Iran's English-language Press TV airs re-enactment of murder

Camera, action ... Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani at her home in Oskou, north-west Iran, during the re-enactment. Photo: AP TEHRAN: Iran's English-language Press TV has aired footage of a woman, sentenced to death by stoning, re-enacting what it said was the murder of her husband. The broadcast came a day after reports from Germany that Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, whose case has sparked an international outcry, had been released. But those hopes were dashed as Iranian authorities mocked talk of her release by saying Mohammadi-Ashtiani was still in custody. Advertisement: Story continues below ''The defendant's case and judicial situation have not changed and she is still in Tabriz prison. Any news of her release is a sheer lie,'' Tabriz prosecutor Mousa Khalilollahi told the official IRNA news agency. ''Every once in a while foreign media give this case massive coverage for political aims.'' The Press TV report, which included interviews with Mohammadi-Ashtiani, her son Sajjad and lawyer Javid Houtan Kian who are also both in jail, did not give new information about the case. But it accused Germany-based Iranian anti-stoning activist Mina Ahadi of seeking to politicise the case in the Western media with the aim of undermining the Islamic republic. A German-based campaign group had said earlier that Mohammadi-Ashtiani had been released along with her Rosetta Stone Japaneseson and lawyer after photographs of her at her home first appeared in the media. The still photographs were taken from the television reconstruction. Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was sentenced to death by two different courts in the north-western city of Tabriz in separate trials in 2006. Her sentence to hang for her involvement in the murder of her husband was commuted to a 10-year jail term by an appeals court in 2007. But a second death sentence by stoning on charges of adultery levelled over several relationships, notably with the man convicted of her husband's murder, was upheld by another appeals court the same year. The ''reconstruction'' aired on Friday showed Mohammadi-Ashtiani repeating details of her husband's murder - as previously described by Iranian officials - in her home in the small town of Oskou in north-west Iran. It was the third time she had been paraded on Iranian TV. The report also showed pictures of two German journalists jailed since October along with Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son and lawyer after reportedly conducting an interview with Sajjad. Before the broadcast, the English-language satellite channel said the program ''will shed light on the highways and byways of the murder''. Faced with an international campaign for Mohammadi-Ashtiani's release, Iran has sought to shift the focus from adultery charges to her involvement in murder. Amnesty International condemned the broadcast before it was aired, saying ''international standards for fair trial guarantee the right not to be forced to incriminate oneself or to confess guilt''. ''It appears that the Iranian authorities are using the Iranian media as a tool to portray her as a dangerous criminal who deserves to be executed,'' Amnesty said.

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Sunday TV: 100 Years of Mills Boon

