Jim Paull

See how many airports you can recognize

Traditional dishes of different countries

Pre-sales for the up-coming book The Sarawak Report are now available through this site. This is in advance of the launch scheduled for September 8th.  Cover details below:

A limited number of first edition books will be printed in Malaysia through Gerakbudaya and in the UK through Naomi Roth Publishing and made available through this website.

Copies obtained through this website will be sent following the publication date [note: these pre-sale copies will be signed before sending]*.

To place your order for a signed copy CLICK HERE  and hurry to catch that limited first print run.

Author, Clare Rewcastle Brown, will also be signing books at a number of events in Malaysia – details coming soon.  The author said:

“This is the only account that details at first hand how the whole 1MDB story was unravelled from beginning to end and how a tiny campaign fought to expose the theft to the international media and regulators, whilst Malaysia’s most powerful people worked to discredit us and silence the entire affair.

Banks have fallen, billions of dollars of assets have been seized and the weaknesses of our global financial systems frighteningly exposed. The struggle has lasted nearly five years and undoubtedly contributed to the recent fall of the previous Malaysian government.  As a journalist I can truly say there has not been a single boring day covering this amazing story and I have lived through each and every one of them”.

Place your order whilst this limited offer remains on Sarawak Report or visit a book shop near you after September 8th.

*Update

By Butterkicap Team

Thanks to the rise in vloggers on YouTube, Malaysians now have the pleasure of reliving their most memorable gastronomic experiences all over again. Here are the Butterkicap Team’s top picks of travel hosts who totally get the Malaysian food experience.

1. Trevor James

When Trevor James said in the video, “The food in Penang is what sets it apart … the quality and the diversity of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian cuisine is enough to make you never want to leave”, it left audiences feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Look out for when Trevor dips his naan into a saucer of dhall and tastes it for the first time. The look on his face says, “Pure bliss!”

2. Gordon Ramsay

Just like other travel hosts, Chef Gordon Ramsay has travelled all over Malaysia and sampled our cuisine. But he truly won us over when he was asked to cook a vegetarian curry for our former prime minister on Wesak Day at a temple in Brickfields.

“My biggest worry is that I have to cook on the fly … agak-agak but that’s the danger, I guess,” he said. But being a true sport, he threw some ingredients together, and made it work.

The best part however, is when Aunty Rupa, the temple’s head cook tells him his dish needs more salt! Chef Ramsay courteously obliged, of course.

3. Anthony Bourdain

We’re so lucky to have had the charming and fabulous Aunty Aini represent Negeri Sembilan’s kampung-style cuisine, because her cooking got the thumbs up from the late Chef Anthony Bourdain.

Gushing over the spread, he said, “This is delicious, DELICIOUS food” as he digged into the roast beef, poached eggs and chicken rendang, which he gamely ate with his fingers. Well done, Chef Anthony. You will be greatly missed.

This article first appeared in butterkicap.com

Some of our ancestors were doing the best they could to understand the world around them but had a very limited set of tools at their disposal. It would appear that others were simply making stuff up. ... The post Test your knowledge of these wild, weird and outright wacky American religious...

By Anna V Haotanto

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job they love. Many of us have been through that period of disillusionment and frustration mixed with disappointment when we compare where we imagined we would be at 25, to where we are at now.

We also know how annoying it is to be asked, “If you really hate your job, why don’t you just leave?”

Whatever your reasons for staying in a job you despise, there are survival tips you can put to use to help you get through the end of each excruciating day.

1. Think long and hard, without forgetting to engage yourself with your work

The root of the problem: The problem starts when you leave the “thinking” for later. The more you do this, the greater the tendency to be indifferent about your job in general – your performance at work, your boss’s displeasure at you, etc. The next thing you know, it’s 10 years later and you’re asking what went wrong.

What you should do: Be woman enough to confront your situation, no matter how difficult it might be for you to think of the frustrations and fears and disappointment it brings.

Ask yourself from time to time: Why am I here? What are my priorities for now? What are my goals? Remind yourself of the reasons why you accepted the job in the first place, and keep yourself engaged with your work while researching other options at the same time.

Never procrastinate or pressure yourself too much as both would only do more harm than good.

How this helps: The logical first move to find your way out of the problem is to analyse the situation well. Ask why you hate your job; is it because of a horrible boss, your coworkers, or the boring, repetitive things you are required to do? Remember, different circumstances call for different courses of action.

