The first light for the day was ignited by Singapore Education Minister Ng Eng Hen during the torch-lighting ceremony at the Games Village just before seven in the morning.
Day two of the torch relay ceremony will see the flame being brought to 45 schools across Singapore. And one of them is West Spring Secondary School, representing Friendship, one of the Olympic values.
And together with Respect and Excellence, the three routes named after the Olympic values are relayed by 135 torch bearers to the schools.
For some, the responsibility of bearing the 1-kilogramme torch will be an unforgettable - and unnerving - experience.
A student torch bearer from West Spring Secondary School, Bibiana Loh, said: "I'm not very comfortable with fire. I can light candles and stuff but not one huge torch like that."
And even with H1N1 flu looming over the new schoolterm, students and staff kept the festive mood going.
Principal of West Spring Secondary School, Seet Tiat Hee, said: "Today being the first day of school, we are trying to balance between all the precautionary measures (for H1N1 flu) and celebrating the AYG."
By evening, the flame will light up the Asian Youth Games' opening ceremony at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
MANILA, Philippines - A carabao that was about to be slaughtered for meat gave birth to an offspring with two heads in a town in Iloilo in central Philippines, a radio report said Monday.
For at least a few hours, residents in Bingawan town jostled each other to see the carabao born with two heads.
But Visayas-based Bombo Radyo reported that the carabao, which was born in Guinholacan village, died a few hours after it was born.
Carabao owner Victor Castroverde said that except for the "extra head," the carabao had no abormality in its body.
Residents are now waiting for local agriculture officials to determine what caused the abnormality. - GMANews.TV
LOS ANGELES - "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a blockbuster action movie starring Shia LaBeouf, stormed to the top of the North American box office, pushing "The Proposal" to number two, according to earnings estimates released Sunday.
Director Michael Bay's follow-up to 2007's first Transformers movie pulled in 112 million dollars over the three-day period, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The high-action, special effects-laden sequel rolled out with the second largest five-day gross on record, hauling a massive 201 million dollars.
Only 2008 Batman movie "The Dark Knight" pulled in more -- 203 million in its first five days.
"The Proposal," a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a pushy boss who marries her assistant to keep her US visa, fell to the number two spot to take in 18.6 million dollars in box office receipts.
Critically-acclaimed, raucous adult comedy "The Hangover" kept a hold near box office heights at third, earning 17.2 million dollars. The low budget picture about a Las Vegas bachelor party gone awry increased its three-week run to 183.2 million dollars -- a massive gain for its 35-million-dollar budget.
Pixar's animated feature "Up," which tells the story of a grumpy old man who finds adventure in South America, came in fourth place, taking 13 million dollars.
At fifth this weekend was "My Sister's Keeper," starring Cameron Diaz, which took 12 millions dollars in its first week.
"Year One," a comedy about prehistoric hunter-gatherers fell to the sixth spot, earning 5.8 million dollars in its second week.
At seventh, down two spots, was "The Taking of Pelham 123," a remake of a classic 1974 movie about a subway hijacking, which earned 5.4 million dollars.
Sci-fi blockbuster "Star Trek" hung onto a top ten box office spot for the eighth week, earning the number eight position and taking in 3.6 million dollars.
Comedy sequel "Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian" took 3.5 million dollars over the weekend, bringing its six-week earnings to 163.2 million.
In 10th place, taking in 1.7 million dollars, was "Away We Go" from director Sam Mendes, which tells the quirky tale of a couple expecting their first child who travel America looking for the perfect place to start their family.
The flame then fanned out across the island in buses to arrive at the start of the three routes, named after the Olympic values of Friendship, Excellence and Respect.
At Yio Chu Kang stadium, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had the honour of being the first torch bearer to start the relay.
Singapore's Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong runs with the torch during the torch relay at the Asian Youth Games
Over at the Republic Polytechnic in the north of Singapore, other Ministers and VIPs also took part in the historic run.
