Researchers from Princeton with Canadian ties accept Kyoto Prize in Japan

An evolutionary biologist paid homage to his Canadian roots as he and his wife were presented with the Kyoto Prize on Tuesday at a ceremony in Japan.

Peter and Rosemary Grant received the prize in basic sciences for their work looking at rapid evolution caused by natural selection in response to environmental change.

They are both professors emeriti at Princeton University and the first husband-and-wife team to receive the Kyoto Prize, which is Japan's highest private award for global achievement honouring contributions to the "scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of humankind."

Peter Grant has dual citizenship from Canada and the United Kingdom, and received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1964. He was a professor at McGill University in Montreal from 1965 to 1977.

Rosemary Grant spent time as a research associate at UBC and McGill in the '60s and '70s, and received her PhD from Uppsala University in Sweden.

"I was born less than 10 miles from where (Charles) Darwin wrote his major work, 'On the Origin of Species,"' Peter Grant said in his acceptance speech.

"However, our research was launched not from Britain but from Canada, and has continued for many years through the U.S.A., our home for the last 30 years. With this tri-national background, it is impossible not to be international in outlook."

The couple has spent more than 35 years doing field studies in the Galapagos Islands, and looked at how beak size and shape evolve through natural selection within a dramatically changing environment, according to certain mechanisms and conditions.

A book about their work, "The Beak of the Finch," won a Pulitzer Prize.

On Tuesday, they received a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize medal, and a cash gift totalling 50 million yen (approximately US$550,000) from the non-profit Inamori Foundation.

Other Kyoto Prize recipients this year are:

Isamu Akasaki, a semiconductor scientist and a professor at Nagoya University and at Meijo University in Japan.

Maestro Pierre Boulez, an internationally renowned composer, conductor and honorary director of the Institute for Research and Co-ordination Acoustic/Music (IRCAM) in France.

Cambodia announces Thaksin visit

PHNOM PENH — Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra will visit Phnom Penh this week in his new role as economics adviser, the Cambodian PM said Sunday, further stoking a row with Thailand.

"Thaksin will be at the Ministry of Economy and Finance on November 12 to do a briefing with more than 300 Cambodian economics experts," Hun Sen told a news conference at Phnom Penh International Airport.

The visit is set to increase tensions with neighbouring Thailand, which have escalated since Wednesday when Cambodia announced the appointment of Thaksin -- ousted as Thai prime minister in a 2006 coup -- as economics adviser.

Both countries Thursday recalled their respective ambassadors and Thailand warned Friday that it could seal the border.

"If you want to close, close it. The loss will be mutual," said Hun Sen Sunday, pointing out that Thailand had more to lose in terms of border trade profit.

"If Thais want to close the border, Cambodia will follow. If Thais close the border, all trade between Cambodia and Thailand will be cut off," Hun Sen told reporters.

Thaksin is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but Cambodia said last week the charges against him were "politically motivated" and vowed not to extradite him if he travelled to the country.

"Please let Thaksin share my burden of boosting the economy of Cambodia," Hun Sen appealed to the Thai people Sunday.

Earlier, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said billionaire Thaksin faced a "conflict of interest", having previously been chief of negotiations in Thailand and now working "for another side".

Twice-elected Thaksin remains a deeply divisive figure in Thailand, where his supporters have stirred up a series of protests in recent months against the government.

His own allies were forced from government in December 2008 after anti-Thaksin demonstrators held a crippling blockade of Bangkok's airports.

Abhisit used his weekly television programme to defend Thailand's handling of the spat with Cambodia, saying it had acted "calmly and carefully".

The two countries have fought a series of deadly clashes on their border since July 2008 in a dispute over land around an ancient Cambodian temple that was granted UN World Heritage Status.

"There is no reason to make tensions at the border which might lead to clashes," Abhisit added.

Hun Sen also used his press conference on Sunday to downplay tensions at the border, announce the withdrawal of elite paratroopers from disputed territory near Preah Vihear temple because the situation there was "quiet".

Commander Chab Pheakdey, head of the unit, refused to divulge the number of soldiers that would be withdrawn from the area.

The head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, General Surin Pitsuwan, urged Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday to show "maximum restraint" in their ongoing spat.

He said the 10-country bloc should not be seen to be divided by the dispute ahead of a historic meeting with US President Barack Obama and regional leaders later this month. But Abhisit denied the issue would affect the summit.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also told Hun Sen at a bilateral meeting in Tokyo Saturday that he was "concerned" about the row, a Japanese official said.

Vote to kill gun registry wins approval-in-principle in Parliament

OTTAWA — Conservative MPs, bolstered by a handful of Liberals and New Democrats, have narrowly voted in principle to kill the federal long gun registry.