Photo: Reuters Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills Boon ABC1, 8.35pm Lust, tears, burning stares and 100 years of arrogant andhandsome men penetrating passionate and proud women's betterjudgment are celebrated beautifully in this salute to romancepublisher Mills Boon. Writer Emma Frost's clever approachweaves together three women's stories, each set in a differentperiod, to illustrate the impact, importance and oft-disdainedformula of Mills Boon books. Advertisement: Story continues below Olivia Colman is excellent as Janet Bottomley, a put-uponspinster living in the 1970s. She finds refuge from the era'sdreary sexism and her mother's ailing health in Mills Boonnovels but becomes infatuated with the officious doctor giving hermo ther a hip replacement. Inspired, Bottomley writes a swooningromance novel of her own. The second story, set between and , centres on Mary Boon, who pressed her husband, Charles, to concentrate on romancetitles. In the third story, Emilia Fox plays a present-day English lecturer who is teaching a course in romantic fiction and whose cynical, somewhat politically correct notions of passion areup-ended by a young, hot-blooded student. Heston's Feasts SBS One, 8.35pm Jelly phalluses, melting watches, an edible mini-garden with fried insects and a drink flavoured with toffee, buttered toast,cherry pie, custard, pineapple and turkey. British chef Heston Blumenthal makes these dishes to re-create the Victorian era's love of the exotic and invites celebrities to taste them. He seems like a spoilt twit until his determination and exhaustive Rosetta Stone German research reveal him to be an adept scientist and ingenious bon vivant. History of Scotland SBS One, 7.30pm In the first episode of this ambitious five-part series,Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver stands before an aerial view of his homeland to declare its beauty "overwhelming". But he believes it has suffered from its past being shaped by myths. His mission -to look beyond the legends and find the nation's real story -begins with the "birth" of Scotland, a land inhabited by disparategroups that joined to fight invading Romans. Lenny Ann Low Show of the week: John Adams SBS One, 9.30pm Quiz games are in vogue. The best of recent times was Stephen Fry's QI which modestly stands for Quite Intelligent but could alsoembrace Quite Indulgent. The hum our was scarcely restrained as it descended into erudite vulgarity, the best and naughtiest exponents of which were rewarded the lowest marks and loudest applause. QI has just finished up on the ABC so here's a quiz question tokeep the pot boiling. Who was the first vice-president of the US,eventually succeeding George Washington in the top job by a mere three votes? The title of this absorbing series and wondrous love story from HBO gives the game away. Its chubby hero, John Adams, apassionately honest Boston lawyer and orator, would eventually bindtoge ther the emerging 13 United States and establish a lastingrelationship with a defeated Britain and its detested redcoats. Adams was a forgotten pinnacle of US politics until this seven-part series, based on David McCullough's book, won 13 Emmy Awards. Frugal in everything apart from the flowing language with which he notably defended British troops during a hostile courtroomappearance, Adams is played with magnetic perfection by Paul Giamatti. His skill is matched by Laura Linney, as his beloved and influential wife Abigail. Their partnership offers a warm glow, asanctuary from the horrifying happenings on the streets as the Boston Tea Party brews open rebellion. The first episode contains a horrendous scene of mob law that starts powerfully and grows in intensity to its distressingconclusion. The episode opens in 1770 with Adams plodding home on his horse to snowbound Boston. It ends with him clip-clopping off to Philadelphia, an elected member of the short-lived Continental Congress.

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Most homes have DVDs and a digital camera

This classic combination of technological advances caused what many people call an inflection point - when all the conditions are right for a major new advance. Nobody really predicted the explosive growth of the internet. As late as 1994, even Bill Gates called it a transitionary technology "that doesn't even have a billing system" (Gates is into billing systems). But the inflection point hit hard in the mid '90s, leading to a frenzied tech boom and some of the biggest changes we have ever seen in the effects of technology on society. Falling prices and vastly improved ease of use switched the focus of technology from corporations to the individual, and to the home. The biggest changes have been in personal communication - the internet, the mobile phone and pay TV. In April this year, research company Connection Research Services released the results of a major survey into the digital usage habits of Australian households. CRS interviewed more than households, and found that 65 per cent were connected to the internet. More than one-third of these were on broadband, with the proportion predicted to grow to half over the next two years. Ten years ago less than per cent of homes were on the internet. All connections were dial-up - the concept of broadband didn't even exist. The CRS study also found that more than 80 per cent of Australian homes have at least one mobile phone, and most own more than one. Most homes have DVDs and a digital camera. They also have multiple TVs, and 80 per cent have at least one computer. Home theatres, driven by the plummeting cost of new TV technologies, are now found in nearly per cent of all homes, often in rooms dedicated to the purpose. For a glimpse at the future, look at Korea. Nearly 80 per cent of Korean homes have broadband connections - and Korean broadband is truly Rosetta Stone Chinese broad. Most connections are at 2 megabits per second (2Mbps) or higher (a typical residential broadband connection in Australia is 5kbps). The Korean Government expects that 70 per cent of internet connections will exceed Mbps by the end of 06 and that most will be at 100Mbps by the end of the decade. At these speeds, and with this level of penetration, the internet pervades Korean society to an extent unknown in the rest of the world. But with success come problems. In Korea, cyber crime is out of control, and a quarter of all teenagers are classed as internet addicts, many with behavioural problems. New cultural tools have appeared, such as "avatars", digital characters used to identify yourself online. There exists in Korea a digital world, of the kind predicted in Tad Williams's sci-fi trilogy Otherland, which is as real to its inhabitants as the corporeal world. Gangs of cyberyouths roam the net, stealing cybergoods from unfortunate avatars and disrupting things. There are other challenges. What is the future of intellectual property when music, films and software can be transmitted around the world in an instant and copied an infinite number of times? How can we make the virtual world as secure as the real world? Can we even distinguish real life from cyberlife? In , we already have the sub-$ notebook, the terabyte (1024 gigabytes) of storage on our video recorder, and the video camera in our phone. Ten years from now, everything we have now will be cheaper, smaller and easier to use, and a lot more mobile. The phone network, pay and free-to-air TV networks, and the net itself will all merge into a larger network, which some are calling the Supernet.