Zainudin Nordin, torch bearer and Mayor of the North District: "We want to celebrate us organising the AYG, at the same to understand that sports is a really wonderful platform for us to get to know each other and for us to bond with the people together."
Shoppers and tourists caught a sight of the torch as it was carried along Orchard Road.
A total of 70 torchbearers were involved in day one of the relay.
The final torch bearer for the day was Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who ran from Marina Square to the Games Village at Swissotel the Stamford.
The torch relay will resume on Monday for the Schools leg, with the flame travelling to 45 schools around Singapore, where over a hundred runners will have the honour of carrying the torch.
The relay will end at the Indoor Stadium where three athletes will run in with the torches and light the cauldron as part of the Opening Ceremony celebrations.
PARIS (AFP) - - Huge geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus may be fed by a salty sea below its surface, boosting the odds of extraterrestrial life in our own Solar System, according to a study released Wednesday.
This 2006 NASA Cassini space probe mosaic image shows Saturn's moon Enceladus. Huge geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus may be fed by a salty sea below its surface, boosting the odds of extraterrestrial life in our own Solar System, according to a study released Wednesday.
Researchers in Europe detected salt particles in the volcanic vapour-and-ice jets that shoot hundreds of kilometres (miles) into space, the strongest evidence to date of a liquid ocean under the moon's icy crust.
Scientists already knew that tiny Enceladus, only 500 kilometers across, had two of the three essential ingredients for the emergence of life.
One is an energy source, produced in this case by "tidal warming" driven by the shifting gravitational tug of its parent planet during the moon's lopsided orbit, and perhaps by other forces too.
The Cassini spacecraft circling Saturn since 2004 has also found a potentially life-sustaining mix of organic chemicals in Enceladus' plumes, ejected from a quartet of 120-kilometer (75-mile) long fractures -- known as "tiger stripes" -- aligned on the moon's south pole.
That left the third critical ingredient: liquid water.
Since their discovery in 2005, the giant geysers have fueled intense speculation on the presence of a subterranean ocean, and the new discovery goes a long way toward resolving one of the most hotly debated topics in planetary science.
A team led by Frank Postberg of the University of Heidelberg studied data from Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer, and tested their findings in laboratory experiments.
Their results, published in the British journal Nature, show that ice grains in the Enceladus plumes contain substantial quantities of sodium salts, and that the moon's hidden sea -- if there is one -- could be as salty as Earth's oceans.
"The abundance of various salt components in the particles ... exhibit a compelling similarity to the predicted composition of a subsurface Enceladus ocean in contact with its rock core," the researchers conclude.
"Individual plume sources stay active for years, implying outflow from a large reservoir."
Sodium is a good telltale tracer of possible liquid water for two reasons, according to John Spencer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
It is highly soluble, "so any Enceladan water that has prolonged contact with the moon's silicate core should be rich is sodium salts, like Earth's oceans," he noted in a commentary for Nature.
Sodium also scatters sunlight efficiently in the orange-yellow range of the spectrum, and is thus easy to detect even in minute quantities.
In a second study, also in Nature, a team led by Nicholas Schneider of Colorado University likewise looked for salts in Enceladus' plumes, this time using spectrographs on Earth-bound telescopes.
That it failed to detect any would seem to challenge Postberg's findings, but the Earth-based observations -- combined with the Cassini data -- may in fact give us additional clues as to how they may be true, said Spencer.
It tells us, for example, that the plumes could not have been formed by boiling salty water spewing directly out of Enceladus' tiger stripes, otherwise the sodium would be so abundant as to be observable from Earth.
Instead, the plumes could come from salty water distilling into fresh water vapours, but not through evaporation as happens over Earth's oceans, but rather in pressurised chambers under the moon's surface.
Cassini is scheduled to make four additional up-close fly-bys of Enceladus before mid-2010, and another dozen in the next five years if its mission is extended, so lingering doubts on the moon's hidden seas may soon be put to rest.
