HozNews

Hua Hin, Thailand, April 2009 … THE BARAI recently received another achievement at the Asia Spa & Wellness Festival 2009, winning two Gold Awards in the categories of “Best Resort Spa”, which emphasises guests’ experiences, and “Best Spa Ambience”, which recognises THE BARAI’s unique interior design, where the art of architecture affects guests’ feelings while they embark on a THE BARAI Journey. THE BARAI is the latest residential spa in the Hyatt Pure Spa family and a pioneer in the spa industry in terms of design concept, being the first of its kind.

The Asia Spa & Wellness Festival 2009’s Awards are dubbed the most prestigious recognition of spas and wellness centres in Asia.
The Festival is organised by AIC Exhibitions Sdn Bhd, the Thai Spa Association and the Asia Pacific Spa & Wellness Promotion Council, with the support of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

THE BARAI was selected from a pool of 212 nominees that were judged by a panel of independent judges comprising spa personalities, travel writers and tour planners. In deciding the winners, the judges took into consideration both the “hardware” component of the spa, namely its ambience, design and equipment, and the “software” component - therapist skills and qualifications, treatment menus and service quality.

These latest awards will increase recognition of THE BARAI as a very special destination spa, not only helping it to gain a strong foothold in Thailand’s competitive spa industry, but also promoting Hua Hin in the international market as a true luxury pampering destination and emphasising Thailand’s status as the spa capital of Asia.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts was a big winner at the Festival overall, taking a total of five awards, including “Best Spa Group” for Hyatt Pure Spa.

“These awards are considered particularly valuable for THE BARAI as they enhance our reputation, bring even greater recognition and help increase awareness of the unique properties of this destination spa. They also strengthen THE BARAI’s positioning throughout Asia and emphasise how uniquely different and special THE BARAI is when compared with other spas in Asia. In addition, the achievement of Hyatt Pure Spa being name ‘Best Spa Group’ guarantees that our clients, especially spa goers, enjoy a high level of standards that always exceeds guests’ satisfaction and delivers great spa experiences,” said Mr. Mikael Svensson, the hotel’s general manager, about the recent achievements.

THE BARAI provides eight exclusive residential spa suites and 18 exotic treatment rooms located on more than 4.5 acres (18,500 sq m) of serene beachfront land adjacent to Hyatt Regency Hua Hin.

For Suites reservations and more about our spa offerings, please contact THE BARAI at +66 3251 1234 or call your local Hyatt hotel, Hyatt Worldwide Reservations Centre, or log on to www.thebarai.com.

LOS ANGELES - O.J. Simpson, the former football star acquitted of killing his ex-wife after a sensational trial, asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out his armed robbery conviction for a bungled bid to recover his own memorabilia.

Simpson, who was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison in December, said in his appeal that he was denied a fair trial through a series of errors judicial misconduct, insufficient evidence and a lack of racial diversity on the jury.

Simpson, 61, was found guilty of robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas in October.

The Las Vegas trial stemmed from a bungled attempt by Simpson to recover memorabilia of his storied sports career and murder trial from a pair of dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

The star athlete-turned-actor was tried in the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Simpson was acquitted after a yearlong televised trial that transfixed much of the world.

PARIS (AFP) - - Ministers from economies accounting for 80 percent of the globe’s greenhouse gases met Monday to warnings that “the world’s destiny” may lie in the outcome of a mooted pact on climate change.

The so-called Major Economies Forum (MEF) met in Paris ahead of a new round of UN talks aimed at culminating in a sweeping global treaty in Copenhagen in December.

“The world’s destiny will probably be at stake in Copenhagen,” French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said as he opened the two-day meeting in Paris.

He spoke out against skeptics who predict the accord will cripple the world’s economy.

“Copenhagen is not a retrograde vision, it’s not the start of negative growth, but a new start for strong, sustainable, sober carbon development,” he said.

The 192-nation process under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims at securing cuts in emissions of heat-trapping carbon gases and building defences for poor countries most exposed to changing weather patterns.

It would take effect after 2012, when the current provisions of the convention’s Kyoto Protocol run out.

But the negotiations — due to resume in Bonn on Monday — are extremely complex and have been hampered by many differences.

The MEF’s role is to try to identify common ground among the world’s biggest emitters and then hand this consensus back to the UNFCCC for approval.

The Paris meeting will cover financing and the transfer of clean technology, Borloo said.

In Copenhagen, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted the climate negotiations would be “extremely difficult” but argued momentum was building.

“There is now a new situation that would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago,” he said, referring to commitments signalled by China and the United States.

“Some of our partners who a few years ago denied the existence of the climate change problem are now discussing the texts for a possible agreement.”

One of the stumbling blocks is a demand by developing countries that rich economies, which are chiefly to blame for today’s warming, pledge deep cuts in future carbon emissions.