Tory MPs roared their approval as the vote on Bill C-391 was read out in the House of Commons: 164 for, 137 against. The private member's bill, which would end the decade-old registry of most shotguns and rifles, now goes to a Commons committee for further study and possible amendment.

Conservatives say the registry is a billion-dollar waste that targets honest gun-owners while doing nothing to fight crime.

Proponents, including police and victims-rights groups, say the registry is a useful investigative tool and has led to more responsible gun ownership, reducing suicides and deadly crimes of passion.

The legislation was proposed by Manitoba Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner.

Both the NDP and Liberals freed their MPs to vote as they saw fit on the private member's bill.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, while supporting "the principle" of the registry, says it needs to be revamped to make it more palatable to rural Canadians.

China won't pressure North Korea: think-tank

SEOUL — North Korea's military provocations this year angered its ally China but Beijing remains reluctant to tighten the screws on Pyongyang, an influential think-tank said Tuesday.

China is more concerned about its neighbour's stability than its nuclear programme and views the nuclear issue as mainly the responsibility of the United States, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report.

The North's April rocket launch and withdrawal from six-party nuclear disarmament talks, and its nuclear test in May, coincided with reports that leader Kim Jong-Il may be seriously ill.

"Together, the nuclear tensions and succession worries drew out an unusually public, and critical, discussion in China about its ties with North Korea," the report said.

Beijing backed new United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang but its strategic calculations remain unchanged, the ICG said. It would continue to shield its neighbour from the effect of stronger sanctions.

"China prioritises stability over denuclearisation due to a vastly different perception than the US and its allies of the threat posed by a nuclear North Korea," the report said.

Its greatest concerns were a possible military confrontation between North Korea and the US, regime collapse, a flood of hundreds of thousands of North Korean refugees into China, or "precipitous reunification" with South Korea leading to a US military presence north of the 38th parallel.

In order to limit the damage that sanctions might do to Kim's regime "it remains reluctant to tighten the screws on Pyongyang."

While the North's "dangerous brinkmanship" had sparked a continuing policy debate, China overall remained averse to any move which might destabilise a border state.

"Beijing therefore views the nuclear issue as a longer-term endeavour for which the US is principally responsible, and continues to strengthen its bilateral relationship with North Korea," the ICG said.

China does not want North Korea to have nuclear weapons, said Robert Templer, the ICG's Asia programme director, in a statement.

"But it is willing to go only so far in applying pressure, as it wants instability on its periphery even less."

The North Monday repeated its call for direct talks with the United States to end the nuclear standoff, and said successful bilateral talks could lead to a resumption of the six-nation negotiations chaired by China.

The US State Department said it was still considering whether to hold talks.

Asia stocks rebound from slide, earnings a boost

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks bounced back on Friday from their worst drop in two months, with investors taking heart from the United States' return to economic growth, which gave reassurance on the recovery's staying power.

Traders said the slide in shares and higher-yielding currencies the previous day was caused in part by hedge funds pulling out funds from winning bets this year as many in the United States are closing their books for the year next month.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 2 percent after a tumble of 2.4 percent on Thursday, the biggest since August when plunging Chinese shares hit markets across Asia.

Commodities recovered along with stocks. Crude oil prices held near $80 a barrel and a one-year peak struck last week. But the Australian dollar, the major currency offering the highest yield, slipped as some market players booked profits on its 2 percent surge -- the biggest since June.

Analysts said the 3.5 percent annualized growth in the United States during the third quarter, pulling the economy out of its worst recession since the Great Depression, pointed to further growth ahead thanks to expected corporate inventory rebuilding and government spending.

"The GDP number was supportive of a better economic growth environment. The higher-risk stocks are finding more support," said RBS Australia head of distribution Leigh Gardner. "The growth trajectory in North America and in Australia is supportive of markets going higher."

HOPES FOR QUICK REVIVAL

The figures helped relieve some investor worries that the global recovery was losing momentum, which had prompted some to take profits on this year's equity market surge as heavy government stimulus and interventions helped revive growth more quickly than expected.

The MSCI benchmark for Asia is up nearly 60 percent this year, staging a rebound from a record yearly fall last year as the financial firestorm dragged the world economy into recession.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), a bellwether for Asian technology companies and the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, reported its best-ever quarterly profit and forecast a strong 2010.

Samsung's shares jumped 2.7 percent, outpacing the 0.8 percent rise in Seoul's benchmark KOSPI index (.KS11).

Shares in Hong Kong were the strongest in Asia. The Hang Seng (.HSI) jumped 3 percent, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) the biggest contributor as it gained 4.4 percent after a 19 percent rise in quarterly profit.

