rehabilitated. Where crime is concerned, the criminals are Indians and victims are Malays. There are also Chinese and Malay gangsters obviously, but these are "good gangsters" and "friends". You can never have too many friends, in all sorts of places. Where government aid and economic policy are concerned, you are either Bumiputera or you are not. Allah help you if you are not. Or rather, Tuhan help you if you are not, because Allah is only for Muslims. Where wastage of public funds is concerned, all civil servants involved were just exceedingly negligent or stupid, but not criminally so. Everybody makes mistakes. Give them a break. But if you're not a civil servant, then you're bloody well going to pay the full price for your mistake. Unless of course your uncle or close friend or dad's golf buddy is a civil servant or has close ties to someone who is. Giving money to someone to vote for you in the general election is a corrupt act. It's bribery. Giving money to someone to vote for you in an Umno election is not a corrupt act. All you non-Umno fellas please mind your own business. Never mind that the Umno election is in many ways more important than the general election. When it comes to religion, East Malaysian Muslims are more intelligent and will not be confused by Christians using the word "Allah". West Malaysian Muslims? Dumb as sticks, these morons will obviously be confused. Malays are Muslims, Chinese are Buddhists or Christians, Indians are Hindus or Christians, and Dan Lain-Lain are Sikhs or Christians. Atheists are not recognised. They do not exist. Ergo an atheist, being a non-entity, cannot violate the Rukunegara. Anyone who doesn't fall into a recognised category is collateral damage. The government knows best. Thank Allah for the government. But the Malaysian government is no bully. They always provide options. And if you don't like any of the options on offer, you can always migrate. Has the time machine been invented yet? (HG Perigi, via email) Yes, of course. Anyone with a modicum of observational skills will know that the time machine has been at work in Malaysia for the past 44 years. Often employing the blunt tools of race and religion, made effective by law and pliable institutions, the machine is a viral infection that has nested itself in many politicians of dubious moral fibre and zero integrity. Its latest shape is perhaps its most strident and virulent, consisting of the triumvirate of the Tun, the Home Minister, and Perkasa. They are the Three In One, prophesied in the lost pages of Revelations to deliver us to the edge of Wawasanageddon. Every speech by them is a mantra that opens up a wormhole sucking the country in kicking and screaming, propelling it backwards in time further and further towards the Dark Ages, regressing citizens from modern man to Neanderthal. The thin veneer of civilisation is unmade and dissolved, to reveal the ugly baser instincts of man. Racism, sexism, avarice, religious intolerance. No empathy.  No compassion. Oh yes, the time machine has been invented and has been at work all this while. Maintaining it has been no mean feat either. It's not easy to find an endless supply of crony contractors who can stomach charging maintenance fees at a 650% premium. Although Lord Bobo already knows your question before you even knew you had a question, as a practical display of your true desire to have your query answered, His Supreme Eminenceness has graciously allowed you to communicate your questions by either emailing asklordbobo@loyarburok.com or tweeting your question, mentioning @LoyarBurok and using the hashtag #AskLordBobo. Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Hear This and Tremblingly Obey (although trembling is optional if you are somewhere very warm)! * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Pemuda PAS desak NGO gugur tuntutan bercanggah Islam Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:26 AM PDT Oleh Mohd Farhan Darwis October 24, 2013 PAS menggesa agar tuntutan-tuntutan bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan dan amalan ajaran Islam di negara ini yang dibawa oleh badan bukan kerajaan hak asasi manusia (Comango) ke Proses Semakan Berkala (UPR) Majlis Hak Asasi Manusia Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNHCR) di Geneva, Switzerland hari ini digugurkan. Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi (gambar) dalam sidang medianya menegaskan, menggesa NGO itu perlu merujuk kepada kerangka Perlembagaan Malaysia serta prinsip agama khususnya Islam bagi mengelakkan sebarang prejudis dan persepsi negatif. "Kami turut mendesak agar campurtangan atau tekanan luar terhadap keputusan yang telah diambil melibatkan Islam tidak wajar di lobi ke peringkat antarabangsa memandangkan ia harus ditangani secara ilmiah di negara ini di samping mewujudkan perundingan bersama di setiap peringkat," kata kenyataan berkenaan. Nasrudin bagaimanapun turut  menyokong usaha sesiapa sahaja yang memperjuangkan hak asasi manusia, asalkan ia tidak bercanggah dengan amalan Islam. "Islam menyanjungi kemuliaan manusia dan menolak segala bentuk kezaliman yang dilakukan," katanya dalam kenyataan berkenaan. Antara tuntutan NGO berkenaan yang dipertikaikan parti Islam itu adalah gesaan agar Malaysia menandatangani International Covenant on Civil & Political Right (ICCPR) yang mengandungi peruntukan kebebasan beragama. Selain itu, PAS turut membantah gesaan yang dibawa NGO berkenaan untuk mengiktiraf hak golongan Lesbian, Gay, Biseksual dan Transgender (LGBT), dan mempertikaikan peruntukan yang terdapat Enakmen Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah termasuk beberapa keputusan Mahkamah Syariah berkenaan isu kalimah Allah, pengharaman Syiah, dan hak Muslim menukar agama anak bawah umur kepada Islam. Perbahasan berkenaan NGO berkenaan semalam dibangkitkan bekas Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Seri Noh Omar di Dewan Rakyat dan mencetuskan pertikaman lidah apabila beliau bertanyakan soalan sama ada beberapa pemimpin pembangkang menyokong perkahwinan sejenis. Noh ketika sidang medianya turut mendakwa ancaman perpecahan agama merupakan ancaman terbaru yang mula menular di Malaysia dan tuntutan NGO itu adalah virus yang mula menular terhadap ancaman berkenaan. "Pada pandangan saya ancaman akan datang daripada perpecahan agama. Sebab dan ada virus. Terbukti bila ada sekumpulan rakyat Malaysia ke Geneva bawa isu hak asasi berkenaan perkara itu," katanya. Pihaknya bagaimanapun berkata, meskipun ada beberapa isu yang dibawa kumpulan berkenaan turut disokong kerajaan, isu sensitif seperti kebebasan beragama dan amalan seks songsang tidak seharusnya dipersoalkan. "Ada beberapa isu yang kita sokong tapi jangan bawa isu sensitif, LGBT. Ini kita tak boleh terima. Isu kesamarataan agama," kata bekas Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani itu lagi. Sebelum itu, di dalam perbahasan Dewan Rakyat di Parlimen, Kuala Lumpur Noh bertelagah dengan pemimpin pembangkang Pakatan Rakyat (PR) selepas bertanya pendirian ahli Parlimen Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin sama ada beliau menyokong perkahwinan sejenis. Noh kemudiannya sekali lagi bertanyakan kepada ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar sama ada menyokong kegiatan liwat. "Saya tanya adakah Yang Berhormat sokong liwat. Kalau sokong-sokonglah, tak sokong tak mengapa," kata Noh kepada Nurul Izzah. – 24 Oktober, 2013.

PM digesa cairkan aset NFC untuk membayar pinjaman Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:20 AM PDT Oleh YISWAREE PALANSAMY October 24, 2013 Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak perlu mencairkan asset Perbadanan Fidlot Kebangsaan (NFC) untuk membayar semula dana sebanyak RM250 juta yang diberi oleh kerajaan untuk projek penternakan lembu, kata  seorang ahli Parlimen pembangkang hari ini. Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR - Ampang) berkata ini adalah satu-satunya cara untuk mempastikan bekas Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil dan keluarganya bertanggungjawab atas penyalahgunaan dana itu. Ahli keluarga Shahrizat , yang juga adalah pengarah NFC, dikatakan telah membelanjakan pemberian projek itu ke atas perkara yang langsung tiada kaitan dengan perniagaan pertanian, sebaliknya membelanjakannya ke atas kereta-kereta mewah dan melancong. Semalam, Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan , mengumumkan bahawa jangkaan RM250 juta hutang pengambilalihan NFC oleh konglomerat Jepun dibatalkan. Beliau berkata kerajaan dan Kirimitonas Agro Sdn Bhd tidak dapat mencapai persetujuan ke atasnya. Dalam jawapan bertulis kepada Tony Pua (PKR - Petaling Jaya Utara), Najib berkata pengambilalihan itu adalah untuk memastikan projek itu terus beroperasi untuk mencapai objektif memenuhi bekalan daging negara. "Bagaimanapun, kedua-dua pihak tidak dapat mencapai persetujuan (dan) rundingan telah berakhir," kata Najib yang menambah bahawa syarikat itu telah dipilih kerana ia bersetuju untuk menyuntik modal sebanyak RM20 juta untuk memulihkan projek ternakan lembu. Zuraida berkata tahap kontroversi yang ditunjukkan oleh masyarakat menunjukkan bahawa Malaysia memerlukan tadbir urus yang telus. "Kirimitonas akan bermula dengan lebih baik tanpa tanpa sebarang bebanan ," katanya kepada pemberita di lobi Parlimen hari ini. - 24 Oktober 2013

