Juicy court case leaves Coca-Cola on defensive |
- Juicy court case leaves Coca-Cola on defensive
- ‘Avengers’ director Joss Whedon releases new film online
- Veteran Myanmar pro-democracy campaigner Win Tin dies
- US to act ‘in days’ if no Russian action in Ukraine
- Nearly 150 Japanese lawmakers visit controversial war shrine
- Mexico bids farewell to Garcia Marquez
| Juicy court case leaves Coca-Cola on defensive Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:48 PM PDT
The US soft drinks giant is being sued by Californian fruit juice maker Pom Wonderful, who accuse Coca-Cola of misleading consumers about its Minute Maid drink "Pomegranate Blueberry" that contains only 0.5 per cent of the two fruits. Pom Wonderful attorney Seth Waxman said consumers were being misled by Coca-Cola branding the drink — which was mostly apple or grape — as "Pomegranate Blueberry." Pom Wonderful, which sells 100 per cent pomegranate juice, was suffering as a result of Coca-Cola's practices, Waxman argued. Coca-Cola won an earlier case in a San Francisco court, which ruled that the company's labeling practices were consistent with US Food and Drug Administration rules. According to Coca-Cola attorney Kathleen Sullivan, the FDA was responsible for a "national uniformity" of labeling. Justice Anthony Kennedy asked whether it was "Coke's position that national uniformity consists in labels that cheat the consumers like this one did." Justice Samuel Alito also asked whether consumers purchasing the product expecting to receive the health benefits of pomegranate juice "would be very surprised to find... that it has less than one-half of 1 per cent of pomegranate juice." A decision is expected in June. — Reuters  |
| ‘Avengers’ director Joss Whedon releases new film online Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:43 PM PDT
In a surprise video message to fans, Whedon said he was disappointed he could not be in New York for the debut of the paranormal love story that he wrote and which was directed by Brin Hill. But then he noted it was available worldwide and online for a US$5 (RM16) fee. "It is exciting for us because it means we get to explore yet another new form of distribution - and we get US$5," said the director behind the blockbuster "Avengers" franchise from Marvel. "In Your Eyes" is the love story of an East Coast housewife named Rebecca, played by Zoe Kazan ("Revolutionary Road" and "It's Complicated,") who is strangely connected with an ex-con played by Michael Stahl-David, ("Cloverfield," and "The Congress,") who lives in New Mexico. The film is available at inyoureyesmovie.com and the US-based video-sharing website Vimeo. It is the second feature film by Los Angeles-based Bellwether Pictures, which was founded by Whedon and producer Kai Cole to bring micro-budget films directly to an audience. The company released "Much Ado About Nothing," a retelling of the Shakespearean comedy, in 2012. "The Avengers," the film that united Marvel superheroes in 2012, grossed more than US$1.46 billion worldwide. Whedon's sequel "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is due out in 2015. — Reuters |
| Veteran Myanmar pro-democracy campaigner Win Tin dies Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:41 PM PDT
The former journalist and veteran campaigner, whose almost two decades in jail failed to dull his commitment to the democratic cause, had suffered worsening ill health in recent weeks. He died in hospital in Yangon early yesterday, National League for Democracy (NLD) party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. A funeral service will be held tomorrow. Win Tin, a towering figure within the democracy movement, formed the NLD with Aung San Suu Kyi in 1988 in the wake of a student-led pro-democracy uprising. He was imprisoned the following year for his political activities. He reiterated his support for party leader Suu Kyi in the days before he died, according to his long-time assistant Yar Zar. "It is like the world has been lost. But we have many things to do. We will continue as he asked and will follow his way to democracy," he said. Myanmar began its emergence from nearly half a century of military rule in 2011, under a quasi-civilian government that has won international praise for reforms including the release of hundreds of political prisoners. Suu Kyi, who was freed from years of house arrest in 2010, has also been welcomed into parliament at the helm of her party and has indicated her wish to become president after 2015 elections. But the army retains a tight grip on the fledgling parliament, casting doubt over her prospects of the top job. Campaigners stress there is still a long way to go before the country can enjoy full democracy. Integrity and courage Win Tin, bespectacled and with a shock of white hair, possessed an urbane manner that belied his steely nature. He was unwavering in his loyalty to Suu Kyi, but was not afraid to voice disagreement with the Nobel laureate — a rare attribute in a party where many are awed by "the Lady". "The only dissent comes from me," he told AFP in an interview last June. Win Tin's death was met with profound sadness within the democracy movement. Dozens of mourners gathered for a memorial service at a Yangon church yesterday wearing black ribbons. Suu Kyi herself penned a short note in homage to her longtime ally, praising