Carrie Fisher has revealed that Princess Leia’s romance with Han Solo in “Star Wars” extended off-screen, as well.
Fisher tells People magazine that she enjoyed an “intense” affair with co-star Harrison Ford during the filming of the 1977 blockbuster.
Fisher was 19 and Ford was 33 and married at the time of what she says was a three-month affair. The actress tells People, “It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend.” She says the romance ended when shooting on the film did.
Fisher writes about the fling in her new book “The Princess Diarist,” which recounts her experiences on the “Star Wars” set. She says that she gave Ford a heads-up about the book and he received a draft.
A representative for Ford didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
PHNOM PENH — A court in Cambodia has charged an Australian woman and two local associates for providing commercial surrogacy services – a practice the country banned last month after becoming a popular global destination for would-be parents seeking women to give birth to their children.
Keo Thea, chief of Cambodia’s anti-human trafficking bureau, said Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, was too ill to come to court Monday and was charged in absentia. She and the two Cambodians were detained Friday. The charges against them concern falsifying documents and human trafficking, making them liable for up to two years in prison.
Keo Thea said Davis-Charles ran a company that paid poor Cambodian women to be surrogates. He said Davis-Charles charged her clients around $50,000 for the service, and paid the surrogate mothers $10,000 to $12,000.
The Health Ministry issued the commercial surrogacy ban in October, but there is not yet a criminal penalty for the practice. Cambodia became a popular destination for persons seeking surrogate mothers after India and Thailand in 2015 banned surrogate services for foreigners.
Davis-Charles set up shop in Cambodia after previously running a similar operation in Thailand, according to Keo Thea.
Developing countries are popular for surrogacy because costs are much lower than in nations such as the United States and Australia, where surrogate services are around $150,000.
“These surrogate mothers, they are poor women from the countryside and they were cheated by the company to serve as surrogates,” Keo Thea said, accusing the clinic run by Davis-Charles of being unconcerned about the health risks to the surrogates.
He said at least five surrogates have given birth to six children and more than 20 others are pregnant. Most of the clients were reportedly from Australia.
The Cambodia Daily reported that Cambodian officials would meet with the pregnant surrogates and representatives of the Australian Embassy to discuss how to resolve the surrogacies still in progress.
A blocked website shows a notice from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society with the message, 'This website contains content and information that is deemed inappropriate. It has been censored by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society' on Nov. 17. Photo: Associated Press
BANGKOK — An online right advocate pointed out Monday that the latest proposed changes to the Computer Crime Act and its supporting laws would provide the authorities with direct access to deleting things from the internet.
In the latest draft of the controversial act and its related regulations made public Friday, the new Ministry of Digital Economy and Society would set up a central system to manage the removal of online content. It would be connected to the systems of cooperating internet service providers so authorities could directly remove content.
The draft also authorizes the use of “any technical measures” to delete offending content or make it inaccessible.
Under the original 2007 law, authorities must win court approval to ask internet service providers to remove offending content.
Framed as a national security issue, the junta has gone after content deemed offensive to the royal family, which is a criminal offense. Since the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol last month, the government has successfullyshut down more than 1,000 websites.
The clause introduced into the law’s revision process was picked up and flagged by Arthit Suriyawongkul of the Thai Netizen Network, a digital rights advocacy group which has closely monitored the process.
On Wednesday is the final public hearing for input into the law. It will be held at the Parliament House, where head drafter police Maj. Gen. Chatchaval Suksomjit will listen to public comment.
Rights groups including the Thai Netizen Network, Southeast Asian Press Alliance and Internet Law Reform Dialogue, or iLaw, have organized a parallel forum for the same time, as they said the public hearing provided a small window of time for discussion. Experts will be present to help explain the complex language used in the draft.
Yingcheep Atchanont of iLaw Monday gave his first reaction, saying he was concerned that the new draft criminalized putting on a computer “false data” which damages “public services.”
That raises fears the law’s ongoing use in defamation cases could be be used to prosecute criticism of public agencies such as the police – though the wording is far from clear.
