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Entertainment

September 3, 2024

Get ready for a sneak peek at the September 2024 line-up of Netflix Originals! We’re about to dive into all the confirmed new movies and series hitting the streaming platform this ninth month of the year.

APOLLO 13: SURVIVAL (SEPTEMBER 5)

In his latest project, Peter Middleton delves into the legendary Apollo 13 mission with a fresh perspective. This new documentary, set to redefine the narrative, combines rare footage with meticulous storytelling to offer an unparalleled look at the ill-fated space journey.

BOXER (SEPTEMBER 11)

Unveiled during the Polish slate reveal earlier this year, this riveting sports biopic promises to take you on a high-stakes journey through history. The film chronicles the remarkable story of a young boxer who escapes the grip of communist Poland, aiming to become the greatest fighter of all time. With a stellar cast featuring Eryk Kulum Jr, Adrianna Chlebicka, and Eryk Lubos, this movie is set to deliver a knockout performance.

EMILY IN PARIS SEASON 4 – PART 2 (SEPTEMBER 12)
The highly anticipated fourth season of Emily in Paris is serving up its latest instalment in two parts, so you won’t have to twiddle your thumbs for long before diving into the next chapter of Emily’s chic escapades.

Emily in Paris Season 4 – Part 2. PHOTO: NETFLIX

ABOVE & BELOW: Nobody wants this; and Boxer. PHOTO: NETFLIX

ABOVE & BELOW: His three daughters; and Everything Calls for Salvation Season 2. PHOTO: NETFLIX

ABOVE & BELOW: The Queen of Villains Season 1; and Twilight of the Gods Season 1. PHOTO: NETFLIX

UGLIES (SEPTEMBER 13)

Based on Scott Westerfeld’s novel, which is one of two of his works being adapted by Netflix, the film transports us to a dystopian future where mandatory cosmetic surgery at 16 is the norm. Joey King stars as Tally, a young woman excited for her societal debut, but her world is turned upside down when a friend goes missing. Tally’s quest to rescue her friend challenges everything she believed about her future.

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS SEASON 1 (SEPTEMBER 19)

Prepare for a spellbinding new adventure as Zack Snyder returns to Netflix with his third major project for the streaming giant. Following the success of Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, Snyder’s latest creation delves deep into the rich tapestry of Norse mythology.

The series, inspired by ancient legends, explores the dramatic events leading to the cataclysmic destruction of Midgard and Asgard. Fans can look forward to a stellar voice cast featuring Jessica Henwick, Peter Stormare, Lauren Cohan and Jamie Chung, each bringing their own unique flair to this epic saga.

THE QUEEN OF VILLAINS SEASON 1 (SEPTEMBER 19)

Netflix is set to make waves with this new Japanese drama exploring the 1980s wrestling scene and the legendary Dump Matsumoto. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, this series stars Yuriyan Retriever, Karata Erika and Goriki Ayame.

As Netflix expands its global content, this dramatic portrayal of Matsumoto’s revolutionary impact on women’s wrestling promises action-packed storytelling and captivating performances.

HIS THREE DAUGHTERS (SEPTEMBER 20)

After making waves at film festivals and catching Netflix’s eye late last year, the much-anticipated drama is set to premiere on the streaming platform in mid-September 2024.

Directed by Azazel Jacobs, this poignant film stars Elizabeth Olsen as Christina, Carrie Coon as Katie and Natasha Lyonne as Rachel, who reunite in New York to care for their ailing father.

NOBODY WANTS THIS (SEPTEMBER 26)

From the creative mind of Erin Foster and the powerhouse team at 20th Television, comes a comedy series that’s set to shake up the streaming scene. Featuring an ensemble cast that promises plenty of laughs, this show could very well be the next big sleeper hit for the platform.

EVERYTHING CALLS FOR SALVATION SEASON 2 (SEPTEMBER 26)

This Italian drama returns for a gripping second season, unfolding over five weeks of captivating episodes. This season follows Daniele, played by Federico Cesari, as he battles to reclaim his life and prove his worth as a father to Maria, his daughter with Nina (Fotinì Peluso).

Each episode intertwines the lives of returning favourites with intriguing new characters, blending the personal struggles within the psychiatric ward with the vibrant outside world. – Izah Azahari

From weight loss to health loss

Lifestyle

September 3, 2024

AFP – Starting a diet is no small undertaking, and certainly not one to be taken lightly.

In fact, a new American study urges people to think twice about dieting, pointing to the notorious yo-yo effect, the result of medically unnecessary diets. The findings of this research alert people to the importance of making informed choices, rather than succumbing to societal pressure.

