Indonesia, Iran films strike sombre note at Venice |
- Indonesia, Iran films strike sombre note at Venice
- Alibaba profit more than Amazon, EBay before US IPO preparation
- Fatal heroin overdoses on the rise in New York City
- Tracy Morgan ‘struggling’ to heal after car crash, says lawyer
- Belafonte, Miyazaki to receive honorary Oscars
- Apple Sept 9 event to check out new iPhone?
| Indonesia, Iran films strike sombre note at Venice Posted: 28 Aug 2014 06:00 PM PDT
A French caper based on a fictionalised version of a true story about the theft of Charlie Chaplin's coffin shortly after his death in 1977 was shown as another of 20 films in contention for the festival's top prize, to be awarded next week, and provided a macabre, touching and often humorous counterpoint. Eugene Chaplin, Chaplin's son, said at a news conference he had been sceptical about cooperating on director Xavier Beauvois's "La rancon de la gloire" (The Price of Glory) because "I didn't see what could be funny about stealing a coffin". But, after seeing Beauvois's films, "I thought, 'Why not?'" American director Joshua Oppenheimer's competition film "The Look of Silence" is his second documentary based on death squads that roamed Indonesia in the wake of a failed communist-led coup attempt and killed as many as a million people. The first, "The Act of Killing" (2012), was nominated for an Oscar in the documentary category. Asked at a press conference yesterday why the credits for the new film, which had its premiere on Wednesday night, mostly read "anonymous", Oppenheimer said the production crew was at risk if their identities were revealed. "There is a grave political risk for anybody involved with the crew in Indonesia if their identities become known to the authorities, especially to the military and the paramilitary group that played such a prominent role in my previous film." He also said that Adi Rukun, a travelling optometrist who meets with some of his brother Ramli's killers in the course of the new film, had to move to a different part of Indonesia due to concerns for his safety once the film was released. Rukun, who is in his 40s, said he agreed to participate after seeing clips assembled by Oppenheimer that had showed him the magnitude and brutality of the killing, and convinced him the past had to be confronted to assure a better future. "I only want the perpetrators to acknowledge and admit what they did and to acknowledge that they were wrong so that we would somehow be able to actually forgive each other and live together, that's all I wanted from those confrontations," he said in remarks translated into English. "We live in one community which is split by mutual feelings of suspicion and fear and I really want all of this to end." Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad said she had not had to film underground in Iran where her film "Ghesseha" (Tales) was shot, at least in part with a digital camera that with its grainy images emphasises the grittiness of life inTehran. "The main thing is that the story, the project, needs to be accepted within the country, it needs to reflect peoples' lives," she said after the film's first festival screening. What it shows in a bleak and desolate-seeming Tehran is the lives of people with barely enough money to survive being made more miserable by a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, unemployment, drug addiction and wife abuse. In one case a functionary will not listen to an elderly former civil servant's plea to recoup crippling medical costs because the bureaucrat is more interested in taking a call from his mistress. Also shown are the aimless and drug-scarred lives of young people who cannot get proper jobs, like a formerly promising university student named Hamed who was expelled for his political views and now drives a taxi cab part-time, helping chauffeur people to and from a centre that helps battered wives. Bani-Etemad, who is one of Iran's best known directors, said that the film was intended in part to show how the international sanctions imposed on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme have had a devastating effect on daily life. "The economic situation in Iran is critical and this is due to the embargo which actually penalised the people in the country," she said. "Our children, who suffer from very severe diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis, are actually suffering from the consequences of the embargo." She urged people at "the international level" to realise that "international decisions always affect the people". – Reuters  |
| Alibaba profit more than Amazon, EBay before US IPO preparation Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:54 PM PDT
Operating income at China's biggest e-commerce operator rose to US$1.1 billion (RM3.47 billion) in the three months ended June, or 42 per cent more than the combined profit of Amazon and EBay for the period. After including one-time gains, Alibaba's net income was more than double those of its competitors. Alibaba's results, probably the last before the IPO, underscore how its Taobao and Tmall platforms are connecting consumers to businesses in the most populous nation and how the company is transitioning to mobile services. Alibaba may kick off its roadshow meetings to market the share sale next week, people with knowledge of the matter have said. "Alibaba still has huge potential for making money, mostly because of its mobile platform," said Li Muzhi, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Arete Research Service LLP. "Alibaba has advanced more than EBay in that it also has its own business-to- consumer business, instead of just linking individual buyers and sellers." Net income at Hangzhou-based Alibaba nearly tripled to US$1.99 billion, helped by gains on stakes held in UCWeb Inc and OneTouch, the company said in a filing. Alibaba has yet to announce the price of shares in the IPO. The company may be worth US$187 billion after the share sale, according to the