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France-bound Steyn still hopes for World Cup

Springbok star Francois Steyn, the youngest ever World Cupwinner at aged 19 in 07, is hoping to star in the next edition ofrugby union's showcase tournament despite playing in France. Steyn has signed a three-year contract with newly-promotedRacing-Metro, the second Parisian side in the French firstdivision, the Top 14, alongside Stade Francais. The Sharks back, who says his preferred position is centre orfly-half, admitted that playing in France had been something thatformulated itself during the last World Cup, hosted by France. Advertisement: Story continues below "After the World Cup, I always told myself that I'd come toplay in France," he told L'Equipe newspaper. "I remember walking around Paris looking at the magnificentstreets packed with history, drinking coffee and eating chocolatand banana crepes - maybe too much." He added: "South Africa has a policy that foreign-based playerscan play for the national side. I haven't given up on representingmy country at the next World Cup. "I hope that the Springboks will be the first in history toretain the crown." Steyn, who is in the Springbok squad to play three Tests againstthe British and Canada Goose Sverige Irish Lions over the coming weeks, said he waslooking forward to playing in a championship that did not mean asmuch travel. "The Top 14 and Super 14 are a relatively similar level. TheSuper 14 only lasts 14 weeks but there are long trips combined withpressure and the demands of the competition. "I hope my stay in France will teach me to adopt a new approachto matches and make me stronger mentally. "But it will be a huge challenge to learn a new language, tolive far from my family, to live through the European winter." With Steyn due to arrive in Paris after the Lions Tests beforedecamping again to South Africa for the Tri Nations tournament, itwas telling that he named Ireland and Lions centre BrianO'Driscoll, a potential opponent in the weeks to come, as hisfavourite player. "When he landed on the international scene it was quicklyapparent that he was a player capable of doing some incrediblethings," Steyn said. "And although he is marked by his opponents, he has remained adangerous player for a number of years." When asked whether he agreed with many in France who had namedSteyn as the best player in the world, the South African added: "Ithink you've got me mixed up with Brian O'Driscoll. "I've still got many things to learn. For the moment my soleambition is to become the best player possible. I hope to be ableto do that in a Racing shirt.

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We carried a tent, which was used once