“Yo-yo dieting – unintentionally gaining weight and dieting to lose weight only to gain it back and restart the cycle – is a prevalent part of American culture, with fad diets and lose-weight-quick plans or drugs normalised as people pursue beauty ideals,” said the study’s corresponding author, Lynsey Romo, an associate professor of communication at North Carolina State University, quoted in a news release.

This was the starting point for a team of American researchers to investigate why and how men and women enter this vicious cycle, and what the harmful effects are.

For the purposes of their research, the scientists conducted in-depth interviews with 36 adults who had suffered the torments of the yo-yo effect, having first lost weight before regaining more than five kilogrammes (kg).

Importantly, the vast majority of participants had not started dieting for medical reasons, but because of societal pressures, whether to look like their favourite celebrities or to achieve certain beauty ideals.

The adults involved in this research said they had tried various strategies to lose weight, with satisfactory results at first and then failure in the long term.

Published in the journal, Qualitative Health Research, the results of this research highlight the harmful effects of such diets, which generally lead to the yo-yo effect.

In particular, the researchers observed a feeling of shame, as well as a tendency to internalise the stigma associated with weight, in participants who had regained weight following their diet.

As a result, the adults concerned felt even worse about themselves than before starting the diet in question, and consequently… started dieting again. “Many participants engaged in disordered weight management behaviours, such as binge or emotional eating, restricting food and calories, memorising calorie counts, being stressed about what they were eating and the number on the scale, falling back on quick fixes (such as low-carb diets or diet drugs), overexercising, and avoiding social events with food to drop pounds fast. Inevitably, these diet behaviours became unsustainable, and participants regained weight, often more than they had initially lost,” continued Associate Professor Romo.

But this “vicious circle,” as many of the participants called it, also had harmful consequences for the social relationships of the people involved.

“Almost all of the study participants became obsessed with their weight,” said co-author of the study and graduate student at NC State Katelin Mueller.

“Weight loss became a focal point for their lives, to the point that it distracted them from spending time with friends, family, and colleagues and reducing weight-gain temptations such as drinking and overeating.”

While the majority of participants were unable to overcome the yo-yo effect, some were able to break the vicious circle.

And they did so by focusing more on their health than on the number on the scales, say the researchers.

“Ultimately, this study tells us that weight cycling is a negative practice that can cause people real harm.

“Our findings suggest that it can be damaging for people to begin dieting unless it is medically necessary.

“Dieting to meet some perceived societal standard inadvertently set participants up for years of shame, body dissatisfaction, unhappiness, stress, social comparisons, and weight-related preoccupation.”

Indonesia’s inflation stays within central bank range

Business

September 3, 2024

Vendors in boats offer products to customers at a floating market in South Kalimantan. PHOTO: XINHUA

ANN/THE STAR – Indonesia’s annual inflation rate was 2.12 per cent in August, essentially unchanged from 2.13 per cent in July, official data showed yesterday, holding comfortably within the central bank’s target range and matching market expectations.

The August headline inflation rate was the lowest since February 2022, and matched the forecast in a poll. Bank Indonesia (BI) has a target range of 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent for inflation.

The annual core inflation rate edged up to 2.02 per cent last month from 1.95 per cent in July, the data showed, slightly above the 1.98 per cent forecast in the poll.

Inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has held within the central bank’s target range since the middle of last year, but BI has kept interest rates relatively high to focus on anchoring the rupiah currency and weathering global market volatility.

Governor Perry Warjiyo has said currency stability was the policy focus for this quarter, but he saw a room for a monetary policy easing to boost economic growth in the next quarter.

Thailand’s manufacturing sector continues to expand

Business

September 3, 2024

BANGKOK (XINHUA) – Thailand’s manufacturing sector maintained its expansion for the fourth successive month in August as new orders rose amid further strong increases in output and purchasing, a survey showed yesterday.

The Southeast Asian country’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was recorded at 52.0 last month, easing from the 13-month high of 52.8 in July, signaling an overall improvement in manufacturing sector performance, according to S&P Global.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

The volume of new orders increased for the second straight month, driven by both new customers and larger contracts with existing clients. As a result, output grew significantly, despite at a slightly slower pace compared to June and July, S&P Global said in a statement.

Employment growth remained robust, nearly matching the survey record high posted two months earlier, while the goods-producing sector was on track for its strongest quarter since the second quarter of 2023, said Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

ADB approves USD93.6M financing to Cambodia

Business

September 3, 2024

MANILA (XINHUA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday approved USD93.6 million in loans and grants to improve and expand climate-resilient and inclusive rural water supply, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in Cambodia.