2. Learn to plan and budget long-term

The root of the problem: When you do not plan for the future, the tendency is to go blindly with the flow until it is too late for you to shift to the options you actually prefer.

What you should do: Plan your course of action for the next months and years according to your goals. Jot it down in a notebook, planner, or checklist and look at regularly.

For instance, if you are staying in your sucky job to save enough money to study again, research and compute how much you will need to cover your tuition as well as your daily expenses, and how long you will need to stay in your job to achieve these goals. Then budget every month’s earnings.

Watch your spending. If you are one of those who shops as a hobby, break the habit or, at least, follow a strict budget that you planned beforehand.

You may also use a daily planner to keep your day-to-day goals organised and to keep yourself from slacking off; set small goals you can achieve in a day like finishing the paperwork you hate doing. Then reward yourself a little for accomplishing those arduous tasks.

How this helps: The important thing is to always have a goal in mind. When you have goals, especially goals broken down into small ones which you can finish daily, you can keep motivated. This serves as a reminder that you have a reason for being there.

Other than that, budgeting can significantly affect your future actions; saving up part of your monthly earnings can better prepare you for a sudden change of plans or a change of career direction.

3. Engage yourself in good deeds as another source of happiness

The root of the problem and how this helps: When all you do and think about is work, everything from your career to your relationships will go downhill. That is why freeing yourself from the stress and pressure of your job is essential to surviving a job you hate.

Giving yourself enough space and time for other things you actually enjoy will inevitably affect not only your career but more importantly, your life. Such acts can fill the gaps for empowerment and motivation that your job lacks.

What you should do: Do not beat yourself up too much for being in a horrible job. Focus on your goals and the positive outcomes of being in that job rather than the things you hate about it.

Other than that, look for ways to relax and keep negativity off your mind. One of the best ways is to get a hobby you enjoy that doesn’t disrupt your budget too much.

For example, you can try meditating, reading books, colouring books, or painting. Learn to be grateful for the other things and people in your life that are positive, and learn to show how thankful you are.

These things don’t involve spending money – just your time and attention. Invite a friend over for coffee or visit your parents over the weekend.

If you are one of those workers who curse every Monday morning, cringe at the thought of overtime, and give sighs of relief as Friday ends, always bear in mind that you are not the only one suffering the same fate.

Many have gone through the same thing at some point but eventually got over it and went on to better, if not great things.

So hang in there – just because your job sucks does not mean your whole life has to too.

This article first appeared in thenewsavvy.com

The New Savvy is Asia’s leading financial, investments and career platform for women. Our bold vision is to empower 100 million women to achieve financial happiness. We deliver high-quality content through conferences, e-learning platforms, personal finance apps and e-commerce stores.

Kitchn's Delicious Links column highlights recipes we're excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.

If a recipe doesn't begin with melted butter and six cloves of finely diced garlic, is it even worth making? I know I'm being dramatic, but a pretty big percentage of our favorite recipes here at Kitchn start with the magical combination of butter and garlic. We've got garlic butter salmon, garlic butter steak and potatoes, garlic butter rice, buttery garlic knots, and garlic butter mashed potatoes. Are you noticing a pattern here?

READ MORE »

Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam’s holiest sites. This year the hajj comes with the ultra-conservative kingdom witnessing an unprecedented pace of change,...

PETALING JAYA: A shoot-on-sight order has been issued across the Riau Indonesian province against those found clearing land by burning.

A commander tasked with preventing the fires said he had issued the order as forest and peatland fires have shrouded several areas in haze, ahead of the Asian Games in Palembang, south Sumatera, from Aug 18 to Sept 2, The Straits Times reported.

Satellites detected 121 hot spots in Riau yesterday, a big jump from the 22 spots detected on Wednesday afternoon.

Antara news agency quoted Brigadier-General Sonny Aprianto, commander of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Task Force, as saying 99% of the land and forest fires in Riau province had been intentionally set off by irresponsible people.

He said he had ordered army personnel to shoot “arsonists” across Riau. Soldiers would be deployed to every military district in Riau to enforce the order.

The army had previously issued similar orders last year in Jambi, central Sumatera, to deter fire culprits.

President Joko Widodo has ordered efforts to combat land fires to be stepped up to ensure the Asian Games are not affected.

Several arsonists have been nabbed, with at least three cases in Dumai city ready for trial, the newspaper said.