It's just that he didn'tunderstand a single word for nearly two hours, especially the bitabout an apocalyptic end to the world in the next three years thatwas explained to him days later. Tomas used to work for a bank inMadrid. People travel along the Cami no every day of the year. The mostpopular time is summer, with the peak occurring each year aspilgrims hobble to reach Santiago on St James' Day, which is July25. When that day falls on a Sunday, as it will in 10, numbersare massively boosted from the average of ,000 who begin thepilgrimage each year. Every day in summer about 100 people begin their pilgrimage fromSt Jean. You can travel at any pace, but there is a fairly settimetable of large towns that draw the majority . So familiar facesreappear along the way - greeting you in bars, passing you ontrails, snoring like bulls in the bunkroom. Unfortunately, our lack of a European language cut into thepower of our connections. Instead, we gave them nicknames: Gerrythe Under-prepared Irishman - carrying less for a month than mostkids lug to school every day - and our little French friend, theEwok! And here comes French Guy With Low Nipples. Our oldest companion is a Spanish man in his 60s who has walkedthe Camino three times: (He Likes) Beer For Breakfast. With haltingSpanglish and effusive hand gestures, we find out that BFB is atrain driver from Seville. You should carry no more than kilograms on the Camino -removing everything except a toothbrush, change of clothes and rainjacket. We carried a tent, which was used once. It weighed only 1.8kilograms, but that is like carrying the White Pages from Melbourneto Adelaide so that you can check a number. If you walk the last 100 kilometres, or cycle the last 0, youare eligible for the compostella, an official certificate thatrecords your achievement. Rosetta Stone Arabic The compestella is allegedly a good thing to pack your CV with,meaning that the final section of the Camino is busy, with localstudents and time-poor pilgrims jamming the experience into a fewdays. We reached Santiago in 24 walking days - potentially a newrecord in the B-category of Transport-Assisted Melbourne-basedCatholicJewish Duo. Santiago's soaring cathedral was a joyous anti-climax. It'sbeautiful, but after walking that far it didn't feel like thegraduation day we had expected. For the three days before we weresurrounded by eucalyptus trees; the more it smelt like home, themore I wanted to be back in Australia. A further 90-kilometre walk brings you to Finisterre,traditionally known as the end of the world. It's a tiny fishingvillage with nothing to do but eat calamari, drink beer, and swimin the frigid Atlantic. Watching the sun extinguish itself into the sea, we realised howhappy we were that we had the chance to walk the Camino. Perhapsthat's the reason we did it: we had the chance. Walking throughtowns, you could see people getting on with their lives - takingtheir kids to school, heading to the bar to see friends, parking onthe footpath and going for a drink. Maybe we're all heading towards something, we thought, openingthe eighth beer of the day and downing an anti-inflammatory pill -but the Camino gives you the chance to walk a bit closer for awhile. Shirley would be proud. Fast facts Getting there: Qantas flies to London from$1922. Ryanair flies to Biarritz (France) from $5 and there aretrains to St Jean Pied de Port. Getting around: Local buses are cheap andpunctual, taxis are plentiful. Staying andor eating there: It's hard to eat badly in Spain.The Rioja wine region is rightly world-famous. Visas: Australian passport holders can stay inFrance and Spain for three months (each) without a visa.

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In my opinion the industry is really quite self-limiting

So we really wanted to do it justice. We spent time going back to the original game, reading the books, finding out what it was about the original game and the books that people loved so much and responded well to. There's been so much community support over the years, people still dress up as American McGee's Alice and they still create fan art so we looked at all of that and we found there was some really strong stuff we could build on. We think that this sequel really stays true to the original game. Was their one goal or objective or theme that you decided very early on that the game was going to be all about? (American McGee) We did decide early on the central narrative theme. In the first game the idea was that she was bringing herself psychologically, so the only person in that game in jeopardy in that product was Alice herself. She needed to overcome that emotional trauma in Wonderland using Wonderland's tools in order to free herself from the asylum. But this time the goal was to bring the drama and the threat into the streets of London and to Alice's life outside this mental landscape as well. So this sort of creates an arc whereby she first conquers this psychological or mental space and in this game she conquers the physical. If ever we decided to make a follow-on there would be a combination of these two because if Alice has prevailed in this story then she's conquered both the physical and the psychological. I'm sorry I can't dive into the details of the story too much but it would kind of give it away... What elements of the game do you hope that players will most appreciate? (Ken Wong) Obviously we're proud of the story that we've put together, we think we've got a really interesting tale to be told. We knew that the first game that was really recognised as having an amazing art style and so my art team worked Rosetta Stone Spain Spanish really hard to satisfy fans and create a visually stunning landscape and recreate those amazing character designs. And the gameplay of course is super-integral to the experience. We spent a lot of time looking back at the first game and what people's experiences were and building on what they enjoyed and working on or fixing those things that weren't so strong. Is there any concerns that the game wont sell as well as it deserves because it doesnt feature the typical soldiers or aliens that a lot of consumers seem to want in a modern action game? (American McGee) It's an excellent question. In my opinion the industry is really quite self-limiting. It's difficult sometimes for publishers to think outside of the traditional boxes in which they tend to put the games that are being made. For game creators that is a challenge because you want to be able to stretch and try new things. But at the same time you have to work with your publisher and within audience expectations, not to stretch so far that you create a new genre that no-one is interested in. The first game proved the concept that we're carrying to the second. It also showed that Alice herself as a character and also Alice in Wonderland as an IP is truly universal. It's global. It's what they call a four quadrant IP. It's male and female, young and old. It appeals globally. So whatever we build on top of that, as long as we are true to what makes Alice in Wonderland so appealing to everyone, I don't think we're so worried. I think it actually expands the definition of what a market for a game like this can be. American, it is interesting that EA has brought you and Suda out to Australia together.