average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg last month. EBay and Amazon have a combined market value of US$226 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Stock compensation Alibaba issued stock-based compensation worth US$59 a share, which indicates a market value of US$138 billion, based on 2.34 billion shares outstanding as of June 30, according to the August 27 filing. The share count includes preferred and unvested restricted shares. Revenue rose 46 per cent in local currency to the equivalent of US$2.54 billion, Alibaba said. "This was a pretty good quarter that should help sentiment around the valuation of the deal," said Jeff Papp, an analyst at Oberweis Asset Management Inc., which oversees more than US$1.5 billion in Lisle, Illinois. Alibaba said the number of customers accessing sites through smartphones, a key plank of its growth strategy, increased sharply. The company had 188 million mobile monthly active users in June, up from 163 million in March, according to its filing. The company agreed in June to acquire the rest of UCWeb to add Internet browsers and an application store to its services for mobile devices. Mobile transactions Mobile transactions accounted for 32.8 per cent of Alibaba's total in the June quarter, up from 27.4 per cent in the previous three months and just 12 per cent a year earlier. Alibaba's retail platforms helped generate 6.1 billion packages in the 12 months ended June, accounting for 54 per cent of the nation's total, the company said. Shares of Yahoo! Inc., which owns a 23 per cent stake in Alibaba, rose 0.3 per cent to US$38.31 in New York yesterday. The Sunnyvale, California-based company will be selling the largest chunk of shares in the IPO. SoftBank Corp., which owns more than 30 per cent of Alibaba, rose 2 per cent as of 9.27am in Tokyo. Still, Alibaba's profit margins narrowed during the quarter in part because of rising marketing expenses. Alibaba's margin on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, declined during the quarter to 54 per cent from more than 56 per cent a year earlier. Investor meetings "Margins had been coming down a bit and that continued," Papp said. "That's continued to be a negative, with the one exception that they already still have extremely high margins to begin with." EBay has an Ebitda margin of 26.7 per cent and Amazon 5.7 per cent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Alibaba's investor meetings for the IPO will give the company the opportunity to answer questions from the world's biggest fund managers and build demand for its shares. The schedule, put forth by banks managing the offering, would have meetings begin in Hong Kong and Singapore before executives travel to London and eventually host their first US event in New York on September 8, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The timeline has Alibaba targeting a September 16 trading debut, the people said. Acquisition spree Chinese Internet users have grown to 632 million, greater than the population of any other country except India, and could exceed 850 million by 2015, according to government data. McKinsey & Co. predicts online retailing in the world's second- largest economy will reach US$395 billion next year, triple its 2011 level. Alibaba has announced 29 deals worth US$16 billion since the start of 2012, expanding into everything from finance and football to media entertainment and taxi booking services. In May, Alibaba bought a 10 per cent stake in Singapore Post Ltd to develop its logistics in Southeast Asia. It also invested in Youku Tudou Inc, Intime Retail Group Co and TangoMe Inc, and on July 15 announced plans for a video streaming service in China with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. One of Alibaba's recent acquisitions, film producer Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd, said this month its new management uncovered accounting flaws and won't be able to publish results on time. Alibaba acquired 60 per cent of the company for about US$800 million in June. In the earnings filing, Alibaba said it has made provisions to the value of the assets, noting that the issues at Alibaba Pictures won't materially affect its overall financial position. ― Bloomberg |
| Fatal heroin overdoses on the rise in New York City Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:53 PM PDT
Heroin overdoses killed 420 people in the city in 2013, the highest in a decade, the department said. It was the most common substance tied to overdose deaths, involved in 54 per cent of them. The largest increase in heroin overdose rates was seen in the city's wealthiest neighborhoods, the department said, rising to 5.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2013, from 1.9 in 2010. "We know that these deaths are preventable," said Dr. Hillary Kunins, a deputy commissioner at the health department, declining to speculate on what caused the resurgence. "This is the million-dollar question that many people are struggling with," Kunins said. Abuse of opioids, a class of addictive drugs that can dull pain and bring feelings of euphoria to users, has become a leading cause of death in the United States, especially in suburban and rural areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it an epidemic. One hopeful development is data showing a reversal in the surging rate of opioid painkiller deaths on Staten Island - the city's most suburban borough. Fatalities declined for two years to 7.3 deaths per 100,000 people, from 10.7 in 2011. At the same time the city ran a campaign on the island in which it urged doctors to prescribe opioid painkillers more judiciously and in smaller quantities where possible, and ran advertisements about the dangers of abusing the drugs. The city has also distributed naloxone, a drug that can rapidly halt an overdose. The city's current opioid abuse epidemic is different from the 1970s heroin epidemic, according to Andrew Kolodny, chief medical officer of Phoenix House, an organization that treats substance abuse. Decades ago, almost all opioid abuse involved heroin and it was concentrated in impoverished areas of the city, among mostly minority residents. In the current epidemic, many users are older and middle class, including an increasing number of women. This group typically abuse the opioid painkillers prescribed to them by their doctor for chronic medical conditions, Kolodny said. Young adults addicted to opiates may have initially started out on illicitly obtained painkiller pills. "If you were addicted and you can't access treatment, you're not going to get better, you're going to start using heroin," he said. — Reuters |