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Aussie wines lead biggest wine competition in Asia Posted: 23 Oct 2013 05:34 PM PDT October 24, 2013 Jeannie Cho Lee, co-chair of Decanter Asia World Awards. - AFP Relaxnews pic, October 24, 2013.Wines from Australia may be most suitable for Asian palates, says the results of a blind wine competition billed as the largest of its kind in Asia. Because after taste testing 2,000 wines submitted in the second annual Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA) in Hong Kong, a panel of about 40 importers, wine journalists, retailers, sommeliers and restaurateurs handed out 18 gold medals to wines produced out of Australia, the most of any country represented. In other terms, 5% of Australian entries earned a medal, more than double the average of any other country. Judges were either Asian or had worked in the area for years, a strategic move meant to reflect Asian palates for Asian consumers, said Steve Spurrier, co-chair of the event. After Australia, the second highest medal haul went to Italy, which took home 12 gold medals -- eight of which came from Veneto --  followed by Spain and France. The second annual competition also saw a strong contingent of Asian wines represented, added DAWA co-chair Jeannie Cho Lee, with notable entries coming out of challenging tropical climates like Thailand and Indonesia. "It may not be that far off when we are able to easily identify distinctive wines like Koshu from Yamanashi, Japan or Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenere) from Yantai, China," she wrote in a tasting debrief. Of note, a white wine from Japan made with Koshu grapes, identifiable by its pink, purplish skin, won the regional trophy for Asia. Produced about 100 km out of Tokyo in Yamanashi, the Gris de Koshu by Grace wines -- a fourth generation winemaker in Japan -- is described as bright, brisk, evocative of Asian pears, mineral and savoury characters. As for what judges were looking for, Lee said experts made an effort to "lead" and to refrain from following the mass palate and popular styles. "It's not always the obvious wines that we would reward. In fact, we are definitely looking for restraint, we're looking for elegance, balance, finesse, not all the expressive, obvious or easy to understand wines." Meanwhile, in an interview with trade publication The Drinks Business, international wine buying director and Master of Wine Alun Griffiths said softer, sweeter reds from Spain and the south of France also hold strong appeal for the Chinese market. - AFP Relaxnews, October 24, 2013.

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Chong Wei marches into second round of French Open Posted: 23 Oct 2013 01:19 AM PDT October 23, 2013 World No 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei (pic) is now Malaysia's sole survivor in the men's singles category of the 2013 French Open Super Series. The 31-year-old, who is also the tournament's top seed, defeated India's Kashyap Parupalli in the first round held at the Stade Pierre De Coubertin in Paris early today. Chong Wei was given a tough fight in the first set before emerging victorious with 22-20, 21-12. He will meet another Indian shuttler, Ajay Jayaram, after the player defeated Kazumasa Sakai of Japan, 21-16 and 21-11 in the other opening round match. Several national doubles players will be in action later today. World No 5 men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong will play Japanese pair Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata, while Hoon Thien How and Tan Wee Kiong will meet Poland's Adam Cwalina and Przemyslaw Wacha. Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying who are seeded fifth will be taking on Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Miyuki Maeda of Japan in the opening round of the mixed doubles category, also later today. The Badminton Association of Malaysia did not send representatives in the women's singles and doubles categories to the tournament, which offers a total prize money of US$200,000 (RM631,530). - Bernama, October 23, 2013.