China has demanded reductions of at least 40 percent by 2020, as compared to a benchmark of 1990.

Supporters say a cut of this order will encourage the big developing countries — led by China, now the world’s number-one emitter by some estimates — to give ground.

But the only advanced economy making concessions on such a scale is the European Union, which is unilaterally targeting a 20 percent cut by 2020 over 1990 levels, and offering 30 percent if other advanced economies follow suit.

By comparison, US President Barack Obama has proposed reducing America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent by 2020 compared to their 2005 level. Analysts say this roughly translates to a three percent cut from 1990 levels.

US climate envoy Todd Stern told AFP on Sunday that China’s demand of 40 percent “is not realistic” and cautioned that domestic US politics meant the Obama administration could only go so far with its concessions.

“We are jumping as high as the political system will tolerate,” he added.

At a press conference on Monday, Borloo said “there can’t be any compromise over assuring others that we will do” a 25-to-40 percent reduction.

The essential thing was to “work in a very imaginative fashion” to achieve a consensus among rich countries so that a 25-to-40 package was put on the table, he said.

“We can have flexibility between us, some of us will do more, more quickly, and others a bit later… there could be commitments that take effect two, three years later, there could be other commitments in other areas,” he said.

He spoke of the possibility of “sectoral” agreements in industries that are big carbon emitters, such as electricity or steel.

The MEF was launched by Obama last month on the back of a similar initiative by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Its participants include Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as the 27-nation European Union.

Tourist arrivals from the Middle East to Thailand are expected to dramatically increase following the launch of a daily A380 Emirates service to Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 1.

This launch reflects how much the airline expects visitors to increase to Thailand,กฑ said Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thailandกฏs Tourism and Sports Minister, during a meeting with the chairman of the Emirates Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Maktoum, at the Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai.

The Emirates chairman confirmed that Emirates would begin operating its Dubai-Bangkok service on schedule.
Typically, superjumbos are reserved for long-haul flights only, and the Dubai-Bangkok flight, with a duration of six hours, is considered short-haul.

Thailand’s tourism minister said that other international airports in the country, including Chiang Mai and Phuket, were prepared to extend services to Emirates as well.

Emirates’ A380 aircraft is configured to carry 489 passengers and features luxurious facilities including lounges, flat beds, shower spas and massage-equipped suites in the first class cabin.

Business class passengers are provided with a new generation in seating known as intelligent seats and with flat beds.

Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Juthaporn Rerngronasa, said that the daily service from Dubai was a hopeful sign for the country’s tourism sector.

Source = e-Travel Blackboard: C.F

To read this article online, please visit http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/article.asp

MONTE CARLO (AFP) - - World championship leader Jenson Button of the Brawn GP team won the Monaco Grand Prix here on Sunday, his fifth victory in six races.

The Englishman, who started from pole and led throughout the 78-lap race, finished ahead of Brazilian team-mate Rubens Barrichello with Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari third.

Footvolley comes to town

Here’s a chance to see first hand in Bangkok how footie skills can apply to volley ball.

While it doesn’t grab headlines in the sporting press, footvolley should stimulate our imagination as to its pedigree and origin. Now, courtesy of Pepsi Cola we can see for ourselves how this sporting spectacle compares with the traditional volley ball.

Proponents of the game point out that footvolley can be played by people of all ages, and was selected as a demonstration event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The first ever Pepsi Thailand World Foot Volley Tournament will be played out in downtown Bangkok, 30 to 31 May, at the Central World’s outdoor activity arena.
The competition will include teams from South America, Europe and Thailand.
According to the organisers, international football stars have been invited to attend the tournament to entertain the audience with a VIP demonstration match at the Outdoor Arena at Central World – a mega shopping complex in the heart of Bangkok.
Organised by the Footvolley Association of Thailand (FVAT) the tournament will feature eight professional teams, with sides from Brazil, Spain, France and Portugal lining-up against four Thai squads. The event is sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de Footvolley (FIFV) and forms part of the Footvolley World Tour 2009.

These so called world championships have been held since 2004 starting in Brazil. Thai foot volley players participated in that tournament and the following year in Spain.

Footvolley was established on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and has quickly grown on to become a highly popular beach sport around the world. It was first introduced to Thailand 2003 and strangely gained its roots in Loei, a northern town surrounded by mountains and far from the Gulf of Thailand beach resorts.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

“Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug,” the FDA said in a letter to General Mills which was posted on the federal agency’s website Tuesday.

Cheerios labels claim that eating the cereal can help lower bad cholesterol, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, by four percent in six weeks.

Citing a clinical study, the product labels also claim that eating two servings a day of Cheerios helps to reduce bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, the FDA letter says.