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China-US spat hobbles G push on world economy

G leaders vowed on Friday to avoid currency manipulation and trade protectionism, but bad blood between China and the United States blocked deeper progress in rebalancing the skewed global economy. After a stormy two-day summit, the leaders of the world's biggest rich and emerging economies agreed in a declaration to craft "indicative guidelines" to reorient imbalanced trade between surplus and deficit nations. Due to Chinese-led resistance to binding trade targets, that was far less ambitious than sought by the United States as the world's richest power nurses a hangover from its worst recession since the s. Advertisement: Story continues below US President Barack Obama renewed an offensive on the Chinese yuan, which critics say is kept deliberately cheap to support Chinese exporters at the expense of US jobs. "It is undervalued and China spends enormous amounts of money intervening in the market to keep it undervalued," Obama told a news conference, continuing a jobs-themed Asian tour after a mid-term electoral drubbing last week. Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and the other G leaders warned that "risks remain" to the global economy and said that "uncoordinated policy actions will only lead to worse outcomes for all". Their statement pledged to move "toward more market-determined exchange rate systems" and to refrain from "competitive devaluation of currencies". They renewed calls for the World Trade Organisation's "Doha round" of talks to be concluded next year, and expressed commitment "to resisting all forms of trade protectionism". President Hu had presented Rosetta Stone software his own counter-proposals in Seoul, calling on the debt-burdened United States to adopt "responsible policies" and maintain a stable dollar. The Chinese leader, who presides over the world's second-largest economy and its largest exporter, demanded global resistance to trade barriers as he painted a bleak picture of the economic outlook. "The international financial markets are volatile, the fluctuation in the major currencies is large, prices of commodities are high, and there is a clear rise in protectionism," he said. The G statement was only struck after a week of late-night negotiating sessions in Seoul. It risks being seen by markets as toothless, shorn of US proposals to limit trade surpluses and deficits to a specific level. Marco Annunziata, chief economist with the UniCredit Group in London, said the G had flunked its test after acting decisively to ward off a global panic in late . "The worst the G could have done is to just diplomatically paper over conflicts and tensions that keep brewing more and more dangerously", he told AFP. China, backed by other export titans such as Germany, intensified an anti-US offensive last week when the Federal Reserve instituted a 600-billion-dollar attempt to reflate the US economy. They argue that the Fed's "quantitative easing" policy is a back-door way for the United States to depress the dollar and trade its way back to prosperity, at the expense of export-reliant countries around the world. In the end, the G leaders settled for vague language and an indeterminate timetable on redressing trade imbalances. They told their finance ministers to write the non-binding guidelines "and pursue the full range of policies conducive to reducing excessive imbalances and maintaining current account imbalances at sustainable levels". IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn acknowledged that the G was finding the going tougher today than when it hurried to roll out stimulus plans worldwide in the face of the financial crisis. "We were on the edge of the precipice," he said in Seoul. "Now, it is more difficult to organise cooperation when people think the crisis is over," Strauss-Kahn said. "But I am fairly optimistic.

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