Activists hold signs as they participate in a rally on climate change in Washington DC. (file pic)
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Friday narrowly passed historic legislation to limit pollution blamed for global warming, handing President Barack Obama a major, hard-fought victory.
By a 219-212 margin, lawmakers voted for the first time in US history to limit heat-trapping carbon emissions and shift the US economy to cleaner energy in a move backers said will create jobs and restore Washington's shaky leadership on climate change ahead of global talks set for December.
Obama immediately hailed the vote, telling reporters at the White House that it amounted to "a victory of the future over the past" as well as "a bold and necessary step".
"The American people are demanding that we abandon the failed policies and politics of the past; we no longer accept inaction; that we face up to the challenges of our time. And today, the House has done exactly that," he said.
The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 per cent by 2050, create "green" jobs, and wean the US economy from oil imports.
The bitter, day-long debate pitted supporters who argued the bill would put a shine back on the battered US economy and foes who described the measure's more than 1,200 pages as a grim recipe for long unemployment lines.
"Just remember these four words for what this legislation means – jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Let's vote for jobs," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exhorted her colleagues minutes before the vote.
Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner warned the measure would send energy costs skyrocketing and denounced it as "the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House".
The pitched political battle over a central plank of Obama's platform now shifts to the US Senate, where the prospects for action this year are uncertain and where outspoken foes of the House approach wield considerable clout.
"Now it's up to the Senate to take the next step. And I'm confident that in the coming weeks and months the Senate will demonstrate the same commitment to addressing what is a tremendous challenge," said Obama.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid hailed the House's "courageous step" but warned "the bill is not perfect" while vowing to "pass bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall".
The bill, the fruit of months of tough negotiations, would create a "cap-and-trade" system limiting overall pollution from large industrial sources and then allocating and selling pollution permits.
The Democratic-crafted bill would require utilities, by 2020, to get 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable resources – solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass – and show annual energy savings of five per cent from efficiency measures.
The European Union plan calls for getting 20 per cent of all electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
Obama, who spent part of the day courting wavering lawmakers, said as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hours before the vote that he hoped the United States was reasserting its role after letting Europe lead for years.
"The United States, over the last several years, has not been where we need to be. We're not going to get there all in one fell swoop, but I'm very proud of the progress that's being made," he told Merkel at the White House.
Obama also vowed to work with rising economies that are also major polluters, like China and India, amid worries that the bill may hamstring the US economy and send jobs fleeing to countries that lack similar restrictions.
"India and China will not shatter their own economies with this sort of scheme, and it's nonsensical for America to impose a job killer like this on ourselves," said the number two House Republican, Representative Eric Cantor.
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that implementing the legislation would cost 80-111 dollars per US household per year, while the Congressional Budget Office says it would run about 175 dollars.
Activists hold signs as they participate in a rally on climate change in Washington DC. (file pic)
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Friday narrowly passed historic legislation to limit pollution blamed for global warming, handing President Barack Obama a major, hard-fought victory.
By a 219-212 margin, lawmakers voted for the first time in US history to limit heat-trapping carbon emissions and shift the US economy to cleaner energy in a move backers said will create jobs and restore Washington's shaky leadership on climate change ahead of global talks set for December.
Obama immediately hailed the vote, telling reporters at the White House that it amounted to "a victory of the future over the past" as well as "a bold and necessary step".
"The American people are demanding that we abandon the failed policies and politics of the past; we no longer accept inaction; that we face up to the challenges of our time. And today, the House has done exactly that," he said.
The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 per cent by 2050, create "green" jobs, and wean the US economy from oil imports.
The bitter, day-long debate pitted supporters who argued the bill would put a shine back on the battered US economy and foes who described the measure's more than 1,200 pages as a grim recipe for long unemployment lines.