him as the "pride of the country, pride of humanity", according to a release by the NLD. US ambassador Derek Mitchell said Win Tin was an "inspiration to all those everywhere who are dedicated to seeking and speaking the truth in the face of injustice". Political prisoner Win Tin was freed by the former military junta from Yangon's notorious Insein prison as part of an amnesty in September 2008. During his incarceration he had been interrogated for up to five days at a time, deprived of sleep, hooded and beaten. From 1996 he was also kept in solitary confinement and allowed only fleeting 15-minute visits from family every two weeks. He walked out of jail still wearing his blue prison uniform because he did not believe he would really be freed. Last year, he tangled with authorities who demanded the return of the blue shirt and sarong-like longyi he had worn in prison. He refused to repay the cost of the clothing — around $2. Win Tin told AFP he continued to wear a blue shirt in solidarity with dissidents still in jail and to show the world that his country was not yet truly free. "I feel like I'm still in prison," he said. Myanmar's junta once held about 2,000 dissidents. The government of President Thein Sein, a former general-turned-reformer, claimed it had freed them all by the end of last year. But rights groups say activists continue to be locked up. Win Tin began his career as a journalist at the Agence France-Presse bureau in Yangon in the early 1950s soon after Myanmar's independence from British colonial rule. After three years with AFP he moved to the Netherlands, where he spent another three years. In 1962 General Ne Win seized power in a coup, plunging the country into tyranny. "The reason I became a politician is because of military governments. They put pressure on us. They seized the newspapers and publishing houses. As I have many contacts in politics, I reached into politics," Win Tin told AFP last year. — AFP |
| US to act ‘in days’ if no Russian action in Ukraine Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:38 PM PDT
The steps include publicly calling on pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to vacate occupied buildings and checkpoints, accept an amnesty and address their grievances politically, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "If they don't take steps in the coming days, there'll be consequences," she said at a news briefing yesterday. "Obviously, we would have to make a decision in the matter of - in a matter of days - if there are going to be consequences for inaction." Some US lawmakers have been clamoring for President Barack Obama's administration to impose stiff new sanctions on Russia's energy industry and major banks to encourage President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border and discourage further Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory. "I think it's time to move on the next round of sanctions," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy told Reuters yesterday, although he added that he backed giving Moscow two to three days to implement the Geneva agreement. "I think it is important to explore diplomatic solutions when they potentially become available," the Democratic chairman of the Senate's Europe subcommittee said in a telephone interview. "The Russians were willing to sit down in Geneva for the first time across the table from their Ukrainian counterparts, I think that discussion was worthwhile. I don't think the jury is fully in on the Geneva agreement," he said. 'Going to lose Eastern Ukraine' Some members of Congress have made it clear they do not believe sanctions already in place - such as travel restrictions on individuals announced by the Obama administration - will stop Moscow. "I think we're going to lose eastern Ukraine if we continue as we are," US Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on NBC television's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Washington and Moscow each put the onus on the other to ensure tensions are eased in the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War. "If there's not progress, we remain prepared, along with our European and G-7 partners, to impose additional costs. So there'll need to be decisions made in a matter of days," Psaki said. In a telephone call yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to "influence Kiev, not let hotheads there provoke a bloody conflict, and impel the current Ukrainian leadership to fulfill its obligations unflaggingly," Russia's Foreign Ministry said. But Kerry said casting doubt on Ukraine's commitment to the accord "flies in the face of the facts," according to Psaki. Ukraine has sent senior representatives to the east with representatives from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), put forth an amnesty bill for separatists to give up public buildings and weapons and called an Easter pause in military operations, Kerry said. "He asked that Russia now demonstrate an equal level of commitment to the Geneva agreement in both its rhetoric and its actions," Psaki said, such as by sending its own senior representative to work with the OSCE. Kerry also asked Russia to join the United States in seeking the release of Imra Krat, a Ukrainian journalist being held by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country, she said. — Reuters |