Latin flair behind China’s bid for AFC Champions League win Posted: 23 Oct 2013 12:38 AM PDT October 23, 2013 Guangzhou Evergrande are eyeing a breakthrough for Chinese soccer by becoming the country's first winner of the AFC Champions League, but their hopes of beating FC Seoul rest with a South American trio rather than local talent. Brazilian strikers Elkeson and Muriqui and Argentine playmaker Dario Conca have been behind Guangzhou's run to a first continental final where they take on the South Korean champions away in the first leg on Saturday. Muriqui is the tournament's top scorer with 13 goals in 12 games, Conca has eight, while Elkeson has four for Marcello Lippi's side who smashed Japan's Kashiwa Reysol 8-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. "I have been able to score a lot of goals this season due to the strong support from the rest of the team," a modest Muriqui told the South China Morning Post. "Conca and Elkeson give me a lot of support and together with all the local players, goals will come naturally. "Conca and Elkeson came from the same league as me so we know how to play together when attacking. We are also good friends and that makes it fun as well. But every one of the local players is excellent and, as football is a team sport, we cannot play if someone is missing." The trio, who have scored 17 of the side's last 19 goals in the competition, add flair to a well drilled outfit full of tried and trusted Chinese internationals like former Celtic midfielder Zheng Zhi and defender Sun Xiang. They crushed Qatar's Lekhwiya 6-1 over two legs in the last eight after easing past the Central Coast Mariners of Australia 5-1 in the last 16 and have wrapped up a third consecutive Chinese Super League title. Muriqui, though, wants continental glory to match the achievements of Chinese side Liaoning FC, who won the 1990 Asian Club Championship. "I am aware of the history of Chinese clubs in this competition and I hope Guangzhou will win the championship," said the 27-year-old. "If we became champions of Asia, it would be an extraordinary achievement for every player and it would be an amazing personal memory." Their bid is helped by the Asian Football Confederation tinkering with the format of the showpiece final, switching back to a two-legged final after two years of one-match finals played at the home ground of one of the teams. The ploy is an attempt to generate excitement around their showpiece which had tried a one-legged final in Tokyo in recent years. Guangzhou are the favourites to lift the trophy and make Lippi the first coach to win both European and Asian Champions League titles, but victory in the South Korean capital will be a tough task with Seoul undefeated at home in this year's tournament. "Our home record is important. We have played well at our home stadium and this is why the first match of the final is so important," Seoul's South Korean defender Kim Chi-woo said. "We must not concede a goal and also, whenever we make a chance, we have to score. The most important thing is to win without conceding a goal." Seoul will be without experienced fullback Cha Du-ri for the first leg of the final through suspension, but he will be back for the return leg in China on November 9. South Korean sides have dominated and Seoul are looking to become the fourth winner in the last five years and book a place at the FIFA Club World Cup in December. - Reuters, October 23, 2013.

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Famed Hungarian music academy gets new lease on life Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:19 PM PDT October 23, 2013 The Liszt Academy (pic) music school founded by Franz Liszt, the first piano superstar, reopens its main concert hall yesterday refurbished under an ambitious plan to give the 138-year-old institution, and its music study programme, a new lease on life. One of the world's cherished concert venues, where audience and performers alike praise the acoustics and say the spirit of musicians past seems to seep through the walls, the Large Hall in Budapest has been painstakingly restored during a four-year closure to its early 20th-century Art Deco style. "The starting point was that this building is more than 100 years old and had never been renovated," said rector Andras Batta, 60, who will cede his post November 1 to harpist Andrea Vigh. "Practice rooms were shabby, heating was bad, there was no air conditioning, there were a lot of problems so I thought with such great music and immense possibilities we must grow, we must develop it as one of the 21st century's great concert halls." Liszt was a renowned virtuoso pianist and one of the 19th century's great classical composers. The reopening, on Liszt's birthday, will feature a gala concert attended by heads of music institutions from around the world and include remarks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The reconstruction of the 1907 hall, where such greats as pianist Sviatoslav Richter, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and conductor Leonard Bernstein performed, is distinguished by ebony-hued wood panelling laced with white geometric decoration. It replaces a drab brown coating dating from communist times. A new chamber opera house is named for the late Jewish conductor Sir Georg Solti, who fled Nazi-allied Hungary before World War Two. New "green rooms" for soloists and modern catering facilities are part of the 40-million-euro (RM173.4 million) overhaul. The 800-plus students who used to take their classes at the building housing the concert hall have been accommodated at a new building a few blocks away, named for the late Hungarian avant-garde composer Gyorgy Ligeti. While the older building has been a hive of construction work, the new one resounds to the glorious din of students playing in practice rooms. It lacks the storied atmosphere of the old, but for some students that is a plus. "A lot of students were very happy when this building opened," Anasztazia Razvalyaeva, 27, a native Russian who is now a pupil of Vigh's, said while showing a visitor around. "They said, 'At last, it feels like a real music academy, and not like such a place of mystery'." That "place of mystery" looms large, however, in the Hungarian government's plans to push Budapest up the league tables of European cities with a reputation for music-making. Silicon Valley of music The makeover of the famous building located on Franz Liszt Square in the heart of Budapest was financed 90% with European Union funds and 10% by the Hungarian government, which hopes to use the refurbished hall as a marketing tool for luring tourists to Budapest as a "music capital", Batta said. "I had this idea 10 years ago that we could be the 'Silicon Valley' of music because there are so many good musicians and concert halls and we should make an image, a concert branding, with music," he said. The academy, launched in 1875 with five professors and 38 students in Liszt's apartment, has a faculty of 168 today and is being split into two legal entities, the Liszt Academy and the Liszt Academy Concert Centre, each with its own logo. It is an ambitious gamble, especially taking into account that with the academy's big hall reopening, Budapest, a city of some two million people, will have six mainstream concert, opera or music venues. If they are not competing for the same performers, they will be competing for the concert-going public. The job of filling the 1,100-seat hall, plus 300 seats in the Solti opera house, has fallen to cultural director Andras Csonka. Despite limited resources, he has lined up American septuagenarian cult figure Steve Reich in November, violinist Isabelle Faust a month later and violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Stephen Isserlis to play chamber music next year. Csonka, who came to the academy from the larger Palace of Arts hall on the banks of the Danube River, thinks the concert-going public, local and visitors, is big enough to go around. "We like not to compete but to cooperate," he said. "It is the only way to survive." For music academy alumni, it is essential that the institution survive and build on traditions that have given it pride of place in Hungary's distinguished musical culture. "This building has been renovated so beautifully, so carefully, I can't wait to see it in its original shine," said violinist Barnabas Kelemen, who will play at the gala. – Reuters, October 23, 2013.