| Tracy Morgan ‘struggling’ to heal after car crash, says lawyer Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:52 PM PDT
The 45-year-old "30 Rock" star was involved in a six-car accident that took the life of comic James McNair in June. Tracy suffered severe trauma in the tragedy and his lawyer Benedict P. Morelli confirms to People magazine the comedian is finding the rehabilitation process difficult right now. "[He's] struggling. He's really having a tough time," the attorney revealed. In addition to brain injuries, Tracy broke his leg, femur, nose and busted some ribs. He was released from a rehab facility in July after spending time at the hospital in critical condition. The star is now receiving recovery treatment at his New Jersey home, but Tracy may not be able to walk fully for months, so he needs the aid of a wheelchair and walker to get around. "He's making incremental progress," Benedict said. "But they'll have to wait another month before they assess him cognitively." Tracy was riding in a limousine in New Jersey when his vehicle collided with a tractor trailer on a turnpike during the early hours of June 7. At the time of the tragedy he was travelling with four others in the back of the automobile. Two other passengers in the front of the vehicle were unhurt. Last month, Tracy filed suit against Walmart, claiming the retailer was negligent because its driver, Kevin Roper, hadn't slept in 24 hours prior to the crash. That driver pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. He denies having fallen asleep at the wheel. The case continues. — Cover Media |
| Belafonte, Miyazaki to receive honorary Oscars Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:48 PM PDT
The academy, which hosts Hollywood's annual Oscars ceremony and is made up of some 6,500 members of the film industry, bestows the Governors Awards to honour a person's lifetime achievements in film. The Governors Awards, also called honorary Oscars, are handed out at a star-studded Hollywood ceremony in November. Belafonte, 87, will be given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award for his work in social causes, including famine relief and education. The academy noted that through his film work, which includes "Carmen Jones" and "Odds Against Tomorrow," Belafonte strived to spotlight racial issues. Belafonte, a native of New York's Harlem neighborhood, is best known as the "King of Calypso," emerging at the forefront of the Caribbean folk music wave in the United States in the 1950s. He will be join a select company of stars who have won the coveted "EGOT," with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards under his belt. Miyazaki, 73, is a renowned animator and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, winning the Oscar for best animated feature film in 2002 for "Spirited Away." "The Wind Rises" earned Miyazaki his third Oscar nomination earlier this year but may be the final work for the director, who announced his plans to retire from filmmaking last year through his production company. Dublin native O'Hara, 94, is best known for the films "Miracle on 34th Street," and "Sinbad the Sailor." The red-haired screen siren was also a frequent collaborator with director John Ford, appearing in five of his films, including "The Quiet Man." Carriere, 82, began his career as a novelist before switching to film writing, winning an Oscar for best short subject in 1962 for co-writing "Heureux Anniversaire" with Pierre Etaix. He frequently worked with Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel on films such as 1967's "Belle de Jour." Previous recipients of the Governors Awards include actor Eli Wallach and actress Lauren Bacall, who both passed away this year, director Francis Ford Coppola, actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie and comedic actor Steve Martin. — Reuters |
| Apple Sept 9 event to check out new iPhone? Posted: 28 Aug 2014 05:48 PM PDT
The famously secretive company offered scant clues in emailed invites that showed the date in large numbers over the words: "Wish we could say more." The event will be held in Cupertino, California. Rumours about Apple's plans have been swirling for months, with many observers convinced a new-generation iPhone with a larger screen could be on the cards. Technology news website Re/code on Wednesday fuelled flames of speculation with a report that Apple will finally embark on a foray into wearable computing. The tech giant is expected to merge style and innovation, along with sensors and computing power, in a wrist-worn device that links wirelessly to iPhones or iPads. Apple typically updates its product cycle in the second half of the year, getting a lift from holiday sales. Last year, it unveiled the iPhone 5S and the lower-priced iPhone 5C in September, getting record sales at the launch. Industry observers have been hoping the company will come out with its "next big thing," and shake up another product category the way it rocked markets with iPhones and iPads. Apple is fine-tuning a new operating system that will allow for mobile payments and includes a health platform, which could mesh nicely with an "iWatch" for tracking activity, sleep, pulse and more. The system, iOS8, is expected to be in the new iPhones. — AFP-Relaxnews |
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