"Just remember these four words for what this legislation means – jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Let's vote for jobs," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exhorted her colleagues minutes before the vote.
Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner warned the measure would send energy costs skyrocketing and denounced it as "the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House".
The pitched political battle over a central plank of Obama's platform now shifts to the US Senate, where the prospects for action this year are uncertain and where outspoken foes of the House approach wield considerable clout.
"Now it's up to the Senate to take the next step. And I'm confident that in the coming weeks and months the Senate will demonstrate the same commitment to addressing what is a tremendous challenge," said Obama.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid hailed the House's "courageous step" but warned "the bill is not perfect" while vowing to "pass bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall".
The bill, the fruit of months of tough negotiations, would create a "cap-and-trade" system limiting overall pollution from large industrial sources and then allocating and selling pollution permits.
The Democratic-crafted bill would require utilities, by 2020, to get 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable resources – solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass – and show annual energy savings of five per cent from efficiency measures.
The European Union plan calls for getting 20 per cent of all electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
Obama, who spent part of the day courting wavering lawmakers, said as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hours before the vote that he hoped the United States was reasserting its role after letting Europe lead for years.
"The United States, over the last several years, has not been where we need to be. We're not going to get there all in one fell swoop, but I'm very proud of the progress that's being made," he told Merkel at the White House.
Obama also vowed to work with rising economies that are also major polluters, like China and India, amid worries that the bill may hamstring the US economy and send jobs fleeing to countries that lack similar restrictions.
"India and China will not shatter their own economies with this sort of scheme, and it's nonsensical for America to impose a job killer like this on ourselves," said the number two House Republican, Representative Eric Cantor.
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that implementing the legislation would cost 80-111 dollars per US household per year, while the Congressional Budget Office says it would run about 175 dollars.
Two years and they are back! Was it worth the wait? Yes, if you are a die-hard Transformers fan. Two-thumbs up if you are into digital effects.
Those who caught the first Transformers movie by Michael Bay and expect a continuation of the adventures of the robots in disguise with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) won't be let down with 'Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen', but they might end up a little muddled.
There are familiar faces like Sam's lovely girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his parents Ron and Judy (Kevin Dunn and Julie White).
You will also be reunited with Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) who remains a gun-toting US military commander and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) who reappears late in the movie as old adversary-turned-ally.
The difference now is that the Autobots operate quite openly alongside humans, which is made clear minutes into the movie with a big whiz-bang battle in Shanghai.
A new secret US military operative called NEST, led by Major Lennox and his team last seen battling alien robots in downtown USA in the first Transformers movie, descend literally on Shanghai after a toxic chemical leak which oddly enough, reveals a hidden Decepticon.
This is the cue for the Autobots to appear in all their glory - from Optimus Prime making a spectacular arrival out of the sky from the belly of plane, as a new team including girl-fighters Arcee who transform from bikes and silver Chevy concept sportscar Sideswipe, take shape on the ground.
Optimus Prime in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
They take on the bad guys Demolisher and Sideways with pyrotechnics and crushing metal galore.
Given that the Transformers have a cult following from kids to adults who grew up with the Autobots and Decepticons as cartoons and action figure toys in the 70s, those who can be categorised as non-followers might get a little lost among the different robots and their disguises.
If you're a 'novice' it's best to bring along an 'expert' which in my case is an 11-year-old who must now receive his due credit as personal advisor on who's who among the Transformers.
It was also fortunate that my young advisor had used some time during the school holidays to catch up on some 'essential' reading which provided useful background into The Fallen , a robot in need of power and energy.
The Fallen whom this movie revolves around, is the chief bad guy, not Megatron whom we all met in the last round and saw finally being dropped into the depths of an ocean.
Through some eavesdropping the Decepticons manage to raise Megatron from his watery tomb as must be expected for a sequel and a majestic robot who rivals Optimus Prime.
It is at a meeting between Megatron and his master, The Fallen that we learn how the movie gets its name, and how everything falls into place.