“Public service is a very broad word, it covers everything provided by the government,” he said. “It will scare people from criticizing.”
Under the new draft, authorities can seek to remove content completely legal under the law if a special committee deems it to be immoral.
A view of Chiang Rak Road near Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus. Image: Google
BANGKOK — Police said Monday they are looking for a man who kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault a student near Thammasat University’s campus in a northern Bangkok suburb.
Stories of the incident went viral after another student wrote about it Sunday on Facebook in a post since shared more than 2,700 times. Lt. Col. Wichian Muansuwan of Khlong Luang police in Pathum Thani told reporters the assault took place on the night of Nov. 15, and police are now searching for the man.
“Police have the perpetrator’s identity, but we are in the process of summoning him for questioning,” Wichian said, without naming the suspect.
Thornthida Meathajiravej, a student who wrote about the alleged incident, said she heard that someone from her university was recently abducted at night as she was walking along on Chiang Rak Road. The student managed to escape her assailant, Thornthida said.
Setting off a wave of alarm online and in the student community there, Thornthida said she might have encountered the same alleged rapist when she was walking on the same road with her boyfriend last week. A motorist stopped to ask for directions, but he looked strange, she said. He eventually drove off.
“I felt that there was something strange, very strange,” Thornthida wrote. “I was telling my boyfriend on that day that I felt there was something about that man. He looked like he already knew the way but pretended not to.”
Wichian said the student mentioned in Thornthida’s story was walking home on Chiang Rak Road on Nov. 15 when a motorist asked her to show him directions to a certain restaurant. After she got into the car, the man tried to rape her, but she struggled until he agreed to let her go upon masturbating in the vehicle, Lt. Col. Wichian said.
Thornthida said the student was traumatized by the assault.
Many Thammasat students tagged their friends and loved ones in the thread to warn them of the potential danger.
Members of Don Daengchantip’s family hold his portrait next to his coffin on Monday during a protest at a junta complaint center in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Relatives of a man who died during a police raid on a gambling den carried his dead body to a police station and government office Monday to demand swift prosecution of the officers involved.
Seven police officers were charged with fatal reckless conduct Saturday over the incident, in which they kicked and beat Don Daengchantip, 34, until he lost consciousness and later died. An autopsy report showed Don suffered serious head trauma and bruising, according to a representative of his family.
“Mr. Don was repeatedly hit with a hard object to his head. He had bruises all over his body, both front and back, that extend to his ribs,” said Sira Jenjaka, a former member of the junta-appointed National Reform Council. “His skull was fractured.”
At a later protest at a government complaint center, Don’s wife Pattayaporn Daengchantip said said her husband’s death left the family without a breadwinner to rely on.
“We are here today to demand fairness,” she said. “Me and my family are in so much difficulty because we lost a pillar in our family.”
Pattayaporn also said police haven’t made a move to compensate her family for their loss.
Don died Nov. 2 as he attempted to flee a suspected gambling den in Bangkok’s Samsen Nok district.
In security camera footage of the incident, he is seen attempting to break away, at which point a group of police officers begins delivering swift kicks to him as he lies prone.
To vent their anger at the seemingly slow pace of the police investigation, Don’s family carried his coffin and staged a protest in front of Sutthisan Police Station, which ordered the raid. The protesters dispersed after a police representative assured them that the seven officers had been charged and would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The seven were also transferred to inactive posts to prevent them from interfering with the ongoing investigation, according to police spokesman Col. Kritsana Pattanacharoen.
Despite evidence of abuse on Don’s body, Kritsana said it’s still too early to pinpoint whether police actions were to blame for the suspect’s death.
“Forensic science examination results are considered evidence, but ultimately it is up to the investigators to conclude,” Kritsana said Monday. “Evidence comes in many parts and many forms.”
The spokesman added that the Sutthisan police chief has been in regular contact with the victim’s family, updating them on the case. He also disputed Pattayaporn’s assertion that police have not compensated them for her husband’s death.