The programme, covering 88,000 households in nine provinces, will support government efforts to provide universal access to safely managed water supply services and basic hygiene facilities in rural areas and improve access to safely managed sanitation facilities while addressing affordability, the ADB said in its press release.

The programme includes USD3-million grant to help finance the expansion of WASH facilities in the provinces where poor rural residents face the greatest challenges in accessing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

A technical assistance worth USD600,000 will strengthen the government’s capacity to enact key sector reforms.

Asia factories show tentative signs of recovery as China improves

Business

September 3, 2024

ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Asian factories, including China’s manufacturing sector, showed signs of a tentative recovery in August and chipmakers benefited from firm demand, private surveys showed yesterday, but economic headwinds loom.

Analysts say prospects of slowing United States (US) growth, which is likely to lead to interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in September, and uncertainty over the outcome of the US presidential election cloud the economic outlook.

China’s Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.4 in August from 49.8 in July, the private survey showed yesterday, beating analysts’ forecasts and exceeding the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.

The reading, which mostly covers smaller, export-oriented firms, shows a more optimistic view than an official PMI survey released on August 31, which indicated an ongoing decline in manufacturing activity in August.

“The PMIs for August suggest that economic momentum held broadly steady last month, with modest improvements in manufacturing and services helping to offset a further slowdown in construction activity,” Capital Economics assistant economist Gabriel Ng said in a research note.

“But with factory gate price declines accelerating, the economy clearly remains at risk of slipping back into deflation.”

Factory activity in South Korea also expanded in August, while Japan saw a slower rate of contraction due in part to solid global demand for semiconductors.

Japanese manufacturers also gained from a rebound in car output after a safety scandal led some plants to temporarily suspend production.

But manufacturing activity contracted in Indonesia, the surveys showed, underscoring the pain some of the region’s economies are facing from China’s prolonged slowdown.

“Chip-producing countries are doing fairly well, but China’s slowdown will continue to drag on Asia’s manufacturing activity for quite some time,” said chief emerging market economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Toru Nishihama.

“Slowing US demand could add to the pain on Asian economies, many of which are already wary of the fallout from sluggish Chinese growth,” he said.

Japan’s final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI rose to 49.8 in August, contracting for a second straight month but less sharply than in July when the index reached 49.1.

South Korea’s PMI stood at 51.9 in August, up from 51.4 in July, due in part to strong customer confidence and new orders in the domestic market, the private survey showed.

Indonesia’s PMI fell to 48.9 from 49.3 in July, the surveys showed.

India’s manufacturing activity growth eased to a three-month low in August as demand softened significantly, casting another shadow over the otherwise robust economic outlook.

The International Monetary Fund anticipates a soft landing for Asia’s economies as moderating inflation creates room for central banks to ease monetary policies to support growth. It predicts growth in the region to slow from five per cent in 2023 to 4.5 per cent in 2024 and 4.3 per cent in 2025.

Japan corporate spending rises strongly in second quarter, signals solid domestic demand

Business

September 3, 2024

Japanese corporate spending on plant and equipment rose at a faster pace in the second quarter. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES

ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Japanese corporate spending on plant and equipment rose at a faster pace in the second quarter, keeping alive expectations of a domestic-led recovery in economic growth and supporting the case for more interest rate increases over coming months.

The solid expenditure data, which will be used to calculate revised gross domestic product figures due on September 9, comes on top of a factory survey showing a milder contraction in manufacturing activity in August.

Capital spending accelerated by 7.4 per cent year on year in the April to June quarter from the previous quarter’s rise of 6.8 per cent, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday. It grew 1.2 per cent on a quarterly basis.

Capital expenditure is one of the key gauges of domestic demand-led economic growth, as policymakers are counting on business investment to be an engine for the world’s number four economy as exports struggle amid uncertainties around the United States (US) and Chinese economies.

Stock markets mostly fall on China woes

Business

September 3, 2024

Currency traders watch monitors at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul. PHOTO: AP

LONDON (AFP) – Major stock markets mostly fell yesterday as more weak Chinese economic data offset optimism over an expected United States (US) interest-rate cut.

Investor sentiment was jolted by worries over China’s economy after a report showed activity in the country’s manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth consecutive month in August and more than expected.

The weekend data “rang alarm bells”, noted, chief market analyst at trading group Scope Markets Joshua Mahony.

China’s manufacturing “sector clearly remains in a troublesome position as the country attempts to navigate its way out of the recent real estate fuelled slowdown”, he added.

In August, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a key barometer of industrial output – stood at 49.1 points, the National Bureau of Statistics announced.

This represents a stronger contraction than in July (49.4 points) for the index, which is based in part on company order books.