Unfortunately, all this comes mid-way into the movie after running through quite a mundane catch-up on the lives of the Witwickys.
The arrival of Sam at college is complete with nerds including room-mate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez ) who gets roped in as a new side-kick mainly for comic relief, and hot girls like Alice (Isabel Lucas) who is really tough and not-too-nice on the inside!
It is here too that the audience will be bombarded with sexual references which were really unnecessary as they weren't even funny to most adults and awkward for the kids.
This earned 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' a PG rating which covers intense violence and sexual references which can appear when you least expect it - such as from a tiny robot .
Hopefully, the kids and kid-in-you will come away only remembering the awesome special effects which see the vehicles transforming into Autobots and Decepticons while on the move.
The super-charged battles between the Transformers that take place from the forests of America to the open seas and the plains of the Sahara are also spectacular.
It was also rewarding to catch glimpses of military hardware including an American destroyer roped in for the closing sequence of the movie, sailing off into the sunset as Optimus Prime towers on the deck next to Sam.
Although much of the movie revolved around Sam, Mikaela and the main Transformers such as Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream, it was the second billing stars who shined.
The sudden appearance of Agent Simmons gave a good boost to the movie.
The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
John Turturro was flawless in delivering his character of a failed secret agent who remains sorely in need of redemption and being taken seriously, who gets to help save the day.
New face Ramon Rodriguez also shows he can pull off some good laughs in his role as Leo who unwittingly gets dragged into the battle to save mankind.
Credit also goes to Kevin Dunn and Julie White who reprise their roles as Ron and Judy Witwicky with just the right amount of comedy coupled with a very realistic portrayal of that odd blend of parental overbearing-ness and love.
While there were a total of 14 robots last time, in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' there are 46 robots of varying shapes and sizes according to the creative team ILM (Industrial Light and Magic).
The most memorable of the new bots in my books is Jetfire, the SR-71 Blackbird jet which was reactivated with a shard of the Allspark.
With the voice of Michael York, the ancient Autobot that switched from being a Decepticon as it couldn't stand all the negative vibes, is equally endearing and heroic, while serving to pull the loose ends together.
The younger crowds might enjoy the antics of Wheelie, a trouble-maker that proves worthwhile and Autobot Twins, Skids and Mudflap who are a pair of Chevrolet concept mini-cars.
Those who love Bumblebee will love the yellow Chevy Camaro even more in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' with its loyalty and tender side which the ILM team pulled off wonderfully.
Along with the special effects team, director Michael Bay did great justice to screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman with an action-packed, robot-jammed movie that won't disappoint.
Two years and they are back! Was it worth the wait? Yes, if you are a die-hard Transformers fan. Two-thumbs up if you are into digital effects.
Those who caught the first Transformers movie by Michael Bay and expect a continuation of the adventures of the robots in disguise with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) won't be let down with 'Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen', but they might end up a little muddled.
There are familiar faces like Sam's lovely girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his parents Ron and Judy (Kevin Dunn and Julie White).
You will also be reunited with Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) who remains a gun-toting US military commander and Agent Simmons (John Turturro) who reappears late in the movie as old adversary-turned-ally.
The difference now is that the Autobots operate quite openly alongside humans, which is made clear minutes into the movie with a big whiz-bang battle in Shanghai.
A new secret US military operative called NEST, led by Major Lennox and his team last seen battling alien robots in downtown USA in the first Transformers movie, descend literally on Shanghai after a toxic chemical leak which oddly enough, reveals a hidden Decepticon.
This is the cue for the Autobots to appear in all their glory - from Optimus Prime making a spectacular arrival out of the sky from the belly of plane, as a new team including girl-fighters Arcee who transform from bikes and silver Chevy concept sportscar Sideswipe, take shape on the ground.
Optimus Prime in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
They take on the bad guys Demolisher and Sideways with pyrotechnics and crushing metal galore.