“We have been working together all the time. We haven’t abandoned them,” Kritsana said.
SAMUT PRAKAN— A routine road accident provoked a discussion about driver responsibility Sunday night after dashcam footage of the accident went viral for a young passenger’s insistence his parents admit fault.
The video shows a car clipping another, as it attempts to cut into its lane Saturday morning on the Kanchanapisek Expressway, sending it tumbling and coming to a stop upside down. Although the driver doesn’t appear to be at fault, it’s what his son is says next that won hearts and minds online.
“Mom, dad. We have to own up to that,” a boy can be heard saying from inside the car.
The clip has been watched more than half a million times.
The driver and father of the young boy, Thanawat Sukthawee, told police the incident occurred while he was driving from Samut Prakan’s Suksawat area to the eastern Bangkok district of Nong Chok.
Four people inside the other car received minor injuries, police Col. Sophon Mongkolsoponrat said Monday. He said its driver was charged with reckless driving.
Although most acknowledged the accident did not appear to be their fault, many online praised the boy for telling his parents to show responsibility.
“Your father is not wrong. You’re so cute, kid,” user Pumpim Dolsiree wrote.
Most however couldn’t get past the fact the other vehicle made a really bad move.
“They’re totally wrong, not the boy’s father. His father even ran to see if they’re okay. If I were him, I’d kick that guy already,” commentedNoppadol Promrak.
Either way, some gave credit for the boy’s misplaced integrity to his mom and dad.
“No doubt the parents raised the kid well,” Facebook user Red Skull V.SE wrote.
Actor and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone poses for a photo during a 2006 news conference to promote the movie "Rocky Balboa" in Tokyo. (Photo: Vincent Thian / AP)
PHILADELPHIA — On Nov. 21, 1976, audiences met Rocky Balboa, the southpaw boxer from south Philadelphia. Four decades later, Sylvester Stallone’s lovable character resonates with fans drawn to his underdog tale of determination, grit and sleepy-eyed charm.
The reach of “Rocky” is international, and the film serves as a slice of Americana. It is shorthand for Philadelphia as much as the Liberty Bell or Benjamin Franklin.
“Anytime we are speaking to overseas visitors … the conversation always turns, at some point, to ‘Rocky,'” said Julie Coker Graham, president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They ask, ‘Have you met Rocky?” A lot of them think it’s an actual, real-life person.”
On the film’s 40th anniversary, a few reasons for its enduring legacy:
Actor and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone holds actress Talia Shire in a scene from the 1976 movie “Rocky.”(AP)
LOVABLE UNDERDOG Written by Stallone in three days, fans fell hard for the ballad of Rocky Balboa. For the uninitiated (SPOILER ALERT): The small-time boxer from the heavily Italian neighborhood of South Philly stumbles into a bout with the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed, fighting in the city to celebrate America’s bicentennial. To get him into fighting shape, Rocky (played by Stallone) is trained by the peppery Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), whose many one-liners make him a frequent scene stealer. Rocky also finds love in the film with sheepish neighborhood pet store clerk, Adrian (Talia Shire). Though he ultimately loses the fight, Rocky proves himself and wins Adrian’s heart, making him the winner of much more than a title.
The film itself was a long shot, made on a budget of only $1 million and shot in 28 days, with a largely unknown cast, including Stallone himself. And it was shot in working-class Philadelphia, a city that — despite its roots as the crucible of freedom — had long had a chip on its shoulder as second-tier as compared to more cultured East Coast metropolises like New York and Boston. (It is worth noting that the film had its premiere in New York.)
CHEERS FOR ROCKY What the movie lacked in beauty, it made up for in heart, something that resonated with audiences worldwide. The film was the highest-grossing of the year, earning $117 million at the North American box office and another $107 million overseas. “Rocky” received 10 Oscar nominations in nine categories at the Academy Awards, winning three: best picture, best director (John G. Avildsen) and best film editing. Stallone, Burgess and Shire were all nominated in acting categories, and Stallone was nominated for his screenplay.
