Actress Nicole Kidman visits the omega flagship store to donate her signed omega constellation timepiece, in New York City,on wednesday, oct. 7, 2009.[
Actress Nicole Kidman visits the omega flagship store to donate her signed omega constellation timepiece, in New York City,on wednesday, oct. 7, 2009.
Nicole Kidman
Omega CEO Stephen Urquhart and Nicole Kidman
South Korean actress Jang Seo Hee poses on the red carpet during the Pusan
International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2009. The 14th Pusan
International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea praises as its largest
international film event, opened Thursday, inviting top-rank moviemakers and
celebrities around the world.
BUSAN, Oct. 8 -- The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea
praises as its largest international film event, opened Thursday, inviting
top-rank moviemakers and celebrities around the world.
Welcoming the press guests with its opening film, South Korean-produced "Good
Morning, President," the festival began its nine-day run.
Later in the evening, a grand opening ceremony was held at an open theater here
in the peninsula's southern port city, attended by world-famous celebrities,
including Josh Hartnett, and Han-ryu, or the Korean wave, stars like Jang
Dong-gun and Lee Byung-hun.
Famous Chinese celebrities, such as Fruit Chen and Terri Kwan, also appeared in
the ceremony's photo zone, receiving a warm welcome from thousands of South
Korean movie lovers.
Jia Zhangke, Cui Jian, and Li Bingbing are also scheduled to visit Busan during
the festival, with the Li-starred movie to be presented as the closing film.
This year's PIFF, marking its 14th event, is screening a total of 355 films from
70 countries, breaking its last record it set last year, 315 movies from 60
nations.
Among the participant films, 98 chose to world-premier, or showcase for the
first time in the world, at the PIFF, which is also a record-high number.
For screening, the PIFF organization has prepared a total of 269,332 seats at 36
screens, or 6 major theaters.
The festival runs multiple awards, including the New Current Award, for which
Oscar-nominee Jean-Jacques Beineix serves as the jury head, and the Sonje Award
for short films, and the newly-launched Flash Forward Award targeted for
emerging directors from non-Asian regions.
In addition to the prize-competing events, the fest offers diverse programs,
such as conferences, forums, academies, concerts, and photo exhibitions.
In particular, on sidelines of the PIFF, the Asian Film Market 2009 is held from
Oct. 11 to 14, in which 72 companies participated as sales office exhibitors and
potential buyers from 17 countries registered.
The Pusan Promotion Plan, which the PIFF organization claims as the largest
project market in Asia, is part of the film market, providing a pre-market venue
where promising filmmakers and producers meet with potential co-producers and
financiers.
The PIFF also prepares for a 900 million-won, or around 720,000-U.S. dollars,
funding program, or the so-called Asian Cinema Fund.
"The fund aims at helping activate more independent film productions and to
provide a stable production environment, while playing a role as a cornerstone
of a pan-Asian network for Asian filmmakers," the organization said.
Named after the city name Busan in the old Romanization system, the PIFF was
launched in 1996 and has seen expansion in both size and participant number by
breaking pre-set records every year.
The PIFF has now grown into one of most influential film fests in Asia, focused
on discovering new films and first-time directors from across the region, South
Korea's Yonhap News Agency evaluated.
Amid the fear of the fast-spreading A/H1N1 virus, the fest is expected to be
visited by more than 200,000 people.
Chinese actor Guo Tao (3rd R) walks on the red carpet during the Pusan
International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2009. The 14th Pusan
International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea praises as its largest
international film event, opened Thursday, inviting top-rank moviemakers and
celebrities around the world.
South Korean actress Ha Ji Won poses on the red carpet during the Pusan
International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2009. The 14th Pusan
International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea praises as its largest
international film event, opened Thursday, inviting top-rank moviemakers and
celebrities around the world.
South Korean actress Soo Ae and actor Kim Nam-gil pose on the red carpet
during the Pusan International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8,
2009. The 14th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea
praises as its largest international film event, opened Thursday, inviting
top-rank moviemakers and celebrities around the world.
Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu poses on the red carpet during the Pusan
International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2009. The 14th Pusan
International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea praises as its largest
international film event, opened Thursday, inviting top-rank moviemakers and
celebrities around the world.
South Korea's actor Jang Dong-gun poses on the red carpet during the Pusan
International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2009. The 14th Pusan
International Film Festival (PIFF), which South Korea praises as its largest
international film event, opened Thursday, inviting top-rank moviemakers and
celebrities around the world.
(Xinhua)
Palestinian children look at white donkeys dyed like zebras at a zoo in the
Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City, Oct. 8, 2009. The zoo dyed two donkeys because
the zebra of the zoo died of starvation during the Israeli military offensive as
the zookeeper could not feed animals.
Palestinian children look at white donkeys dyed like zebras in a zoo in the
Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City, Oct. 8, 2009. The zoo dyed two donkeys because
the zebra of the zoo died of starvation during the Israeli military offensive as
the zookeeper could not feed animals.
Palestinian children look at white donkeys dyed like zebras at a zoo in the
Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City, Oct. 8, 2009. The zoo dyed two donkeys because
the zebra of the zoo died of starvation during the Israeli military offensive as
the zookeeper could not feed animals.
(Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)
STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6 -- The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Charles K.
Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, all from the United States, on
Tuesday.
Photos of three winners of the Nobel Prize in physics for 2009 are seen on a
screen during an announcement ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 6, 2009.
Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith on Tuesday won the 2009
Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries of importance for the internet and data
and telephone communications and the digital camera.
Kao was awarded "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of
light in fibers for optical communication," and Boyle and Smith were awarded
"for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD sensor," the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
Among the three, Kao is a Chinese-American who was born in Shanghai in 1933 and
also holds British citizenship, while Boyle is a Canadian dual national.
The CCD is the digital camera's electronic eye. It revolutionized photography,
as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film. CCD technology
is also used in many medical applications, e.g. imaging the inside of the human
body, both for diagnostics and for microsurgery as well as astronomy, said the
Nobel Committee.
Permanent Secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences Gunnar Oquist presents
the winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics at the session hall of the
academy in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 6, 2009.
Kao who was electronic engineer and vice-chancellor of Chinese University of
Hong Kong before retirement made a discovery that led to a breakthrough in fiber
optics in 1966. He calculated how to transmit light over long distances via
optical glass fibers which led to the fabrication of the first ultra pure fiber
in 1970.In 1969 Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented the first
successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD (Charge-Coupled
Device), according to the Committee.
The two scientific achievements have helped to shape the foundations of today's
networked societies by creating many practical innovations for everyday life and
provided new tools for scientific exploration, added the Nobel Committee.
This was the second of this year's crop of Nobel prizes, which are handed out
annually for achievements in science, literature, economics and peace.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences presents the winners of the 2009 Nobel
Prize in Physics at the session hall of the academy in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct.
6, 2009. Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith on Tuesday won the
2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries of importance for the internet and
data and telephone communications and the digital camera.
All but one of the prizes were established in the will of 19th century dynamite
millionaire Alfred Nobel. The economics award was established by Sweden's
central bank in 1968.
On Monday, the Nobel Medicine Prize went to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, a U.S. and
Australian citizen, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak from the United States.
Nobel died childless and dedicated his vast fortune to create "prizes for those,
who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on
mankind."
The prizes have been awarded since 1901. Each prize consists of a medal, a
personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.4
million U.S. dollars).
(Xinhua)
Elizabeth Taylor poses as she arrives for a A.R. Gurney's play "Love Letters"
at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles December 1, 2007.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 -- Septuagenarian Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor
announced Tuesday she would check into a hospital to undergo a procedure to
repair a leaking heart valve, but she gave no specific time.
Taylor, 77, made the announcement on her Twitter post "before it gets in the
papers."
"It's very new and involves repairing my leaky valve using a clip device,
without open heart surgery, so that my heart will function better.
"Any prayers you happen to have lying around I would dearly appreciate. I'll let
you know when it's all over. Love you, Elizabeth," she said.
However, Taylor did not say when or where she would receive the procedure.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor arrives for her 75th birthday party at the
Ritz-Carlton in Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada in this February 27, 2007
file photo.
Taylor, who is wheelchair-bound, rarely appears in public, but she managed to
attend the funeral of pop icon Michael Jackson at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale early last month and also showed up briefly at the Macy's Passport
AIDS/HIV research fundraiser in Santa Monica, California.
She has been reported to be in failing health in recent years, with heart and
spinal problems. The actress, who has diabetes, had a benign brain tumor removed
in 1997.
(Xinhua)
Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat marches with tens of thousands of people at the
Jerusalem March October 6, 2009. Jews and visitors from all over the world
gathered in Jerusalem on Tuesday and staged a massive and festive parade across
the holy city. The procession, known as the Jerusalem March, is an annual
traditional event during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Chinese tourists participate in the Jerusalem March October 6, 2009. Jews and
visitors from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem on Tuesday and staged a
massive and festive parade across the holy city. The procession, known as the
Jerusalem March, is an annual traditional event during the week-long Jewish
holiday of Sukkot.
Tens of thousands of Jews and visitors from all over the world gather in
Jerusalem on Tuesday October 6, 2009 and stage a massive and festive parade
across the holy city. The procession, known as the Jerusalem March, is an annual
traditional event during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Brazilian tourists participate in the Jerusalem March October 6, 2009. Tens
of thousands of Jews and visitors from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem
on Tuesday and staged a massive and festive parade across the holy city. The
procession, known as the Jerusalem March, is an annual traditional event during
the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Tens of thousands of Jews and visitors from all over the world gather in
Jerusalem on Tuesday October 6, 2009 and stage a massive and festive parade
across the holy city. The procession, known as the Jerusalem March, is an annual
traditional event during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Tens of thousands of Jews and visitors from all over the world gather in
Jerusalem on Tuesday October 6, 2009 and stage a massive and festive parade
across the holy city. The procession, known as the Jerusalem March, is an annual
traditional event during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
(Xinhua)
Singer Whitney Houston looks on the German TV game show "Wetten, dass" (Wanna
Bet..?) in Freiburg October 3, 2009. "Wetten, dass" is one of the most popular
Saturday night programmes in Germany.
Singer Whitney Houston performs during the German game show "Wetten, dass" (Wanna
Bet..?) in Freiburg October 3, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