Given that the Transformers have a cult following from kids to adults who grew up with the Autobots and Decepticons as cartoons and action figure toys in the 70s, those who can be categorised as non-followers might get a little lost among the different robots and their disguises.
If you're a 'novice' it's best to bring along an 'expert' which in my case is an 11-year-old who must now receive his due credit as personal advisor on who's who among the Transformers.
It was also fortunate that my young advisor had used some time during the school holidays to catch up on some 'essential' reading which provided useful background into The Fallen , a robot in need of power and energy.
The Fallen whom this movie revolves around, is the chief bad guy, not Megatron whom we all met in the last round and saw finally being dropped into the depths of an ocean.
Through some eavesdropping the Decepticons manage to raise Megatron from his watery tomb as must be expected for a sequel and a majestic robot who rivals Optimus Prime.
It is at a meeting between Megatron and his master, The Fallen that we learn how the movie gets its name, and how everything falls into place.
Unfortunately, all this comes mid-way into the movie after running through quite a mundane catch-up on the lives of the Witwickys.
The arrival of Sam at college is complete with nerds including room-mate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez ) who gets roped in as a new side-kick mainly for comic relief, and hot girls like Alice (Isabel Lucas) who is really tough and not-too-nice on the inside!
It is here too that the audience will be bombarded with sexual references which were really unnecessary as they weren't even funny to most adults and awkward for the kids.
This earned 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' a PG rating which covers intense violence and sexual references which can appear when you least expect it - such as from a tiny robot .
Hopefully, the kids and kid-in-you will come away only remembering the awesome special effects which see the vehicles transforming into Autobots and Decepticons while on the move.
The super-charged battles between the Transformers that take place from the forests of America to the open seas and the plains of the Sahara are also spectacular.
It was also rewarding to catch glimpses of military hardware including an American destroyer roped in for the closing sequence of the movie, sailing off into the sunset as Optimus Prime towers on the deck next to Sam.
Although much of the movie revolved around Sam, Mikaela and the main Transformers such as Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream, it was the second billing stars who shined.
The sudden appearance of Agent Simmons gave a good boost to the movie.
The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
John Turturro was flawless in delivering his character of a failed secret agent who remains sorely in need of redemption and being taken seriously, who gets to help save the day.
New face Ramon Rodriguez also shows he can pull off some good laughs in his role as Leo who unwittingly gets dragged into the battle to save mankind.
Credit also goes to Kevin Dunn and Julie White who reprise their roles as Ron and Judy Witwicky with just the right amount of comedy coupled with a very realistic portrayal of that odd blend of parental overbearing-ness and love.
While there were a total of 14 robots last time, in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' there are 46 robots of varying shapes and sizes according to the creative team ILM (Industrial Light and Magic).
The most memorable of the new bots in my books is Jetfire, the SR-71 Blackbird jet which was reactivated with a shard of the Allspark.
With the voice of Michael York, the ancient Autobot that switched from being a Decepticon as it couldn't stand all the negative vibes, is equally endearing and heroic, while serving to pull the loose ends together.
The younger crowds might enjoy the antics of Wheelie, a trouble-maker that proves worthwhile and Autobot Twins, Skids and Mudflap who are a pair of Chevrolet concept mini-cars.
Those who love Bumblebee will love the yellow Chevy Camaro even more in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' with its loyalty and tender side which the ILM team pulled off wonderfully.
Along with the special effects team, director Michael Bay did great justice to screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman with an action-packed, robot-jammed movie that won't disappoint.
You won't be able to resist the cuddly stars, stunning scenery
Genevieve Loh
05:55 AM Jun 17, 2009
YOU can never go wrong with pandas. Especially when these deceptively serene-looking endangered Chinese national treasures appear as cute and cuddly-looking as they do (sans sharp teeth and claws).