“Rocky” is preserved in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It was also ranked one of the greatest sports films ever made and is the second-best film about boxing behind “Raging Bull,” according to the American Film Institute.
Actor Sylvester Stallone poses at the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art before a statue of Rocky Balboa in 2006. (Photo: Rusty Kennedy / AP)
GONNA FLY NOW The score for “Rocky,” which was also nominated for an Oscar, was penned by Bill Conti. The main song, “Gonna Fly Now,” was originally intended as filler for the training sequence marking Rocky’s journey from amateur to contender. The opening fanfare is among the most recognizablein American culture, and the soaring melody that plays on the melancholic theme woven throughout the movie is the backdrop to Rocky doing impressive one-armed pushups, punching meat in his girlfriend’s brother’s butcher shop and running through Philadelphia’s Italian Market, along the Schuylkill River and past the shipyards.
Conti went on to win an Oscar for his score to 1983’s “The Right Stuff” and made music recognizable to millions in theme songs to “Dynasty” and “Falcon Crest.”
A statue of the movie character Rocky Balboa outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia. Photo: Matt Rourke / AP
THE ROCKY STEPS AND STATUE The montage climaxes in one of the film’s most memorable scenes, as Rocky bounds up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, raising his arms in triumph. Four decades later, the run and pose atop the steps are re-created daily in Philadelphia, mostly by tourists. In 1982, a statue of Rocky commissioned by Stallone for “Rocky III” was placed in the spot where he stood in the original film. Its current home is just to the right of the steps and is a selfie stop for visitors.
ROCKY’S NEXT CHAPTER
The original movie was followed by six sequels. In 2015, Rocky was reborn in “Creed,” the story of Adonis Creed, the son of his nemesis-turned-best friend, Apollo. An aging and dying Rocky trains Adonis for a brawl not unlike the grizzled boxer’s first fight nearly two generations earlier. The New York Times reviewed it as a “dandy piece of entertainment, soothingly old-fashioned and bracingly up-to-date.”
KOH TAO — The island once known for its picturesque diving spots and laid-back beach scene is at the risk of being overwhelmed by the ever-increasing pile of garbage.
The alarm was sounded Monday by Koh Tao’s kamnan Kobchai Saowalak as he led Surat Thani governor to visit the site of the rubbish mountain at the island’s disused trash incinerator plant. He called upon the mainland authorities to take action before the garbage caused irreversible damage to Koh Tao’s environment.
“On average, there are between 20 and 30 tons of trash here,” Kobchai said by telephone. “For the size of Koh Tao, that’s a lot.”
The 21 sq km island welcomes an estimate of 3 million visitors per year, most of them foreign tourists. The island used to see an average of three to five tonnes of trash per day, but now it’s five times that number, Kobchai said.
The problem is due to the trash incinerating plant that broke down some time ago, and local authorities could not fix it, the kamnan said. A private contractor hired to repair the plant ended up ditching the work recently, he added.
The trash that has been accumulating, like a grotesque Mount Olympus amid the green jungle, now weighs about 50,000 tons, a number that continues to rise, according to Kobchai.
After Monday’s meeting with Governor Uaychai Innark, the mainland government agreed to fund a project to build a 3-rai landfill in which rubbish will be compacted and dumped. The work is expected to finish in six months time, Kobchai said.
CHIANG MAI — The first frost of the year arrived Monday morning atop of Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai province’s Chomthong district, exciting Thai tourists who for days had been awaiting the temperature to drop low enough to witness the phenomenon.
Temperatures dropped to 3C at Kiew Mae Pan sightseeing spot on Doi Inthanon as cold weather from China moved southward to the upper parts of Northern Thailand. Grass as well as roadside weeds were frozen on the road leading to the summit of the mountain . Being a tropical country, Thai tourists have always cherished instances of cold climate.
The frost was particularly scenic between kilometer 42 to 47 of the Chomthong / Doi Inthanon Road, where throng of tourists arrived before dawn in anticipation of the first frost, said Rueng Hiranwong, head of Doi Inthanon National Park.