Those claims indicate that Cheerios — said by General Mills to be the best-selling cereal in the United States — is intended to be used to lower cholesterol and prevent, lessen or treat the disease hypercholesterolemia, and to treat and prevent coronary heart disease.

“Because of these intended uses, the product is a drug,” the FDA concluded in its letter.

Not only that, but Cheerios is a new drug because it has not been “recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease,” the FDA said.

That means General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.

General Mills defended the claims on Cheerios packaging, saying in a statement that Cheerios’ soluble fiber heart health claim has been FDA-approved for 12 years, and that its “lower your cholesterol four percent in six weeks” message has been featured on the box for more than two years.

The FDA’s quibble is not about whether Cheerios cereal is good for you but over “how the Cheerios cholesterol-lowering information is presented on the Cheerios package and website,” said General Mills.

“We look forward to discussing this with FDA and to reaching a resolution.”

Meanwhile, the FDA warned in its letter that if General Mills fails to “correct the violations” on its labels, boxes of Cheerios could disappear from supermarket and wholesaler shelves around the United States and the company could face legal action.

According to General Mills, one in eight boxes of cereal sold in the United States is a box of Cheerios. The cereal debuted on the US market in 1941.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the US on Sunday ahead of his maiden meeting with President Barack Obama amid divisions over Middle East peacemaking and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The hawkish premier, who wants a “fresh” approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, will unveil in the White House meeting on Monday his long-awaited policy for regional peace focused on countering Iran, aides said.

Contents are still secret but one Netanyahu aide told AFP that differences between Israel and the United States are “more on the outside.”

Disagreements have surfaced on several key issues since Netanyahu’s right-leaning government was sworn in at the end of March but the two leaders are likely to use the summit to reaffirm the strong ties between the close allies, aide Zalman Shoval said.

They were planned to give a brief press conference after their meeting which will precede intimate lunch together with their wives.

One major cause of friction has been Netanyahu’s refusal thusfar to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, a bedrock principle of US-backed peace efforts in the region.

Obama himself admitted in March that Netanyahu’s election and hawkish coalition did not make peacemaking any “easier” and his administration has fired off several sharp public messages towards Israel.

Netanyahu has assigned top priority to halting Iran’s nuclear bid.

Obama, however, has pledged to act vigorously to end the decades-old Middle East conflict and sees its resolution as a key component in a comprehensive regional policy for resolving the crisis with the Islamic republic.

Netanyahu is expected to irk his hosts and the Palestinians by telling Obama that Israel will keep building in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank, a key obstacle in the stuttering peace process.

The tone of the Obama administration has raised fears in Israel that Washington may sacrifice the interests of its staunchest ally in its attempt to end the Iranian estrangement.

Despite the friction, Netanyahu hopes to convince Obama of the viability of his new plan which will effectively replace the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace talks launched in Annapolis, near Washington in 2007.

“If we bring forward a new plan, the Americans will not reject it if they feel it can help their policy,” a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli and US officials have played down the chances of an open clash following the key summit.

“There will be no surprises at the meeting. There is a strong, natural alliance between the two states and I see no reason for this to change now,” a senior Israeli official told AFP en route to Washington.

The 59-year-old premier this month called for a “fresh” approach to the Middle East peace process based on a three-pronged approach including talks, security cooperation and development of the Palestinian economy.

He advocates bolstering the West Bank economy before negotiating a full peace deal, arguing the Palestinians are not ready for independence and that any Israeli concessions will only strengthen radical groups such as Hamas.

Netanyahu has also said he wishes to renew negotiations with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the coming weeks.

Yet that may not be enough for Obama.

“The Obama administration has said it is after a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. A resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by a two-state solution is an important component of the peace,” a senior US official said.

“But there are other important issues that a comprehensive peace would have to address,” he told AFP, alluding to Iran’s nuclear program.

Obama’s decision to break away from his predecessor George W. Bush’s tough approach to Iran by engaging the Islamist republic in talks to defuse the nuclear standoff has raised concern in Israel.

The Jewish state says the negotiations must be limited in time and accompanied by economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Like Obama, Netanyahu is seeking to form a regional coalition with moderate states such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to counter Iran’s growing regional influence.

He appealed alongside Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at their meeting on Monday in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh for tight cooperation against “radical forces”.

“In the Arab world there is agreement with our views of the Iranian danger,” Netanyahu added after he met Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on Thursday.

CANNES, France (AFP) - - Spanish film-maker Alejandro Amenabar took Cannes back to Egypt 400 AD on Sunday with a toga-clad parable on religious extremism starring Rachel Weisz as a martyred philosopher.

Set in Alexandria during the dying days of the Roman Empire, the big-budget movie “Agora” charts the bloody struggles that pitted pagans and Jews against the early Christians seizing power across the Mediterranean region.

The 37-year-old director focuses on the little-known story of Hypatia, a philosopher and astronomer from Alexandria whose work on the solar system pitted her against the Church, a thousand years before Galileo.