| Nearly 150 Japanese lawmakers visit controversial war shrine Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:30 PM PDT
A total of 146 lawmakers from both houses of parliament made the trip en masse to the shrine to mark a three-day spring festival currently under way, according to one lawmaker who was acting as a spokesman for the group. Yasukuni Shrine honours Japan's war dead, including some senior military and political figures convicted of serious crimes in the wake of the country's World War II defeat. That, and the accompanying museum — which paints Japan as a frustrated liberator of Asia and victim of World War II — makes it controversial, especially in China and South Korea, where it is seen as a symbol of Japan's lack of penitence. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has not made a pilgrimage during the festival, but donated a tree to the shrine on Monday, sparking a Chinese charge that he was offering "a slap in the face" to Obama, who is flying into Japan on Wednesday for a state visit. Washington is calling for Asian neighbours to mend ties. The sending of a gift to Yasukuni has been seen as a sign that Abe does not intend to visit, as he did on December 26, sparking fury in Asia and earning him a diplomatic slap on the wrist from the United States, which said it was "disappointed". Conservative lawmakers make regular trips to the shrine during spring and autumn festivals, and on the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. About 160 lawmakers visited the shrine during the spring and autumn festivals last year. Yoshitaka Shindo, minister for internal affairs and communications, paid individual homage at Yasukuni early this morning, his second visit in 10 days. He told reporters he went as a private citizen, playing down the potential for diplomatic fallout. — AFP |
| Mexico bids farewell to Garcia Marquez Posted: 21 Apr 2014 05:25 PM PDT
A coffee-coloured urn containing his ashes was placed on a podium, surrounded by yellow roses, in Mexico City's domed Fine Arts Palace as a string quartet played classical music. Dozens of guests applauded when his widow, Mercedes Barcha, arrived dressed in black with their sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, at the cultural centre, where Mexico pays tribute to its late artistic icons. Hundreds of fans filed past the urn to pay their last respects to the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, taking pictures and short videos with their smartphones. Some of the guests even danced as a three-piece vallenato band played folk songs from his native Colombia with an accordion, drum and guacharaca, a percussion instrument. Garcia Marquez, known affectionately as "Gabo", died on Thursday in the Mexico City house where he lived for decades with his wife and two sons. He was 87. Visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was to deliver remarks later with Mexican leader Enrique Pena Nieto. "I want to thank him for the pleasure he gave me in reading books," said Joseline Lopez, a 21-year-old Venezuelan medical student who queued outside the palace. "One Hundred Years of Solitude will survive 100 more years in our hearts," she said, clutching three yellow roses. Garcia Marquez first moved to Mexico in 1961 and it was there that the veteran journalist wrote his seminal novel, a family and historical saga that was published in 1967. He was a leading exponent of "magical realism", a style of story-telling that blends fantasy and realistic elements. The cause of his death has not been disclosed but he died a week after a bout of pneumonia. He 'loved' Mexico The palace was decorated with the late writer's favourite flower, the yellow rose that he so often wore on his lapel for good luck. Many mourners wore the rose as violins played Beethoven. A large portrait of Garcia Marquez hung on a wall. The vallenato trio offered a performance to the crowd outside the palace. Then, people took turns reading pages from One Hundred Years of Solitude. "He loved this country. He was very grateful and felt as Mexican as any other person," Jaime Abello, director of the Ibero-American New Journalism Foundation that Garcia Marquez founded, told MVS Radio. His biographer, British writer Gerald Martin, said he understood the secular nature of the ceremony because Garcia Marquez was not a religious man. "But he was a man who respected other people's beliefs, like his mother," Martin told Colombia's Caracol radio. "He joked that he didn't believe in God but feared him a lot," said the author of Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life. His native Colombia will hold its own ceremony at Bogota's cathedral today for the man Santos hailed as "the greatest Colombian of all time". Tomorrow, to mark World Book Day, Colombians will have readings of Garcia Marquez's novel No One Writes to the Colonel in more than 1,000 libraries, parks and universities. The family has not said where the author's final resting place will be but Colombia hopes his ashes will be divided between his homeland and Mexico. His wife Barcha "says that it is a very difficult decision that will be taken in due time", said Rafael Tovar, president of Mexico's National Culture and Arts Council. — AFP |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malay Mail Online | All To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