Doi Inthanon receives its name in honor of King Inthawichayanon of the former Lanna Kingdom, who reigned between 1870 to 1897 as the 7th ruler of Chiang Mai. It is the tallest mountain in Thailand rising to 2,565 meters at its summit.
Ariya Jutanugarn celebrates winning the player of the year in the CME Group Tour Championship golf tournament during the award ceremony after the tournament on Sunday in Naples, Fla. Photo: Dorothy Edwards / Naples Daily News via AP
NAPLES, Fla. — Ariya Jutanugarn was unable to accept the CME Globe trophy when it was first being presented to her, needing both hands to hold a big plastic cube stuffed with $1 million in cash.
That’s a great way to end a season.
Jutanugarn’s breakout year ended with a haul of prizes Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship — the LPGA Tour’s player of the year award, the money title and the season-long Race to CME Globe points competition that comes with a $1 million bonus.
A winner of five tournaments in a year that started slowly with a major meltdown in the California desert and turned around with her winning three consecutive starts in May, Jutanugarn held off Lydia Ko for all three of those trophies.
“I never expected like that much,” Jutanugarn said. “I just really wanted to win my first tournament this year.”
In Gee Chun made a 10-footer for birdie on the final hole to win the scoring title by the slimmest of margins, making her the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both the Vare Trophy and rookie of the year in the same season. If Chun’s final putt had not fallen, Ko would have won the Vare for the first time.
“It’s still been a very cool season for me,” said Ko, the world’s No. 1 player, who wrapped Jutanugarn in a big hug when their rounds were complete before heading off to sign dozens of autographs.
Combined, Ko and Chun took more than 11,500 swings over 166 rounds — and the scoring title came down to one putt.
“It was big pressure for me,” Chun said. “I just tried to enjoy my last putt. … It was a big honor for me, to have my name next to legends.”
Add her to the list of young stars on the LPGA Tour. She’s 22, Jutanugarn turns 21 later this week and Ko doesn’t even turn 20 until early next year.
Add Charley Hull to that list as well. She’s a tournament winner now.
Another 20-year-old — youth is most definitely served in this era of women’s golf — Hull looked like a savvy veteran as she stalked what would become her first win. Hull finished two shots ahead of So Yeon Ryu, that margin coming after they had a two-shot swing at the 17th. Ryu’s approach came to rest along a 3-foot face of a bunker, forcing her to play off to the side and wind up settling for bogey.
Hull made birdie there, then coolly two-putted on the 18th to prevail. She shot 66-66 in a bogey-free weekend, with 12 birdies and 24 pars in her final 36 holes of the season.
“I was pretty calm,” Hull said. “I went on the golf course and tried not to think about golf.”
There were tournaments within the tournament, with many things decided in the season’s final minutes. Player of the year was settled first, when it became evident that Ko — who needed a win and nothing less to take that title — was not going to catch Hull. The Race to CME Globe came next, with this being the first time in that award’s three-year history that it wouldn’t go to Ko.
The scoring title then came down to Ko’s and Chun’s final putts, and about a half-hour later, Hull finished off the week and the season by making her first win the tour championship.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Hull said. “Hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”
Hull finished at 19-under 269. So Yeon Ryu (67) was second, Jennifer Song (68) followed at 15 under, and Jutanugarn (69) was 14 under with Mo Martin (68) and Beatriz Recari (68). Chun (70) was seventh at 13 under.
DIVOTS: Ko shot a 10-under 62 on Friday, but her other rounds this week were 70, 73 and 72. She tied for 10th at 11 under. … Shanshan Feng of China finished her season with a birdie and ended this week 12 under. She had won her last two starts and was eighth or better in her final seven events of 2016. … Former world No. 1 Stacy Lewis is 0 for 63 since winning midway through what was her second player-of-the-year campaign in 2014. She shot 76 and tied for 42nd. … Defending champion Cristie Kerr (72) tied for 22nd, 12 back of Hull.