Across the border in Shenzhen, Chinese investors flocked to the new start-up ChiNext market <0#chinext.sz> on its first day of trade.

All 28 shares in the market have been halted for 30 minutes at least once after they rose 20 percent from their opening prices, setting off circuit-breakers and underscoring massive speculation in China's nascent stock market.

The dollar was steady after having lost ground the previous day on the hefty gains in higher-yielding currencies.

The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against a basket of six leading currencies, was flat at 75.884. The euro drifted up 0.1 percent to $1.4845, while the dollar dipped 0.2 percent to 91.30 yen. Gold prices

The Aussie slipped 0.1 percent to $0.9150 and holding below a 14-month peak of $0.9330.

Solid equity market gains dented government bonds and pushed yields up. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield edged up half a basis point to 1.410 percent and held near a two-month peak as the Nikkei (.N225) climbed 1.4 percent.

Worries about how much new bond supply the government may have to issue to cover a shortfall in tax revenue has hounded the JGB market. Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told Reuters on Thursday that new issuance for the fiscal year to March 2010 may hit 50 trillion yen ($554 billion), up from the 44 trillion planned before.

Thai action star hopes for Hollywood debut

HONG KONG – Thai action star Tony Jaa says his Hollywood debut is a "matter of time" after his latest movie, "Ong Bak 2," was released in the United States last week.

Thailand's answer to Jackie Chan and Jet Li has built up a solid box office record in the U.S. His last two movies, "Ong Bak" and "The Protector," earned $4.6 million and $12 million there.

"Ong Bak 2" marks the 33-year old's debut as director. The Thai-language movie, with English subtitles, opened Friday in 10 theaters and made nearly $26,600 in its first weekend, according to figures from the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.

"I'm happy to know that there are people in the States who like my movies. Hollywood is the capital for the movie industry. It would be interesting to go there. It's a matter of time," Jaa said in response to written questions from The Associated Press.

Praising Jaa as "the most well-rounded of all action stars," Chan said in 2006 that he pitched for Jaa to take a role in "Rush Hour 3" but the Thai actor had a scheduling conflict.

"Ong Bak" was the story of a young villager who ventures to Bangkok to retrieve a stolen Buddha head — a no-frills production centered on a righteous character who hesitates to kill.

The sequel takes a different track. An orphaned son from a well-to-do family tries to avenge their deaths after receiving martial arts training from a group of guerrilla fighters. Set in centuries-ago Thailand, the movie features lavish sets and costumes. Jaa plays a more brutal character than in "Ong Bak," which features a variety of martial arts besides "muay Thai," or Thai-style kickboxing.

Jaa alarmed studio executives by taking a break from shooting "Ong Bak 2" last year. He said he needed time to rethink the movie.

"I took a break to do more training for the stunt scenes and also to clear my mind. It is important to take more time to make a movie than just rushing it and at the end the movie is not the way you want it to be," he said.

Jaa said he is already shooting "Ong Bak 3."

Asian leaders to pledge EU-style bloc

HUA HIN, Thailand — Asian leaders will pledge to overcome their differences and push towards the formation of an EU-style community as they wrap up an annual summit in Thailand on Sunday.

Human rights issues, border disputes and signs of apathy over a meeting that was twice delayed by protests have at times marred the gathering of leaders from a region that contains more than half the world's population.

But plans to increase the region's global clout by building closer ties eventually dominated the three-day meeting of Southeast Asian nations along with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Heads of state at the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin will sign a raft of agreements Sunday on boosting economic and political integration and cooperating on subjects including climate change and disaster management.

Japan's proposal for a so-called East Asian community will be up for further discussion, after Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said the region should "have the aspiration that East Asia is going to lead the world."

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also set to restate its commitment to create its own political and economic community by 2015.

Asia has made a more rapid recovery from the global economic crisis than the United States and other western countries and sees itself in a position to boost its international influence.

But renewed criticism over the region's stance on human rights has taken the shine off the summit.

Activists have slammed the leaders in Hua Hin for barely mentioning the continued detention by Myanmar's military junta of pro-democracy icon and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN called for free and fair elections in Myanmar in 2010 but failed to call for the release of the 64-year-old Suu Kyi.

Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein told his counterparts that the regime could relax the conditions of her house arrest, which was extended by 18 months in August.

The launch of what ASEAN said was a "historic" rights commission on Friday was meanwhile overshadowed by the barring of several leading campaigners from a meeting with the region's leaders to discuss the new body.

Divisions between key regional countries also undermined the supposed theme of unity.

Beijing has voiced its opposition to a recent visit by Singh to Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian border state at the core of the dispute, and to a planned visit there next month by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

India and China clashed in 1962 in the area.