The forest fires, accompanied by dry weather, have led to hazy conditions in many parts of West Malaysia.

In the brand’s latest travel guide “Ultimate Eatlist,” editors, food and travel writers helped create a master list of 500 of the most authentic bucket-list culinary experiences across the globe.

The food experiences — in Canada, Norway, North Korea, Namibia and Chile, among others — were then evaluated and ranked according to taste, cultural importance and the “atmosphere of the location.”

The culinary culture that outranked Britain’s fish and chips, steak tartare in Paris and Buffalo wings in Buffalo? San Sebastián’s culinary tradition of pintxos, bar foods that put standard-issue American peanuts and pretzels to shame.

From bite-sized open-faced sandwiches to more gastronomic creations like battered white asparagus, tuna and anchovy tarts and garlic-braised mushrooms, bar-hopping in San Sebastián is described as a unique experience for its epicurean offerings.

To experience pintxos like a local, LP recommends taking a leisurely siesta and heading out at 9pm, when the streets of San Sebastián come alive.

Rounding out Lonely Planet’s top three food experiences are curry laksa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and sushi in Tokyo, Japan.

“Ultimate Eatlist” also features contributions from top chef José Andrés and US food TV host Andrew Zimmern.

Here are the top 10 food experiences:

1. Pintxos in San Sebastián, Spain
2. Curry laksa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3. Sushi in Tokyo, Japan
4. Beef brisket in Texas, USA
5. Som tum in Bangkok, Thailand
6. Smørrebrød in Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Crayfish in Kaikoura, New Zealand
8. Bibimbap in Seoul, South Korea
9. Pizza margherita in Naples, Italy
10. Dim sum in Hong Kong

“Ultimate Eatlist” is out August 15. For more details, visit https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ultimate-eats.

When I was in college, my least favorite part of writing research papers was figuring out how to write the bibliography. Citing sources is tedious and can get confusing if you have to work in a handful of different styles. This week I came across a Chrome extension that I wish I had in college that handles the heavy…

Read more...

Try not to panic, but you’re probably pooping all wrong. Luckily, there’s an easy solution: a Squatty Potty, either the 7" model or the 9" model, marked down to $20 today from the usual $25.

Read more...

Webcams make the world feel magic, and that’s why they’ve survived 17 years on the internet. The webcam has evolved from still images to video, from tiny, muddy pictures to pristine 4k streams. Video technologies like Twitch, Snapchat, and Skype haven’t killed the appeal of a mounted camera pointed at the same spot…

Read more...

Everyone has their preferred point of banana ripeness. I like mine completely yellow, without a brown spot in sight. Some people like them freckled, and some monsters like them mushy and brown. No matter what your preference, buying a whole bunch at once always seems to leave you with some less than desirable nanners.

Read more...

Kitchn's Delicious Links column highlights recipes we're excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.

I'm coming in hot off the heels of a long weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, with my best friend who just spent the last eight months in France. And the most noticeably different thing about her isn't her taste in wine, cheese, or charcuterie — it's actually the fact that she recently converted to vegetarianism.

READ MORE »

Turmeric is the golden darling of good health. This brilliant orange-fleshed root (in the same family as ginger) is beloved for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, not to mention the colorful hue it lends to food. Most cooks are familiar with the dried orange-yellow powder found in the spice aisle, which lends a bitter pungency to foods across India and the Caribbean. It's the main ingredient in curry powder, and what gives bright-yellow mustard the color we all know and love.

READ MORE »

Every day seems to be a new national holiday for something. However, today’s national holiday comes with a pretty solid benefit: free root beer floats.

Read more...

The first order of business when blueberries hit the market in early summer is getting my fill (and then some!) by eating them straight from the basket. Once that's accomplished, it's time to start putting them to work in every other way possible, from quintessential summer desserts like pie and cobbler to breakfast treats like scones and casseroles — and every which way in between.

Here are the 10 best blueberry recipes to make right now. Consider it your ultimate blueberry bucket list!

READ MORE »

STOCKHOLM: Bright and breezy days are becoming a deeper nightmare for utilities struggling to earn a return on traditional power plants.

With wind and solar farms sprouting up in more areas – and their power getting priority to feed into the grid in many places – the amount of electricity being generated is outstripping demand during certain hours of the day.