Played by Oscar-winning British actress Weisz, Hypatia is persecuted in the film for her science that challenges the Christians’ faith, as much as for her status as an influential woman.

From bloody clashes to public stonings and massacres, the city descends into inter-religious strife, and the victorious Christians turn their back on the rich scientific legacy of antiquity, defended by Hypatia.

Amenabar said in an interview that he wanted the 50-million-euro Spanish production, shot in a recreated Alexandria on the island of Malta, to carry a message against intolerance and extremism.

“Every time someone defends his ideas by using violence, that is what the movie is denouncing,” he told AFP.

“I would hate it for the whole world to think exactly like me. There have to be people who are progressive, other more conservative, people with religious ideas, atheists, agnostics.

“We all need to live to gather in this ‘Agora’,” as the city’s public gathering place was known in antiquity.

Amenabar’s Alexandria is stalked by thuggish gangs of hooded religious militia called the “Parabalani”, who veer into fanaticism as the film progresses, stoning unbelievers and terrorising the population.

“At first the Parabalani represented something appealing in the Church: compassion or help to really needing people in their city. And then they became an army for the Church. They shifted to the dark side of the force.”

“Agora” opens with the destruction of the second library of Alexandria by the Christians and Jews — after the first, famous library which was destroyed by Julius Caesar.

The director also said he saw the film worked as a parable on the crisis of Western civilisation.

“Let’s say the Roman Empire is the United States nowadays, and Alexandria is what Europe means now — the old civilisation, the old cultural background.

“And the empire is in crisis, which affects all the provinces. We are talking about social crisis, economic of course, this year, and cultural.

“Something is not quite fitting in our society. We know that something is going to change — we don’t know exactly what or how, but we know that something is coming to an end.”

Screening out of competition in the Riviera festival’s official selection, the film marks a radical break from Amenabar’s last work, the Oscar-winning right-to-die movie “Mar Adentro” released in 2004.

Amenabar said he usually preferred to be in competition, but told AFP the film didn’t fit the “box” for the Palme d’Or race.

PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) - - Resplendent in a figure-hugging grey and black dress, Sorrawee Nattee wept tears of joy after being crowned Thailand’s most beautiful transsexual at a unique pageant.

Sorrawee took the top prize at Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2009 in the beach resort of Pattaya, beating off 29 other transsexuals and receiving a small Honda car, and 100,000 baht (2,860 dollars) in cash on Friday night.

“I’m very excited,” the willowy 20-year-old from Thailand’s southern Songkhla province said, touching the glimmering winner’s crown with disbelieving fingers.

She appeared overwhelmed by hordes of photographers, camera crews and well-wishers, the scene played out before a live television audience of 15 million people.

In a nation obsessed with beauty pageants and famous for its sexual tolerance, this elaborate contest is taken every bit as seriously as the more traditional competitions.

Against a soundtrack of thumping music, the pageant featured an Italian Casanova-themed number involving gondolas and masked dancers. And a pirate ship drifted across the stage swirled in thick “fog.”

There were categories for Best Costume, Miss Photogenic and even Miss Unlimited Sexy Star.

The packed theatre was a mix of transsexuals, gay and straight couples, and Western tourists who appeared to have wandered in off the main Pattaya drag.

Dresses ranged from flowing white ensembles to shimmering red numbers and pink miniskirts. High heels were a must.

The evening was put on by Tiffany’s Show Pattaya, which owners say is the world’s largest transsexual cabaret.

All contestants were born men, and organisers said they hoped to raise public awareness of transgendered issues.

“She had smart answers and is very beautiful,” Marut Sarowat, a well-known television and stage director who was one of the judges, said of Sorrawee.

He added that Thailand is generally accepting of transsexuals.

“I think our country is open for all kinds of genders,” he said. “Because everyone should do their best for themselves and for society. Thai people can accept transsexuals. All people must be good people.”

When asked to name her hero, winner Sorrawee earned loud applause by naming her mother and father, and as the evening progressed, cheers for her grew louder and louder as the audience urged their favourite to victory.

“Kathoeys,” also known as “ladyboys,” are highly visible in Buddhist-majority Thailand, and have achieved prominence in popular culture such as on television and in musical acts.

And many kathoeys work in salons, clothing shops, and travel agencies.

But the nation’s relaxed attitudes toward what it views as the “third sex” does not mean that all obstacles to acceptance have been eliminated.

Many transsexuals live their lives as women, but cannot change their national ID cards from male to female.

Napatsawan Cholakorn, 21, who won third place, said she was not disappointed at missing out on the top prize.

“It’s very hard to win because the transgendered people in Thailand are the best in the world,” she said. “Transgendered people here are not much different than women — and Thailand has a lot of competition.”