Host nation Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia remained at loggerheads over the fate of fugitive former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, after Cambodian premier Hun Sen offered him a job as his economic adviser.

Around 18,000 troops and dozens of armoured vehicles have been deployed in Hua Hin after the Asian summit was twice postponed by anti-government protests led by supporters of the exiled Thaksin.

They stormed the previous venue of the summit in the coastal town of Pattaya in April, forcing some leaders to flee by helicopter or boat and prompting demands by Asian leaders for a major security review.

Chinatown grocer's trial delayed

A Chinatown grocery store owner's trial was put over in a Toronto court Thursday until Nov. 3, when the Crown is expected to say whether kidnapping charges against him will proceed.

David Chen was arrested in May after he and other employees at the Lucky Moose grocery store caught a suspected shoplifter. They claimed he had taken a flat filled with plants from the store on Dundas Street West in the heart of Toronto's Chinatown.

Chen held and tied up the alleged thief, but when police arrived, they arrested Chen and two other store employees and charged them with kidnapping and forcible confinement.

Chen's supporters argued he was just trying to protect his business and that anytime business owners in Chinatown try to make a citizen's arrest they run into trouble with the law.

Supporters complained that the issue of shoplifting — and how stores react to it — affects all shopkeepers, not just those in Chinatown.

The victim in the kidnapping case pleaded guilty to two counts of theft in August.

Chen's lawyer, Peter Lindsay, told The Canadian Press outside court Thursday that pre-trial meetings with the Crown counsel were "not very productive."

Lindsay said Chen was simply defending his property, adding that he may launch a constitutional challenge to sections of the Criminal Code regarding citizen's arrests.

Jackie Chan, Andy Lau to star in new Shaolin movie

HONG KONG – The king of kung fu cinema is set to star in a new movie about China's famed shrine of martial arts, the Shaolin Temple.

Jackie Chan will star in the $29 million production, "Shaolin," the latest screen portrayal of the 1,500-year old temple in central China whose famous fighting monks have featured in films by stars such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li, and in the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" with David Carradine.

Chan's Chinese-language film will co-star veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, actor-singer Nicholas Tse and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.

The production, said to boast 1,000 real fighting monks and a grand scene in which the temple burns down, will start shooting later this year for release in late 2010. It was announced in a joint statement Thursday by four Chinese film studios: the state-run China Film Group Corp., Emperor Motion Pictures, Huayi Brothers Media Corp. and Beijing Silver Moon Productions Ltd.

Hong Kong filmmaker Benny Chan, who worked with Chan on "New Police Story" and "Rob-B-Hood," will direct and Cory Yuen will serve as action co-ordinator. Yuen's credits include "Lethal Weapon 4" and "X-Men."

"Shaolin" will be an updated version of a 1982 movie, "The Shaolin Temple," in which former Chinese kung fu champion Li made his screen debut, playing a boy adopted and trained by Shaolin monks who seeks to avenge the death of his father.

The new project could draw more heat for Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin, who has been accused of high living and seeking publicity for the famed shrine in the Songshan Mountains of central Henan province. He has also faced criticism for upgrading facilities at the once-austere temple.

Shi has agressively promoted the Shaolin brand, and has threatened to sue companies that use the temple's name or image without permission, but the abbot is clearly on board for Chan's project.

"It's worth cheering that we are now working with the most outstanding production team," Shi was quoted as saying in the statement Thursday.

Chan has most recently been shooting a remake of "The Karate Kid" in China with Will Smith's son, Jaden.

Chow signs on as bad guy in Chinese film

HONG KONG – After taking on the ancient sage Confucius, Chow Yun-fat has signed on to play an early 20th century bad guy in a $19 million Chinese frontier film.

The "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star will appear in Chinese director Jiang Wen's upcoming movie "Let the Bullets Fly," Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures said in a statement late Tuesday. Jiang will also co-star, along with Chinese comedian Ge You.

Chow will play a ruthless but humorous Chinese criminal during Nationalist Party rule in early to mid-20th century China, Emperor Motion Pictures said. The statement did not reveal the plot.

"Let the Bullets Fly" will be released in late 2010.

Chow made his name with stylish Hong Kong gangster thrillers like "A Better Tomorrow" before making his Hollywood debut with the 1998 action movie "The Replacement Killers." His other American credits include "Anna and the King," "Bulletproof Monk," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," and "Dragonball Evolution." The 54-year-old actor was most recently shooting a biopic of the ancient Chinese thinker Confucius.

One of China's biggest stars, Jiang has also turned to directing, making his debut with the 1994 film, "In the Heat of the Sun." His most recent film was the 2007 comedy "The Sun Also Rises." He also shot a segment in the recently released anthology "New York, I Love You."