The result: power prices are slipping to zero or even below more often in more jurisdictions. That’s adding to headaches for generators from NRG Energy Inc in California to RWE AG in Germany and Origin Energy Ltd in Australia. Once confined to a curiosity for a few hours over windy Christmas holidays, sub-zero cost of electricity is becoming a reality for hundreds of hours in many markets, upending the economics of the business in the process.

“There is no time pattern for having negative prices in Belgium,” said Marleen Vanhecke, an official at the nation’s grid manager, Elia System Operator SA. “This phenomena is mainly determined by high wind generation in Germany and enough import capacity towards Belgium.”

The biggest issue is in Germany, where the government has been working for more than a decade to shift the economy toward cleaner forms of energy.

Periods with negative prices occur when there is more supply than demand, typically during a mid-day sun burst or early morning wind gust when demand is already low. A negative price is essentially a market signal telling utilities to shut down certain power plants. It doesn’t result in anyone getting a refund on bills – or in electric meters running backward.

Instead, it often prompts owners of traditional coal and gas plants to shut down production for a period even though many of the facilities aren’t designed to switch on and off quickly. It’s left the utilities complaining that they can’t earn the returns they expected for their investment in generation capacity.

“Energy market price signals are critical to telling generators where to build new resources,” said Abe Silverman, deputy general council at NRG Energy, which is concerned about the anomaly in California. “As negative prices become more prevalent, we’ll have to evolve our energy market price formation strategies to ensure that we will continue to drive efficient investment.”

Prices are below zero most often in Germany, which was the first major economy to make a big push into renewables. It’s phasing out nuclear reactors and coal power, leading to more frequent swings in the electricity market. It also exported its negative costs to surrounding markets. Denmark, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and even France have all registered negative hours during this year or last.

In most US markets, negative pricing only occurs when real-time power deliveries drop below expectations from the previous day or when supplies come in greater than forecast, said William Nelson, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“On the supply side, the intermittent sources like wind and solar are most likely to deviate from their day-ahead plans,” Nelson said.

The one exception is California, which had 110 hours with negative prices in its day-ahead market, according to a report from grid manager CASIO. Prices there are determined in auction one day prior to delivery. They dropped below zero during midday hours when there were high levels of solar generation and solid output from hydroelectric plants.

There were fewer days of sub-zero prices in Australia during 2017 compared with previous years even as more wind-power capacity was built. There, Origin Energy has a built a big portfolio of gas-fired “peaker plants” designed to switch on quickly and only when needed.

It’s plants such as those – smaller and more nimble than traditional generation units – that hold a key to smoothing out the most uncomfortable fluctuations in the market. Peaker plants can help the system cope with big swings in output from renewables.

“Bill Gates became the richest bloke on Earth off the end of the mainframe,” said Neil Eckert, chairman of Aggregated Micro Power Holdings Plc, an energy services company that installs small power plants. “We are seeing the end of the energy mainframe. The world will have to learn new techniques – how to invest in small-scale distributed energy.”

From POLA SINGH, Kuala Lumpur.

The British actor, 78, said he would return to the iconic role during a surprise appearance at the annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, said: “it is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions with him.”

“Seeking out a new life for him, when I thought that life was over.”

The new series, which the CBS All Access streaming service will carry, is to centre on Picard’s life post-Star Trek: Next Generation.

That series ran from 1987 to 1994 with 178 episodes and spawned several films, the last in 2002.

“I will always be very proud to have been a part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” Stewart said.

“It has been humbling to hear stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership,” he continued.

“I feel I’m ready to return to him for the same reason — to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often dark times.”

Star Trek, a multi-billion-dollar cultural phenomenon beloved by fans worldwide, turns 50 years old in 2016.

Details on the new series, including title or release date, remain under wraps

Yesterday, Apple made history. It became the first public company to hit a $1 trillion valuation. The company that almost went bankrupt in the 1990s is by far and away the most valuable in the world.

Its value is so high that it’s actually larger than the GDP of many large economies like Turkey and the Netherlands.

The New York Times did a fascinating study that compared Apple’s valuation to a variety of companies, including the the big banks and auto companies.

There was a surprising tidbit in there — Apple is worth almost as much as all of the world’s major airlines and aviation companies combined. The combined value of all these companies, including massive aircraft manufacturers like Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and major airlines like American, United, Delta, Alaska, Air China, Singapore and Southwest (the list goes on on) is about $1.01 trillion.