Scene from Trail of the Panda
Even more so when your film - about a little panda cub who is separated from its mother and subsequently rescued by an orphaned boy after going through a series of hardships and dangers in the forest - is the first full-length feature to receive full support and supervision from Sichuan's Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in the history of the wildlife preservation.
Throw in the fact these precious stars were provided by China's foremost panda research and preservation centre and bore the brunt of the devastating Sichuan earthquake last year, and this 90-minute gentle heart-warmer will no doubt tug at the tear ducts and milk your every emotion for all its worth.
Scene from Trail of the Panda
Acclaimed Chinese director Yu Zhong gives the audiences a rare opportunity to see the majestic beauty of the area by poignantly capturing the spectacular scenery that has since been destroyed, and brings out a moving (if a tad over-sentimental) relationship between Chinese-Japanesechild actor Daichi Harashima and the cub he becomes attached to.
Trail of the Panda will reignite the world's love for pandas, while cleverly providing a platform for the importance of environmental and wild animal preservation.
You won't be able to resist the cuddly stars, stunning scenery
Genevieve Loh
05:55 AM Jun 17, 2009
YOU can never go wrong with pandas. Especially when these deceptively serene-looking endangered Chinese national treasures appear as cute and cuddly-looking as they do (sans sharp teeth and claws).
Scene from Trail of the Panda
Even more so when your film - about a little panda cub who is separated from its mother and subsequently rescued by an orphaned boy after going through a series of hardships and dangers in the forest - is the first full-length feature to receive full support and supervision from Sichuan's Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in the history of the wildlife preservation.
Throw in the fact these precious stars were provided by China's foremost panda research and preservation centre and bore the brunt of the devastating Sichuan earthquake last year, and this 90-minute gentle heart-warmer will no doubt tug at the tear ducts and milk your every emotion for all its worth.
Scene from Trail of the Panda
Acclaimed Chinese director Yu Zhong gives the audiences a rare opportunity to see the majestic beauty of the area by poignantly capturing the spectacular scenery that has since been destroyed, and brings out a moving (if a tad over-sentimental) relationship between Chinese-Japanesechild actor Daichi Harashima and the cub he becomes attached to.
Trail of the Panda will reignite the world's love for pandas, while cleverly providing a platform for the importance of environmental and wild animal preservation.
The Marvel Comics superhero returns for the five-part series Captain America Reborn, beginning July 1.
But Marvel won't disclose how he rises from the dead. Executive editor Tom Brevoort teases that the character has been "on a Vonnegut-esque metaphysical journey", including some soul-searching about his place in the world.
"He hasn't just been lying in a cold grave for these many months," Brevoort says. "While he seems to be dead, his mind and his spirit" are active elsewhere.
Captain America, the superhero alter-ego of Steve Rogers, was apparently shot and killed two years ago on the steps of a courthouse in lower Manhattan. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Rogers' sidekick Bucky Barnes took his place, continuing the series. Brevoort says Barnes will embark on a quest to revive Rogers after tracking down what really happened to him.
"There's definitely a question that must arise, which is "'Can there be more than one Captain America?'" says Brevoort. "And if not, even if there can't, what does this mean for Bucky?"
Captain America Reborn
According to Brevoort, some Bucky fans are none too pleased.
"Right this second, it's kind of a split," he says. "When Steve was first killed, there was a great outcry. But then as Bucky has taken over as Cap, and has sort of struggled to fill those big shoes, a lot of our readers have really taken to him as a character."
He says Marvel planned to bring back Rogers in one shape or form and, given the general mood of the country, the timing seemed right to resurrect one of the comic book empire's most patriotic icons.
"It feels like there's a desire for hopefulness," he says. "A desire for heroes and for somebody to show us that we can be our better selves, and to help pull us all up by our bootstraps and get out of the situations that we find ourselves in." AP
SINGAPORE: The Asian Youth Games (AYG) torch relay continues in Singapore on Monday. ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c94500fd-1659-40f9-b544-d51a275d403d)
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