A figure above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, while below that is a contraction.

The update came as leaders face calls to unveil fresh stimulus measures, particularly for the troubled property industry, with observers warning the government’s five per cent gross domestic product growth target could be missed this year.

Following the Chinese figures, oil prices fell slightly and the yuan dropped against the dollar yesterday.

The data added to concerns over weak Chinese demand, including for the luxury sector, with British fashion brand Burberry heading the losers board in London. Its shares were down 2.7 per cent nearing midday, while in Paris Gucci-owner Kering shed 2.3 per cent.

However, stock in British online real estate firm Rightmove soared 22 per cent after Australian peer REA Group, majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire, said yesterday it is mulling a multi-billion-pound takeover.

Elsewhere, focus remained fixed on by how much the Federal Reserve would cut US interest rates in September.

Figures on Friday showed the Fed’s favoured gauge of inflation – personal consumption expenditures index – fell in line with forecasts in July, setting the bank up to ease monetary policy this month.

Focus is now on the release of the closely watched non-farm payrolls report, which will provide the latest snapshot of the world’s top economy.

While a cut has been priced in, the data could determine how big it will be, with analysts saying another big miss to the downside could prompt officials to slash rates by 50 basis points, rather than the ex-pected 25.

Ryu beats Ko in playoff at FM Championship

Sports

September 3, 2024

WASHINGTON (AFP) – South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran bounced back from a shocking third round to beat compatriot Ko Jin-young in a playoff to win the LPGA’s FM Championship at TPC Boston on Sunday.

Ryu had shot a superb 10-under-par 62 on Friday but followed it with a six-over 78 that threatened to undo all her good work, leaving her four shots off overnight leader and 15-time LPGA winner Ko.

But she showed no signs of that round affecting her focus as she went out and promptly birdied the first four holes on Sunday, reaching the turn at six-under on her way to a round of 64.

Ryu’s lone bogey on the par-three 16th dropped her back into a tie with Ko at 15-under and an anxious wait to see if her compatriot could make a birdie over her final two holes.

Ko began the day with a two-shot lead and she built on that with an eagle at the par-five second and another at the par-four fourth.

But after a bogey on the 10th she only managed one further birdie at the 14th. After a two-hour rain delay, she missed a nine-foot putt in wet conditions on the final green that would have given her victory.

The pair went back down the par-five 18th, but Ko missed from 30 feet for par and Ryu tucked in a 12-foot birdie putt to secure her second victory on the LPGA Tour.

“The second win was so hard for me because this year I got many chances before, but I missed out a couple of times,” said Ryu.

“But today, I don’t want to miss again. I was so nervous at the playoff, but maybe Ko Jin-young was the same,” she added.

China’s Liu Ruixin finished a shot behind on 14-under after an eight-under 64 that began in remarkable fashion with birdies at each of her first seven holes.

It was a second straight round of 64 for Liu – her lowest round in her career.

American Allisen Corpuz and Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul finished a further shot back on 13-under after both carding 67s.

Unbeaten ‘Monster’ Inoue still feels pressure ahead of Doheny clash

Sports

September 3, 2024

YOKOHAMA (AFP) – Japan’s undisputed and unbeaten world super-bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue said “the pressure doesn’t change” as he prepares to take on Ireland’s TJ Doheny at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena today.

Inoue, who has a 27-0 win-loss record (24 KOs), is stepping into the ring for the first time since he stopped Mexico’s Luis Nery in front of 55,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome in May.

His opponent is Irishman Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), who held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight world title from 2018 to 2019.

Inoue will fight in front of a smaller crowd in the Japanese capital but his attitude remains the same with all four of his title belts on the line.

“The pressure doesn’t change, it doesn’t matter that the last fight was at Tokyo Dome,” he told reporters after making weight for the fight yesterday. “The enjoyment I take from fighting is the main thing. It doesn’t matter where the fight takes place, when I step into the ring I have expectations of myself.”

The 31-year-old Inoue gave another demonstration of his ferocious power against Nery in his first title defence since becoming the undisputed super-bantamweight world champion last December.

But he had to recover from being knocked down for the first time in his career when floored by the Mexican in the opening round.

Inoue is just the second man to become undisputed world champion at two different weights since the four-belt era began in 2004. American Terence Crawford was the first.

He will be the overwhelming favourite against the 37-year-old Doheny, who beat Bryl Bayagos of the Philippines on the Inoue undercard at the Tokyo Dome in his last fight.

Inoue said he expected Doheny to enter the fight significantly heavier than his weigh-in mark of 55.1 kilogrammes.

Borneo Bulletin OnlineThe Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak

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