A few other numbers that may blow your mind: Apple employs about 123,000 people. Airbus alone employs about 129,000 people and Boeing pays about 141,000 people’s salaries. Throw in American (122,000), Delta (87,000) and United (88,000) and with just those five companies that’s about 567,000 workers.

Keep in mind that this is just the market’s valuation of Apple — and values can change overnight. Just last week Facebook lost 19% of its value ($119 billion) in one day. And, it takes a whole lot of iPhones to pay for a $437 million Airbus A380.

H/T: The New York Times

Featured image by GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images.

There are some things you eat at restaurants that never seem to be as good at home. Perfect example: fried green tomatoes. I love them so much that every time I go somewhere and they’re on the menu, I order them. Yet my efforts at home (based, I must admit, on the recipe in the back of Fannie Flagg’s novel Fried Green…

Read more...

Kitchn's Delicious Links column highlights recipes we're excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.

Can we please discuss the following: How is it already August?! This summer is absolutely flying by, so I'm coping the only way I know how... by throwing everything under the sun on the grill (and eating it all under the sun, too). I think it's fair to say that this calls for a smorgasbord of skewered sirloin. And this recipe for steak kebabs with garlic butter from Dinner at the Zoo is calling my name.

READ MORE »

The charm of cats is that they’re temperamental, as likely to bite as to purr when you reach for them. There may come a time when you have developed a close enough relationship with your feline that it at least signals when it’s about to attack; in that case, why not carry it around like a baby?

Read more...

Kitchn's Delicious Links column highlights recipes we're excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.

A rule of thumb when cooking with wine is to only use wine that you would drink on its own — which is why I am pouring myself a tall glass of Pinot Grigio while I make this chicken pasta with creamy white wine Parmesan sauce tonight.

READ MORE »

All hail the slow cooker! We've seen this appliance prove its worth time and time again, but with sloppy joes it makes the easy meal even easier.

It takes those messy sandwiches that made our childhoods so delicious, and makes them even tastier. This is all thanks to a hot mix of hearty meat combined with a homemade sauce bursting with deep, rich, tomatoey flavor.

READ MORE »

Cheap non-stop flights to Australia!

KOTA KINABALU: More than 500 people were left homeless after a fire swept through a squatter area in Likas, near here, today.

It was believed the fire started about 2pm at Kg Cenderamata Dua, about a 10- minute drive from the city centre.

Sabah Fire and Rescue Zone 1 chief Hamsa Isnurdini said they received a distress call at 2.17pm. Six fire engines, with 42 personnel, were rushed to the area.

Firemen took almost two hours to control the blaze. It was finally brought under control at 3.52pm, he said.

It is estimated that more than 150 houses were destroyed in the blaze.

“No fatalities were reported. Investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire,” Hamsa said.

The village is one of a number of squatter areas that can be found at the city’s outskirts.

 

Thailand is in hot pursuit of a cagey crocodile that has made unwelcome appearances off the beaches of resort island Phuket only to slip through the clutches of local authorities.

The evasive reptile was first seen near Rawai beach about a week ago but has resurfaced in multiple locations near the beaches on the Andaman Sea.

A group of hunters has joined an expanding team trying to track it down.

Thawee Thongcha, the mayor of Karon town on the west coast of Phuket, told AFP Monday they had come very close to success.

“We almost caught it when it was seen near the beach in Karon, (we were) metres away but it moved quickly back to the sea,” Thawee said.

“We do not yet know where it comes from.”

Thailand’s pristine beaches draw millions of tourists a year and Phuket in the southwest is one of the most popular destinations.

Thawee said choppy monsoon seas had prevented fishing boats from using nets to capture the creature, which is almost two metres in length.

The Siamese crocodile was once ubiquitous across Southeast Asia but is currently listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University, said the presence of a crocodile in Phuket meant it was likely a hybrid saltwater version of the species bred on a farm, and it was not the first such sighting.

“Normally the open sea is not a place where a crocodile would live,” he said.

Crocodile numbers in Thailand and Southeast Asia generally have been decimated by habitat loss, commercial hunting for the skin trade and the capture of live reptiles to stock crocodile farms, according to the IUCN.

In Thailand, there are just a handful of wild populations in central and western national parks.

A French tourist was bitten on the leg by a crocodile inside a Thai national park in January last year when she tried to get close to take a selfie.

In 2014 a Thai woman committed suicide by leaping into a pond of crocodiles at a farm popular with tourists on Bangkok’s outskirts.