Venice gondola builders strive to keep tradition alive Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:25 PM PDT October 23, 2013 Gondola-makers struggle to keep its traditional ways.The sleek black gondolas that whisper through Venice bear the hallmarks of a tiny but proud group of artisans striving to keep alive the traditional building methods for the floating city's most recognisable symbol. Each steered by a lone gondolier in a striped shirt and straw hat, the slender luxury vehicles offer a romantic setting for a serene cruise and, not uncommonly, a proposal of marriage. There were some 7,000 in Venice about 700 years ago, according to gondoliers' association Ente Gondola, but their use as everyday transport has been supplanted by modern boats. The remaining 433 are now primarily a tourist attraction. At the Tramontin boatyard – known as a "squero" in Venetian dialect – gondola builder Roberto Tramontin explains why the family business founded by his great-grandfather in 1884 still makes the classic boat. "It is like a woman, without too much make-up, in a black Armani gown, with just a diamond at her throat," he said. It takes two months to build one from 280 pieces of various wood including lime, oak, mahogany, walnut, cherry, fir, larch and elm, all adding up to a price tag of about 38,000 euros (RM164,652), Tramontin said. The wood is treated for up to a year before it can be wrought into the slightly asymmetrical banana shape that allows a single gondolier to propel it in a straight line. The gondola builders practise for years before starting to build boats to measure according to each gondolier's weight. "In 1970 I started working and in 1994 I made my first gondola on my own," said Tramontin, leaning against a gleaming example which weighs 500 kilogrammes and is 11.1 metres long. Tramontin says he builds gondolas 60% according to the old methods, but he uses some pieces of wood that have been cut by machine and a type of plywood for the boat's flat base. Layers of black varnish are applied to the whole structure, but ornamentation has been limited since the city's ruling Doge decreed in the 1700s that gondolas had become too ornate. The lavish "felze", small cabins on the deck, which had once shielded passengers from rain and prying eyes, were removed. Losing a culture "We work in the old style. Everything is done by hand," said 48-year-old gondola builder Lorenzo Della Toffola, chiselling at a half-built gondola at San Trovaso squero, in Venice's Dorsoduro neighbourhood, which produces one or two each year using century-old techniques. The surviving distinctive features, such as the curved metal plate on the boat's prow and the carved wooden oarlock known as a "forcola", are the craft of a few remaining artisans. "This work was once done by many dozens of people in different workshops around the city," said oar and oarlock-maker Saverio Pastor as he and his employee Pietro carved a hunk of walnut wood using a double-handed saw. "In the past, everyone knew how to row, now few have any need for oars," said Pastor, shaking his head. "It is a thousand year-old culture that is being lost." The artistry surrounding gondolas should be preserved regardless of this change in behaviour, Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni said. "The gondola is one of the symbols of the city and therefore it's clear we have to make all possible efforts to safeguard it and also maintain the profession, the techniques." Pastor's oarlocks are also bought as ornaments for homes, costing up to 1,000 euros (RM4,441) each plus tax. Gondoliers must have a gondola to obtain a licence, so many skirt the costs at the beginning of their careers by buying a second-hand boat, and later get a bank loan to buy a new one. "It's like when a taxi driver buys a taxi," said Aldo Reato, head of gondoliers' association Ente Gondola. Many gondoliers – who are predominantly men – inherit the trade from their fathers, and are keen to point out the close connection between their work and the life of the city. "You need to transmit to the tourists the love you feel for Venice," said gondolier Stefano Bertaggio, 47. Sometimes the gondolier does this job so well that tourists make the ultimate romantic gesture. "I once had a couple from Mexico in the gondola along with the lady's parents," Bertaggio said. "He asked her to marry him and they were all so moved I had to ask a friend to join me helping them out of the boat at the end." – Reuters, October 23, 2013.

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